"To think that she was yet another spy all this time. When I think about all the damage she could have done to us...not to mention the possibility that she could have been lying about not having other 'bodies' in her possession..." Thaddeus shakes his head and refocuses on Tizzy. "I'm just gd she choose to attempt to flip you rather than attack you. I would've never sent you off alone with her if I'd had any idea."

  The scout brushes off his concern with a smile. "Ah, I could've handled her. Granted, it would've drained a lot of my juice, so I'm gd she didn't, too. I just, uh...hope I didn't piss the dungeon off too much by not taking the offer. It sounds like the dungeon has a kill list and I might've just earned myself a spot."

  The prince pces a hand on her shoulder. "You've also earned yourself even greater rewards when all this is over." The handsome, raven-haired noble gives her a slight smirk. "Aside from your safety, needless to say I'm also quite relieved that you didn't take Yulia up on her offer. As I've said, you are essential to our success."

  The extra dose of praise makes the half-imp blush, her purple cheeks turning dark given that she'd stopped bothering with her goblin disguise since they'd entered the dungeon. "Hey! I spent my whole life doing my best to avoid the double-crossing game, I'm not gonna dive into it here at the finish line! And I still don't feel like we're actually working against Xenia, even if maybe she's not, uh...super enthusiastic about our pn."

  "We will make our case to her in person, and we will convince her of our righteousness. That said..." Thaddeus takes a moment to examine the luck charm Tizzy retrieved from Liani's corpse, and holds it up. "We cannot pass on any opportunities to earn more tokens. The dungeon awarded us one for Violetta's contribution in the st boss fight, but her charm was taken along with her. Do I have a volunteer to take on a second charm? Your rewards will take it into account when all is said and done."

  While there's no immediate response, Nain does eventually reach for it. "We need our remaining mages in one piece, and if one of the fencer boys added to their bad luck a single bad slip could see them slitting their own throats or some shit. At least I've got the armor for taking an extra hit here and there."

  "Fair logic, and thank you for your courage, Nain." The prince hands it over with a sigh as he considers what remains of their 'raid'. They'd started the day with twelve members and at halfway through the dungeon they already find themselves reduced to eight, a number barely qualifying as a raid at all. Still, eight is still sufficient for the challenges waiting ahead of them, and the party has far from pyed all of their cards. Putting on a brave face, he again addresses the group as a whole.

  "We continue on, to the key altar and then the guardian's isnd. Follow Tizzy's path carefully, and beware for surprises."

  If anything the surprising thing about the trek to recover the dungeon key is the ck of surprises. The new, hulking undead monsters could have perhaps been a hazard if they'd actually managed to sneak up on the party somehow - perhaps by hiding behind a very rge tree? But with some preparation Thaddeus and Norsh boosted by Hylii's spells prove more than sufficient to behead the behemoths with a few strokes of their bdes. The shades fall before Tizzy and Linda as easily as they had the first time they had come through this floor, and the thralls guarding the key don't even y a finger on the adventurers.

  All of which leaves the prince a little worried. Floor Four is known to be one of the most popur hunting grounds of Trush, one of the dungeon's wandering bosses. Perhaps he's waiting to meet them again on Floor Seven, as he had before? But the man doesn't want to distract himself with theoreticals while actual fights lie before him, and so he rgely pushes the concern out of his mind while still keeping one eye on the surrounding forest.

  When they return with their prize to the floor's small river however, they do find a surprise waiting for them. Specifically, an audience. It was common knowledge by now that water elementals lurk in the dungeon's false river, and that while they assist the dungeon by drowning those who happened to take a dip they never engage in real combat. They aren't actually dungeon monsters after all, and so death for them would be final rather than just a minor inconvenience. Therefore, the elementals never truly show themselves beyond perhaps poking their heads above the surface of the river for brief periods.

  Until today, when a trio of water elementals have apparently decided to pull themselves up onto the far shore and begin waving signs around. They're primitive at best and Thaddeus has trouble actually making out their message, but fortunately the elementals decide to begin shouting it out loud when they see the party approach. "Save our dungeon! Don't take our river! Princes go home!"

  Not wanting to immediately approach them, Thaddeus halts at the small obelisk which is used to trigger the raising of the river crossing. "Hail, elementals! Do you intend to impede our progress today?"

  While water elementals in particur ck much in the way of distinguishing characteristics, a woman's voice comes from the one who answers him. "Yeah! Like...morally! We're here to make you feel bad! Is it working?"

  Norsh blinks his eyes at the sight. "What are you lot even protesting about? Don't folks say you're not even bound to the pce? There's an even bigger river right down the mountain if you need a home!"

