1-153 How dangerous could it be?

“The air was filled with sweet incense, mixing with the scent of cooked meats as Jaina danced on her chain. Chandice and Roric sat together, discussing a project they were working on for Hannah as Evalynn and Gisley cuddled nearby in the cushions. It was a typical day in the Lovewood with her wonderful family sharing their hearts.

Jaina twirled and swayed, her hips rolling as her masters relaxed and were waited on by the gnoll women. This was how they always dreamed of their life being, and she couldn't see why it would ever need to change. She caught sight of Evalynn lying in Gisley's lap as the fairy woman smiled down at her. Their life was all about love, caring, and happiness, and Jaina was content for it to remain that way forever.

“I think we need to consider the other options,” Chandice said, catching Jaina’s ear. “Now that we have settled down, we are hardly leveling.”

Jaina paused in her dance to look at her masters as Roric sat back in his chair to sigh. She supposed Chandice had a point that now that they weren't adventuring, the experience was coming slowly. Gisley earned a little from the dreams she gave people, but Evalynn and Jaina only earned it from using their abilities, be it in combat or romantic encounters. Roric, too, was likely not earning much, and Chandice even less. She wondered what brought this strange turn of conversation up, but Chandice quickly answered that.

“The best way to get good answers is for me to be higher level,” Chandice said. “The machine is only going to identify the magic. To make any impact on it will require a high-level enchanter.”

“I get your point,” Roric said as he suddenly looked tired. “We need a way to start earning experience again.”

Don't you get experience from us?” Gisley asked as she and Evalynn joined the conversation.

Jaina nodded as she recalled that Roric earned a little experience every time the girls had sex. However, he had been keeping them primarily to himself since settling down. Despite saying the girls would serve in Blackbast's temple, he hadn't sent any of them to do so. They didn't even stalk the Lovewood as often as they had imagined, and the harem is where they had most of their sex. Roric, Frank, and Zillix were the most common partners of the girls, and that wasn't likely adding up to much.

“Yes, I do, but it isn't much, and Chandice doesn't get any,” Roric replied. “What we need is an effective way to earn experience so we can keep leveling.”

“I am falling behind a little as well,” Evalynn admitted. “I earn most of my experience from combat. I earn a little from obeying your commands, but since we settled, we haven't played as much.”

“That’s because we joined that harem,” Chandice replied. “It’s changed our need to work together as a family group.”

“We did run Idris’s adventure,” Gisley reminded. “I got a little bit of experience from that.”

“The adventure that nearly killed us all,” Chandice laughed. “Though I am told Frank and Quinny helped her fix it so that it won't be near as deadly.”

“We could run it again,” Jaina said with a shrug. “And I am pretty sure Frank would welcome us running his dungeon. Hannah says he is really proud of it and that there are lots of secrets below.”

“We could do that,” Roric agreed.

“You did want us to level up enough to run that big world dungeon,” Chandice reminded. “And the best way to help Hannah is for me to get a lot more levels so I can access the advanced magic detection. It might be good practice for us to explore his dungeon and earn a few levels.”

“It could be fun,” Jaina said with a shrug. “We could even take a few girls with us to round out the party.”

“I think we have plenty,” Chandice countered. “Us five, plus a minion or two of mine, should be good enough.”

“Frank warned me that the lower levels get pretty dangerous,” Roric said. “It might not hurt to have a primary healer.”

“We could ask Idris to go,” Gisley suggested. “She is good with the undead and a decent healer.”

“Why not invite Idris and Zillix,” Roric said. “He's not very high level either. I am sure he could use the practice of being more combat-oriented than just hiding behind illusions.”

“This sounds like a fun day is brewing,” Jaina said as she walked to Roric and Chandice. “Do I get to go dressed?”

“Hmm,” Chandice said as she smiled, then held out her arms. Jaina fell into her arms with a kiss and ran a hand up her thigh. Chandice sighed as she reached low, running her fingers through Jaina’s pussy. “I love seeing you naked,” Chandice said as she slid her fingers in. “And I love watching men fuck this slutty hole. You could level up faster than all of us by seducing men and fucking them.”

Jaina moaned as Chandice tested the firmness of her pussy and talked in a soothing voice. She asked how fast her experience moved when she fucked other men, and Jaina had to admit it was pretty decent. Not only did she earn experience by using her seductions, but she earned more from the sex. Then, on top of all that, she earned even more if she did both because Roric commanded her to do it. She pointed out that when Roric commanded her to dance and make love to the horny customers, she was making a killing on experience.

