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female A Marked Need (Dragon: Marked for Death)


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"Fine, if you're going to be so indecisive, I'll make the decision," Oracle groaned. "We're going up the mountain. I refuse to backtrack because we didn't cover every little bit of ground."

"Aw, come on," Witch whined. "It's freezing out here, and the monsters are probably in the cave right there! Let's just get to fighting!"

Empress sighed. "If it turns out there's two caves, and a higher one just drops down into a lower one, not clearing it first could leave us open to being ambushed."

Clearing that up only earned Empress yet another side-eye from Oracle. "Wise words from someone who, mere seconds prior, said she didn't care. Had some more time to think, did you?"

"Going up is smarter, but I wasn't going to argue whatever you picked." As if she had told Oracle off, Empress started heading up the mountain, at the most leisurely pace. Regardless, neither Oracle or Witch felt like arguing with it, so they chose to silently follow her.

Since there was no communication of the plan, when Witch and Oracle took the charge on fighting the enemies on the way up, it was anyone's guess whether it was returning the favor for Empress taking out everything up to now, the other Dragonblood being better suited to this type of enemy, or just coincidence. Guarding the snowy incline were Red Goblins carrying torches, mostly hanging out of easy reach in the branches of bare trees. Witch was attacking upwards with wind magic, conjured tornadoes that blew the goblins away, and Oracle sliced them apart with summoned greatswords, attacking any foe with only the slightest effort in direction.

With that sort of power, it wasn't shocking to see the trio make good time in the climb. Before long, a segment of flat land was in sight, and while it wasn't the summit, it was a sign that progress was being made. "Finally, we're getting somewhere," Witch sighed. "Maybe we're finally done climbing!"

"Says the girl who doesn't have to actually walk," Empress grumbled.

Shaking with irritation, or perhaps simply shivering, Oracle began stamping her foot, before turning around with a scowl, facing her teammates as they stood downhill from her. "We're climbing a mountain that's absolutely covered in loose snow. Would you mind maybe PUTTING A SOCK IN IT?!"

A deathly silence followed as, all of a sudden, everyone was wary about making noise, leaving the howling wind as the only sound to reach their ears. That is, until a low rumbling started from higher up, coupled with a chilled breeze and a white mist. Looking between themselves, saying nothing, Witch flew up to a high branch of a nearby tree and Empress used her Dragon Arm like a chain to swing onto the same branch.

Facing the complete opposite direction from her fellow Dragonblood, Oracle was left dumbfounded. "Huh? What are you-" Turning around to see for herself, she was cut off when she saw a rushing wall of white careening down the mountain. And despite its size, it was moving extremely quickly as the color soon overtook every corner of Oracle's vision. There was no time to escape the oncoming avalanche now, and Oracle was soon swallowed by the snow and carried down the mountain face. All the while, screaming, "DAMN YOU TWOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Now that nobody besides the two themselves would see, both Empress and Witch couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight. They also waited for the frozen wave to safely pass before descending from their perch and heading back down. It was faster than going up, but they still took their time. Wouldn't want to cause another avalanche.

By the time they slid down to the foot of the mountain, several minutes had passed, and all that could be seen of Oracle in the mound of snow was her arm sticking out the top. Leaning over it in such a way that she wouldn't need to step in the higher snow, Empress yanked Oracle out into the light with one arm. "The mountain's a dangerous place, you know."

"S-s-shut u-up. D-d-d-damn, this is f-f-f-freaking c-c-cold." Hugging herself, Oracle rubbed her upper arms for warmth, chattering her teeth, shaking loose drops of half-melted snow..

Witch raised her tiny wand. "Want me to cast some fire magic and heat you up?"

Oracle didn't even dignify that with an answer. "We're taking the cave down here." She would hear nothing else as she trudged into the base of the mountain tunnel entrance. Witch and Empress had no choice but to follow.

Though that would not stop Empress from muttering a snide remark to herself. "Careful you don't freeze in there, or your whole body will be frozen instead of just your heart."

Things were a bit more subdued inside, in that there weren't avalanches inside. Just more Red Goblins, Battle Crabs, a few giant Fruit Flies, and the caverns were nothing more than a straight path through. The most exciting thing was Empress swinging from some pegs in the ceiling a few times to check for treasure, and then coming right back. Though this did allow all three to work together in battle, a deadly dance of swords and sorcery of all kinds, in an elegant rhythm.

It was a rhythm so fast-moving and infectious that the Dragonblood found themselves moving without thought. For those as strong as ones blessed by Atruum, this was not at all a detriment in combat. The problem was, these specific Dragonblood were lacking in a certain thing called "grace", and being so caught up in their actions, they missed that the ground they stood upon was quickly running out. In the middle of their own individual leaps, the three girls passed the bounds of the rocky floor, and only in their descent did they realize the true extent of their error. For what laid a level below was not solid ground, but a pool of waist-deep water. In a mountain far up north, where temperatures regularly dropped below freezing.

The effect was immediate. The instant any bit of their skin touched the water, their muscles stiffened, their skin crawled, all hair stood on end, and they screamed. "S-shit, that's freezing!" She knew how to swim fine, but Empress still flailed about as if she didn't.

"N-not so f-funny now, i-is it? Hey, st-stop splashing me!" Oracle, slowed by the water resistance and frozen muscles, pushed the struggling Empress away.

"T-that's it, I'm d-done," Witch choked through chattering teeth. "M-my body is c-covered in a thin sh-sheet of ice... I c-can't move a-anymore..."

With the highest resistance to ice (by a slim margin), Empress was the first to regain her composure. "C-c-come on, w-we need to g-get out!" Slogging through the high water with every ounce of energy, she fought her way to the nearest bit of dry land, with Oracle and Witch following suit, all three at a sloth's pace. It was only once they had reached the water's edge that they reached up and gripped, pulling themselves out of the frosty waters, into the polar air. Being wet made that no easier to endure. As soon as they got out, each and every one of the Dragonblood collapsed, panting and heaving. Oracle was the only one that could get out a word. "Empress. Next time we find water, use your ice to make platforms."

"D-deal..."

"Aaaagghhh, I don't care if it's a bad idea," Witch screamed, "I'm starting a fire!" Charging up her magic, she fired a blast of blazing inferno at the ground between the three, and a roaring flame burst from the spot. While there was nothing to burn, magic power kept it ignited and hot. Nobody complained. "Ah, that's better. Haaahhhhh... Aw, but my clothes got soaked." Taking her dress into her hands, she wrung as much water out as she could. And her lifted dress revealed to the other two another garment on the little Witch that wouldn't be so easy to dry out.

Finally, they felt warm enough to sit upright, like three campers around a campfire. Campers in a system of caverns inside a frozen mountain. "So, where do we go from here?" Lazily flicking her thumb as a pointer, Empress gestured to the road ahead. For a deep cavern, surprisingly, there were some bits of technology: an elevator with a massive floor switch to control its ascent, leading to an upper route. However, past the elevator, on ground level, was another tunnel. Just another choice of high or low.

Time limit: 28 minutes

Condition:

  • Oracle: Barely fine
  • Empress: Barely fine
  • Witch: Barely fine
  1. Follow the elevator up.
  2. Ignore the elevator and go straight.
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Empress slouched forward. "You feel that draft coming from up above? That way probably leads back outside. We'll get frostbite going back out while we're wet like this."

