“You and I need to have a chat,” Rainbow told Jeze.

The teenager nodded eagerly. “I have so many questions, and I want to talk more with you about the Ones from Before!”

Rainbow appeared surprised. “Okay, but you may want to be more guarded with your knowledge. Not with me! But in general.”

“What do you mean?” The teenager asked.

“You can’t trust everyone, Jeze. With adventuring, knowledge is everything. Knowing the location of an ancient ruin. Knowing the secret phrase to deactivate a guardian golem. All of that goes a long way and there are those that will take what they can from you for their greedy purposes,” Rainbow explained.

“So, I shouldn’t share with you what I discovered?”

“No, you can with me.”

“Why?”

Rainbow was stumped. Ahead of them, they heard Swordslayer laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Jeze demanded.

“Nothing, kid. To your question. You shouldn’t trust us either,” the man answered darkly.

“What Swordslayer is trying to say is that you just met us. So, you may want to vet us more before sharing. That is a good practice,” Rainbow added.

Jeze nodded and remained in thought. She was learning so much from the two seasoned adventurers. Rainbow excused herself and walked up to place a gentle hand on Swordslayer’s shoulder.

“How are you?” She asked softly.

“Fine, why do you ask?” Swordslayer responded gruffly.

“Back there must have been hard for you,” Rainbow said and motioned toward the direction of the temple of the Night Mistress.

Swordslayer snorted and wiped his eyes. “No, it wasn’t. We won, didn’t we? That’s always good.”

Rainbow gripped his shoulder, and Jeze came up to give the man a hug.

“Alright! That’s enough. Get off of me!” Swordslayer demanded.

The two ladies gave him space as he shook himself free. He scowled at the two, but Jeze felt his demeanor was lighter. As if a ray of sunshine pierced through the dark clouds of his emotions.

“I’m still not convinced you should be on our team,” he said.

“Maybe I don’t want to be on your team!” Jeze snapped back.

Swordslayer laughed. “Of course you do! We are the best there is!”

They continued to follow Swordslayer through the long tunnel. It eventually opened up to multiple passageways, and Swordslayer continued through the middle one without a word.

“Does he know where we are going?” Ziplocke asked.

“I hope so,” Jeze replied.

“I trust him,” Rainbow stated.

“I can hear you,” Swordslayer growled, “and yes, I do.”

“What are all these tunnels for?” Jeze wondered.

“I believe we are traveling the streets of a city that was buried long ago,” Rainbow answered.

“The Ones from Before?” Jeze said.

Rainbow shrugged. “Could be, I don’t know.”

Swordslayer snorted and shook his head. He cared not for histories and tomes.

“Wait, if this was a city. Where are the buildings?” Jeze asked.

As far as she could tell, they were traveling through a tunnel with the walls showing no indication of doors or archways. The passage branched off into smaller tunnels. Maybe they were like side streets? Jeze wondered.

Ziplocke sniffed the air and answered, “I smell the Fire aspect. This place was burned! Melted by a tremendous Hellfire!” The Goblin gave off a squeal of delight over the destruction.

“Who cares about that? This is a good way for us to get to the Guild office and avoid the blasted Legion,” Swordslayer responded.

“Who cares? There could be hidden treasures or books with information on how to defeat the Stronghold!” Jeze exclaimed.

“You said that earlier. What is that about?” Rainbow asked.

Jeze became tight-lipped. “I don’t know. Can I trust you?”

Swordslayer laughed.

“See what you did?” Rainbow chided the man and turned to Jeze. “Tell you what, kid. Ask me something, and in turn, I can ask you. Deal?”

Jeze nodded, and the two shook hands. The teenager tapped her chin and asked, “Shouldn’t we be exploring these tunnels more?”

“Nah, if anything of value was down here, it would have been picked clean long ago,” Swordslayer muttered.

“Who else knows about these tunnels?” Jeze asked.

Rainbow shrugged, “Thieves, assassins, and bounty hunters. The kind of folks that need to travel in secret.”

“Outlaws and freedom fighters,” Swordslayer added.

