Tribulations of a Dragon

"Raya, do you want me to tell you how to work with a group of Guild members?"

"No, I did a mission with some people while waiting for Kira. Sword guy goes first, then the archer and the healer in the middle, and we take the backline. Right?"

Lauren smiles at me and says that I'm right. The five of us go into the underground place, moving like I said. When Lauren looks away, her expression becomes worried, but if we weren't going to be fine, Kira would have blown flames into the place.

The three adventurers look very alert, making sure to stay in their spots behind the sword guy in case something attacks. The place stinks of death and rot, but the air is still, so I don't think we're going to be attacked.

Anything hiding in the first chamber was in for a surprise when Lauren broke the ceiling with her magic and brought the house down on them. And now we have to climb over the rubble to reach the hallway in the back. She doesn't normally make messes like this, I should make sure she's okay.

"Are you okay, Lauren?"

"Yeah... I'm just worried about these transformations... I destroyed the Affront, Raya. Do you know what that means?"

I don't know what that means, but it sounds important and a way to break that stuff is good. I'm not the smartest in our group, but I can tell that the Affront stuff is awful since it can hurt Kira so easily and Mermer hates it. It took a lot of Kira's magic to cast that spell, but the transformation didn't change Lauren much. At least not a lot that I can see.

"Maybe you need to use the green and gold magic to hold back Kira's magic. You need all three of them to hurt the Affront, right? Besides, I'm still me. Incredible nails and cute horns don't change who I am. I'm still a goblin, I still like collecting herbs, and learning weird things. Did you know that you can dry these seeds and then crush them for oil to lubricate gears? Hralthar taught me that."

"Creation and Divine, yes. Perhaps you're right, but I can't help but worry when the rage strikes. It's difficult to control. I don't know how you do it."

"The truth is that I don't control it anymore. I'm stronger now, so I'm not as afraid as I was. I don't have many reasons to get angry anymore. I think that's what you need to think about. How many of the times you get angry are because of a reason, or because you just feel like it?"

Lauren becomes quiet, thinking about what I said, but that doesn't mean the group we're with goes quiet. They're getting louder, and now they're asking if I'm really a goblin. I am! I tell them as much, but that just leads to more questions about my scales and horns.

They haven't seen anything yet! Holding out my hand, I ask the sword guy for his sword. He looks at his friends for a bit before handing it to me with their encouragement. Giving him a smile, I kneel down and rest the blade against my thigh while holding the handle. And with my free hand, I carve my name into the blade with a nail before handing it back to him.

"These gifts are from Kira! I'm still a goblin, but I have Dragon powers, too! And she's still a Lauren, but she also has Dragon powers!"

"I'm human..."

"Dang right you are! Keep saying that whenever you're worried about becoming something else."

My encouragement is interrupted by a bunch of undead things showing up. The adventurers rush into action with the sword guy holding up a shield as big as I am to block the charging things. A twang of a bow makes it clear that the archer behind me is joining the battle. The arrow flies ahead and hits a zombie in the face, causing it to fall. There's a slight scent of Kira in the air coming from the archer.

Lauren is pinching her nose, so I have an idea of how far along in her transformation she is, but the changes don't match it. It's like she's at one point for her senses and another for her body's transformation since she hasn't changed as much as I did when my sense of smell became much stronger.

"Little help here! Please!"

The sword guy and the archer seem to be struggling, and Lauren isn't ready for combat, so that leaves me and the healer who joined us. Since the sword guy is the leader, I'll ask him whether he wants me to fire spells or attack with my dagger. The adventurers I did adventures with taught me that the leader decides how problems are solved!

He shouts back that anything is fine as long as the bad guys die, so I take some of Kira's magic and form it into a fireball. The glowing orange orb has a few sparks of white floating in it, and now I know that I have to throw it far, so I don't hurt myself. Taking some steps back, I throw it at the ceiling above the undead, and with a loud boom, rocks falling from the ceiling slam into the undead things, breaking a bunch of them.

