Erin led them blindly into the cave, one hand pressed flat against the cold wall of stone while the other gripped Sigrid's wrist. In part because she was worried she might lose her in the dark, and part because Sigrid would stop moving if Erin didn’t drag her. Once she could no longer hear the qek, or see any light from the entrance, she extracted a torch from her inventory. The item just appearing in her hand still had the quality of a dream, but she sidelined the thought and focused.

“Don’t panic, I’m just going to light a torch.” She whispered as she let go of Sigrid. Erin switched the torch to her left hand as she gathered mana in her right. The spell burst to life and Sigrid gave a startled squeak but covered her own mouth. Erin touched the flame of her fireball to the cloth-wrapped end of the torch, and the magic flames took to it with alacrity. Once it was burning, she let the fireball fade away in her palm.

Erin held the torch high over her head, or she tried to. The ceiling in this tunnel would’ve been plenty high enough for qek, but for people the space was tight. Her worst fear was that they would encounter some new and terrifying breed of monster down here.

“Stay close and try not to make too much noise,” Erin told her as she set off down the tunnel. At first, it seemed like Sigrid wouldn’t follow on her own, but as the ring of light began to move away she rushed to catch up.

Erin’s heart thundered under her breast bone as they walked. The tunnel was a winding pathway of dark stone and while it was better than nothing, the light of the torch was limited. If monsters were lurking in the dark, they wouldn’t know it until they were practically on top of them.

Eventually, they arrived at a fork in the road. Three tunnels running off in different directions. The red-haired woman looked from one to the next, to the next, and felt her stomach sink.

“I don’t know which way to go.” She admitted as a whisper. Sigrid moved up next to her.

“Here, give me that.” She said as she held her hand out for the torch. Erin handed it over and Sigrid stepped into one of the tunnels holding the torch out before her. She stood there for several seconds, just watching the flame before moving to the second tunnel.

The firelight moved in some unseen air current and Sigrid turned, holding out the torch.

“This way.”

“Neat trick,” Erin said, impressed as she took the torch back. “How did you know to do that?”

“I spent a lot of time in caves.” She answered, but did not bother to elaborate in the silence that followed. Erin was curious, but now was neither the time nor the place. She nodded and moved up the second tunnel. The walls had gradually grown wider until there was enough room for them to walk side-by-side. Nothing but the sound of their booted feet on the stone, and the crackle of the torch filled the space.

Erin wasn’t sure how long they’d been walking but was certain night had fallen outside. Which meant that even if they could find a way out, they wouldn’t be able to. Not unless they wanted to lose fingers and toes to frostbite and most likely die of hypothermia.

The tunnel suddenly opened into a much larger cavern and the pair paused to look around. The larger space was colder, and Erin could now feel the air current that had led them this far. As her eyes sought to penetrate the darkness of the cave, she realized she could make out the shapes of stalagmites rising from the floor. Her eyes traveled up until she spotted a hole roughly thirty feet above their heads, where a large chunk of the cave's ceiling had collapsed.

Beyond the hole, she could see the stars, and the barest hint of starlight filtered down into the underground space. Turning shapes in the darkness into shadowy suggestions.

“I don’t have anything that’ll get us up there,” Erin said, gesturing with the torch. Sigrid didn’t respond but scanned the darkness with a frown.

“It feels… weird in here.” She said slowly

Erin turned her attention back to the cavern and nodded slowly. She could feel it too. It was akin to the aura that had surrounded Gurty but less dense.

“It’s magic,” Erin said. Sigrid threw her a sidelong glance and Erin returned it with a shrug. Sure it was impossible to the point of madness, but knowing that didn’t change anything. They were still here in this cave, cold, afraid, and surrounded by magic.

“Right,” Sigrid said, her tone doubtful. Erin didn’t address it. She’d figure it out in her own time. They moved deeper and Erin got the sense the room was much bigger than she’d initially thought. Every wall was lost in the darkness. With every step they took, the magic in the air grew and Erin began to have her doubts. She had seen what kind of effect this could have on their ability to cast spells. It had taken everything she had to power through the magic distortion around Gurty, and the woman had still casually unraveled her spell. Erin pulled the wooden staff from her inventory, making it seem as if she’d just conjured it into her hand.