“Why did we stop that?” Chandice asked as she looked at Roric.

“Because I was only doing it to make the money,” Roric replied. “As much as I have prostituted my girls, I still consider them mine, and sometimes I want them to myself.”

“I can understand that,” Chandice replied as he took his hand. “I want them to myself, too. I like knowing they are mine and nobody can touch them without permission.”

“I am glad you understand,” Roric nodded but then sighed. “But, considering the dangers around us and how our neighbors are displeased with Gwen, it might be more prudent to level, at least to one hundred.”

“Then I could pick a special fairy power,” Gisley said excitedly.

Jaina nodded as she considered the level one hundred special ability. Every one hundred levels, a player was offered a choice of special powers related to their race or class. These powers could drastically alter the nature of the character, and only one could be picked. Rumor had it the game always offered you three powers plus one randomly chosen one from a list of a dozen possibilities. Jaina would love to get her hands on her first power and unlock what her character could do, but that was so far away.

“I have a level one hundred power that allows me to create a pair of warrior maidens to fight at my side,” Evalynn said.

“I can summon a devil or demon for free, then summon a regular one at half cost,” Chandice said. “Plus, my imps and dogs would be unlimited cast as long as I have the mana to summon them. My enchanter side gets a neat power to mana siphon from magical items, channeling the mana into me.”

“Wait,” Jaina said as the fingers continued to work inside her pussy. “So which one will you take?”

“Both,” Chandice said with a smile. “Humans can pick a level one hundred skill for all their primary classes at the same time.”

“Oh, that’s so cheating,” Jaina laughed. “They really wanted us to play the human race.”

“So it seems that we need to focus on leveling,” Roric said as he stood up. “Let’s see if we can find Zillix and Idris, then go into the tunnels to earn some experience.”

Gisley jumped up excitedly, but Jaina frowned when Chandice pulled her fingers away. At least Jaina got to lick them clean before they headed for the palace where most of the harem spent their days. The central room was a great chamber with a ceiling that soared upward to a great stained glass dome of flower patterns. The master's thrones were at the center, and the girls were arrayed around them, lounging on cushions and low couches as they held one another and made love.

Zillix was in residence, sitting on Idris’s lap in his dragon form as she sat in his lap. They approached to ask the two if they wanted to join them on the adventure, and both agreed it would be fun. Ten minutes later, they were in the graveyard, standing as a group as a familiar face flew down to greet them.

“Hey,” Hannah said as she touched down, wearing a lovely white slip. “What are all of you doing here?”

Roric explained their intention to run the adventure, and Hannah walked right into his arms. She kissed his bestial lips and asked what brought this on. Roric told her about their desire to level to be of more use to the kingdom. Hannah smiled and thanked him for being so willing to help as she ran a hand down his chest. She then wished him well and flew into the air before blowing a kiss to Zillix. With a wave, Hananh flew away, her lovely tail trailing behind her.

“I really love her,” Jaina said as the dark angel flew to the north.

“She's really special,” Evalynn agreed as she used her magic to don her plate armor. A long spear appeared in her hand, and she went into a few sweeping moves to re-familiarize herself with combat. “It's been too long since we did this.”

“It has,” Chandice agreed as she made a dark staff appear in her hand. With a gesture, she was dressed in a black robe etched with red symbols that softly glowed. Roric changed to his mixed plate and banded armor. He produced a spear of his own, a long metal shaft with a delicate, sharp tip, glowing from magical enchantments Chandice had placed on it weeks ago.

“Shall we begin?” Jaina asked as she stood naked, wearing only her collar, plug, and golden pussy shield.

“The entrances are in the mausoleums,” Roric said and used his weapon to point to one in the distance. “But that one is Viylah.”

“Oh, she protects an entrance,” Gisley said. “We should ask her to let us in.”

“Then let’s clear a path,” Evalynn said as she smiled at the nearby undead.

“One moment,” Roric said as he turned to Jaina. “I need to buff.”

“Oh, it has been too long,” Jaina said as she turned her back to him and put her arms behind her. Roric held her wrists with one hand as he reached below to free his cock from his armor. Jaina gasped as she felt the familiar feel of her master's cock sliding into her flesh. She tensed as he swelled inside until his knot was firmly rooted in her body. Then the sex began as Roric hammered her with short, rapid thrusts, her body bouncing with every firm impact.