I can't use my magic very well from down here, so I should find somewhere higher up to throw from. I wish Kira was here, she's great for getting me up high. I have to settle for some rubble this time. Climbing up a pile of broken rocks, I take some of Kira's magic again and throw another fireball. This time, my target is the center of the undead. I can see like twenty still standing, and I'm looking forward to seeing what my fireball can do!

Throwing it with all my might, the ball flies toward my target, some dead guy wearing tattered brown pants. My fireball hits him right in the stomach and explodes, causing a lot of damage! Parts of the corpses fly all over the place and the adventurers cover themselves behind sword guy.

Some of the dead are getting up again, but I can fix that with more fireballs.

"By the Gods' glory, is that really a goblin?!"

"I am, so shut up and fight."

Lauren's mood brightens as she laughs while telling them that they should try dueling me. That could be fun, but they don't seem that strong.

Almost all the dead guys are dead again and not moving, so we can keep moving. The archer collects his arrows again while we move toward the hallway. I don't think a lot of them survived my fireballs, so he's throwing away the sticks after collecting the arrowheads.

The hallway's floor is covered in moss, and my feet sink in a little as I walk through it. But the lichen on the walls keeps everything well-lit enough to see. I think the others can see, they aren't bumping into things, but they also aren't watching out for rocks on the ground. Sword guy has almost tripped a few times already.

"Lauren, you can see fine too, right?"

"I can. The plants on the wall keep everything bright."

The adventurers disagree as they fumble about in the darkness, but they can just light a torch. My suggestion is met with even more disagreement, and now they're talking about luring undead to us with the light and how we should avoid doing that. A hallway like this would make it easy to blast them all with my fireballs, though.

The scent of more dead things up ahead wafts through the air and Lauren notices it, too. She's making a face of disgust, since she isn't used to her stronger nose yet. She tells the others to get ready and just as she does, more undead come walking out of a side passage. This kind of undead don't put up much of a fight... I want to fight something fun like Kira's Frosty, not these mindless things...

"Lauren, it's your turn to kill them. I killed the last group. Try casting some fancy spell from here."

She sighs while giving me a look, but then she starts saying her spell words, and the flow of magic begins. Gold and red magic mix into her hands, and with a smooth motion, she sends it toward the undead. The gust of magic burns away the enemies, leaving behind a startled Lauren and crispy piles of ash.

"What the fuck was that, Raya?!"

"How should I know? It was your spell."

"It was a purifying spell, not an attack spell! It was meant to slow them down!"

"They look slowed down to me."

I know I'm right because the piles of ash aren't moving anymore, and there's no wind in here to move them. The mindless ones are weak like mice, so I think that's why they die so easily.

The sword guy isn't waiting around with the way cleared. He gets moving again, ready to find more enemies. This hallway is longer than I expected, and I think we might be beyond the wall. If they have this entrance, it seems odd that they would smuggle corpses in through the main gate, but maybe they did that to have two ways to attack.

Most of this hallway is just the same, with a few cracks in the old stone, but up ahead, there's a side passage. I hope there's a strong guy in there. By the time we reach it, the sword guy makes us wait as the archer sneaks closer to get a look at what's inside. He makes some hand signals, which the sword guy explains to us. Lauren seems to already know, but I appreciate it.

"Two greaters, so that means two strong enemies and we need to prepare. We don't know whether they're casters or melee, but we must be prepared for either, possibly both. They have a swarm of fodder as well. Lauren, can you cast that spell again?"

She gives a nod and the archer comes running back, shouting that the enemy is attacking. One of the big undead comes around the corner and into my line of sight, so I'm gonna throw my new dagger at him.

Giving it a good squeeze to push the poison into the blade, I give it a good throw. It hits him right in the chest and digs deep, causing him to fall to his knees. Lauren casts her spell again, destroying a large chunk of the fodder ones. The one I hit tries to pull out the dagger, but I can see from here that he just squeezed more poison into his body. Dumb move, dummy!

