The next floor was much of the same. It was familiar and unchanged, with the lizards behaving just as they once had. Unlike last time, however, they were breezing through this part of the Dungeon with little effort and little danger.

  The stark difference to the experiences really highlighted how much stronger Jake was, nor was he the only one. His allies were a cut above what they had once been as well.

  Well, the ones that had stayed with him.

  Jake felt some of his excitement at feeling that new strength fade as he remembered Karl and Rhew leaving them. He tried not to think about it too often, but he did wonder how they were getting on.

  Were they at the same point as the rest of them?

  “All done,” Alan called out as he drew the last of the Wyrdgeld from his kills.

  Shaking off that train of thought, Jake checked with the others before moving on to the third floor.

  The hot, dry heat of the first two floors was replaced by a cooler environment, but one that was thick with humidity. It was still warmer than outside the Dungeon, but compared to the previous floors, it was a welcome change.

  The dimly lit rocks that were providing the heat were gone from this floor, but instead there were small puddles of hot water scattered around.

  As they moved through the tunnel, it widened out into a large rocky chamber that had a central pool of steaming water in the centre, with more of the smaller puddles around the exterior.

  The steam was now thick enough to hinder their vision somewhat, but Jake already knew where the monsters were hiding here.

  Pulling out his wand, Jake waited until he could see a dark shape moving within the pool before firing a cluster of thorns in after it.

  Unsurprisingly, he didn’t manage to actually hit the shape, but a moment later two monsters burst up from the pool. Scalding hot water sprayed out into the room, but they were all far enough back that they were safe.

  The two monsters were snakes as thick as his arm, with dark red scales that were steaming from the water dripping off them.

  A cluster of thorns hit each snake in quick succession, killing them before they could get close enough to bite Jake.

  The thick, vividly red blood of the snakes sizzled as it hit the stone, and Jake winced as he remembered how much that had burnt when he got it on him.

  Moving on, they took their time picking through each chamber, drawing the snakes out by attacking the pools.

  By the time they reached the end of the floor, they had a nice rhythm going. If they could practice the first tier a few times, Jake had a feeling they could do well earning Wyrdgeld here.

  It was just a shame that it was such an unpleasant environment on the inside.

  “Looks like it’s time for the Challenge,” Nepthys called out as they reached the end of the floor.

  Sure enough, a carved door stood next to the normal exit. If Jake remembered rightly, it was a snake hunt or something similar, with the wager of a hand.

  “I hate to wager a hand, but we do need to complete all the Challenges for this delve to count,” Jake said, eyeing the Challenge reluctantly before nodding. “Alright, I’ll make the wager.”

  “I’ll do it,” Gargan said before Jake could do anything. “If I lose my hand, it won’t effect my combat effectiveness. Besides, you have to survive to the end.”

  Jake grimaced, knowing he had no real way to win that argument. Gargan was right, he couldn’t risk losing anything when he had to live to the very end. At least if one of the others was maimed, they could be revived whole and hale.

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  Once Jake conceded, they all moved into the Challenge, taking up positions as Jake turned over the hourglass in the centre of the room.

  Unlike the intense search they’d undergone last time, Alan was able to find the snake after thirty seconds of using his Abilities. Not only were they stronger now, but Alan was more experienced with them, giving him the edge he needed.

  With that somewhat anticlimactic resolution, they received their reward, which was a pouch of Wyrdgeld, some Wyrdfuit and some lizard steaks.

  Aspen quickly claimed the fruit and meat, though the true splitting of the loot would come once they got out of here.

  Moving on, they kept up their steady progress through the fourth floor and moved with purpose into the first Guardian floor. The dry heat of earlier was intensified here, and there was enough light that they didn’t need their torches to see.

  The jutting hot rocks of earlier had been replaced by much larger versions that were burning with a smokeless flame. Obsidian spikes thrust up from the centre of the room as well, atop which three monsters were laying.

  Each spike held an Enhanced version of the lizards they’d been fighting so far. They were twice the size of their smaller cousins, both in length and sheer bulk, and their scales were a shade or two darker.

