A wet splash on Rhen’s face jerked him awake.

Aki stood over his bed, glowing his happy yellow-pink color. “Good morning.”

Rhen groaned and sat up. “Less so now that my face is wet.”

“Well, it is a good morning for me, so I will still say it.”

“Hand me my pants, would you?” Rhen asked, reaching out for them.

He was sure Aki didn’t care about his nakedness, since he himself was naked, but Rhen still felt a little weird about it. Aki wrapped a few tentacles around the belt-loops and lifted them gingerly away from his watery body, then dropped them on Rhen’s lap. Aki turned away as if to give him privacy, and Rhen dressed quickly.

“So, what are we doing?” Rhen asked.

“I have already prepared the baths. They have been warmed by the very successful bonfire I created all on my own,” he said, beaming. “It has become apparent that indoor water flow is necessary for our continued comfort. I thought you and I could explore the aquatic chamber before everyone rises for the riverside party.”

Rhen bobbed his head. “That sounds like a plan.”

“I mapped farther out, past the gigafish territory, and discovered something… interesting.”

“Oh?” Rhen asked, leading the way down the stairs to the dining room.

“Yes. An opening.” Aki flowed down behind him, surfing on his water. He was definitely learning to have some fun.

Rhen raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Well, this requires further investigation, doesn’t it?”

“Oh! Mr. Zephitz, you’re up,” Arannet’s grating, chipper voice called from the corner of the dining hall.

Rhen wanted to pretend he hadn’t heard her, but he decided against it. “Good morning, Arannet.”

She looked like she hadn’t slept at all, but she’d taken the time to reform her messy bun into something tighter. She was wearing a fresh set of clothes, but her same clip-cloppy fancy shoes. “I was hoping we could get a head start on some of these forms due at the end of the week?”

Rhen winced. “Sorry, not possible today. Aki and I have some critical business to attend, and then there’s the riverside party.”

“After that?” she asked, unfazed by his attempt to dodge.

“Uh, after that we will… be…” he stalled, looking to Aki. “Don’t we have something?”

“We have not made plans after that.”

Damn him.

“So, after the party is good?” Arannet twisted a gold ring on another finger and yellowy anima flowed up into the air, forming a list of items. It was clear she used this to schedule and task track. With a few swift gestures she put in the note without waiting for Rhen’s confirmation.

Defeated, Rhen nodded. “After that is fine.”

“Great, I’ll see you then.”

“You are not coming to the party?” Aki asked.

Double damn him.

“Oh, I thought it was for delvers only.”

He didn’t want captain buzzkill talking about regulations when they were trying to relax, but it was too late to rescind now. “No, you’re welcome to join us, so long as you promise not to talk business.”

She grinned and held up her hand. “Promise.”

“Good. Maybe wear your boots, though.” Rhen pointed to her fine shoes, which would quickly get sucked into the mud and disappear.

They headed out of the inn and Rhen spotted Leslie hard at work on her sewing machine, furiously pushing dark cloth through it. He wanted to stop and see if she needed something, but her focus was intense, so he decided not to bother her.

Aki surfed down the steep tunnel to the beachhead, giving a little hoot of enjoyment as he did. Rhen slid down the slick stone after him, hollering his own enjoyment. They shared a laugh at the bottom and walked toward the water.

“I do not want to intrude but—

“You heard Jakira and I talking last night?”

“Yes.” Aki’s color went blue. Rhen hadn’t seen that before.

Rhen chuckled. “And you wanted to let me know that it’s still okay we have affections for one another?”

Aki hummed. “Yeeesss… but I… I wanted to ask…” His color shifted to midnight black, and he seemed to shrink in on himself.

Rhen scowled. This was strange behavior. “What’s wrong, buddy?”

“If I decided not to continue my pilgrimage, there is space for me here?”

“Of course, you’re my main dude.” Rhen held out his fist for a bump.

Aki poked it with one of his tentacles, his color quickly blossoming into the yellow-pink Rhen knew to be joy. “Very good. Thank you for the confirmation. Though…”

“Though what?”

Aki’s colors vacillated between black, green, and blue, as if he was thinking very hard about something troubling. “Perhaps this will be more appropriate for another time.”

“You let me know when you’re ready. Shall we?” He gestured to the water.

