Yuri squeezed Dee as if he could produce answers as well as mana, and hid her face against his neck.

  Tia shook her head and rolled her eyes, but spoke with gentle confusion. “What do you mean, you don’t know how. There is no how. I just trust in my Class Arts and the Kingfisher. Every class has a different role to play in the dance of battle. Together we discover fortune and victory to make the Kingfisher proud.”

  Nobody said anything, the sound of the metal tracks, air rushing by and the whoom whoom of wooden beams passing overhead surrounded them. Like a heartbeat, it was ticking away for them, letting them know that time was passing, they were on a journey. Into a deeper unknown.

  “You’re so confident, you know how to fight and deal with battle. I studied magic for so long, trying to- to prove I could do it. And now nobody wants me to use my magic.” Silver tears trickled down Yuri’s face.

  “What are you talking about? We love your magic; it was crucial in the Water Dungeon. And when we escaped from Silk,” Tianna said.

  “You guys know Silk?” Dee said.

  “You’ve met her? When?”

  “She was captaining the ship that attacked Goldmeadow.”

  “You fought Silk! You didn’t say anything about meeting her again. Oh, by the Kingfisher's tail-feathers.” Tianna hung her head in her hands.

  The minecart rattled and they were all shaken about.

  “She’s a Mist Witch, enchanted by her own magic, she doesn’t think about names or faces that float in through the mist,” Emizra said. “I like your magic, Moon Elf. Your dancing is a joy in the fury of battle.” She smiled, a half-crooked smile that always carried that strange hint of mockery. But it was a genuine one, filled with warmth.

  “Let’s focus on the point. We need to work better as a team. We can worry about Silk later. Dahk is in this dungeon with us. If we don’t get to that crest before him, we lose,” Arjelica said.

  “I’ve seen so many parties have this problem,” Dee said. He tried to sit up a little straighter in the cart.

  Yuri pulled back to peer at him. “You have?”

  “Yeah, there’s usually a player who knows how the rules work, and players that just want to role-play, or min-max their own class. It can still work as a party though, you just need to choose a point-man for battle.”

  “What are you talking about? This is not a game, this is the cacophony of battle and rush of opposing forces striving for victory, may the Kingfisher fill our coffers and water-skins alike.”

  “I mean people, people who know all about battle and tactics, and then people who are very focused on their class mastery. You have to take turns. When it’s battle time let Tianna focus on the tactics and you just worry about casting spells where Tianna tells you. Arjelica and Tianna work together when navigating. Emizra can handle social situations and city rumours.”

  “When is my turn to lead?” Yuri asked in a petulant voice.

  “You know all about magic… and the Ancients! Yes, you can teach us about magical things we find. And the Metal Crest we are going to get.”

  “Yes yes!” Yuri pointed her finger at Tianna. “You can tell me what to do in battle, and then you all have to listen to my expertise on magic and the Ancients.”

  “If that’s what it takes,” Tianna muttered.

  “It’s a deal.” Yuri threw her head back. Her hat crumpled against the cart. “O-hohoho!”

  The thrumming of beams passing overhead stopped suddenly as one side of the tunnel opened up into a vast mine shaft. The cool vastness of it chilled them.

  “What is this?” Arjelica said. She was alert and wide-eyed, like a hunting tiger on the edge of the forest, sniffing the air.

  They all shifted to see out of the cart, looking for clues.

  “Looks like a central mine shaft,” Tianna said. “How many years did they dig here?” She was calculating, imagining the heavy tons of precious metal and gems that had been won from the earth here.

  From what they could see, it was indeed a mine-shaft sunk deep into the rock, hungrily seeking access to seams of ore. Many hands had built this, bled against tools and rock to carve away the earth so its glittering riches could be found. Many backs had broken under the weight of metal and stone carried through this mine. Many spirits had been broken, in the plundered dark.

  Centuries of toil had created this central shaft, wide enough for redwoods to fit inside. And now it was empty, apart from dungeon creatures, and PCs.

