“Colt, Glamour, now.” Turning to address the children, I stifle my frustration.

“On it.” The air around us shimmers as the Glamour is set in place. It’s a large one so it will drain Colt quickly.

Kneeling down to be on the same eye level as the kids, I try my best to not let my anger show in my voice. “...Why are you here? Do you realize how dangerous this is?”

Charlie’s proud smile falters slightly when he looks at me. “We- we heard you were going to the dungeon. All the monsters were coming from it and we wanted to help.” He looks down at his feet.

“And you, Daniel?” Inclining an eyebrow at him, he won’t meet my eyes.

“Charlie said he was going and you were talking to my dad so much. It made me want to come. ...Am I in trouble?” He looks around, taking in the magnitude of the situation he’s gotten himself into.

“Absolutely you are. Your parents are probably worried sick already. We’re going to have to clear this dungeon first though. There’s no way out until we do. And, Maria. You too? Really?”

“He’s my little brother, Mr. Hero. I couldn’t leave him alone.” She has tears in her eyes and hiccups a little.

“Oh, come here, Maria.” Pulling her close, I give her a minute to cry on my shoulder and calm down. Her crying makes Charlie and Daniel begin to cry as well, so Adreanell and Cassandra move in to comfort the other two kids.

Once everyone calms down, I try to address them a bit more maturely. “How did you get here?”

Maria stands up as she’s the most composed currently. “We hid on the ship. No one came down but Charlie used a Cartoonist Skill to hide us in a hole.”

Sighing, I run my hand through my hair. “I really should have checked the lower deck. When did you get on anyway?”

“The night before you left. Charlie’s portable holes let us sneak onto the ship through the ground. I kept telling them it was a bad idea but they wouldn’t listen! And Daniel knows that I kissed Lewis on the playground and he said that he’d tell mom and dad if I said anything and-”

Hushing her, I pat her back once more so she can calm down. “It’s okay… we’ll get you out of here safe and sound. And Daniel, no blackmailing your sister.”

He looks down shamefully.

Turning, I look at everyone else. “Alright everyone, the schedule for this dungeon moved up. The longer these kids are in here the more danger they’re in. We won’t have as much time to gather resources aside from what we see on our way to the dungeon proper.

“Charlie, Daniel, Maria, under no circumstances are you to start a fight with a monster. If you have to defend yourself, that’s a different story, but no starting fights. And you’ll stay in the back or middle of us depending on the situation. Basically, as far away from the danger as possible, okay?”

“Okay.” The three of them say in unison. Each of them has come to realize how dire the situation they’re in is. Colt is looking pale, so we have to drop the Glamour and he chugs some potions, bringing color back to himself. They’re in limited supply, however, so he doesn’t completely top off his resources.

“Erika, anything close by to us?”

“I don’t think s- there’s something large that just came over the treeline. It’s flying, it’s big, and it’s fast.”

Moving the kids behind us in our formation, Kayla and Vincent stay next to all of them. I summon a Batten Down around our group, preparing for the worst.

A deafening roar shakes the ground and the forest around us. Covering my ears, I look up as I see a large figure fly overhead.

It doesn’t seem to notice us and flies off to the mountain, allowing me a better glimpse of it as freezing wind blows over us once I drop my shield.

Long, powdery blue scales glisten across its body as it cuts through the sky. Horns made of ice adorn its head, and its wings catch the light, glimmering with snowflake patterns in the afternoon sunlight that pierces the snowy veil of this dungeon.

“...Dragon. It’s a fucking dragon.” My heart is thrumming out of my chest at the sight. It radiates sheer power that I can feel even now that it’s so far in the distance. “...Is that the dungeon boss?”

“I think it might be.” Colt moves next to me, squeezing my hand and glancing at the kids for a moment, concern apparent on his face.

Shaking off the effect of seeing an actual dragon, we forge onward. Everyone keeps sharp eyes out for any threats and we stand in a formation around the kids to keep them safe.

