The menagerie theme continued into [Floor] 47 where Merijest spotted a solitary Foxtapus trotting around its habitat. Its eight tentacle-tails were held low. When the creature saw Merijest, it paused, looking around itself briefly before taking careful steps toward the new presence.

  “Oh you are just adorable,” the demoness said, reaching out her hand with retracted claws for the Foxtapus to investigate. During her recent…dash through many of these [Floors], there hadn't been any time to stop and appreciate the strange life in the [Dungeon]. Time was still limited, but this would be worth the investment.

  Thesa watched thoughtfully. It was pretty impressive just how good Merijest was at getting non-sapient creatures to trust her. After a brief intrusive thought wondered if that meant she was herself non-sapient, Thesa realized Merijest had already made the creature a [Familiar].

  ***

  ***

  The chambers and halls on [Floor] 45 resembled that of a castle.

  Merijest traced her hand along brick walls as she walked. “It's the same as when I hid here before,” she said. “This [Floor] has several secret chambers and passageways.”

  “Should we find one and make camp?” Thesa asked. She walked at the back of the group, observing the playful interactions between Yabba and the Foxtapus.

  “Only once we've cleared every chamber to make sure there are no Knights or adventurers,” Merijest said, stopping at a fork in the corridor. “They could be hiding in a nook, watching us as we speak,”

  Thesa gulped.

  “First let's check the obvious ones,” Merijest continued. She pointed at a nearby wall where the inset door was immediately visible. Directly across from the door, Merijest pushed a brick. With a click and the slow churn of some hidden mechanism, the door slid open.

  Sure enough, as the door opened, a trio of adventurers came barreling out. One among them, a dryad [Alchemist] shouted “to arms!” and several could be heard opening at other places on the [Floor].

  “Wait,” Thesa shouted. “Please listen! Beautuk has been lying.”

  The [Alchemist] did not wait for Thesa to finish. They hurled a glass bottle. Before it could reach Thesa's face, she activated [Arrow Time] and ducked. Before the effect wore off, she used [Dive] to appear behind the dryad, striking the back of their head just as time resumed its normal speed.

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  The dryad fell to the ground and the other two adventurers looked at each other before raising their weapons. One, a lykin [Sorcerer], bared their wolfish fangs and unleashed a burst of electricity into Thesa. The other, a human [Swashbuckler], threw a knife at Thesa's chest, but it bounced off of her violet breastplate. Then they flipped through the air to get more distance.

  At this point, Merijest stepped in and intercepted the [Swashbuckler] by the neck before tossing them to the ground like nothing. The demoness tilted her head lazily and cracked her knuckles as a dozen icicles formed and impaled her target.

  The sounds of cries and footsteps grew closer in every direction. The Foxtapus let out an echoing bark and flared its eight tentacle tails. The suckers on each tail began to glow a neon cerulean, each one releasing a small orb of energy which floated a few feet before morphing into small magic shields.

  “I didn't know they could do that,” Thesa remarked.

  Four more adventurers came into view, looking for a way through the Foxtapus’s shields. Thesa shouted over the clattering armor, “Beautuk. Is. Lying. To. Everyone.”

  None slowed their charge so Thesa used [Dive]. As she appeared behind them, a metallic taste filled her mouth. “Please listen,” she said. When the attackers turned and took swings on her, Thesa sent a [Message] to Merijest and all four attackers were swiftly impaled by ice crystals.

  One last pair of adventurers arrived at either end of the corridor, a lionkin [Barbarian] face-to-face with Thesa and a living-stone [Cleric] charging Merijest.

  The lionkin swung a heavy sword into Thesa, knocking her into a brief stumble. As she regained her footing, Thesa cast [Blindfold] and in the ensuing confusion, grabbed the [Barbarian] by the shoulders and tossed them into one of the Foxtapus's magic shields. With a thrust of her halberd, the enemy fell.

  Merijest dodged through an array of energy bolts toward the [Cleric], getting up-close and personal with her claws.

  Hearing no more adventurers, Thesa spoke. “Was that all?” she asked.

  “We should double check every room,” Merijest replied.

  They rounded through one secret chamber after another, and, finding nothing, Merijest directed Thesa to help open a final, more difficult to access, secret area. Thesa pushed on the same brick which Merijest had used to open the first secret chamber while Merijest pulled a lever (disguised as a statue's arm) on the other side of the [Floor]. With a low click and a whirring noise, the final secret door opened at the back of a third secret passage.

  “This is where I was when I [Messaged] you on this [Floor],” Merijest said.

  Thesa almost asked how Merijest had managed to open it on her own, but remembering that Merijest's wyrmic form had exceedingly long limbs. She still hadn’t had a chance to ask if Merijest was actually able to change size at will, but she was starting to get the hint from how the demoness might appear taller when going into combat or making a point and how her wings more obviously shrank to fit through doorways.

  While Merijest reset some of the secret doors to better obscure their location, Thesa set up the tent and bedrolls. Since reuniting after [Floor] 50, Thesa was now sleeping in the cramped tent with Merijest every night.

  Later, sitting around beside a fire, Thesa said, “At least I got a lot of experience from the fight.”

  “You did great, kitten,” Merijest smiled.

  Blushing, Thesa continued her train of thought, “Did you get an idea of how powerful Peter was? I didn't see much of his abilities during our encounter.”

  “I would place him around Level 10,” Merijest said. “Certainly not powerful enough to take me down himself…for now.”

  “But how does that happen? I haven't been gone from the Convent that long. It takes time to be admitted into training as a Knight and more time to become competently Leveled. Is he multiclassing or something?”

  “The cooldown on his [Castigate] [Blessing] suggested at least 10 Levels of [Paladin], but also likely below Level 12.” Merijest shrugged. Then, seeing the rising panic in her [Witch], she took Thesa's hand in hers.

  Botjira's take on the Foxtapus is cuter than I ever could have imagined! What's your favorite monster that's showed up this far?

  ***

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