CH23

We unlocked the gate, entered a snug elevator, and rode it down hundreds of feet. My party looked nervous, especially Azizi. She kept checking her new mace and testing her grip. Zeff tugged at his scarf, and Hati tried not to touch his crotch.

"So what's the second floor like?" I asked.

The zebra man froze. "Are you telling me you entered a dungeon without knowing the mob makeup of its floors?" Zeff asked.

"Unless the next floor is nothing but puzzles, it doesn't matter," I said.

"When you open your math, be ready to eat humble pie," Azizi said.

"Wait, you can't be serious?" I tried to move, but there wasn't any space, and the elevator started smelling like unwashed balls. "What kind of puzzles?" I asked.

Hati looked up. "Let me handle this one." Zeff and Azizi went silent. "There are twelve known puzzles and over a hundred unknown ones. Some are riddles, based on fairy tales, or literally puzzles. Not many make it to the second floor and those that don't want any competition. If someone asks you about a puzzle, keep your mouth shut. If we talk, the other teams might find us in the dungeon, and we won't return." Hati said.

"So 12 groups talked," I said.

"The monkey can learn," Zeff said.

"Don't talk about Vin like that; he's my friend and our tank. I don't care how clueless he is; he's our duckling." Hati said.

"Quak Quak," I said.

"That's the spirit," Hati said.

"So, which one of your sisters do you think would like Vincent best?" Azizi asked.

"Skuld likes her men clueless about the world and dungeon. I don't have a sister," Hati said.

His sister sounded like a con artist. Getting with her sounded like a bad idea. She sounded like the type of girl who would string me along and suck every coin out of me.

The elevator stopped, and the door slid open. Flickering revealed the floor of red, irritated flesh covered in appendages like blades of grass. Small slimy filaments covered the ground, flexible enough to fold underfoot and elastic enough to stretch back into place. Each step felt squishy and wrong. I wanted to comfort the first floor over the wrongness of the second. A bell tolled as my party joined me on the second floor in a world so different from the first floor.

"If we survive this floor and return, we will be considered fully-fledged adventurers," Azizi said.

"How are you handling this so well? I asked.

The sea of red tentacles waved in the flickering light and grew taller and deeper into the dungeon. There were no more arches, only open space and a flickering light above. My eyes had trouble adjusting to the sudden changes, and I gave the elevator a final glance.

"You wanted this; we could have returned and rested to tackle this another day," Hati said.

I needed more than a night of rest, but they were right; I couldn't drag them down. But the place felt wrong. Feeling the squishy appendages push against my grieves and boots made me feel like I was in the belly of the beast. But they were right; I wanted this, so I had no choice.