Riftside - Chapter 55

Half an hour later, sweat dripped down my face, my helmet long since stored, as I yanked the one more armor plate free from the Titanfang's body. The wet sound of tearing flesh resounded all around me as Knut and I worked together to expose the softer tissue beneath.

Edwin had been busy while we worked on the worm. He'd explored the northern tunnel with his party, while Shay's had taken the east passage and Richard's had gone up. One by one they'd returned reporting dead ends.

Which meant our path forward lay beyond the massive Titanfang’s carcass, unless there were hidden paths.

“This should do it!” I said, tossing the blood-slicked plate aside. It clattered across stone, joining the growing pile of discarded armor segments.

Nabeeh's fireball engulfed the plate, burning apart the fleshy bits, and the air stank of burning worm meat. Next, she struck the worm.

“Finally through,” she said, separating the part inside the room from the part stuck in the tunnel.

Benedict stood well back, his ice magic of little help for now.

“You know,” he drawled, gesturing at the gathered crowd of adventurers and scavengers watching from the chamber walls, “Any of them could help. There's no reason for just us, well, you, to be covered in this disgusting fluid.”

Wade leaned against the wall, cradling his crossbow.

“I would help,” he said, “But no point filling it with bolts. Would've made your job only harder, miss.”

Alex chuckled from where he stood with Edwin's group.

“And we wouldn't want to deprive you of the glory of your kill,” he said. “After all, you did such an impressive job taking it down.”

Nabeeh laughed, flames covering both her hands and burning away any dirt.

“Don't be mean, Alex,” I said, throwing him a grin. “There's no way we can get this thing back to Dawnwatch anyway. Too big for our spatial storages.”

Edwin stepped forward and raised his hand.

“Actually,” he said, “I will handle it. The guild will want to study a specimen this size. I'll take it in my storage and split the rewards. Half to Ash's party for killing and butchering it, to divide as they see fit. Ten percent each to the other parties as participants of the run that got you here, and twenty to the guild.”

“Oh, money!” Roq's voice rang in my head. “Though I'd rather have levels. Speaking of which, we REALLY need to figure out my breakthrough situation. Hmm, maybe ask the guild if they can make me a fine weapon rack? And an upholstered throne so I can sit there when I’m stored away? What do you think, huh? It would be only fair after all I did.”

“Agreed,” I said, drawing the word out heavily. “Any ideas about your issue, buddy?”

“No.”

“Then it'll have to wait.”

“You can really store it?” Eryn asked Edwin, and he nodded.

“But I will need help lifting it. That's why I had you cut it in two. Hopefully the piece is big enough that I can store the other side first. Everyone, gather around.”

“We lift,” Knut said. “Strong back!”

I moved to stand by him, Isaac on my other side. Shay, Richard, and three other adventurers joined us, finding handholds. Even some of the scavengers joined in too.

“On three,” Edwin said, stepping close. “One... two... three!”

We heaved together, barely managing to lifting the chunk of worm flesh which had to be heavier than a small house. Edwin grabbed the exposed end and touched his spatial tattoo to the carcass, and the Titanfang carcass disappeared, not only the one in the room, but the one in the tunnel too.

The parties cheered, punctuated by Wade shouldering his crossbow, loosing a bolt at a Rotmask that charged from the newly-opened tunnel. The monster's skull exploded, its body crumpling to the floor.

“Nice shot,” Isaac said.

“Pfft. Show-off,” Roq grumbled. “We could have smashed it WAY more dramatically.”

Edwin's voice cut through the ruckus.

“Break time's over,” he called. “We move as one from here. We've cleared this section, and there's only one way forward.” His eyes swept the gathered adventurers. “Expect increased resistance. We must be getting closer to the breeding chamber.”

We'd come far and fought hard, but the real challenge lay ahead. If we returned now, it'd all be for nothing.

“Hope we meet whatever that voice is,” Roq said. “It sounds violent and destructive. Slaying it will be fun.”

Edwin continued laying out the plan as my hammer spoke in my mind.

“My group will lead, followed by Shay, then Richard. Ash, your team brings up the rear, protecting the scavengers.”

“Give us guard duty? After we killed the worm and the other monsters?” Roq complained. “They should let us lead while they stand back and watch and learn and appreciate the glory of my destruction! I mean the glory of the destruction I wield!”

“Understood, sir,” I said, gesturing for my team to form up. 

“Or maybe you have it mixed up? I wield you, remember?”

