Healer Arc 2 -- Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The area around Teglir was interesting because, at first glance, it didn’t seem like it could sustain as many Adventurers that operated out of the city.  The immediate area, for approximately 50 miles around, was pretty much all cleared land that had functional farm fields spread around it.  As Thaden had learned earlier, the farm communes that ran the farming operations employed many thousands of people, all of whom needed to be protected from stray monsters that might wander by every once in a while.  However, this was work for perhaps only 200 Adventurers that constantly patrolled the area, looking for any threatening monsters that might be nearby – and not nearly enough for the tens of thousands of Coalition members that he’d seen in Teglir.

Then there were Protection Quests, such as the one that Thaden had inadvertently caused to go sideways on the river, where a Party of Adventurers would protect a ship or a caravan as merchants brought their goods to other towns and cities.  From what Thaden eventually learned, these types of Quests were frequently available, as Teglir was a trading hub, but they still only provided opportunities for an average of another 1,000 or so Adventurers at any one time.

Resource Collection Quests, put out by the Teglir Coalition Branch, were the next-biggest contributor to Adventurer paychecks, as the Coalition was constantly on the hunt for certain materials and other items that it could pay the Adventurers to collect for them, before shipping those goods off somewhere else to sell for a tidy profit.  These Quests employed approximately another 2,500 Adventurers, which was an incredible number of them, but it still wasn’t enough to put a hefty dent in the bodies available. 

While there were a few other random Quests of various types that were available to Adventurers, such as Item Retrieval Quests looking for specific weapons or armor, or Monster Extermination Quests featuring some particularly strong monsters sighted within range of the city, these were almost random in their appearance and couldn’t be relied upon as a steady source of income.

Most of the Quests in Teglir city weren’t cushy jobs like the Protection Quest that Garney and the other Porcereans participated in every couple of days, however.  The rest of the Adventurer population, which was also the majority of them, took Dungeon Clearance Quests.  But where were the dungeons when there were miles and miles of cultivated farmland all around the city?  The answer wasn’t what Thaden expected.

From what he’d gradually learned in his time thus far in Plangea, or as far as the people believed, the Persistent Adversary lived up to its name by introducing random monsters and dungeons all around the world, using its power to affect as many places as possible in the hopes that its efforts could overwhelm the local defenses.  However, the Adversary was limited to where it could effectively place its monsters and dungeons, as it could only produce weaker versions of everything where there was a greater concentration of people around.  On Tarth, all of the dungeons and, later, NESTs, had been pre-placed by the System and were essentially permanent installations, used to train the Contenders that fought against them.  On Plangea, as he’d already discovered, dungeons that popped up could be cleared and closed – at least in the “peaceful” sections where most people lived.  The area beyond the Front Line, where the Adversary was the strongest and therefore held a greater sway on monster/dungeon strength and permanency, was apparently different – but that was a concern for a later time.

In Felith, new dungeons could appear just about anywhere other than in the middle of the town, at least as far as he could tell, but they seemed to prefer places that were out of the way and not in direct contact with populated areas – so that they could gradually gain strength while hiding from view.  It took constant vigilance from the Adventurer members operating out of the town to identify and then clear these dungeons before they could cause a problem – such as an unknown, hidden dungeon breaking and releasing its monsters.  Thaden had experienced such a thing on Tarth a few times, from when he helped to stop an undead-filled one from breaking altogether to almost dying when he inadvertently released a bunch of Magma Worms into the middle of a city – so he knew the danger of this happening first-hand. 

This entire process was the basis behind the basic Adventurer life, which had them going out and taking care of any threats that might appear, no matter where it might be.  Fortunately, those threats in the peaceful sections of the world were relatively minor most of the time, as the Adversary didn’t have as much power and influence away from the Front Lines, which resulted in there rarely ever being any monsters or dungeons that exceeded Level 80 or so.  When something extreme managed to come through, that was when the Local Legion was called forth to take care of it as the elite forces that they were – or so he assumed after getting a crash course on how things worked around the world while waiting at the Quest Assignment counter for their turn to accept some Quests of their own. 

So, what happened when an area such as the one around the city of Teglir was inundated by populated areas, thereby limiting where the Adversary could introduce threatening monsters and hidden dungeons?  Well, as the residents of Plangea had learned the hard way after countless tragedies, the Adversary eventually began throwing all of its resources right smack into the middle of population centers, causing monsters to essentially spawn from nowhere and dungeons to appear in the streets.  Billions of people died before a solution was found, which was actually fairly simple when it came down to it.

