The air inside was stale, thick with the smell of wet stone and something faintly metallic—blood, maybe, old and dry. The walls were rough, jagged in some places, like they'd been carved in a hurry centuries ago.
Their footsteps rang too loud in the silence.
Zura's eyes adjusted quickly, shadows stretching and twisting with each flicker of their torches. "Cozy," he muttered, scanning the corridor ahead.
"It's supposed to be dangerous, not cozy," Klaus said, holding his staff at the ready.
"Dangerous for them," Sekke declared, striding ahead a few steps. "Once they see my—"
A sudden click echoed under his boot.
Zura's head snapped up. "Don't—"
The floor ahead split open with a heavy grind, stone slabs sliding away to reveal a pit lined with jagged spikes. Sekke flailed backward, barely catching himself on the ledge before falling in.
"—my incredible reflexes!" he shouted, pretending it was all intentional.
"Yeah," Zura said flatly, "you're a real hero."
Mimosa stepped forward, examining the trap. "We should move slowly. There could be more."
They pressed on, the corridor opening into a wide chamber. Moss crept along the walls, and at the center was a pile of bones—some cracked, others clean, picked dry.
A faint skittering came from the shadows above. Zura's eyes darted upward just in time to see movement—spindly legs, too many of them, glinting in the dim light.
"Spiders," he muttered. "Big ones."
The first dropped from the ceiling, landing hard enough to shake the floor. Its eyes gleamed red, mandibles clicking.
Sekke spun toward it, summoning his Bronze Magic. "Stand back! This is a job for—"
Another spider leapt at him from the side, forcing him to dive for cover instead.
Zura smirked. "Bronzazza brilliance, huh? Show me."
Klaus was already chanting a spell, Mimosa's grimoire blooming with healing magic in case anyone got bitten. The chamber echoed with the hiss and screech of the spiders closing in.
Zura stepped forward, a dangerous grin tugging at his lips. "Alright," he said, loosening his shoulders, "let's make this fun."
They were defeated in just one attack.
Klaus was shocked, but he didn't say anything. While Mimosa and Sekke were just dumbfounded and gave a black stare to Zura.
"Let's go." Zura walked past them and led the way.
The moment they stepped into the first wide chamber, the dungeon greeted them with an echoing screech. Shadows skittered across the stone walls—sharp, twitching movements—until a pack of lizard-like beasts slithered out from the cracks, saliva dripping from their fangs.
"Lizardmen," Klaus muttered, gripping his grimoire. "Pathetic creatures, but dangerous in numbers."
"Pathetic, huh?" Zura smirked, rolling his shoulders. "Bet I can take more down than you before this is over."
Klaus shot him a sharp glare. "This isn't a competition—"
"Too late," Zura cut in, already rushing forward.
Sekke stayed behind them, grinning as his bronze magic wrapped around his arms. "You guys go ahead. I'll… supervise from the back."
The beasts lunged, claws scraping stone. Zura slid low, his blade flashing as he cut one's leg clean off, spinning to slice another's throat before it even landed. Klaus summoned crystalline projectiles that exploded into shards mid-air, pinning two of them to the wall.
"Stay in formation!" Klaus barked.
"Formation's overrated," Zura shot back, ducking under a swipe and stabbing upward. Blood splattered across his cheek, but his grin only widened.
One of the larger lizardmen roared and charged straight at Klaus. Zura didn't even look—he threw a dagger over his shoulder, nailing it in the eye just before it reached the noble.
Klaus froze for half a second, then scowled. "I didn't need your help."
"Sure you didn't," Zura said, kicking another corpse aside.
Meanwhile, Sekke finally joined in—launching a bronze ball that hit a lizardman square in the chest, sending it flying into the wall. He puffed his chest out. "Bronze magic's the best, baby!"
"Yeah, yeah," Zura muttered, already moving toward the next tunnel. "Let's keep going before these things call in friends."
The smell of blood hung thick in the damp air as their footsteps echoed deeper into the dungeon. The flicker of torchlight barely kept the shadows at bay, and the sound of distant hissing promised the fight wasn't over.
The deeper they went, the air grew heavier, the light dimmer, and the noises… wetter.
A faint drip echoed somewhere ahead, followed by the low, scraping sound of something dragging across stone.
Zura tightened his grip on his weapon. "Sounds friendly."
"Stay alert," Klaus said, voice tense. "This far in, monsters are more aggressive."
Sekke rolled his shoulders, his smug grin refusing to fade. "Aggressive? Good. Let 'em try me. They'll see why they call me—"
A loud hiss cut him off. From the shadows ahead, a cluster of twisted, lizard-like creatures slithered forward, their scales a sickly green, their jaws lined with jagged, bone-like teeth. The stench of rot poured off them in waves.
"Oh yeah," Zura muttered. "These guys definitely floss."
They came fast. The first lunged at Klaus, only to be batted aside by a golden construct of magic. Zura ducked low, slicing through another's legs before spinning to avoid a spray of acidic spit.
Sekke slammed his hands together. "Bronze Magic: Fortress Wall!" A massive barrier shot up in front of the group just in time to block a wave of the creatures' spit, the acid hissing as it ate into the bronze.
"You actually came in handy," Zura said without looking.
"Don't sound so shocked," Sekke shot back. "I'm amazing."
"Less talking, more killing!" Klaus barked, sending another blast of golden light through the barrier, shattering a monster's head in a flash.
Zura and Sekke moved almost in sync now—Sekke throwing up walls and traps, Zura slipping through gaps to finish off anything caught in them. Neither acknowledged the coordination, but it was there. Even Klaus, between orders and strikes, noticed.
The last lizard twitched on the ground before Zura stomped its skull in. The tunnel ahead stretched into darker unknowns.
Zura dusted his hands. "Guess we're still alive. Shame."
Sekke smirked. "Nah, you love it."
Klaus didn't comment—he just started walking. "We keep going. The real danger hasn't started yet."
The deeper shadows swallowed them whole. The drip… drip… was still there. It was simply louder now. And closer.