"Any objections?" Oracle waited a few seconds to hear any opposing arguments, and got nothing but silence from both Empress and Witch. "Good. Then we're staying inside. Now, are you planning to get up any time this century?"

"Just a little longer by the fire," Witch pleaded. "I think my bones are still frozen."

"Besides, you haven't gotten up either." Empress had a point, none of them had stopped sitting yet, not even Oracle.

"Fine, fine." Lethargically, Oracle stood up, already shivering from the breeze. "Now will you get up?"

"Aaaagghh, fine!" Very initiated, Witch stood up as well, meaning that Empress had no choice but to follow suit. "Then let's just get going!"

"You're so damn impatient," Oracle groaned, as they started slowly venturing deeper into the monster caverns.

"Come on, you can't tell me you don't want out of this place right now!" As if to prove her point, Witch began charging her magic to its most powerful level. Neither of the other Dragonblood could argue, as they readied their own weapons. Suddenly, spirit returned to the girls, with energy in their steps, and a drive to press onwards and win.

And that lasted for only a little while, when they shortly came across yet another pool of freezing water. Empress and Oracle looked between each other, remembering their promise. Raising her Dragon Scar arm, Empress fired off three shards of ice into the water, and the already-low temperature meant that they formed together into a thick sheet of ice, floating on the reservoir. Without testing its stability, the two stepped onto their raft, swaying under their weight, but it didn't stop Oracle from summoning two greatswords and swinging them in the water as makeshift oars. Witch, meanwhile, just started flying over the whole thing.

Even just the chill rising from the water below gave the girls goosebumps on their damp bodies, and even if only to themselves, Oracle and Empress both dreaded the possibility of falling in again. Of course, with her levitation, Witch wasn't worried, so why pay attention to the water at all? All that mattered was when it was over.

With that sort of limited focus, Witch totally missed something rising from the water: a long tail of an eel, an eel that blended in with the blue water, swaying gently above the wake. The tip began crackling and sparking as it rose higher into the air, approaching Witch's height right under her nose. Even with Empress and Oracle at tail-to-eye level, they were so glazed over and tired that they just couldn't pay attention.

It was only once they got even closer that Empress finally woke up. "Woah! Witch, watch out!"

"Huh?" Turning her head back, Witch inadvertently ensured that she would not see the danger. Though she had stopped her midair acceleration, momentum carried her into the waiting trap, where the effect was instantaneous. All of her limbs shot out and shuddered as a buzzing sound filled the air, her eyes jumped open, and she screamed. "Aaaagghghhhh!" With that, her flight abruptly came to a stop, and she dropped into the water once more.

Luckily for the little Witch, she wasn't alone. Oracle wasted no time in sending her greatswords spinning like a buzzsaw into the water, shredding the eel into pieces, and Empress reached down to pull her comrade out and onto the ice raft. "Come o-oh, crap!" Being a small platform, suddenly reaching over and adding another weight disturbed a delicate balance, and the makeshift boat rocked and swayed, freezing water lapping up and soaking into Empress's boots.

But it worked for the time being. After all, they were close to the end when everything went down. Once again, the three Dragonblood rolled onto the solid ground once they reached it, with Oracle easily hovering to safety, while Empress had to drag Witch along. "Alright, we're safe. You gonna get up now? Because I really don't want to be lugging you everywhere."

"Gghhghh...I can't...I can't move..." Sure enough, though her face showed an incredible effort being exerted, Witch's body didn't so much as twitch.

"Damn it... It'll take too long for that to wear off." Empress knew that there was nothing worse than being stricken with some ailment while on a quest, whether it be paralysis, poison, or confusion. In most circumstances, the only fix was waiting it out.

"And the crap just keeps piling up." Looking forward, and being the only one to be doing so, Oracle was naturally the only one to notice anything amiss. "Because I think we just found the nest." Sure enough, when things were quiet, it was easy to hear lots of scritches and groans from the next room over, far more than could possibly be coming from one or two monsters. Oracle was right: this had to be the nest.

And here were the Dragonblood, down one member. The chances that Witch would recover before the monsters sniffed them out was slim, at best. Empress and Oracle looked up at one another and nodded. "It's going to be just us in there," Oracle explained. "I expect you to pull your weight."

"Yeah, let's see how long you can mock me after this." Gripping the hilt of her sword even tighter, Empress marched into the nest, Oracle following close behind. And they didn't even cross into the next room before everything within stopped whatever they were doing, perked up, and stared daggers into the Dragonblood with hungry eyes.

But these Dragonblood would not be easy prey. Empress charged in and jumped upwards, slashing away at the floating Cloudfish, cutting their jellies loose with every swipe. The limited range of her sword meant she needed to get close to the danger, making strong use of the raised wooden platforms within the cavern for some extra altitude. She was moving around a lot, back and forth throughout the room many times, but she was good at killing.

Oracle, meanwhile, did not need to put in nearly as much physical effort. She stood near the entrance, sending her greatswords to do the dirty work. Each thrust forward at the Flygolins darting about in the air, skewering three or four on each sword like a macabre kebab. Still, that didn't mean she wasn't moving; though her offensive power was astounding, Oracle lacked in resistance, so whenever the Flygolins curled up and dove in her direction, it was prudent for her to dive out of the way, slowly gravitating further into the room. In the end, the two were working up a sweat even in these arctic conditions. But they were winning.

However, they were winning against small fry. All the little monsters were dispatched before long, but there was one issue: they were too weak. Against the unified might of the Pagnas Knights, this should have already been dealt with before mercenaries needed to be called in. There had to be something bigger, something much more dangerous. "Keep your guard up," Empress warned, turning around a lot to find any possible hidden nooks for something big to crawl out of. Oracle followed soon after.

Yet, the two missed one thing crawling from the shadows, at least until the clicking of its many legs echoed off the rocky walls. It came from behind Empress and Oracle, and was already standing there when they turned and noticed it, leaving its entrance route a mystery. The monster turned out to be a massive crab, the Hermit King, as tall as Empress, mostly just a large shell. Empress soon discovered that fact when she blindly rushed forward and swung her sword, bouncing off with a clang. "Woah! That shell's way too hard!"

"Then don't hit the shell, dumbass!" Though she was quick to criticize, when she attempted to show Empress how it was done, Oracle also found herself struggling. Using her greatswords as one in a spinning blade wasn't working, hitting either the hard floor or the even harder shell, and stabbing them into the crab's face just didn't have the accuracy or leverage to deal meaningful damage, every shot being at least somewhat deflected by the creature's hard skin. Instead, her only resort was slashing away, shallow cuts that only whittled away at the beast's health.

"Hyah!" Rushing to the crab's front, Empress added her own power to the onslaught, with a triple slash against the creature's face. With her strength, these strikes did a lot more good, beginning to draw blood. And with the Hermit King having yet to retaliate in any capacity, the fight was looking to be in the Dragonblood's favor.

But the Hermit King wasn't without tricks. Just as Empress chopped down with a powerful finishing slash, the crab's exposed head retracted deep into its shell, effectively making the monster invincible. But it wasn't just some instinctual response to blindly avoid the pain, and it wasn't just shielding itself. Slowly at first, the shell began to spin, and then it began to speed up, floating into the air as a result of the centrifugal force.