“…and so that’s where we’re going,” Blinky explained as they moved quickly down the well-traveled pathway leading out of the northern city gate.  “By leaving a large, uncultivated and technically ‘empty’ piece of land, approximately 100 square miles, alone, the Adversary then takes that land and goes wild with whatever it wants to create.  Teglir and its environs contain a total of 4 of these ‘Spawning Reserves’, each starting within 5 miles of the city proper, and extend outward from there. 

“In essence, they’re like designated stripes of violence emanating out from Teglir like the rays of the sun, each of them capable of containing thousands of dungeons.  How?  Well, it’s because these dungeons aren’t just located above ground; there is a whole network of tunnels carved out underneath the surface, filled with a variety of dungeon entrances.  And the lower you go, the stronger the dungeons tend to be.  That doesn’t mean that there won’t occasionally be a higher-Level dungeon near or even on the surface, but the Coalition caretakers of the Reserves make sure to quickly assess and note where these abnormal dungeon placements occur.”

The Grome hadn’t lost any enthusiasm since learning that Thaden would be accompanying the Party as their Support member; if anything, he was even more excitable than before.  Thaden was amused at how the diminutive Adventurer walked along with a bounce to his step, a smile on his face as if they were going on vacation rather than to a dungeon with deadly monsters. 

As for the rest of his new Party members, Rel’ba’shet looked more resigned than anything, not seeming to be either angry or pleased at Thaden’s presence.  That was perfectly fine with Thaden, because he’d rather have someone indifferent on the team than one that was actively disapproving of him. 

The same couldn’t necessarily be said of the two Netherines, who he still suspected were spies – and family members – of the Coalition Leader, Eleria.  Both Lovinia and Flarenia had accepted that he was who they were supposed to Party with, the “special” individual – at least according to the Coalition – that had been influential enough that the local Coalition Leader had personally seen to filling out his Party.  Strangely, they didn’t seem to have any more information about him than his special status, and they also hadn’t appeared to know that he was actually a Platinum+ Rank and not just Diamond Rank in the Coalition.

“And the Quest we picked up is appropriate for any dungeon within our Level range?” he asked once Blinky’s explanation wound down.  He somewhat understood the theory behind these so-called Spawning Reserves, though he’d never actually seen one in person.  Apparently, they were common practice near major towns and cities, so most Adventurers knew about or had actually visited some of them; the fact that Thaden hadn’t known about them was a major factor in how the twin Netherines even now looked at him with disbelief and disdain painting their expressions.  They didn’t actually come out and say anything, however, so he gave them some points for not vocally doubting him – even if their distrust in his competency exuded from them like a foul stench. 

Thaden ignored it.  Not because he didn’t care, but because there would be plenty of time to show them that judging him based on his appearance and lack of worldly knowledge was extremely short-sighted of them.  There wasn’t really a more satisfying way of saying, “Stop being a stuck-up asshole and I told you so,” in the same breath than an in-person demonstration of his power.

“Yes, it should cover everything.  It’s what makes the Quests so versatile, as they allow for flexibility,” Rel’ba’shet answered for Blinky, the Aelveen’s head on a swivel around them despite the safe path they were taking toward the North Spawning Reserve.  Thaden was fairly certain they wouldn’t see any monsters until they arrived at their destination, as there were hundreds of Adventurers walking both directions upon the beaten pathway, and from what he’d heard, those assigned to making sure the land around the city was free of monster threats took their jobs seriously. 

Thaden looked again at the Quest, noticing immediately what the Soldier Recruit Class was saying about its flexibility.

[Quest Type: DUNGEON CLEARANCE

Rank Requirement: Wood

Quest Time Limit: 3 days

Quest Difficulty: Low-Minimal

Minimum Recommended Level: 10

Minimum Recommended Party Size: 5

Quest Description: Explore the Teglir North Spawning Reserve and clear 1 of the Minimal dungeons rated for recommended Levels 10 through 30

Completion Requirements: Completely clear 1 of the (Minimal) dungeons located within the Teglir North Spawning Reserve and shut it down entirely

Quest Rewards: 60 silver, 30.0 PICK, and 5 Rank Progress up to Copper]

They had actually been able to pick up two of these Dungeon Clearance Quests, both of them identical, which would allow them to stay in the Spawning Reserve longer.  Blinky had mentioned that the higher Rank one had, the more Quests they could take simultaneously; unfortunately, even if Thaden had a higher Rank than everyone else, the lowest Rank was taken into account when evaluating how many Quests could be undertaken at the same time.  In this case, because Blinky and Rel’ba’shet were only Leather Rank (which was one Rank above the lowest, which was Wood), 2 Quests were all they could take.  Apparently, both Lovinia and Flarenia were already Copper Rank, which either showed that they were extremely experienced or had taken advantage of a heavy dose of nepotism.

