“I don’t like it, it feels like something... sacreligious to use my staff like this.”

Nada and Rose were wading their way through a dungeon full of enemies that were a horrible match for both of them: wolves.

Rose lunged forward and clocked the last wolf in the current group on the nose. It wasn’t a fatal blow, but it stunned the beasts a bit more than other punches and allowed her to close in to deliver a finishing combo. Once the dungeon monster was dissolving into glowing dust, she stood and addressed her delving partner. “It’s a part of you. You don’t like getting your hands dirty, so you don’t like using your staff like that either.”

Nada narrowed her eyes. “That’s a bit harsh. And what do you mean ‘a part of you’?”

“Well, when we Bind things, it takes up some of our spirit, right? And the way our things grow matches each of us, instead of everyone running around in identical clothes. When we Bind things, it’s like they become a part of us. That staff is becoming like your arm or nose.”

Nada considered that. “There... may be some merit to your theory. Also, I get my hands plenty dirty, have you seen where we are?” She gestured to the dungeon they were delving. The roof was shrouded in mist, the walls made of trees and thickets. If a person didn’t know better, they’d think they were in the forest, not a dungeon under a mountain.

Rose brushed her hair behind her ears and sighed. She gestured to her arms and tunic, which were covered in scrapes, scratches and dirt. Then, she gestured at Nada, whose skin and clothing were immaculately clean.

Nada blushed. “They’re... figuratively dirty.”

Rose just grinned and shook her head. “C’mon, princess. Let’s go find some more mutts to beat up.”

Silas held perfectly still as the group passed him by. The lizardmen stood about five feet tall, but they would be much taller if they stood straight, instead of hunched over. They wore leather armor that crossed their chests and covered their shoulders, as well as a long loincloth. Each carried a different weapon: crude spears, clubs, daggers, and swords. Their heads resembled that of a common garden lizard, and their long tails dragged on the ground behind them.

Four lizardmen had entered the chamber, crudely carved into the stone tunnels of the Dungeon, and immediately went on high alert. They couldn’t see Silas while he was invisible, but they could smell him.

While they combed the chamber, a loud clang echoed out as Cora entered from the chamber’s opposite passageway. Her shield was in it’s split form, two identical slabs of wood and iron the size of refrigerator doors that hovered in the air beside her. The older woman walked with the confidence that came from experience and banged her shields on the rough ground to make noise and draw her opponents’ attention.

The plan worked. The lizardmen quit hunting for Silas and went straight for Cora. As soon as they got into her range, the shields began speeding around her, slamming into her enemies and scattering them on the floor around her. Silas moved slowly, finding an angle where he could chain his lightning to three of the four. Once he was in position, he loosed the stream of electricity, which flowed through the three: one prone from his run-in with a shield, one climbing to its feet, and one preparing to dive on Cora. All three soon found themselves on the ground, twitching as their muscles seized up from the electric change flowing through them.

Cora grinned as she faced her final opponent. She stood as still as a statue throughout the fight, arms crossed over her chest, back ramrod straight, but now she took several confident steps forward. The lizard man had struggled when it was four of them versus two shields, but now both slabs were focused on one target. After a savage blow that left the lizardman dazed, Cora crashed her two shields together like an excited teenager in a marching band getting his big moment on cymbals. The shields thudded together, and when they parted, only dust fell between them.

Silas straightened up after his targets burst into dust.

Cora clapped and favored him with a glowing smile. “Looks like our training is going well.”

A rare smile graced Silas’s face as he replied. “Yes. We are quite the formidable pair.

“We don’t have this! Why did he send us here by ourselves!” Nada half-screamed, half-sobbed as she attacked a wolf with her staff like a kid given free swings at a pinata.

Rose pushed every point in her Agility to the limit as she tried to keep ahead of the three wolves that pursued her. “As soon... as you’re... finished... with that one, I could use... some help here,” she panted out between bursts of movement.

Nada kept swinging with wild abandon, tears streaming down her face. Her target died, bursting into dust, but she kept swinging at the clouds of dust as they dispersed. Once she was satisfied that the wolf wasn’t coming back, she sank to the ground and sobbed into her hands.