“Yes, well…bah! You know what I mean.”

One by one, the groups filed into the south tunnel, staying quiet and keeping vigilant. No one knew what we’d be facing.

“Just... try to warn me if you sense anything strange.”

“Strange? Everything about this place is strange! But fine, I'll let you know if I feel any particularly interesting varieties of strange. What about that stone? The slightly oblong one? Or that one? Is it strange?”

“Roq.”

“I'm bored.”

“Focus.”

“How about a drinking song to pass the time?”

“No.”

“Ninety-nine monsters shaking in fear, ninety-nine monsters to crush!”

“Shut up or I’ll store you!”

“We cave one in, we pulp its skull, ninety-eight monsters shaking in fear!”

I swiped Roq into storage, feeling his anger as he disappeared, and I smiled. Served him right. Besides, I’d have him out in a flash if I needed him.

  *

I walked up a set of wet and worn stone steps, the cold dampness clinging to my boots. The other adventurers pressed against the walls to let me pass, their expressions grim. Behind me, Knut grumbled under his breath, and the rest of my team followed in single file. Every footstep splashed on the slick rocks and for a moment I imagined Nabeeh pushing Benedict to slip and fall on his ass. 

The thought made me smile.

We'd followed Edwin through the long 'south' tunnel, up to another platform where they'd killed a dozen Ruptureborn. The parties had cleared the three tunnels there, before finding this staircase, where Edwin had brought us all together.

At the top, I drew even with the commander, who stood in a doorway, scanning a vast chamber ahead. He gave me a brisk nod before returning his gaze to the room. I peered in, and my jaw nearly dropped.

“Portal-pissed monster balls,” I muttered. The words slipping out before I could stop them.

I’d heard tales of magical chambers inside dungeons—strange pocket realms that defied normal geography. But this? The chamber stretched nearly four hundred feet in each direction, and was laid out in a perfect square. Thick moss blanketed the floor and climbed the walls, turning everything a lush, wet green. Water droplets formed high above and fell intermittently, landing with soft plops.

“Like wet forest in cave,” Knut said behind me. “Never seen such in dungeon. Interesting.”

I activated my sigil.

On the other side of the room stood two massive stone pillars, like the sides of a door, with nothing in between. Nearby it stood, what the sigil called, three Moss Trolls, hunched forms lit by an orange glow. They towered above any man, standing two times as tall with ease, and one absentmindedly scratched its rear, as if bored by just milling around.

Around the chamber, at least thirty Mossback Boars roamed, coloured dark green, stocky swine with long tusks and steelhusk-like spiked growths rising from their backs resembling brambles. A handful of Gloomstalk Cats prowled among them, though I was certain more were hidden around the place, as they blended in well. A dozen Tangle-Elk stood like silent sentinels, sporting massive antlers that looked particularly dangerous.

Seeing so many creatures in a single space made my pulse quicken as I had no idea if there would be more of them around. The place was like a biome, an area where a certain type of monster-like animals lived in relative peace I’d say, along with nature. Trees, tall grass, boulders strewn around, and even a small stream further up ahead. 

“By the bloody void!” Roq said. “Look at all these skulls just waiting to be cracked! We should charge! I need a real fight—maybe caving in their heads will push me straight to level ten! What do you think? Want to give it a try? I sure do!”

“There must be close to a hundred monsters in there, even more,” I said, forcing my voice to stay quiet. My eyes flicked to Edwin.

He nodded.

“And if it follows typical dungeon behavior, they’ll attack as soon as we step inside.” He fixed me with a stare. “My group, along with Shay and Richard’s teams, will push out, and try to take their focus, then put them down. Your job is to protect the scavengers in the event any make it past us. Nothing else. Only interfere if we are about to be wiped out.”

“Wouldn’t it be safer for them to remain behind?” I asked. “Inside the tunnel?

Edwin shook his head.

“These chambers sometimes seal themselves. We can’t risk the scavengers getting trapped outside with no way in. They come with us—and stay under your watch until we clear the room. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” I replied, not wanting to argue the point. Mostly so because he knew better than me, and I didn’t feel any shame admitting that as a newly-promoted adventurer.

I slipped away from the doorway, and descended the steps. Knut halted by Edwin, evidently wanting one last look at the chamber.

“Moss trolls,” he muttered. “Ugly.” Nabeeh paused behind him giving the trolls a disgusted scowl. She joined me as we descended.