Jaina cried out in delight, nearly laughing as she was taken the way she most enjoyed. Roric had long ago promised her that their sex would always be rough, but he still occasionally made love. This was how she liked it, and even now, she danced on her toes as her pussy was brutalized. Her cries of joy echoed across the graveyard as she suddenly orgasmed in harmony with Roric's buff, her body glowing with red mist.

[lvl 17 Conqueror skill: Shackles of power] While having sex with a slave, you establish a magical link with all your slaves, granting them 25 points to armor and you 20 plus 5% per slave under your collar. The effect lasts 1 hour per slave. While under this effect, all your slaves orgasm when you do.

“Did your buff just trigger my orgasm?” Jaina gasped as the pounding continued.

“Yes,” Roric replied. “I hit level thirty and got an upgrade. All my buffs trigger orgasms now.”

“Oh, I love your class,” Jaina moaned as her body ran wet. Roric laughed, letting her recover before triggering the next buf and sending her into another orgasm.

[lvl 5 Conqueror skill: Boone of the flesh] – Increases a master's strength and health pool by having sex with a slave. Pools can be boosted to 10% beyond your normal maximum per happy slave. Effect stacks for each slave used. Duration: 1 hour per slave.

Jaina’s back arched as she was used for her purpose, her body swimming in sexual power. The thunder between her legs was magical as Roric triggered buff after buff, forcing her to endure an orgasm with each. When he finally finished with her, she was held to his chest, panting as his cock slid from her body.

“Why do people play anything else?” Jaina groaned as her legs trembled.

“Because they're not all slutty whores?” Chandice suggested as Gisley laughed. Jaina collapsed to her hands and knees as her pussy throbbed, unhappy that it was now empty. Gisley was commanded to clean Jaina up, and the fairy girl happily went about her task, licking Jaina's pussy clean.

“Well, she's already earned some experience,” Chandice said as she raised her staff. “Let's get some for ourselves.” She uttered a dark spell, and a fire erupted, becoming a tall humanoid demon with a wicked sword. Roric and Evalynn took the lead, pulling the closest zombies from the graveyard. The battle was easy as the surface zombies were level one to three, easily dispatched with a single blow.

They moved into the yard, working down a stone path overgrown with moss and low weeds. Grave mist curled about the distant stones as red eyes blinked at them from dark, sickly hedges. A few skeletons charged, hacking with rusted swords, but Chandice's devil took them both down before they reached the group. The going was so easy that Roric suggested they break up and slaughter everything around them.

Jaina strayed off the path, using her mimic powers to create a plate-like surface on her skin, giving her armor-like metal. She rushed at a pack of three nearby skeletons, her arms becoming swords as she waded in hacking. The skeletons went down with ease, and she quickly moved on to a zombie lingering around some distant tombstones. The beast looked horrible, but Jaina slashed at it, cutting it apart as it toppled over. She paused to pick through the bones and discovered a few tarnished coins in the pile.

She rejoined the others with her pittance to add it to their tiny collection of coins. They tore through the upper yard until they arrived at the mausoleum that was the mimic Viylah.

“Hello, Viylah?” Jaina called as they stood outside the doors. Nothing happened, so Roric knocked and called again to see if they could get her to stir.

“Maybe she’s sleeping,” Gisley offered when a full minute ticked by.

“Are we even sure this is still her?” Chandice asked. “Maybe she moved to another spot, and Frank rebuilt the mausoleum.”

“Who is this supposed to be?” Idris asked as she stood in the back with Zillix on her shoulder.

“Her name is Viylah,” Jaina replied as she put a hand on the cold stone wall. “She’s a mimic like me, but higher level with a lot of mass. The entire building and the walkways around it are part of her.”

“We're standing on her?” Zillix asked as he looked at the stone path under their feet.

“Yes, “Jaina said before knocking on the wall. “Viylah, open up. We want to go into the lower tunnels?”

“I am telling she must have moved,” Chandice said. “I bet this is a real mausoleum again.”

“Nobody said anything about her moving,” Jaina said. “You would think Hannah or Frank would have mentioned that.”

“So how do we get in?” Evalynn asked.

