They held something like an informal service for Ruck, the fallen cephalapoid [Barbarian]. Durn used a spell to [Message] Clorbo in case he wanted to attend, but he turned her down. Still, he seemed genuinely relieved to hear from her.

  To mark the burial of Ruck’s half-eaten corpse, Witmie produced a flower she’d picked on the previous [Floor]. The Grackle Lily, in its macabre splendor, mystified Thesa. In less than a month the newly conjured magical flora had propagated beyond her expectations.

  After the service, everyone was physically and emotionally exhausted from a long day of being almost killed by an immensely powerful magician and his weird fun house of candy and death. They made camp (Clorbo again refused to join when he heard about the hexes Merijest would be setting up for defense).

  Witmie and Durn both fell asleep quickly, leaving Thesa and Merijest lying face-to-face, chatting.

  “I honestly don’t even know why the axe hasn’t melted. Or why he wouldn’t have just cut off its magic,” Thesa said.

  “My guess is the axe was already there and he just added the candy cane stuff to what he found,” Merijest said. “That’s what gave you the element of surprise.”

  “Do you think the Peppermint Wyrm will have melted away by now?”

  Merijest sighed, empathetically. “Kitten, I think the Peppermint Wyrm was also already there. He just hadn’t detected it.”

  Thesa almost started shouting, but caught herself, choosing to [Message] instead. “NOOOOOOO. Are you saying the Peppermint Wyrm on the candy-themed [Floor] was a total coincidence and I still have to worry about this thing?”

  “Sorry, kitten. On the other hand, it did save you today,” Merijest said in a low whisper. “I know I, at least, am grateful for that.”

  Thesa’s face and chest suddenly felt really warm. Merijest was pretty persuasive. And her…mouth was so…pretty and…

  Thesa leapt off the ground and said, “I’m Gonna Go For a Jog!” and then she fully went on a weird jog around the [Floor], past all the fading candy magic. When she got back, Merijest had fallen asleep with a tiny smile on her demonic face. (Actually Merijest spent the whole time awake, staying alert in case something happened to Thesa on her ‘jog’, but she pretended to sleep because she knew Thesa needed some space.)

  ***

  The next morning, Witmie lay draped across Durn’s lap as the pair waited for ‘story time.’ The Foxtapus was curled beside them, getting occasional scritches from the pair. Merijest slept in, so Thesa decided to be brave and give it a go.

  “...so basically, Beautuk has been secretly evil this whole time and Merijest needs more [Familiars] in order to save all the people trapped in Beautuk’s realm and also the Knights are evil too,” she concluded.

  “Wow,” Witmie said, looking up at her half-dwarf girlfriend. “You like her. Like, really like her.”

  Thesa’s face flushed. “Wait, that wasn’t the point and also it's totally not like that! I mean, I don’t think she sees me like that… AND I OBVIOUSLY DON’T SEE HER LIKE THAT… but do you guys think she does?”

  Witmie laughed. “Everytime you say her name you start to smile and get excited.”

  Durn met her girlfriend’s gaze before looking up at Thesa. “Don’t you guys like, sleep cuddling together?”

  “I mean! Not on purpose…usually. Sometimes we just wake up…curled up. For warmth…”

  “Oh hon,” Witmie shook her head.

  “What are you three talking about?” Merijest said as she approached.

  Thesa’s brain froze. She used [Arrow Time] to give herself more time to answer. After the excruciating burst of slow motion, she still came up short. It didn’t help that Merijest was just…standing there…with her cute sexy bedhead hair and her… and her…

  “Thesa was just making a great case for your side of things,” Durn smirked.

  “Honestly, yeah,” Witmie said, sitting up. “I’m in if she’s in,” she added, pointing at Durn.

  Thesa knew this was a good thing but also she felt deep in her gut that she wasn’t prepared for how well these two lesbian adventurers could see through her.

  ***

  With everything that had happened, Thesa almost didn’t notice she had enough experience for a new Level in [Witch]. It made sense considering she had dealt the killing blow on an enemy far surpassing her power.

  Witmie and Durn (who were now officially Merijest’s [Familiars]) went ahead to rendezvous with Clorbo, Thesa and Merijest would join them shortly but first they discussed Thesa’s options for her new Level.

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  “Before this Level would have just come with some boosts to your [Bound Weapon] damage and your [Spellcasting Ability], but with the uptick in sapient [Familiars], I can grant you an extra effect that wasn’t available before,” Merijest explained. “You get to choose two of six [Malices] to apply to your [Bound Weapon] attacks. Normally you would have gotten one at an earlier level and one now.”

  “You weren’t kidding about the [System] being biased. Everything has scary names. What are my options?” Thesa asked. She was laying with her head in Merijest’s lap. Eyes closed so she fully could picture each possibility.

  “Admittedly, these effects can be a little…harsh but it's up to you how you use them. The lower Level list is [Hemorrhage], [Fatigue], [Vertigo]. You have to choose one from there. Your second choice can also be from that list or you can take [Petrify], [Dehydrate], or [Famine].”

  What do I need most? Thesa thought. With [Hemorrhage] I could cause additional blood loss. That would improve my damage output. [Fatigue] would sap a target’s liveliness, making for an easier foe as time went on. [Vertigo] might get pretty gross if the target vomited…

  [Petrify] seems like a more acute compliment to [Fatigue]. Whereas [Dehydrate]...

  “[Dehydrate]?” Thesa asked, confused. “That’s a higher Level option?” She pictured an enemy adventurer stopping mid fight to get a glass of water.

