Calling the treasure room a room was generous, but Wyn didn’t care. It was still a more than welcome sight. It barely could fit the contents and all six Climbers, but none of them argued when they stepped inside to inspect the large wooden chest glowing at the far wall. Cedric and Wyn decided to stay outside the room in case more monsters showed up or there was a trap while the others carefully walked inside the cave alcove.
Hearing Tasha gasp and John laugh made Wyn smile subconsciously. He knew it was a good find, no matter what the reward would be. But knowing his friends were excited was extra special. He hoped it would be at least similarly rewarding as the chest they found on the last month’s seventh floor.
“We found a blue helmet and a green necklace,” John said loudly. He was excited while rummaging through the chest which created a lot of clanging and jingling.
“And two sacks of coins mixed with gems,” Lucy said.
Wyn’s excitement dimmed a bit. It wasn’t as great as when they found Marcy’s cloak or Tasha’s ring, but it was still magical gear that would be valuable.
“We’ll identify the items back in the city,” Cedric said. “Store them with the coins and gems in John’s pack and we’ll divvy them up evenly.”
The four others came out of the small space with serious and confused expressions.
“You don’t want to at least see what the items are?” Marcy asked. “It wasn’t a small find.”
“I’m not even wearing a necklace,” Lucy said. “Anything it has could benefit me. And those coins were mostly crowns, which is a huge reward in of itself. We can’t divide them here?”
Cedric shook his head. “Let’s focus on finishing the floor. We still don’t know if this is even the right way yet, and these second tier floors could take hours to finish. I’d rather be done and then check them while relaxed.”
“But wouldn’t it be helpful -” John started, but was interrupted by a brief green glow and the plain necklace he was holding change to a simple white chain holding a small sapphire.
The group looked at Lucy who held an identifying eyeglass over her left eye. “What? Debate all you want, but it’s identified now and I want to see what it does. Then we can carry on.” She held out a hand for the necklace but John continued to hold it.
Wyn was about to say something then reminded himself he wasn’t currently the group’s leader. This was Cedric’s problem to address.
Cedric took a step towards Lucy, and the tension was palpable. No one else said a word. He paused before gathering his words. “I understand why you did that and we do need to move on. John, go ahead and give her the necklace.”
John hesitated, but then held out the item. Lucy delicately took it.
“But remember this, Lucy,” Cedric continued. “If you don’t agree on something, bring it up with me after. While we climb, though, you listen to the leader. And right now that’s me. You should be good at taking orders, so you need to do the same here, too. Understand?”
Wyn felt his heart skip a beat and saw Tasha tense. That… was a bold thing to say. But Cedric didn’t appear to be in as forgiving of a mood as Wyn initially thought. He definitely didn’t shy away from saying what was needed, even with Lucy still being a wild card.
Lucy returned his stare, then realized he wasn’t backing down. She held the necklace in her hand but nodded to him. “Fair enough.”
“Good,” Cedric said. “We’ve already stayed here too long and I want to keep moving. Finish out the cave tunnel and then maybe we can take a small break.”
Lucy promptly put on the necklace and moved with Wyn to resume their formation. They continued down the tunnel as the others placed themselves equally behind them.
Wyn was impressed with Cedric. If he wasn’t the leader with his group before, then surely he must have been groomed to be the leader eventually. He’s calculating, decisive, and firm. All qualities of a great leader.
Despite wanting to continue being the head of their group, Wyn knew he wouldn’t be upset if Cedric was called to lead them. And they would be in good hands, too.
“At least you weren’t a hard ass,” Lucy whispered, still fingering the necklace as it draped over her chest.
Wyn smirked. “I can be given the circumstance. Cedric is the same way.”
Lucy pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her pouch and flattened it. Reading it for a few seconds, she then crumpled it again and returned it to her pouch. Wyn had no idea why she wouldn’t just fold it like a normal person, but he wasn’t about to tell her that.
“And?” Wyn asked.
Lucy looked at him while they slowly kept walking down the tunnel. “It gives me a small amount of ice resistance and increases my mana a bit, too.”
“Pretty good. I could have used that facing down that wyvern. Might not have had such a serious time with my fingers.”
“It’s something. I won’t complain.”
The tunnel went on for another hour, with the group having to deal with two more sets of rock monsters. They were covered in yellow glow stones and lightning based, making Cedric’s attacks less effective. Wyn still made short work of them with his Elemental Weapon spell, taking both fights slow but steady.
The path was much further than the first one, which told the group they were likely going the right way. They had to back track a couple of times with more options to continue, eating up another hour.
Soon, though, they were elated to find a source of additional light at the end of a long straight stretch of the path. Picking up their speed, they found the end, coming out of the mountain into a large quarry. It was difficult to tell if their elevation changed from the other side of the cave entrance, but it didn’t matter in the end.
They found the third phase of the seventh floor. It was the shortest but also the hardest.