“We ought to be at the front and center!” Roq protested. “Think of the carnage we’re missing just to babysit scavengers! Tch! That is so not fair!”

“We got our task, Roq, and we'll do it well. Our friends need us far more than the front liners do.”

I reached the bottom and found the twenty scavengers looking at me with both curiosity and fear, clutching their weapons and shields. Eryn's bow and Garret's plate were the most expensive items among them by far, and if it did come to trading blows with monsters, I was glad to be nearby.

Garret cleared his throat.

“What’s up there? Sounded big from how the folks were whispering.”

“A large chamber. A lot of creatures. Boars, huge cat-like things, Elk, and three trolls near a strange pair of stone pillars. The monster kind of animals we have in our own world. Edwin and the others will lead the assault. We'll hang back, keep you safe, and cut down anything that tries to slip past them.” I glanced over the large group of scavengers. “Melee folk at the front, ranged behind them. Do what Garret says, and stay together.”

Rasek raised his hand.

“What kind of—”

I cut him off as Edwin's voice carried down from above.

“Three!”

“Ash?”

“Two!”

I gestured to Knut.

“Take point.”

“Ash!”

“One!” Edwin finished.

We hurried up the stairs, following Richard's party, weapons drawn.

All three groups spread out into the expansive, mossy room ahead of us. Shay’s team went left, while Edwin’s group advanced center, and Richard’s went right.

“ASH!”

The monsters let out a unified shriek, the walls reverberating with rage. From all sides, boars, cats, elk, and trolls burst into motion, stampeding toward our front line. The ground trembled, just enough to feel them coming.

“Yes?”

“Do you really think the voice will let us sit back here, protected and bored, while Edwin and the others slaughter its monsters?”

“Riftrot. What do you feel? Anything off?”

“Ah! There you are, you sniveling weakling!”

I spoke to my own team.

“The monsters might come straight at us. Be ready. Form a line, melee’s in front, everyone else at the back.” 

It was more than a hunch—I recognized that strange pull again.

“Why us?” Benedict asked, eyebrows furrowed, staff lightly tapping the floor.

“I’m not sure, but I have a feeling they will want to get at the weaker prey. Doesn’t matter—if they come, we deal with them.”

“Is this all you’ve got?” Roq laughed. “Keep shoveling these mossy weaklings at us—I’ll smash every last skull. Then we’ll see who’s ‘fragile’!”

“Roq?”

“Hold on. The voice is insulting us. I’m telling it that— No! We will bury YOU under a swarm of blows that only ends when your blood soaks into my steel and I slurp every last piece of power from whatever shape or form you are in now, you snivelling, weak-minded sack of monster crap!”

“It’s talking to you now?”

“Obviously!”

That couldn't be good.

Up front, a boar tried to run right past Edwin. He responded by cleaving it mid-stride, embers trailing from his flaming sword. Another boar slammed into his tower shield with a reverberating clang, bouncing off with a squeal.

“What is going on?” Wade asked, as a cat jumped straight over Rowan, avoiding his sword. Isaac's arrow caught it in the rump, hobbling it.

“Ash?” Eryn asked from behind, nervousness clear in her voice.

“Fantastic! They are throwing themselves at us!” Roq cried in ecstasy. “MORE SKULLS FOR THE HAMMERLORD!”

“Attack, now!” I commanded Benedict, Nabeeh, and Wade. “We want them dead or hurt before they reach us!”

In the chamber’s center, Isaac pivoted and dropped a Tangle-Elk with an arrow through its neck. Benedict conjured a spear of ice that impaled a Mossback Boar charging us. Nabeeh lobbed a fireball at a Gloomstalk Cat, and the thing went up in flames, yowling as it rolled on the ground.

Edwin’s shout rang out, and it held a hint of panic.

“They’re ignoring us! All parties, spread out and retreat toward the back line! Curve around to protect the scavengers! Ash, cut down anything that gets through! Defend them!”

I steadied my grip on Roq. The bizarre sight of monsters forcing past the main line just to get to us was disturbing—and more than a little unsettling. It just went to show that we weren’t imagining things, no, there really was someone, or rather something, out for us.

“Yes! Sweet Ma and Pa, we will bring you much loot today! I demand a better cushion! And a weapon rack! And upgrades!”

Rather than reload, Wade brought out his massive crossbow, the bolt catching an elk who'd charged through Shay's line. The creature dropped, its antlers digging a deep furrow into the moss, and it flipped over, dead.

