Chapter 3 Part 3

Christopher falls asleep in Jasyn's lap, silent tears run down the side of his face.

"What the fuck just happened?" Beau asks in a hushed whisper.

"He has some traumatic ptsd. When he killed that last Ogre, it triggered him. He unintentionally killed someone in a similar way. Although I thought he was getting better. I guess not." Heather says.

Beau hangs his head low as he takes a seat on the ground. "So what's our next step?"

"Getting the hell out of here." A figure says, emerging from the darkness of the Dungeon their face hidden by a hood.

This puts everyone on guard, aiming a torrent of attacks at the new arrival.

"Chill." The woman says, holding up her hands and tossing her hood back.

"Kiana? What the hell are you doing here?" Heather says in a screamed whisper, dropping her guard.

"I came here to get stronger obviously. And maybe make a little coin by taking the Dungeon Core but I've been roaming this godsforsaken place for months. You have no idea what I've needed to do to keep myself alive all this time." Kiana says, leaning a hand on her hips. A clear sign of nausea plasters her expression. "I am so done with this place I just want to get out."

"So there isn't any grudge between us?" Heather asks.

"Oh there's a grudge alright. But for right now, we need to work together to get out of this place. I'm completely out of mana potions so I'm not able to use any magic right now." Kiana says.

"In other words, you're completely defenceless." Haider comments.

"Yeah, I am. Bitch, why do you think I waited till those ogres were dead to show myself. Honestly." Kiana sasses.

"Me and you are gonna have us some problems if you keep giving me lip like that." Haider threatens.

Kiana takes a step back to lean. "Oooh. Your ard aren't you."

…

"Imma bout to slap a hoe." Haider says, stomping his way towards her as he rolls up his sleeves. Heather and Beau try to hold him back. "Let go of me!" He shouts. Kiana laughs to herself.

"So…Are those two a thing or what?" Kiana says, looking at Jasyn and Christopher.

"What's it to you?" Jasyn asks.

"Oh I dunno. Just add another person who is endangering themselves being around a murderer." Kiana comments, gnawing on a fingernail.

"Excuse me?" Jasyn asks, completely dumbfounded.

"Leave my brother alone you bitch!" Haider yells.

"Look, can we all just get along for now?" Beauregard asks.

"No! This maggot needs to die!" Haider says, struggling to get free.

"Simon. Can you please hold Haider back for me?" Heather says calmly.

(Nebulon) I'm surprised she hasnt gone bat shit insane.

(Narrator) I'm more surprised that Kiana isn't dead yet.

(Nebulon) This might go on for a while.

Simon unravels its insides to keep Haider in place. Heather lets go and walks on over to Kiana as she continues to bite on her nails.

"Ugh, you haven't a clue how disgusting it is to have goblin blood under your nails. Suc-" Before Kiana could finish what she was saying, Heather slaps her right in the jaw. This stuns her as she looks back at Heather, hand covering her reddening cheek. Haider stops struggling and watches in stunned silence.

"You have no right to go criticising Christopher for what happened. Yeah, he killed a few people, some on purpose, but also unintentionally. Meanwhile, you've killed for vengeance. Not exactly the work of a good person now is it? What is most surprising is the fact that you haven't been assassinated yet." Heather says, digging deep into the current issue while also taking a stab at Kiana.

"Yeah, that's right, I did some digging. You killed a tourist from Tisk because they 'insulted' you. You then decide to follow their sister who moved to Mercter, just so you can torture her with their siblings death." Heather continues. "You are one fucked up individual. So you either co-operate peacefully with us until we get out of here, or you can be left in here on your own once again."

…

"Fine, my lord." Kiana says.

"You can also drop the attitude! You're a grown ass adult, not a pubescent teenager!" Heather says. This results in Kiana staying silent.

(Narrator) Imagine getting socially dominated by a sixteen-year-old girl.

(Nebulon) Kiana's twenty-two. So. oh wait nevermind. Six years difference at that age is still rather massive.

"Can I please still hit her?" Haider says, staring Kiana down with intensity.

"No. I've sorted it. We are all going to be civilised people and work together to get the hell out of here. Just like Kiana suggested." Heather says, taking command of the situation where Christopher would usually take the lead of. "Jasyn."

"Yeah?" He asks.

"Are you able to carry him?" Heather requests.

Jasyn's eyes open wide. His face filled with a thankful expression. "I am able and glad to do so!" He says, gently cradling Christopher in his arms as he stands.

"Great. Haider, would you mind if Hayle takes the rear behind Jasyn? He's the best we have for defensive capabilities." Heather asks.

Haider doesn't reply. He looks up at the bulky moving mass of ice and simply flicks his head towards Jasyn. Hayle stomps his way next to him. The bodyguard looks up at the golem with slight anxiety.

