The time was finally here. Our first dungeon dive was today.

  There had been no other attacks or disturbances since the Scriver swarm, which was what I learned those arachnid creatures had been called. They were a hive-born rift species, drawn from one of the lesser worlds that orbit the deeper void gates. Knowing their name somehow made the attack feel both more real and more distant, like a story passed from soldier to soldier instead of something I had lived through.

  Now, though, everything was about the dive.

  Our party gathered near the staging grounds carved into the side of the cavern. The air was thick with the aetheric tang of enchantments being prepared. A dozen other teams stood around us, voices overlapping in nervous excitement. Armor creaked, weapons were tested, and the faint hum of aether filled the air as professors and mages tuned the portals that would take us below.

  Milo and Malorn were off to the side, locked in yet another round of good-natured arguing. Milo puffed on his pipe, a thin spiral of smoke curling through his grinning teeth.

  “I’m telling you,” he said, “I’ll bring back more shards than you by lunch.” Malorn gave a soft laugh, the feathers at his shoulder quivering as Fern stretched from his pack. “You mean you’ll find more shards. You won’t actually be the one killing anything.”

  “Semantics,” Milo replied with mock offense. “Someone has to keep track of all the valuable loot while you elves are busy showing off.”

  Their laughter cut through the tension that had been building all morning. It was comforting, in its own way. The two of them bickered like brothers, and in this world of uncertainty, that always brought unique peace.

  A few paces away stood Zephyra and Shine. The lizard-kin’s golden scales shimmered faintly under the light of the forming portals. Zephyra, was deep in thought, her eyes unfocused as she reviewed the tactical map we had been shown. I could feel the faint push of her aether in the air, a habit she had when she was preparing. She always rehearsed the field in her mind, shaping the wind to the terrain before we ever set foot in it.

  Grond stood beside me, adjusting the straps of his armor. His hammers hung from his back, their weight pulling at the thick leather bindings across his chest. “I’ll keep the left flank,” he muttered without looking up, “You hold center. Keeping the attention of whatever comes first.”

  I nodded. “That’s what we have practiced the most so that seems fair.”

  He grunted in agreement, then glanced my way. “This first dive will tell you a lot about who you’re fighting beside. You’ll know by the end of the day if your team will keep you alive or get you killed.”

  I gave a half-smile. “Comforting.”

  “It’s meant to be,” he said. Then his lips twitched, almost into a grin.

  A horn sounded from across the platform. The chatter died instantly. Professor Roark’s voice boomed over the crowd. “Form your teams and prepare for descent! Remember your objectives. Clear the first and second chambers, recover any shards or valuables you find, and bring back your wounded. No heroics. Do not push beyond the second chamber.”

  The shimmering portal at the far end of the cavern brightened to a pulsing violet. I could feel its pull even from here—the low vibration that resonated in my chest like the breath of another world waiting to be entered.

  Zephyra turned toward us, her twin blades already strapped to her back. “Everyone ready?”

  Grond cracked his neck. “As I’ll ever be.”

  Milo raised his slingshot with a grin. “Born ready.”

  Malorn gave a brief nod, his hand resting on Fern’s head. “We’ll cover from range.”

  Shine said nothing, but her eyes glowed faintly with quiet resolve.

  I took a breath, flipping my knives as I centered myself and nodded at Zephyra.

  Dusk settled against my shoulder, her feathers flickering with faint silver light. Our bond was so close to forming I thought it may happen during this dive. I had been off on the timing so many times I was trying not to focus on it, but it was hard not to.

  “Let’s go,” Zephyra said.

  Together, we stepped toward the portal as it rippled open. The air grew colder the closer we came. The light swallowed us whole, and the world around us shifted into darkness and sound and heat.

  The portals we used had sent us deep into the lower regions of Solinar. When the light faded, we stood in the half-light of a vast cavern, just outside the dungeon’s entrance. Professor Roark’s voice echoed faintly in my memory: Move quickly once you arrive. Step straight into the dungeon entrance. The deep things sense vibration and heat. Too much movement draws attention.

