*THUMMM*

The tunnel vibrated from the impact and Will fell. He quickly rolled over in the tight confines of the tunnel and saw the nose of the great snake mere inches from his foot. He did the first thing to come to mind, he drew and pointed his 50 cal right between its eyes. As a brief afterthought, he activated [Penetrating Shot], pulled the trigger, and watched as the giant snake shook… slightly, with a single cracked scale.

Will froze and looked at it, it’d done nothing really. The scales were too dense and he couldn’t see the eyes. Will scrambled to his feet, forced to hunch over, and took aim again but before he could shove the barrel of his revolver up its nose, the mouth opened slightly and a pink forked target came out. He was ready.

*Bang* *bang* *bang*

It had felt that!

The snake recoiled as Will was sprayed with serpentine blood. It fully cleared the tunnel and almost instantly two things happened. A wave of snakes entered and Will jumped as someone ran between his legs. He looked down and saw the flash of darkened steel and yellow hair start carving up the smaller snakes trying to get in before they could even rise up to strike.

“Move back, Herald’s clearing the other side,” Silvia said and nudged his thigh with her elbow. It was only then that Will noticed the shooting coming from further into the tunnel. He’d been too preoccupied with the big one and hadn’t even noticed Herald and Alvin push deeper. Will's had to twist awkwardly to turn around in his hunched position but started reloading his revolver as he retreated.

“You alright?” Silvia asked.

“It bounced right off?” Will said, “Used a damn Skill and it ricocheted? Point blank.”

“That… shouldn’t be… in here,” Herald said from where he was holding the line in their cramped dead end.

“What do you mean?” Alvin asked. Will had his antidotes with him and had given the man one. He’d started to go pale except for the spot on his leg, visible after he pulled up his pant leg which was turning a very angry red. Thankfully the antidote was doing its work and he was quickly recovering.

“It should have been a really big Greater Silver Crest Viper but did you [Identify] the queen? It was a GRAND Silver Crest CONSTRICTOR,” Silvia said and moved up behind Herald, “Herald, switch.”

The two quickly traded places and the male halfling moved back to catch his breath. A sizable pile of dead snakes at the entrance but they kept having to push further back to make room. On the bright side, it seemed the only big one left was the really fucking big one.

“I’m not following,” Will admitted.

“In young dungeons, Grand beasts are usually the main boss. Somewhere deep inside but not only does this little area have a Grand snake, but it's also an evolved version of it,” Herald said, “It doesn’t make sense.”

“So that’s the dungeon boss?” Alvin asked. Will immediately knew the answer to that because he knew what the boss was.

“No way in all the hells,” Silvia said from the entrance, “We’re not deep enough.”

“Are you sure?” Alvin asked, “Is there really something down here worse than that?”

“Yes!” Will, Silvia, and Herald all answered. The fact that Will was ‘local’ and didn’t know much about dungeons drew the attention of the other two.

“How do you know?” Herald asked.

Will hesitated but shook his head. It wasn’t like it’d be a secret forever. Or he had any intention of hunting the damn thing himself.

“There’s another entrance. It’s a shaft going down into a part of the dungeon a few miles from here… It was sealed but when we opened it… It’s a fucking dragon. A young silver dragon. Damn thing shot fire right up the tube at us,” Will blurted out.

A silence spread through the tunnel.

“Dang it!” at least until Silvia remembered what she was doing and nearly got herself bitten.

Will looked at Herald and shrugged. It was the truth.

“A young... draconic dungeon?” Herald looked around at the stone walls encompassing them, “It was a silver mine once, wasn’t it? I’d guess that’s why one spawned. There’s still silver in these walls, a large node that wasn’t discovered. Absorbing mana, influencing the spawns… I’ll be… Was it an actual dragon?”

“I was the only one to see it and only because of a Skill, [Zoom]. But yeah, fire breathing head, four legs, wings... Are they that rare?” Will asked.

“Seen many dragons flying around? They’re rare enough. For dungeons, maybe 1 in 100 will have a draconic species in it. Most Wyverns and wyrms. But an actual dragon?” Herald seemed out of it at the thought and Will thought the Sheriff’s words on Rangers weren’t just him trying to reassure Will. And was possible it wasn’t a prediction either. It was letting slip that the big guns were actually going to get called in if it came to it.

At least the leaders of the town were actually taking it seriously and trying to downplay it. Or maybe they didn’t know. Maybe even Margret, though Will suspected that had to do more with claiming the dragon's horde for the Landry family or at a minimum controlling the shortcut to its lair.

“How about we worry bout gettin’ out first,” Alvin said.

“Sure, if you’ve got a plan for the big one,” Silvia snarked from the entrance.