  Creatures danced in the dark, wide-winged fairy shapes that fluttered and pulsed with delicate organic light. They shied away from Yuri and Tianna’s light, flipping in the air and launching away when they came too close. It was impossible to tell how far away the distant ones were, they were little more than points of light in the dark.

  “Ooh,” Yuri breathed. She threw her arm over the edge and peered off like a girl enjoying the view from a Ferris wheel on a lazy summer day. Dee felt like reaching out and taking her hand, enjoying the moment. But he was held in place by Emizra’s leg and the fear of Tianna’s anti-human judgement.

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Colour erupted above them, crystal geodes reacted to Yuri’s staff light. Where the purple touched, a craze of geometric colours exploded back. Thick columns of crystal far above jutted out of the cliff face, their light reflecting back illuminated more of their surroundings. They were on a mine track carved into the wall of the great mine shaft, spiralling down and down.

  “It’s beautiful. Every dream has its colours, every blade has its charm,” Emizra said. Her amber eyes looked up, dark hair cascading down around her red face, a charming picture in itself.

  Yuri craned out to look down, something called to her. “So pretty. I can feel the Metal Crest down there, somewhere. All its power.” She stretched a gloved hand out into the mineshaft, as if she could scoop up mana from the air.

  “Look!” Tianna pointed forwards. There was another cart ahead, they could barely make out the occupants, but it could only be Dahk and his party. “We have to catch up with them.”

  “How? We’re going as fast as them,” Arjelica said.

  “We need more thrust,” Dee said. Tianna side-eyed him. “I mean thrust like a rocket. Oh. Like a flying thing that pushes back and that makes it go forward.”

  They had no idea what he was talking about.

  “Like if you fill up a water skin and then squeeze it, it moves away from the stream of water. Trust me, that’s what happens.” He sighed. He had no idea how physics worked here anyways.

  “Oh dear!” Yuri said suddenly. “The track is bro—”

  They were in the air, for a stomach-turning second. Then they fell. Properly this time. A nice long fall that was going to end in a not very nice big splat.

  Dee saw that a whole a whole chunk had been blasted out of the wall, taking the tracks with it. Did Dahk do that? Smug bastard. Dee thought. Then his mind scrambled and he screamed, along with Tianna and Yuri.

  Scream scream scream. Is that all I can do?

  Arjelica, Tianna and Emizra were still clinging together in a clump, but the cart started to tilt away beneath them. Dee grabbed on to Emizra’s leg like a baby monkey clinging to a tree branch. Yuri started to float away, her dress blooming up around her, revealing her upper thighs. Dee stretched out and grabbed her leg. Soft and slim. Not the time to be thinking about things like that.

  Emizra stretched out her free leg to pull Yuri in a little tighter. Dee felt Tianna’s little hand grab onto his shirt, and Arjelica grabbed onto Yuri’s waist. They became tangled up ball of adventurers. Dee’s face was pulled into Emi’s chest, right beside Tianna’s face. The hot smell of Oni mixed with the delicate aroma of Tianna’s breath.

  A nice testament to team-work, but unless any of them could fly it wasn’t going to have a happy ending.

  So much for my rocket idea. Do they have any spells that can help? Thrusting water? Could it work like that?

  “Lucky River. Use Lucky River,” Dee said against Emizra’s breasts.

  “Why?” Tianna frowned at him. The freckles on her face were such a simple picture of beauty, hinting at the tenderness between her mace-wielding battle supremacy.

  “Just trust me, please.”

  They all felt the pulse of magic, the cart boomed like a church bell, and Tianna’s Water Crest formed in front of her. The whirlpool of water and coloured lights rotated around like a roulette wheel.

  Water spurted out in a thick column, filled with gemstones and coins. As Dee hoped, the kickback of the water pushed them into the cart, and their cart through the air and against the wall. They slammed into it with a crash that shook their bones, but at least they weren’t falling.

  The cart screeched as metal ground against rock and they slid sideways against the wall.

