A walk on the beach

The farewell party was a blast, and they didn't say this would be a goodbye forever kind of thing, especially since Hera and Shane wanted to come back here somewhat soon. Both of them were still very aware that this could be leading them to the capital of the ancient Naga, and they were not about to let go of that possibility. However, they knew their priorities. Shane called Shiretaa since she had yet to do so, and they got some news that was both good and bad at the same time. Since they were leaving that day, and they should arrive in a specific room in the next 36 to 48 hours, they could reach the doorway before the high tide. If they missed that window, it would take them another 2 weeks of waiting before they could reach the next room. The main issue wasn't just that the doorway would be underwater but that the current on the other side was absurdly powerful. To the point that even high-level Tritons specialized in underwater exploration would have a problem fighting against it. Shane didn't tell all that information to most of the group, but she made it clear that they would need to move as quickly as possible.

After the Temple of Sands, they passed by several rooms. Burning Visage was a large island of sorts. It wasn't in the middle of the ocean. Instead, it was in the middle of a large expanse of gray rock, even if the island itself was lush and full of life. Even the sky outside the invisible wall seemed to have vanished as if whatever happened here plucked this island from reality itself, leaving it stranded in this weird in-between space. The reason for the name was due to the volcano in the middle of that piece of land, a volcano that had a face. It was the face of a monster, maybe an Oni, with large fangs and horns. It reminded Hera of the tattoos that she would see in movies when a member of the Yakuza or some badass character from Japan appeared. They didn't stay there long, however. Shane asked the guide her questions and got directions for the next room. Which was a good thing since that particular place was on the 19th layer. If they didn't have the confirmation that no monster would appear while they were there, none of them would ever risk going to that place.

The next room, called Grayland, was on the 10th layer and dropped them just by the ocean with their backs against a large cliff. When climbing it, they found that it was very much like Iceland or Greenland. A name that was completely opposite to the actual area. The entire room was filled with vibrant colors and rolling hills of various flowers, making this a textbook fairytale scenario. Blue and Hera could almost swear they saw a cartoon rabbit jumping around, which was very much the case. The monsters in this room had some weird lines around their bodies, giving them a look that could only be described as cell shaded. That was fine for games, movies, or cartoons, but when it was something living, it seemed wrong.

Continuing their journey, they walked all the way across the hills, passing by two very obvious dungeons. One was a giant tree with a door in the middle, almost taunting them with the possibilities, and another was a circle of flowers with nothing but grass inside. It was very reminiscent of something called a fairy ring, which is usually caused by fungi. Or actual fairies, but neither was the case this time.

After reaching the next doorway, which led to a room called Leafshade Botanica Grove on the 5th layer, they had to stop for the night. This was the fourth doorway they would cross, and no one was willing to tempt the three doorway rule. Another reason for them to stop was that they were all tired. Their time in the Burning Visage wasn't long, but in contrast, it took them about 7 hours of walking to cross Grayland. Sure, if they were in a smaller group, Nimbus could reduce that time in half, but even when using all the available mounts and tactics, they would be leaving at least one person behind, or one person would have to follow on foot. No one liked that idea, and it seemed like if they just walked, there wouldn't be any problems.

Night came and went in a flash. They all slept in the private rooms they had available, although Alex slept with Hera and the girls, leaving Adriel alone at his request. The couple was doing better, but they were not quite there just yet. Both still felt like they had to regain trust before sleeping in the same room again. When they woke up, they confirmed that it had been over 24 hours since their first crossing and went through the doorway. The Leafshade Botanica Grove was a mixture of a greenhouse with a small forest. The kind one would expect to see in peaceful images or childhood stories about visiting the woods. The only problem was that the paths would twist and turn, forming a labyrinth for anyone with a specific destination. One more time, talking with the guide became their saving grace, and they all got specific directions to the next room. It would still take about two hours to cross the entire forest, but it was better than figuring it out themselves.

The doorway was under a palm tree, of all things, and led them to the room they were rushing so much to get to, Shellhaven. This room was basically just a beach filled with different types of seashells everywhere and even a line of gigantic seashells that led to the mainland. Shortly after those colossal mollusk exoskeletons, they were met with an invisible wall, but the real prize of this place was a doorway located inside one of said massive seashells. It was one of the lower ones that would be filled with water during high tides, just like a cave. Everyone tried to rush inside, but seeing how the tide was still very low and, according to Shane, they still had a few hours to get there, Bonnie asked everyone to take a break. Ruby seemed very interested in the seashells, and the researcher wanted her pet slime to play a bit. It was hard to say no, so no one did that, and they took a moment to rest and eat before continuing their journey.