“Shoot it in the eyes,” Will said, “repeatedly. Then run like hell and don’t stop till we get back to the place we first met.”

“That’s not a plan. You saw how fast it was moving and how big the passage in here was. It’d catch us… The best I can think of is that somewhere in here is a treasure. Hopefully an enchanted weapon, staff, wand, or something. We find it and see if we can use it to kill- what?”

“I was actually thinking we lure it over that trap,” Will said, “Can monsters wander anywhere in a dungeon?”

Again, silence. Will looked around at the adventurers. Alvin looked clueless but Herald and Silvia both looked surprised. Will also noted with Silvia that the snakes had gone down to a trickle, giving her a few seconds between waves of only one or two coming around the corner.

“Well?” Will asked again.

“It can probably see the trap, or at least that tripwire, and hasn’t wandered into the greater dungeon because of it but if we blind it first…” Herald faded out in thought.

“Would it kill it?” Alvin asked hopefully. They looked to Will. He was the only one that could even detect it was there. The issue was he had no clue.

“I can only see that there’s something there. I have no idea what the trap actually does. It could blast the thing with magical tickles for all I know,” Will admitted.

“But there’s a chance it’s afraid of it,” Silvia pointed out, “So even if you don’t know, it might know exactly what will happen to it if it triggers that.”

“At a minimum. Even if it doesn’t know, it still hasn’t gone down that tunnel and has chosen to stay in its den. All of the snakes have as far as we know. It might be afraid of it because it doesn’t know. If we blind it we might be able to get there before it’s on us. Then as Will said, run like the hells are after us and hope it’s too afraid to pursue,” Herald said. It wasn’t exactly what Will had said but close enough.

“Or that it does pursue and the traps big enough to take it out, provided we’re far enough away when it does,” Silvia added.

“So we’re going with my plan, shoot it repeatedly and run like hell?” Will asked.

“After we look for the treasure,” Silvia chimed in, “It might help and if not, it’ll still make the whole affair worth it. Still a shame to leave behind all this silver, even if it’s only half a percent in composition. There are a lot of snakes in here.”

“We’d never get more than a dozen anyway,” Herald said.

“Why not?” Will asked.

“Because the only way we’re claiming any of it is if the big one’s dead. I can’t say for the rest of you but if it dies, I’m prying every scale I can off that thing until the dungeon reclaims it,” Herald smiled.

“It won't be all a waste,” Will said and stood up, thankful for the higher ceiling in their refuge. He walked over to one of the lucky snakes that had made it a little further and were lying behind Silvia. He bent down to grab it but stopped himself and drew his knife and stabbed it in the neck before cutting off its head. He picked it up and tossed it into his bottomless saddlebag before picking up the rest of it and slitting it down the stomach before yanking the rest of the snakeskin off and jamming it into his bag before tossing the rest further into the tunnel.

“That’s good meat!” Alvin exclaimed.

“Better have some good gloves when you empty that,” Herald said but he was already getting to his feet and pulling a knife out.

“I’ve got a pair… and Alvin, you’re welcome to help yourself to as-” Will paused at what he was about to say, or at least the implications of it. It made him feel a little sick, “as much of the meat as you-”

He had to breathe for a moment. Why did he taste nasty, charred meat?

“Alvin, keep what you want but the man doesn’t like snake meat. Get over here and help us get these cleaned up,” Herald said and Will gave him a nod. He liked killing the little bastards, had no problem skinning them but the thought of eating them mad-

Will puked.

“It’ll be alright, Will. Just don’t look back,” Silvia said and patted Will's ass. She was referring to the pile of snake meat growing behind them but his mind lost track of that. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, “Sorry. It’s kind of hard for me to reach your shoulder. I was aiming for your lower back but your pants sit really low. And really loose. I missed.”

Will could understand that, Kind of. He didn’t wear low riders… ever. But he’d bought a pair of pants in Fairpoint that fit as close to regular jeans as he could find. The local style was a bit higher and was borderline bibs. They also weren’t loose by his standards, or even local standards. Not everyone went around in form fitted leggings like Silvia.

“It’s alri- Hey! What’s with the poking?” Will asked when Silvia poked him in the butt.

“Sorry, they’re as low as mine,” She lifted the bottom of her shirt to show him what he meant. By earth standards, it wasn’t that bad. How normal pants sat in Will’s opinion. They rose up to just below her naval but Will had to admit from what he’d seen of Kate it was the Cradus version of low riders, “Never met a man that wore women’s pants before. Wear one of these too?”

“They are NOT women’s- not women’s clothes,” Will defended himself but cut off and averted his eyes at the sight of the half-laced split corset below her shirt. Then jumped when she poked him again. It wasn’t in the cheek that time but right at the top of his pants. It was at his waist, where pants were supposed to sit.