Edwin's party spread out further, with Alex behind them. Shay's five went further left — the three melee fighters, archer, and water mage all in a line. Richard's team on the right jogged backwards but in a loose crescent, two sword-wielders, their healer, archer, and fire mage.

Knut, braced in place, holding his mace and shield up.

“They come to kill. Let them try.”

“Well said, brother,” I muttered, unable to believe just how simpleminded the voice was. It threw the monsters at us without any tactic.

“You say brother?” Knut said.

I shot him a questioning look.

“Yes?”

“Mean it?”

“Knut, come on, is it the time or place?”

“Always time someplace. Speak.”

A group of boars thundered forward. Some got pinned by the adventurers, but others weaved around them to bear down on my party.

Shay's mage caught one in a floating ball of water, drowning it, while Richard's archer dropped another.

The first boar reached me, and I stepped into its charge, swinging Roq in a downward arc. The hammer connected with a satisfying crunch, caving in the beast's skull and knocking it into the ground.

“Perfect form! Though next time, try to hit it harder!”

Beside me, Knut lunged toward a cat's charge. When it leapt, he raised his shield, knocking it away, leaving it scrambling before Benedict's Ice Bolt skewered it.

“More! FEED me your violence!”

“Pull back further!” Edwin shouted, his blade trailing fire as he cut the front legs off an elk. “Tighten the line! Don't let them through!”

The adventurers closed ranks. Many of the monsters were forced to engage them first, but others still found or forced gaps. Fire, ice, steel, and water hammered at beasts from all angles. The mossy ground ran slick with blood.

“Of course I mean it,” I said to Knut. “We’re brothers now, aren’t we?”

Knut didn’t speak immediately, but then he let out a battle roar and stomped his foot on the ground.

“Brothers! For life! Seal with drink when home!”

I couldn’t help but smile at his words. He was definitely someone I was proud calling a brother, and would be so in the future if he didn’t become an class-cursed sack of monster balls like Benedict.

“I’d rather rust into scrap than join you! Your entire nest can rot. I’ll have my friends set fire to your entire tree and burn it down until we reach whatever hole you are hiding in!”

“What's it saying?”

“That it's going to kill you and peel me from your cold dead hands and take me back!” Roq whined. “You’re not going to die, right? No way you’re going to die! I'm telling the voice to stuff it!”

“I can hear your side of the conversation, you know? And maybe not antagonise it too much?”

Benedict and Nabeeh threw spells at whatever made it past the retreating front line, and Wade calmly fired bolt after bolt, pausing now and then to reload. Bit by bit, the boar and cat's numbers were thinned, but still, monsters made it past, giving both Knut and me something to do.

An elk charged at me, but Knut stepped into its path, shield first, putting his entire weight behind it as the monster charged. They slammed together, and Knut deflected its attack, sending it stumbling toward me. I sidestepped and smashed Roq through the side of a cat. Before the elk could reach me, Wade put one of his poisoned bolts through its skull.

Three boars and a cat came in next. Two of the boars were frozen by Benedict's frost cone, and I used Forge Anchor to root the third, while Nabeeh's flames erupted around the cat before it got too close, consuming most of its body in mere seconds. The stench of rot didn’t even bother me much anymore, as whatever alternative the voice had in mind for us was much worse.

“This is GLORIOUS!” Roq's voice rang with savage joy. “Though I still think we should charge the trolls. Just saying.”

Just as he mentioned the trio, they rolled up on the line of adventurers, one charging the line of each party. Ming's lightning stunned the first, letting Edwin catch up to it. The commander went for its leg and cut into the muscles, temporarily staggering the monster. 

The other adventuring groups fared less well. The second troll grabbed Shay, ignoring the man's axe cuts. His party's mage blasted the troll with a surge of water that should have taken its hide off, but all it accomplished was giving it a good wash. The troll waddled towards us, holding Shay by one arm and punching his helmeted face with its other, the adventurer doing his best to block, having dropped his weapon. Richard and his other melee attempted to harry the other troll, their fire mage sending a stream of flame at its face. Despite the horrible wounds, it's beady eyes remained fixed on me.

Or rather, on Roq.

“THIS is your plan?” Roq said. “To keep feeding me tasty morsels for me to close my jaws on? You'll never again taste the sweetness that is ME! Bet you I’ll kill any of your stupid monsters by myself!”

“We must engage them away from scavengers. Come, fearless leader!” Benedict said, releasing an Ice Bolt at the closest troll's massive arm. Ice crackled as it spread up its mossy hide. Nabeeh's flames followed, wreathing its chest in fire. The monster kept lumbering forward despite everything they threw at it.