When he pulls my dagger out of his chest, he throws it to the side and picks up his staff before moving closer. His friend comes out of the room as well, wearing leather armor with a sword that looks too short for him. I made a good choice in attacking first.

"Lauren, say it."

"Ugh, fine... Point to Raya."

Yeah! Point to me!

"And point to Lauren for casting spells like that!"

She likes to hide it, but I can see her smile when she gets points. The undead interrupt our pointing with their annoying combat. The archer is shooting as much as he can, and any time the sword guy gets hit, the healer is quick to heal his wounds. The fighting it a little too close to friends for my new fireball, so I'm gonna be smart and not blow up our new friends.

Using my best ability that Kira can't match, I sneak by the fighting and head for the staff guy. He has picked up my dagger again and now he's inspecting it. I think he's curious about the poison, but he won't get the secret ingredient!

Having passed the sword guy and undead guy's fighting, I go into a sprint, aiming for the staff guy. Closing in on him, I keep my body low, aiming for just under him. Speeding up, I rush toward him, and the moment I'm under his face, I dig my nails into the stone and kick upwards, aiming for the hilt of my dagger. The strength of my kick punches the dagger into his face. With a furious shout, he steps back, giving me room to get away.

He's following me back to the sword guy, and the undead sword guy turns to face me, giving the archer a chance to shoot him in the side of his head. More of Lauren's magic flies toward me as I return to the group.

"Point to Raya!"

"Yeah!"

More points are the best!

"What is this point thing that the two of you keep saying?"

"Oh, Kira sometimes mumbles about giving points to people for doing good things, so we started doing it for each other, and it feels good to do. Point to the sword guy for asking!"

He smiles with understanding as he blocks another strike from the undead sword guy.

Reaching for my sword to help sword guy makes me remember that Kira ate it... But the archer has a sword, too, and when I ask to borrow it, the healer speaks up instead, offering me a different sword. It doesn't look strong or made of anything fancy, but it's big enough to be a two-handed weapon for me, and it's better than not having a sword. Looking at the archer makes it clear that he's gonna need a sword soon. He's almost out of arrows.

Accepting the healer's sword, I get a move on and stab the undead sword guy in the stomach while running between his legs. I just wanted to do some damage, but the blade catches on his ribs and, since I'm moving under him, the blade cuts into parts that he probably would have wanted to keep. Now that I'm behind him, I give the sword a good yank, cutting deeper through the armor and into his hip. He falls forward as the sword guy steps to the side.

With the undead sword guy on the ground and my new blade stuck, our sword guy starts working to cut the head off the dead person. The swish of a stick swinging toward me catches my attention, and the staff guy has joined our little battle. Lauren shouts to watch out, but the staff hits my arm with a loud crack when I try to dodge. It hurts, but I have to get to safety before I can worry about that.

Letting go of the sword lodged in the undead guy, I leap to the side, getting away from the staff guy. He swings his staff at my side, but this time, I'm prepared to dodge. Jumping over it, his hand shoots forward, trying to grab me, but all he gets a hold of is my teeth. Catching his hand in my mouth, I bite hard and twist with all my might. His fingers snap, giving me an opportunity to get away.

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They taste wrong, so I'm not gonna eat them, but I do have an extra pouch. Pulling it out and shaking it open, I spit the fingers into it to save them for later so Kira can have them.

I still can't move my arm, so it might be broken. I'm getting away, and the staff guy is struggling to keep up as the others surround him. Lauren is throwing more magic at him, but it doesn't turn him to ash like it did with the weak undead.

They seem to be struggling, and loud footsteps from behind make the adventurers more cautious. They change to a defensive formation as a bright light closes in on us. The hallway begins to smell like smoke as the loud steps grow louder.

"HAMMAR!"

Oh! I know who that is! Punchy comes running with a large crystal hammer scraping against the wall. The whole dang hallway shakes in rhythm with his steps, and when he reaches the others, he leaps over them and slams his hammer into the staff guy, smushing the undead against the wall. The scent of charred meat fills the room, but Punchy disappears deeper into the hallway before we can say hi.

