Rennia stirred groggily, her head still foggy from whatever had transpired. The whole situation felt surreal, and the dungeon's oppressive atmosphere didn't help matters. Maeve had been agitated from the moment she'd reawakened, acting unusually antsy—not in her typical "how dare you dirty peasants touch me" way, but genuinely unnerved.
What the actual fuck was that? Rennia needed to gather her thoughts and focus, but she couldn't do it here. They really needed to leave this dungeon as soon as possible. No more spelunking—it was get the crystal and go.
Despite sharing Rennia's anxiety, Maeve was being overly lippy. Not to mention her tone had done a complete one-eighty.
"So... we're just not going to talk about you floating in the middle of the air, or whatever strange relic you're hiding in your 'private' area? Nothing at all, huh?"
Rennia's body stiffened as they walked toward another chamber within the dungeon. There wasn't much she could say about this except to keep any mentions of her privates, well, private. If Maeve found out, there was no way of knowing how she would react.
"Look, I have a headache, okay? We can discuss this tomorrow or the day after, if you're really insistent on teaming up with me again. I really want to leave this dungeon—it's not like Mara advertised. Shroommen and shadows stalking us? Yeah, no."
Maeve nodded in agreement. "Agreed, though I have many questions, Rennia Perillion. But I shan't stress you out. Perhaps your fickle mind would break under the pressure."
A troubling thought occurred to Rennia as she walked. Her clothing had been "altered"—changes had been made to the cloth armor she wore, and her upper torso felt as though a hand had been there, touching and leaving marks. She didn't ask about it. At least Maeve hadn't seen her bulge. Allegedly.
Maeve dropped any further inquiries as they approached the lower section of a very large chamber. It was dark and only dimly lit by magical stalagmites—a strange phenomenon if she'd ever seen one.
Rennia stepped forward eagerly, wanting to get the crystal pieces and get out. Then a shrill shriek sent shivers down her spine, making her spin around in terror and panic. The flapping of leathery wings and the appearance of a dark red, scaly imp caught her off guard. It was bat-like, with a head the size of a human's but barely reached a meter in height.
The creature lunged at Maeve, throwing her to the ground in an animalistic wrestle for control. Rennia, in a state of adrenaline-fueled panic, rushed forward. She planted her foot deep in the sediment and brought her sword down, hacking at the bat-thing until its flesh separated seamlessly, like a river fish being filleted. The monster fell apart, and Maeve scrambled backward, breathing heavily.
"Thank you," Maeve gasped, hyperventilating. She looked as though she wanted to scream a hundred different things.
"No, I should be thanking you as well," Rennia said earnestly. If a horde of these things had claimed her while she was unconscious, she wouldn't be here now. She stared at the creature's corpse—bat-like fangs but the mouth of a leech, round and wide, leathery red scales, and small flesh-like horn protrusions.
A horde would be bad. Very bad.
Two arms wrapped around Rennia's body as Maeve instantly hugged her—something Rennia hadn't expected.
"Okay, I'd really like to leave now. Can't we just speedrun this? Grab a bag full of that crystal and run? This place is getting on my nerves. What even was that thing?"
Rennia stared at the bat-like creature. It had an almost leech-like mouth attached to it—something that screamed bloodsucker, though no bat she knew of looked like that. Still, they were known to grow up to a meter tall.
"It's some kind of cave lurker, I think. Fire should keep them away—I think they're more animalistic than monstrous."
Maeve made fuming noises as she clung to Rennia. "You think!" Her dark hair was disheveled and her lips had lost their makeup, leaving her looking somewhat scattered. But she possessed a raw kind of beauty you couldn't find everywhere, and Rennia couldn't help but stare. She snapped out of it and gently removed Maeve from her body.
Taking initiative, Maeve had gathered some sticks lying around the ground, tied them together, and set them aflame. An enchanting spell had strengthened the makeshift torch, compensating for the poor materials. The flames illuminated their immediate surroundings. Rennia found the little sorceress a bit too witchy and cocky for her taste.
As the firelight flickered and lit their path, Maeve's features were further illuminated in the barely dim light. Even with sweat beading on her forehead, Rennia found herself staring. Feeling uneasy, she turned and strode onward.
It didn't take long to find their target. The proper concentration of magical mineral pulsed faintly among the walls, its glow much weaker than that of the torch. A couple of mushrooms grew beneath its influence. They stared briefly at each other, both raising their brows, until Rennia conceded—because of course she did. She had the strength for the task.
