Gerliari doesn't sweat as she examines the game board, but if she spends much more time considering her options she expects she's probably soon to start. First, she begins by examining the space taken up by the 'board' itself. Fortunately the outer ring of chambers around the edge of Floor Seven defines the boundaries quite effectively, and the center chamber with the floor's exit is also marked on the stone surface. So the question is - how many rooms connect each of her companions to that central chamber, and how direct is the route they'll have to take? Surely it won't be so easy as every chamber turning out to be an identical shape and size, and she'd certainly never assume that the path will be the shortest possible distance.

As a rough estimate, the Metal Mage determines that each starting point is probably about three rooms from the exit. That's quite short for a dungeon floor...if the group were moving as a party. As individuals every single fight is fraught with peril, with no room for mistakes. So...should her first step be to try and link her companions back up? Surely there's routes designed with that in mind. But who first?

Her gaze first settles on Hylii. Pragmatic reasons come to mind to start with - as a Body Mage, or at least what the locals classify as such, the man is strongest in working with others. The mage can boost his own strength and agility as well as that of allies, but he's the largest power multiplier in the party. There's also the fact that he's the only other dark elf left in their expedition, but her mind quickly filters that out as irrelevant information.

What's harder to filter out is that she and Hylii had been romantically involved for three different periods of varying lengths during their lives. The two weren't exactly 'together' these days, but over the course of the many months of their journeys together there had been nights...but she shakes her head. Hylii is the most important piece on the board, and that's simply an objective fact.

The woman's thought processes aren't entirely invisible to her opponent. Sincere leans forward slightly to try and catch her attention, and gives her a slight smirk. "Having trouble thinking of a first move? While there's no strict time limit, we don't actually control your party members, and we can't rule out that they won't eventually do something...ill-advised on their own accord. Perhaps you would like a hint?"

Gery eyes the man suspiciously. "You offer hints, do you?"

"For a price, of course."

"...Of course. No, not yet. Although I do have one question - what's stopping me from just placing all the monsters into an empty room?"

"Ah, thank you for reminding me." Sincere gestures at the outer ring of chambers. "The previously-cleared set of rooms are not part of the game, and as for new chambers, they are not valid targets until a path to them has been opened and a door cannot be closed once opened. So at best, you'd buy your companions some time as the monsters would need to chase them down. It may be preferable to placing monsters right on top of them, however."

"...So my first move has to be on one of the chambers where someone's currently locked up. Wonderful." With that in mind Gery then begins to determine which of her party members can best handle a solo fight. That decision at least is not particularly difficult for her to decide on. Reaching out, she picks up one of the sets of humanoid fae monsters and places the three pieces down onto the chamber containing the ebony piece representing Liani, the human vampire.

Sincere keeps his tone even as he confirms the move. "All placements are final once you release your contact with the pieces. Are you certain?"

"Liani's the hardest of us to kill - and honestly the one I'd miss the least if I'm wrong. Judge me for that if you want, I think any of the others would say the same. Vampires are...not entirely right, you know? So, are they fighting now?"

"It will require a moment, we're not using teleportation rings for this. In the meanwhile, tell me, what exactly is wrong about vampires? I've heard stories of course, but we rather lack the real thing around these parts."

The mage considers her words, knowing that the dungeon will somehow be testing her on them. "Vampires prey on people, inherently. Animal blood can sate them for a time, or monsters, but it's not really about the blood itself. I mean, do you have any idea how long it takes to actually drain all of the blood from an adult body?"

"I have learned that some methods are quicker than others, but yes, it's not exactly an easy process."

The elf eyes the demon a little warily after that statement. "...Right, well, it's way too slow for a quick hunt. The drinking is symbolic, what they're really absorbing is essence. Think of it as...the energy or tissue that binds a soul to a body. Damage to it can be healed, but very slowly and it's not something potions can help with. Someone half-drained might be practically confined to a bed for most of the next year. And Liani isn't particularly one for half-measures when she feasts."

"And you judge her for her dietary needs?"

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Gery scoffs. "It's not just the drinking. A normal person who lives on the murder of others would be traumatized by it eventually, don't you think? But not vampires. The vamping process...kills that part of them, or something. I'm not an expert. But Liani cares about most people the way most people would care about a farmer's chicken. She - ah!" The explanation is cut short as the pieces on the board suddenly begin to move, although in a rather odd manner.

It's fairly clear right away that the pieces are not exactly reproducing the events that must surely be occurring elsewhere on the floor. Liani would be far more dynamic, and the fae pieces barely seem to move either. Liani's piece does slide over to make contact with one of the marble fae however, and after a moment the piece alters so that the fae is suddenly missing a leg. A few seconds later, without warning, the fae suddenly crumbles into stone shards which further degrade into sand-like grains, and as Liani moves to face another fae the sand evaporates away entirely. The other two monster pieces eventually suffer the same fate, although by the end of it there's a clear mark of slash wounds on Liani's left arm, likely a result of the fae's crystalline blades.