"What the fuck was that?!"

"It was Punchy, Lauren. He got a new hammer."

His path to us is obvious, since there's a line of burnt lichen showing where he came from. And where he's going. The staff guy is definitely dead, and looking at the undead sword guy makes it obvious that he's dead, too. Punchy landed on him when he smacked the staff guy.

"Fucking scared me..."

The light from Punchy's hammer fades around a corner, so we should be safe for a bit. Feeling around my potion pouch, I touch the bottles until the symbol of healing touches my fingertip. Pulling out the potion, I drink it while taking some of Kira's magic. I can't heal like Kira and Lauren can, but I can make healing potions stronger with Kira's magic.

The scraping sensation in my arm proves that the staff guy broke it. But I haven't broken anything that Kira's magic and a healing potion couldn't heal yet, and a simple broken arm isn't changing that! While I'm testing how the healing went, the sword guy approaches me with a question.

"Do you happen to have another potion like that? I think my shield arm might be in a bad way..."

I know I do because I'm prepared. Kira keeps forgetting to bring things, so she has shown me many times how important it is to be prepared. Pulling out another healing potion, I hand it to him, and he seems thankful for it. Since I have magic recovery potions, too, I hand a few to the healer. They do have their own, but mine are better.

"Sword guy, can I try something before you drink that?"

"Uh... sure. It won't hurt me, right?"

"It might. Lauren, come push magic into him while he drinks it. Use that healing spell you destroy things with."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Raya? You just scared him, so I'm not sure he wants to anymore."

"No take-backsies! We need to learn stuff."

Instead of trusting me, Lauren looks at the sword guy, but he nods, giving permission to try it. She gathers the magic and speaks her fancy magic words while touching his chest. He drinks the potion at the same time, and I can't tell if anything is happening.

His eyes go wide and he rushes to pull off his shield. Putting it down on the floor, he sits next to it, working to take off his boot and then his sock. His feet are stinky, but he seems excited about them.

"My toe regrew! I lost my toe cycles ago and it's back!"

"How did you know it would do that, Raya?"

"How would I know? I'm not a healer. I am surprised he isn't rolling around in pain, though. Most people who touch Kira's magic roll around in pain."

Now people are staring at me, but Lauren knew that, so I'm not to blame! We have to get moving, so we don't have time to blame each other for anything. And the first thing to do is go fetch my dagger. I hope it wasn't in the staff guy's head when Punchy smushed him.

Taking some of Kira's magic, I make another fireball and use its light to find the dagger. There's a glint of metal a little farther down the hallway. Leaving the others to recover a little, I go get it. It is my dagger! When I pick it up, the sword guy asks me a question. I still have to check how much poison is in it. Giving it a squeeze, it feels empty and the blade looks like it's clogged with meat from the staff guy.

"Did you name that thing, Raya?"

"No, do you think I should?"

"It's a good weapon. Might have saved us with that toxin of yours. I'm not sure we could have won against those two if the mage could cast spells."

I think we could. Lauren would just have to heal one of them to death. And I could use my nails instead of a dagger. Kira said those fangs were needles and they poisoned Lauren with her venom, too.

"Is 'Needle' a good name?"

"No."

Lauren is annoyed at my suggestion, and that just makes me want to name my dagger Needle more.

"The name of this dagger is-"

"Don't you fucking do it, Raya!"

"Raya's Needle!"

"Fuck you, you little jerk!"

As I'm holding up my awesome weapon for the world to see, Lauren tackles me to the ground and starts messing up my hair! My attempts at fighting her off and saving my hair only lead to her fingers sneaking under my armor to tickle me!

It's only when I'm tickled to tears that she stops, giving me a chance to breathe. Her tickling is more exhausting than the fight was. I might have to have Kira punish her for it.

"Pardon my interruption, but perhaps we should get moving. There are still undead to defeat, I'm sure."