Rennia looked at her sword. It was hardly the right type of blade for chipping away chunks of crystalline mineral, but what choice did she have? She gripped her longsword with both hands, motioned for Maeve to stand back, and then began hacking at the crystalline formation.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
It wouldn't budge. Little bits flicked off, but nothing substantial happened. Maeve gathered the scattered fragments as Rennia sighed.
"You're not entirely useless with your hands, but I don't think you're doing enough. You're clearly struggling. Why not try putting your hips into it?"
Rennia sneered at her companion but returned to hacking. She half-wanted to scare Maeve by running into the darkness or maybe pointing at some blob of absolute nothingness to get back at her. But she abandoned the thought—it could prove fatal.
After a few more swings, Rennia was growing bitter. At this rate, it would take forever to finish this task, and she'd be dead by then. They couldn't have been given something simpler, an easier job perhaps? This was mentally wrecking her nerves—she wasn't strong enough to hack at it alone.
She stared at Maeve. She would have relied on her [sexual discipline], had that strange goddess not literally drained the seed from her soul. She couldn't. Now Maeve would have to compensate. Seriously.
"Maeve, don't you know some kind of enhancement spell?"
Maeve shrugged. "I'm a sorceress, not a wizard. I know a few enchanting spells, yes, but I'm afraid I'm not well-suited for enchanting."
Rennia groaned. "Come on, you want to get out of here too. A simple enchant metal spell could help, I'm sure. I've only recently started learning magic—I don't know any."
Maeve raised a brow. "Really? What about the incredible strength you displayed earlier? You were quite fortuitous. Can't you do that again, the spur of the moment"
Rennia's arms sagged, and she blushed slightly, she definitely couldn't. "Look, I'm tired, drained, spent. This is a joint effort—have you forgotten?"
Maeve sighed, put down the makeshift torch, and motioned for Rennia to move aside. "Fine, very well then. But you owe me—don't forget that."
Rennia's nerves eased as Maeve pressed her body against the wall.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Improvising! Now shut up!" Maeve stretched both hands against the wall and spoke the incantation: "Rumble, tumble, rock and quake! Brittle wall, shake then break! Arcane Crumble!"
She stepped back. Nothing happened at first. Then the wall started creaking and groaning, shifting slightly as bits and pieces of rock and iron deposits fell, along with gravel. Maeve looked exhausted, her arms sagging as she collapsed to the ground.
"Go on, Rennia. Strike it now!"
She did. Rennia slashed at the wall with all her might, and the rocky cavern chunk crumbled to the ground. The crystal chunk fell as well, separating itself from the formation. But it wasn't over—the rock crumbled inward, and both of them gaped as shining light from above streamed into the chamber.
"A secret passage?" Maeve exclaimed.
Rennia moved forward, but the rich girl was already crawling through, ignoring the crystal deposit. Rennia pocketed it, her fingers stinging as she picked it up, then followed afterward.
The passage was winding and narrow but led somewhere—a hidden chamber. At the center of the small crevice, where light from above shot through, sat a half-buried chest filled with coins. Silver coins, but coins all the same. Both froze and stared at the treasure. Maeve's eyes lit up, and Rennia halted her.
"Wait, it could be a trap," she stated. Memories from her childhood flooded back—old tales they'd been taught growing up. The curse of gold, the curse of ancient things. It couldn't be ignored. There was no way of knowing for certain.
Maeve snorted. "Fool! You think riches like this would just be lying around without reason?" She grabbed at the silvery coins and started throwing them about, laughing hysterically while completely forgetting the danger that might lay ahead.
Rennia picked up a few coins and noticed their weight. They seemed awfully heavy, probably best to get an appraiser first.
"Finally! I don't have to trough like a peasant anymore!" Maeve shouted, proud of their find.
"Maeve!" Rennia called out.
Maeve didn't hear her, too busy playing with the treasure and seeing it as the greatest blessing.
"Maeve!" Rennia shouted again, louder, frightening the girl so that she stumbled backward.
Maeve caught her breath and coughed. "What?"
"We can't take all of that."
"What do you mean?"
"We're simply not equipped for it, and the guild will want to know about it. It's policy—treasure you can't carry has to be declared for a cut of the profits."
Maeve turned cherry red, fuming. "That's... that's bullshit! What about the common person? If the guild gets most of the cut, what if the treasure isn't here when we return?"
Rennia said very little. "Laws are tricky, Maeve. We take what we can carry and report the rest."
"That's unfair! It is! Unless we hide it, of course."
"No. Come on, we have the crystalline deposit. Let's take what we can carry and make a beeline out of here."
Maeve slumped, then started grasping at the coins. Rennia sighed and opened her backpack. It had been a long, uncomfortable day, and she was in need of some way to work off the tension.