Gerliari continues the game by placing down yet another set of fae swordsmen, although this time she's able to put it into an empty chamber, that being the one Hylii had left in order to meet up with Reed. She wasn't certain if it would make things worse, possibly by allowing the monsters to sneak up on her party more gradually, but fortunately it seems as fae aren't particularly stealthy monsters. Although the 'battles' undertaken by the game pieces leave a lot of details left to the imagination, the mage is fairly certain the pair manage to hold them off without too much difficulty. With that fight done she's granted the option to either open a door pointing closer to the exit, or one leading around an inner loop in Lyman's direction. Deciding that reuniting the party is more important than a quick exit, she chooses the inner loop.

Not wanting to put another fight on the pair so soon, Gery chooses to assign the next set of monsters to attack Liani again, figuring the vampire can take it. She does, although another wound is added to the figure's leg by time the battle is complete. Another door opens, and there's soon only one barrier left separating Hylii and Reed from Reed's father. Unfortunately, there's a slight problem.

Sincere rests his chin on the back of his hands and gives his opponent a smile. "Out of easy options, are we? It seems you've already consumed our entire stock of fae warriors. And no casualties so far, well done!"

The dark elf growls at his choice of words. "You're saying those were the easy options, then? We've got slimes and rabbit-folk left. Are slimes really that hard? We've been killing them since Floor One!"

"Do you really need to ask me that question? If you thought the slimes would be easy targets for your companions, you would have started with them yourself, would you not?" Gery doesn't answer him, instead focusing her thoughts on the game board, and Sincere gives her a moment before continuing. "I could perhaps offer some advice...at a cost, of course."

Gery closes her eyes and sighs. "Of course. What's the price this time?" If she has to take another wound, she will - she does have health potions, and she is at much less risk than her companions. Sincere doesn't make things that easy on her however.

"Information for information, I think would be fair. You tell us an unflattering secret about one of your companions, one they would not want us to know, and I'll give you a hint in exchange."

"You - you want me to snitch on my party members? Is that what's going on here?"

The demon shrugs. "They suffer some harm to their reputation, instead of harm to their bodies. Surely that's less serious, no?"

"Sure, but it's what you're going to do with that information that worries me." She considers it for a brief moment before shaking her head. "No deal." Instead, the mage comes to her own conclusions - the main weakness of slimes is their low mobility. Therefore, she again places the monsters down in the empty chamber where Hylii started his path at, forcing the trio of slimes to slowly make their way over to the pair. Sure enough, they become piled up at the doorways between chambers, and the pieces representing Hylii and Reed turn to engage the monsters at one of these chokepoints.

Unfortunately the advantage doesn't turn out to be enough. Even aside from their slow movements the battle seems to go on for far too long, and by time the last marble slime turns to sand and dust the ebony piece representing Reed has lost an arm. His left, at least, meaning the man can still wield his blade, but needless to say it remains a rather serious injury. On the positive side Hylii's skills as a Body Mage ought to be enough to keep the duelist from bleeding out, along with their health potions, but actually restoring a limb is well beyond him.

Sincere tsks. "A fair gamble, but it doesn't appear to have paid off, or at least not entirely I'm afraid. These are slightly tougher than the slimes found on Floor One, I must admit."

"Gah! How can a couple slimes be so dangerous!? Put all together, aren't these more monsters than the floor should be able to hold? You do have limits, right? Or else every floor would be nothing but wall-to-wall enemies?"

Sincere smirks. "Would you like to trade for the answer to that question?"

There's still two more sets of slimes left to play, and the information could be useful...but Gerliari finds herself hesitant to trade away anything she might possess, information or otherwise. Besides, there's something slightly more important to worry about at the moment. "Can I trade for something to give Reed his damn arm back?"

"Ooof, that's a rather large ask. If it was severed and could be re-attached, perhaps, but slimes tend to...consume limbs they take...ah, yes, I'm told the arm is gone entirely. Such healing is beyond us at the moment. Perhaps an alternative? Removing one of the slimes from the next set, perhaps, for an easier fight?"

"Mmm...let me think on it. For now, open that door to Lyman." Sincere nods, and a moment later the lines indicating the barrier between Lyman and the pair fade away. Lyman's stone piece quickly moves out to join the other two, and Gery can just imagine the scene in her head, with Lyman bemoaning the grievous injury his son has received. There should at least be a chest waiting for him with a healing potion, for whatever it may be worth at this point.

"Ok...what would it cost to decrease the number of monsters?"

"Tell us what you genuinely think of Reed Blair. And try to be honest, if we think you're lying, you'll be awarded no prizes."

"Is that all? Well..." Gery pauses to consider her opinion of the man, and decides it's probably worth playing along. "Honestly, my opinion of Reed Blair is that there is no Reed Blair. The human's a grown adult, yet he aims to be his father in every way he can. Not just his fighting style. You know I've seen him standing behind Lyman, doing his best to copy his father's facial expressions while people are talking? And I'm honestly not sure I've seen the two spend more than an hour apart. It's embarrassing, to be honest. If he spends his whole life trying to be his father, he'll never be more than a pale shadow. I have no issues fighting alongside the man, but I doubt I'll ever respect him."

"Interesting. You care enough to give him an easier time of things, though. Well then! What's your next move?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Continue reuniting the party, no reason to change strategies now. Liani can sit tight, a trio should be able to put up a better fight than her at this point." Again the mage puts down a set of slime pieces into the room where Hylii started out, this time with only a pair rather than a trio. Sure enough, even with Reed wounded, Lyman and Hylii appear to be able to handle this particular wave without injuries. That gets the party one chamber away from Liani is waiting, with a single barrier separating her from the rest, and the last set of slime pieces removes even that set of lines from the board.