First, the white hair on the heads of the Dragonblood began fluttering, and while Empress' miniskirt stayed down, the only thing keeping Oracle's dress modest was the weight of her tabard. But the wind only kept growing stronger, and more visible with everything being swept up into it. That was enough to reveal the tornado forming, with the Hermit King at the center, growing stronger, louder, and more violent.

It hadn't even been half a minute before the dust kicked up by the cyclone forced the two to close their eyes, and only shortly after that came the next phase: knocking them off their feet. Oracle and Empress, with steady ground being so unceremoniously robbed from them, were tossed through the air, circling the tornado like water circling a drain. Had their time at the tavern included food, they would certainly be puking it back up now. Their mouths were open for it, screaming their heads off.

Eventually, though, the winds began to fade, and no longer had the pull to keep the girls circling this one spot. So their ramped-up momentum flung them outwards, high onto the walls. Empress was slammed against the far wall, knocking the breath hard from her lungs with a gross choking. And Oracle crashed into the near wall with the same terrible impact, sliding down to the floor, the friction of the rough wall scratching her back on the whole trip to the ground. And, even before she could land, the Hermit King emerged from his protective home, facing Oracle directly, spitting out a thick, adhesive foam across her body, sticking her in place.

Unable to move, watching the giant crab crawl closer, mandibles gnashing, Oracle began to be scared. That mouth was big enough to bit large chunks of her flesh off at a time, so it was surely a guarantee that it could eat her whole before long. And she couldn't move in any way to resist it, or to escape it; even her magical ability to control her greatswords was hampered by her fear. Underneath a heavy layer of saliva, all she could do was close her eyes and wait for death.

"Hey! ...stupid!" Both the voice and the terrible insult gave Oracle a strong clue as to who was shouting, but just in case that wasn't enough, the bolt of lightning falling from nowhere to strike the back of the shell was a good giveaway: Witch was back. Yes, the lightning did no damage, but it was still aimed perfectly. Feeling something on its back, and knowing its prey was secured, the Hermit King turned.

And waiting for it was a recovered Empress, her Dragon Scar arm engorged, Atruum's head massive with fangs bared. And there was a frost haze building within the maw, an orb colder than the most polar ice. "You're finished!" Before she had even finished shouting, the power of the charged Dragon Cannon released, in a powerful frost fog, underscored by Atruum's roar.

The blast came out like a mist, perhaps not the most threatening at a glance, but this was one instance where results mattered more than appearances. As the cloud passed over the Hermit King's exposed face, all the moisture in its body hardened and froze, shrinking and shredding the creature's skin and innards. Still, none of the gruesome detail was all too visible, as a layer of ice formed around the monster, thicker and thicker. Finally, the onslaught came to an end, the ice wave sputtered out, and the Hermit King ceased to move.

And Empress soon collapsed onto one knee, panting. "Hah...hah... Don't...underestimate me..."

Witch, seemingly back up with full pep, was already at work getting Oracle unstuck. "Bet you're glad I was here. You'd be crab food now if I weren't."

Freed from the globs keeping her down, Oracle was quick to argue. "I would have been fine. I just needed a minute to find the right opening." She cast a healing spell, bringing the three back up to fighting condition.

That meant Empress could stand up straight again. "Hah, sure. From where I was standing, you looked like you were about to piss yourself."

That comment took Oracle aback, incredibly so. "S-shut up! I had everything under control! Come on, let's go! We won, didn't we?! So let's do another quest, I can handle it!"

And that stole Witch's enthusiasm away quick. "Aw, really? We just got done with a super-hard fight, and you want to do another one?"

"What, can you not handle it?"

"O-of course I can handle it! I'm a Dragonblood! I just don't want to go back to something else so soon! Come on, Empress, back me up."

But Empress did not come to Witch's aid. "Whatever. We're basically back up to normal physical condition, and we're stronger now. We can handle another."

Witch wanted to argue back, make a case for returning to the slums for at least a short break, but when Empress and Oracle looked at her, surely judging her for acting so weak. That was enough to make her back down, puff out her chest, and start acting brave. "Fine then, I can take it! Dragonblood don't back down!"

Oracle pulled out the remaining quest sheets. "So which one do we do next?"

Time left over: 10 minutes

Condition:

  • Oracle: Average
  • Empress: Average
  • Witch: Average
  • Unearthed Royalty (Quest Lv. 15): A major discovery has been made in the tombs of the ancient Litus royal family, far in the southern desert. Archeologists are requesting adventurers who won't get lost to brave the old traps and monsters to recover items that would have belonged to the royal family.
  • The Castle Burns (Quest Lv. 25): Muramasa Castle, the home of the divine family of the Eastern Island Nation of Marlayus, has been sieged by a rogue faction of Dragonblood rebels. They are holding Princess Miya hostage as a means to force the divine family to answer to their demands. A fighter is urgently requested to defeat the rebels and safely secure Princess Miya.

---------------

Author's note: Now that the first quest has been finished, the story will be on hiatus.

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  • 2 months later...

The desert seemed to glow orange from every surface under the long, dark clouds. Though it may have appeared as such, it was not dusk. Or maybe it was, it hardly mattered. Very few would be foolish enough to venture this far, whether it be due to the brutal climate, or fear of retribution from the royal family for plundering the only worthwhile thing out here: the Litus Royal Family Tomb. Of course, this little tourist trap still attracted its share of treasure hunters.

Such was the reason for this cobbled-together camp, and the three that occupied it: an old mustachioed man with tall hat and cane, a younger man with curled-up blond hair and a green coat, talking with a young girl in thick glasses and a drooping black-and-orange cloak. And her companion...animal. "Well? Is this necklace the real deal?"

"It is, in fact, the ‘real deal', but treat it with some respect! You break it, you buy it," warned the younger man. "This is exactly why I hate dealing with bandits: absolutely no manners."

"That's some fine talk from someone aiding in a grave robbing. What does that make you, exactly?"

"W-well, I'm merely assisting in preserving an important artifact for posterity..."

It was only now that the trio of Dragonblood walked in, all happy yet uncomfortable at their prior freezing now being melted away in the sweltering desert heat. There wasn't even time to adjust, thanks to the magic of teleportation. Witch, in particular, was still shivering and hugging herself as a Leftover warming procedure. And she had a fire contract.

Obviously, a sudden doubling in this congregation caught the attention of everybody present, and when everyone looked at the new additions, the younger man sneered in disgust. "That mark... Dragonblood Clan?! What is someone of such filthy blood doing here?!"

In a rare exception to the norm, the older man stood up for the Dragonblood...to a point. "Same as you, they are under my employ. Think of them as a useful tool. More importantly, have you acquired the items I requested? If the Divine Family learns of this, it'll be trouble for all of us. Work quickly, will you?" Passing the other two to close the distance between the groups, he reached out to Empress and handed her a key.

Somehow, even this small act irritated Oracle. "Why did he just assume you're the leader," she muttered.

Empress heard her, she just chose to say nothing and instead listened quietly to the rest of the explanation. "That key is very fragile, so it will only open one chest. If it breaks, come back and I'll give you another one. But, for all our sakes, try to get it right on the first try." Even though he was willing to employ Dragonblood, the man still dropped the key into Empress's hand without ever touching her, and backed away as soon as it was done.