"Don't worry so much, Clarence. Try sharpening your magic senses and feel for the two strongest sources of magic around."

Oh, the sword guy's name is Clarence. I'm gonna try feeling for magic, too.

"How do I feel for magic, Lauren?"

"Relax your body and focus on the magic inside you, Raya. Feel for other magic pushing against it. You should be able to feel stronger pushing coming from two sides. One of them is the Guild Hall's core and the other is-"

"Kira! She's ahead of us!"

Lauren gets up and pats me on the head while telling me that I'm right. And that means the undead who try to escape are gonna get burned or eaten. I don't understand how Kira hasn't felt the core yet, though. It feels powerful. So I'm gonna ask Lauren about it.

She explains that it has to be tuned to not affect beasts, otherwise it would attract them. I'm gonna ask Joras about it when we get home instead, he's better at explaining things like that. But Lauren does mention that the guild needs the core to let their healers and mages recover magic faster. It seems dumb to not make an exception for Kira so she could recover faster, but I don't know enough about how it works.

I want one for Tuiran so we can recover magic faster, too, but we should kill more undead here first. Then we can buy one later.

It looks like the archer has collected the arrows he could, and Clarence has his shield again. Clarence calls out to let us know that we're moving again, and he has both his sock and boot on again.

Our first task is to inspect the room where the two undead guys and their minions hid. It looks like it used to be luxurious, but now it's decrepit with rotting and moldy furniture. It hasn't been taken care of at all, but there might still be things to loot.

There's a small chest on the table, and that probably has treasure. The adventurers I've met told me that sometimes they find treasures in old ruins, and this place looks like an old ruin to me, so I just need to open the treasure!

Climbing up on a chair and grabbing the plain box, I give it a quick inspection to see what I'm dealing with. It's just a box with an iron lock, but I don't have a key, so I'm gonna have to break it. I'm not as destructive as Lauren or Kira, though, so, using one of my nails, I start scratching at the rusty metal.

My nails are doing a good job of scratching grooves into the iron holding the lock in place, and it doesn't take long to get through it and continue the work on the other side.

"Who needs a thief when you have a goblin? Can you open this one, too?"

Clarence places another small box on the table and I'm almost done with this one, so it shouldn't be a problem. I can do this faster with a little magic from Kira, so taking some of her magic, I strengthen my nails and slice through the iron like a blade through bark.

The loot inside it is a bunch of scrolls. Opening one of them, I determine that I can't read it. Throwing one to Lauren, she catches it and I begin opening the other box. It has an iron lock, too, so it won't be a problem. Carving it to pieces with my nails is easy, and opening it reveals treasure! Gems! And they sparkle! Pulling out my treasure pouch, I fill it with as many as I can before asking Lauren to take the rest of the gems.

The healer comes over instead and holds out a small pouch for me to fill. My instinct tells me not to do it, but I know that adventurers gather up as much as they can and split it after the mission. That means I don't get to keep all the gems I already took. I wanted them all for our hoard...

We need to steal more things so I can keep the gems. Turning to Lauren, she's still reading that scroll, so it must be interesting.

"What does it say, Lauren?"

"I don't know. Merciferus is watching through me and reading it. It's an ancient language that shouldn't be here... Could you unroll the others and spread them out on the table so they stay open?"

I didn't know Mermer was getting involved, but I can do that. Taking the scrolls, I start unrolling them, but they won't stay open. Reaching into my pouch, I pull out some gems to use as weights. I can fit six on the table, leaving four more in the box, and they all seem to be written in the same language. It must be important if they're using some old language to keep their secrets.

I don't see anything else to do. Lauren needs to inspect the scrolls and the adventurers have cleared the rest of the room, so we're almost ready to leave again.

"How come these undead are so dumb? Kira fought an undead frostclaw bear, and she told me it was smart?"

The healer turns to face me with a raised eyebrow.

"Was it raised by the hand of a necromancer or the Corruption?"

"What's the difference?"