“We open the door,” Roric said, grabbing hold of the handle. He pulled, and the metal door swung outward, revealing a small inner room dominated by stairs that went down. Light flickered from below, indicating that there were torches ahead to illuminate the gloom. Roric and Evalynn led the way down as Chandice and Idris followed. Jaina and Gisley brought up the rear, holding hands as they descended into a stone tunnel whose walls were green with mold.

“There are torches about every fifteen feet,” Roric said as he peered into the shadows. “Does anybody want more light than that?”

“I am fine,” Idris replied as she raised a hand. “But just in case, let me some some zombies.” With a gesture, she caused the ground to boil as three leathery zombies crawled to the surface. She quickly set about buffing them with spells, improving their armor, strength, and speed.

Jaina could see how useful a woman like that would be to Frank or Hannah and wondered how long it would be before she was a wife. Of course, Zillix was perched on her shoulder, talking to her like an old friend. It was difficult to tell if they were close enough to be lovers, especially with how infatuated with Frank she was. Zillix, on the other hand, had a thing for Hannah, attracted to her flower-singer nature. She mused that the two men could arrange a trade, but that would happen over Chandice's dead body. Chandice found a deep hunger for Hannah ever since her honeymoon and made no secret that she would love to buy the woman.

The tunnel went in both directions, so Roric chose the path and took them into a small chamber. They were immediately beset by more skeletons, along with plague rats that scurried out in a small pack. None of it was challenging as they began to pick their way down tunnels and through chambers, often decorated with skulls and bones. They found a small chest in one of the rooms that contained a handful of gold guarded by a ghoulish dog.

A dozen rooms later, they had fought through a small army of skeletons and zombies with ease but stood on the landing of another stairwell down. They descended into tunnels that were magically lit and made from stone bricks that created meandering paths. These looked more ancient, with thick cobwebs in places and footprints from previous adventurers who had braved the tunnels.

The first room had skeletons with shabby armor, indicating they were more powerful. This meant little to the large group, who easily took them apart. The tunnels took them to what looked like a prison block, with cells along both walls. As they entered the room, the cells opened to release skeletons and their first couple of ghouls. The fight wasn't all that dangerous until Idris cried out from behind. A pack of zombies came from the tunnel they had just entered from, trapping them in the room. She ordered her zombies to intercept them, and that was as far as they got. Zillix stayed in his dragon form, acting more as a pair of extra eyes than any serious firepower.

The prison was looted, and a dozen more coins were added to the pile as Roric and Evalynn checked the tunnel out.

“This is fun,” Jaina said as they passed down a wide tunnel.

“This is easy,” Gisley replied. “Nothing on this level is over level ten.”

“I thought Frank told me that level two had a couple of dangerous monsters,” Idris interjected as she looked down a side hall.

“I am sure he does,” Roric replied as the hall opened into a long chamber twenty feet across.

“Do you see anything?” Evalynn asked as they looked over the oddly barren room. There was nothing on the floor, and even the footprints ended as the floor was oddly barren of dust.

“This has to be a trap,” Chandice said as she raised her staff, calling for more light to illuminate the chamber's high ceiling. “Nothing above us.”

“It’s like somebody swept the floor,” Gisley said as they slowly crawled into the room.

“Could the room have been swept?” Roric asked as his ears perked up. “A spell that causes a breeze, maybe?”

“Maybe,” Chandice said as she drew her wand. “But I feel nervous about this.” She waved the wand, casting detect magic, causing some of their gear to glow. Nothing in the room glowed to indicate a magical trap as they neared the chamber's center.

“Why are we going so slowly?” Zillix asked as he looked about. “The room is empty.”

“We think there is a trap,” Idris replied. “The room is too empty when all the others had clutter or debris on the ground.”

“Maybe he didn’t fill out this room?” Zillix suggested.

“If I know Frank, that's impossible,” Jaina said. “Hannah said he had this all planned out years ago. I have heard him talk about how he filled it with dangers.”

“Then what is this room for?” Chandice asked as something clicked. The group froze, looking around as the sound of chains moving echoed in the distance.

“We triggered it,” Roric said as he looked around. “A pressure plate. Something mechanical, not magical.”

“We should have known somebody with an army of goblin engineers would use mechanical….” Chandice began to say when they all yelled at once. The floor began to move, tipping to the left as they lost their footing. They tumbled to the wall, piling up as the floor continued to roll.