Oracle wasn't the only one with a snark streak out here, as the equally-tiny Witch talked a big game in a small voice. "Wow, the rudeness of some people never stops amazing and depressing me."

Empress, however, took a different route, in watching the girl pass them by with a look of disdain. By the time she entered the teleport glyph, Oracle and Witch had joined in with the staring, just in time to watch her fade away and enter another location. In fact, they actually kept looking at the empty glyph for some time, until Witch realized what they were doing. "Hey, let's go! Before I wither away!"

"Yeah, yeah. I don't want to waste any more time in the desert than I have to," Empress complained. "I think every orifice on my body is drying out just standing here."

"Please. I want all of this over and done with as soon as possible." With the three in agreement in their disdain, the Dragonblood party stepped into the teleport glyph themselves, watching as the Environment flashed and faded, replaced with another locale.

The sun no longer beat down on top of them, but the overbearing heat was no less a burden, instead a stale, still heat seemingly etched into the stone walls of this large tomb complex. This time, Empress had the last laugh, as her "sparse" dress kept her cooler. She was far from comfortable, still sweaty, but less damp than Oracle or Witch. And even Oracle was benefiting from her very airy bottom half.

That could be the reason why Witch was already grumpy before they had even begun their work. "So what are we doing here?" While a simple and reasonable question, it was said with such a whining cadence that, for a moment, Witch looked more like a bratty child than a fearsome Dragonblood.

"Those archaeologists want to find some old royal treasures, so they need adventurers to do their dirty work. But these royals were buried with a bunch of fake crap, so we have to find the real one. Somehow." Clearly, Oracle was the only one that had read the quest details.

"Fine then. Let's just go." Brandishing her sword, Empress took point down the expansive and vacant corridors, heading the pack deeper into the tomb. Even after completing a full quest, they were ready to cut their way through any monsters that would stand before them.

Too bad there were none. Weirdly enough, it was like there was nothing alive in this tomb. Granted, they had yet to venture very far, there were whole catacombs left to explore, but Witch was already reaching the end of her patience. "Come ooooonnnnn! Where's all the action?"

"Keep bitching like that, and we'll find an empty sarcophagus in here for you," Oracle growled. And Empress nodded as well.

Witch deflated. "Okay, okay." She slumped along everyone else as they turned a corner, and waiting around the bend was something alive: that other hired girl, staring intently at a massive mural on the wall, one hand adjusting her glasses, and the other cradling her chin. "Hey, it's...that girl! Maybe she'll be nicer than both of you. Never trust a Dragonblood. Hello there, girl!"

The diminutive explorer was lost in thought, Focused on her studying, but the shout yanked her out of her world. "My name is Alba. Hey, come take a look at this huge stone tablet." Waving them over, Alba was soon pressed against the wall she was referring to by the three Dragonblood leaning in close to get the best view.

They scanned their eyes across the flat block for quite some time, reaching the end and starting back over several times, before Oracle finally broke the silence. "What are we looking at?"

Alba shrugged. "I don't know. But it's probably important, so pay attention. I'm sure there's some hidden message in there."

"And what makes you so sure of that?" It sounded random, Empress had reason to be skeptical.

"There's two swamps up there," Alba pointed, referring to a nearby elevator to the next floor. "One of them is supposed to be poisonous. No idea which one, though. So good luck with that."

Oracle rolled her eyes. "Alright, come on. We'll deal with it our own way." Hovering away towards the lift, she waved her team on, leading them up without a thanks or even a farewell. Witch waved goodbye, at least.

Oracle admittedly didn't even fully believe Alba's warning, but as her head peeked up and over to the next floor, she saw the swamps. Two swamps, one left and one right, colored a purple so sickly, she felt like she could catch disease just by breathing in the same air. Some inner voice told her to just back out on the quest entirely and never regret it, and the only thing silencing it was pride. "So now we gotta cross this shit."

"Well, if Alba was right, one of them is poisonous. And we have no idea which. Well, good thing I can fly!" Witch had nothing to be afraid of, as she just took off through the air, making waves in the left swamp with her low flying altitude.

"And I can swing from those hooks on the ceiling," Empress added. "Probably wouldn't even touch the swamp." Confident in her own prediction, she whipped out her Dragon Arm's wire form without hesitation and latched it onto the grapple point. With a jump out, and a jump at the apex with a midair switch to the next clasp, she was soon with Witch, safely on the other side. Though she was shaking her boots and tapping them on the floor, shaking off the water her Toes skimmed through.

That just left Oracle. Yes, she could hover, but not high enough to keep her legs from dangling in the disgusting water. If she made the wrong choice here, she'd be afflicted with poison, which was a real bitch to get rid of, because of course she didn't bring any antidotes. "I really have to pick carefully..."

Time left over: 34 minutes

Condition:

  • Oracle: Average
  • Empress: Average
  • Witch: Average
  1. Follow her teammates and take chances with the left swamp
  2. Strike out on her own and take chances with the right swamp
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Closing her eyes, Oracle took a deep breath, gulped, and jumped into the left swamp's purple water, wincing before she even touched the pool. And, once she landed, she could confirm her worries that it was indeed gross, a thick sludge that was just ever-so-slightly warm. If she never touched it again, she could die happy.

But she didn't feel poisoned. "Well, guess I chose right." Trudging through the slime, fighting back the urge to puke with every step, Oracle finally reached the end and pulled herself up onto the platform where her teammates waited. All in all, she had only been in the swamp for less than a minute, but it was a traumatizing experience, the kind she'd be waking up in a cold sweat dreaming about for years to come.

Witch took one look at Oracle, shivering and mumbling as she laid on the platform, dripping purple goop. "Well well well, is the ‘ancient Oracle' still feeling so high and mighty?"

"Ugh, I've got slimy water in...everywhere..."

"So, is that more or less horrible than the knowledge that you had to follow us? That we took the right path?" Empress wouldn't let her prior behavior slide.

"You didn't even have to risk anything, jackasses. You can complain all you want when everything that makes you a woman has been stewing in unholy muck."

Empress wasn't letting up. "So are you going to get up, or do you need more time to emotionally recover? We're on a timer here."

"Ugh...fine." Oracle pushed herself back up, swamp water still trickling from off and under her robe. It took a second for her to muster up the willpower to get her greatswords back into the air, but soon, she was back and in fighting form. Just with an expression of pure disgust.

And it was good timing, because for the first time in here, there were monsters. First on the docket were Bombuds, and by the time one saw the approaching Dragonblood, it had already begun the process of choking an explosive up its stem, twice as tall as even the tallest of the group, spitting it from its mouth in a bouncing arc towards the trio, too fast and sudden to move out of the way.

Good thing they weren't the type to get out of the way. Instead, Witch quickly threw out a low-level wind spell, a small tornado just strong enough to swing the bomb back. Not fast enough to send it back into the plant's face, but knocking it back far enough that it blew up and kicked up smoke in the Bombud's maw, blinding it. That opened it up for Empress to charge in, sword at her side, and cut the neck of the floral beast. Whether that would be enough to kill it, none of them knew, so there was no taking chances. Before gravity could even take hold of the loose head of the Bombud, Oracle came through with a greatsword and stabbed it straight through, upwards, from chin out through its brain. You know, if it had human anatomy. The Dragonblood didn't exactly get along in personality, but when it came to combat, they were practically a perfect unit.