  “Most humanoid bodies use water in nearly every process,” Merijest explained. “A sudden, pronounced lack of water makes skin less durable, it can cause difficulty in mental processing, and more. Of course, the effects will scale based on how many times you are able to stack it.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll take that as my second option,” Thesa said. “And I’ve heard the [Hemorrhage] condition can get pretty powerful when stacked so I’ll take that as my first.”

  Not long after, Merijest was removing her defensive hexing from the chamber while the Foxtapus laid in the corner dozing. Thesa put out the fire but Yabba kept trying to stick its perch-nose into the hot coals. To distract her [Minor Familiar] with some attention, Thesa playfully chased it around and responded to its creaks with her own paltry imitations.

  Witmie and Durn returned with unhappy expressions on their faces (Thesa didn’t catch their expressions, but Merijest did).

  “You guys forget something?” Thesa asked, cheerily.

  “Clorbo left,” Durn sighed.

  Witmie stared at the floor with a tightlipped frown.

  “Did he say anything?” Merijest asked in a tone more befitting the mood.

  “He was pretty uncomfortable with us becoming [Familiars],” Durn continued.

  “He was disgusted,” Witmie groaned before breaking into a short rant. “We’ve been friends so long. I thought I knew him, but all the sudden he’s going on and on about how we should tell the Knights about this. I mean, I get he wouldn’t love this. He claims to be an ‘enlightened’ [Alchemist] without need for [Deities], but then why is he suddenly appealing to Beautuk?”

  “I mean, he grew up in a family that follows Beautuk,” Durn shrugged. “He claims to be above it all, but it's obvious his mindset is still informed by that.”

  “I grew up with that stuff, too,” Witmie countered. “And so did you. It’s no excuse.”

  Durn embraced Witmie. “You’re right, sweetie. It’s not an excuse.”

  “So he’s just going to try exiting alone?” Thesa asked.

  “Not exactly,” Durn explained, turning to Thesa while still maintaining her embrace of Witmie. “Do you gals not know about the Knight Stations?”

  Thesa and Merijest looked at one another concerned then shook their heads, no.

  “The Knights are setting up Stations every five [Floors] to support adventurers who take up Merijest’s bounty,” Durn continued. “Basically, they help wounded adventurers exit or provide basic supplies to those going further in. Only go as deep as [Floor] 35 last we saw, but they might have reached 40 by now.”

  Witmie turned to the group. “Are we going to have to fight them now or something?”

  “Probably a bad idea right now,” Merijest said. “Even with the boost in power I got from you two joining the cause, there’s a long way to go and if these Knight Stations are well supplied and well staffed, that will make them more formidable. We will need to especially rely on stealth going forward.”

  Everyone decided to have a seat and go over some more information before proceeding.

  “Do they have full on Knights at the Stations or is it just Convent devotees?” Thesa asked.

  “Only at the lowest one,” Witmie answered. “One that looked a bit like you, Thesa, and then that Peter weirdo.”

  “What is that guy’s deal?” Thesa asked no one in particular. “I knew the other 12 Knights at the Convent as well as all the devotees who were ready to begin training if an opening emerged. I never met him. Why not Frinx? Or Shecth? Why give a newbie the position as Beautuk’s champion?”

  Witmie shrugged. “I have no idea but he has weird vibes. Too friendly, if that makes sense.” She went on, “Like, we stopped at one on our way down because I got hurt on an earlier [Floor] and needed a potion. And first of all, as soon as we were approaching, he runs up and wants to shake all our hands. ‘Hello, I’m Sir Peter, welcome to the Knight Station.’” She put on an exaggerated voice for him. “And when I was taking the potion, he kept staring at me. And then he says, ‘aren’t potions just a miracle?’ It was just odd.”

  “Some people are odd,” Thesa said, frowning and looking away.

  “You’re right about that,” Witmie nodded. “Nothing wrong with being odd, I suppose. I mean, I didn’t read much into it from that interaction until you told us about what’s been happening. He almost gave off like youth ministry [Cleric] vibes if that makes sense.”

  Thesa wasn’t sure what that meant, but Merijest and Durn nodded.

  “I wonder if they made him the new champion ‘cause of how fast he’s Leveling, though,” Durn added. “Overheard him and the other Knight talking about his options for 16th [Level]. Seems fast considering you say he’s new.”

  Thesa felt a wave of fear. “You’re right. That’s way too fast.”

  “Maybe he transferred from being a [Paladin] for another [Deity]?” Witmie conjectured.

  “But usually those don’t transfer unless the [Deities] are really friendly with one another,” Thesa replied, thinking through it as she spoke. “Maybe he was a [Paladin] for Owtem? It’s uncommon but I think there are still some of those in other regions.”

  “That still wouldn’t explain how fast he has gained Levels since we encountered him,” Merijest said. “He was around Level 10 when we saw him.”

  Thesa curled up with her head in Merijest’s lap again. She almost sat back up when she saw Witmie and Durn staring at her, smiling, and whispering to each other. But she decided to ignore that.

  Note About Volume 2 Schedule:

  As we approach the end of Volume 1 (currently scheduled to go live on Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025), I want to give you all a heads up about the pause between volumes. I don't like to start publishing chapters until I have a rough draft of the whole volume. The rough draft of this volume took me about a month to write plus some weeks to do basic edits making sure the story arc worked as a whole. Then I do final edits on each chapter as I go about posting them. This time should hopefully be faster because I don't have to find an artist and figure out all the RoyalRoad stuff from scratch again, but I am still in grad school so I still have to work around all of that.

  my Tumblr if you want another way to be notified when Volume 2 goes live. Feel free to message me on there or submit Asks if you want! I love hearing from readers. If people want, I could make a Discord server or something but I don't want to do that unless there is enough interest.

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