The next morning wrought consequences upon Johan. He hadn't realized during the night that the Earthen Wall spell, being a manipulation spell, pulled the earth from around him. So his group now sat on loose soil and potential sinkholes.

"Johan!" Markus yelled waking the young man from his sleep.

"What's happening?" Johan replied, grabbing at his spear.

"You need to be very careful when you move. You were working on a spell last night, and it seems to have caused some weak points in the area. If we aren't careful the ground will give out from under us." Markus explained calmly.

"Wait, the ground is weakened? Oh! I'm such an idiot! It was manipulation, not conjuration. It doesn't create more earth, but only moves it..." Johan held his head, not believing his own stupidity.

His magic wasn't from some story that didn't care too much about the details of what happens in an area after a spell has been cast, no, even small spells could have great consequences.

"Alright. I'll be careful." Johan said to Markus.

"Good. I'll need you and Jen to go together. Anne and Pat are already over here, but the ground gave out. Pat almost fell in. We'll try to meet up in about half a mile or so up the mountain. We'll mark the trees as we go so you guys will be able to find us better. I don't know how big of an effect your spells really had, they could have messed up everything for miles around. The trees should help a good bit luckily, since soil can be held together by the root systems." Markus told Johan the plan to get to a safe place.

Johan nodded, and turned to Jen who looked understandably nervous in the tense situation.

"You heard him right? I know I may not be your first choice, but we need to go. Come on." Johan gestured her to follow him.

"Alright. Honestly I'm a bit scared. Do you think we could use a rope to tie ourselves together? That way if we fall..." Jen trailed off a bit.

"That's actually a good idea. Alright, come close so I can put the rope on you." Johan agreed and pulled a rope out.

Jen stood still while Johan secured it snugly. It wasn't too tight, but it was tight enough that he wouldn't have to worry about her slipping out while dangling if it came to it. He then fastened himself in, doing so in much the same manner.

"Alright, now we really are ready." Johan gave her a small smile, trying to keep the mood a bit lighter.

Jen just simply nodded in response.

-

The duo walked for a while, taking far longer as they were being cautious. There were a few near misses, but for the most part, it was alright. Johan swore to himself that he would not use that spell so many times in a single location ever again on the walk. If he hadn't cast it so many times, this wouldn't be an issue right now.

Suddenly Jen stopped, and turned to Johan.

"Hey, I see them, we're almost there!" She seemed rather excited to be out of this mess.

Johan couldn't blame her. He messed up, and then she got stuck with him. They already weren't on the best of terms after all.

Johan sped up a bit to catch up to her. He spotted the others as well as went to wave out to them.

"Hey, guys! We're ove-"

Johan felt the ground beneath him crumbling under foot. He was standing right next to Jen at this point, and he knew that they couldn't escape the fall. Johan reached over and wrapped himself around Jen as the duo fell into a pit, Even if he died, at least one of them would live.

------

Anne could have sworn she had heard someone, but didn't put much stock into it since there was no one nearby. Though she did hear what sounded like a large amount of dirt hitting against stone in the distance

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"Well, we should just wait up ahead for them. It's only a few hundred more feet anyways. They should be able to find us easily enough anyways." Markus said.

"Sounds good to me." Anne agreed.

"Yep. I wanna just sit down and relax. It's been getting colder as we walk up this mountain." Pat complained.

"Yeah. That's true, though I've not noticed it too much with my cloak." Anne joked a bit.

"Wanna share any of that warmth?" Pat asked, mostly joking.

"I mean, I can." Anne responded somewhat more serious, "But you'll need to take off your shoulder pauldrons, they're made of metal, and are probably extra cold."

"Deal!" Pat smiled happily. "I hope the others hurry up. Hey. Markus, what do we do if they don't show up after a day?"

"Well, I'd go and look for them. Honestly I hope that their alone time can help the two of them get their emotions figured out. Jen is seems like she's about to burst at all times, and Johan is certain that she despises him." Markus sighed, "It's insane that they haven't just talked about it honestly."