That is, until Oracle wavered. "Ah!" All of a sudden, she buckled, her right knee went limp and she stumbled, nearly falling forward. It wasn't because she had taken a hit in battle, she was untouched, it was the result of a sudden, intense ache in her stomach, or at least around that area. "D-damn, really?" Now she remembered: the reason she had spent so long in that disgusting Medius tavern was because Empress and Witch took forever in the bathroom. They were the ones in the bathroom. Meaning, Oracle wasn't. She hadn't used the bathroom in a while, actually, something she was currently acutely aware of.

And now that she was thinking about it, it was all Oracle could think about. Now, she couldn't even stand still, swinging her hips with each bend of the knee, the point where she stopped pressing her legs together. Throughout all this, her fingers trembled, and beads of sweat formed beneath her white bangs. She stopped them every time, but repeatedly, her hands tried to worm their way up her robe, itching to grab for some sweet relief.

"How did I possibly miss this stupid thing until now?" Naturally, this wasn't close to the first time Oracle found herself needing the restroom, though it was less common for her to be in a situation where that wasn't really a possibility. Under most circumstances, she could wander off somewhere a little more private and do her business, whether it be in the trees or in a dark alley. In these ancient catacombs, that wasn't so much an option.

All that meant that Oracle would be holding for the time being. "Mmrgh..." She hated it. Any pain was something to avoid, but there was just something more irritating about a pain that she knew was easy enough to get rid of. It was 2; no, 3; no, 5 times more annoying knowing that the only thing causing her grief was just some pee. Pee that she could let out so casually most anywhere else.

Though, thinking on it further, maybe the true obstacle here wasn't the tomb. This place was already old and moldy, filled with monsters and dead people, what more damage could a puddle of urine do? She could even squat and shoot it into the swamp to make it a total non-issue, assuming she could stomach the stagnant fumes for a full minute. If she really needed to go, she could.

But only if she were alone. Saying she just couldn't hold it any longer to Empress and Witch, running off to go tinkle, would be absolutely humiliating. She refused to use the restroom at the bar because she found the environment just a bit too unpleasant when she was mostly alright, and she said "I don't have to go". At the time, it wasn't really a lie, but if she than had to double back and admit that she actually couldn't wait, when it hadn't been especially long since then... It was something to avoid at all costs.

However, no matter how stubborn, the fact remained that Oracle was quite small in stature, and her bladder followed as such. Now that she was aware of her need, the timer was counting down before it got to be too much to bear, and not a long timer, either. Even now, it could begin negatively impacting her performance, given that her combat style relied heavily on delicate focus and concentration. It had already begun, she was already thinking more about her distending bladder than she was the quest.

"Hey! Hey, Atruum to Oracle!" And in that hierarchy of attention, her party ranked so low that she had forgotten about them, until Witch started shouting in her ear and waving a hand in her face. And being surprised was not a welcome shock in her current state.

She had to actively try to look composed with fellow Dragonblood looking at her. "Y-yes, what?! You don't have to yell at me, you know! Your voice is so annoying."

"While you were wandering around aimlessly, we found another giant tablet." Sure enough, now that Empress had said it, Oracle did indeed see a second tablet. And Empress had already gotten around to reading it. "Some sort of number code. Probably refers to that bridge there." She pointed ahead on their road, to a suspended platform, about five blocks long.

Oracle had reason to be agitated, from the bodily discomfort, the realization that she had spaced out like a moron, and all interrupted for nothing. "So what? Just cross the bridge! Are you scared of heights now?"

"You can go right ahead. Find out which of the blocks is fake yourself."

"F-fake?" Oracle looked down over the sides of the bridge, and saw the floor that laid below. It wasn't that far; the drop wouldn't hurt her and the loop back up would only take a couple minutes. But the impact would jostle her "heavy equipment".

"Yeah, illusions. The tablet says some blocks are safe, I think three of them." Empress rolled her eyes and shrugged. "But I guess it doesn't matter, since you can hover."

"I can hover a short distance above the ground! If the ground there isn't real, I'll still fall!"

Smiling, giggling to herself, Witch took to the air once again and darted, completely bypassing the ancient traps a second time. "Wow, these kings really weren't thinking about Dragonblood when they rigged this place."

Again, Oracle looked at the fall that awaited failure, and her stomach turned. Or it could have just been her bladder sagging with weight.

Empress sighed, coming in with whatever she could call support. "Listen, it's not even the end of the world if you mess up, don't go wetting yourself over it."

That specific word choice made Oracle's heart drop and her face grow cold. Did Empress figure it out already? She turned around, about to deflect the accusation, when she saw that Empress wasn't even looking at her. "It's not even that far. Just pick one you think is safe, and you can jump the rest."

"I-I know that! Honestly, I'm not even worried!" Oracle began scanning the segments that made up the bridge, squinting her eyes, but there really was no difference between the real ones and the illusions. It really was just a blind guess. Though, with three of the five being safe, the odds were in her favor.

Time left over: 30 minutes

Condition:

  • Oracle: Below Average
  • Empress: Average
  • Witch: Average

Select a single number (1-5)

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Taking a couple steps back for build-up, Empress put her best foot forward and charged, jumping as the bridge of her boot hit the final block of stone before the bridge. And it was a far jump; she wasn't going as far as she could, but it was pretty close. She aimed her landing at the second-to-last tile, making it a short hop from there to the safety of the other side. Her short hair waved as she flew through the air, her descent began and her heels hit the bridge...and passed straight through. She made a poor choice, and she could reflect on that as she plummeted.

It wasn't much time for contemplation, because the fall wasn't that far. It was only a full second until she hit the ground, not enough time to cause any pain. Still, gravity took its hold on her in that time, and to mitigate the impact, her knees bent into a complete kneel as she landed. All in all, it was a graceful fall. Shame it had resulted from a stupid mistake.

And there were consequences, even if no one could see them. As soon as her body jolted from the collision, something inside her tummy area sloshed and hit the roof of her bladder with all its weight, not an insignificant mass. In fact, that surprise punch was so sudden, and so strong, that Empress froze, her energy better spent maintaining the warm pond inside herself, as it settled down and returned to simply being a nuisance, a louder one now that it had been awoken.

That wasn't to say that Empress hadn't been aware of her bladder before now, because that was so far from the truth. In actuality, she had felt this exact need to pee for some time, and just silently dealt with it. Since they had entered the tombs? Since sometime on the mountain? No, she had carried this for much longer, before they had even begun their questing.

But how was that possible, when she and Witch used the bar's restroom before any of the action began? Well, because while she had indeed gone into the bathroom with the full intention of going pee...it was still a bar in the slums of Medius. At some point, it was just too gross, and she couldn't work up the stomach. She legitimately would have preferred peeing in the woods outside Dragonblood Village.

As she forced herself back up, feeling the weight of her poor decision weigh down on her, Empress had to consider what her options were, specifically when it came to relieving herself. Because, clearly, those in a tomb had no need for a toilet that she could borrow. She wasn't worried about not being able to hold it until this quest was finished, she felt pretty confident in that, but where to go after that? If they did call it a day and return to Medius, the bar would still be repugnant, and the inn bathroom had a bad habit of being occupied, something she discovered after a late morning following a night of drinks. There were always dark alleys, but that was more of a "last resort", especially in the middle of the day. So, would she water the desert sand outside? Maybe.

