Turning back towards the entrance, following the line of pink tulips, the party readied their weapons and started walking. Katrina did her best to keep her eyes peeled for more monsters, her Inspiration giving HP regeneration to her friends as they walked.

  “We also know that all the monsters are Undead, which might work in our favor,” Tabitha said after a minute of walking.

  “You think so?” Kat asked. “I didn’t get a good look at any of the monsters.”

  “Oh, absolutely. The wolves looked like they were being animated by fungus, and the boars were missing huge chunks of flesh. It was hard to see since their backs were covered with moss. The wasps seemed to have a simir fungal infection, but it wasn’t as obvious until I sliced them in half. If any of us visit the Dungeon Camp at any point, we should see if they have anything that might help. Small enchantments or something.”

  “Well, that’s not gonna be me,” Alicia said, forcing a smile. “No way I’m making that trip again, and even if I did, I wouldn’t know if I were getting a good deal.”

  “I wouldn’t be opposed to heading down there again,” Kat said. “I’ll certainly have a lot of time to myself at night. And since I have my Delver’s license, I can more easily avoid the crowds!”

  Everyone nodded in agreement before returning their attention to the Dungeon. No one confirmed this aloud, but Kat had a feeling they were all too nervous for more idle chat-chat.

  Fortunately, the line of tulips worked like a charm. Tales of Dungeons swapping hallways and changing youts behind Delvers had been haunting Katrina’s thoughts, but there didn’t seem to be anything different on the way home. They passed through the same clearing full of paths and continued on until reaching the first rge chamber. She even saw familiar patterns of disruption in the grass from their fight with the wolves, which made her sigh in relief.

  Her optimism was short-lived, however. Alicia had been leading the pack, and she stopped without warning after barely a minute. “Something’s coming, and whatever it is, it’s big.” The party froze, heads swiveling as they tried to pce the threat. Alicia slowly raised her hand, pointing at a nearby cluster of trees in front of them.

  The sound of crunching leaves grew louder, and a few seconds ter, the monster emerged. A gigantic brown bear now stared at them, though its eyes were just as dead as the other monsters they’d encountered. Even more unsettling, the left side of the creature was horribly decayed. Patches of rotten flesh clung to its face, though rge sections of fur were missing entirely, exposing the decayed muscuture and skeletal structure underneath.

  It stepped closer, a horrifying growl permeating its frame. As its body shifted, Kat saw even more patches of missing and decayed flesh on its back and sides, and she tried to pull herself together.

  “No holding back,” Kat whispered quietly, flexing her fingers as she prepared her magic.

  Her voice broke the standoff, and the monster charged Alicia, who was still at the front of the group. A huge cluster of vines burst from the ground, slowing the bear down as thorns dug into its fetid carcass, and Kat heard small bursts as the explosive fruits detonated. The bear seemed to shrug off the damage, however, and continued barreling towards Alicia as it loosed a sickening roar.

  Fear gripped Kat as she started pying, throwing a magical burst of vertigo at the monster. She felt the magic strike her target, worming its way into its thoughts, and the bear began staggering.

  Large cuts began appearing around the monster’s neck, and Kat saw Tabitha’s bdes dancing through the air out of the corner of her eye, but she kept her focus on the magic. Unnaturally thick blood pooled under the creature as it stumbled back and forth, but after a few seconds of hesitation, it shook its head and Kat felt the magic dissipate.

  With a gasp, Kat quickly backed further away from the bear. She knew from years of reading that stronger monsters could resist spell effects, but this was the first time she’d experienced it firsthand.

  The monster roared again, charging at Alicia as she continued drawing its attention. Her eyes were wide and sweat pooled on her forehead as she dodged and parried the bear’s swipes. It moved incredibly quickly for a beast of its size, and Alicia was clearly struggling as she continually backed away from the creature.

  Desperate to buy more time while Tabitha whittled away the monster’s health, Kat prepared her next spell. Her fingers flew across her instrument’s strings, and with an intense, magical screech, she threw a stunning spell at the bear.

