Orrin sat in silence against the door they’d cleared, watching Madi and the knights sleep. Madi’s little speech had taken it out of her and she’d gone back under quickly.

Orrin threw a [Identify] on her sleeping form.

Madeleine Catanzano

Prism Conjurer Level 14

Status: Fatigued, Dizzy

HP: 110

MP: 170

Strength: 10

Constitution: 11

Dexterity: 10

Will: 17

Intelligence: 16

“Move over.” Daniel kicked Orrin’s leg. He sat down and pulled a blanket up over them. “It’s fucking freezing in here.”

Orrin nodded. “Yeah. It is. Two of the abnormal statuses on Madi have disappeared.”

Daniel moved around until he was comfortable. “That’s great news.” He sighed as he settled down. “So...are you going to tell me?”

“Tell you what?” Orrin had to move again. His back was in the doorjamb now.

“Why you’re being a dick to Madi again. I thought you two made up.”

Orrin turned to make sure Daniel was joking. He wasn’t.

“You really think I can forget getting stabbed because her father wanted to test if you were a hero? Or that right after we saved her from those bandits, she threatened to kill us? She’s a little trigger happy, don’t you think?”

Daniel let the blanket drop to put his hands up defensively. “O. I’m on your side. Don’t bite my head off. I know you hold a grudge. I’m not surprised. I just wanted to know...why now? We’re kind of up the creek.”

Orrin mulled it over. How do you tell someone you are just pissed? Pissed that none of your spells work like you want them to. Pissed that you spend all your time in the back. Pissed that you just almost killed all your new friends, even if one of them is totally a spy and the other is a two-faced bitch who would likely push you off a cliff if she could get away with it.

“Can I just call it a bad day?”

“You can.” Daniel put his arm around Orrin’s neck. “I won’t believe you, though. I will drop it if I’m being a dick though. Just remember, she tried to have me killed too. I have every reason to not trust her as well. But strangely, I do.”

“Of course you do.” Orrin shrugged his arm off. “They never would have actually killed you. You’re the prized ass. I’m just the problem they haven’t been able to solve yet.”

Daniel got quiet. “You know. I was serious when I threatened them. If they try anything...ever again...I’ll find a way to reduce that house to the ground with them in it.”

Orrin stood and let the blanket fall. “If you have to do that, I’m probably dead. I’ll play nice, though. She hasn’t done anything to break her promise so far. But I’m waiting.”

“Should we have a safe word?”

“What?”

“You know, like if we need to get out of town quick. We could figure out a place to meet. Even plan different routes if we get separated.”

Orrin stared at Daniel.

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s not a bad idea.”

“I know,” Orrin responded. “It’s actually a good idea. Which is why I’m surprised.”

Daniel stood and slugged Orrin in the arm. “Jerk.”

“Idiot.”

They chuckled.

“How about television or just TV?”

“And just how do you think you could use that word in a normal sentence on this world?” Orrin asked. “That’s got to be the dumbes-“

“You know, all of this reminds me of a TV show I watched once.” Daniel cut in.

“That’s not too bad actually,” Orrin admitted. “But I can’t exactly go saying that, can I? I’m a local.”

“Shit. I forgot. Uhmm... I don’t know.”

Orrin thought for a minute. “What about just mentioning that tree. The one you hollowed out our first night here. It’s innocent enough that you could just be telling a story. Same for me. But we’ll know.”

“Ok. So like: hey, this hallway smells worse than that big tree we spent the night in.”

“Perfect.” Orrin laughed. “And if we need to communicate in a hurry, just yell TV. If we need to run, who cares if they know I’m from the same planet as you.”

“I’m not sure you actually are from Earth.” Daniel said and dodged Orrin’s attempted hit.

Orrin leaned back on the wall. “Thanks for not giving me too much shit. If she’s for real, maybe I’ll come around.”

“No you won’t,” Daniel said as he rolled the blanket up into a ball. “You still haven’t forgiven me for breaking your Spiderman toy when we were like seven.”

“It wasn’t a toy. It was a collectab-“

“Yeah. Yeah. Come on. Let’s go check on the kids.” Daniel put the wadded up blanket under his arm and trudged off to check on Madi. Orrin moved towards the guys.

Brandt was snoring again, but sounded much better. Cleaner, somehow. Jude turned when Orrin got close.

“You awake?”

Jude turned over and blinked his eyes. “I think so?”