"Those risen by a necromancer are mere husks of who they used to be, but the Corruption binds the creature to itself. Think of it like the being becoming the Corruption instead of just moving because magic tells it to. The lesser undead we fought today were mere puppets raised by magic. The two greaters we fought were turned voluntarily, but they weren't given knowledge. If they were stupid in life, they'd be stupid in death. The Corruption imparts knowledge from those consumed by it in eons past. Though it is no shortcut to wisdom, as you will die to be consumed by it. This mission is made all the more difficult by the necromancers wielding the Corruption as a weapon. No doubt many will be lost by day's end."

"Can't you cure it?"

"No cure is known to us. The Corruption is a remnant of the Abomination, wielded by the undead as a weapon against the living. It is anathema to life itself, and our magic is useless against it. Even the Gods themselves struggle to fight it."

Hearing the healer talk with sadness like that makes me want to poke Lauren.

"Shut up, Raya... I know..."

"I didn't say anything."

"I can feel your stare."

It must be difficult to have so much responsibility, and I don't envy her. Kira and I can run around having a good time, but Lauren has a job to do. The best we can do is help her when she needs it. Climbing the back of the chair she's sitting on, I give her a hug from behind. I'm sure she needs it right now.

"You're not selfish for not wanting to change, Lauren. We'll help those we can, and that just has to be good enough. And Kira agrees. Mermer probably does too."

"How do you know?"

"I'm smart, so listen to me! And I have the best hair! Yours is full of goblin!"

While I nuzzle into her hair, she gets up and starts packing the scrolls with me hanging onto her back. She pulls out a piece of cloth to dry her eyes and we're ready to continue. She doesn't say anything, but she does give me a smile.

I know it will come up again, but we can deal with it when it does. I bet Kira has some weird idea for what to do, even if it's something like burning all the undead until there's nobody left to spread the dead plague.

Letting go of Lauren's neck, I fall to the ground and land on my feet. We seem ready to continue, and the adventurers are already in the hallway with our loot.

"Core tenet of the Guild: You are not required to sacrifice yourself for others. A doomed mission is bad. A Guild member's death leads to more doomed missions. Know your worth, and know your limits."

"I know. Thank you, Clarence."

"See, Lauren? Even the adventurers get it!"

Our trip continues by following Punchy's burns on the wall. The hallway has a bunch of burned and smushed corpses, making it obvious that Punchy has had fun. The rooms we pass appear empty, and the archer searches them, but doesn't find anything interesting.

"These rooms have been cleared, but it isn't clear whether by human or corpse hands. If the latter, they must have met their end soon after. These are the corpses of greaters."

I don't know how he can tell that. The big ones look less rotten than the little ones, so I guess they're more whole. Aside from the giant hole in them left by Punchy's hammer.

That seems like too much to think about. All I have to know is that bad undead are for stabbing and good undead are for annoying Kira. The healer decides to step closer to talk instead of continuing our exploration.

"Pardon my interruption, Raya, but I must ask. The toxin you utilize for Raya's Needle, is it the venomous saliva of the Dragon?"

"Her name is Kira, and it is, but I mix some plants with it. This one, this one, and this one. Mush them together with Kira's spit and you get a poison that ruins magic and makes blood flow like water."

"Oh my. That is Demon's Curse, Night's End, and Banished Heathen. Are you familiar with these plants?"

They don't grow near Tuiran, so I don't know them. The plant seller told me a little about them and how Demon's Curse makes wounds not stop bleeding. Night's End was supposed to protect from the magic being ruined by other things. It made sense that it worked with Kira's spit, too. And the last one just makes the poison thicker so it works with my needle.

I just mush them in my hand and mix them with Kira's spit, but I don't have any more left. I should have refilled my spit pouch before leaving for this adventure.

"How many of such pouches do you carry?"

I lost count... Pulling out my pouches, I have my water skin, treat pouch, herb pouch, flower pouch, food, spit, coin, loot... I have a lot of pouches. Maybe I should get a bag. The more pouches I pull out, the more the adventurers stare, making me a little embarrassed...