"Hey, Empress! Did your legs die down there?" Witch's voice echoed as it bounced off every wall on its route from above to Empress's ears. "We're not going to wait around forever for you!"

"Really, I'm all for leaving her behind now," Oracle voted. "Unless you think you'd get too scared down there alone!"

She said nothing back, but Empress grumbled as she climbed back up to the next floor, where the bridge awaited her once more. And waiting on the other side was still Witch, and...Oracle? "See, it wasn't that hard." And crossing the bridge had done nothing for Oracle's attitude. Pretty rude for someone who had the benefit of going second, and had gotten lucky.

But now Empress had the benefit of following someone successful. "Alright, which tile is safe?"

"Hm... I mean, I could tell you, but it'd be funnier if you fell again. Do you remember which one failed you before?" Right, of course, that was only a benefit if Oracle was helpful. So she'd be going at it blind once again, just with process of elimination by her side.

Time left over: 28 minutes

Condition:

  • Oracle: Below Average
  • Empress: Below Average
  • Witch: Average

Select a single number (1-5, excluding 4)

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  • 2 weeks later...

This time, Empress took the opposite approach. Instead of going for broke with a far jump, she played it easy with a short hop, aiming for the second block instead. Again, she looked below as the bridge drew closer to her feet, closing her eyes and wincing as her toes pointed downwards to collide first. Which they did. Her heels soon followed, and the descent ended. Muscles relaxing, Empress sighed in relief. Not too much relief, though, she still needed some relief.

"Hey, good job this time," Oracle praised, backhandedly. "You jumped like a sissy, though. I went more daring, right in the middle."

"Good to know." Just because Oracle told her, Empress made a point to skip that middle block, instead bounding straight to the end, where the two other Dragonblood were waiting. It wasn't like she was expecting praise for her success, but when Witch's only reaction was rolling her eyes, Empress felt a little hurt. "Thanks for finally getting here! We had to kill the monsters over here just to pass the time!"

"And I bet they were really hard. I feel so bad for how much of a struggle it must have been. You look like you're just exhausted." Empress was not putting the brakes down on her sarcasm.

"Yeah, you're right, it was pretty easy. In fact, it was so easy, you could handle the rest of them by yourself." Turning away, Oracle took the lead down the hall, only stopping and turning back when she reached the end. "Come on, both of you are holding us up now!" Wasting no more time herself, she jumped onto the wall-affixed elevator, pressing down on the large button to control its ascent with her body weight. Empress and Witch followed suit in the raising soon after.

It was when they were about halfway up to the next level that all three were suddenly exposed to the sound of something they couldn't quite place. It sounded a little bit like the streaming of water, and no insignificant amount of it either, something that made Empress and Oracle instinctively cross their legs, yet it didn't have that liquid texture to the sound; it was more grainy and dry. As the elevator continued to rise, and they could see more of the floor awaiting them, all was revealed, and the answer was something that made perfect sense, leaving Oracle and Empress feeling dumb: it wasn't water, but pouring falls of sand, creating a shifting tan lake.

"Well, there's a bunch of platforms leading up, so...the tomb designers were a bunch of dumbasses," Oracle shook her head and grinned. "Better for us. Not like sand is any threat." Now that the elevator had come to a halt, she got a move on and jumped right past the border into the sand. And then tried to take another step, but failed. Even as she put in the extra effort to lifting her leg, it wouldn't come loose from the dense sand. In fact, she only seemed to be sinking deeper, now reaching up her shins.

That is, until Empress bent down from the side, clutched Oracle's upper arm, and yanked her out with a rough jerk. "It's a different story if it's quicksand, though."

Oracle refused to look at her rescuer, instead brushing the sand off her legs. "W-well, of course! I'm not stupid, you know!"

Because she wasn't looking, she didn't see Empress's smirk. "So it was a calculated decision to jump into the sand instead of any number of those platforms? You could have easily reached the nearest one."

Oracle growled, and was about to fight back, most likely with just some swearing, until Witch intervened. "Actually, I think those guys might have a problem with us just jumping up." Sure enough, once they looked, Empress and Oracle saw that there were indeed several monsters perched on the many ledges, with Pale Goblin archers and flying Skullbees. And they all had their eyes on the Dragonblood.

Magically spinning her greatswords close enough to be worrisome, as if to say "bring it on", Oracle actually jumped to the right platform. There was a goblin waiting there, readying its bow and drawing back its string. But its tiny goblin brain didn't realize that the approaching danger had much finer control of her blades than an ordinary swordsman, as they soon learned when one of the greatswords shot forth right at its face, big enough to cut the poor goblin to ribbons.

Oracle wasn't a master of multitasking, so while she focused on the one, a second Pale Goblin nocked an arrow, aiming steadily at her head, and cut it loose. The distance between the two was small; the arrow would have pierced her, likely a fatal blow, were it not for a little intervention. That intervention being another quick wind spell from Witch, applying an external force to the arrow, knocking it off course into clanking and bouncing off the rock at Oracle's feet. Since she didn't see the arrow coming in the first place, this was the first time she noticed the thing, and therefore jumped in shock, with a little squeal.

That wasn't the end of it, either. With the goblin's attack foiled, Empress took the next shot in midair, using her Dragon Arm to fire a shard of ice. That came with a lot of recoil, enough to fling her back against the wall, with no hope for a follow-up strike once the ice hit the goblin. That gave Witch the chance to jump in herself. "Homing Thunder!" Orbs of concentrated lightning formed from nothing, and flew like cannonballs to the goblin. Pretty soon, the monster was fried and done for.

Oracle, now aware that she needed to pay attention to a lot more than just one thing, was sending her twin greatswords after two monsters at once. Of course, this made it too dangerous for anyone else to get close to those massive weapons, because Oracle didn't care about being a team player. For Witch, this wasn't a problem, she fought with a ranged style that made use of fireballs, icicles, and bolts of lightning from on high, she wasn't hanging back any further than she usually would.

This was a bigger obstacle for Empress to deal with. She was limited to a sword as her weapon, and getting close enough to use that while Oracle was flailing her stuff around was just asking to die. So, without wasting all her energy on another charged ice storm, her only ranged option was small ice balls, none of which dealt too much damage and all came with knockback. And with irritation. "No, this is fine. I'll just twiddle my thumbs over here, doing nothing." It was nice not having to strain herself, but it really sucked not having adrenaline to distract her. All she could do was keep climbing this tomb tower, all the while feeling every drop stewing in her bladder.

But it wasn't much better on Oracle's end, either. Even as she found joy in proving herself superior to these beasts, she found herself constantly blanketed by the worry radiating from all that piss she was bearing. When she couldn't devote all her attention to either her combat or her bladder, she suffered. Oracle was a proud Dragonblood, but even she began to regret not saying something earlier, when she had access to a bathroom.

"Hey, take a look at this!" Empress had gotten the lead, thanks to her ability to swing from the ceiling and bypass a lot of the sticky sand. Though, she was slowed by a little something, so she wasn't that far ahead, Witch and Oracle caught up to her at the top soon enough. The first thing they noticed was the last thing they wanted to see after climbing all the way to the top: a shaft back down. And another swamp, likely also poisoned.

Witch groaned. "Atruum help me, another one?!"

"Another two, actually. Tablet says there's a second one below it. Had time to read it before you dragged your asses up here."

