A massive swarm of rats rushed towards us, the largest gathering that I’d seen attacking at one time. That was no surprise though as we’d gotten the attention of damn near every rat in the entire cavern, all at the same time.

Turtle stood in the front as always, having activated both of his abilities. He was using one ability to draw the attention of on the onrushing flood of rodent monsters, while his other ability was making him tough enough to survive that attention.

Once most of the rats were piled on and around Turtle, Olivia stepped forward and unleashed her most powerful shockwave. I knew that she was even using most of the stored magic in her staff to give the attack as much ‘oomph’ as possible. As soon as the shockwave hit, over a hundred rats were suddenly flung through the air. Half of them were dead by the time their bodies landed again while the remaining ones were left stunned and injured. That was when the rest of us went to work.

We rushed forward and tore into the rats, killing them as fast as possible. It was dirty work, but relatively easy. By this point, we’d all gotten strong enough that the rats were no longer much of a challenge, even in these large numbers.

Ramirez rushed forward with her spear, impaling one rat and then slashing sideways with it in order to hit another two. She was fast and accurate, not wasting a single movement. It was obvious that she’d slotted points into agility, which increased her speed, movement, and balance, as well as into dexterity, which improved hand-eye coordination and accuracy.

Somewhere along the way back, Ramirez had lost her shield. The shield had been great for defense, but it also slowed her down. And as a stalker who relied on speed, stealth, and precision, that shield had become a liability which she’d quickly abandoned.

I watched Ramirez with a hint of envy and the silent question of ‘what if?’ I’d always thought that if I was ever lucky enough to become a player, that I should have been a stalker. That was the kind of fighting style that I’d always liked, and a power that appealed to me.

“No point whining over it now,” I told myself as I turned my full attention back to the fight, just in time to cast an ‘Invocation of Spite’ on a rat, just before it could reach Olivia.

I didn’t bother using my new ability, ‘Invocation of the Wisp,’ because I only had a limited number of uses and there was no point wasting any of those on these measly rats. I’d already tested that ability a couple times, and while it was useful, it was better to save it for when I actually needed it.

Even though it had been a couple days, I was still a bit miffed over the way that faerie had cheated me out of my rewards. However, the more I thought about it, the more I suspected that he hadn’t cheated me just to trick me, though I was sure that was part of it. I suspected that he cheated me, at least partly because he simply couldn’t afford to pay the full amount.

The faerie… The wisp had warned me that it wasn’t powerful, and from what I’d felt of him, he hadn’t been lying. The amount of his power that it would take to use that ability forty-three times was probably everything he could spare. And for what it would cost to power that ability a couple hundred times… That was probably more than the wisp could actually provide.

“Let that be a lesson for me,” I mused. “If I’m going to make deals with primals, make them with primals who are powerful enough to make it worth it.”

Of course, that just made me think of that infernal whom I’d left behind. I shuddered at the memory of that thing, of how powerful it had felt…and how malicious. And what scared me the most was the fact that it was still there, right where I’d left it, and sooner or later another invoker would stumble across it, one who might accept its bargain.

“Not my problem,” I told myself, though I couldn’t help but add the unspoken ‘yet’.

It didn’t take long to end the fight, and a short time later, every rat in the cavern was dead and gone…along with a few bat monsters as well. Bodies were everywhere, spread all over the cavern floor.

“I’m just glad that I’m not the one who has to clean this up,” Ace joked as he looked over the field of monster bodies.

“I agree,” Olivia added with a look of disgust. “But I recommend that we get out of here before they melt, because walking through that much disgusting goo will be just as bad.”

“There isn’t enough air freshener,” Ramirez added with an easy grin.

I’d noticed that ever since Ramirez had been initiated as a player, she’d been a lot more relaxed. It seemed that achieving her goal had the added benefit of taking off her edge, which made it easier for the others to interact with her.

Just then, Ace exclaimed, “Hey, there’s a body.”

“There are a LOT of bodies,” Bunny pointed out in exasperation. “That’s the problem.”

“No,” Ace responded. “A HUMAN body.”

That got everyone’s attention and we all rushed over to the spot he indicated, seeing that he was correct. There was a human body on the ground, one which was now little more than bones and rags. It looked like the rats had torn this person to shreds.

“Look,” Ramirez said, indicating the rags. They were rough brown fabric, remnants of some familiar looking robes. “I think this was a new respawn.”

“Definitely,” Bunny agreed with a scowl. “We’re close enough to the entrance.”

I indicated the sword on the ground, which had obviously belonged to this player. It was a very basic sword, identical to the one that I’d been offered at the respawn pool. The blade was badly nicked, and the tip had broken off. Clear signs of rough use, probably by someone who had no idea of how to actually use a sword.

“You should have gone with the mace,” I said with a sigh.

“Poor bastard,” Ace said sympathetically.

I nodded at that, remembering my own experience in the Labyrinth after my respawn. Being all alone, a rookie player without experience or help… The experience had been a bit terrifying, and I could only imagine how much worse it would be for someone who didn’t know what I did about players and abilities.

“I am so glad I didn’t become a player the way you all did,” Ramirez admitted with as shudder. “I can’t imagine waking up in a place like this all alone.”

“We actually wake up in a safe spot,” Olivia corrected in a quiet voice.

“Yeah,” Turtle agreed. “But one without any food or drinkable water. It’s not like you can stay there for long.”

