Bunty didn’t understand religion or the significance of the Ito clan’s pilgrimage. Baba came from a Hindu family, but didn’t practise and worshipped the sword instead. Once a year, for five days during October, he would drag Bunty to a gathering of people from the homeland. It was for a festival called Durga Puja which Bunty never understood.

The Boleyns were similar in their religious aspirations. They forgot all about God and faith until Christmas. When the year’s longest night came, they’d give the staff three days off and spend the time feasting. Edgar, on the other hand, joined the Church of Noah. He didn’t share their belief system with the party, and Bunty didn’t care enough to ask.

Hina helped Bunty clean the blood off his face and hands once she calmed down. He thanked her, and the two discussed their experience so far. Dealing with two powerful beasts, so close together wasn’t a common occurrence even when people ventured into rarely visited territory. The mole almost made sense. The monsters preferred quiet but liked staying close to sources of food. Yukiho didn’t say it outright, but it sounded like the last Ito-clan pilgrimage was almost a decade ago. That was enough time for the creature to move into the territory. If the paths were destroyed, ordinary Climbers would avoid the area. Their walking and talking must have awakened the beast, and it had come charging at the disturbance.

The slimes, on the other hand, made a lot less sense. Sure. They preferred damp areas, but the creatures rarely moved far from their places of origin. The monsters could lay dormant forever, waiting for food to come their way. They didn’t have brains or motivations that encouraged them to migrate. Either something had driven them out of their original home, or someone had introduced them to the area.

Once they finished lighting incense and saying their prayers, the Ito-clan members were ready to move on once again. They expressed their displeasure at climbers defacing the area around their shrine. It was then Bunty noticed the dozens of carvings on the walls around it. He’d been so busy watching the slime lord wrestle itself free of the rocky crevasse, that he had missed them altogether. Bunty had been in another world, wondering what such a creature’s Core would be worth.

Slimes weren’t an uncommon beast, and finding a sufficiently aged specimen wasn’t a challenge. However, killing them was a near-impossible feat for the people in the first two intervals. A slime’s impervious nature and the ability to digest people alive made them too big a threat. Bunty didn’t know whether the FTF would find any use for such a high concentration of the beasts or not. So he made a note of the location before Yukiho ushered them towards the door. Bunty made a note to return to the area in the near future. The carvings on the walls weren’t in Japanese. He intended to investigate them at a later date.

Much to the party’s surprise, the door didn’t take them to the third floor’s hub. They found themselves in a clearing, surrounded by tall deciduous trees.

“This isn’t right,” Yukiho said. “Doors aren’t supposed to change their destination. Only Ito-clan know of this door, they can’t have changed the destination.”

“You saw the graffiti,” Bunty said. “Others have been through here since your last visit. The carvings looked old, though. Perhaps it was not long after your last pilgrimage.”

“Most of the miners on this floor have been at it for nine years,” Hina said. “They work for the Montagus from what I hear. Assuming they’re the ones that caused the collapses and breaks, I’m guessing the last Climbers went through the area not long after. Do you think they could’ve done something to the door?”

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Bunty mumbled, his mind wandering back to the wall carvings. Perhaps the markers would give him a clue as to what happened. The power to control or change a door’s destination could prove invaluable.

The trees towering around them had shed all of their leaves, but the bushes at ground-level were full of life. Wildflowers of varying colours sprouted from their branches, filling the air with a sweet and spicy aroma. Bunty realised it was the first time since leaving the first floor that he took time to take in ambient smells. The last time he took a moment to enjoy the sights was before reaching Bear’s Tooth.

“It’s a pleasant change,” Hina commented.

“I wouldn’t get too comfortable,” Yukiho said. “We need to get moving. Besides, I bet the local beasts come around here to enjoy the scents too.” Her eyes drifted to Mei’s pale face. “All that frost fire took too much out of Mei. I don’t want to interfere in this pilgrimage more than I have to.”

Hina whispered a translation to Koki, and he laughed. Bunty studied their surroundings one more and found himself agreeing with Yukiho’s sentiment. After his experiences on the ground floor, trusting such a site would be foolish. They were turning to leave when Mei made a foolish move. Yukiho was busy talking to Koki in Japanese. She had scaled a tree in an attempt to figure out their location and the ideal bearing for the next leg of their journey. Now that his mental faculties had somewhat recovered, Bunty took some time to recheck his rope. A precise estimate of the remaining length could prove vital in a bind. He still glanced at the party every now and then, but his focus was on the task at hand.

Mei pulled a hand-sized box out of her pack and approached the closest bush. She had a little finger-sized knife in hand. Yukiho proved correct. Mei’s movements were sluggish and slow when compared to her usual confident gait. She kneeled in front of the bush and breathed in the aroma deeply. For the first time since their meeting, Bunty spotted a genuine smile on her lips. Things went south when Mei reached out with her knife. The closest flower tripled in size, shot forward and closed around her extended hand. Both Mei and Bunty took a moment to register the sight. She screamed before he started running towards her.

Yukiho leapt from her tree rushing at Mei. Expecting vines to sprout from the foliage, Bunty drew his axe. The ground opened up, instead. Due to the unfortunate timing, Yukiho was the first to go down. She had enhanced her speed with the cape and travelling at near blinding speed. Due to the sudden elevation change, she tripped and flew face-first into the altered terrain. Her limp body disappeared into the darkness below. Mei got pulled down next, screaming all the while.

Bunty still had a chance. The ground parted between his legs, forcing him into an uncomfortable split. If not for the load on his back, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. The rope and pack combined ruined his balance, and Bunty found himself scrambling for a handhold. His fingers only found grass and loose soil. Neither could support his weight. Then he was dropping into the darkness too.