  "Oh, so if there's a house-thingie right down the dirt-path or whatever from your hut, does that mean you don't mind if someone washes it away? We like this river! There's interesting fish in here, and no one bothers us when we drown someone!"

  "I...suppose that's a unique benefit, at least." Thaddeus rubs his chin. "Perhaps I could...offer you a job in a castle moat once we're done? I am not heartless. But if you don't intend to fight us, we will be crossing your river regardless."

  "A moat?" The lead elemental begins discussing things with the other two before eventually shouting back. "We still hope you choke! But if you don't die, I guess we could give it a try. Do people drown in moats?"

  "...Not often, most of the time, except for when many do at once, I suppose?"

  "Suppose that averages out, at least. Well, we won't fight you, but we are gonna gre at you real hard as you walk by, alright?"

  "...I accept your bargain, dy of the river." Thaddeus looks back at his party with a shrug, and gestures for Tizzy to insert the key to raise the bridge. The stone walkway appears as usual, apparently untrapped, and as the party crosses over it they do indeed receive some very harsh gres. Nevertheless they all get across in one piece and soon after find themselves stepping into the familiar mist of the Floor Four guardian arena.

  There, they find their next surprise.

  Typically the fight here begins with a bit of an ambush, with DEATH emerging from shadow and fog at some point after a challenging party has fully arrived. Today, DEATH stands waiting for them...as does Trush and his four rabbit squires. At the sight of the assembled monsters the adventurers quickly prepare themselves for a fight, and Reed mutters loudly.

  "Two guardians at once!? Isn't there one of those dungeon rules about that?"

  Trush grins, showing off his broad teeth. "Not at all - we just typically avoid it as a courtesy, one which we've chosen not to offer you. Just consider yourself lucky we haven't appeared today in something a bit more monstrous! I did try out a few new forms in preparation, but my squad and I have trained as we are and I didn't want to mess with a working system. That said, I do look forward to fighting alongside you today, DEATH OF RABBITS."

  The cloaked shade nods back at the Rabbit Knight. "I AM AS WELL. IT IS ALWAYS GOOD TO TRY SOMETHING NEW ONCE IN A WHILE. I AM TOLD IT KEEPS LIFE INTERESTING. PERHAPS IT DOES THE SAME FOR DEATH."

  "I'm sure it does!" Trush ughs loudly before looking back at Prince Thaddeus. "Enough bantering, though. Time for battle - attack!" The adventurers prepare themselves for a leaping attack of bdes and spears, but to their surprise the melee-focused monsters actually leap backwards, creating more distance in the arena even as the archers provide covering fire. The swordsmen of the party are about to pursue, when a shout from Tizzy makes them halt.

  "Watch the grass! Nuisance monsters incoming!" Sure enough a flood of vampire rabbits emerges from the mist a moment ter, leaping for ankles and undefended groins wherever possible. Their threat level is low to experts of this tier, but had half of the group been caught out in the open things could have gone rather badly for them. Instead Linda focuses on their defense, blocking arrows and shadow magics from the guardians while Lyman and Reed switch to plucking bunnies out of the air with their thin rapiers.

  As the onsught begins to slow down, Thaddeus begins issuing orders. "Tizzy, do what you can to occupy the shade! Hylii, focus on enemy curses! Birs, keep our fnks clear, Norsh and Nain with me!" Everyone quickly moves to their assigned roles, with Thaddeus leading the orcs forward while Tizzy begins rapid-firing light bsts at DEATH to keep him from entering into the coming melee. Trush is far less restrained however and with a shout he leaps forward alongside his spear-wielders, to mixed results. Yardath's spear practically bounces off of Nain's magically-enhanced shield when he makes impact, and while Ashadi does force Norsh to dodge her thrust, the rabbit-woman soon finds herself dodging a series of axe swings in response.

  Trush and the prince meanwhile find themselves on much more even ground, a repeat of their earlier fight on Floor Seven. "We beat you before, rabbit! Do you expect things to go differently this time?"

  The monster grins in response. "Well, while I may not have taken any new upgrades...the same isn't true of my companion. DEATH? LIGHTS!"

  No one in the party speaks demonic, and so it comes as a bit of a surprise when the arena is suddenly encased in an unnatural darkness - a common spell of Taly's Midnight Shadow css, applied to DEATH. Tizzy does her best to generate light, summoned by her illusion spells, but it's not quite a match and only allows the adventurers glimpses of their foes. Thaddeus briefly hopes that perhaps the darkness might at least put them all on an even footing, but one short gleam of illumination reveals to him that Trush is now wearing a half-mask, surely an enchanted counteragent to the magical shadow.