The Spawning Reserve was only a relatively short distance away from the city, which seemed dangerous to Thaden, but it was apparently required to be that close in order to avoid any unpleasantries with monsters or dungeons appearing in the city.  As it was so near, it didn’t take his Party long to travel the entire way, and Thaden could see it appearing in the distance long before they actually arrived.

While they had largely been traveling through cultivated farm fields, including a few areas where pastures full of livestock were grazing placidly in the noonday sun, the Reserves looked like a glitch in the landscape.  Tall trees and rocky hills suddenly marred the relatively flat landscape, and there was such a marked difference between the fields and the wooded and “wild” area that appeared that it looked like someone had ripped up a patch of land from somewhere else and plopped it down in the middle of civilization.

Stretching at least 2 miles in width, this strange, untouched land seemed to extend far into the distance, a literal stripe on the map of the area that would probably look odd from an aerial point of view.  What was even more weird than its appearance was the feeling of energy it gave off, which was like a concentrated blast of Adversarial energy that he hadn’t really experienced since he was on Tarth.  It wasn’t so overwhelming that he expected to be attacked by some extremely powerful monster at any time; instead, it was more about quantity rather than quality, as he could tell that the energy was coming from hundreds or thousands of nearby dungeons and even individual monsters that must’ve spawned in the Reserves. 

No one else seemed to be affected by the blast of energy he could feel, so he didn’t bring it up; he’d been highly sensitive to pretty all types of energy since he arrived on Tarth, so this didn’t surprise him.

They followed the various groups of Adventurers walking along the same path and into the Reserves, and as if crossing a threshold, there was a definite feeling of danger that seemed to finally affect his other Party members.  “Whoa!  That was more than I expected!” Blinky shouted, looking back at the Netherine twins, who didn’t say anything – but he could see that they, too, were at least somewhat reacting to the change.  They adjusted quickly, though, as if they’d done this type of thing every day. 

“You haven’t been into a Spawning Reserve before?” Thaden asked curiously, given that he seemed so knowledgeable about them.

The Grome shook his head.  “Nope!  I’ve heard all about them for most of my life, though, so it’s amazing to finally be here!”

“I see.  Is that the same for you, Rel’ba’shet?”

All he got was a grunt and a nod in return.

“Well then, I guess then that it is up to our resident experts to lead the way.”  Thaden turned toward the twins while they continued walking further into the Reserve, though at a slower pace than before.  “You’ve been here before, haven’t you?”

“Of course,” Flarenia stated in a tone that was meant to be disdainful, as if she was saying that it was absolutely ridiculous that there were Adventurers that hadn’t been to a Spawning Reserve before.  Thaden, once again, ignored it.  “We can lead the way.  There shouldn’t be any monsters roaming around this close to the entrance, as the Reserve caretakers do a thorough job of keeping it clear.  The few dungeons that we might be able to find on the surface are going to be too weak for us, so we’ll be heading underground to find something better.  Follow us.”

There was no discussion after the order was given to follow the two Netherines, mainly because none of the others – including Thaden – knew enough about the layout and situation in the area to argue.  Before they set out, however, he loudly cleared his throat to get their attention.  “Just a word of warning as we move further into this place,” he told his entire Party.  “If there are any monsters around, or within 3 miles of my location, they will know and try to attack me.  There seems to be enough people around that it might not be a risk, but I wanted to make sure that you’re all prepared.”

“You have monsters up to 3 miles away trying to attack you?  Why?  How in the world have you lived until now?” their armored Aelveen asked, shaking his head at what seemed to be utter ridiculousness. 

Thaden shrugged, even as he caught the look the twins shared together.  “I guess I’m just lucky.  And it is a trait of my Class, so it’s not something I can turn on and off.”

“Very well.  Then we’ll be on the lookout for any threats until we get to where we’re going.”

