Larger Swamp Demons in heavier armor that was made out of dense bone and armed with spears rushed the Proven. Jeze found it strange that these Lizard Demons fought so aggressively and in such a contrast to the skirmishing tactics the Proven had experienced earlier from the fiends. Even though these attackers were larger, they were still smaller than the frontline Frostsworn fighters, and their weapons and armor were no match in melee against the heavily armored Proven. The first wave of attackers were efficiently and brutally dispatched by Rolfe’s spear thrusts, Helga’s mighty axe swings, and Dunar’s tactical counterattacks.


    “Now we have no choice but to go down,” Mikal muttered.


    They were surrounded by a small army of Swamp Demons that peppered them with range attacks. The arrows snapped in half off the thick Dragon skull, the Frostsworn shields, and the metal plates of their armor.


    “Well, at least we know they are not afraid of going inside,” Rolfe pointed out as they were rushed by another wave of larger spear-wielding foes.


    The fight was brutal. Dunar knocked aside a spear thrust with his axe and sliced the Swamp Demon across the throat with his sword. Rolfe blocked attacks with his shield and impaled another attacker with his Helldrake-bladed polearm. Helga deflected a spear attack, spun and killed the attacking Demon with a downward slash. The Warrior maiden kept her momentum and reversed her axe swing to catch another under its jaw that split the Demon’s head in half. Helga would have continued on with her slaughter but was entangled in massive green vines that sprung from the ground and wrapped around her waist and legs. Arrows rained down and struck Helga as she chopped herself free and was forced to retreat. The vines fell to the ground and dissipated into the ether as the Summoning wore off.


    “I need some help, Micky,” she gasped in pain.


    Jeze rushed in to fill Helga’s spot as Mikal Summoned his Life aspect for healing. The bone-armored Swamp Demons were bigger than the Scout, and they aggressively took advantage of their size. One rushed in and swung a club that smashed the ground as Jeze dove out of the way. She deflected a second’s spear thrust with her axe and slashed her attacker’s hand with her sword. The Swamp Demon howled in pain and dropped the spear. The club-wielding Demon charged Jeze, and she nimbly dodged as it crashed into the Dragon Skull. Jeze chopped with her axe, and the Demon batted the attack aside. It rushed forward, bringing its massive club back around for a devastating swing, but Jeze crouched and extended her sword. The Swamp Demon impaled itself in its throat. It let out a raspy gasp before it fell dead to the muddy ground. The first Demon she injured rushed in, clawing with its remaining hand and snapping its jaws at her. Jeze gracefully slipped and circled out of the way, and in one fluid motion, she brought her axe down to remove the Demon’s head as it stumbled past her. Summoned thorny vines unfurled from the ground and lashed at Jeze. She dodged, sliced, and hacked with her axe to break free.


    A half dozen of the attackers were slain before the rest retreated. The arrow bombardment resumed. Dunar blocked an arrow with his shield and studied the situation.


    “Jeze, place an orb of Darkness in front of us. We are going down,” he ordered.


    She complied and tapped her Onyx-colored ring. With her hands, she completed the remaining Glyphs in the air and poured her remaining Will into the spell. In moments, a pitch-black orb of Darkness blotted out their vision in front of them. Arrows continued to zip through, but the aim was way off.


    “Rolfe, cover our rear. Helga with me,” Dunar said as he led the way into the depths below.


    Jeze withdrew her globe and illuminated the passage as she and Mikal followed. Rolfe covered the rear and retreated backward down the steps. From Jeze’s globe the team saw at the base of the stairs was a wide room made out of worked stone. In the center were the dimming embers of the fire and the spilled iron cauldron. Three corridors branched off from the chamber in addition to the stairwell. This was not a tactically sound position for them as they could be attacked from four sides. So far, the Swamp Demons above did not pursue, but they could still hear the clatter of arrows against the Dragon skull, and a few tumbled harmlessly down the steps.


    “The Darkness spell will end soon. We can not stay here,” Mikal pointed out.


    “I know,” Dunar replied.