  Can she push us back up to the track? Dee wanted to shout more advice, but was completely winded.

  Then the cart found the opening of a tunnel. They lurched into it suddenly. Tianna stopped her spell and they all fell about. The minecart bounced off further in.

  “Is everyone okay?” Tianna asked.

  They were safe. Bruised, confused and soaked with water, but safe. Tianna healed their minor bruises as they composed themselves.

  “Nice idea,” Arjelica said.

  “I thought it could work. It’s like a bottle rocket. Ah, don’t worry, that’s like a toy I had.”

  Emizra shook her hair, flinging water out. “Some curious toys you know.”

  Coins and gemstones from Tianna’s spell were strewn around on the floor. She crouched down to scoop some of them up, whispering a prayer to her god.

  “Should we collect all these gems?” Dee asked.

  Tianna stared at him with horror. “That would crash the local economy, you maniac!”

  “Real gemstones grow in the earth and accumulate Potentia. These aren’t useful for magic, just jewellery and decoration.” Yuri picked up a small emerald and held it in her fingers, looking at it with disappointment.

  “My staff!” she cried. She had lost her hat and staff in the chaos. Her dark hair was tangled. But still with her hand against her head she managed to look elegant.

  Without the staff Tianna’s mace was the only light source, a softer golden glow that cast a peaceful feeling over their scene. The minecart had skidded off down the slope, leaving streaks of grey and rust red against the rock. The walls were rough dirt and stone, carved by something crude and large.

  A flock of the flat flying creatures swooped by, the light from Tianna’s mace illuminated them in its softer yellow glow. They were like manta rays, with wide wings that undulated at the edges. Not as afraid of Tianna’s light as Yuri’s.

  “Are they monsters?” Tianna asked.

  Dee stared at one. His stat view popped up. Metal slime?

  “Metal Slime? They don’t look like slimes,” he said.

  “Metal Slime! Form up,” Tianna cried. “They eat metal. Protect your metal weapons and armour.”

  The creatures flattened against the wall, compacting into fat blobs of metal, like mercury. Now they looked like proper slimes, tear-drops of silver quivering and rolling across the floor.

  “My staff!” Yuri cried.

  “They don’t eat wood. Form up, I say.” Tianna raised her mace, stood in a wide-legged battle stance.

  Yuri bit her lip and peered around for her staff and hat. She sighed.

  “We have a deal, Yuri.”

  “Yes of course.” She slid beside Tianna and took a shapely battle pose. “You may command me,” she said haughtily.

  “Keep them away with Witch Bolts. Don’t use any mana unless they group up in one area and we can take them out in one go. Emi, Arj, try to herd them together, they are not that smart and they like to clump up. That helps us keep them contained.”

  “O-hohoho, who knew that teaming up could be so… Witch Bolt!” Yuri launched bolt after bolt from her fingertips. Without her staff the bolts were a little smaller, but still effective.

  Teaming up is a lot easier than they thought it would be. This is exactly how PCs are, man. Just work together and you become five times more effective.

  Arjelica leapt into action, leaping and slashing with her axes. The slimes were a mix of tough protoplasm and metal, where she cut oily rainbow fluid leaked through, but the cuts would quickly heal up. She taunted them, landing nearby and backing up, letting a quivering slime come closer and then leaping away to taunt another slime, bringing them closer together.

  Emizra did the same, her spiked chain could do little against their bodies, but they were eager to devour its metal. She waved it back and forth like a cat toy, teasing slimes to chase her.

  Herding slimes like sheep was surprisingly effective. The monsters glommed up and bounced off each other, rolling over each other in a desperate frenzy, searching for the food that was running around them in circles.

  “A proper team tactic. Yes, our fortune shines gold like the beak of the Kingfisher!” Tianna cried, her voice breaking a little. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes. Dee got the feeling she had been yearning to be part of a sensible battle strategy for quite some time.

  “Hold fast!” she cried. Then she ran off into the tunnel.

  Who would you like to be entangled with in a mine cart?