“Before we move on,” said Petals, “let’s all check our character sheets and assign any unassigned points we might have just gained. Elena, hold off on yours for a moment so I can walk you through it. If anyone else wants help, just ask.”

The Pink Wizard had gained one unassigned skill point. She assigned it to Spells, bringing it up to rank five. That gave her another spell level. That meant she could either acquire another level one spell or raise one of her existing spells to level two. It wasn’t a tough decision. Her See spell had failed on the key, a clear indication she needed to boost it. Moreover, with the game world steeped in darkness, being able to enhance one’s sense of sight took on more importance. She raised her See spell to level two.

There weren’t any other unassigned points from the level gain. Dismissing her own character sheet, she turned to Elena. “I assume you see your character sheet hanging in the air before you. Read me the first line.”

The rifle girl nodded. “Character Name: Elena, Awakened NPC.”

“Good. Next two lines?”

“Class: Shooter. Level: 2, Fame: 0. Gold: 0.”

Petals shook her head. Shooter wasn’t a class either Justine or Alfie had programmed into Darkentide. Being a developer for the game world wouldn’t be as much an advantage as it should have been, with the rules being changed on them. “You say you’re level two?” Awakened NPCs with enough earned experience could apparently skip levels. Interesting. “Okay, skip to the line that tells you your unassigned stat points. How many do you have?“

“Eleven.”

“I’m going to assume,” Petals said, “that your Shooter class will benefit from stat assignments similar to the Archer class. Assign seven points to Body, two points to Mind, and two points to Spirit.”

Elena’s gaze focused on things others couldn’t see. “Done.”

“Okay,” the Pink Wizard continued, “for the Body stats, I want you to assign two points to Offense, one point to Defense, two points to Initiative, and two points to Balance.” Those stat assignments would give Elena better damage and a faster, more accurate aim. Her Defense would be the same as that of everyone else in the Color Guard, other than Ash, who had no stat points in Body.

“Done.”

“Great. For your Mind stats, assign one point to Defense and one point to Balance.” Petals paused until the Camouflaged Shooter nodded. “Okay, for your Spirit stats, assign two points to Defense. That will help you resist any further possession attempts against you.”

“Got it.” Elena’s smile widened.

“How many HP do you have on each stat row?”

“Body: 10. Mind: 7. Spirit: 7.”

Petals recognized the HP assignments as those typical for an Archer. “Moving on, do you have any skills already assigned?”

Elena nodded. “I have Rifle: 2, Hide: 1, and Scout: 1. My unassigned skill points are zero.”

Those skills were comparable to what a first level Archer could start with, though instead of the Rifle skill, an Archer would have the Bow skill, and typically an Archer would take the Aim skill and only take one of either the Hide skill or the Scout skill. But it seemed awakened NPCs didn’t get to choose their starting skills. “Very well,” said Petals. “Dismiss your character sheet and bring up your inventory grid. Just wish it to happen, and it will.”

“I’m looking at it. There’s nothing in it.” Elena held her rifle up. “Should I be able to put this in there?”

“Yes, why don’t you, just so you see how it works? Putting an item into your inventory is called stashing it. Bringing it out of inventory is called drawing it out or equipping it.”

The rifle disappeared from Elena’s hand. She laughed. “I see it in the grid.” It reappeared in her hand. “Nice. Stashing it will be very convenient when we need to climb across another ceiling.” She wiggled her legs in a rhythmic dance. “I’m so happy.”

“Welcome to the club, Elena.” Petals turned to the Moon Priestess. “Are you good, Cherri?”

The Moon Priestess inclined her head. “I’m level two now. I earned a stat point and haven’t assigned it yet, but I was thinking Spirit Offense would be the best place to put it.”

“That’s what I’d do in your place,” Petals said with pride.

“Then it’s done.”

Elena untied the jump rope from her wrist and handed it to Cherri. “This is yours.”

When the Moon Priestess took the item, it disappeared, evidence that she knew how to stash items to her inventory. It was more convenient to have it in inventory than the backpack. Calling an item to hand from inventory was much quicker than fishing around for it in a physical container.

Greta spoke up. “I’m level three Warrior now, and gained another skill point. I’ve already put it to my Sword skill, raising it to rank three.”