Orrin grabbed a water and handed it to him. “Drink while you can. You guys have been sweating a lot, even in this cold.”

Jude took it and drank greedily. “Thanks.” He huffed a few breaths. “I feel a lot better. How long were we out?”

“It’s almost night. Daniel and I can take watch and let you guys sleep. Tomorrow we can figure out what to do. Madi thinks Brandt will demand we return.”

“Mysterious illness in the middle of the dungeon? Yeah. He’s going to be a stick in the mud.”

“Sorry.” Orrin took the water back and set it against the bags. Another quick identify on Jude showed the ‘Fatigued’ and ‘Dizzy’ statuses were gone. The word ‘Brain Fog’ was fading but ‘Nauseous’ was still there.

“It’s not your fault kid, even if it is. We all accepted the risks. New magic is dangerous. That’s why so many people stick with the tried and true methods. But, hey. We survived. That’s how you get better.”

“How are you feeling? Most of your statuses are gone, but it still says nauseous and brain fog.”

Jude closed his eyes to concentrate as he spoke. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m about to lose the word I’m trying to speak but then I catch it. Closing my eyes helps. I don’t really feel nauseous though.”

“Madi upchucked on Daniel earlier. You’re not feeling queasy?”

“No. Not at all. Mostly just exhausted and wrung out.”

Jude chatted a bit more with Orrin before saying he felt like he’d been up all night and wanted to sleep more. His soft snores joined the chorus around the hallway before long.

Orrin still felt jittery and Daniel hadn’t slept much the night before, so Orrin took first watch.

Why would my spell affect them like that? It was my first time using the level two [Utility Ward]. I guess my stats had also increased so it was a much bigger jump. Why did Madi throw up when she cast that spell? I’m never going to figure this out.

He tried to let Daniel sleep through again, just like their first night but Daniel woke himself up and told him off. After checking on everybody and making sure they seemed okay, Orrin fell back on his blanket and slept.

“Morning sunshine.” A voice penetrated his lovely dream of flying over the ocean. He’d been like a bird, huge wings and... he lost it.

“Ugggh.”

“Brandt busted out a small can of coffee beans he brought,” the voice tempted him.

“Coffee,” Orrin murmured. “Give me.”

“He’s awake.” Footsteps drifted and Orrin opened his eyes. Jude was stretching in the corner. Madi was huddled with a blanket over her but sitting upright. Brandt held a small pot over a torch, heating something inside.

“I told you he’d get up for coffee,” Daniel, the voice that had woken him up, said to Brandt.

“We all deserve it, even if it’s supposed to be for emergencies only.”

“Coffee is always an emergency.” Orrin crawled his way out of his blanket and made his way over to the godly smell of beans with hints of chocolate. “You were holding out on me?”

Brandt shook his head and poured a small amount of the black brew into a cup with a makeshift filter. Orrin watched it with greedy eyes.

“We bring a little in dungeons. In case we need it on another floor. Keeping watch while awake is important.”

He took the filter out and handed the small cup to Orrin. “For keeping us safe.”

“If that’s all it costs, I’ll make sure to keep you all in tip top shape.” Orrin drank and sighed. “Yum.”

Madi giggled. “How can you drink that without cream or sugar?”

“Like this.” Orrin sipped again. “Heaven.”

“Now that we’re all awake,” Brandt started. “It’s time to pack up and head back.”

Boo’s and No’s echoed from every direction. Jude even threw a piece of jerky at Brandt.

“But you all seem better,” Daniel argued. “Sure, Madi might need a piggy back ride- ouch, don’t throw food at me.”

While Daniel argued, Orrin used [Identify] to go over everyone. Madi still had a blinking ‘Fatigued’ marker, but every other member of the party was clear.

“Madi’s fatigue should pass soon, I think,” Orrin chimed in. “Not arguing to keep going. Just pointing it out.”

Brandt looked at her. “She said she felt better.”

“It’s just a little stiffness,” Madi played it off. “I’ll be fine. Let’s at least take a look in the next room. More information for next time, right?”

Brandt seemed torn between wanting to carry her out himself and grant her wish to stay. “We can look. But then we go home to Dey. It’s been at least two days since the Horde reached the Wall. It should be taken care of now.”

“Do you think a lot of people got hurt?” Orrin asked. He’d been low-key worried the entire dungeon trip that they’d show back up and everyone would be dead. Brandt had painted a pretty grim picture before.