  The cries from the party around him indicate that the gambit is already seeing results. He doesn't hear indications that anyone's been immediately killed, but Nain and Norsh both groan in ways indicating that they've taken hits, and Reed curses as something bites into his leg. Gritting his teeth, the prince comes to the conclusion that he does have another option for leveling the pying field. "Hylii! Lock down the arena!"

  "As you command, my lord!" The dark elf had been focusing on giving ailments to the distant archers, causing them to miss their shots, but quickly shifts into a much rger spell. Larger...and indiscriminate. "Limbs, obey not your masters! Area of Agony: Muscle Spasm!"

  While the name might not sound like much, everyone in the arena with a physical body save for Hylii himself immediately crumbles to the ground, their bodies twitching and clenching uncontrolbly. It affects some less than others - Thaddeus, Trush, and Nain for example are already working to push their way back to their feet. There is one left entirely unaffected though, and DEATH decides it's time to move in and begin ciming necks with his scythe before the foolish mortals have time to recover from their mistake.

  A move which falls exactly into Thaddeus's pns. For while the spell may make it very difficult if not impossible for the melee-focused members of the party to work...the same can't be said for the mages, who can cast many of their spells with words or willpower alone. Tizzy's own vision is only lightly affected by the magical midnight thanks to her sensory scouting spells, and so the imp can easily tell when DEATH comes in close to try and trim Norsh's head from his shoulders.

  Close enough that even in her current state she can't miss when she gives him a full-level arcane bst, and in seconds the darkness that was covering the small field is illuminated instead by a fsh of pink. By time the arena returns to normal DEATH is already little more than a fading wisp of smoke. The Body Mage's spell is slower to end, but this too benefits the adventurers. With the mages only somewhat affected and the orcs recovering much faster than the squires, Yardath and the archer Namasha are already sin by time Trush gets back to his feet. Even then the battle between himself and Thaddeus takes on the comical form of two old men fighting, struggling against the weight of their own armor and weapons as they attempt to wrest back control of their own bodies.

  Half a minute ter Ashadi's right leg is amputated by one of Norsh's axes, followed soon after by her head, and the archer Grange falls not long after thanks to an elemental lightning bst from one of Linda's wands. Trush continues to fight on bravely, but his courage is half sapped by the sight of his companions falling around him and half sapped in a more literal way by Hylii, as the mage works to ensure that he alone fails to recover from the earlier spell. Seeing that his struggle is futile, the former orc smiles.

  "Well, damn. And here I bet Taly we'd cim at least two of you. Your people fight well, princeling, I'll give you that."

  "And you're a fine swordsman, guardian. I regret that this will be our st duel." Thaddeus's final swing is precise, opening Trush's throat, and as the st monster falls into the grass the man inspects his team. "Well done, all. Do we have any injuries?"

  Nain nods. "Bruised some ribs there, and I see Reed's bleeding. Nothing we can't recover from with a potion or two, though."

  "Excellent. Take a few minutes to rest up, and then we'll continue to the next floor."

  While the others breath a sigh of relief, Tizzy seems a bit concerned. "I have been wondering about that, actually."

  The prince raises an eyebrow. "About what, Tizzy?"

  "If the dungeon is making us go through the whole dungeon...are we actually passing through Floor Five today?"

  "...Well, I suppose we'll soon see."

  DaScoot

  We will be taking a short non-combat intermission for a bit before the combat returns. But there's still plenty of dungeon left to go!

  [colpse]Enjoy!

  NameEthnicityGenderAgeCss/FateThaddeus WorthyHumanM28Undeniable Bde (Supreme - Forged)Tizzy BarrelbottomHalf Imp/HumanF34Arcane Eye (Master - Forged)Linda CogswellHumanF29Force Mage (Master - Forged)Norsh ArizaHalf Orc/HumanM32Axe Smasher (Expert - Forged)Nain HarrashHalf Orc/HumanF30Stalwart Shield (Expert - Forged)Lyman BirHumanM48Stinging Bde (Expert - Forged)Reed BirHumanM26Stinging Bde (Expert - Forged)HyliiDark ElfM76Body Mage (Expert - Forged)Liani DarkspireHuman (Vampire)F35Arcane Bst (Floor 4)Violetta ThrenelHumanF38Possessed (Floor 3)Tannis GarnetleafElfM66Fell to Death (Floor 2)GerliariDark ElfF80Stabbed/Acid Burns (Floor 2)