Sincere claps at the show. "Seems you judged her strength well! You now have the option of opening any one door."

The elf doesn't hesitate in looking over towards Hylii's piece, and notices two doors connected to his chamber. Noticing that one leads to what's probably a chamber connecting him and Reed, she points it out. "That one, if you would."

"As you wish." The line representing the door fades away, and sure enough a new chamber is revealed on the board which would indeed connect him to the younger fencer of the party. Unfortunately, Reed's side of the chamber is still locked shut, meaning Gerliari will need to trigger at least one more fight before the two can team up. "So, who shall compete next? Shall Liani go for a second round?"

Gery is tempted to go with that choice, but she does shoot a glance at the injury displayed on Liani's game piece. It's not too major a wound...assuming the display is accurate to what actually occurred. But on top of that the vampire could be tired out from her fight, meaning it would be risky to immediately throw her into a second. With that in mind she instead turns her attention to Lyman's chamber, and reaches for another set of monster pieces.

"More fae? Why not mix it up with some slimes, perhaps?"

"Against a fencer? Are you trying to trick me into getting him killed? No, wait, don't answer that - of course you are. The fae may not be as easy to hurt as a flesh-and-blood mortal, but if they fight with swords then at least Lyman will know how to handle himself." With that said she places the trio of fae down, and in about a minute later a fight begins once again. At first the man seems to perform even better than Liani had, with the first of the fae being defeated within moments. Unfortunately the man's best skills are based on one-on-one fights, and focusing on his first opponent appears to have allowed the other two time to flank him. A slash appears on Lyman's leg, and another on his arm, with the man's face turning into one of pained determination.

The duelist seems to recover himself after that, and it's not long before the last two monster pieces crumble away as well. The human's taken a third wound before that happens though, and the look of him is enough to make Gery wonder if she should've sent the next wave to Liani again after all. Seeing her distress, Sincere takes the moment to strike. "You know, I could ensure that a chest with a healing potion will wait for him in the next chamber he enters..."

The mage narrows her eyes. "And the price?"

"How about an equivalent exchange? Or no, one in your favor, even. We remove multiple wounds from your party leader, and in exchange we injure another party member a single time."

The offer mostly manages to confuse her. "Injure one how? If a dungeon could simply hurt people at will, no one would ever defeat one!"

"We'll simply have one of our wandering bosses step in, fight to first blood, so to speak, and then leave. Or perhaps they may even prove their skill and defeat the boss single-handedly, in which case we'll allow you the win. There's really no downside!"

Despite Sincere's friendly tone, Gery can't stop herself from sneering at him. "Make someone fight a boss on their own!? Are you mad? ...Except..." A thought occurs to her, although it takes her a moment to decide to voice it. "...What if I choose myself?"

"Entirely within the rules! And simplifies matters quite a bit as well." Sincere reaches into his robes and pulls out a nasty-looking knife, and waves it in her direction. "Magic is more my traditional field of combat, but I'm entirely capable of inflicting a non-fatal injury, provided you hold still. Do you have a least-favorite limb?"

The question makes Gerliari consider things she'd never really had to think about before. She uses her arms to cast...but she needs both legs to move around, and a lack of mobility could get her killed if something happens. She does of course have a health potion or two on herself if she really needs them, and she doesn't really need both arms to cast her spells...

Sighing, she takes a deep breath before answering. "Left arm, I suppose. Ah - perhaps we can avoid damaging my robe, please?"

Gery lifts the left sleeve of her robe, and Sincere doesn't show a hint of hesitation as he stands up and moves to her side of the table. "Of course - this is a civilized game, after all. Simply hold your arm out like that, and...there we go."

The elf blinks, barely even aware of what Sincere actually did. There was just a quick flash of the blade towards her elbow, and now...her arm seems to have lost all strength to it, she realizes. There's just a hint of blood, which she quickly moves to patch up with a bandage from her supplies even as she asks what just happened to her. "What - how - it barely even hurts!"

"The pain will come in time, but I did use a simple temporal stasis field to hold you still for a very precise cut. One of the tendons in your elbow, to be specific. Be careful moving it, your range of motion will be slightly limited until it's properly healed."

"...Are you a healer yourself, demon?"

"No, just a man who's experienced his share of wounds. Now, there's still the matter of your owed passage - which door shall we open next?"

Without hesitating, Gerliari uses her right arm to point out the door separating Reed and Hylii. "That one, if you would."

"Ah, the party reassembling begins! Now to see how your party handles a bit of teamwork, hrmm? So...what's your next move?"