“My. Turn,” said Ash, “Level. Three. Healer. Rank. Two. Oust.”

“Yeah,” said Petals, “I get it.” Typically a Healer would raise their Heal skill at this point, but circumstances were different now. “With all the possessed items and people we’re bound to run into, I can understand your wanting to increase your Oust skill.” She looked around at everyone in the dim light. “I guess we’re all ready to forge ahead into the unknown then.”

“You know it.” Cherri pumped a fist.

Elena pointed a finger at the open door, cocked her thumb, and snapped it down, yanking back her hand as though it were recoiling from a pistol shot. “I’m ready.”

“Hear. Hear,” said Ash.

Greta shrugged with a frown. “You heard them, boss. Lead the way.”

“Okay, good,” said Petals. “Give me one second.” She stood in the doorway and aimed her staff down the hall. “If any trap in this hallway lies, let me See it with my eyes.”

A ball of light shot from the tip of her staff, flying straight ahead until it extinguished a few hundred feet away. They were about to traverse one very long, empty corridor. Was her spell indicating that a trap lay waiting in the distance? The result of her spell confused her. It would be nice to have someone else in the party with pertinent skills for the situation. Ah, perhaps there was someone. “Elena, do you want to go first and use your Scout skill? You should probably use your Hide skill too, just to be safe. I couldn’t tell if there were any intersections, doors, or alcoves along the hallway. We can’t rule out there being enemies nearby. And I can’t rule out there being traps in the hallway. That’s why we need someone to go first who has skills for scouting.”

The Camouflaged Shooter brightened. “You’ll let me do that?”

Cherri nudged Elena. “What’s the purpose in having skills if you don’t use them?”

The Shooter nodded. “I’d love to. But how will I see?”

Petals handed the rifle girl a flashlight. “Take this.”

Elena took the offered item. “But won’t this give away my position? How can I use my Hide skill effectively if I’m shining a flashlight?”

“Fair question,” said the Pink Wizard. “The way the game is programmed, assuming it hasn’t been changed on us, your Hide skill, if it works, will conceal not only you but your possessions and their effects from anyone your skill affects. I suggest you focus your Hide skill on everyone in general except those of us in Color Guard. That way, we can see you, but there’s a chance anyone we encounter ahead won’t. If we do encounter any people or creatures, and they react to your flashlight, you can assume they can see you as well. In any case, if you see someone ahead, signal us with a gesture, like this.” Petals raised a hand and shook her index finger twice. “Then put up as many fingers on one hand as there are individual enemies. If there are more than five, then put up all five fingers and shake them once for every five enemies, or make a circular motion with your index finger if there are too many to count reliably. And stay alert for shadow monsters. They might be more difficult to see, but if you see something like a silhouette moving about, if it’s not the shadow of something moving about, then it could be a shadow monster. Shake your fist as part of your signal to us if you see what you think might be a shadow monster. And please, under no circumstances should you try to engage in combat without the rest of us by your side, except to defend yourself. I know that’s a lot to take in.”

“I got it,” said Elena. “Are we ready to go?”

“The rest of the lineup,” said Petals. “I’m following twenty feet back from you, Elena, except when you go around a corner, I’ll move up to the corner faster so I can see you. Ash, you’ll be with me, shining your flashlight. Cherri, you follow two steps behind me. Greta, you bring up the rear, two steps behind Cherri. If you need to use your flashlight, Greta, keep it directed down, not only so you can see where you’re stepping, but also to minimize the distance at which someone out there might spot our lights. Ash will be doing the same with his light. Elena, you’re our eyes and ears for what lies ahead, and we’re counting on you. That’s all. Let’s go.”

“Hurray,” chirped Cherri.

“No talking while we’re traveling,” said Greta. “Or it won’t be our lights giving us away to the enemy.”

Elena passed Petals and headed into the five-feet wide hallway, shining her flashlight ahead.

The Pink Wizard swallowed the lump in her throat. She felt guilty for sending Elena first, putting the newbie at risk for the worst that might lie ahead. But Cherri had been right to question the purpose of having skills if they weren’t used. Justine and Alfie had programmed skill usage bonuses into Darkentide, so that any skill could improve separately from class advancement if the skill was used often enough. Such usage bonuses couldn’t be earned quickly or even automatically from constant usage. There was an element of randomization involved in determining when a character gained a usage bonus. But the bonuses provided the means for characters to gain a slight edge with the skills they exercised the most.