It’s a fairly quiet walk for a while. The kids begin to complain about being cold, so I have Becky enchant all of their clothes with heating runes to keep them warm as she’s more used to enchanting cloth than I am.

While we walk, I keep all of my sensory Skills and Perks on at all times. Picking up a whiff of something potently alchemical with Porcine Nose, I crouch down over a beautiful blue-petaled flower with five distinct points that glimmers even in the shade of the tree it’s under. ‘Strange, Inspect.’

Shimmergleam

Quality: High

Traits: Shimmer, Warmth, Comfort

Description: This flower copes with the cold temperatures by producing a warm, comforting shimmer that attracts creatures to it. As a result, these creatures unintentionally carry its pollen to help proliferate itself even in cold climates.

Touching the flower, it’s pleasantly warm and the light it produces grows even brighter. Looking around, more of the flowers begin to shimmer as their buds open when the last vestiges of daytime light disappear on the horizon.

‘Huh, a nocturnal flower. Interesting.’

“Hey, Colt! Come over here!”

He turns to me, noting the shimmering flowers himself. “Wow, these are beautiful. Weird traits, but I can see them being useful.”

“Yeah, touch one. They’re weirdly pleasant just to touch, I think it’s the comfort trait.”

He runs a finger over the petals of one of the flowers, smiling as he does. “Huh, you’re right. Let’s harvest some of these, let me do it though, I have some special Skills for it.”

“Sounds good to me.”

With a glow of Wild Magick, the flower produces several glimmering seeds that Colt collects and stores away in his personal pantry. He picks a few of the flowers as well, handing them to each of the children.

Their moods perk up as they hold the flowers, getting the first laugh out of them that we’ve heard in hours. They didn’t exactly think out their plan very well and now they’re feeling extremely homesick after hours of walking slowly to avoid attracting any unwanted attention.

Colt casts some spell on the flowers to make them last for a while outside of the ground. Becky then demands her own shimmergleam which Colt begrudgingly retrieves for her.

“Lucas, do you know what these flowers mean?” She gets uncomfortably close to me with a slightly manic look in her eye.

“Um, no, what?”

“Mother. Fucking. Aesthetics. I bet I can make clothes with the shimmer aspect. Oh my god, I can so fucks with this. We need to get home soon so I can make more clothes and you can make me some of those special crystals with this.” She puts the flower in my hands.

“What about the comfort aspect? Wouldn’t that be useful too?”

“Hm? Oh, sure, whatever. Fashion is pain but I guess it can be comfortable too.” She waves a hand in the air dismissively. I store away the flower for now, I’ll convert it later when I can mentally focus on the aspects more to maintain or improve the quality of the end result.

Seeing as it’s dark out, we try to find shelter for the night. There aren’t a lot of options but we manage to find a small alcove in some rocks that can fit all of us after some delicate use of Geomancy. Colt grows some foliage in front of it to mask our presence.

Using my Thermomancy, I heat up the inside of the cave to a more comfortable temperature for sleeping. I let everyone know that I’ll take the first watch as I don’t need as much sleep as any of them. Colt stays up with me as he’s in a similar position.

Once everyone falls asleep, Colt and I confer in hushed voices.

“I can’t fucking believe those kids snuck onto the boat. We have to get out of this dungeon as quickly as possible, I don’t know what I’ll say to their parents if anything happens to them.”

Colt takes my hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. “I know what you mean, it’s terrifying. I don’t even want them to watch us fight something but we can’t exactly let them out of our sight either.”

“We’ll just need to be extra careful. I don’t want them fighting anything, but we may have to spar with them a little tomorrow to see if they can defend themselves, just in case.”

“Not a bad idea. From what I remember of Charlie, he’s pretty good with that hammer. And Gabe’s kids are both talented too. Though Daniel’s weapon seems a bit… traumatizing for him to use. From what Gabe implied he cleaved a monster in half.” Colt shudders slightly, probably at the thought of such a young child experiencing something so heavy.

“Eesh. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

“Agreed.”

Until our watch is over, which is about all but two hours until sunlight, we chat lightly, avoiding any darker topics.