Even if they didn’t believe him, or didn’t think that the warning was completely accurate, Thaden could see the intense focus that went through the twin Netherines as they continued on their way.  They were prepared to defend against any attacks if the unlikely became necessary.  As he followed them, situated in the middle of their formation as they walked ahead and around him for protection, he reflected on how effective their Party was likely to be. 

They had all revealed their Classes soon after officially becoming a Party, though Thaden only mentioned that he was a Novice Enthraller.  Their front-line Fighter Class, Rel’ba’shet, was a Soldier Recruit, which meant that he was basically a typical melee-focused Class that had chainmail and iron plates protecting his body, and he wielded a spear and a large shield with a notch in the right side where he could position his spear to stab while still being protected.  In other words, he was a prickly meat shield.

Blinky, as he’d suspected, was a Rookie Infiltrator and their Scout Class, which was basically a stealth-based Class that relied on being sneaky and exploiting weaknesses in their target when they least expected it.  It seemed entirely contrary to the buoyant attitude of the excitable Grome, but he suspected that the small Adventurer could probably flip a mental switch and transform into one heck of a stealth attacker when he chose to. 

Lovinia was their Control Class, and a unique one at that.  He’d never heard of an Ashdancer Trainee before, but apparently she used billows of dark smoke and ash to confuse, blind, and even restrain her targets, effectively trapping them in place while other members of the Party finished them off.  She could also use the ash-filled smoke offensively by filling up the lungs of her victims with harmful smoke, destroying them from the inside, but it apparently wasn’t very powerful – nothing like what their new Mage could do.

As if taking a cue from her name, Flarenia had gone the full pyro route, but instead of her being an Apprentice Fire Mage like he expected, she was another Class that he’d never heard of.  He could only assume that, over time, the residents of Plangea had managed to figure out how to acquire higher-Rarity Classes for their first Class, though apparently that kind of information wasn’t shared with everyone – because he doubted that everyone had access to that knowledge.  Whatever the reason, Flarenia was a Fledgling Flameweaver, and she professed to be an expert on all things fire.  What was even more interesting was that she, reluctantly for some reason, admitted that she even had a special spell that helped to produce ash from a defeated enemy – which synergized perfectly with her sister, who could use the ash that was produced to enhance her own spells.  It was the first time Thaden had seen two Adventurers Classes line up so perfectly that they were almost like two halves of a whole. 

As for what Thaden had told him about himself, he told them that he could use Enthrall upon monsters and heal the others in that way, and that he was somewhat like a pseudo-Control Class.  Livinia seemed to dismiss that claim, as if such a thing was impossible, and he didn’t try to convince her; there would be time enough for that later.

All in all, it was a very good mix of Classes, and with how the pair of Netherines matched their spells so perfectly together, he had high hopes that they would perform amazingly in their first dungeon.  He was planning on Leveling a lot with them, after all, so it was important to have a good Party from the beginning.  While the twins weren’t the most friendly, and their Fighter Class was more standoff-ish than friendly toward him, they all seemed more than competent in doing their jobs. 

How much they would have to actually do their jobs with Thaden in the picture was still up in the air.  He wasn’t sure how much he should reveal of his abilities on what was essentially their “First Date,” especially if it scared them off.  He had been fortunate that Warven and the other Netherines he’d Partied with in Felith probably hadn’t known just how impossible his spells were for someone of his Level; he couldn’t count on the more worldly members of his current Party being quite as ignorant.  He couldn’t help but imagine them freaking out and wondering if he was some sort of enemy in disguise, as had, sadly, happened more than a few times back on Tarth. 

What was even worse was that they hadn’t been entirely wrong.  While he hadn’t necessarily been anyone’s enemy, he had actively tested the boundaries of the System, which led to some unfortunate circumstances that had killed more than a few people.  It might not have always been intentional, as he’d usually had the best intentions, but to those that died, they probably hadn’t cared about his motivations at the time.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Thaden realized that they had been walking for nearly a half hour, pushing deeper into the North Spawning Reserve.  As the pair of Netherines had assured them, not a single monster had attacked them, or even shown themselves their entire trip – which was a welcome surprise.  Instead, they arrived at a large hole in the ground without incident, and as they approached the edge, Thaden could see that many tens of thousands of feet had passed that way in the past, as the pathway they had been following led underground on a gentle slope.  Dotted every few dozen feet were glowing stones that illuminated the tunnel that quickly darkened away from the sunlight above, seemingly scattered haphazardly along the side walls of the dirt and stone passage, though he could tell that they had been placed deliberately to provide maximum illumination.