The Camouflaged Shooter’s light went out. Petals couldn’t see Elena in the darkness ahead.

“Elena?” Petals whispered.

“Yes?”

Petals exhaled with relief that the Shooter hadn’t fallen through a trap door. “Are you using your Hide skill?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you’ll be glad to know it’s working. Can you concentrate on hiding yourself from everyone except your Color Guard companions? It’s best if we can see you.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” The Camouflaged Shooter and her flashlight reappeared. “Can you see me now?”

“Yep.”

“How do I know if my skill is working at all, then?”

“You don’t. But keep concentrating on it as best you can.”

“I’m so jealous right now,” whispered Cherri.

Greta shushed her.

“We aren’t traveling yet,” the Moon Priestess said.

Elena’s flashlight illuminated a narrow, straight concrete corridor. She tread lightly, casting the light up and down and sideways as she went. When the Shooter was twenty feet away, Petals began to follow, her staff in her right hand, and Ash and his vase cradled on her left arm. Wrapped around his flashlight, the Gray Healer angled the light down over the rim of the vase.

Moments later, a glance back proved Cherri and Greta had entered the hallway too. The corridor continued straight. After about two minutes of walking, Elena stopped and raised her hand. She didn’t shake her index finger, but pointed at the floor.

“You two wait here,” Petals told Cherri and Greta. With cautious steps, she closed the distance to Elena and whispered, “What is it?”

“I don’t know.” The Camouflaged Shooter knelt and traced a line in the floor, keeping her finger an inch above it. “But my Scout skill tells me there might be something amiss here. I think the five by five space beyond this line might be trapped.”

“Good job, Elena.” Petals aimed her staff at the suspicious area. “Go back to the others and let them know what’s happening. I’ll cast a spell and see what I can learn from it.”

“Done.” Elena took off.

Ash kept his flashlight trained on the area Elena had identified. Standing five feet back, Petals cast her spell. “Trap if you be, your nature let me See.”

A glimmering mist sprayed from the tip of her staff and settled on a concrete block in the center of the suspicious five by five area. Where it touched the concrete, the mist evaporated, with a notable exception. The mist that didn’t evaporate formed the shimmering outline of a boot print.

“Pressure. Plate. Below,” said Ash. “Probably. Entire. Five. By. Five. Area.”

“I agree.” Petals motioned for the others to approach. When they arrived, she said, “We’ve got a pressure plate trap here. I don’t know if it’s something we need to avoid or something we need to trigger. Stepping on it might cause darts to shoot at us, or poison gas to be released, or any number of other bad things. Or it might unlock a door to a room somewhere that would be to our advantage to visit. It isn’t marked with my nickname of Flower Head, so I’m inclined to think it’s not something we’re supposed to trigger. This whole area is new to me, so I don’t know what to expect. Someone else is in control here, and maybe two different someones. I suspect our friend from the TV screen, the fellow with the snake eye who directed us to Room 189, is in at least partial control of this area. But I don’t think he’d want to hurt us. If this trap is here to hurt us, then someone else, maybe someone working for Seth if not Seth himself, is also in partial control of this area. We can’t take anything for granted in here.”

“Who’s Seth?” Cherri asked.

“He’s my boss,” said Greta. “He wouldn’t want to hurt us. If I weren’t with you, then maybe. But he wouldn’t hurt me, I’m sure of it.”

Petals tapped the side of her head with her staff. “If he doesn’t want me to visit our snake-eyed friend, Seth might hurt you if he had to, to stop me. It’s not like you’d be permanently dead. But if any of us die, we’ll respawn in the convention hall, and have to climb across the ceiling again, not to mention having to avoid death again by the hands of possessed convention-goers.”

Greta frowned. “I feel it in my bones. This can’t be Seth’s doing. It might be a really smart shadow monster. There are supposedly some that are level five thousand. If you’re suspecting Seth, and he’s only level five hundred, then what might a level five thousand shadow monster be capable of?”

“It’s. Possible,” said Ash.