Everyone else wakes up feeling rested, so Colt and I allow ourselves to fall asleep after instructing Cassandra to assess the kid’s combat abilities verbally for now.

Adreanell shakes us awake sometime later, panicked. “Lucas, Colt, trouble!”

Eyes snapping open, I bolt out of the alcove to see a pack of wolves standing outside. All of them are at least six feet tall with the largest bordering on ten.

“Kayla, Vincent, stay in the alcove with the kids and keep them safe. Use long-range tactics to back us up but do not leave them alone.”

“Got it.”

“Of course.”

Joining in on the melee that’s currently ensuing, I smash Argo into the side of a wolf that was about to bite into Becky. “Devastating Impact!”

The canine yelps as its body is sent flying into a tree, smashing it down. Taking a moment to Inspect the creature, I try to gain some useful information.

Frostbite Wolf

Traits: Freezing Bite, Flurry Dash, Cryomancy, Aeromancy

Description: A frostbite wolf. These wolves channel Cryomantic mana through their mouths to freeze their prey in a single bite. They’re highly organized in a pack and use a mix of cryomancy and aeromancy to dash at incredible speeds.

Firing a bolt of electricity at one of the largest wolves, I distract it from Erika who tumbles to the side, dodging its bite. It turns to me and growls.

“Thanks for the save, Lucas!” She whips out, slapping the wolf across the nose with a nettle spike.

From the alcove, I hear a voice call out. “Major Arcana: Temperance! Major Arcana: Strength!”

Power floods me as Vincent’s tarot magic fills me. Erika must have some kind of defensive buff as she takes a swipe from the wolf and holds her ground against it, stopping the claw with her hunting knife.

Moving in to give her some space, I Circuit Dash in front of the wolf and kick upward with a Thunderclap, stunning it.

Sensing a presence behind me, I turn around moments too late as a massive paw swipes me into a tree. The wind is knocked out of me, but I struggle back up quickly regardless. Using Promethean, I stabilize my lungs and stop the spasming of my diaphragm, taking a haggard breath once more.

“Lucas!” Colt calls out but looks with relief when I stand up. He turns to address another wolf, there’s too many and more keep coming.

Racing towards the largest one, I block a strike aimed for Cassandra with Argo. The ground shatters under me and wind kicks up the snow on the ground into a flurry.

Searching the area around us with my Primordial Perception, there are at least 40 wolves surrounding us.

‘Fuck, we’re going to be overwhelmed.’ Twisting Argo upward, I smash him into the massive wolf’s arm, hearing bones crack as I do. Another wolf simply replaces the injured one almost instantly.

Behind me, I can hear the sounds of struggle as everyone fends off multiple wolves. Activating Storm’s Rage, I quickly realize how bad of an idea that is as the wind kicks up the snow around me, obscuring my vision.

One wolf takes advantage of this and jumps at me from the side.

“Bullseye!” A soundwave smashes into the side of the wolf, stunning it. Calling out a quick thanks to Pierce, I smash Argo into the wolf’s head with a heavily empowered Devastating Impact while jumping into the air to dodge a frosty bite from the other wolf.

Being in the air proves to be the wrong move as a third set of jaws clamps down on my midsection. Crying out in pain, a beam of light burns out one of the wolf’s eyes, causing it to let me fall to the ground.

“Major Arcana: The Lovers!” Healing energy suffuses my body, fighting off most of the pervading cold inside me.

Rolling to the side, I dodge another bite from one of the wolves and spring back to my feet. Maria screams from inside the stone alcove. Looking over, there are at least five wolves trying to get inside. Countless tendrils of molten glass blades slice at the wolves, keeping them at bay.

Cursing, I fill my legs with knots and Circuit Jump over to help out.

“Hex: Weakening!” A greyish-red glow sinks into one of the largest wolves in front of the cave, making its moves sluggish.

“Thanks, Cassandra!” Dropping down on it, I empower Argo with a Devastating Impact and Galvanizing Wake.

