We exited the tunnel, which opened up into a massive chasm. Darkness spanned outward, above and below. The algae had all but disappeared, the area now illuminated by large crystal pillars giving off a soft green glow. It was amazing, really, almost like they were lightbulbs deep below the earth's surface. The sound of crashing water was just about all I could hear.

  It looked like we'd walked onto a platform at the edge of the world, maybe forty feet around. Water flowed over the edges in all directions— like a frying pan overflowing with water. We'd entered from the opposite side of where the 'handle' would be.

  The water that had been constantly pulling at our legs now poured over the edge into a wide, yawning chasm that plunged into blackness. But that wasn't what fascinated me the most.

  Across from us, at the edge of the 'handle', was a waterfall, and not just any waterfall. This one was flowing upwards. A single column of water that defied gravity twisted and coiled up like a liquid tornado. As the water spiraled in slow motion far above us, mist rained down all around, creating little rainbows and flecks of light like stars.

  My breath caught in my throat, "Beautiful..."

  "Magnificent..." Caelin breathed.

  If we weren't in the middle of a trial, this could totally be a little zen-zone.

  "I've never heard of a 'waterclimb' before," I said, breaking free of my trance as my eyes traced the spiral. "Since when do waterfalls flow upwards?"

  "Generally... they don't," Caelin said plainly. "But, then again, this is a trial. And the world is full of surprises like this. I'm sure there are places full of mysterious magic yet to be discovered."

  I nodded as I looked up. Only then did I notice that far above us was a ledge. Thirty feet up, and maybe ten feet wide, it hugged the side of the cavern.

  "Look!" I said, pointing to the little overhang. "Maybe we're supposed to get up there somehow?"

  Caelin looked up and put his thumb to his chin.

  "Possibly... do you think that's the way out? I mean, there's no way we have time to backtrack now, but how in the otherworld are we going to get up there?"

  "Maybe we can swim...?" I joked.

  "Up that?!" Caelin asked, pointing to the 'waterclimb'.

  His voice was painted with amusement and a hint of worry.

  "Well, yeah..." I said, trailing off.

  I worried it would be another dead end, even if we managed to get ourselves up there.

  * If only there was a way to get a sneak peek... *

  That gave me an idea.

  "Hey Rooooseee...?"

  The little fairy on my arm looked me in the eye for a second. Putting the pieces together, she quickly shook her head and made a little 'X' with her arms.

  I pouted, batting my lashes.

  "Pretty please? We're running out of options— and time... could you check it out real quick? I just want to know if there's a path up there. You're the only one who can help us right now."

  She blushed, pausing for a moment before letting out a tiny sigh. Then, she nodded her head and darted off my shoulder, heading towards the ledge.

  "We're counting on you!" I called after her.

  "You know, she's quite the dependable companion," Caelin said. "The number of times she's saved us all is incredible."

  "I know, and I still haven't figured out why she likes me so much. Either way, she's been my friend since I woke up. I don't know where I'd be without her."

  Caelin smiled, nodding with acknowledgment.

  We watched in silence for a minute as she floated up towards the overhang. She'd nearly made it, when all of a sudden, there was a surge of water that flowed towards us out of the cave mouth behind us. The sound I heard made my skin crawl.

  It sounded like the hissing gurgle of those frokers, only deeper, longer... and angrier. I turned to look back the way we'd come.

  Crawling towards us out of the cave was another frog monster— just larger, meaner, and somehow uglier. This one had two glowing orb antennas, several sets of eyes, and was about the size of a bear.

  "You gotta be kidding me!" I practically shouted.

  Caelin grinned. "Well, aren't you ugly— wait..." The grin vanished. "That's a froaker brute! We... might be in trouble, Mae," he finished with a shaky laugh.

  The creature just hissed, revealing its large needle-like teeth. It opened its large mouth as it crouched down.

  I'd expected it to lunge like the other ones had, so when its tongue launched at me, I was caught off guard.

  I barely managed to raise my arms fast enough as the tongue crashed into me like a watermelon launched from a catapult. The next thing I knew, I was yanked forward, face first into the cold water... again.