With screams, it rolled over, dumping them into a dark chasm below. They fell through the air, rapidly approaching a rocky surface below littered with broken gear from previous adventurers. Zillix used his powers to grow to the size of a horse, grabbing Idris with one leg and Chandice with another. He flapped his wings with all his might to slow their fall as Gisley sprouted her wings.

“Fairy fall!” she shouted as a glowing ring of light suddenly surrounded every member of the group. Instantly, they slowed, coming to a gentle drift as they floated down safely. Idris's zombies weren't so lucky, falling to the distant ground with a sickening crunch. Chandice's devil sprouted wings and flew down on its own power, smiling smugly as if impressed with itself.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Jaina cried as she closed her eyes, desperate to catch her breath. “I could have used my splash ability, but I had no idea how to save anyone else.”

“Thank you, Gisley,” Evalynn said as she, too, worked to catch her breath.

“Look at all the broken gear,” Chandice said as she pointed to the rocks some twenty feet below. “Dozens of players have fallen for that trap.”

“That was particularly cunning,” Evalynn said. “A pit trap I can expect, but the entire room's floor rolling over is hard to believe.”

“The bridge,” Chandice groaned as she shook her head. “Frank got this idea from the tunnels under the mountain. There is an entire bridge there that rolls over.”

“How lovely that he was inspired,” Jaina replied as they touched down. She looked up to see the floor some sixty feet or more above. “Did we just fall into level three or four?”

“It's impossible to say,” Roric replied as they took in the canyon-like space they had fallen into. The walls were cave-like, with rocky ledges dotted by small tunnels. The room they were in was a wide causeway with what appeared to be a stone road running down one side. They searched the rocks for useful gear, coming up with only some dry rations and basic adventuring gear. They assumed Frank had carried away anything of value, leaving only the newbie trash to be collected.

“Well, this went wrong,” Jaina said as they stood on the wide stone paved road gently sloping downhill. “Now we don't know how to get out.”

“I can fly one of you up at a time,” Zillix offered as he flew in his tiny dragon form.

“How do we open the floor from below?” Chandice asked as she looked up. “The floor rolled completely over and closed.”

“We should go uphill then,” Evalynn said as she pointed up the road. “It must lead to a way up somewhere.”

Roric nodded and had Idris resummon her zombies. No sooner did she have them buffed when a group of creatures appeared on the road ahead. At least a dozen hunched creatures with murderous yellow eyes were snarling hungrily.

“Ghouls,” Roric said as he gripped his spear tightly.

“A lot of them,” Evalynn added as she quickly cast a buff. “And something else.”

Behind the ghouls stood something insect-like with dozens of sharp legs down a long segmented body and a pair of wicked black pincers around its jaw. It let out a shrill wail, and the ghouls charged, their bloody claws scratching the stone as they came.

“What is that?” Chandice asked as she pointed to her staff.

“It’s a corpse breeder,” Idris replied. “An insect that infects dead bodies with its eggs and turns them into ghouls.”

“Lovely,” Chandice said as Roric caused a volley of spears to fall from the sky. Evalynn stepped ahead to meet the rush as Gisley took to the air, raining down glittering bolts. Idris sent her zombies in to tie the monsters down, then, for the first time that day, had to begin healing. The ghouls were probably closer to sixteen in number, and in seconds, they were scoring hits on the party.

Jaina flowed around the flailing attacks of a ghoul, her liquid form rippling and hard to hit. She lashes out with tendrils, using her acidic nature to burn the creature, tearing gaping wounds in its hide. It landed a slash, the cold chill of its claws sending a searing pain through her body. She flowed into pure liquid, lashing out with mouths and blades, desperate to put the foul thing down. A plume of fire appeared as Zillix took on the larger dragon form, turning the ghouls into flaming heaps. He then charged through them, going for the long insect in the rear that began spitting black tar at him.

“Zillix, no!” Idris cried, but she couldn’t do anything to stop him. He collided with the beast, tearing at it with his claws only to receive a dozen sharp stabs from the rows of legs in return. Worse, the beast twisted about, bringing a tail with a long stinger to bear. Zillix yelped as he was stung, his body going limp as the beast twisted and threw him aside.

“Did we just lose a teammate?” Jaina cried as a second ghoul pounced on her from behind.

“These ghouls have a lot of health,” Chandice said as she backed away, using fire and her devil to keep them away from her. “I think we fell to level four. Hannah warned me that the difficulty goes up significantly on level four.”