Richard and his partner tried following the troll, but found themselves caught from behind. A boar charged Richard's legs while two cats leapt at his companion. The fire mage screamed and lit himself on fire to push  them off as a third cat landed on his back, fangs seeking his neck.

Knut rushed into the troll, shield raised. The troll's arm snapped out, catching Knut's shield dead center. The metal buckled inward, sending our tank stumbling to the side.

I stepped back, giving ground so we didn’t slam into each other and to open the monster to ranged attacks.

“Benedict! Nabeeh! Hit it again!”

“What are you doing?” Roq protested. “Attack! ATTACK! Stop dancing around like a scared little child and CRUSH ITS SKULL! I just made a wager with the voice that we can take it one on one, so don’t embarrass me here!”

The ice moved further up its shoulder as Benedict hit the troll again, and Nabeeh's cone of flame washed over its chest and face.

Wade's crossbow bolt punched deep into the troll's thigh, and its stride hitched, becoming a slight limp. Its eyes, however, never left me.

I glanced back, seeing the scavengers not far behind. I'd played it as smart as I could, but it was time to get in there and do what the hammer requested.

With a lunge, I baited a swipe to my head, bringing Roq up to parry the blow. The impact nearly tore the hammer from my grip, but the troll's forearm broke with the sound of a snapping branch.

An arrow sprouted from the troll's chest — one of Eryn's. The shot was perfect, sinking in where its heart should be, but it didn’t go in deep enough.

Knut charged from the side, his mace cracking against the troll's ribs. The beast started to turn, but Nabeeh's warning came too late.

“Knut! Behind you!”

A Gloomstalk Cat landed on him, its weight driving him sideways, shield slipping as he fought to keep his balance. The damned monsters were everywhere, and they didn’t care for their lives, throwing themselves at us as if it was nothing.

With one of the troll's arms broken, I activated Smash as I rushed in. The troll swiped at me, but the wounds had slowed it enough, and I ducked the clumsy strike to slam Roq into its chest with all my strength behind it. Ribs shattered under the impact and the troll sat down hard, almost comically so. Behind me, Knut had the cat by its tail, having dropped his shield. His mace rose and fell in a brutal rhythm, each impact drawing a weaker yowl from the beast. 

“Bad kitty!”

After three more hits, it just lay there, only the back right foot twitching.

The troll reached for me with its good hand, but I batted it aside. Red light flared again as I triggered Armor Break, and hammered Roq down onto its head like the light of a dying star. The troll's skull caved in with a wet crunch, spraying what little brains it had.

The massive body toppled backward, its limbs splaying out like a broken toy. Dead weight at last.

“We’re still standing, and I’m still STARVING. If you want me, face us, you coward. Or stay lurking in your shadows—makes no difference. We’ll cut you down either way.”

I panted and looked around, seeing Knut finish another cat. He spat, wiping blood from his lip. Eryn exhaled shakily, standing next to Garret, lowering her bow. Benedict braced himself on his staff, looking drained from the spellcasting, while Nabeeh rubbed her palms together, blowing on them as if cold. Wade calmly slid another bolt into his main crossbow, scanning for more targets.

Across the mossy chamber, the other parties had nearly finished the fight. Boars lay scattered, elk bodies slumped, and cats twitched in their final throes. Richard's mage patted out the flames on his robes while the swordsmen cut down the last cat.

On the left side of the line, Isaac and Rowan stood over Shay, who lay on his back in a pile of moss. Alex and the healer from Richard’s party worked on him.

“Anything broken?” Isaac called over.

“Entire face,” Alex called back. “He's out for the fight, but he might yet live.” He nodded at the other healer and light shone beneath their hands.

I winced at Shay's gargly scream.

“Damn trolls,” Knut said, retrieving his shield, frowning at the dent in its center. “Need new one, or maybe Pa can fix?” he grumbled.

“I'll work on one with Pa, that’s a promise. We will make you a custom one,” I said, eyeing Edwin approaching us with Ming in toe. The commander's armor was splattered with dark blood, and his sword still trailed wisps of flame.

Wade methodically collected what crossbow bolts he could salvage, examining each carefully before storing it away.

“Unusual fighting pattern,” Edwin said. “I've never seen monsters ignore closer targets like that. They charged straight through our line, taking fatal hits just to reach your position.”