“In light of all that,” said Petals, “I think we need to avoid anything I find through magic that isn’t marked with the name Flower Head. So, does everyone think they can jump five feet to clear this trapped area?”

Everyone other than Ash nodded.

“Then, Elena, you’re up first.”

The Camouflaged Shooter grimaced. “How do we know the next space over isn’t trapped, too?”

“Good point. I didn’t specifically check that. Very well, give me another second.” Petals aimed her staff down the hallway beyond the identified pressure plate. “Other traps, if there be any, let me See how many.”

Fine, shimmering mists billowed from the tip of her staff. And kept billowing, filling her field of vision. After about thirty seconds, the billowing ceased. Mists settled on the floor all along the hallway, stretching into the distance. They evaporated as before, except for spots on the floor where they settled and continued to shine. The illuminating marks dotted the hallway floor for as far as Petals could see.

Cherri laughed. “We’ve got a lot of jumping to do. Are all the trapped spaces marked now?”

Therein lay the problem. If any trap in the hallway had a higher level magic than the Pink Wizard’s See spell, it wouldn’t be marked. “I can’t be one-hundred percent sure of that. And the trouble is, if a space out there is trapped and not marked, its potential for harm will be worse than the marked spaces.”

There was more to the Pink Wizard’s spell than she’d first noticed. Spots on the walls glimmered as well. She peered at the closest one. It appeared to be a hole at about knee level. She pointed it out to the others. “If we trigger the pressure plates, we’ll be hit by poisoned darts shooting from those holes.” Looking further down the hall, Petals noticed the dart holes weren’t all set at the same level. Some were knee high, some were waist high, and some were shoulder high.

“Igloo,” said Ash. “Amenities still glowing.”

“You’re not making sense, worm,” said Greta. “Slow down. One word at a time, remember?”

“I. Will. Go.”

“That’s brilliant,” said Petals. “None of the dart holes are at ground level. For that matter, any of us could go, if we crawl and keep our butts down.”

“I. Go. Faster. Crawling,” said Ash.

Greta laughed. “I don’t know about that. You crawl rather slow. Now jumping, that’s different. You jump like a snake.”

Petals grimaced. “I don’t like sending our only Healer. Elena, you’re the only one of us with a Body Balance of 2. You have better control over your physical form, and can do a better job than any of us in staying low while crawling fast. You also have the best chance of noticing anything else peculiar about the corridor, in case my magic missed something. I know this is a lot to put on you, and you just joined us, but would you mind?”

The Moon Priestess put an arm around Elena’s shoulders. “I’ll go if you don’t want to. I’m small.”

Holding her left arm horizontal, Elena moved it like a ripple on the surface of a lake. “If I can shoot people I once called friends, I can crawl on my belly like a snake.”

“That’s the spirit.” Backing away, Cherri mimicked Elena’s movement with both arms as she rocked her torso side to side. “We’re snakes on our way to see a snake.”

The Camouflaged Shooter dropped to her hands and knees before the first trapped space. “Here goes nothing.” She wriggled forward on her stomach, keeping low.

As the full weight of her abdomen slid onto the block, a click sounded, and a missile whizzed by, six inches above her butt. It struck the opposite wall and exploded into a cloud of metallic dust. The cloud expanded, threatening to fill a cross section of hallway. If that happened, everyone but Elena would need to pass through it, and Petals wasn’t sure that would be such a good idea. She aimed her staff. “Cloud of metal all, Move yourself down the hall.” With her staff, she gestured back the way they’d come, hoping to relocate the cloud before it expanded across the hall in front of them.

But the Pink Wizard’s magic failed to work, and the cloud continued to expand. Elena had crawled clear of it, but if the others didn’t hurry, they’d be on one side of it and she on the other. Taking no chances on whether the pressure plate was still armed, Petals ran forward, jumping at the last minute, only barely clearing the trapped space. Landing at Elena’s feet, she lost her balance and dropped onto her butt, but kept Ash’s vase from smacking the floor. Scooting aside to give them room, she beckoned for the other two to follow. “Cherri, Greta, come on, before the cloud cuts you off.”

The Green Warrior nodded at Cherri. “Go, Moonbeam.”

As Cherri ran, Elena jumped to her feet. The Moon Priestess sailed across the space into Elena’s waiting, stabilizing embrace. “Thanks!” Cherri slipped out of Elena’s arms.

