Morning found the team in high spirits, gobbling apples and cooking the last boar meat piece. They didn’t have anything nor the time to make bacon, but Guss pretended it was, so, by common decree, it did. As they cleaned the fire and spread the ashes in the half-house they’d used as a camp, Jonas started drawing plans.

“We may haven’t gone to the next floor, but at least we know a lair.”

“That’s one,” Jonathan agreed.

“Give me time, and I’ll deal with them badgers,” Ira assured.

“We have that Recall at any time. We keep looking for more, then. And kill every critter we see to get more experience.”

Their horizon broadened, the team started to cross more hilltop ridges. Before long, they found lower hills, leading to another, different section of the marshes. Without the small river, they followed Jonathan’s sun-tracking skills – which he acknowledged were amateur ones, not Labyrinth-granted – to keep a constant direction. His high Labyrinth-boosted Focus helped, no doubt. But that was all mundane ability.

Now that they were back to the marsh, they took time to slaughter every boar they spotted, stocking lots of meat, the roots the wild pigs favoured, and berries, and see if they could find an easy elite.

They had multiple veterans, as the boars roamed all over the marsh. But over the next two days, they managed to find only two sows, both at level 7 like their first elite. The first Marsh Tusker Sow was a huge disappointment and did not leave anything, not even a single piece of meat. When they finished the second one later that day, Laura spotted the metallic glint under her that hinted at a piece of equipment…

Light Chainmail Gloves

Hand

Basic equipment

Requires: Level 3

Provides: +2 defence rating

“Well, at least those are slightly sturdier than your previous ones,” Jonas said to console Ira.

“I don’t know how much that defence rating reflects something practical,” he replied.

The previous gloves went into Ira’s bag.

“In case,” he said.

They kept trudging amidst the wetlands, finding more solitary boars and small packs. The experience accumulated, and levels rose, even if each required more than the previous one.

After one such event, Jonas stayed silent, and let the team start out again before calling out.

“Ira? Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Uh? What?” his friend replied.

Jonas managed to keep his smile in check and shifted, showing off the long steel weapon that he’d kept strapped behind his back for the last few days. Ira blinked, then raised his hand to his brow in self-disgust, cursing loudly.

He ran and kissed the flat of the blade as Jonas detached the sword, handing it to the Defender. Ira dropped his small sword on the ground and swung the new one, as the team stepped back to let him wave the sharp, pointy steel.

“Now it feels right. I know I’ve been using one for days, but I haven’t made that many gains in my proficiency. You’re correct,” he said to Jonas.

“Level requirement.”

“And my health total rose by almost ten per cent. That’s a big boost. Defence rating’s shot up as well. It’s perfect.”

Ira then winced, looking at Laura.

“Sorry. I think… your gloves need one more level, right?”

“Yes, but don’t obsess about those. I think your sword is probably more useful to us than my little gloves,” she said.

Jonas swiped the old sword from the ground, using the rag strips he’d made for the large one to tie it to the side of his side bag. He was no longer afraid of the blade cutting into his clothes, as the Labyrinth amply demonstrated that such a thing didn’t happen. Or that the cloth healed its wounds, just like they did.

Is my robe alive? Now, that is a very, very weird idea, he thought immediately.

“Let’s find more boars. My blade thirst for their blood!”

The team snorted in repressed laughter.

“For King and Bacon?” Guss joked.

“For King and Ribs, at least,” Ira shot back.

Unfortunately for the Defender’s ardour, Jonas noticed a thinning of the vegetation and drying of the marsh, and they found themselves quickly at the edge of it, looking at the bare ground and distant mossy splashes that they’d seen before.

“That’s the border. Again,” Jonathan lamented.

Ira confirmed quickly the presence of the invisible soft wall that separated the normal-looking marsh from the emptiness beyond.

“No Gate this time,” Laura noted.

“No river to point us in the right direction. We’ll probably find one soon,” Jonathan said.

“Time to Recall, and go somewhere else,” Jonas said.

All of the team opined, and Ira’s body got surrounded by rainbow motes. Light started swirling all over the rest as their own Recalls began.

As they materialized back on the Plaza, once again at the same places they originally appeared, Jonathan looked hopefully to the hills.

“So? Do we check the cellar again?”

Team

Professions

Health

Mind

Jonas Sims

Aetherist (8)

196/196

204/204

Jonathan Gilbert

Watcher (8)

196/196

178/178

Ira Heard

Defender (8)

277/277

204/204

Guss Fullmore

Mender (8)

194/194

206/206

Laura Harvey

Breaker (8)

204/204

196/196

Alton Raby

Pointer (8)

214/214

206/206

Jonas raised his hands, trying to moderate the ardour of his teammate.

“Laura’s glove requirement is still one level above. And maybe the next floor’s loot will be one higher again. It is probably too early yet.”

Jonathan made a pout, before acknowledging the truth.

“Okay, maybe it makes no sense wasting our time against those badgers if we can’t even use what we find.”

Guss added, “Besides, we haven’t found another lair yet. We’ve just been wandering around the marsh, and now we got plenty of meat and roots. How do we find another lair or Gate?”

“Let’s follow the river toward the source, this time,” Jonas proposed.

He looked around, but nobody seemed to disagree with the suggestion. Source it was, then.

They reached the brook’s source by mid-day. It came out gurgling from between stones above before dropping down as a small waterfall, and from their riverbank, Jonas spotted what looked like a cave entrance next to it.

Ira risked a peek in it, and a pair of yellow eyes met his.

Nocturnal Wolf

Level 24 veteran

Health: 468

Mind: 193

Endurance: 352

Aether: 0

“Oops.”