  After being dragged under the surface, maybe ten feet, the sleeve tore off my dress. I scrambled to the surface, gasping for air and coughing up water.

  In an instant, Caelin was there pulling me to my feet.

  "Mae! Are you okay?" he asked.

  "I— I am," I gasped. "Thank goodness my sleeve tore, or I'd be frog food right now!"

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  "Well, pull it together, or we both might be!"

  We both dashed to the side as the frog launched another tongue attack, narrowly missing us both. We quickly recovered ourselves and readied for the next one. As its tongue was retracting, Caelin took the chance to cast a spell.

  "VrenElvaQuira Keltaris!" {Freeze Air and water, Move and Rise with power} he yelled.

  This spell was familiar. In fact, I think it was the same one Ariel used when she saved me from the Gloom Screecher.

  Small ice daggers formed in the air around Caelin's hand. A second later, they shot off with incredible force. The brute let out a horrible croak as the daggers pierced into its hide. It must have had thick skin, because the daggers only pentrated a third of the way.

  Out of the corner of my eye, a familiar twinkle of light descended from above.

  "Rose!" I called as she zipped towards me as fast as she could. She tugged my hair and pointed frantically towards the ledge above us. "Is there a path?"

  She nodded furiously.

  Caelin was still watching the monster as it shuddered and returned its focus to us.

  "Cae! That ledge has a path!"

  "Got it!" he yelled, dodging another tongue attack. "I'll keep this guy busy while you figure out a way up!"

  Without saying a word, I turned to look at the obstacle before us. The water spiraled upward endlessly. There were no other paths leading up there, and the force of the 'waterclimb' didn't look strong enough to swim through. We'd probably end up falling into the chasm if we tried.

  * Think, Mae! Think! If only we could fly like Rose... There's gotta be a way! *

  A heavy splash drew my attention back to Caelin. The Froaker had jumped closer, and he was barely holding his own in close combat. If I didn't think of something fast, we'd be toast.

  * Focus! How can we get up there?? If only we could fly or— *

  That gave me an idea. I turned back to Caelin, who narrowly avoided a chomp. I had to buy him some time, cause I was going to need his help.

  I decided to use the spell I'd cast on the golem earlier. It had decent power, and was pretty easy to aim.

  With a hand outstretched I said, "SyrElvaKel ElvaTysAris!" {Channeled wind move, wind surge with power}.

  Wind condensed into a swirling ball in my palm, making my wet hair and dress flap around wildy from the pressure. Using my other hand as support, I aimed the sphere at the froaker.

  Seconds later, I released it. The ball of wind tore through the air, humming as it flew. It struck the froaker on its side, sending it rolling a couple times before the orb exploded.

  Shocked, Caelin yelled, "Woah, you're getting pretty good at that!"

  I definitely felt the strain after casting that one. My manaura had to be running low by now. There was no time to waste.

  "I'm flattered, but save it for later!" I yelled. "I need you to make us a boat!"

  Caelin blinked. "A boat?"

  "An iceboat! We're gonna ride it up there!" I yelled, pointing at our destination.

  "You're wild," Caelin said with a grin. "I like it!"

  boom

  We locked eyes, knowing what was coming.

  The deep, resonating rumble shook the cavern, vibrating the walls with its power. It seemed to rise from the depths of the chasm itself, making the water tremble. Whatever was causing this had to be far below us.

  "We gotta move!" I yelled, rushing to the waterclimb.

  Glancing back, I saw that Caelin had already caught up while the froaker was recovering. We didn't have more than twenty seconds before the next surge came.

  As we reached the spiraling pillar of water, Caelin called out, "Here goes nothing! "VrenQuiraValis XalSelVey! {Freeze Water Barrier, Expand Smooth and Carve}.

  A thick sheet of ice formed in the middle of the spiral, expanding and smoothing out into a near-perfect bowl just big enough for both of us.

  boooom

  The effect the bowl had on the waterclimb was interesting. The water above the bowl continued on its original path to the ceiling, while the water below held the ice in place for a moment before slowly starting to sink. As I thought, the water itself could not hold the ice afloat.