    The Leader studied their situation. On one hand, they were out of immediate danger, but they were now in an unknown area. Any corridor they take could potentially place them in greater harm. Or, to a more secure location.


    “Jeze, scout the right corridor, and Helga, stay close to her. Rolfe, watch the stairs. Mikal and I will guard the other two corridors,” Dunar said as he pulled out glow sticks.


    “Hurrah!” The team responded, and Rolfe thumped his shield.


    Jeze dimmed her glow globe and proceeded down the right corridor. She paused; there was light ahead, and she deactivated her own light. Behind her, Helga’s armor jingled.


    “Stay here,” Jeze told the warrior maiden.


    “Ya? You sure?” Helga asked.


    Jeze nodded and tapped her Darkness ring to Summon and Shape shadows around her like a cloak. She crept down the hallway toward the light, and as she neared, she heard the gibbering sounds of Thralls. Sticking to the walls and hiding in her Summoned shadow cloak, Jeze crept closer. The tunnel led to a chamber, and Jeze peeked around the corner while she hugged the shadows. The circular room was vast, similar to the one they entered but much larger, and it was illuminated by a shimmering red portal. There were no other exits! Jeze could convert this chamber into a Safe Zone and, which would be an ideal defensible position. Except there were currently a dozen Thralls, with more exiting the Portal. Plus, an Imp that was hidden somewhere.


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    Jeze recognized that her team needed to move fast before the Swamp Demons rushed them from the stairwell. They would have enemies on two flanks! As silent as a night breeze, Jeze hurried back to Helga and the others.


    In the entrance chamber, Dunar had his bow out, and he shot a Swamp Demon that peeked through the globe of Darkness. The monster clutched its throat and tumbled down the steps. Another Swamp Demon appeared, and Dunar fired an arrow at it. It hissed and fell back out of sight.


    “They will rush the stairwell,” Mikal observed.


    “Duh!” Ziplocke snapped. He was now on Helga’s broad shoulder.


    Jeze quickly updated Dunar on what she had discovered. The Darkness spell ended, and Dunar shot another Swamp Demon. More were appearing at the top of the stairs. Any moment now, the Proven would be swarmed.


    Dunar decided. “Jeze, place a Darkness orb here. We will go and fight for the Portal.”


    From battling the Affliction aspect as they marched through the Mist while Controlling the Spirit aspect and the recent Darkness spell, Jeze’s Will was strained. With gritted teeth, she was unable to Summon her spell.


    “We need you to hurry, Jeze,” Mikal stated.


    “I can’t do it,” she replied, sweat beading on her forehead.


    Dunar and Helga were firing arrows now. They could hear the gathering forces at the top, and their time was running out.


    “I’ll do it. I am the Prince of Darkness!” Ziplocke cackled.


    The others did not question the Goblin for offering aid without a price. Inwardly, Jeze worried what this would cost them later on. The Prince of Darkness? Was that a joke? She had to set aside her thoughts as the Proven hurried down the corridor toward the Portal, and Ziplocke seamlessly weaved an orb of pitch-black Darkness to cover the stairwell.


    The team ditched stealth as the heavily armored Frostsworn rushed down the hallway with the sound of rattling thunder. The noise undoubtedly alerted the Imps, and the Proven were met by the Thralls. It was a short brutal fight as Jeze and the others improved significantly since the first floor. The Thralls were dispatched with ease but the Imps Affliction magic weighed heavily upon the team’s exhausted Wills.


    In the Portal chamber, Helga was distracted by the curse magic and she was struck on the side of her helmeted head by a warped mace. Rolfe impaled the Thrall, and Mikal Summoned his life aspect to aid the warrior maiden. Dunar hesitated and looked over his shoulder with fear of a rear attack, and Jeze threw a hand axe that thudded with a squishy sound into an Imp that was hidden in the shadows. This released Dunar from the Affliction, and the Leader whirled into the room like a deadly cyclone. Jeze killed a second Imp, and in moments, only the shimmering red Portal remained. The team had a rare moment of reprieve, but the sounds of Swamp Demons coming from the corridor reminded them of the imminent danger they were in. In a few moments, they will be engaged by the enemy.