  We emerged in ordered groups, one after another, gathering before the gaping stone maw of the dungeon. The air was thick and damp, humming faintly with a low resonance that trembled through my bones.

  Zephyra motioned forward. “This is it. Move.”

  We stepped as one toward the gate. The archway shimmered like liquid glass, its light rippling with pale aetheric hues. Just as we crossed the threshold, my senses flared. Behind us, Luceran’s group was approaching. I caught sight of him raising his hand, his eyes fixed on us with that same cold amusement I had learned to distrust.

  He flicked something small and dark toward the gate. It struck the light just as we passed through. A sickly pulse rippled outward, twisting the glow into a shade that did not belong. My body lurched as the air bent around us, and a deep vibration shuddered through the stone beneath our feet.

  There was no time to shout a warning. The light swallowed us whole.

  When it cleared, the cavern was gone.

  We stood on a floating island suspended in a sea of mist. The air shimmered faintly with blue and green light that pulsed like veins running through the clouds below. Islands hung all around us, drifting slowly through the void, their edges crumbling into starlit dust. A single bridge of shifting stone connected ours to another island in the distance, where a set of ancient runes burned faintly in the haze.

  For a long moment, no one spoke.

  “This isn’t one of the starting chambers,” Zephyra said quietly. Her voice held no question.

  Grond frowned, looking around. “Roark said the two chambers would both be cave-based.”

  Milo let out a low whistle, half disbelief and half awe as he looked around. “So where exactly are we?”

  I didn’t answer. I could still feel that lingering trace in the air, faint and sickly, the same aetheric signature that had brushed past us as we crossed the gate. Whatever Luceran had thrown, it had changed our destination.

  We had studied these in Dungeon and Rift Exploration. The instructors called them “island chambers.” Despite the beauty, they were among the most dangerous types. Wind, gravity, and unstable terrain made every fight unpredictable. There were few places to retreat and even fewer to hide.

  Zephyra took a steadying breath and spoke as she looked around. “We adapt. This island is tiny and barren with no room for cover. We need to get across that bridge to the larger one. It looks like the Dungeon Task runes are over there. Formation as planned. Bryn and Grond, front. Shine, middle. Milo and Malorn, rear.”

  We moved without argument. My boots pressed against the smooth stone, and I felt the faint hum beneath it. The bridge was alive, pulsing with the same rhythm as the air around us.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Dusk shifted uneasily on my shoulder. Through our nearly formed bond, I caught a flicker of unease from her mind. A shape in the mist. Something moving below the islands.

  I froze.

  “Something’s under us,” I said quietly.

  Grond looked at me, eyes narrowing. “How big?”

  I hesitated. “Too big.”

  Zephyra nodded once, her expression calm but her grip tightening on her blades. “Then we move quickly.”

  The bridge began to tremble beneath our feet. A low rumble echoed from somewhere below, deep and slow, like the breathing of a giant. The faint pulse of aether in the air shifted, the rhythm turning uneven.

  “Move,” Zephyra said. Her voice was steady, but I could hear the strain beneath it.

  We pressed forward, our boots striking the stone in unison. Mist curled around our ankles. The bridge was long, too long, stretching across a chasm that seemed to have no end. The islands around us drifted lazily, their edges glowing faintly with veins of blue light.

  Dusk’s feathers flared silver against my cheek. She sent another image through our bond. This time, it was clear. Something massive was gliding through the clouds below us, its form hazy but unmistakable. Long hooked limbs. Too many eyes.

  “Grond,” I said, voice low. “Get ready.”

  He grunted and raised his hammers.

  The rumble turned into a roar that shook the very air. The mist exploded upward, and a huge shape burst through it. Its body looked like a cross between a centipede and a manta ray, slick with dark carapace and lined with tendrils that ended in glowing hooks. It circled under the bridge once, then lunged upward.

  “Brace!” I shouted.

  The creature hit the underside of the bridge with such force that cracks split through the stone. I lost my footing and slid toward the edge, barely catching myself on a protruding section. Zephyra’s wind wrapped around me and pushed me back into balance.