Rose kept moving and kept what pressure she could on her three opponents. For a while, it was unclear who was going to win the fight. Both sides seemed to be dishing out and receiving damage at the same pace. Whichever side flagged first would fall first. After several grueling minutes, the fight reached a turning point. One of the wolves made one poor step with a rear leg, taking a split-second to correct itself. That moment allowed Rose to pull ahead of her opponents just enough to take out the weakest of the three. Once one wolf was dusted, the fight began to close. By the time it was one-on-one, the outcome was all but settled.

Gulping down heavy breaths, Rose collapsed on the ground near Nada. “Hey... Na...da, help... stamina.”

Nada was no longer the spotless healer that entered the dungeon. Her tear streaked face peeked up from beneath a tangle of disheveled hair. Wordlessly, her staff began to glow and Rose began to breathe a little easier. When Rose finally had the energy to sit up, Nada switched to healing and the cuts, scrapes, and larger gashes from tooth and claw began to close themselves up.

Finally, the two women sat on the ground, leaning against each other, back-to-back. It was Rose who spoke first.

“Rest of the dungeon, you heal, I punch. Nobody tells Oliver. Deal?”

The relief from Nada was almost tangible. “Oh, heck yes. Thank you, you are a saint. You’re now my favorite person in the group.”

Cora laughed like a maniac, her shields whirling around her, lizardman bodies flying through the air and crashing into the walls. Silas didn’t laugh, but he wore a fierce grin as he rode one of the two shields like a skateboard, raining down lightning from just above their enemies’ heads. The final chamber of their dungeon was a chaotic orchestra of death and destruction, the older woman and the boy conducting their masterpiece.

Oliver walked from the dungeon, dog and slime in tow. He watched the light play across the disc that would change Trinket once again. It was a little more difficult than he thought it would be. The little creature was so innocent and pleasant, he worried that the changes he was forcing on it would eventually affect its personality.

Several of the other Tutorial-takers pointed up at the sky and began to mumble at each other. Oliver glanced up and watched Scooter glide across the sky, heading back to the inn. It looked like he was going to be the last in.

Oliver heard them before he saw them. Cora’s boisterous laughter echoed around the inn’s common room as she regaled the girls with the tale of their dungeon adventure. Nada was the first to notice Oliver and welcomed him with unusual friendliness.

“Welcome back, Oliver.” She stood up and flagged the server for another meal and a drink, then sat back down as Oliver did. “How was your dungeon? Any problems?”

Oliver pursed his lips and shook his head. “Went about as well as it could. Everyone else okay?”

Cora broke into a big smile and looked at Silas as she answered. “The kid and I tore. That. Place. UP!” She laughed at the end and shared a high-five with a smiling Silas.

“Silas, looks like you had a good time,” he observed.

Silas beamed. “Oliver, it was the best. Ms. Cora and I swept through the dungeon like a plague upon the lizardmen. I felt truly alive. I have never been more fulfilled.”

Oliver reached across the table and offered Silas his fist. After a moment, recognition dawned, and Silas met his fistbump with a smile.

“How about you, ladies?” Oliver asked as he turned to face Rose and Nada.

The two shared a look between each other before Nada turned back to Oliver and answered. “It was... fine. We accomplished our goal and learned a great deal about our... weaknesses.”

Oliver knew there was more to the story, but he let the two keep their secrets. “So,” he began, “everybody bring back their rewards?”

There were nods from around the table as the group began piling the dungeon rewards on the table. Oliver’s Dexterity potion was joined by a pair of Constitution potions, one for Perception, and a pile of Credit chips. Finally, Oliver laid the Upgrade Token on the table. The rest of the party leaned in a little closer to examine the foreign object.

“Wassat?” Cora asked.

Oliver gestured to the green puddle on the floor. “Ring says it’ll get Trinket to the next form. No more slime.”

Nada leaned back in her chair. “Good. Perhaps it will be more useful afterwards.”

Rose leaned over and patted the slime. “Aww, Trinket is fine however Trinket is.” The slime wiggled and danced in response.

“Well, let’s see what it’ll be so we can finish our dinner and grab a bath. Lord knows I need one,” Cora announced.

Oliver leaned down and offered the token to the slime while muttering under his breath, “Well, here goes.”