"Ok then you Haider and Beauregard will go in front of them and then Kiana you're with me up front." Heather says.

"Why do I have to be in the front with you?" Kiana argues.

"Because I want you as far away from my brother as possible. And, if you start to annoy the fuck out of me, I have every possibility to hit you. Except you'll be tied up. I don't trust you not to try and attack us." Heather answers, giving a subtle signal to Simon as she finishes.

Simon swiftly binds Kiana in his vines, lifting her off the ground above him, and disarming her from her weapons. He gives the bag filled with knives and kunai, as well as her Katanas to Willow, who swiftly 'ingests' the items for safe keeping.

"You can have those back when we are out of here." Heather says.

"I really wasn't expecting to be safe and cosy getting out of here with you lot. I guess I can have a nap while I wait." Kiana says, wriggling in her binds a little to get as much comfort as possible out of her situation.

"Yeah, no. You said you've been in here for months, which means you're more likely to know the way out than anyone here." Heather retorts.

"Yeah, no, I'm not." Kiana says.

"How so, smart ass." Heather says.

…

"You'll figure it out yourself eventually." Kiana says, closing her eyes.

Simon lowers Kiana slightly so Heather can reach. She gets in close and punches her in the nose. Not hard enough to break it, but enough to cause some bruises.

"You bitch! I think you broke my nose!" Kiana yelps.

"Tell me why, or next time I'll make sure you KNOW your nose is broken." Heather interrogates.

"Fine! Shit! You didn't need to hit me." Kiana says, scrunching her nose a few times.

Heather's eye twitches. "Out with it!"

"Gimme a second. Fuck that hurt." Kiana says, taking a few moments to catch her breath. "The reason why I can't tell you is that the way you came in, has changed behind you. They morph and shift constantly."

"So what you're saying is that it's impossible to escape?" Heather inquires.

"Either that or I'm not smart enough to figure it out." Kiana says.

Heather reflects for a moment. She furrows her brow, nothing coming to mind. "Arrg! If only Christopher were awake, he'd figure something out."

"Is there anything we could use to wake him up?" Haider asks.

"Well, yeah. But I would prefer him to rest for now. Unless you want to ignore what just happened to him?" Heather responds.

Haider retreats a few steps. "Of course not."

…

"Good. Then our current directive is to either head deeper into the Dungeon, or to blast our way out of here with Flower Cannon." Heather states.

"The walls of this place are steeped in mana, I'm not entirely sure if you could get out before the walls repair themselves." Kiana interjects.

Heather uses Mana Sense and looks around them, above and below. "I don't know why I didn't think of using this before!" She says excitedly.

"What do you see?" Beau asks.

"Not much, however I think we can make our way out this way. Some sections are richer than others in the density of mana. And if I'm correct, the thinner sections will lead us out of here." Heather replies.

"We need to be careful about it though, since the walls are constantly changing, we could end up going deeper inside." Jasyn comments, shifting his arms a little to make it more comfortable holding his beloved.

"It's true, I think I was close to getting out a few times before the Dungeon shifted again and I was once fighting off hordes." Kiana says.

"Then, why not deliberately go deeper? If the DM wants us dead for encroaching on his territory. Why not challenge him to do so? It would however take all our strength." Beau says, pointing to Kiana.

"But like the fashionista said, I'm kinda useless right now." Kiana eludes.

"Fashionista? Why thank you." Haider says.

"Dime. How are our stockpiles looking?" Heather asks.

(Dime) 257 Herbal Potions of the Healing, Mana, and stamina varieties. 139 Low Grade Magic Potions, 54 average grade Magic Potions, And 87 High Grade Magic Potions. There are also 2 Holy Grade Cure Potions and 10 bottles of High Grade Holy Water.

"What the fuck is that?!" Kiana shouts. Christopher shuffles slightly.

"This is Dime, The God of Dimensions. Christopher invented them." Heather says with a mild scowl.

"So are they like his assistant?" Kiana asks.

Heather looks up at her. "More like a companion. Like my Soulust or Haider's Thrall."

Kiana looks back at Hayle and then back at Heather. "Sweet. I've always wanted to be paired with a Fire Spirit, you know, one of those ones that has a body n stuff that can follow you around!"

"A Greater Fire Spirit? Good luck with that. There hasn't been a volcanic eruption on this continent for several decades." Haider says.

"Eat shit ice boy. Your Ice Thrall will only ever be a poor imitation to an Ice Spirit. Like the only thing that hunk of ice can do is rip its core out to defend someone and blindly swing their fists!" Kiana says in a burst of rage.

Haider opens his mouth to speak but can't think of anything to rebuke her statement. He instead holds a death glare, not giving himself a break to blink. Heather and Kiana find this creepy.