"How about we move on and let Raya pack her things away? I'd rather not get ambushed while discussing logistics."

I whisper a thank you to Lauren, but she just tussles my hair instead of replying. I like it, and I like that she looks out for me.

I hear footsteps up ahead, and let the others know. They all spring into combat stances, ready to face whatever might approach. The burns on the wall mean that Punchy did go this way, but he might have missed one.

We sneak closer and closer until we reach the next room. There's a big guy inside it with a staff glowing with power. The adventurers are getting ready to fight, and the big guy turns around to face us with magic cackling in the air. He knows we're here, and he's forming a magical attack to throw at us.

I can distract him. Sprinting into the room, I run around to get behind him. He turns to face me, lobbing the ball of dark purple magic at me. His aim is where I would be, but, digging my nails into the rocks in the floor, I turn around so the magic ball can't hit me.

The magic hitting the floor sounds like Kira landing in town and makes my ears screech. The room fills with a terrible stench from the gross magic, and I need to avoid getting hit at all costs. He forms another ball, but an arrow from the archer hits his hand and ruins his magic.

Clarence joins me in distracting the guy to let the archer attack. The undead guy turns to face Clarence, forming another ball to throw. He's quicker now and doesn't give the archer a chance to interrupt him. The ball of purple magic flies and hits Clarence's shield, and I don't think Clarence has blocked the entire spell.

But it does give me a chance to take a good amount of Kira's magic and throw it. The power of my fireball causes the undead guy to fall to his knees as it explodes against his back. Archer follows it up with an arrow to the undead guy's shoulder. They don't do much, so I don't think he has any of Kira's spit left.

When he turns to me again, Lauren jumps in to cast her healing magic, and he likes that even less than my fireball. Serves the dummy right for trying to attack us. He's getting angrier the more we attack, but we're winning.

"Enough, vermin! Your pitiful existence will end, but I will not fall this day!"

While saying his dumb speech, he waves his hands and makes two walls of bone appear around him, blocking my fireball. When I try to step closer to climb the wall, bony hands reach for me, trying to grab me. He's escaping, and I can't do anything.

"What do we do, Lauren? He's getting away!"

"Stay the fuck in here! Do not leave this room! Grab that table and help bring it over here!"

Archer and Clarence rush to pick up the table she points at while she casts spells to break the bone wall. With the table, everyone helps block the entrance. Blue flames scorch the wooden table while Lauren tells people to jump away and hide behind the wall next to us. The whole room feels suffocating, as if the air has been pulled out of it.

Kira's flames stop, and a gust of refreshing wind blows through the place. Lauren seems to think it's safe to get out now. The table is now charcoal. I don't know how much it helped, but it must have been better than not having anything.

The lichen has been burned away and the hallway is now dark, but it's also warmer. Taking some of Kira's magic, I make a fireball to use as a torch, and the stones around us have become shiny.

"By the Gods, what was that?"

"Never had a Dragon to back you up on a mission? You should try it. They make quick work of most foes."

"I believe you..."

Lauren laughs to herself as she makes jokes about the double dead dummy. I would have liked to win that fight without help, but I can try again some other time. Clarence mentions needing to make sure the undead guy is burned up, so he doesn't show up again somewhere. I don't think he will, though. Kira's flames made the rocks shiny, so I doubt he could survive it.

Our trip through the hallways comes to an end with stone doors held open by the crystal of Punchy's hammer. It's wide enough for Kira to stick her head inside, but the wooden beams are smoking where they touch the hammer.

"I welcome you, friends! I trust your adventure brought much excitement and strengthened bonds! Kira and I have been awaiting your arrival! With a feast!"

Kira is lying behind Punchy, but with the mention of treats, she gets up and shows us a campfire with meat cooking! This is the best! Jumping over the hammer, I go to grab a piece, but Kira nudges me to get my attention.

"Raya, I've been a bad friend. I didn't even ask how your adventure with the other group was. I'd like to hear about it, though."