  Grond was already charging forward. He slammed both hammers down as the creature’s head rose through the mist. The impact cracked one of its glowing eyes, and the beast shrieked, rearing back. As its too many limbs grabs hold of the bridge.

  “Milo!” Zephyra called.

  “On it!” He flicked his slingshot, sending two small glass spheres arcing into the air. They burst against the creature’s carapace, releasing a cloud of green smoke. Acid hissed across the shell, eating into the tough carapace.

  Malorn loosed a volley of arrows that found the wounded spots Milo had opened. Fern darted forward, shimmering with invisibility, and snapped at the tendrils that whipped too close to the bridge.

  The beast roared again, this time lashing upward. One of its tendrils struck the bridge near Shine, sending shards of stone flying. Zephyra’s wind caught them in midair and spun them away before they could hit anyone. Shine’s hands glowed gold as she raised them, sending ribbons of light toward Grond. The dwarf glowed with renewed strength as he bellowed and brought his hammers down again.

  The sound of the impact rolled through the mist like thunder.

  I saw my chance and sprinted along the right side of the bridge, my knives already spinning in my hands. I tossed a pair on the way and then summed two more as I leapt, landing on the beast’s shoulder. The rough shell beneath me was slick, but my bracers gravity pulsed, holding me steady. I drove one dagger deep between the plates and twisted.

  The creature shrieked, trying to shake me off.

  With both blades, I stabbed again and again until the tremors beneath me slowed. The creature’s limbs twitched and released its hold on the bridge before it went still, its body sliding backward into the mist.

  Silence followed. Then the bridge groaned, one long crack stretching from end to end.

  “Run!” Zephyra shouted.

  We sprinted the last stretch as the bridge crumbled behind us. The sound was deafening. Dust filled the air, and the wind howled around us. We reached the far side and threw ourselves onto solid ground just as the final section of stone gave way and vanished into the fog below.

  For a long moment, no one spoke. Only the fading echo of falling debris filled the silence.

  Milo coughed and waved a hand in front of his face. “Well,” he said hoarsely, “that was the worst.”

  Grond exhaled, the sound like a growl. “I don’t like this, Zeph.”

  She straightened, her gaze sweeping across the island. The mist here was thinner, and faint shapes could be seen among the rocks and fractured ruins. “We survived,” she said quietly. “That is what matters for now. This island is much larger. Malorn, you and Fern scout ahead, but do not venture beyond hearing. The rest of us will set a defensive position and plan our next move.”

  Malorn gave a short nod, already fading into the haze as Fern shimmered and vanished beside him.

  I stood near the edge and looked down into the endless sea of mist. The faint ripples below had not faded. Dusk pressed her head against my neck, her feathers brushing my jaw. Her thoughts brushed mine, faint and uneasy.

  “I know,” I whispered.

  She didn’t need to say it.

  “I think there are more of those things,” I said, turning back to the group.

  They all looked at me, and for a moment the only sound was the slow crackle of Zephyra’s wind stirring through the air. Grond’s hand tightened around his hammer. Milo’s usual grin was gone.

  “There’s something else,” I added. “I think Luceran threw something into the dungeon gate just before we passed through. I’m not sure what it was, but it changed something.”

  “What?” Zephyra, Milo, Shine, and Grond said together.

  I lifted both hands, trying to calm them. “He threw something metallic, and it carried that same sickly aether that always follows him. It hit just as we were pulled through the portal. I didn’t want to believe it, but I felt the pull twist as we crossed.”

  Milo blew out a sharp breath. “Well, that’s just peachy. Tampering with dungeons sounds like a great way to die.”

  “I’ve never heard of anyone being able to alter a dungeon’s destination,” Grond said, frowning deeply.

  “Nor have I,” Zephyra murmured, her tone thoughtful. “And if such knowledge existed, my father’s library would contain it. None of my instructors ever suggested this was possible either.”

  She paced a few steps, the wind curling faintly around her ankles as she thought. Finally, she looked back to us. “It doesn’t matter for the moment. We have to complete this chamber before we can leave, so we will table the discussion until we are safe. Even if Luceran did interfere, there is likely no way to prove it or undo it now.”