The underground tunnel smelled of fresh dirt, sweat, and blood all mixed together, and the environment was just creepy enough with the lack of full light that it made him slightly uncomfortable.  He could see in the way their Aelveen Fighter kept adjusting his grip on his spear and shield that he probably felt the same, though neither of the twins – nor Blinky – seemed to be worried at all.

Voices coming from down the tunnel were just barely on the edge of his hearing, making him realize that they weren’t alone underground looking for dungeons to enter – but it was also what he’d been told was normal.  As the passageway, which was thankfully fairly spacious at over 20 feet tall and wide, turned a corner, he caught a glimpse of the last few members of a different Party of Adventurers passed through a dungeon entrance located along one side of the tunnel a little further down from them.  The entrance then went opaque, signaling that no one else could enter, which he could only assume would stay that way until they either left or cleared it.  On Tarth, there had been the opportunity to enter the same dungeon in different “instances,” and since the dungeons didn’t disappear after being cleared, it meant that quite a few Contenders could have a go at the same dungeons over and over again.  Here, though, when the dungeons could be cleared and closed, it seemed as though there was a limit to how many people could enter.

No one said anything as they passed the dungeon entrance, but Thaden noticed what appeared to be a steel pole impaled at an angle into the wall next to the now-opaque portal.  Hanging from the pole like an odd flag was a scrap of cloth that had the number 8 on it.  Blinky noticed him looking, and pointed at it.  “That means one of the Reserve caretakers was here and evaluated the dungeon as appropriate for Adventurers starting at Level 8.”

“So, what are we looking for?”

He hesitated for a moment before answering.  “Normally, with a new Party, I would probably advise a Level 10 or 11 dungeon, just so that we can get used to fighting together, but I think we could probably handle something stronger – especially with these ladies here,” he said as he pointed his thumb toward the two Netherines.

“The little one is correct,” Flarenia said without turning around.  “We are looking for a dungeon around Level 15.”  She waited a few seconds as they continued down the tunnel, even as they saw another Party emerge from a side passageway, appearing exhausted and covered in some sort of nasty-looking sludge – but they had smiles on their faces.  The Fledgling Flameweaver glanced back at Thaden.  “Unless you don’t think you can handle a dungeon that strong?  It’s no trouble to find one that you can manage… something like this Level 8 dungeon we just passed, perhaps?  Or is that too much for you?”

“Ooh, them’s be fightin’ words.”

Thaden had steadfastly ignored the disdainful looks, the holier-than-thou attitudes, and the doubtful remarks coming from the twins up to that point – but this was crossing the line.  He held his anger down as best as he could as he took a few deep breaths before responding.  Once he felt like he was in better in control of himself, he smiled at the Netherine, who was still glancing back at him to see if her words had the effect they were obviously trying to elicit.  Unfortunately for her, Thaden was smart enough to see what she was doing – and it was about to blow up in her face.

“Too much for me?  Or did you mean yourselves?  And only a Level 15 dungeon?  Are you really that weak?  I’m starting to think we should head back to Teglir and ask for another Mage and Control Class to round out our Party, if this is all Eleria can scrounge up for me.”  He shook his head as if in disappointment.  “And to think, you actually sounded like you were pretty strong, but I guess I was wrong—”

“We are strong; stronger than you, that’s for sure.  I’m not sure how you got that Badge, but you don’t deserve—"

“Are you sure about that?  Absolutely sure?  Why don’t you prove it to me, then.”

Interrupting the Fledgling Flameweaver seemed to greatly irritate her, as she stopped and held up her hands as if she was about to claw him apart.  He thought that he even saw steam wafting away from her body, but that could also be his imagination.

“I can kill you in seconds—”

“I’m sure you could, but that’s not what I’m talking about.  Prove it to me in the dungeon, Flarenia.  One of my choosing.  If you can manage to clear it with the rest of the Party but without my help, I will gladly leave this Party and even tell Eleria that I was mistaken and that I don’t deserve my Badge.”

“Ha!  That’s so easy that it’s a joke.  I could probably clear a Level 13 dungeon by myself.”

“Well, fortunately for you, that isn’t necessary.  You’ll have the rest of the Party to help you, just not me.”