“Rampage!” Roric shouted as he glowed with a red burning light. He surged with strength, tearing into the ghouls before him while ignoring their attacks in return.

[Lvl 9 conqueror skill: Rampage] [Boosted 3] You gain super strength and damage absorption for 30 seconds per collared slave. While under this effect, you have 50 more strength, 50% damage absorption, and 5% more damage with all attacks and cannot be stunned, held, or slowed. Your stamina bar slowly depletes while this effect is active. If it ever reaches 10%, the effect ends even if you have time left.

“Roric!” Gisley cried and pointed to the right, where Evalynn was being overwhelmed. She had three ghouls on top of her and two more tearing at her from the sides. Golden bursts of light were going off over her body as Idris frantically healed, trying to keep the woman alive, but it was clear she was in trouble, so Roric acted quickly.

“Stand your ground!” Roric shouted as he pointed his weapon at Evalynn and then fought to join her side.

[lvl 32 Conqueror skill: Stand your ground] For 30 seconds, a single slave is imbued with enhanced power. This slave has 20 more armor and 20 health regeneration every 3 seconds for the duration. In addition, this slave cannot be reduced below 1 health unless a killing blow is a critical strike.

[lvl 21 Conqueror skill: Raging advance] Go mad with rage and charge your opponent, delivering charge damage followed by weapon attacks with a 50% strength bonus. The effect lasts for 30 seconds.

He slammed into the pile of Ghouls with a mighty charge and bought Evalynn enough time to get to her feet. Gisley began to pelt the insect with moonbeams but was driven back when the creature produced a hail of spikes from its back. Several went through her wings, causing her to cry out and blind the creature with a flash of moonlight.

“Are we in your village again?” Chandice asked as he backed up into Idris.

“There aren’t as many as the village,” Idris replied as she frantically tried to keep up with the healing. “It’s just that these ghouls have a lot of health.”

Jaina flowed over a ghoul, finally bringing it down as she dissolved it away. The second ghoul was wounded but not slowing a bit as she lashed at it with a long tendril to wrap around its neck. With a yell, she focused on eating through the flesh, quickly severing the monster's head from its shoulders. Finally free to breathe, she turned back into liquid, flowing across the room to sweep over a ghoul beside Roric in a wave of digestive acid. The monster flailed around, trying to throw her off, but the effort was useless. It took her nearly twenty seconds of corrosive damage to finally bring it down.

She staggered back to her human form as Roric and Evalynn dealt with the last three ghouls and turned their attention on the bug that suddenly hissed and retreated, running down the canyon and into a tunnel.

“Zillix,” Idris cried as she ran to the side of the dragon, who had shrunk to his tiny size and lay still. She rolled him over to discover he was indeed dead, and only a respawn would bring him back now.

“I’m sorry,” Jaina said as she knelt beside the tearful Idris.

“I know he’s not dead for real,” Idris replied as she wiped her eyes. “But it still hurts to see him this way.”

“We all feel the same way,” Jaina insisted as she put a hand on the troubled woman's shoulder. “When one of us dies, it hurts even though we know they will be back in a few hours.”

“Thanks for the save,” Evalynn said as Roric put an arm around her. “They tangled me up and started to drain my strength. If we didn't share a health pool, I think I would have died.”

“Oh, I forgot we shared a health pool,” Jaina said as she helped Idris up. “That’s from your thrall keeper class, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Roric replied as he looked around the canyon. “We didn't notice because Idris's heals affect all of us at once.”

“They do?” Idris asked in surprise. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Honestly, it slipped my mind,” Roric replied. “We haven't done any fighting since I took the class. I don't have a good grasp of how to use it yet.”

“Oh, right, this is why you were going north,” Idris said. “Jaina went to get the mark and make you a chosen.”

“This is going to be good for us,” Roric said as he walked to where Zillix lay. “We are rusty at this and don’t know how to put our abilities to use. We need a challenge to get us back into shape.”

“So what do we do now?” Gisley asked as she fluttered nervously.

Roric looked up the road and took a deep breath. “We fight our way out,” he replied, pointing down the road. “Like the team we used to be.”

Jaina smiled as Roric took the lead, her master and champion determined to lead them out. They headed down the road, leaving the fallen member of their team behind. With any luck, they would find the way up, or this adventure would be very short-lived indeed.