"Seriously, Linda, you need to watch your feet. If you'd fallen through one of those trap doors, there's no healing that would've saved you! Hells, I can't even imagine trying to climb down there to get to you. Would have to hope for a broken neck to end it quick, if that happens." Tizzy shakes her head at the embarrassed mage as the two walk into Floor Seven, followed by the rest of Prince Thaddeus's party. They were doing a double today, Tizzy had rejoined the team for Floor Six and since they'd cleared it without notable injuries they were proceeding on to Seven, which even Tizzy hadn't attempted yet. Well, other than injuries to pride, at least - when Taly had filled her arena with shadow, Linda had nearly walked right into one of the holes in the floor that would have dumped her into the mountain's abyss. Only Tizzy's scouting magic had allowed to shout out a warning in time to make sure Linda had a chance to catch on to the ledge rather than fall directly in.

The boys at least were in a good enough mood. While Floor Six wasn't as monster-heavy as some other floors, the climbing challenges had seemed to spur them on in a way some of the dungeon's other puzzles and traps hadn't, and Lei and Thaddeus in particular had gotten a little competitive about their climbing skills. Thaddeus himself had claimed the boss kill, as usual, mostly by being too fast for Taly to make use of her best ranged abilities.

Floor Seven is a very different environment though, and so Tizzy begins her scout refresher despite having only heard about the place second-hand. "Anyhow, so first off, there's gem mimics at the start, so watch your feet and hands. It's mostly all crystal-based monsters, so weak to smashing, though I don't know if Lei's hands are gonna get cut up if he tries to punch these things."

The man in question grins as he snatches up a gemstone from the ground, keeping a tight grip on it even as spindly legs pop out and attempt to claw at him. He squeezes down on it, which at first seems to have no apparent effect - but after a few moments the runes on his fist wraps activate. With a brief squeaking sound followed by a loud crack, the tiny monster falls to pieces with crystal fragments, legs, and teeth crumbling to the stone as Lei brushes his palms. "If I were simply using mundane martial techniques, that might be a concern. But with these? I think I'll manage just fine, scout."

"...Cool. I guess. Showoff. Anyhow, past this room there's a lot of elemental stuff, maybe Pulg can focus on defense with that? Then there's humanoid monsters that mostly use archery, and hide up in these tree-like things hanging off the ceiling. Actually, that whole section might kind of suck for melee fighting, unless you think you can manage a, like...twenty foot vertical leap? Or something like that."

Lei frowns at that idea, but Thaddeus actually considers it for a bit. "Hrmm...with these boots on, I believe I could, yes. I wouldn't want to become too separated from the team, however, so we'll have to see how it goes. If it comes down to arcane blasts to carry the day, well, I did recruit you all for a reason, after all." The prince gives Tizzy a grin, and she quickly nods and turns around before he can see her blush. She'd been feeling a little over-stressed the past few days, even with Pulg reporting that the dungeon was still in the dark about their plans, since she was pretty sure the Association wasn't entirely buying all of the cover stories she'd been putting together. She hadn't talked to Thaddeus yet about her concerns, but she had been 'seeing' him every night for the past few evenings, and while it helped at the time now she was wondering if maybe it wasn't backfiring on her a little bit.

"Yeah, I can blast a few dudes for you, no problem! Anyhow, it's tiny ones coming up, so get ready for some target practice..."

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The introductory rooms of the floor aren't too much of a challenge for the Master-equivalent team, given that Linda and Pulg are both capable of creating magical barriers to block the elemental attacks of the 'fae' creatures. Thaddeus seems rather put out to hear that the tiny insectoid hybrids are apparently the closest thing this realm has to fairies, but if anything his disappointment only seems to improve his aim as he dashes around the room, whacking them out of the air with the flat of his blade. The tiny creatures tend to hit the walls and floor with enough force to break a few of their limbs in the process, and at that point they're usually easy targets for Lei to finish off.

As they enter the floor's main chamber, the team does pause for a while to investigate the upside-down forest. It's been known for a while that a few classes have ways to negate the way the environment can hide the archers within, most particularly Earth Mages, and although they lack one of those Linda does have a few tricks of her own. Tizzy had classified the woman as a 'Force Mage' for a reason - although she has little in the way of fine control, her ability to generate telekinetic barriers and projectiles is quite strong, and the mage essentially begins to throw magical cannonballs through the air as the party proceeds forward. Crystalline trees shatter to the ground as they clear a path, bringing a few fae archers down with them, at which point Thaddeus and Lei take turns dashing forward and engaging them in some short-lived combat.

The easy going comes to an end however as Tizzy just barely spots a few arrows coming their way at the last moment. She blasts them out of the air in time, but they prove to be a bit of a distraction as a number of humanoid monsters leap in from their left flank, giving Pulg and Lei a few minor wounds before the pair can turn and recover. As they do, the nature of their latest opponent becomes quite clear - the dungeon's wandering boss and his Rabbit Champion spearmen have arrived. Thaddeus seems about to say something to challenge the new arrivals, but it's Trush who speaks up first.

