Duelling Dungeons

“So, let me get this straight,” Sylvia said as she paced back and forth. “You want me to stay back from the next assault and use my magic to connect to some extremely sick dryads in an attempt to keep them alive long enough to conquer Rogu’s floor and resurrect Calliope.”

“That’s what I’m asking, yes,” I replied. “You can turn me down if you want; no one’s going to blame you, but I promised Voss that I’d try my best to help them, and since Calliope is the only one on staff who can heal, we need a way to keep them alive until we can resurrect her.”

“You do realize this is just a match, right? If they ‘die’, they’ll just disconnect from the dungeon and wake up in their projection beds, free of the pain they’re suffering now,” Sylvia asked.

“I’m aware of that, and I told Voss as much, but he still insisted on finding a way to save them if possible,” I explained. “He’s extremely attached to the dryads, and if they want to live, he’s willing to do anything he can to save them.”

Sylvia sighed and turned towards me. “You know that regeneration doesn’t help someone fight disease, right? Even if I connect to these girls, it won’t help them recover.”

“I know, but it’ll help slow the necrosis and tissue damage, buying them time. We’ll need Calliope for that,” I said.

“You know, if it were anyone else, I would have thought they were trying to manipulate my guilt and emotions to get me to agree to this, but you’re not doing that, are you?” Sylvia asked.

“Manipulate you?” I said cocking my head to the side. “What do you mean by…” I paused, my eyes going wide as I realized what she was talking about. “No, no, no! I didn’t mean it like that. I’m asking you because you’re the only one with the relevant skill that could help the dryads. I didn’t even consider the fact that you’ve probably had to use your magic to try to save people while you were trapped in the blood dungeon. I would never!”

“I know, and that’s one of the things I like about you,” she replied. “Despite growing up in the heart of Arachne territory, you’re remarkably innocent.”

“I think you mean ignorant,” I grumbled. “I know I can get caught up in the job at hand and forget to take other people’s feelings into account.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Sylvia replied. “The fact that you went out of your way to accommodate Voss and the Dryad’s wishes, even though it might have a negative impact on the match, shows you care. You just need to do a better job of thinking everything through before talking to people. You know, like you do with your plans.”

“Plans and people are two different things,” I huffed. “Plans are simpler.”

“To you maybe,” Sylvia replied before stepping towards me. I’d forgotten how tall she was and how intimidating she was in her armour, so I had to fight the instinct to flinch away.

“If this is important to you and Voss, I’ll do it,” Sylvia declared. “But where did you want to set this up? I assume Voss will want to watch over the Dryads while the Manor assaults Rogu’s lair. We’ve already lost about half the floors, including the forest, and we can’t have two bosses active on a floor at the same time…”

“You can set up here,” I told her.

“Here?” She asked, before looking at me suspiciously. “I thought you told Kass you weren’t going to take any unnecessary risks during the match.”

‘And that’s true,” I replied. “This isn’t an unnecessary risk.”

Sylvia leaned back and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Uh huh,” she muttered.

“It’s true! You and Kass have been fighting nearly non-stop since the match started, and we’ll probably need you for the final assault. Besides, if the Sanctum plans to push the attack again, they’ll either have to break through the Baths or the Lounge. Since I doubt we’ll be able to convince Gun’Thur to leave his library, the Ballroom is the last safe place,” I explained. “Besides, we’re down to the last few floors, so my analysis isn’t really necessary anymore. The best I can do is give you and your team time to rest before we throw you against Nor’Goth during the final push.”

“Alright, and who, exactly, are you taking on this assault of yours?” Sylvia asked.

“Jenkins and her team, the vampires…” I started, and before I could finish, George came shooting out from behind the stage curtains, skittered across the orchestral stage, and launched himself as far into the ballroom as he could. He apparently underestimated how fast he was going because when he tried to stop next to us, he slid past, his feet scrambling madly on the floor. “And George, of course,” I finished, reaching down to pet the massive arachnid. “Like he’d let me leave without him.”

“It seems to me you’ve assembled less of a crack team and more of a crackpot team,” Sylvia said, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “I may be new here, but even I can recognize how unreliable that lot is going to be.”

“Less unreliable and more unpredictable,” I said. “Which is something we could use right now. You know a good counter to someone reading your mind? Not knowing what your device is going to do before you use it.”

“Sounds dangerous. What if the thing explodes?” Sylvia asked.

“Then the gremlins will walk it off,” I replied.

Sylvia raised an eyebrow, probably expecting me to follow that up with a punchline, like it was some sort of joke, but I shook my head. “I’m serious. The gremlins' inventions explode daily, and even when the blast damages the Manor’s foundations, they’re more interested in discussing what went wrong than in seeking medical attention. I swear, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think they had regeneration that rivalled yours.”

“You’re not doing a good job at building your case,” Sylvia said. “If anything, they sound like a group you want as far away from our forces as possible.”

“Maybe, but we don’t have that many forces left. The dryads are down, Luther’s staff has been reduced to less than half strength, and we pulled the horrors out of the observatory to surprise the Sanctum in the opening engagements. That leaves us with Kass’s forces, the Revenants, the Spectres, the Gremlins, and the Vampires; I don’t have much choice,” I explained.

“Why not take the Spectres?” Sylvia asked.

“Because although we don’t know who the Sanctum resurrected, I’d bet it’s Lyssa. She may not have had the best showing in the match so far, but her dark magic isn’t just dangerous to the Spectres; it’s lethal. She’ll snuff them out like a candle in the wind. I’d rather leave the spectres here and cycle them to another active floor if Lyssa shows up than risk them in the assault.”

“I don’t know why I’m even arguing with you about this; you’ve probably been thinking about this ever since the match started,” Sylvia huffed.

“That’s not true,” I said. “I’ve had to adjust my plans as we took casualties. The current version of my plan was developed over the last half hour.”

“Right, well, if you really do plan to go through with this, you should get going,” Sylvia said. “I really shouldn’t have delayed you as long as I did. If we want to save the Dryads, I need to share my healing with them as soon as possible, and you need to break through the Sanctum’s defences.”

She turned and gestured towards the rest area at the far side of the ballroom, prompting me to rush back to the stage to grab my Glaive before falling into step next to her as we made our way across the room.

“I do have one question,” Sylvia said without breaking step. “What are you going to do if you meet Rogu?”

“Probably lose,” I replied simply. “The gremlins might have a trick up their sleeve, but taking on a brute that was able to fight Voss one on one? Probably not happening.”

Sylvia paused, “Then why are you going?”

“Because someone has to, and I’m tired of sitting on the backfield. I’m a floor boss too, and I’m going to prove I deserve my position, even when I’m not using my stage,” I said. “We’re starting to approach the deadline, when the Sanctum can unleash their gimmick, and we can’t let up. Besides, I doubt Rogu will be there.”

“Lyssa?” Sylvia asked as she jogged to catch up to me.

“Most likely, but there are a couple of options, and even though I know you guys have reservations, I know who I want it to be,” I said.

“Do you honestly think you can take Nor’goth in the middle of his own fortress?” Sylvia asked, pausing just outside the restroom entrance.

I stopped just long enough to smile at her. “Honestly, I don’t know, but I’d really like to find out.”