“No. The guard would have mobilized a full response team. Specific traps and surprises would have been set. Some people probably got hurt trying to play the hero...no offense, Daniel, but overall, the extra time we had to prepare most likely made all the difference.

Orrin let out a sigh he hadn’t realized he was holding in. “That’s good.”

Daniel slapped a hand on Orrin’s back. “Time for some buffs.”

Everyone took a step back.

“Just for me,” Daniel said with a smile.

“I’m going to hold off. We can experiment when we get back to Dey and figure out what happened. But until then, no.” Orrin put his hands in his pockets.

“But I didn’t get sick!” Daniel whined. “Fuck.”

Orrin watched as Brant and Jude moved around gingerly. He pushed a sword over to clatter on the ice and watched them both wince at the sound. “Sorry. It slipped.”

Hangover like effects.

Madi tried to put her pack on her shoulder and almost toppled over.

She’s lifting that like she did a full-body workout yesterday.

A bunch of little things started to add up and Orrin began to form an idea of what happened and a plan to confirm.

But not now. Get in. See the monster. Run away.

The only person who seemed excited to dash back into danger was Daniel. He was already posted up for first spot by the next door.

“I’m ready whenever you guys are.”

“Daniel. We are going to look and leave. Please do not run in.” Jude rubbed his temples.

“You guys are no fun. Can I at least hit it around a bit if it’s small?”

“No.” Three different voices echoed.

Brandt opened the door and looked inside. “Clear so far. Go ahead and enter.”

Orrin went in last this time. As he walked through the doorframe, the landscape in front of him spread into the distance again. The room was at least as big as the Elemental room, but the floor was rolling blue sand with a gently blazing sun in the ‘sky’ above.

“It’s pretty but I don’t see any monsters.” Daniel griped.

Orrin pulled up his [Map]. One red dot circled just at the edge but then disappeared.

“There is something over that way.” He pointed.

They took a few steps into the sand. Orrin knelt and scooped a handful of the blue stuff.

“Hey guys, this is ice. Tiny, tiny ice.”

He went back to watching his blue box. Whatever was in here was shy or didn’t know they were here.

Brandt and Jude stood on point on either side, with Daniel taking the center. Madi and Orrin stood in the center of them all.

“Should I do a [Gravity Well] shout?” Daniel suggested.

“Let’s move back to the door. Then go for it,” Brandt said as he started walking backwards.

“The door is right there.” Daniel complained and waved his sword.

Orrin agreed that they could probably make a jump for the door before anything could sneak up on him but kept his mouth shut.

“Fine. I want to get going.”

Daniel let out a yell that pulled the sand around him like a magnet. The echoes vibrated and twisted on the ice sand and a second later, screeching in the distance let them know something was coming.

“Here they come. Five, no six dots, moving in fast from over there.” Orrin pointed.

“Get a look with [Identify] if you can and then we leave.”

They watched in the direction he had pointed. Orrin kept his eyes glued to his blue box.

“They’re close. I don’t want to look away in case they circle to the sides. Anyone have eyes on?”

“Nothing,” Daniel said.

Orrin frowned.

“Shit. They must be underground,” Jude speculated. “Get back. Not worth a fight.”

Orrin and Madi turned and ran out. Jude followed behind them. Brandt had to drag Daniel a little but he accepted defeat with some grace.

“We could have taken whatever it was...but probably not smart to fight something that can pop up from underground,” he said but still looked glum.

“Thanks for listening better though,” Orrin joked. “Brandt only had to pull your ear a little this time.”

Daniel smirked. “I did say I would try.”

“All right,” Brandt cut in. “Let’s head back home.”

They made their way back to the safe room ice door they’d come through. Brandt pulled it open. It looked like the safe room they’d left the day before. Or was it two days now.

“See you guys out there.” He stepped across the threshold and a flash of bright light hit Orrin’s eyes. Brandt had disappeared.

“Magic fuckery,” Daniel muttered. He stepped across, too. Jude followed.

Madi turned back to Orrin. “You coming?”

“Yep. Just enjoying the lightshow.”

Madi smiled. “It is pretty. I wouldn’t have noticed. See you on the other side.” She stepped through.

Orrin looked around at the remnants of the camp they’d set up. “I won’t miss this place,” he spoke to the empty hallway. Then he stepped forward and left the dungeon.