  When it nded, however, nothing happened. The monster briefly shook its head again before resuming its attack.

  C’mon, Kat! You’ve gotta keep her safe!

  She watched Tabitha run closer, leaping over the monster as she continued digging her bdes into its skin. The amount of damage she’d inflicted was impressive, but it still didn’t appear to be slowing the monster down. Tab jumped off the bear, her movements so fast they were getting hard to follow, and she kept up her assault as she danced around the creature.

  With another burst of music, Katrina summoned even more magic than st time, this time focusing on Alicia. She thought back to the hours and hours she’d spent examining and memorizing her girlfriend’s body, and within seconds, an illusory double of Alicia had appeared. As it materialized, it seemed to step out of Alicia’s body, which Kat hoped would distract the monster.

  She made the illusion mirror Alicia’s movements, matching her combat maneuvers perfectly as it tried to distract the bear. This time, the magic seemed to work, and the monster started splitting its attacks between Alicia and the duplicate.

  Kat was breathing heavily as she kept pying, doing her best to keep the illusion’s movements as smooth and natural as she could. Even though it wasn’t a complete distraction—the monster still occasionally pivoted to swipe at Tabitha or the real Alicia—she knew every tiny distraction would help tip the scales of combat in their favor.

  Every few seconds a small cluster of thorns appeared near the monster’s massive paws, digging into its fur and slowing its movement. Kat was watching Alicia intensely as she mimicked her movement, and she couldn’t ignore just how tired Alicia seemed. Her movements were beginning to slow, and each attack the monster threw at her seemed to be missing by less of a margin. The injury on her calf seemed to be acting up, and she had started to favor her other leg, which was making her movements more predictable.

  The monster was also slowing down, ever so slightly, but it was hard to tell how close to death it was. Tabitha was still barely perceptible, her incredible speed carrying her over and around the bear as she kept sshing away. Her repeated strikes seemed to be focusing on the creature’s hind legs, likely in an attempt to cripple it.

  Another patch of thorns appeared, and when the bear stepped into it, a fruit pod exploded. Seeds scattered, digging into the beast’s thick fur, but some of them went wide. One flew straight at Kat, who didn’t have the reflexes to react in time, and struck her jawline with a sickening crack.

  Kat gasped in pain, doubling over as she instinctively reached up. This action, however, cut off the music, and her illusion disappeared. The monster redoubled its efforts, charging at Alicia, and she threw up her hands to summon another wall of thorns. This one was much bigger, and while it slowed the monster down, a second explosion of fruit seeds erupted into the space around it.

  This time, some of the shrapnel hit Tabitha. She fell to the ground, a rge gash on her leg, and her crash pulled the monster’s attention. It spun to face her, briefly lifting its front paws high into the air as it prepared to take advantage of her moment of weakness.

  “Tabitha!!” Alicia screamed, holding out her hands. The bear nded just as Tab attempted to roll away, and while a barrier dulled the impact, the Foxgirl cried out in pain as the monster nded partially on her.

  Music filled the clearing again as Kat started unching bdes of sonic energy at the beast. She knew she couldn’t stun it, and she doubted an illusion would be any help at this point. She pyed with more aggression than she ever had before, unching countless bdes at the bear, watching each one dig a little deeper into its weakened flesh.

  Alicia ran closer, determination flooding her face, as she tried to keep up the fight. Thorns covered the ends of her staff as she started attacking the monster, and she successfully drew its attention away from Tabitha. However, as the bear turned to focus on Alicia, she was forced to parry by stepping onto her bad leg. She gasped and fell to her knees, and the monster was ready to capitalize on her weakness. A massive paw collided with Alicia’s torso, and despite a barrier forming at the st second, the sound of cracking wood failed to hide Alicia’s own gasps of pain. She fell to the ground, clutching her side, as her grip on her staff faltered.