  "Hurry! Get on!" I yelled.

  We leapt onto our makeshift boat, strugging to stay balanced as it sunk even faster with our weight. I spared a second to recall some spell affixes I'd learned.

  * Any moment now...! *

  The froaker had recovered, its many eyes locked right on us. It opened its mouth as it readied a tongue attack.

  Then, the spell came to me. I reached my arms over the side of the bowl and visualized the effect I wanted, shouting, "DralElva SyrTahlTaris" {Split Wind, Channel and Sustain, Rise with Power}.

  booooooom

  The cavern shook as my spell activated. Two matching swirls of air formed in my outstretched hands. I had to use all my strength to keep my arms steady as the wind funneled downward from each hand. Our makeshift boat was propelled upward, powered by two small wind spirals that acted acting like our engine.

  We lifted off just as the frog unleashed its tongue, the appendage piercing right through the water below us. At that same moment, a huge surge of water blasted out of the tunnel we'd come through. It flooded the platform in seconds, the sheer force slamming into the froaker and pushing it over the edge of the platform. The last thing I heard from it were its hissing gurgles as it plunged into the darkness.

  Steering proved to be quite difficult. As we accelerated upwards, the boat shifted slightly, throwing off our balance. Caelin nearly fell, but managed to catch himself— his arms wrapping instinctively around my waist. Luckily for the both of us, I was too focused to notice.

  We rose fast, and I did my best to guide us to our destination. It only took about fifteen seconds to rise thirty feet with how fast we were going. I wasn't a pilot, and landing had not been something I'd thought about. The boat skimmed the edge of the platform as my spell faltered, sending us both flying onto the ledge.

  The ice shattered on impact, scattering frozen shards across the stone as we tumbled to a stop. Caelin had wrapped around me mid-fall, shielding me as we hit the floor. For a moment, all I could hear was our heavy breathing and the roar of the water from below.

  After nearly five minutes, Caelin finally sat up, chuckling under his breath. "I can't believe that worked," he said, laughing to himself. "How in the otherworld did you come up with that idea?"

  * At least I remembered something from Aerodynamics and Physics... *

  "I really don't know," I said with a laugh of my own. "I just thought about Rose flying, and how ice floats on water. Add a little bit of panic and improv, and you have yourself a half-thought-out plan."

  He grinned, "You've got a gift, you know. Nobody else could have thought of something like that.

  "I think that's a compliment, so... thank you," I smiled.

  Finally sitting up, I looked over to him. We were both soaked and exhausted, but for the first time in hours, we were on solid ground. Maybe that meant we were heading the right way.

  "I cannot wait to get dry," I groaned, holding up a handful of wet hair.

  "Me too," he agreed. "I just everyone else made it okay."

  "I'm sure they are," I said reassuringly. "After all, we did put our two smartest teammates together. They're probably already finished."

  "Fair point," he laughed.

  We enjoyed a minute of silence. Then, his eyebrows narrowed as he looked towards the path before us. He pushed himself to his feet, slowly and painfully, holding out his hand.

  "Well..." he said with a grunt, "Shall we finish this?"

  I could feel the fatigue setting in, but I couldn't let myself stop now.

  "We shall," I smiled, taking the offered hand.

  My legs gave out almost immediately. Caelin caught me, steadying me against his shoulder— just like the night we first met.

  "Woah... haha, sorry..." I said, heat rising to my face. "I guess this trial really took it out of me..."

  "Don't worry about it," he smiled. "I'm always there to help a lady in need."

  thump thump

  I looked away, willing myself not to get emotional. I locked eyes with Rose, who was perched on my shoulder again. She gave me a knowing smile. I rolled my eyes and exhaled a shaky laugh.

  "Well," I said, straightening myself, "let's get out of here. I don't plan on being a damsel in distress forever."

  Together, we slowly made our way up the winding path. No more algae, and no more water. After all that, I would have expected to be much deeper underground. However, after only ten minutes of walking, a soft golden light filtered through the tunnel ahead.

  We stepped into the open air, the sunlight hitting my face like a blessing. I nearly cried.

  We'd made it. Trial two, complete.