Gerliari is smiling when she reaches out for the set of rabbit-folk pieces, the last set of monsters left in the game, but that smile fades when she realizes something. "Hold on now - these are the last monsters left to play."

"I see you have mastered basic counting skills, yes."

Her eyes narrow. "Except...I don't have a door connecting them to the exit chamber yet. There's plenty leading in that direction, but it's going to be a minimum of at least two for them to get out. What's going on here?"

Her opponent shrugs. "If you'd gone directly towards the exit, perhaps you'd have gotten there easily. Or if perhaps you were willing to make harsher trades..."

"Sure, a straight path may have gotten out one or two of them! ...Could I have gotten them all out if I made them fight one by one rather than gathering? But the risks..." Gerliari clenches her teeth. "You were driving me to pick one of them to sacrifice, weren't you?"

"It's certainly a valid strategy. But the game's not over yet, now is it?"

"I...suppose there's still a move left. Very well." With that said the dark elf places the final pieces onto the board, and once again they begin to move on their own initiative, chasing her party through empty rooms. When they finally catch up it seems to be a true struggle, the two spear-armed rabbits engaging her party in a melee while a pair of archers take cover at a doorway. Fortunately her team seems to be up to the task - until the very final moment, when Reed's piece suddenly grows an arrow shaft from its chest, just as the final archer piece crumbles away. His piece doesn't dissolve at least, meaning the man isn't dead, but going by the expression on its face Gery doubts his odds look very good.

"Dammit!"

"Well, it just so happens I have an offer for a situation such as this."

The elf bares her teeth at the man. "Of course you do. Out with it!"

"There is an unmarked path from this ring directly to the exit chamber, which is not only quicker but contains both a chest and a small healing fountain. Not something you'd find during normal play."

"And the cost?"

At this point Sincere's smile fades away, and his expression becomes far more serious. "Your party leaves, you do not. You surrender yourself to the dungeon and become one of us."

Gery wants to call the man a lying bastard, but the look in his eyes makes her bite back her words. "And if I don't take that...charitable offer?"

"You can choose to open the final door of your choice. It will get your party a little closer to to the end, and together they may be able to find a way to break through and exit the floor. Or perhaps Reed will die of his injuries first. Or perhaps they will remain trapped until the dungeon resets at midnight, and the monsters respawn. You can then continue the game from there, with more sets of opponents to play. Of course, you may forfeit and make your own exit at any point."

The mage does take a moment to consider the possibilities. If she could communicate with her party she might very well choose to delay the game until she has more moves available. But they would have no way of knowing that more monsters would be arriving hours from now, and would likely not be on their guard when that happens. Hells, half of them might be asleep - or dead - by time the 'reset' comes around. Even worse, the pieces do little to tell her if her companions are alert and ready for an ambush or not. It's enough to make her at least consider the alternative option.

"...Tell me more about this offer of yours? I've heard people become your floor bosses through some sort of system like this?"

"Not necessarily floor guardians. We don't currently have any empty slots, actually, although we could make you a supporting boss on Floor Five or elsewhere until something opens up. But namely, you would be tied to this dungeon for as long as the dungeon exists, and in whatever form the dungeon master chooses to place you - although she will certainly take your preferences into account. However, if you tire of the dungeon monster profession, your soul can be released on to the afterlife at a later point. Oh, and in case you weren't aware, this does involve you dying in the process. I've been through it myself, under rather more hectic circumstances."

Gery takes that into account, and comes up with a list of three choices sitting before her. One, she could wait until midnight, get her additional moves, and hopefully clear the path to the exit for her team. This would require waiting around for hours, and it's entirely possible that her team would all die anyhow. Secondly, she could ensure their escape but be tied to the dungeon for...well, an uncertain amount of time, given Prince Thaddeus's designs on the place. Or...

"...You said all three of the doors connected to this chamber we're currently in have treasure in them?"

The demon nods. "They do indeed. If you would like a hint as to which contains what sort - "

"I've heard enough offers from you, thanks." Gery takes a deep breath, and makes her choice. "Open the door to the right, in this chamber. Then I forfeit."

"Very well." Sincere looks over towards the indicated slab of stone, which slides away to display a closet-sized space with a treasure chest on a pedestal. A portal ring then appears on the floor, and the demon gestures towards it. "That will take you to the floor exit, you may leave when you're ready. I'll leave you to collect your winnings."

"...My 'winnings'. Thanks." She doesn't meet the man's eyes as he stands up and exits through the portal, and even when she moves to open the chest she barely takes note of its contents. She does down a health potion to restore her wounded arm before collecting some coins and likely enchanted jewelry, but she hardly glances at them before shoving them into her bag. Her feet move almost on their own as she then makes her way through the portal...but what she finds on the other side manages to stir her attention.

Sitting at a table filled with food and drink are Hylii, Reed, Lyman and Liani, all looking as healthy as they'd been when they entered the floor. They look up at Gerliari as she arrives, but the elf finds her attention drawn to a large sign hanging from the center of the ceiling.

PLAYER PARTY MEMBERS SAVED REED 5 LIANI 4 HYLII 4 LYMAN 3

"Hey, there's our slowpoke! You're not too far behind though, dad just came through a few minutes ago." Reed points a thumb at Lyman as he greets Gerliari with a grin. "That extra time meant you got us all out I hope, eh?"

Before she can answer a final line is added, and Reed's smile drops.

GERLIARI 1

"...Well. Maybe board games aren't really your thing..."