Another wolf notices its downed pack member and snarls at me. This turns the attention of all the canines in front of the cave to me. Sprinting away, they follow in pursuit, dashing in flurries of wind and ice.

Pivoting on my heel, I use my shifted momentum to smash into the nose of a wolf, ending its life with a sickening crack of its skull.

Several wolves surround me now, all swiping and biting. Blocking each strike as it comes, I take several deep gashes, gritting my teeth in pain.

“Lucas, no! Carve!” In a flash of metal, one wolf’s head is cleaved off by a lightning-fast wire.

My heart sinks but I suppress the feeling. “Daniel-” dodging another swipe, I take two more from behind. “Get back inside!”

“No! We’re helping!” Charlie appears above me from one of his portable holes. His mallet smashes down on a wolf, flattening it comically thin. “Kablam!”

Maria falls out of the hole as well, strings of yarn tying around the two remaining wolves behind me. The wolf I’m currently engaged in combat with bites down on Argo, chilling the metal drastically.

“Woven web!” Yarn spreads out from the initial points set by several of Maria’s needles, wrapping up several wolves. There’s a strange orange gleam to this yarn. Maria closes her eyes before touching a Candlelight to one of the strings. “Kaboom.”

Light and sound are all that exist for a moment as Maria’s yarn strings detonate, incinerating several wolves.

With the pack’s synchronization disrupted, their previously lightning-fast movements become slower to react.

Slamming a Devastating Impact down on one of the wolves, vines wrap around another behind me, crushing its body.

Across the field, Adreanell downs a wolf in a volley of coins and light beams, which are reflecting off several coins in the air into what amounts to a laser light show of death.

One wolf smashes into several trees as it paws at its face which is currently melting from what must have been an Acid Arrow.

Hope fills me as the tides of battle shift in our favor. Blades of molten glass cut into several wolves, setting fire to their fur.

A young male scream from behind me pierces the reverie. “Shit.”

Turning around, a wolf has its jaws locked on to Daniel’s body while Maria has two yarn marionettes trying to pry its jaws open.

My legs scream in pain as I flood them with more knots than I ever have before. Electricity courses around me as a Lightning Cloak snaps in place. The ground underneath me explodes as I push forward, kicking up rocks, snow, and plant debris.

Flooding Argo with mana, a new name calls out to me. “Decimating Impact!” Upon connection with the wolf’s body, it explodes into gore, leaving only the head behind. Rage fuels me and I drop Argo on the ground, grabbing the gargantuan wolf head with both hands and tearing it in half.

The frosty teeth burn as I grab them, freezing and cutting into my hands. Daniel falls out of the maw, coated in red ice from his blood freezing.

Handing Maria and Charlie several healing potions, I have them pour them over the wounds while I erect a Batten Down around us. Setting up a Transfusion tether of my Palemetal Blood, I surround Daniel’s body in my blood.

Pumping my own prana into him, I chug several healing potions as well, uncaring about wasted resources currently. Slowly, color returns to his skin and the icy grip on my heart weakens.

Filling his body with heat using Thermomancy, he goes through reverse stages of hypothermia, eventually shivering and returning to normal color. The shield around us collapses as my mana runs out.

Everyone looks significantly worse for wear, but wolf corpses litter the area around us. A final one falls in front of Erika, coated in several festering lashes from her whip.

Maria pulls Daniel into her arms, sobbing. Daniel seems too shocked to cry and Charlie is unmoving, his mask covering most of his features aside from his lips which are quivering slightly.

Everyone moves over to make sure Daniel is okay. He breaks into tears as well finally, sobbing “I’m sorry” over and over again. Pulling all of the kids close, my heart feels like it’s going to break and my own tears fall freely from my face. Guilt rips me apart from the inside.

‘How could I have turned my back on them for even a moment?’

Gritting my teeth, I look toward the mountain. In the weak, foggy daylight, I can make out the entrance to the dungeon proper.

“We’re going to conquer this dungeon and I’m not going to let a single bad thing happen to any of you ever again.”