The party rested for a while in the empty clearing. Ulrik was still unconscious, but healing took in, and he was just recovering from the shock. Horn took a moment to clean himself up in the pond. The green sap was sticky and smelled of decaying plant matter.

Goran was in the middle of his lecture on what could have been improved. He also interrogated both Horn and, later on, everyone else who saw the new beast type in action. A tactic to close the distance while avoiding spikes and decapitating the creatures was laid in. In case of not being able to do so, Ulrik was to freeze them, and Badger to shatter them with his heavy bolts.

Horn was in the middle of cleaning himself when he spotted something in the pond. There was a small rock outcropping down near the bottom, and he was almost sure there was a hole underneath. He called Sigrid and Badger to verify it and, they both agreed there had to be some kind of alcove or even a tunnel leading from the place.

Horn started to strip to his underpants when he heard Herrak, “Having a death wish? Already? I guess I’ve lost the bet.”

“What are you talking about?” Horn replied,

“Diving into unknown, without any support, spells, or plan. Great idea! You’ll get far, chief!” The adventurer mocked.

“If you have everything covered, then shine your wisdom upon this poor fool!” Horn retorted.

“We wait for Ulrik to wake up, he’ll cast water breathing on three of us, and we all go down together. You, me, and either your Scholar or my scout. In full gear, when its time to resurface, Ulrik will give us water walking, which allows you to shoot upward toward the surface without the issue of weight.”

“Huh,” Horn stood there flabbergasted. He didn’t expect a whole plan behind Herrak’s banter, “Yea, that sounds solid.”

--

The expedition into the unknown was postponed for another hour as the Aquamancer got back to his senses. Finally, they were ready. After a round of utility spells, they’ve jumped into the pond. Horn’s body didn’t want to believe it could breathe underwater, he forced his breath out, but his mind couldn’t pass the fear of drowning. He began struggling in the water, and a strong punch in his back forced him to breathe in. Turning around, he saw Herrak grinning. Horn raised his axe to kill the traitor when he realized he could breathe. Lowering his weapon, he nodded.

Without further complication, the three of them got to the entrance. A dark tunnel started at the outcropping. Horn cast his Blessed Weapons, creating weapon torches for everyone. The golden radiance didn’t give much light but enough for his dark vision to kick in. The tunnel meandered for a good thirty yards, then ended in a pool above them. With the help of Herrak, Horn climbed the edge, leading into a small cavern. A podium with several steps led to a good-sized chest in the middle of the room.

Before investigating, he helped his teammates in. Sigrid instantly began crawling over the place, and a few moments later, she called out, “Traps! Stay where you are.”

“Can you disarm them?”

“We’ll see in a while, but I need more light and time.”

“Sure, Herrak, get back to the group. Our water breathing will run out soon. We need Ulrik down here to refresh it for us, and we also need lights.”

“Aye,” The adventurer surprisingly didn’t argue. Instead, with a loud plop, he jumped back into the water.

Horn took a moment to buff up Sigrid, giving her a little bit more freedom to mess with the traps. He didn’t have anything to do, so he just sat there waiting. Minutes passed when Ulrik arrived via the passage. He held three stones enchanted with light. Immediately the small cavern was illuminated. Seeing everything under control, he chit-chatted with Horn. The dwarf was surprisingly outgoing, the complete opposite of his leader.

Their dialog was interrupted by Sigrid proclaiming, “All clear!”

Horn refocused on the cave, and his jaw dropped. What was a smooth floor when they entered was now a mess of wires, uplifted tiles hiding pressure plates, and even a massive swing axe. He was so absorbed in discussing magic with Ulrik that he never noticed Sigrid pushing through these traps. “Holy shit!”

The mage beside just chuckled, “Ay, our scholar sure knows her trade.”

“I’ve picked up some mechanical and engineering knowledge on the way,” Sigrid retorted weakly.

“And a mastery with daggers and stealth. I should study more,” Ulrik chuckled.

Horn missed the conversation, focused on the chest in the middle. Approaching it, he just asked, “Any traps on the chest?”

“No, that I could detect. Should be in clear.”

“Wonderful!”

Horn opened the lid. Inside was split into two compartments: one was lined with greenish ingots of metal. There had to be at least twenty of them. Horn lifted one, feeling his muscles budge under the weight. He heard Ulrik’s shout from behind, “Elementum!”

The excitement in the mage’s voice was enough for Horn to know he hit the jackpot. Putting the ingot away, he looked at assorted items filling the remainder. First, there was a tube with parchments inside. Opening the lid, he saw several sheets of paper. They weren’t spell scrolls, but he had already seen similar items. These were blueprints. His grin only widened at the discovery.