    “Helga and Rolfe guard the entrance. Mikal, guard the flanks and heal. Jeze, get to work on that Portal!” Dunar barked.


    “Hurrah!” The team chanted back.


    “We must hold them for as long as possible. They can not flank us!” Dunar stated.


    Jeze and the others nodded back. This chamber was big enough for them to be swarmed and surrounded.


    “There is no rest for the wicked!” Ziplocke squealed.


    “What does that even mean?” Mikal snapped.


    There was no time for discussion as Summoned thorny vines erupted into the chamber. Dunar and Helga expertly sliced the vines into pieces before they could entangle the Proven, and the incoming Swamp Demons were met by Rolfe’s shield and Helldrake spear. Jeze knelt by the Portal and placed her tools on the ground as she started to work on the Portal Runes. An odd thing happened, a human head peeked out of the Portal and came face to face with Jeze. It was the same man that sabotaged the Floor Portal in the lava chamber.


    “You!” Jeze cried, and her arm lashed out as fast as a striking snake to grab the stranger by his collar before he could retreat back into the Portal.


    She had so many questions that she ignored the fierce battle that was happening behind her. Jeze wanted to know who this man was. Did he work for the Empire? How was it that he was able to use the Monster Portal? Weren’t they dangerous to humans? Finally, she wondered if this man murdered Seb and Jonah’s team? That last thought fueled an intense rage inside her that caused her to shake.


    But, she forgot herself and overestimated her own strength. The strange hooded man pulled her in! Jeze was quick to release her grip, but not before she was halfway through the red Monster portal. She flinched, thinking that it would evaporate her, but nothing happened. Instead, she felt an intense dry heat hit her face as she found herself looking at a hellish red landscape dotted with onyx rocks. Behind the man were four other hooded figures. Jeze recognized the central one.


    “Seize her!” The middle hooded figure cried in a high-pitched voice.


    Jeze scrambled back into the chamber, where her teammates fought for their lives. The hooded man followed her with strong hands and a curved knife, but Jeze was no stranger to wrestling. She sparred with Rolfe and Helga! Even though the hooded man was bigger than Jeze, he was nothing compared to what she was used to. Jeze easily broke free and sliced off the man’s knife hand with her sword. He howled in pain as he retreated.


    “Hurry up Jeze!” Dunar roared.


    The Proven were fighting for their lives. Jeze quickly finished the work she started on the Portal. She dug deep within her to gather and infuse her Will through the Channeling tools. Another hooded figure emerged through the Portal. This one was a man with a square jaw and beady eyes. He slashed with his sword just as Jeze’s Will snapped into the Portal Runes. She flinched, and the curved blade missed her throat by mere inches to strike harmlessly off her armored shoulder. The man gasped as the Portal changed from Red to Blue. His torso fell to the ground. He was cut in half! She had repurposed the Portal and could only hope that the Guild would bring reinforcements.


    “Jeze!” Dunar roared.


    This snapped her back to their dire situation, and Jeze gathered her axe and sword to take up her role and protect the team’s left flank. Rolfe held the middle with Helga to his right and Dunar to his left. Mikal protected Helga’s right flank, and Jeze took up her position beside Dunar on the left. She parried an attack with her axe and stabbed with her sword. Ducked a spear thrust and countered with an overhand chop of her battleaxe.


    The fight was continuous, with a never-ending sea of Swamp Demons rushing the Proven. As she fiercely fought beside Dunar to ensure that no Demons got past her to attack their flank, she had one thought sit in her mind like a trapped seed. It nagged at her even though she needed her focus to fight for her life. Stab, parry, evade, and chop. It was over and over, and Jeze felt her body become slower and slower as nicks, cuts, and wounds accumulated. She felt her blood dripping down her arms, legs, and face. But Jeze and the Proven continued to fight. They were Adventurer ranked! Their skill far outpaced the horde of Swamp Demons. But through all of that, the one thought remained in the corner of her mind. It was the image of Val, the Leader of the hooded saboteurs. A raging fire surrounded that seed in her head with the realization that Val murdered Seb and Jonah!