“Let’s take a small break,” Cedric said, pulling the others back inside the cave tunnel. “Rest your legs, get some water, then we’ll clear it out. Wyn, get me up in about an hour.” He then pulled out his pack and laid against the wall, covering himself to rest.
“Don’t forget food,” John said, taking out a wrapped hunk of food. He had a glimmer of excitement in his eyes as he unwrapped a piece of bread and meat. He had no such qualms about mana recovery.
“How could we ever forget food with you around,” Tasha said, sitting against the cave wall.
Wyn joined them and stretched his legs. They had spent an entire morning and midday climbing straight, and his body was tired. He could tell Tasha and Cedric were, too. Lucy and John had skills that improved their bodies to a point where exhaustion wasn’t as easily noticeable, while Marcy either hid it well or was far more fit than Wyn gave her credit for.
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Still, Wyn’s mana was nearly at full due to all the downtime of walking, and he’d recover the remainder easily before they moved on. But the physical rest was good so he’d be in better shape to face the last portion of the floor.
He joined John eating lunch and relaxing. Marcy kept a vigilant eye on the area outside the cave while Lucy laid down and closed her eyes.
It was a surprisingly peaceful time. The mountain air was cold, but not biting or chilling to the bone. Wyn’s coat kept him comfortable, and the others had enough gear on that they seemed fine. The quarry outside had patches of rolling fog move through, making the area occasionally obscured. The wind picked up mixed blue and pink dirt and swirled it around, making the area look like a whimsical desert more than mountain.
Despite that, Wyn knew the dangers that still lurked in the space beyond and behind. The others soon rested, while Wyn stayed vigilant. He was used to keeping watch over his allies.
Even with looking around, Wyn kept glancing back over at Lucy. She laid down almost immediately after Cedric, not bothering to talk to anyone or engage at all. Wyn understood why. She was still the group outcast, a pariah among friends.
And she was still associated with the Assembly. Wyn couldn’t shake that fact no matter how hard he tried. Over the past few weeks, she definitely helped them climb with her strength and skill. Wyn wouldn’t argue that. She had a good compliment to their existing abilities, she carried herself well as a warrior, and she fought with conviction.
The only problem - which was a big problem - was Wyn just could not trust her.
In the back of his mind he had thoughts that if the Assembly wanted him to work for them, they would try any underhanded means to get him. Attack him or one of his friends. Threaten Benedict or Daniel. Or his sister. If what she said was true about her reason for being involved with them, then why would they stop at his debt being cleared if climbing was so lucrative? Recruiting Wyn made sense. At any means necessary.
He was afraid they would give an order to harm him or others at his expense, and Lucy would be the one who had to carry it out. That fact gave a lingering sense of dread.
But Wyn was fully prepared for that scenario. He knew her handler would push that far, and he had plans in place if they did.
Gregory and the Twilight Blades had to know about Lucy’s affairs, but he had a feeling they had someone pulling the strings inside the guild. He had no idea who it was, but it was the only thing that made sense. That, or there was an unknown sponsor outside of the guild members that dictated guild events. For that reason he didn’t want to reveal her secret until the opportune time.
At the end of the month, Wyn was expected to pay the next installment of his father’s debt. But he would do much more than that. He was going to propose selling his family’s farm to clear the remainder. Reviewing the idea with Arabelle and Daniel, he was confident in it’s worth and potential future worth to an organization that has its hand in just about anything. A large plot of land that could be used for just about anything nefarious? Wyn had a pitch for his plan, and was confident they would take it. He was also confident they would try and recruit him after.
If - and likely when - it came to that, blood would be shed. Wyn only hoped it wasn’t his own.
The rest of the break went by quickly as Wyn was lost in his thoughts. Soon they collected themselves and moved out of the mouth of the cave. They resumed their trap formation with Marcy and Lucy in the front, Tasha and John in the middle, and Wyn and Cedric in the back.
“Shit!” Marcy said, not two minutes after leaving the covered tunnel. She immediately nocked an arrow and stopped, causing the others to stop and ready their weapons, too.
Wyn looked around but couldn’t see anything past twenty or so feet though could hear roars, screeches, and sounds of fighting. He felt on edge and could tell the others were the same as Tasha shook holding her wand and John protectively pushed her behind him.
Suddenly a large gust of wind pushed the nearby fog away, revealing two Riocks hovering overhead clashing with a group of Ta-Yurks. When the fog cleared, everyone hesitated to jump in. The fighting monsters kept their attention on each other, ignoring the Climbers. Wyn hadn’t seen anything quite like it. Would they kill each other and completely ignore them? If they died from each other, would they drop rewards?