"Smartass." Looking down into the hole, Oracle had a brief flash of trauma from the ordeal she had suffered in the last swamp. It didn't help that, though the viewpoint was far different, the layout seemed to be the same: a purple swamp on the left and a purple swamp on the right. They even had monsters dwelling within them for added danger. And there was another choice beneath that one, where her only method forward was trusting in luck.

Time left over: 21 minutes

Condition:

  • Oracle: Below Average
  • Empress: Below Average
  • Witch: Average
  1. Select left or right for the top swamp
  2. Select left or right for the bottom swamp
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  • 2 weeks later...

Witch took the easy way out once again, being the little cheater that she was. Preparing her magic, she jumped down and took through the air, over the left swamp. Even as she sped further out of sight, Empress and Oracle could see the smug smirk on Witch's face. Either that, or they knew her well enough to know that's exactly the face she would make in this situation.

Empress looked back at Oracle. "We taking the left too?"

"...fine." Trailing behind in no rush, the two stepped off their perch, down into the swamps below, Oracle dreading the approaching splash the entire fall. She could even feel her stomach churn as the lower half of her body was submerged in the goo once again. Yet, even as the fluid slime brushed up against the pores of her exposed legs, she did not come down with any additional ailments. Once again, she had lucked out.

Then again, it was hard to feel lucky with her legs all cold, wet, and gross in so many ways. And when she knew she had more of the same awaiting her, it was enough to make her want to just curl up and die 3 times over. Not just because it was disgusting to any sensible person, but because the wetness only magnified her need. And the swamp was already nothing but dirty water, she could not shake the feeling that no harm would be done if she let it all go, and that made everything worse.

Unbeknownst to Oracle, Empress was having similar thoughts. A voice was getting louder in her head as well, one with the same force and authority as Atruum, telling her to hike up her skirt, pull her panties aside, and open the river. The suggestion was strengthened by the magnitude of relief she knew it would bring, that hard piss jetting into the pool with a satisfying splash. She even moved her free hand to the hem of her skirt in preparation.

But she pulled away, shook her head, and denied herself the release. It wasn't so much a need for privacy for her to properly do her private act; they were all Dragonblood, they were all girls, there was little to hide. In fact, since the slum bathrooms were nothing worth waiting for, it wasn't an uncommon occurrence for the 3 to mark the end of an adventuring day by taking a whiz together. No, the problem was the mocking she knew she'd receive, were she to do her leak right here. "Really, you couldn't wait any longer", something like that. Oracle thought much the same way. Witch was probably the only one who might be okay with debasing herself like that.

"Aaaahhh!" Speaking of Witch, her high-pitched shout cut through the air from the level below, followed by a loud splash. That second sound caused Oracle and Empress to wince, yet they still hurried to see what the commotion was, like good friends normally would. But first, they had to climb out of the purple pool, bottom halves dripping sludge, and jump down to the floor below. Every movement slid the still air across their legs like a gust of wind, chilling them to the bone and making it all worse. Oracle could not express in words how repugnant the sensation was.

Once they reached the next set of swamps, they saw that Witch had made the decision to switch it up, and flew over the right pit. It wouldn't have made much of a difference, except that her carefree bypassing of the traps had angered the wrong god, and she had been slapped from the air by the long, raised tail of a Shockfish living in the water, paralyzing her and sending her tumbling into the water. And, judging by the way she flailed around, coughing and choking, it was fair to assume that she had fallen into the poison swamp. And, thanks to the paralysis, she couldn't get her magic up to defend herself. She'd need help to get out of this one.

"Ooh...we'd love to help, but getting all 3 of us poisoned would just be stupid. Sure you'll figure it out." Too bad for her, Oracle was a jackass. And Empress didn't add anything else. And, now that they knew the safe route, they took it without hesitation.`When their bodies weren't being wracked by poison, the Shockfish wriggling towards them was no problem to dispatch of. Before long, they climbed out of the lower swamp, and dropped down to the presumably-safe floor beneath.

And all Witch could do was watch helplessly. "Jerks!" If she wanted to get through this, she'd need to do it by herself. Luckily, paralysis did not impede her movements, just her ability to retaliate. She couldn't easily get back into the air for flight, either, so the only way forward was through. Which already wasn't the easiest proposition, with surges of pain throughout her body, thanks to the poison.

The Shockfish wasn't just going to let its prey escape, of course. Its long, eel-like body curled as it slithered closer to the Dragonblood, aiming to cut off her escape and take its time with her. Witch growled, but she wasn't giving up now. "Alright, let's see what you've got!" She might not have had height, physical strength, or other feminine "attributes", but Witch had spirit, no one could take that away from her.

The Shockfish was going to try, however. With its sparking tail raised above itself, the fish thrust its weapon forth, like a scorpion, aiming to shock Witch so hard that she'd lose the ability to resist. Witch saw that this was the beast's intent, meaning that she could jump out of the way, even with water resistance slowing her down. The electric tail struck the swamp water and dissipated; the swamp had more than enough pollutants to make it non-conductive.

Witch wanted nothing more than to put this monster in its place, but in her condition, that wasn't really an option. Lucky for her, all this had gone down pretty close to the finish line, so it wasn't a marathon to reach safety. Though, when every step took ten times the effort, even the shortest distance was an exercise.

Putting more physical exertion into this than she would in 3 days, she bolted for the ledge, which came out looking more like a child that hadn't yet learned to swim wading through the water. She was closing the gap, but being an aquatic creature, the Shockfish was nearing her more and more every second. Without a doubt, it would catch up to her before she got out, and given that it was approaching from behind, it would have the first strike. And Witch knew it.

Or, rather, that would be the outcome, were they the only two parties. Just as the Shockfish breached its head above the water's surface, teeth bared, it was hit with a surprise. More specifically, a greatsword, flying like an arrow, sticking into the fish's head, suddenly bringing it to a complete stop. It took 3 seconds before it went limp and collapsed, filling the poison swamp with blood. So focused on her escape, Witch didn't even register the assistance. She didn't even see the sword fly back to its origin, past where she was headed.

It was far more important to her that she finally get out of this damn swamp, and that's just what she did, straining to pull her little body up to safety. It was surely difficult, because as soon as she touched dry land again, Witch collapsed onto her back, panting and heaving. The only thing she could do, when she realized the paralysis had worn off, was to cast a healing spell, mending her wounds and expelling the poison from her body. At last, her body was free from pain.

That's what she thought, at least, but despite being fully recovered, surges of aching still tormented her. "So, it wasn't poison... Eep!" Through process of elimination, there was only one thing that could be causing that kind of discomfort: pee. Her decision not to use the pub bathrooms had clearly caught up with her, at quite the inconvenient time.

Witch whimpered just a little bit, curving her knees inward and wiggling on her back. "Oh, this might be bad..." As had already been established, her physical capabilities were sub-par, so her ability to hold her urine once she was acutely aware of the need was...lacking, to put it mildly. It was definitely solely due to her muscle strength, not because of anything stature-related. If she needed to pee in the middle of a big tomb, with no clear view on where the ending was, she had reason to be worried what state she'd be in by the time they all got out of here.