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"Well, you've been making good progress lately, haven't you? I must apologize - I was going to welcome you to Worthy Dungeon on Floor Four, but unfortunately I happened to be busy with a prior engagement on another floor at the time. Still, I think this is as good a spot as any to put your delving to a halt, hrmm?"

"I see, I've been wondering when we might run into you." Thaddeus steps towards the man with a grin on his face, and his sword at the ready. "I've heard you're open to the occasional duel, are you not? Care for a one-on-one?"

Trush eyes the man, but shakes his head. "While I do enjoy the occasional tussle with nobility, when I can get one...hrmm, no. Today, the dungeon's interested in testing you all! Attack!"

Something about the rabbit-man's comment strikes Thaddeus as being a little off, but he has no time to comment on it before Trush and his backup are charging forward. That said, he does still more or less get his desired match, as he himself moves forward to engage the Rabbit Knight in combat. On either side of him Lei and Pulg get into a melee with the two spear-wielding rabbits, while Tizzy and Linda work on setting up barriers and blasts to try and negate the archer duo of Trush's entourage.

Despite his unusual anatomy, Thaddeus quickly decides that Trush is perhaps the ideal sparring partner he's been missing out on for some time. The two have similar equipment, being dressed in heavy armor and armed with swords and shields, and while Thaddeus would suggest that he has the edge in raw skill at swordplay, Trush's longer reach and monster strength means the two aren't badly matched. Both combatants move far more quickly than their equipment would suggest, with ducks, dodges and rolls being as common as metal meeting metal, and even as the rest of the team begins to trade minor injuries with the other rabbits the two team leaders continue for quite some time without either of them taking a single hit.

That changes when Trush suddenly leaps forwards and upwards, his blade slicing at Thaddeus's shoulder as he almost seems to vanish from the fight. Between the sudden pain and the quickness of the move, it takes the prince a few moments to realize where his opponent has gotten to. "...The trees!? Jumping at an angle - what was that, Sir Rabbit? A good thirty foot jump?"

"Impressed, are you? I've always had good leg strength, but a few recent upgrades have given me the combat reflexes to match!" The brief banter ends there with Trush once again taking a leap, but this time downwards, with his sword swinging in an arc to cut Thaddeus in two. Unfortunately for him, Trush isn't the only one with a few fancy moves when it comes to acrobatics. As magic surges into Thaddeus's enchanted boots the prince suddenly dashes forward ten feet, before turning and making a jump of his own - all while Trush is still midair. The repositioning means that Thaddeus is now coming up from behind his opponent, and even Trush's rabbity reactions are too slow to prevent the man from slicing up the back of his leg. When he lands the effect of the injury is immediate, with Trush collapsing into a roll before he's able to half-recover.

Thaddeus is hardly unaffected by his own injuries, however, and when the man lands the impact is enough to force his wounded arm to drop his shield. With both of the pair now partially exposed, caution begins to become the name of the game, with the prince attempting to flank the partially-immobilized knight, while Trush prepares to counter any move Thaddeus might make.

The guardian is somewhat less prepared for a Rabbit Champion to be flung his way, and Trush barely stops himself from slicing Yardath in half as the spearman crashes into his side. Thaddeus shoots Lei a rather annoyed look, spotting the smug-looking martial artist standing not far away, but he quickly decides that any complaints about interference can be brought up later. Not giving up the distraction, Thaddeus dashes forward once again and carves out a chunk of Trush's swordarm. Barely slowing down, he continues forward, stopping only to spin and plant a thrust into the rabbit's lower spine. Trush barely has time to recognize that his legs have been paralyzed before one final spin and slash slices through his neck, ending the fight rather conclusively. For his part, a dazed Yardath attempts to recover to his feet, but a pink-colored blast from Tizzy punches clear through his torso, putting an end to that particular endeavor.

Looking around, Thaddeus can see that the rest of the rabbits have met a similar fate, and while Lei and Pulg in particular are sporting a number of bloody injuries, no one seems to be in immediate danger of dying. With the danger passed the prince now has a chance to unleash his annoyance. "Lei! You ruined a perfectly good duel! I almost had him!"

Lei bows his head, although he can't entirely hide his smirk. "You certainly did. However, might I suggest that we also remember this wasn't the actual floor guardian, or am I wrong? If we want to be fresh for another such fight today, we may wish to spare the dramatics until then." His grin finally fades as he pulls the wrong muscle in his left arm, and he begins searching for a healing potion among his supplies. "Given how I'm feeling right now, I think we're going to need you fresh if we're still proceeding onward."

Thaddeus does have to stop to consider the options. All three of the men in the party are sporting nasty blade cuts, but healing potions and Pulg's magics should be able to get them through at least one or two more fights. And if he's not mistaken, the floor's arena isn't very far off...

"Fifteen minute rest to recover, but Tizzy, keep an eye out for any more ambushes. Today, we conquer Floor Seven!"

There's a round of cheers, followed by a moment of silence broken by a question from the party's scout.

"Definitely, but...is it just me, or did that guy call you nobility earlier?"

"..."