  They were Lesser Drakes if Jake remembered their name right. They were tough creatures, with thick scales and incredibly sharp claws, not to mention the ability to spit flames.

  The largest of the obsidian spikes held a particularly strong looking Lesser Drake, so it would be their initial target.

  Jake, Alan and Gargan lined up their shots as the monsters rested, eventually releasing all of it as a single barrage on the strongest Enhanced creature.

  Jake had infused his ice wand with extra power, and he’d noted Alan and Gargan doing the same for their own attacks. Individually, they would have wounded the creature, but together, they killed it before it could even react.

  The other two Lesser Drakes roared with anger as they surged down from where they had been basking, their mouths opening and quills glowing as they spat out bolts of flame.

  Nepthys conjured a shield to catch both attacks, and by the time the monsters would have been able to repeat the attack, they were already dead.

  A somewhat disdainful quack echoed through the rocky chamber as Moby looked down on the dead Lesser Drakes, still in his original position on Nepthys’s shoulder.

  Shaking his head at the duck, Jake set about looting the room and stowing away the Wyrdgeld and lizard steaks that the rewards chest held.

  “Alright, everyone ready for the real thing?” Jake asked as they gathered at the exit to the second tier of the Dungeon.

  “Oh yes, I’ve not even had chance to kill anything yet,” Aspen said, twirling his spear with an exaggerated frown.

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure that will change soon enough,” Jake said, drawing out a dark chuckle from the others. “Let’s get to it, then.”

  -**-

  The sixth floor of the Dungeon changed from being mainly tunnel to being a series of three inter-connected rocky chambers. The burning rocks were absent, so it wasn’t as hot as the Guardian floor, but it was still oppressive.

  Thankfully, they’d brought plenty of water with them. Jake liked to think he would have remembered from last time, but the guides that Gordon had found them had stressed that a lot of water was needed.

  Getting to the final fight dehydrated and overcome with thirst was how people died down here.

  Unlike the previous floors, this one had enough monsters that most of their group had to participate. Each chamber held an Enhanced Lesser Drake and ten of the Fire Lizards.

  Just enough for them to be pushed to kill them all without any close combat at all, but not enough to need a real fight.

  Jake shook his head as he looked down at the half-dozen infused icicles that had pierced the head of the Lesser Drake in the third chamber. His newest Ability really had changed so much for him, he couldn’t wait to find something else that was just as good.

  “Things are going to get interesting from here, so let’s rest up and take the next floor when we’re ready,” Jake said once they reached the end of the floor.

  In an act of inspiration he infused his wand with more ice and fire out a dozen icicles that he passed out between them. The Wyrd-conjured ice wouldn’t last long, but even a minute or two of something cool to take the edge off of the heat was nice.

  -**-

  “Here we go,” Jake said softly as they stepped out into the seventh floor. Unlike the last one, this floor was a single, long, winding tunnel.

  Large pockets of steaming water ran along the edges of the tunnel, with deeper pools scattered among them. A few obviously shallow puddles of water lay between the two edges, but they would be easy to avoid.

  Well, easy to avoid when they weren’t being attacked by a horde of Juvenile Fire Serpents.

  Jake shuddered as he thought of the long snakes, some of which reached up to six or even eight feet in length. He really wasn’t looking forward to finding the Enhanced version of them.

  “So, remind me again how this bit works?” Aspen asked, eyeing the steam-filled tunnel as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

  “The guide we got says we can either draw them out and advance as they attack, or rush to a more defensible mid-point,” Alan said, eyeing the closest of the deeper pools with suspicion. “Either way, once we start, all the snakes will be heading this way.”

  “I don’t like the idea of heading for some middle area when we haven’t seen it for ourselves,” Nepthys said, Moby ruffling his wings in support.

  “Agreed, any objections to fighting our way through?” Jake asked, waiting for a few moments before nodding to Alan as he lit a torch and tossed it to one side. “Ready when you are.”