“Combat order,” Jonas called.

The wolf bounded out of the cave’s entrance, unhampered by the sunlight despite its name, and fell upon the Defender, whose sword rose to intercept the furred beast.

Ira braced himself as the wolf bit at him, but despite the high level, the Labyrinth notification was not as hard as he would have expected.

Nocturnal Wolf bites for 22 (24-2) damage (23 defence rating)

The team reached their target and fell into their by-now habitual rhythm of combat, hitting with blade and skills. The only surprise was when the wolf decided to switch from bite to claw, as Jonathan realized to his dismay when both he and Ira got struck.

Nocturnal Wolf claws hit two: 23 (24-1) damage (9 defence rating)

The Watcher swiftly moved to the side, trying not to stay in front of the beast, and the canine finally fell dead on the ground.

Nocturnal Wolf: 660XP/6 contributors = 110XP

“I was worried for nothing,” Ira said.

“So was I”, Jonas added.

Laura approached the carcass before it started to decompose, and turned it over to check, before commenting on it, “Not even as long as the elite badger… although I dread what an elite wolf might be.”

“You don’t say…” Ira winced.

A quick check showed that the cave went deeper into the depths of the hillside. A small, wan light fell from above, hinting at openings, but most of the tunnel was in darkness.

“That’s our second lair,” Jonathan concluded.

“Looks like. But in that case, it is much higher than the badger one,” Guss noted.

“Still, that’s two lairs, just in case. Let’s keep searching for an easier one. This one will be too far above our level for some time,” Jonas added.

They kept walking in the same direction as the river had come from. They crossed the top of the hills and saw that the hilly area just behind ran downward toward plains. It took them a bit over two hours, punctuated by two cats wandering around before they reached the end of the hills on that side of the valleys.

The plain was covered by some small grass that made a nearly uniform cover, almost like gardens. Every now and then, there was a small copse of a dozen trees, all bunched up together, and scrub and saplings around, but nothing else. Under the ever-blue empty skies, it was still an eerie experience, although increasingly familiar now.

They quickly spotted roaming packs of three or four dog-like creatures looking like nothing they’d ever seen. The critters were named Plains Hyena by the Labyrinth. While the packs were larger than their usual solo encounters from the marsh, they featured usually only a single normal accompanied by two to four minion-type “hyena cubs”.

The team pressed on across the plains, moving and hunting any pack they spotted. Usually, the dog-like creatures would see them coming and immediately turn toward them. Their attack cries almost looked like a hysteric old man bursting into insane laughter.

They also checked the tree copses. They were made of a handful of weird trees around two or three apple trees, some of which sported actual fruits and allowed them to fill their bags. One of the copses also had a pack of three veteran level 7 hyenas, which they cleared before using as their camp for the evening.

“At least, got level 9 with those dog-things. The glove fits better now,” Laura announced, flexing her fingers in the two-colour glove.

“We haven’t found anything else,” Alton lamented.

“I’m sure it will come,” Ira said, cleaning his sword.

A few flicks of the blade sufficed, leaving a fresh, gleaming iron surface. The blood spatter on the ground almost immediately dried and vanished within seconds, as usual. They had gathered some wood from the tree saplings and Jonas had proceeded to light the campfire using his usual carefully aimed Flame Bolt.

“We should be getting at least that level 15 for our first Milestone,” he said once they settled.

Most team members opined, but Jonathan seemed more dubious.

“Not convinced?” Jonas asked.

“No. It’s just… it’s been seven days, and I feel like we’re still not getting anywhere.”

Jonas winced. It was easy to get into the rhythm of constant fighting and forget about the rest of the world, at least for him. Although the rest seemed focused as well, it wasn’t as easy.

I shouldn’t forget how we’re far from London, he thought.

“We’re making progress, Jonathan. I hope there are more Gates this way, and one that maybe Guss will recognize.”

Guss raised his hands defensively.

“Hey, I don’t know the Labyrinth that well. Cousin Luther talked about it, but the only name I know is this Grailburg zone.”

“We’ll find it. Laura just got stronger, and we’ll be able to cross that Othary Gate at some point. And she’ll be able to whack her shop’s looms soon to make them work.”

Laura snorted.

“I hope not. I mean…”

She paused, looking wistfully into the flames of the campfire.

“It’s not that the looms aren’t that important. Me… me and the other girls, we worked good there, and we made the best cloth in London this side of silk. But… the Labyrinth is different.”

They all turned to look at her.

“I mean, it’s horribly frightening when you have those numbers… drop. And you’re worried about Guss being out of aether, or Ira not making it. Or some critter jumping on you from behind. But…”

She went silent, trying to get her words in order. Jonas watched her mouth making a kind of pinched smile.

“But you care about real things. You care about people. At the shop, I only care about whether or not the looms are going to crash and pop a gear, and how much work we have to do for today. I do have all my friends, but it’s all about… machines. Not people.”

Jonas waited a bit, then added his own perspective.

“It’s a bit of the same with my shop. We do leather by hand rather than your mechanical looms, but that’s all that is important there. How much leather do we use, how many bags and boots and work gloves do we make. Mind you, Master Oakden is a good man, I wouldn’t change him for anything. But we each work alone, in a way.”

Laura replied back.

“In the Labyrinth, it’s about you. About us. Not some cloth or anything else. That’s so much more…”

She turned toward Guss.

“Is that what Professionals are really about? Not just endure, but…”

Guss looked pensive.

“Luther… always sounds like he loves the Labyrinth. I mean, he’s married to another Professional. But I don’t know…”

He shook his head.

“It’s a different life, that’s sure.”