Since they had a moment to stop, Hera decided to call the guide of this room. She had done so in all of the rooms they passed by, with the exception of Burning Visage. That place was too high level, and even staying around for five extra minutes only increased the chance of a monster popping out and killing them all. Back there, the guide said they were safe for the moment, but they also said they shouldn't take in the sights. Hera stepped away for a moment and went inside one of the large spiral seashells that were located on the beach before telling Nimbus and Lurize to stand guard outside. This room was on the 12th layer, evidenced by the mark of a wall splitting the entire room in the middle of the beach. Meaning that before this wall was broken, people who came here never even knew that there was an ocean in this room. Or were never able to see the giant seashells, depending on the direction that led to the lower layers. The good part was that the monsters around didn't seem too strong. They were mostly a mixture of sand lobsters, shell golems, and giant snails that could spit jets of pressurized water at the group. Luckily even the strongest of the ones they found so far was only level 20.

Because of all that, she felt safe being on her own inside one of the giant shells. She used the Pulse spell to make sure no one was around, then activated a soundproof bubble before calling the guide. From the deepest part of this makeshift cave, the sound of skittering legs started to echo. Hera braced herself, just in case, but when she saw what was coming, it was hard to believe it was a monster and not the guide. In essence, she was seeing a crab, a very cute eremite crab with almost cartoony proportions. In fact, his whole body seemed to have come out of a drawing made for kids. Instead of several plates and joints that would create an actual living being, he was just smooth all the way. He had a pair of beady oval black eyes and a small mouth under it that was more of a line than anything else. But what really stole the show was his shell. Instead of something white, or beige colored, it was a completely transparent shell with an actual ocean and a beach inside. She could even see a palm tree, some long chairs, and a small wooden hut inside the shell, all in miniature versions of the actual thing.

"Hey there," the crab spoke in a voice you would expect from a kid's movie. But not in an annoying and high-pitched way, it was innocent and very excited, "You must be Hera, right? I'm Fritz. The guide is here. I'm very, very happy to meet you."

"Hi, Fritz. I'm happy to meet you too," the Empress said with a smile, "Oh, and this is Daskka. She is my herald and can't actually speak with other people. Only with me," she gestured to the snake around her neck.

"Hi, Daskka. Don't worry. I know all about you guys. The other guides told me that this is ok."

"I'm glad. I'm always worried that bringing her around will count as a strike, but I can't not bring her."

"You don't have to worry about that," Fritz stepped back and forth, moving his claw's around each other like someone who needed a fidget toy.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah… I-I-I just want to offer one thing."

"Oh, sure, go for it. I can't say I will take the offer without knowing what it is, though."

"Ok," that answer made Fritz settle down, and his entire body shifted to be a bit closer to the ground, "So, I would like to invite you to my place. My home. We can talk there, and you can ask your questions. Then you don't have to play the host."

Hera shook her head, "Can you do that?"

"Yeah! Most guides can't, but my house," Fritz tapped his shell, "Is mobile."

"That's awesome. Yeah, I would love to see it. If that's ok with you."

"Of course it is. I invited you," Fritz jumped up, almost dancing, and reached out with one of his claws, "Come, just hold my hand. It's a claw, but it works the same way."

Hera was about to hold his hand/claw but stopped herself, "Actually, I have a few members of my court outside. They can't move too far away from me. Should I call them back?"

"Don't worry about it. We are not moving anywhere, we are just changing sizes. The distance we are from them won't change."

"And my skills won't change the dimensions? Like it's on meters, wouldn't it change to centimeters if I change size?"

Fritz shook his head, "Don't worry. The way I do this, it won't change a thing for you. You are going to get tiny, and so is Daskka, but that's it. All your skills will stay the same."

"Ah, that's nice. I never knew that changing sizes worked like that."

"Well…. It's not all size-changing spells that do this. Especially the ones that make you smaller. Getting bigger is different, but if you…" Fritz stopped as if he was hearing something and then lowered his body again, "Sorry. I said too much and got scolded."

"Don't worry about it. I can understand that. It happened before a few times," Hera turned to Daskka, "Are you ready?"

"To see a guide's home? Yeah, I am," the herald said with a smile.

"Then, Fritz. We are all yours," Hera said as she held on to his claw.

Fritz smiled back, and suddenly, Hera felt like she was on a water slide. There was a rush behind her, a pressure that made both Fritz and her vanish from that area, leaving behind only the crystal clear shell where two figures appeared just beyond the ocean.