“Just have to learn ta deal wit it. It’s how halflings are I suppose. I’ve met a few, Herald’s the exception, not the rule,” Alvin said.

“The hells?” Silvia guffawed, “What are you talking about? I don’t poke your butt... And did you all hear that? I’m the ‘rule’ now.”

“You are not. Alvin… have you ever been to a halfling settlement?” Herald asked.

“N-”

“No? Then shut up,” Silvia said.

“Why are you two so mean to him?” Will asked.

“Union tradition,” the halflings both answered at the same time… So they didn’t dislike him necessarily, it was just hazing the new guy. Will had dealt with the same thing, so he could only look at Alvin and shrug. At least the guy wouldn’t end up sending a request for an updated ID 10T form to his company first sergeant only to have it delivered in person to him… The Senior NCO had handed him a mirror with the form’s name written across the top.

It explained a bit why- she poked him again. She was hazing him. In a more sexual assault kind of way.

“I’m gonna dangle you upside down by your feet till you promise to stop doing that” Will threatened, and looked at her but she grinned.

“And if I break that promise?” she asked.

Will didn’t answer. Instead, he squatted down to grab another snake, waiting. The moment she went to poke him in the side, he snatched her hand and flicked her in the forehead. Silvia sat stunned for a moment then started laughing.

“See he gets it! Alvin, that’s what you’re supposed to do. Show some backbone,” Silvia laughed and rubbed her forehead.

“So, you’ve been trying to get me to-”

“Alvin, shut it. We don’t need you talking right now,” Herald said but it sounded half hearted, almost staged. Will looked at Alvin and gestured for him to say something.

“Ah… eat dirt… shorty,” Alvin managed to get out.

“Eh,” Silvia wavered her hand back and forth as she critiqued the comeback, “We’ll work on it.”

“No time for more lessons anyway. That’s about the last of them,” Herald pointed out to the group. They’d made their way through the pile of snakes and now Will’s bag was holding about a hundred skins and a hundred heads. Give or take. Some of them just weren’t worth salvaging. Probably just as many jammed into their three smaller bottomless bags they wore. Alvin as a pouch on his belt but Herald and Sylvia both had theirs like a satchel hanging from a strap. Will would have to look into them too. They looked a lot more convenient.

“Okaaay, we stick to the narrow tunnels when we can and I can scout ahead if there’s a point we have to go down one wide enough for the queen. If you three see it, go for the eyes,” Silvia broke down the plan, “If we see the treasure, the plan switches to ‘grab and go’.”

“And if you hear me tell you to close your eyes, do it. I’ll give you a second if I can but no promises. The same spell as before,” Herald warned. Will briefly wondered how a giant snake would react to that spell. Hopefully, it would take after Alvin and just be completely dumbfounded and not have Silvia’s confused fixation. Though having the queen pause because it didn’t understand why one of its fellow snakes had arms, legs, and hair might be alright. Anything was alright, as long as it didn’t have anything to do with Will’s junk.

“Silvia, Will…” Herald gestured to the front and the two took their spots on point. Will immediately started using [Analyze] to look for traps. Silvia spotted one first. They were moving upwards and He was lucky she was scrambling up in front of him.

“Pressure plate on that handhold,” Silvia pointed to a very obvious place for something the size of a human to grab in order to stabilize themselves going up the slope. She studied it then looked back at Will. He quickly cycled [Analyze] on again but didn’t see anything, “I can’t see it.”

“Huh,” Silvia said then after a moment picked up a rock and tossed it at the point in question. As soon as the pressure plate depressed a crossbow bolt shot out of the ceiling with enough force to pierce the plate. It wouldn’t have been a fatal injury but it would have required a good healing tonic at a minimum. And whether it was tingling, in pain, or with a hole in it, it would take the hand out of commission for a while. As traps went, Will doubted it was really that bad.

Though the hidden crossbow or whatever had shot it brought up a few questions. How did it get in the wall? How did Silvia know it was a bolt and the trap wasn’t meant to make the tunnel collapse? Will sighed and didn’t bother asking either at that moment, he’d have to trust her to do what she knew how to do.

They crawled through the tunnels again after that and Will was beginning to feel useless. They came across more mundane traps, each one Silvia set off or told them to avoid. Her decision process on which ones to do which was her own little secret. But not a single magical trap that Will could see.

*bang**bang**bang*

“Gunshots?” Will asked as the sound reached them. They were muffled but didn’t sound that far off. He looked back to check that Alvin hadn’t gotten separated but the man was right there. It was soon joined by a muffled explosion, more gunshots, and yelling but Will couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“I think one of the other groups came looking for us,” Herald said, “Hope the explosion was their doing and not the trap. Sounds like they’re spreading out.”

