The hobgoblins grinned, watching two people walk through the entrance.

One frowned. “Her hair is pink now.”

The others looked at him. “So?”

He couldn’t put his finger on why her hair color bothered him, so he shrugged and followed them down the volcano.

They got to the bridge over a river of lava and waited, hiding behind the columns that held it up. Soon Staab and Lily crossed, Staab trailing behind his girlfriend.

As soon as she stepped off the bridge, the hobgoblins attacked.

“Stop.”

The word crashed over them, forcing their muscles to obey. As a group they froze, hands outstretched to grab her.

“Thank you,” she said sweetly, pulling a wand with a pink stone at the end out of her pocket. The stone started to glow as she twirled it in her fingers. “Follow me, please.”

They had no choice. Magic took over, and they followed her to the edge of the lava.

“Step in,” she ordered, all sweetness gone from her voice.

The hobgoblins fought it. They knew they were resistant to heat and fire, but not that much.

The pink glow brightened. “Step. In.”

From the bridge, Staab watched as the hobgoblins put their feet in the river of lava.

They were men. They were fighters. They could handle a little pain.

“Thank you,” Lily said. “Now, turn to face me.”

They did as ordered, no longer resisting. With every passing heartbeat they felt more of their flesh boil and burn away. Even with resistance, after half a minute their feet and ankles would be nothing but charred bone.

Lily smiled. “Good. You will stand there, and I will explain the importance of respect.”

*****

Dear Diary,

We’re back home! Marble race prelims have started!

Out of the 42 marbles I got in the dungeon this cycle, I think three are gonna do super good. And one mediocre one, cuz having a full team of super fast marbles is too much to ask for.

Except, since there are 11 of us racing, I think we’re either gonna go back to everyone using one marble, or else two marbles. Cuz 44 marbles on a track is… a lot.

Yeah, the triplets are joining this cycle. They haven’t before, and I don’t think they’re particularly interested in marble races (weird, right?), but Aya said she’s going to announce for our games no matter what. So they can do their own thing, all alone, or join everyone else by the marble tracks.

Anyways, I’m glad to be back home. I kinda feel sad for all the other players, who don’t have real “homes” to go back to. I’m sure they have floors they like more than others, and being able to explore is nice, but there’s something about being in MY house with MY bed and MY kitchen.

And speaking of MY kitchen, I need to make a bunch of ice cream cakes for tomorrow. We haven’t gone down to the kobolds yet, but they know we’re here cuz I spoke to Nat and Gin.

So yep, party tomorrow!

Goodnight, Dungeon!