  She sheathed her blades and looked to the others. “Let’s set up a defensive perimeter and wait for Malorn to return. I’ll assess the Dungeon Task to see what this chamber requires for completion. Keep your eyes open. The dungeon reacts to movement and energy, and we’ve made plenty of both.”

  Grond began dragging chunks of stone to form a low barricade while Milo checked his supply of alchemical vials, muttering under his breath as he worked. Shine lifted her hands, faint light pooling between her palms as she whispered a quiet prayer. Soft rings of gold light spread outward, forming a subtle barrier that pulsed in time with her heartbeat.

  I moved to help Zephyra near the ruins. She knelt in the dust, her fingers hovering just above the surface. The faint stir of her wind brushed away grit and debris until the old stone beneath began to hum. Runes flared to life, swirling with blue and gold light.

  The air thickened. Aether vibrated through the chamber, and the runes expanded into a sigil that hung glowing in the air before us. Words began to form in the light:

  Dungeon Task: Defeat the Guardians of each island before you are overrun by the Myrmaray swarm.

  Zephyra looked up, the faint glow of the runes reflecting in her eyes. “I am going to assume that the creature we killed on the bridge was a type Myrmaray, which confirms what you said earlier, Bryn.” Her tone was calm, but her shoulders had stiffened. “It seems we have both a timed and a multi-boss chamber. When facing insectile monsters connected to swarms there are normally many different kinds you must face. This will be much harder than anything we prepared for.”

  The wind shifted again. Below the island, shapes moved in the mist. Dozens of them—faint, gliding shadows with long, spined tails. Every so often, a flash of blue light caught their wings as they banked through the fog.

  “We may need to rely more on my regeneration than normal,” I said. “If we have several bosses or waves to fight, I should take more front-line load. I can buy time if things get bad.”

  I had stocked my dimensional space with as much excess food as I could fit and it could help me stay in good regenerating shape for a long time. The regeneration never stopped, but its speed when I was fully fueled was significant.

  Zephyra nodded slowly, though worry flickered in her eyes. “I agree, but I want you alive. It is too soon to lose that arrow from the quiver. We have limited healing potions, and our supplies were chosen for a different encounter type. We will need to adjust to this, and fast.”

  She stood, brushing the dust from her hands. “Dungeons are treasure troves of resources, and if this chamber is higher tiered than planned, everything here will hold greater value. That includes reagents. Milo, see what you can find. Focus on herbs, crystals, and anything that can be distilled into healing or resistance potions. Chambers are known to keep resources that help combat their challenges.”

  Milo saluted lazily, puffing on his pipe. “Of course, Zeph. Always happy to play poison picker.” He hopped off a boulder and began scanning the terrain, his eyes flicking from rock crevices to the bases of glowing vines that hung like roots from the floating cliffs.

  “Shine,” Zephyra continued, turning to the lizard-kin healer, “can you work on a ward that cloaks our presence or repels the Myrmaray? Anything that delays detection might give us a chance to rest between potential waves.”

  Shine nodded, already unrolling a strip of parchment covered in symbols. She began to hum softly, tracing lines of light that wove through the air like threads of spun gold. The melody she used was unfamiliar, but sounded ancient, and reverent.

  As she worked, the faint vibration of footsteps entered the edge of my awareness.

  “They’re back,” I said quietly.

  A moment later, Malorn and Fern emerged from the haze. Fern’s tails hung limp, her usual bright energy replaced by visible strain. Malorn’s expression was tight, his bow still in hand.

  “That look doesn’t promise anything good,” Milo muttered without looking up from his work.

  Zephyra straightened. “Report.”

  Malorn drew a slow breath before answering. “We scouted the perimeter. With my spy glass I could see that there are three more islands within sight of this one, and each one is occupied. One holds a nest of smaller creatures that resemble what we fought on the bridge but are different. Another has two of the larger variants patrolling. The last…” He hesitated, eyes hardening. “The last holds something different. I couldn’t see it clearly, but it was massive with a giant spire pulsing with light at its center.”