Closing the lid delicately, he checked the remaining items. Eight rings, two earrings – not matched, a single amulet, a pair of gloves, and another of boots. Finally, a sword in a gem-encrusted sheath. Horn took item after item checking it out. The rings weren’t anything special. Three increased health by ten points each, the next two added ten stamina, and the last three gave ten mana. They were an upgrade from his current gear but not mind-boggling.

The earrings were more interesting. One gave a point in Mind, and the other in Reflex. Finally, the amulet increased mana by ten and mana regeneration by ten percent. The main course was the remaining three items.

Archery Gloves – Uncommon – Superb – min. Reflex 15 – 4 armor – Made out of leather of young Seeker Beast, the gloves retained a bit of their magic. Increases the wearer’s Reflex by 2. Improves the accuracy of ranged attacks by 20%.

Feathery Boots of Shockwave– Scarce – Well made – min. 15 endurance – 4 armor – Infused with Roc’s essence, these boots are indisposable while scaling mountains. Once a day can activate a Shockwave quality – create a push of force originating from the wearer in 45’ cone. Twice a day allows the wearer to cast Feather Fall on himself, dramatically slowing the falling speed.

Gleaming Short Sword – Rare – Exquisite – min. 20 reflex,.14 presence – the sword made out of Elementum was ornamented by the greatest jewelers and enchanted by a priestess of Andromeda. Its fame spread as the best dueling weapon in four kingdoms. However, the weapon disappeared after the assassination of its owner in a dark alleyway. Increased speed of movement based on the number of people watching the fight. The more eyes on the fighter, the faster the strikes become. Once a day can generate a flash of light that’ll blind all that see it for 5 seconds.

The loot was a mixed bag, there was quite a bit of it, but it wasn’t anything to write home about. On the other hand, it was the first time Horn saw so many magical items in one place.

They wrapped up quickly, but carrying it back through the underwater tunnel was a chore. Without the spell, they wouldn’t be able to move the ingots at all. Over an hour later, they were finally finished.

Horn discarded his soaking wet armor and slowly dried up while arguing with Herrak about the loot, “I have four out of ten in here. Forty percent of share should be mine!”

“Your presence in here is my way of reaching out. An olive branch, so to say, don’t push me. The loot will be split based on a need basis, with crafting materials going to the clan. On your own runs, you can do whatever you want, after taxes, of course.” Horn replied.

“That’s not how the adventuring works! The codex say-“ The adventurer argued,

“I don’t see no codex in here. If your guild wants to propose one, feel free. I’ll get to it when I have time.”

“You can’t just hoard the Elementum! We’ve got a right to get our share!”

Horn had enough. Herrak just didn’t know when to stop. He came to a few inches from the adventurer and shouted, “You forget who brought you here. Who gave you your guild. I never cheated you, nor will I start doing it now! The ingots go to the clan. When we know the best use for them, you’ll get your bloody share!”

Taking a step back, Herrak still fumed. He bit his tongue, but his eyes said he’d remember this lashing. He spat on the ground and said, “As you wish chieftain.”

--

After the shouting match with Herrak, no one else argued about the loot. Horn made rounds with the items splitting them based on usability and performance. The necklace went to Ulrik, the gloves to Badger. Goran took the boots while the sword ended in Andria’s possession. Sigrid took Reflex earing, while Horn the Mind one. The rings were then split between the rest of the party, with Horn keeping one that gave mana.

The ingots were packed and split between the party, half of them going in sacks on the boars. Each weighted at least twenty kilograms; however, it wasn’t much for his people. Humans would be struggling with the weight, but the dwarves’ Endurance and Might were more than enough for the task.

The break finished with a quick meal, and the party headed further on into the jungle. The deadly petunias appeared more often, joining in the pumas' ambushes, but they were quickly dispatched. The dungeon was becoming more of a chore than a challenge.

After a dozen or so encounters, they finally reached the cavern's center. A massive tunnel mouth awaited them, bones scattered around the entrance screamed ‘boss.’ Sigrid went in while the party prepared for the fight.

“There’s another pond in there. Next to it, a massive Puma is sleeping. It's thrice the size of the ones up here. I’ve seen six flowers around the pond, and there are three ledges up near the ceiling. I couldn’t scale any, but I’m betting more pumas are sleeping there.”

Goran took the lead, “We should keep the boss busy while focusing on the smaller monsters. Usually, the big ones have some nasty surprises at hand. This might be devastating if we’re busy with the other monsters.”

“Good point, Sigrid. Can you draw the cavern?” Horn asked,

She just nodded and did so. The cavern was circular, with three ledges on the rim. The pond started at the middle reaching up to the far right. The flowers were again scattered around the water. Horn took a stick and circled the boss to the side without a ledge while circling another area at the other wall for the party. Gathering them around, he said,

“One tank on the boss, the other on adds. Herrak you claimed you’re better suited for survival. You’ll be on the boss. Goran, keep an eye on the pumas. I’ll heal Herrak, while Cornelius will keep all of you covered. Ulrik, Ingrid, you’re on flower duty with boars. Badger, you’ll be calling targets on the rest. When you’re done with the ads, we’ll pile on the boss. Objections?”

