Interlude - In Altoria Dungeon

Ami looked up at the giant stone door, and then down at the sword in her right hand. It was hard to tell which one was older. Like most of the other doors they'd come to so far, this one was tall and slender, only about wide enough for two people to walk through at a time, and reached up into a peaked arch. The sword was iron, still serviceable, though she doubted how sharp it was. It had the air of a tool, more than a weapon. Plain, with an unadorned blade and simple cross guard. So far, she hadn't needed to use it.

"And what a surprise, another door," Javier said, leaning into his wooden staff. He'd picked it up a while back, abandoned in the same room Ami had found her sword. Both pieces of equipment old and ratty, but better than nothing. He gestured towards a small alcove beside the door. Inside, a dull black glass hemisphere embedded in the stone.

As she'd already done half a dozen times, Ami reached out and placed her hand on the glass sphere. It was far colder to the touch than she was expecting. She shivered as a small electric current seemed to run through her body.

When she put her hand on the orb, she could feel something, close to the back of her head, as though her hand was wrapped about the handle of a door. She reached out with her mind, and turned...

There was a dull echoing tolling from deep underneath them, and as the orb began to glow bright green, the stone door slowly started to rumble, and rise from the ground.

When they saw what was beyond the door, Ami and Javier both took a step back, reading their weapons.

Up to now, all the interconnected chambers and hallways had been simple enough. Like rooms in a large house. But the what lay before them now was different. Stretching out from the doorway was a long stone bridge, a single unbroken path edged by thick grey parapets, running across what looked like an endlessly deep chasm. Above, the ceiling was so high that it was practically invisible. As though the bridge stretching out over a void of nothingness until it reached another door on the other side, leading deeper into this forsaken labyrinth.

They waited. But the room beyond was quiet. Still. Empty.

Ami breathed out, lowering her sword.

She knew being this cautious was starting to make the others agitated. It didn't help that they were all hungry, and thirsty, and everybody wanted to sleep.

Prime conditions to start making irrational decisions.

She had been leading them through the labyrinth more or less on intuition, though it was hard to explain exactly how she knew where to go. It was just something she felt. As though she'd already walked these hallways hundreds of times before.

"It looks fine, let's go," Javier called out, and the two of them led the group through the doorway and onto the bridge.

"Man, that looks like it goes down forever."

"How deep do you think it is?"

"No idea, but you think there's any food at the bottom?"

"You saying you want to go take a look?"

Voices drifted over as they crossed the bridge. They were starting to snipe one another. She couldn't blame them. She was pretty sure they were all just high school kids like her. They should have been at home, being taken care of. Not here. Ami turned back and smiled patiently as she walked. "Let's try to keep going a little longer. I know you're all tired, but we need to find a way out of this place."

"If there is a way out of this place."

She tried not to let her smile falter. Predictably, Tenka was the voice of dissent.

"I'm sure there is. At the very least, we'll never know if we just stay here."

"You've been leading us around for hours, leader. It doesn't seem like we're any better off."

Would he rather just stay in the teleport room and starve to death?

"I'm sure we can rest a little if we go just a bit farther. There's got to be something up ahead. Water at least."

"There could have been water in one of those rooms we didn't look into before!" Tenka pressed her.

There wasn't, though. There was nothing in there.

How did she know these things?

"I promise, just a little-"

Ami was cut off by a strange noise. At first, her tired brain struggled to understand what it was. A bird? Like a crow? It took her a second longer to realize it was somebody screaming.

"Ami! The back of the group!" Javier pointed.

When Ami looked up, she felt herself freezing over. Something small and humanoid had grabbed onto one of the girls, who was screaming while the others pushed and shoved at each other to try get away from whatever was happening.

"Get out of the-"

No time!

Ami swore under her breath, and jumped onto the wide parapet on the side of the bridge. She sprinted along the stone railing past the panicking students to where the girl was desperately trying to kick the monster off. It had latched onto her arm with its oversized jaw, and was trying to drag her towards the edge of the bridge.

Ami leapt, and swung her foot as hard as she could into the creature's head, knocking it free. As it tumbled roughly backwards, she landed solidly with both feet and swept her sword down. The blade cut through the monster's jaw, taking off most of it's head. It gargled once, then collapsed and did not move.

Not finished.

Two more. One pulling itself up over the edge of the bridge, and one already running towards her.

What were these things? Goblins? They were dark grey, covered in scales, their heads like fish with milky white eyes, their arms long and thin.

"Ami!" A voice from the other side of the bridge. Javier. "Ami!"

She intercepted the one already on the bridge, drawing an upward line with her sword that ended somewhere in its rib cage, before the sword refused to cut any further. Ami kicked the monster heavily in the chest to free her sword, then spun and thrust the point of her blade into the head of the third creature before it had a chance to make it onto the bridge proper.

It howled, and slid away from her sword, falling backwards into the darkness.

Ami let go of the lever she had been holding on to in her mind. The one that she had barely let go of since the teleporter had brought them here. The one that let her dull, antique blade cut through bone. Her unique skill.

She turned back to the students. She wanted to smile and let them know the danger had passed, but numbly she realized they were still backing up, trying to get farther away. Their faces frightened. Terrified. Were there more monsters behind her? Was she not done?

Ami turned, ready to fight whatever had tried to sneak up on her. But there were no more reinforcements. Just the remains of those she’d already dealt with.

It wasn’t goblins they were scared of, she realized.

It was her.