It was getting crowded in the space occupied by three people, but to move further meant possibly triggering another trap. Petals stood as Greta came flying across, staying as close to the right wall as she could, since the cloud covered three quarters of the corridor’s width at this point. The Green Warrior got more height than any of them had. She landed beside Petals, who grabbed her to steady her.

The metal cloud formed a translucent barrier between them and the door through which they’d entered the corridor. Filling the entire cross-section of corridor, it floated towards them at a normal walking pace.

“We don’t have time to crawl,” Petals said. “We’ve all got to move now. Elena, lead the way, and make sure you jump over every marked space. Cherri, you’re behind her. I’ll follow with Ash, and Greta, you’re—”

The Green Warrior saluted. “Bringing up the rear, as usual. Get going, Elena.”

The Camouflaged Shooter sprinted forward and leapt, easily clearing the next marked area. She didn’t slow down, but kept going. Cherri hurried after her, with a bounce to her step that propelled her over the traps with nearly as much grace as Elena demonstrated.

“Give me the vase.” Greta didn’t wait for Petals to hand it over, but pulled it from her grasp. Petals didn’t resist. The Green Warrior was less likely to drop any object she carried.

The glow of the traps provided sufficient light, Greta wasn’t bothering to use her flashlight.

With the cloud right at their backs, both Petals and Greta were forced to run and jump at the same time, no matter how cramped they felt in the five-feet wide passage. The Pink Wizard came down short, her feet striking the edge of the pressure plate. Another metal dart shot across the corridor, this one whizzing behind her at waist height. It smacked the opposite wall and erupted into a cloud of swirling particles that billowed into the corridor and joined the first cloud, forming a denser cloud that quickened its pace to that of a brisk walk.

Petals hadn’t fallen on landing, but had to check her speed to keep from running across the next pressure plate. She couldn’t manage the running and jumping rhythm that Elena had and that Cherri was doing a good job of mimicking. They were already three pressure plates ahead of Petals. She hoped they didn’t trigger one.

“Come on, Flower Head.” Greta grabbed Petals by the arm. “I’ll hold onto you and give you a boost so you don’t land short on the next one.”

They ran together again, this time holding hands. They jumped over the next pressure plate, and Petals cleared it fine.

“Keep going,” Greta muttered, pulling Petals along.

“Wait—” The Pink Wizard hadn’t planned to take the next jump right away. She stumbled. Her hand slipped free from Greta’s, and her foot came down on the next pressure plate as the Green Warrior jumped.

A dart shot from the wall and struck Greta in the shoulder while in mid-leap. It exploded on contact, enveloping the Green Warrior and the Gray Healer in its metallic bloom. Petals checked herself before plunging headlong into the mass of swirling particles.

Greta went limp, plunging to the floor beyond the pressure plate. Ash’s vase smashed, its pieces scattering down the corridor. Where Ash went, Petals couldn’t see, her view of him blocked by the cloud spreading across the corridor two feet in front of her. It moved away from her, but not as fast as the cloud coming at her from behind. She was sandwiched between them, with no means to escape. Her Move spell at level one wasn’t strong enough to affect the clouds. Only level two skills and spells could do that.

“Moon Defense.” The Moon Priestess stood in the corridor ahead, her arms crossed over her chest. The slower cloud divided, floating to either side of her. “Come on, Petals.” Ash hung limply over Cherri’s neck and shoulders. The girl snatched up his flashlight and glanced with concern at the fallen Green Warrior.

“I’ve got her. You go.” The Pink Wizard jumped as the cloud behind her licked her back. On the other side of the pressure plate, she brought her staff to hand and aimed it at Greta. “Move with me, Warrior.”

Greta floated off the ground, her unconscious body horizontal. Petals grabbed a hand and ran, tugging the Green Warrior along through the air beside her. She sped between the halves of the divided cloud as it began to close. Fortunately, Greta didn’t present a drag on Petals as the Pink Wizard ran and jumped.