A round of nods replied, “Let’s get us some more loot!” Horn exclaimed.

--

The plan went down the drain in an instant. The fight began as soon as the party descended, clanking with their armor and random curses as the dwarves squeezed the narrow passage.

The cavern was just as described, oval-shaped with three ledges near the ceiling and a pond surrounded by murderous flowers. The boss puma was the size of an eighteen-wheeler, but that didn’t stop Herrak. He quickly led it to one side, with Horn keeping the distance and keeping his health up.

The rest of the party fared similarly, easily gathering the attention of the flowers. As soon as the boss received the first hit, one of the ledges became a flurry of activity, with half a dozen smaller pumas joining the fray. Goran took their attention without trouble, and the party began slaughtering the ads.

The issues started as the smaller monsters began dying. At first, Horn didn’t notice that, but after the fifth add down, he saw the boss visibly growing. With each death, it became just a tiny bit bigger, faster, and stronger. The hits so far easily dodged and parried by Herrak now found their marks. A massive paw swiped his shield away while puma’s neck shot forward to bite his head off. Herrak cursed but activated his trump card. Avatar went on, and his body swelled as the magic took its course. He rose by half, his skin changing into stone. When a second earlier was a dwarf, now a stone golem wrestled the boss.

Horn realizing their mistake, shouted, “Goran keep the adds busy, Cornelius keep his alive. Everyone else: kill the boss, pump everything you have!”

There was confusion within the party, Horn’s companions took his orders in stride, but the new arrivals hesitated. The few seconds it took them to rearrange burned through Herrak’s ability. He began shrinking. Horn threw Shield of Faith, but it shattered after a single swipe of the enormous paw. The tank looked worse for the wear, and the beast didn’t relent.

“Kite it!” Horn shouted, hoping that Herrak would understand. Not waiting for a response, Horn began chanting Weakness. The ten-second cast was painfully slow. He saw his tank cursing, then diving to the side as the beast struck. He rolled and got up already in full sprint. The boss was confused for a mere moment, but it was enough for Herrak to gain a few yards. The party's attacks landed, and the beast roared with anger, and they bought another few seconds for Herrak.

However, the plan again went south. Horn just finished weakness, but the beast barely slowed. It was almost upon Herrak, who started running out of space. Horn’s mind worked overdrive, trying to find a solution when an idea struck him. It was risky, but weren’t all his best plans?

“Goran! Taunt the boss now! Herrak get on the opposite corner of the cavern and prepare to taunt the boss on my command! Goran, give me your taunt cooldown now!”

Again Goran didn’t hesitate for a second, a mighty roar of challenge escaped his lips, and the puma stopped in its tracks, reorienting itself at him. He shouted back at Horn, “Thirty seconds!”

Herrak shouted on top of that, “Are you fucking crazy?! Let’s cut our losses while we still can!”

“No! Trust me, I’ve got this! Ulrik, slow it down! Everyone else targets its paws!” Horn commanded, casting a Flame Strike in between. “Herrak, get on your place! Taunt in five!”

“What?!” The dwarf argued but got to his position.

“One, TAUNT!”

Another roar of challenge echoed through the cavern, just as the boss was about to drop on top of Goran. It skid on the smooth stone but turned back to Herrak. Seeing his plan working, Horn focused on counting. “Goran, get ready for a taunt!”

“Aye!” The dwarf shouted back. The rest of the party finally understood the plan and got in between the tanks but away from the path of the puma.

The strategy worked for a while. They were chipping away at puma’s armor, pieces of granite scales dropping left and right. Both, Horn and Cornelius, were still fine for mana, and Goran was doing incredible work keeping the smaller monsters in check while cross taunting with Herrak.

That was until the boss was almost dead. Firstly, it slowed down as its paws were constantly harassed, despite that the compulsion of taunts kept it focused on the tanks. Andria was singing in the back, adding speed to the party’s actions.

Badger shot another bolt, which dug deep into puma’s flesh when something changed. The bossed stopped in the middle between two tanks, raised its head, and roared. For a moment, Horn was sure it’d be another paralysis attack, like the spider’s queen, but instead, all of the remaining adds took up the roar. They grew in size in front of their eyes.

Goran, a second ago, holding the monsters at bay, was fighting for his life. On top of that, the boss ignored another taunt from Herrak and rushed towards Ulrik. The Aquamancer raised a shield of ice, but the beast swatted it like a leaf. Another paw sent the dwarf flying, with a spray of blood following. The mage landed with a sickly craunch of breaking bones, life fleeing his body.

Horn threw himself closer to cast heal, but he was stopped in tracks as the yellow eyes of the boss focused on him. Gulping, he saw the beast charging at him.