Ramirez looked around with a curious expression. “Is it possible to find a respawn pool? I’d like to see what one looks like.”

“I’m afraid not,” Olivia told her. “Once you leave the respawn pool, the door kind of vanishes behind you.”

“And I’ve never seen an open entrance to one from this side,” Bunny added.

“Too bad,” Ramirez responded, looking disappointed.

“You seem pretty interested in respawn pools,” Ace said, looking a little surprised.

Ramirez hesitate a moment before admitting, “I’m interested in just about everything related to players. I always have been. That’s why I became a Warden in the first place.”

“I’ve heard of plenty worse reasons,” I assured her with a chuckle.

“So have I,” Ramirez responded with a chuckle. “I’ve always been fascinated by magic…by the idea that people can get real magic power and even come back from the dead. I joined the Wardens so I could see it for myself, so I could become a part of it…even if only second-hand.” She paused at that, looking self-conscious. “And once I learned that I had a chance of becoming a player myself…”

“You jumped on it,” I said as I nodded in understanding.

“Exactly,” Ramirez said with a nod of her own.

“Honestly,” Bunny said, giving Ramirez an odd look, “I’m surprised the Wardens even let you come in here. I mean, you guys are all about policing players, so I didn’t think they’d be all that enthused about one of their own switching sides.”

Ramirez just burst out laughing at that. “We don’t think of it as switching sides,” she finally said, still looking amused. “We think of it as fighting fire with fire. Who better to deal with a rogue player, than another player? We contract players for that kind of work all the time.”

“The bounties,” Turtle commented.

“Yeah,” Ramirez agreed. “Mostly bounties, but we have been trying to recruit some players directly. It isn’t easy though since background checks are completely useless.”

“I’d imagine that part would be challenging,” Olivia said with a thoughtful expression.

Turtle added, “You wouldn’t want to recruit some player, only to find out later that he used to be a serial killer or something.”

“Exactly,” Ramirez agreed. “And we have had that kind of thing happen, more or less. We’re very careful about recruiting players now. Whenever we find a possible candidate, we keep a close eye on them to make sure that they’re someone we really can work with, before we ever actually approach them.” Her eyes locked on me for several seconds before she looked away. “In some ways, it’s easier for us to try turning our own into players.”

“That way, you know what you’re getting,” I said with a nod, having heard some of the initial arguments for and against this when the idea was first brought up. “They’re already trained, know Warden rules and procedures, and have already been vetted.”

“Exactly,” Ramirez repeated.

“But,” I added, scowling as I did so. “It’s also dangerous as hell, and you risk losing some damn good Wardens in the process.”

Ramirez nodded at that, looking almost grim. “We have lost some good people. There’s a reason we have such strict requirements to follow before we’re allowed to attempt a dungeon run.”

“I’m just glad it worked out for you this time,” Turtle added.

“Not as glad as I am,” Ramirez admitted with a self-conscious smile.

“Well, we’re almost done with this mission,” I pointed out, gesturing down one of the tunnels. “Unless I’m reading this wrong, we should be out of here in just a few more minutes.”

“Actually,” Olivia corrected me, pulling out her notebook and looking it over as she did so. She pointed to the next tunnel over from where I’d pointed. “It’s that way… But you’re right that we’re almost out.”

“I can’t wait to get a bath,” Bunny exclaimed. “And to sleep in a real bed again.”

“Food,” Turtle stated with a grin of anticipation. “Real food instead of these rations.”

“That all sounds good to me,” Olivia added with an exaggerated sigh of relief.

“I can second that,” Ramirez said with a broad grin. “Unfortunately, when I get back, I have to fill out a report.”

“Ah, paperwork,” I announced in sympathy. “One of the inescapable miseries of life.”

“Like death and taxes,” Ramirez agreed.

However, the rest of us just chuckled along until Bunny pointed out, “Death can be escaped. At least occasionally.”

A few seconds later, we all began heading towards the exit, each of us eager to get out of the Labyrinth as soon as possible. We were all dirty and tired, and after that conversation, we were even more impatient than before.

I saw one of the small openings off to the side, one of the entrance echoes which could lead to just about anywhere near Gideon Heights. I ignored that one since the main entrance was not only more stable, but it also opened up right into the middle of town, which was exactly where we wanted to go.

“It looks like someone else has already been through here,” Bunny announced.

Bunny gestured to one of the larger tunnels, and I could see that there were a lot of dead monsters scattered about in there. Or at least, I could see what had been monsters since they were melting into that nasty goo that monsters turned into. It wouldn’t be much longer before the goo vanished and new monsters began to appear, replacing those which had been killed.

Then we reached our destination, a wide open cavern with the large and now familiar looking Labyrinth entrance. There were a couple splatters of monster goo scattered about, but no active threats. Whoever had come through here before us had already dealt with them. It was with a sigh of relief that I stepped through the opening.

As soon as I stepped into Gideon Heights, I instantly knew that something was wrong. The air was filled with a thick black smoke which came from two buildings that were on fire. Blood was spread out along the ground in front of me, and I quickly saw two bodies. No, one body in two parts. A cold chill ran down my spine even as a heavy lump formed in my stomach.

“What the fuck?” Ace exclaimed from beside me.

Turtle let out a loud gasp. “What happened?”

My hand tightened around my mace handle and I looked around, ready to activate either of my abilities in an instant. “I don’t know,” I answered grimly. “But I’m damn well going to find out.”