I nodded, trying to keep my expression neutral.

“Thought you could take us down, eh? BRING IT, YOU WEAKLING!”

“Must be targeting the scavengers,” I said, trying to keep any hint of knowledge off my face, not wanting to admit to hearing voices. “They can probably sense who's weaker.”

“Perhaps.” Edwin studied me for a long moment. “Though many seemed particularly focused on you.”

I shrugged.

“I am the lowest level adventurer?”

“HA! As if that matters! We are clearly the strongest ones here! They recognized my power and want me back! Though they failed. Miserably.”

“Hmm.” Edwin clearly wasn't convinced, but he let it drop. “We need to find the exit. Those two pillars might have something to do with it. Perhaps they can open up another rift?” 

He turned to address the gathering adventurers and scavengers.

“Form up! We move as one group. Warriors in front, ranged behind, healers in the center. Scavengers take the wounded.”

As people started arranging themselves, I caught Eryn's eye. She gave me a slight nod, knowing why the monsters behaved so strangely.

Moss squelched as we crossed the chamber, two adventurers now walking among the scavengers, plus Shay being carried. Everyone kept their voice low as if more monsters would sprout from the ground or drop from the ceiling.

“Not so loud anymore now, are you? COWARD!”

“Must you antagonise it so?”

“We need more things to kill!” Roq said. “If not, what are we even doing here?”

“Looking for the breeding chamber?”

“Will it be spectacular?”

“How should I know? I've never seen one.”

“I need something truly spectacular for my breakthrough, you know!”

“Just help me find the breeding spot, alright? Once we are back, we'll look into what the guild knows about soul gems and the weapons they can make.”

I nodded at Edwin who looked back at me, before he leaned over and whispered something to Rowan, who turned and looked at me too.

Fortunately we reached the two massive stone pillars without more monsters attacking. Unlike the natural cave walls, these seemed carved, their precise angles and smooth surfaces seen beneath the cover of creeping vines and thick moss.

Edwin waved his sword between them.

Nothing happened.

“Damn. Ming? Alex?” he asked, the two advancing to study the structure. Then Edwin sighed. “Benedict?”

The ice mage scoffed. 

“Look who comes crawl—”

I smacked him in the back of the head with an open palm, sending him stumbling. 

“You might be my elder, but don't be an ass.”

He scowled at me, before straightening and joining the two others.

“We hold this position until they figure out how that thing works,” Edwin said. “Keep watch. No telling if something else might come crawling out from under the moss.”

“What? Think you can sweet talk me now? I’m not done! Bring me a real challenge! I’ll break any monster you send, and then I’ll break YOU!”

I walked the perimeter of the massive stone pillars, studying them.

“You hide in shadows like a coward!” Roq said. “Come face us if you're so mighty! Or are you afraid I'll crush that oversized ego of yours along with whatever passes for your skull? Probably just filled with moss anyway, you prime example of everything WEAK in this world! A simp!”

“What's it saying now?” I asked, leaning forward to study the stone through the vines. The mages were working on the other pillar, chatting animatedly and pouring mana into it.

“Oh, the usual threats about consuming my essence and making me serve it for eternity. As if I'd ever lower myself to—wait.” Roq's tone shifted suddenly. “Take me to the pillar.”

“What?”

“The left one. Touch my head to it.”

I frowned and spun him around in my hand.

“Why?”

“Just DO it already! Must you question everything? Am I not the mighty soul weapon who has helped guide you to greatness? Trust my obviously superior judgment for once!”

With a sigh, I walked over to the left pillar, very aware of the mages turning to watch me. Benedict's eyebrows rose as I pressed Roq's head against the stone. Nothing happened.

“Now... walk in a circle around it.”

I glanced between the pillars, my stomach tightening at the thought of stepping through that empty space. But there was nothing there—just air and moss. With a shrug, I began circling the pillar.

Still nothing.

“Faster! Run around it!”

“Don't be ridiculous.” I felt the weight of stares from the gathered adventurers. Edwin had stopped his conversation with Ming to watch me, his expression unreadable.

“DO IT! Or I'll start singing again! Ninety-eight monsters shaking in fear—”

“Fine!” 

I broke into a jog, circling the pillar once.

“AGAIN!”

I started my second lap, picking up speed. As I approached the space between the pillars, reality shifted. The air rippled like heat waves rising from summer stones. My momentum carried me through before I could stop, and I stumbled out into an impossible room.

“There you are, you snivelling coward!”