“Probably not needed, but I’m not going to forgo good help to make winning easier,” she said, looking at her sister, but not at the other two.

Thaden held up his hand.  “And if you can’t clear a dungeon of my choosing without my help, then you have to stop treating the rest of your Party like we’re less than worthless.  In addition, you have to verbally acknowledge that my Badge Rank has been rightfully earned and to follow my lead in what we do from this point forward.  I have plans to Level all of us up quickly, and I can’t have someone second-guessing some of the decisions that will be made to get us there.  Oh, and you have to make me the Party leader before our next dungeon.”

With each additional requirement once he won this little bet, Flarenia’s lips pulled back little by little, revealing her sharp teeth and eliciting a low growl.  “Deal!”

She appeared to want to say something further, but Thaden took the lead and started heading back down the tunnel.  Blinky was by his side a second later, speaking softly with a concerned look on his face – which was completely contrary to how he normally looked, so Thaden paid particular attention to him.  “What are you doing?  Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Thaden shrugged.  “Probably not, but I’m trying to make a point.”  He could see that his flippant response hadn’t really set the Grome at ease.  “Relax.  I won’t let anything bad happen to anyone in the Party.”

That still didn’t seem to help, but they started to pass by numerous Adventurer Parties walking along the tunnel, either leaving or delving deeper, so he didn’t want to try to have this conversation where everyone nearby could hear.  Instead, Thaden was paying attention to the dungeon entrances that seemed to pop up every once in a while; in particular, he was looking at the poles with the hanging cloth denoting their Levels. 

Level 10…  Level 9… Level 14… Level 13… Level 15…

He could hear the others beginning to slow next to the Level 15 dungeon entrance, but Thaden didn’t stop.  Hearing one of the Netherines opening their mouth to say something, he deliberately ignored her, as he kept searching.  After about 20 minutes, he could sense that his Party was beginning to question what he was doing, as he passed entrance after entrance without even slowing down – but he hadn’t found what he wanted yet. 

It wasn’t until he felt a strange tingle run through his body as they passed an off-shoot of the main tunnel that he stopped and faced the smaller passageway.  He only hesitated for a second before he started down the passageway, and he could hear the irritated sighs of the twins behind him, which only made him smile in response.  When, after a winding tunnel that seemed to go on forever, they emerged into a small cave that was barely wide enough to hold them all, he knew that he’d found what he wanted.

I think my Fortuity played a part in finding exactly what I wanted.

The pole outside of the dungeon entrance held a cloth that was different than the dozens of ones they’d already passed by without a second look. 

“Level 30?  Are you insane?”

Thaden shook his head at Flarenia’s questions.  “No, not at all.  Do you wish to forfeit the deal before we even start?”

Hearing the sound of grinding teeth coming from the Netherine, Thaden stared back at the Flameweaver with a steady gaze.  “No one our Level can clear this dungeon—"

“I’d say ‘wanna bet,’ but we already did make a deal, didn’t we?”

“This is an impossible challenge, and it should automatically negate any deal we had.”

He chuckled, doing his best not to bust out in full, maniacal laughter.  “It’s not at all impossible.  But in the realm of fairness, how about we change the deal a little bit?”

“What do you mean by that?” she asked suspiciously.  Meanwhile, the sick looks on Blinky and Rel’ba’shet’s faces nearly broke him, so he forced himself to look away.

“Alright, here’s the new deal.  We all go into the dungeon… and then you watch me solo it until we reach the Boss.  When we get there, I’ll need your help to finish it off.  If at any point I need your help before the Boss, or possibly at any Mini-Bosses, then I will forfeit my end of the deal.  But if we manage to clear the dungeon, then you will acknowledge that I’ve fulfilled my end of the deal – which takes into account all that I mentioned before.”

Everyone was silent as they stared at him as if he’d not only grown a second head, but an additional dozen, until Flarenia seemed to break the trance she was under.  “One stipulation.  If we, at any point, feel that you’re in over your head and that we’re all about to die, we will immediately leave you to die so that we can escape.  I’m not dying so that you can prove how stupid you really are.”

“Sounds good to me.  Just make sure that I’m actually losing control of the situation before you flee, though.”

She nodded after a few seconds of thought, and the deal was done.

As they lined up to head inside the dungeon that was supposed to be for Adventurers twice their Level, Blinky whispered, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Thaden smiled a little weakly, realizing what he’d just gotten himself into.  “Me too, Blinky.  Me too.”