She still didn’t have a rhythm for running and jumping without stopping between jumps. But a glance back showed the dense cloud merging with the slower one. The combined cloud grew denser and gained speed. She no longer had the luxury of stopping between jumps. If ever she needed to call on her mental fortitude, her strong willpower, it was now. Once more she cast her Move spell, this time on both Greta and herself. “We’ve not time to waste, we must Move with all haste.” Why hadn’t she thought to do this earlier? But even a strong set of Mind stats didn’t impart good ideas to a PC or compensate for one’s forgetfulness. Thinking of what to do or not do was always left up to the PC, no matter how high or low their Mind stats.

Stashing her staff, she ran with a smooth gait and easily cleared the next trapped space. Focusing her strong will, she sped towards the next one, and cleared it too. She kept going, not daring to break her concentration by glancing back. She had faith that she could outrace the cloud behind her.

Elena and Cherri waited just ahead of her, though they hadn’t reached the end of the corridor. Petals jumped into the same five by five space they occupied, checking her momentum as she landed. Elena grabbed her arm to help steady her.

Greta’s weight returned, and her sleeping body sank to the floor.

“What’s up?” But then Petals saw. Ahead of them lay two adjacent pressure plates. They’d have to jump ten feet to clear them both. “We can’t cross that even with my Move spell helping us to jump.”

Cherri chuckled. “No, but I have an idea. Bring Greta and stay close to me.”

The cloud behind them approached at the pace of a jog.

“Magic that I adore, please Move us four.”

Greta floated up again. Petals grabbed her hand and towed her as before. This time, she didn’t try to jump, but stayed a half step behind Cherri. Elena walked beside Cherri.

The Moon Priestess faced the right-hand wall from which the darts would fire and crossed her arms over her chest. “Moon Defense.” Then she sidestepped onto the first of the two adjacent pressure plates, her companions keeping in step with her.

A dart shot out, shattering against Cherri’s unseen defensive barrier. The dart exploded, but the barrier prevented passage of the resulting cloud. They kept going, Cherri keeping one hand on Ash’s still form so he wouldn’t fall from her neck. The group crossed the second of the two pressure plates, and another dart burst apart against the Moon Defense barrier. Thank goodness Cherri had two ranks in her Moon Defense skill.

Normally, any PC played by Justine wouldn’t have entered a level two area this early in the game, but these were different circumstances. If the group had had more experience working together, they could have tackled this corridor differently. Greta and Ash likely wouldn’t be out of commission. But here they were, and they had to make the best of it. She only hoped the cloud effects on Greta and Ash weren’t permanent. The Color Guard needed every member awake and capable.

No more trapped spaces were in evidence. Petals aimed her staff down the hallway before them. “Corridor of concrete, let me See what more traps we may meet.”

Nothing happened.

“That cloud behind us is almost here,” said Elena.

“Is it safe to go?” Cherri asked.

Petals didn’t lower her staff. “Corridor down which we may stride, let me See what else you hide.”

A shower of sparks from the tip of the Pink Wizard’s staff struck the wall to the left, creating a glowing rectangular outline that marked a doorway. The words, Flower Head, appeared within the rectangle. “In the name of the Moon Goddess, please, please, please allow us Access.”

The door didn’t swing open. “We need a rank two or higher skill to open the door, but I don’t think Moon Defense will do the trick.” She glanced back. The dense cloud merged with the particles most recently released by the last two exploding darts. “We’re doomed.”

The glow of the marked traps faded. Cherri and Elena held flashlights, the only lights now in the corridor.

“Don’t give up yet. I have a level two skill that might help.” Elena returned the flashlight to Petals. “Shine it on the door.” She leveled her rifle and fired repeatedly. Bullets pounded the door near where a door handle would be, sending wood splinters flying. Ten seconds of continual fire ruined the locking mechanism, and the door swung away from them, into another area of darkness.

The flashlights revealed a floor beyond the door.

The group rushed through the doorway as the cloud of metallic particles reached them.

Greta’s body regained its weight as they left the corridor.

Encounter ended, said the words flashing near the bottom of the Pink Wizard’s view. Congratulations, you are level four Wizard.

“You came,” said a husky male voice from the darkness. A single eye opened before them, an orb one foot in diameter suspended five feet in the air, its golden iris aglow, its pupil slitted like a serpent’s.

Elena raised her hand and shook her index finger twice, then held it still, signifying she’d spotted a single possible enemy.