  The monster bared its teeth with a hideous growl and attempted to tear into Alicia’s neck. She managed to wedge her staff into its mouth, blocking its first attempt, but with a quick fil, the bear threw her staff to its side.

  Kat leapt into the air, desperate to get closer and perhaps draw the beast’s attention. The fight was falling apart in front of her eyes, and she was desperate for them all to leave the Dungeon in one piece. Thoughts raced through her mind of what might happen if she failed to get there fast enough; what the beast might do, how bad a bite from a monster of this size would hurt, and Kat cursed how slow her flight speed was.

  Before she closed the distance, and moments before the beast’s jaws closed on Alicia’s neck, another figure entered the clearing. It ran with incredible speed, causing Kat to think it was Tabitha at first, but a quick gnce showed the Foxgirl was still trying to recover from the earlier attack.

  This new figure was cloaked entirely in bck and leapt on the monster’s back. A rge hood concealed its face, but Kat saw its two leather-cd arms pull forth a set of impressive twin daggers. The figure plunged them both into the back of the bear’s neck, causing it to roar in pain. It stopped trying to attack Alicia, instead stepping back to try and throw off this mystery assaint, but the stranger held tight. It pulled its knives out, spun them quickly in its hands, then reached around the beast’s neck. The daggers crossed, pushed into the bear’s neck, then the stranger pulled their arms back with a defiant shout. As the daggers tore through the monster’s neck, it let out one st whimper, then vanished with a massive puff of smoke.

  The stranger fell to the ground, catching themselves on all fours before they quickly sheathed their daggers. By this point, Kat had finished closing the distance and raced past the newcomer to check on Alicia.

  “Alicia! Are you okay?!” Kat gasped, cradling the Dryad’s head and pulling her into her p.

  “I’m—” Alicia coughed up a mouthful of thick, green liquid, “I’m fine, truly. Tab, what about you? You good?”

  From a few feet away, Tabitha groaned in pain before mumbling a series of foul expletives to herself. Before she said anything proper, Kat watched as her head turned to the rest of the party, and Tabitha froze as she saw the stranger in the bck cloak that stood just a few feet away from them. The Foxgirl jumped to her feet dizzyingly fast, brandishing her swords at the newcomer.

  “Who are you, why are you here?! Name, Css, affiliation, NOW! If I don’t like your answer, so help me I’ll run you through,” Tabitha said, gritting her teeth.

  Everyone present watched as the stranger stood up, holding their hands in the air. Their knives were nowhere to be seen, and they quickly pulled their hood down to reveal their face. Staring back at everyone was a young Human woman with messy bck hair and a wide smile on her face. “Looks like I got here just in time. My name’s Roxy, friends! It’s great to meet you!”

  —

  "Nyx, who is that? Why is she here? How did she get in my Dungeon?!"

  I think you'll have to ask her yourself, Alicia.

  "But I wanna know now! Ugh, you're the worst."

  Hey, technically, you're not waiting at all. There's just some weird temporal anomalies between your world and mine as I rey this story.

  "That's... I'm not entirely sure what the ramifications of that sentence are, so I'm just gonna talk about the song Kat recommended. It's called...man, she always picks these hard to pronounce songs and musicians... "Haydar Haydar" by Ali Ekber ?i?ek, but arranged for cssical guitar by Carlo Domeniconi. Kat says "One of Domeniconi's biggest strengths is taking cultural inspiration from pces not always known for their cssical guitar repertoire. While this song isn't an original piece, his arrangement is still absolutely riveting and, in my opinion, does a pretty decent job at transting the appeal of the original Turkish melody."

  I wonder if Kat's just trying to branch out more to spite Tab after her stunt the other week.

  "Really, Nyx? Branch out?"

  That... wasn't intentional, I swear.

  "I'll be-leaf you this time, but you're on thin ice, madam."

  Well don't go too soft on me; people might think your bark is worse than your bite!

  "Ooh I haven't used that one yet, Kat will hate it! I have to go!"

  Feel free to bme me!

  Nyx <3