Sigrid jumped and took a step back, her eyes wide. Erin ignored her reaction and held out the torch.

“Take this. If we come across anything just stay behind me.” Erin sounded ridiculous even to herself. She wasn’t a fighter. So far she’d gotten by on a lot of luck, with a healthy dose of advice and prompting from Lisa. If they encountered anything that wasn’t one or two of the short ill-tempered beast-men then they’d likely die. Those were the only things Erin had managed to kill so far.

[You also crushed a spider.]

Lisa chimed in, and Erin scowled. Just remembering to hold back her retort. Sigrid was already eyeing her warily, and Erin didn’t imagine talking to herself would improve the situation.

They slowly made their way towards the source of the oppressive magical force, and it wasn’t until they walked up to what Erin had mistaken as an unusually wide stalagmite that the source became clear.

“My god,” Sigrid whispered under her breath, and Erin couldn’t help but agree. Towering above them was the massive skull of a dragon, the bones bleached white. Erin moved to one side, trying to get a better sense of the scale, and had the eerie sensation that the empty eye sockets tracked her movements.

Slowly, she moved closer, her eyes moving over rows of teeth as long as swords. The creature had been massive in life, larger than anything on Earth, except perhaps the largest species of whales.

“I wonder how it died,” Erin whispered, now only inches away from it.

“Who cares?” Sigrid hissed from behind her, “this thing is a monster.”

“It’s just a skeleton.” Erin dismissed as she reached out and laid her hand flat on the bone.

[You have discovered unclaimed loot. Would you like to claim it?]

“What the hell.” Erin gasped, her eyes wide.

“What? What is it?” Sigrid asked, her voice tight.

“I can loot it,” Erin said, not really paying attention.

“You can loot it? It’s a skeleton.”

“Magic,” Erin answered Sigrid before turning her attention back to the prompt. “Yes,”

[You have claimed: Greater Mirage Wyrm Corpse. Would you like to loot?]

Erin hesitated for a moment. She had no idea how this really worked. At first, she had assumed that a creature like this would’ve had amazing magic or items, well beyond her current growth, but the more she thought about it the less likely that seemed. This wasn’t an RPG with pre-determined loot tables. The System would generate something appropriate for her regardless of the source.

“When I trigger the magic, things are going to get kind of bright in here,” Erin warned Sigrid, whose expression grew even more nervous. It was clear she hadn’t come to terms with the madness yet.

Neither have I

Erin thought to herself, but pretending would probably go a long way towards staying alive.

“Yes” She told Lisa or The System. She wasn’t sure which. Whenever Lisa delivered system prompts, it was always in a flat, almost robotic-sounding voice. Like it wasn’t really her.

Greater Mirage Wyrm 1 of 1 Default: 10 Gold Maefars, 98 Silver Maefars, 789 Copper Maefars, Mirage Boon Gem x2, Spell Rune x2 Equipment: Select this option to discover loot. Augment Rune: Select this option to discover loot. Artifact: Select this option to discover loot. Spell Rune: Select this option to discover loot.

Spell Rune

Erin selected mentally and without hesitation. Lisa had already made it clear that Spell Runes were the rarest type of loot and, in the early stages at least, the most critical. The bones began to glow with the same white-blue light. The cavern in which they stood turned from pitch darkness to brighter than the noonday sun.

Both of them were forced to turn away as the magical light continued to brighten, well past the point of being painful to look at. Then, even more suddenly than it began, it was over. The light vanished, and the darkness swept in around them. Instantly reclaiming its lost territory, except for the small ring of torchlight.

Erin stepped forward to inspect a small pile of items that had replaced the now absent skeleton. She picked up one of the Boon Gems and looked it over. The colors within shifted wildly, like a rainbow having a seizure and she held it up to eye level, sending Lisa a mental nudge.

[It’s a boon gem. Boons tend to be passive magical effects, unique to the mage who absorbed the gem. The source will color its properties. The boon will be reflective of the Mirage Wyrm's own nature or magic.]

