Meanwhile, the two men walked carefully through the winding corridors of the barrow dungeon. 

 

Perhaps, it would be better to say that one man carefully walked with Ted through the corridors of the dungeon. Phil watched out for any traps and listened carefully for any signs of the undead. Ted followed behind him listlessly and lifelessly. 

 

"I don't hear anything. I think we're safe so far." Phil whispered. 

 

"She called me gross." Ted moaned, far louder than he should have for their subterfuge. It was all that he could think about though. He just heard it repeat over and over again. His imagination twisted and distorted the event every time that it recurred. 

 

Phil let out a deep sigh. "I guess that I can't get away without talking about it."

 

"Look, Ted. You kissed her out of nowhere."

 

"It doesn't mean I'm gross." He continued to bemoan. "No one else called me gross."

 

Phil held up his hand and started counting down on his fingers. "Monica, Clarice, Amber, Charles, Reese, Auren, Aura, Mara… do I need to keep going?"

"... No." Ted sniffed. "He doesn't have to kick me while I'm down."

"Oh, and let's not forget Suzy, you're first crush." Phil grinned.

"Woah, hey, Suzy doesn't count. We were five. All five year old girls hate boys."

"Hmm, maybe." Phil mused with a bemused smirk. "Not all five year olds still give you the finger after all these years though. 

Ted huffed dramatically. "Well, Suzy is crazy."

"No. Ted. She's not. You're out of control."

"It was an accident!"

"I know. But it was an accident with many of the other's."

"Well… what can I say? I'm a natural charmer." Ted tried to crack a joke. But, even he didn't believe in it right now.

"No. You're not. You're clumsy. Physically and Emotionally."

Ted just stared at the ground with his fists clenched. "I know that."

"You need to be careful."

"Yeah. Whatever. Like you care."

Phil smacked the back of his head. "Stop sulking. Why do you think I'm telling you this?"

"Because I kissed the pretty girl before you could." He muttered. 

"Wrong." Phil lightly smacked him again. "I'm worried. We're worried. You're going to get in trouble and we won't be able to help."

"Can't. Or won't?" Ted glared accusingly. 

"If you don't know the answer, that's on you. But, you need to apologise to her." 

"Yeah. Whatever." Ted idly kicked a stone at his feet. "I don't want her to hate me."

Phil continued walking and scouting out the area.  The floor had a thick layer of dust and dirt. However, the path was well traveled. He could easily see footprints that worked their way around a few snares pitfalls. 

Eventually, they came across an impressive set of double doors. They were wrought with iron and wood and stood well over 4 meters tall. 

"The boss room. We should head back. Let them know." Phil announced.

"Yeah. Fine." 

Phil rolled his eyes. 

They began their walk back and Ted sung to himself softly.

 

"A boy, a boy,

As misfortunate as can be,

kissed a girl, made her cry

And now he's so lonely. 

 

His friends laughed, they mocked him,

Called him gross as can be,

Now he's sad and has been had

In total abject misery."

 

"Well, he's [Singing]. He should get over it then." Phil nodded to himself and ignored Ted's song for the rest of the journey. "I'll focus on what I can do. I promised their mothers to keep them safe."

 

Ted had his ego bruised more than once and on several occasions. He would usually sing and get over it after a little bit of time. He would usually sulk and brood quietly if the damage was more severe. 

Overall, it took them a little over an hour to make it down to the Boss room and back. The discovery took a lot less time than Phil had expected. 

"There weren't any enemies. Odd." He thought to himself.

They entered back into the hallway that they had left Karen and Zephyra. The two girls were locked in an intense staring contest. 

Karen seemed a bit out of sorts and had a  puzzled expression. Zephyra simply held eye contact and didn't seem bothered by it. It didn't look like she was still sick at least. 

 

"We're back." Phil announced. Karen jumped and spun toward him.

 

"You don't need to sneak up on us!" 

 

Phil shrugged. "We weren't. Ted's been [Singing] the whole time."

 

"I wasn't exactly trying to be quiet." Ted grumbled. He swung one of his feet in front of him nervously. "I really should apologize to her."

Zephyra flinched as she heard Ted and hid behind Karen. 

"W-what did you find?", She asked timidly. 

"Boss room. No enemies. Minimum Traps. They're marked." Phil reported curtly.

"Wait, no enemies?" Karen blinked owlishly.

He nodded.

"None?" Karen asked suspiciously. "You didn't slack off did you?"

"Hey! I may be gross, but I'm not incompetent!" Ted bullishly defended himself.

"Huh? Who said you were gross?" Karen replied incredulously. 

"All of you did!"

 

The two began to bicker loudly and their arguments overlapped each other. They didn't make any sense any more as they tried to talk over each other. 

"Um, excuse me." Zephyra tried to cut into their argument. 

They didn't hear her. Or, they didn't care. They were too caught up in their verbal duel.

"I just need to-"

"If you could just-"

 "Alright. Fine. Be Quiet." Zephyra commanded coldly and stamped her foot down childishly.

[Contract Command Activated]

They both immediately shut up. Their mouths snapped shut so hard that their teeth hurt. 

"I attracted the undead skeletons. They're drawn to negative energy."

Phil turned toward her and thoughtfully contemplated. "That's why we fought so many at once."

"Yeah. Um, Karen mentioned the church. I got a little mad and a bit leaked out. I'm sorry."

The three exchanged a tired, wary, look. 

"A-and that's probably why there weren't enemies further into the dungeon." Zephyra stuttered. 

"Well…" Ted started, not quite sure what else to say; not that he needed a functioning thought to speak. "At least, we should clear the dungeon fairly quickly."