One of the Riocks clawed a Ta-Yurk by swooping down into the group and slashing out with its dagger-like talons. The monster wailed in pain and laid on the ground unmoving while the others barked and screeched at the flying monster. One of the Ta-Yurks with a yellow mane glowed with magic, causing a large streak of lightning to flash into the sky. It grazed one of the Riocks but still damaged it quite a bit. The power in that attack rivaled one of Cedric’s more powerful spells.
“Do we just wait it out?” Lucy asked.
“We could clean up when a few more of them die,” Marcy said, her bow half raised with an arrow ready to be drawn. “Let them hurt each other some more then blast them to the hells.”
“I’m inclined to agree with Marcy,” Cedric said. “I haven’t heard of monsters attacking other monsters before. But I’m afraid if we don’t do anything we won’t get any credit or rewards.”
“Maybe when one of the Riocks becomes grounded?” Wyn asked.
Cedric nodded. “That’s as good a time as any. Marcy and I will attack them and the rest of you run in after. Tasha, give them some protection.”
Wyn looked over at the Herald and saw her slowly morph from concerned to serious. The three melee fighters came closer together and Tasha began casting her Arcane Aura spell boosted by her own class ability for the spell to coat all three of them. Soon the spell took hold, and Wyn felt the familiar magical armor envelop him.
Just how bad was this going to be?
A few seconds later, one of the Ta-Yurks succumbed to a powerful beak attack by a Riock, in retaliation of the other monstrous bird being swarmed with attacks when it hovered just a few feet off the ground. It fell hard with a thud and was soon overtaken.
Cedric began casting a spell, and Wyn could tell it was going to be a big one. The runic formation at the end of his staff was larger with more circles, and it took several seconds for him to fully form it. As he was still casting it, Marcy drew an arrow that was glowing blue.
Wyn smiled. He knew exactly what they were planning.
“Drench!” Marcy said, and her arrow shot out at a blinding speed. It hit one of the Ta-Yurks and exploded in a wide cascade of water. The force knocked over several of the closest monsters entirely, while the others were simply knocked back a few feet. Even the flying Riock had water coat its feathers from the hit.
The magical arrow didn’t do too much overall damage, but that wasn’t the point. Immediately after Cedric’s spell was done, and a bright light flashed from the topaz at the end of his scepter.
“Chain Lightning!”
A crack of thunder boomed around them as a powerful bolt of lightning slammed into one of the Ta-Yurks. It was knocked backwards several feet before the electric hit coursed through its body and scattered to the other monsters. Two of the Ta-Yurks didn’t seem too affected by the spell as they were only stunned in place for a few moments, while the other monsters all reacted far harsher. The still flying Riock was paralyzed and crashed to the ground in a heap. The spell lingered on the group for several seconds, and Wyn knew it was because of the elemental interaction of the lightning hitting after Marcy’s water arrow.
John activated his Squire Aura and began running, his shield by his side and his sword glowing red. With his new armor, he looked like a demon knight in the snowy landscape of the mountain quarry. Wyn ran beside him while Lucy took off on his other side, the three of them rushing the enemies ahead. On the way, Wyn activated Speed Up to enhance himself further.
If the monsters had the power of first tier enemies, it would have been a slaughter. But of course they were stronger, more durable, and overall more powerful. They still had a massive disadvantage, though, being attacked so ruthlessly from the spells, and didn’t stand much of a chance once the three met them head on.
Wyn took out two of the Ta-Yurks with slashes from his spear, then stabbed the Riock several times in quick succession. His strikes flashed from his heightened strength and speed, and in seconds the monsters were dissipating back to the tower.
The other grouped up and collected the rewards that dropped from the monsters. Among them were more coins, a pair of green rarity boots, and enough of a variety of Riock feathers and Ta-Yurk scales to complete the secondary quest for two of them. They stashed the items before continuing.
Wyn took five steps before the ground shook, causing all of them stop and Tasha to stumble to the ground. A large figure rose from the ground thirty feet in front of them, the ground cracking away like large sheets of ice. It was a monstrous creature, as big as the flying Riocks, and lumbered forward on four thick legs that held its wide but powerful frame. Its body was rounded and long with numerous large white scales that extended from its snout to the tip of its tail. They didn’t sit evenly on the monster like a reptile, but rather stood off of it like thousands of spikes. It had a long neck with an imposing head, and dark blue eyes stared at the group before it roared in anger.
The Climbers reviewed the monster before they climbed with limited information that the guild leaders shared with Wyn. The boss was a cousin of the wyvern and dragons, similarly strong and similarly smart. Its element was ice and it had a ranged magical attack where it shot out ice spikes similar to the Ice Shard spell, though up to a dozen at a time. Its scaly hide was durable, obviously weak to fire elemental attacks and resistant to blades. The only feature to exploit was that it was slow, though Wyn knew that if he or one of the others were directly hit by its attack they would be seriously injured even with their protective gear. The monster looked like it could flatten a wagon with ease.
Wyn braced himself before Cedric started giving them orders for the fight.