"Yeah. I would have thought Johan would have noticed by now. It's not the first time a friend of mine has had a crush on him after all."

----

Johan could feel the back of his head throbbing. Jen was currently laying on top of him, likely not too hurt, possibly bruised, maybe a broken arm or leg. Johan had managed to make them land with him cushioning Jen and falling onto his back. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but he could feel the pain subside slightly over time, though he still couldn't feel his legs. He was pretty sure he had damaged his nerves somehow.

"Are you okay, Jen?" Johan asked

"Ye-yeah. My arms hurt a bit, but I'm not badly hurt, probably just bruises." Jen said, as she slowly extracted herself from his grasp, "How far did we fall anyways?"

Johan looked up at the sloped cliff in front of him, being careful to not actually move his body other than his eyes. It wasn't possible to climb this wall. It seemed like it was worn down from water over time, and that Johans spell had taken just enough earth from the top that it broke from the combined weight of the two of them. It was pretty tall, around 25, 30 feet. It was a miracle that he hadn't died honestly, it was lucky to him. Even if he had nerve damage the potions he had received would be able to at the least allow him to walk again, though there was a high chance that he would have a limp or feel pain even after healing fully.

Every slight movement his body made felt like he was putting hot iron spikes through his spine. It wasn't unbearable after some of the things he had done willingly, but it was still bad enough that he couldn't really move.

"Hey... Jen? I have some bad news."

"What? What is it?" Jen said, fear lingering in her eyes.

"Something is wrong with my back and legs. Do you see the bag of holding? There are a few potions in it, that should help." Johan explained.

"Um... Alright. I think it's over there. I can't really see all that well. It seems much later than it was when we fell." She responded.

"Great. We were probably knocked out. To be honest, I'm kinda shocked I lived to begin with, that was a long drop, and I hit my head for sure, given how bad of a headache I have. If you wait a bit, I can make some light." Johan said.

"Yeah... Now that you mention it, that was a long drop. And are you sure I should wait? Back injuries can be pretty bad." Jen sounded concerned.

"Yeah. I've been dealing with it for this long, and besides we don't know how long we've been in here. If it was going to be beyond repair it would already have reached that point. I'm going to be quiet for a bit. Gotta focus, and the pain isn't helping."

"Alright."

Johan created his light trap, and after around five or so minutes he started to be able to see. it was dim light, but it would get brighter soon. and at this point he no longer needed to pay active attention to it.

"Alright, there's a dim light. It'll get brighter soon, so just bear with me."

"It's fine. That light has already helped a lot." Jen said.

She sounded like someone had died or something. Johan was a bit confused by this behavior, but didn't have time to concentrate on it so much. The light slowly brightened until it was about as bright as it had been when they fell outside, not in the least helping his already aching head. It was eerie given that they were in a cave, but Johan quickly removed the cords that let light into the container and then he just closed the holes in with more mana blocks.

"Do you have the bag yet?" He asked Jen. It was starting to get worse. He had been trying not to move at all, but unfortunately for him, the human body did not ever truly stay still.

"Yeah, I, I got it." She said meekly.

"Reach in and think about a healing potion. It'll come to your hand naturally." Johan told her how to use the bag.

"Alright I got it."

"What kind is it? Is it internal or external application?"

"It says external." Jen replied

"Good. Now, I am about to probably scream a lot. I need to flip over so you can apply it to my back along the spine. If I pass out, I need you to do this." Johan said.

"O-okay... Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It's the best thing I got right now. I can't heal it magically because I don't have proper view of my own back, which is a requirement for most healing spells. moreover, I don't have any spells that would be potent enough to aid me anyways. Those potions should be able to help me though."

"Alright. I'll do my best..." Jen sounded scared and unsure, but Johan had little other choice right now.

"Okay. On the count of three. One... Two... Three..." Johan forcibly flipped himself over, as agony shot through his body and mind, letting out a loud scream in the process.