Aki leapt up and splashed into the lake, surging around and around happily. Rhen dropped in after him, triggering amphibian lung. They swam to the edge of the dark depths and Aki triggered his soothing aura, making them effectively invisible to the aggressive inhabitants of the lake.

“Hey, why did you invite that paperpusher, anyway?”

“She had never been invited to parties within the guild either. She feels like an outsider everywhere she goes.”

Rhen felt a pang of pity for her. He didn’t crave the attention of others, but understood what it would feel like being denied it.

They pushed deeper into the lake, Rhen using swift twitch to give him bursts of speed, keeping pace with Aki. Silvish and prismageysers of massive size swam by lazily, seeing them, but not turning to give chase because of Aki’s powerful aura.

“You should be nicer to her. She is not a bad person.”

“Well, she should remove the rulebook from her ass.”

“What?!”

“Just an expression, Aki. She’s too uptight about everything.”

“She only wants to do a good job, like you. She has a love for dungeons.”

“She has a weird way of showing it.”

They passed the nexus node, glowing a gentle purple in the crushing depths of the lake. Rhen yearned to swim down and blink himself into Paradise, escaping the paperwork and fluffer-stuff that filled up his head with nonsense. How nice it would be to kick back in the hot sand and breathe deep his success. Soon.

The lake floor sloped upward and Rhen could tell that the water wasn’t still anymore but gently pulling them along. The vegetation was getting thick, and a flurry of smaller fish presented in the shallows.

“It is just ahead.”

They surfaced to another white-sand beach, bisected by a swiftly flowing river. At the back of the beach was a dark, wide-mouthed tunnel where the river disappeared into. Little crabs scuttled about on the beach, picking up shells and fragments of anima crystals, looking for something tasty, Rhen guessed.

Rhen changed back to atmospheric breathing and hacked the water out of his lungs. When he was ready, they proceeded into the dark tunnel, keeping to the left side where a rocky platform protected them from the swiftly flowing river. Aki’s aura shielded them from monster aggro and provided a good light by which to walk.

Maybe it was the water clinging to his clothes, but it felt colder at this end of the lake…

Aki gave a quick swirl and swish, pulling the water out of Rhen’s clothes and hair.

Nope, it was still colder, for sure.

They rounded a tight bend and were blasted by a gust of cold wind accompanied by blinding white light. Rhen blinked hard, shielding his face from the snow.

Snow?

He pulled his arm down and squinted to get a better look. There at the tunnel opening was a flurry of white powder, kept mostly at bay by some invisible force—the chamber boundary, Rhen assumed.

Rhen sped forward, excited by the prospect of another themed chamber. He reached the edge of the tunnel, the chill of the chamber invigorating him. His eyes adjusted to the blinding white at the same time as the wind died down for a brief moment, revealing the most spectacular view.

They stood at the peak of a short mountain overlooking a valley of pine trees, snow, massive mountains, and towering blue crystal formations. Was that corraphine? If so, there were massive amounts of it! They would surely have enough to do everything they needed in terms of plumbing.

There were three peaks Rhen could clearly see, but the wind battered them, blowing snow from their tops and hazing the sky. Sky… Rhen couldn’t even see the ceiling in here but had to assume the anima crystals above were casting the wonderous glow that made it so blinding.

The river flowed down over the edge of the peak and tumbled down in a powerful waterfall that flowed into the valley. It pooled at a glassy lake deeper in, surrounded by pine trees dusted with snow.

“I must go back.” Aki said.

Rhen turned to see the Prelusk slinking away from the opening, his watery body growing ice crystals on the surface. Rhen wasn’t particularly suited to enter the chamber right now, either. He was in a short-sleeved shirt, no leather jerkin, and simple cloth pants. He would want to bundle up good before heading in there. And Aki… they’d figure something out to get him in there.

A loud snarl ripped Rhen’s attention back to the new chamber. A hulking shadow stepped in front of the cave, its fur whipping in the wind. It had massive horns projecting on either side of its head, sharp claws protruding from seven, gangly fingers, and a face that inspired deep horror in him. Its long maw opened in a roar, revealing massive fangs and breath so rank Rhen almost threw up.

Rhen took a step back nervously. “It shouldn’t leave its chamber…”

The yeti monster took a step up, claws digging into the tunnel opening.

Welp…

Rhen turned tail and charged down the tunnel. “Time to go!”