Jeze’s eyes went wide, and her hands went to her weapons. “Shouldn’t we be more careful?”

“Little girl, we fight monsters and demigods. They need to be careful of us,” Swordslayer boasted.

Jeze glared at him. “Don’t call me that,” she growled.

Rainbow placed a restraining hand on Swordslayer and asked Jeze, “Any other questions?”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Jeze streamed questions as fast as a raging river in a storm. “Why are you called Rainbow? Is it because your hair has different colors? How did that happen?”

Swordslayer roared with laughter. “See? This is why we don’t travel with rookies.”

Jeze scowled at him. “You are mean because you just broke up with your evil girlfriend.”

Swordslayer’s laughter and smile faded away from his face as fast as it had appeared. He shrugged and muttered, “It was not like that, and she’s not evil. She is just misunderstood.”

Jeze was about to make a retort but Rainbow intervened and answered, “Yes, I’m called Rainbow for my hair and it is like this because I channeled the wrong aspect trying to make an Insight potion.”

Ziplocke cackled with glee. “That’s so funny! I wish I could have been there to see your face!”

Rainbow shook her head at him.

“That can happen with potions?” Jeze asked.

She didn’t realize there were drawbacks with alchemy. Then again, she was only making Recovery potions. Nothing that required the infusion of aspects, she reflected. Jeze perked up.

“Can you teach me how to infuse aspects into potions?” She asked.

“Did you not see what happened to her hair? Why would you want to learn that?” Swordslayer asked. He was walking alongside them now.

“Because not everything can be solved with a sword, you brainless oaf,” Jeze snapped.

Swordslayer shrugged and replied, “It works for me, and I’m one of the best Adventurers out there!”

“Says who?” Jeze asked.

“Says him,” Rainbow replied and jerked her thumb at the sword fighter.

Swordslayer gave his multi-colored-haired colleague a hurt look. Ziplocke giggled.

“Why did you call the Spire the Stronghold?” Rainbow asked Jeze.

Jeze started to answer and then stopped. She glanced at Ziplocke, and the Goblin shrugged.

“I don’t care what you tell them. I would love to see the look on your face when they betray you and run off with your knowledge for their own gains!” The Goblin said and rubbed his hands together in glee.

Jeze scowled at her bonded companion.

“What is that creature’s deal?” Swordslayer demanded.

“He is a demon. It is in their nature to enjoy human suffering. For Goblins, they especially enjoy bad surprises,” Rainbow explained.

“Not just human suffering. Basically, all suffering. Oh, the look on their faces!” Ziplocke replied and giggled as if he recalled a particular unfortunate memory.

Swordslayer shook his head and then reflected, “I suppose the look on a Rune Caster’s face when their magic fails them is kind of funny.”

“Exactly!” Ziplocke squealed.

“That is what happens when you rely on external forces and not your own ability,” Swordslayer added with a flex of his muscles.

Jeze snorted, “What do you know?”

“More than you,” Swordslayer replied.

“Yeah, right,” the teenager retorted.

“Tell us why you called the Spire the Stronghold,” Rainbow firmly repeated her question.

Jeze was tight-lipped for a moment but then shared her entire experience with the Pyramid in the Deep Wood. The story burst from her like a swarm of bats flying out of the caves to go hunting at night. She shared every detail, including her encounter with Drake and the loss of Raynor. In the end, she was sobbing with tears in her eyes. Swordslayer stood with his mouth agape. Jeze talked so much and so fast that he didn’t have time to interject a witty insult. Rainbow listened with intensity, and when Jeze stopped talking, the multi-colored-haired lady hugged the teenager.

Swordslayer hesitated a moment and he conceded, “You are an outlaw like us, kid. I suppose it makes sense that we allow you to join our team.”

Jeze wiped the tears from her eyes and laughed. “Thanks, I so much want to travel with you two! You two are great!”

The teenager slammed into Swordslayer with a hug. The man was visibly uncomfortable, and he simply patted her shoulder.

“It is true, we are great,” he replied.

Ziplocke retched. “This is so gross! Go back to insulting each other!”