So you don’t know what it’s going to give me?

[No, that won’t be determined until you absorb it.]

Erin nodded and lowered the gem as she returned her attention to the pile. A large sack of coins sat surrounded by a small entourage of spheres. One looked exactly like the boon gem she held in her hand, and the other three bore some resemblance to the augmentation runes, but larger.

She laid her torch on the stone floor and grabbed up one of the spell runes in her free hand and studied it closely.

[These contain the essence of a spell. Unlike augment runes, whose effects are determined by the sphere, or boon gems which are generated by the system. This will allow you to select a Bronze rank spell from a curated list. The list depends on the nature of the rune. A mirage wyrm spell rune means mirage wyrm spells.]

Erin nodded as she looked at the gem in one hand, and the rune sphere in the other. At least she had some agency in spell selection. She stood and turned to Sigrid, holding out both hands.

“You should take these. There were two each, so I think we’re both meant to have them.”

“What are they?” Sigrid asked, her tone almost as suspicious as the glare she leveled at Erin who shrugged.

“Do you have a voice in your head that tells you stuff?”

Sigrid’s eyes widened in surprise, telling Erin all she needed to know.

“Take them and have your Liaison explain them to you. You’re going to need them.”

The woman seemed uncertain, but she slowly reached out her hands and took them. Erin sincerely hoped she’d come around soon. At least a little bit. Not that she didn’t understand why Sigrid would be less than trusting of the new reality, but this was life or death. Nothing was going to wait for her to get a handle on things. Not the cold, not the qek, not the horde of invisible spiders made of metal. Not to mention the countless other threats Erin knew nothing about.

She set aside her concerns for the moment and turned back to the loot. One boon gem and two spell runes remained. She picked up the boon between her thumb and forefinger, turning it as she studied the riot of color within.

[Would you like to absorb: Greater Mirage Wyrm Boon Gem?]

Yes

She accepted and the previously marble hard surface of the gem turned to a gel-like substance under her fingers. She watched it break down and begin to flow into her skin.

[Boon Acquired: Mirage Mage (Bronze) - You may determine the shape of any of your spells as you cast them. Once formed, the shape may no longer be altered in this fashion.]

“Huh,” Erin said after Lisa had described the effect. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. She decided to wait until later to experiment with it. Instead, she turned her attention to the two spell runes. She gripped one of the spheres in her hand. It was a large, clear ball with bronze bands wrapped around it in an X formation. Inside, runes swirled and shifted, but rather than the black of ink, these were a riot of bright colors.

“Mirage wyrms would’ve loved the rave crowd back home.” She muttered to herself as she observed it at different angles.

[The spell selection process can be rather lengthy depending on the list you’re given. It would be best if you didn’t rush the decision.]

Erin frowned at the sphere in her hand and then pulled it into her inventory. The second one followed a moment later and then she grabbed the large bag of coins and her torch from the floor.

“We can split this.” She told Sigrid, jingling the bag. “I’ve no idea how the local currency works, but this is easily the largest sum I’ve found.”

The dark-haired woman was still holding both her Boon Gem and her Spell Rune, and her eyes had a glazed look to them that faded as Erin spoke to her.

“This can’t be real.” She said quietly.

“I have no idea.” Erin said, “So far I’m just going with it, and so should you.”

“Why?” Sigrid challenged, turning a teary glare on Erin.

“Because we can’t afford to gamble and turn out to be wrong. I don’t know about you, but I died once, and once was plenty.” Sigrid looked at the objects in her hands, and tears ran down her face. Erin wasn’t unsympathetic. This was crazy and dangerous and neither of them had asked for it. Sigrid needed time to process, and so did Erin for that matter. Only the constant threat of death and Lisa’s prompts to action had kept her from curling into a ball and weeping for her family.

“Come on,” she said softly, “you don’t have to use those right now.” Erin pulled them gently from Sigrid's hands and into her own inventory. She didn’t resist.

“We need to get out of here.” She said to Sigrid, who nodded. Erin turned, holding the torch aloft, and set off for the far side of the cavern, the sound of Sigrid’s boots on hard stone following behind.