Will should have figured it was more than just three adventurers that had entered the mine… He listened to the distant voices. They sounded like they were coming from different places but it could have just been echoes. Though there was definitely one growing closer as they sat there.

“Come on,” Silvia said and quickened the pace down the tunnel. By the time it straightened out Will could hear the voice clearer. It was a woman’s voice and she sounded panicked. She was yelling out for someone it was joined by a scraping of stones across one another that started to vibrate their small side tunnel. Will raised his lantern to the edge of the narrow tunnel and a moment later saw a young woman grab the lip of it, drawn by the light. She made it a few paces in before the open tunnel behind her was replaced by a half wall of scales as it slithered past.

“Ugggh…” The woman groaned and held her side, panting. She looked over at Will and the group he was with and turned towards them, “Thank ya… Don’t think... I coulda outrun-”

Will closed his eyes as blood sprayed through the tunnel. He was far enough away that only some of it got on him but when he opened his eyes he saw the woman still standing there. Supported by four of the five spears that had shot out of the wall to impale her from the side. Her mouth opening and closing soundlessly and her eyes wide open in terror.

Will and the others just stood there, looking at her for the brief moment it took her to die. All but Herald who took a knee and started mumbling in a foreign language. Making a complicated gesture with his hands in her direction. Her last rights… There was nothing else to do.

Even if Will grabbed for his bag to get her one of his tonics it wouldn’t matter… She was already gone. All it took was leaning against the wrong section of wall to catch her breath.

Silvia walked up to her and looked around at the walls, “If she’d just looked around she would have seen it… I don’t see a second trap. Will?”

“Huh?” Will was still looking at the young woman with vibrant red hair, pierced through the neck, chest, bowel, and leg. It took a second before he snapped out of it when he registered what Silvia said. After checking he shook a negative, “Nothing there.”

Silvia looked again and then started undoing the young woman’s holster.

“What are you doing?” Will asked. He’d looted in Vicksby but that was outlaws. But this was just a young explorer that walked right into a trap… thanks to his light...

“Not what it looks like. I may be a [Rogue] but I have some decency. It’s for her group if any of them survive,” She said and set the holster down to start taking a ring off the dead woman’s finger.

“We have to survive to do that. Won’t just be her getting her name up at the Union Hall,” Alvin pointed out but he was ignored. Silvia kept with her looting. Will looked at the stuff she was removing and shook his head. Silvia would have to climb the spears to get at anything higher up.

Will stepped forward and closed the woman’s eyes and saw a glint of metal around her neck. He hesitated but after a moment grabbed the chain and lifted a locket out from her shirt. The spear through her neck prevented him. He looked at it for a moment, it had a white rose on the outside, and when he opened it the inside was empty. He handed it to Silvia to add to the pile, which she was now putting into the woman’s own bag.

“And if none of them survive?” Will asked.

“Contact the Union and see if she had any family. We have to anyway, so they can take a portion of her dues to put up a plaque on the wall of the dead. Every hall has one,” Herald said, getting up from his prayers, “If she doesn’t have a family it will be sold and the money donated to a good cause in her name.”

“They say it’s bad luck ta keep somethin’ like that unless you knew the person,” Alvin said.

“Is it?” Will asked if you’d lose luck by keeping a dead adventurers stuff.

“Yes, but not because of the stat,” Herald said.

“You’ll end up getting robbed by someone like me in the night. Everything you took, is gone. Everything that’s yours, is gone. Then it’ll get handled properly” Silvia remarked.

“It’s not theivin’. Union’s got a code ya agree to follow when you join. Don’t follow it and that’s the price ya pay,” Alvin explained. Will looked down at the small bottomless bag that Silvia was passing to Herald. The way they handled her belongings told him they took it seriously, even Alvin.

“Doesn’t apply to you if you’re not a member but I’d appreciate it if you followed our lead on this one,” Herald said solemnly and held up the bag in almost a toast before slinging it over his shoulder.

“Of course,” Will said. He was just a little shocked that they had such a complicated manner to honor fallen adventurers.

“That’s it,” Silvia said and climbed up to put the woman’s hat back on her head, pulled down a bit to cover her eyes. “Still has her hat and her boots on… I’ve got her tag.”

Silvia held up a small bracelet and handed it to Herald when he reached for it. Will only caught a glimpse of it but could see writing etched into the metal. It was a dog tag.

“We’ll have to go back and around,” Herald said, “Sweet dreams, sister.”

Silvia and Alvin both muttered the same farewell. Will looked back at the woman again and shook his head, “Rest in peace.”