Which is exactly why she began looking carefully at her surroundings, just in case there was...somewhere. No doubt, it would be much better for her if she could just duck somewhere and do her business, leave a nice warm puddle and go about her day when all was well. Yet, as she considered each little alcove and barrier in her viewing area, her heart fell further and further, when all of them were lacking in one specific criteria: safety. None of them had any guarantee she'd be protected from the monsters that roamed these tombs, not even for the limited time it would take for her bladder to empty.

The only way she'd be getting through it would be to have some cover, some comrades that could slay the creatures that would sneak up during the process. Ones that wouldn't start mocking her admittedly small bladder, and that's the part she was lacking. She could already imagine Oracle's disparaging comments, berating her for just having to drop her panties here. And Empress wouldn't come to her defense.

So she had no choice but to press onward, still full of urine. "I can keep looking as we go, for somewhere I can go. But I might have to make a little oasis in the desert when we get out of here." Trying her best to push out of her mind, she hurried down the gap to the floor, taking careful steps, so as not to jostle her fluids.

No surprise after how long she had taken, but once she climbed down, her teammates were impatiently waiting for her. Oracle, in particular, rolled her eyes and groaned when she saw that Witch had finally joined them. "Took you long enough! We got so bored just waiting for you, we went ahead. You missed it, there was this room with fire falling from the ceiling, so we had to hurry to find the switch to open the door, where the lever to turn off the fire was."

Empress nodded. "It was pretty cool."

"What?! Aw man, I would have loved that!"

"Well, I'm sure you're going to love this more: the next tablet says there's eight treasure chests to look at, and one of them has the treasure we were sent in to find." Empress pursed her lips and sighed with her breath, enough to say something like "we're almost done but this crap is still going".

Oracle didn't have that subtlety. "The old bastard can finally pay us, and we can leave this stupid hot desert."

Empress pulled the key they were given before starting out of her pocket. "He said we'd only get one chance with this key. So pick the right one."

Oracle was indignant. "What?! Why do we have to pick it?!"

"I don't feel like it. Too much pressure."

"Alright, fine, I'll choose!" Witch wanted this over and done with, for a couple reasons. "Well..."

The "Search the environment" command is now available, paired with any one character. That character can look around nearby for somewhere to relieve herself. Searching costs one minute, regardless if they find anywhere or not. Depending on the circumstances, they may decline based on danger, lack of privacy, or perceived reaction of their comrades. They will become less picky the more desperate they become. Finding somewhere to pee will cost an additional minute.

Time left over: 14 minutes

Condition:

  • Oracle: Below Average
  • Empress: Below Average
  • Witch: Below Average

Select a single number (1-8)

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"Okay, four. Guess it doesn't really matter. Wait, maybe...one? No, four." Not wanting to waste another second, Witch hopped down two levels. And, with nothing else to do, Oracle and Empress jumped down with her, all three venturing off to the right. And, as soon as they were on that ledge, they could clearly see the treasure chest they were looking for, not very far away.

It wasn't even heavily guarded. The worst they had to contend with was a small pile of sticks, acting as a nest for a family of fiery Deva Rats, rodents that did not enjoy their territory being imposed upon. And as soon as the Dragonblood's feet stomped close to their burrow, they made their distaste known by baring their teeth, growling, and jumping out for a bite.

Their bravado was commendable, but pointless. They were just rats, after all, and the Dragonblood were all armed. It didn't even take their combined efforts, Empress just slaughtered any that came forth with a rapid stabbing of her sword, every Deva Rat felled with one thrust, and their hovel was crushed shortly thereafter. All the while, Oracle and Witch just walked past, Oracle slipping her hand into the pocket of Empress's skirt and snatching the key from her pocket.

In fact, they didn't even wait for Empress to be done with her task before Oracle shoved the key into the treasure chest's lock and turned it, immediately snapping the brittle metal. But, from the side, Witch couldn't see what caused the crack. "Oh no, did something break?"

"...yeah. The key. The guy told us it would. Moron." She gave Witch a real dope look, yet continued to open the chest, lifting the lid to expose the contents within for the first time in centuries, probably. And, now that the chest was exposed, Oracle's gaze couldn't help but be drawn to it, like the light of heaven shone from inside. Witch also had no choice but to lean in and take a little peek.

Perhaps the allure of treasure had set their expectations too high, because the reality of the prize was less than grandiose. Inside the dusty box, laying like a piece of trash, was a small metal rod, hardly adorned with any frills. It was only when Oracle reached inside and pulled it out that its purpose became clear, seeing the line of holes running along its length. "A...a flute? We came all the way down here for a flute?!"

"Well, any belonging from the ancient royal families has some value. No matter how dumb the thing is."

"I'm just gonna say what we're all thinking: archaeologists are weird." Having finished her killing, Empress sauntered up with a usual snide remark.

Oracle stared at the instrument blankly for a few seconds, and tossed it to Empress to put in her pocket. Empress, not expecting the gift, jumped and scrambled to catch it, coming very close to dropping the priceless artifact. "Wow. Thanks."

"Let's get out of here, now," Witch complained. "It's so hot and sweat, my clothes are sticking to my skin. Everywhere." And if they didn't hurry, sweat wouldn't be the only bodily fluid in her undergarments.

"Right." Empress led the way off the ledge, and the three dropped down to the bottom level. On the way down, they passed several further floors, all with treasure chests of their own. "Hope we picked the right one. I don't want to do all this again."

Finally, they hit the ground simultaneously. The landing was good and smooth, but it wasn't exactly easy on the poor, full Dragonblood. As soon as they touched down, each of the three suddenly stiffened, clenched their teeth, and made no sudden movements. They just let the pool of warm urine ripple and lap within their growing bladders, for fear that if they were too hasty, something would give. Of course, none of them gave any verbal indication that something was ailing them.

Eventually, their insides settled down, and they no longer felt as if an accident hung above their heads. Empress got back up first, but she still looked tired, and the other two were no better as they shortly followed. "Let's just get out." Oracle nodded along, secretly very much anxious to be done with this so she could relieve herself.

Witch, however, held up a hand to stop them. "Wait. Don't you hear that?"

Empress and Oracle really didn't want to listen, they just wanted to be done with this shit. But, just in case it was important, they stood still and held their breaths, opening their ears for anything to enter. And, while it was mostly that same deathly quiet as the rest of the tomb, there was something hushed in the distance: the telltale sounds of monsters. Scrapes, scratches, growls, and roars echoed from far down the hall.

In fact, it was far enough down the hall that it hardly seemed like a problem. At least, Empress thought so. "Who cares? Just put down a teleport glyph and let's go."

"But... If there's so much extra space down there, maybe there's some really good treasure!"

"Don't care. We got what we were sent in for. Probably."

Oracle sided with Empress. "They're probably fighting over who gets to gnaw on the bones. I really don't give a shit."

Yet Witch didn't back down. "That's exactly the point! The kings probably got buried with the really good stuff! And we don't have to tell the old guy about anything extra we find, that can be...our cut."

Well, now that there was an incentive to keep exploring, Oracle wasn't so quick to dismiss the idea. Yes, she wanted to pee, she needed to pee bad, but...it wouldn't take that long to take a little look? The only reason Witch was on board was because she was confident in the quickness, as well.

Time left over: 12 minutes

Condition:

  • Oracle: Below Average
  • Empress: Below Average
  • Witch: Below Average
  1. Leave the dungeon and finish the quest
  2. Explore deeper
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