The tunnels still appeared to be tunnels and not the streets from some ancient city. Still, Jeze scanned the walls for any hints of a door that could lead to treasure. They traveled on in relative silence mixed in with some discussion. Jeze had asked Rainbow about her thick black Jacket with purple orchids stitched along its sleeves and the high collar that covered the face.

“No, it's not magical, and yes, it offers some protection. See? Feel the material,” she said and invited Jeze to touch it.

The Jacket was made from thick padding and offered solid protection. It reminded Jeze that she needed armor.

“How did you get it? Do the flowers and colors mean anything?” The teenager asked.

“It was my family crest. The Purple Orchids,” Rainbow asked quietly.

“Your real name is not Rainbow, right? And your real name is not Swordslayer?” Jeze asked the two.

The two were quiet until Swordslayer spoke up. “Our real names died with our families. We are on a path of vengeance!”

Rainbow perked up and added, “And we have a real chance now with what you discovered, Jeze. Once the nobles and ruling families discover the real purpose of the Spire and that the Immortal Emperor is a sham, a true revolution will happen.”

“That was what Raynor wanted me to avoid,” Jeze said quietly.

“And look what happened? The Empire took from you like they did from us. Like they do for all of us!” Swordslayer cried.

“But you two are still alive. I think you should still carry on your name,” Jeze observed.

“It’s too dangerous. Our families were influential and led the rebellion. The Empire has agents looking for us,” Rainbow stated.

“Aww, so you don’t trust me with your names?” Jeze asked.

The two glanced at each other and remained silent.

“Well, I have nothing to hide. My family name is Zanchi,” the teenager proudly proclaimed.

“Why does that name sound familiar?” Rainbow asked.

“I have a brother! He was an adventurer, did you know him?” Jeze said, her voice raised in excitement.

“What’s his name?” Swordslayer asked.

“Daverius,” Jeze answered.

“Nope,” The man replied.

Rainbow continued to squint as she tried to recall why the name sounded familiar.

“He preferred to use swords,” Jeze provided additional information.

Swordslayer snorted, “Unless he owned a prestigious sword fighting school or won over fifty duels to the death, I would not have wasted my time knowing him.”

Jeze growled, “Like you did those?”

Swordslayer came up speechless. He didn’t.

Rainbow perked up. “Yes! I know now. He was a Rune caster like yourself?”

“You met him?!?” Jeze cried.

“No, but five years ago, he impressed everyone at the trials by dropping a boulder on the target dummy,” Rainbow recalled.

Jeze laughed, and Swordslayer rolled his eyes.

“Wooden dummies do not hit back,” the sword fighter stated.

“I remember him now. He was a rising prospect. He impressed a lot of teams that day. Is he going back to the Spire this time?” Rainbow asked.

Jeze looked at the floor and quietly answered, “He never made it out of the last one.”

Swordslayer and Rainbow bowed their heads in respect. “It's the life we live,” the man said.

“Was his death confirmed?” Rainbow asked.

“What does that mean?” Jeze said, looking up.

“The Guild has recovery teams whose purpose is to help lost adventurers. They also reclaim,” Rainbow cleared her throat and continued, “the bodies of the fallen.”

“No, he never came out.”

“Still could be alive,” Swordslayer stated.

Jeze perked up. “Really?”

Rainbow elbowed him, and he yelped, “Ouch! What? It’s true! I heard stories of teams going in and finding adventurers from previous Spires that were trapped inside for the past five years.”

“Don’t fill her with false hopes,” Rainbow growled.

“I’m fine, really I am. I hope to find him, but mainly now I want to stop the demonic invasion,” Jeze solemnly said.

Swordslayer suppressed a snort and ended up coughing. He admired her conviction as it was something he could relate to. He glanced around and stopped.

“What’s happening?” Rainbow asked.

“We are here,” Swordslayer answered and nodded upwards.

Above the group was a steel trap door.

“That leads to the guild office?” Jeze asked.

Swordslayer shook his head, “No, that leads to sewers beneath the Guild office.”

Jeze sulked. “More sewers,” she grumbled.

Rainbow rubbed her shoulders. “It's the life we live,” she stated again.