Chapter 3 Part 3

It doesn't seem like they are going to be moving any time soon. Why don't we see what became of the twins? Concluding the collapse, Haider's ice dome remains intact, covered and sealed in rubble.

"I think I overdid it a little. There isn't even a crack." Haider says, he puts his staff back in its holster on his hip and scratches his head. "Now the question is, how in Hel are we going to get out of here?"

Heather had landed on her ass after they fell. She slowly rises to her feet and rubs her bottom. She breathes through her teeth sharply and says. "Ahh. Fuck that hurt...Lemme think. How about I slip a vine through a small hole to see a path and we can open up a side of the dome and move the rocks?"

After a short pause, Haider opens a wire wide hole in the ice and says. "Sounds like a plan."

They put their plan in motion, Heather finds a way out of the mound and Haider opens a hole in the ice and rocks fall through. They start clearing the way, tossing the majority of the rocks to the back of the dome. The rest of the rocks fall away giving them a path through.

Outside the dome, Haider sublimates the ice and Heather gets a shrunken Simon out of one of her pouches. Heather places the Leopard on the ground and restores him to full size using a light spell. Simon lets out a Happy, thankful meow and presses against his owner's legs.

"Since we both don't use light spells I thought we could use his advanced night-vision, here." Heather makes a leash from vines and harnesses Simon with it. She gives the lead to Haider and it gives her brother Simon's abilities for sight as long as he is holding onto the lead.

"Thank you sis. It was a little difficult to see with only the last embers from the campfire lighting the dome." Haider says.

"I guess the only way we can go is forward, there's no making it back up there, especially since there isn't a floor to stand on anymore." Heather says.

"We need to be careful though, this could be the Dungeon that Relov was talking about." Haider indicates.

"Emphasis on could. There's an even higher chance this is just a random cave. It seems to be going up slightly so maybe we can find an exit." Heather counters.

Simon leads in front of the two and they walk through the caves for a few hours before they decide to take a break. The cave opened up wide, wide enough to have a stream running down the middle. Bioluminescent mushrooms and other fungi spot the walls and floor of this part of the cave. Jagged stalactites hang loosely to the cave ceiling, occasionally dripping water giving a calming ambiance to the atmosphere.

"Woah, this place looks magical." Heather looks around the blue lit cave in awe.

"I mean, that does make sense, I bet this place is filled with environmental mana." Haider says.

Heather bumps her shoulder into him and chuckles lightly. "You know what I mean!"

Haider lets out a chuckle of his own. "Yeah of course. It really is a unique sight. We could be the first people to walk through here."

"Possibly. All I know for certain is that the air is feeling fresher. That confirms an exit somewhere." Heather takes a deep breath and lets out a soft sigh.

"Are you ok?" Haider asks.

"Yeah, it's just been a long time since we got to relax. There's always been something intense we've needed to deal with." Heather rests her head on the cave wall and the shrooms flicker.

"Woah." Haider shifts his position and pokes the wall. It flickers again. Both he and Heather chuckle.

"I wouldn't keep doing that if I were you." A shadowy figure emerges from an unlit section of the cave. "These fungi warn their army."

"What, no who are you?" Heather stands on her feet, fully alerted to the, thing, that got past her detection.

"I am a stone golem miss. You are unintentionally trespassing in a Dungeon domain. The Dungeon Master has been generous enough to guide you out of here for answering a few questions." Golems like this one are not Soulustrious. This one is a summon, a being of pure magic. If you were to make a Soulustrious it would be made wholly from natural materials. Summons have no will of their own, ideal for people who want servants, labourers, or slaves.

"What kind of questions?" Heather asks cautiously.

"Only simple ones, since the Master cannot leave this place for very long, he has limited information about the world outside." The golem floats ghostly towards them slightly.

"Ok, if it gets us out of here unarmed then I'm fine with that." Heather lowers her guard and trusts the polite golem. Haider is still on guard but gives no signal or sign to attempt to attack.

"There may be follow up questions based on your answers. *cough*" the golem says.

"Why do you need to cough? You're talking through the golem aren't you Dungeon Master?" Heather approaches the golem smirking with confidence.

"Smart lady. Now, why are you travelling on this mountain?" The Dungeon Master asks.

"Four of us were tasked to harvest a plant from Snowwake Summit for a client." Heather says, hands sassily crossed underneath her...bazoombas.

(Narrator) What is happening to me?! I'm getting all flustered about everything! These humans are clearly rubbing off on me. That sounded so gross!

"Four? Where are the other two?" They ask.

"We got separated after a floor collapsed. We have no idea where they are." Heather says.

"I will see what I can do for them but right now, but next question. What is the condition of the mountain above this Dungeon?" The Dungeon Master asks.

"As far as we know, unchanged. However there was a snowstorm when we got trapped by an avelaunch." Heather says.

"That explains the rumbling I felt. Ok one last question. Tell me all the ways you can use magic."

"That wasn't a question but why do you need to know that?" Heather asks.

"To tell you the truth......Sorry about that, I was yelling at my strategist. I am an otherworlder as you would call me. My name is Crearwy Gibby. I hail from a country called Wales and as far as i can tell, my culture is loosely linked with your language somehow." Crearwy says.

"That's honestly interesting...I guess I'll tell you everything I know." Heather does just that, she tells the otherworlder everything she knows about magic.

"I truly appreciate what you have told me. May I please give you a gift from my country?"

(Narrator) An otherworlder a Dungeon Master? Now that is a very interesting story. I'll get one of my siblings on this. It's fun being able to exist outside of time for an instant.

Crearwy looks directly at the Narrator. "Curious. Looks like the..."

(Narrator) I'm going to keep my secrets as long as possible ok? Keep speculating about me. I dare you.

The Dungeon Master commands his golem to show them the way out of the dungeon. Hours pass before they see the exit on the mountain, they thank the golem, even though it can't appreciate it. The sky is empty, not a single cloud in the sky. The natural light blinds their eyes for a moment before a beautiful sight of the clouds below them.

"Wow! This is an amazing view!" Haider says, looking across the seemingly endless expanse of clouds.

Shivering behind him, Heather says. "I could enjoy it a bit more if it wasn't so cold!"

Apparently the Dungeon Master Crearwy heard her because a bracelet materialises on her wrist. The bracelet seems to give the wearer cold resistance.

Heather looks sharply at her brother and to the Dungeon several times before thanking Crearwy for their generosity.

"Who would've thought that a Dungeon Master would be so kind." Haider says.

"I know, from what we heard it's not a fun place to go into." Heather says, stretching. "Is this what you feel like? I dont feel this cold anymore."

"Probably." Haider looks up and notices that barely zero mountain was left. "Hey sis look. This must be Snowwake Summit."

"I'll race you to the flower. No magic though." Heather says with a smirk.

"*sigh* just go grab the flower, I'll wait for Christopher and Relov to get here." Haider says, sitting down in the snow.

Heather takes off to find the plant they needed and roughly three minutes later Relov and Christopher get teleported behind him. Shocked, Haider springs to his feet.

"What in the actual fuck! How did you get here?" Haider exclaims.

"I dunno, we heard a strange voice and now we're here...Fuck its cold up here" Christopher says. A bracelet materialises on his wrist. "Neat!"