Chandice crested the hill and looked out over a filed prowling with snaplings, the dog-sized armadillos with a snapping turtle's head. She lifted a hand, and flames filled her palm before stretching out to become a black and purple staff with a horned skull at the top.

“Where have you been hiding that?” Jaina asked as the others joined her side to look over the plains.

Chandice tossed her long blond hair with an evil smile, and with a snap of her finger, a ring of fire spread across her outfit, causing it to change into a black robe with red highlights.

“I am a warlock,” Chandice replied. “I used a simple recall spell for my staff, and my outfit is just a transformation spell. All basic magic skills.”

“None of us use magic, except Gisley,” Roric said and then considered how Gisley could transform her outfit with a cloud of glitter. That must have been the same ability and common to spell casters.

“I can solo these?” Chandice asked as she pointed to the distant monsters.

“Go right ahead,” Roric urged. “If anything gets too close, Evalynn and I will handle it.”

Chandice nodded and held out a hand as she chanted, creating a ring of fiery symbols that circled her body. She completed dark protection spells and armored herself up just in case, then began a quick summoning, bringing forth two imps.

She then pointed her staff and chanted as the horned skull started to glow. Suddenly a small ball of fire raced out, shooting across the open field and striking one of the snaplings. The beast roared and turned to charge as the two imps stepped in to save their master. Both fired bolts of shadows, sending a hail of dark projectiles colliding with the monster as it closed the gap. Chandice got off two more firebolts as the creature finally staggered and dropped a dozen steps away.

“So you are all ranged attacks?” Roric asked.

“Well, I can do some close combat stuff, but most of my spells are curses or direct attacks,” Chandice admitted and aimed at another one. Once again, she and her minions launched a hail of fire and shadow bolts, dropping a beast just as it got close. Five of them later, Chandice called a halt to take a rest. She had a spell to help recover mana faster, so she cast it on herself to speed things up.

“I am getting a little XP from her kills,” Roric said as he looked at his character sheet.

“I am getting a ton,” Chandice said as she noted she was close to nine. “These are right on the edge of what I can safely kill.”

“I still want to try and find the caves,” he insisted, so Gisley summoned a magical disk for Chandice to sit on while her mana recovered. Jaina sat at her side, holding her hand and talking about how fun it was that they were a group.

Chandice had to admit this was rather fun, an experience she wasn't sure she would like. She had come to New Eden believing she would spend more of her time as an enchanter doing their sort of things. She even dreamed of having her own magic shop, full of items to sell that she had created. However, once she got here, she discovered that the newby areas were saturated with low-level magical junk, and there was little call for her talents. That left her experimenting with her warlock side, and she quickly learned she wasn't a tank.

Her first two deaths had been rather painful, so she spent all the points she had on summoning imps to toughen them up and reach two at once. That seemed to work better, but she found it easier to work for the money in the end. The job at the inn came with meals, drinks, and a warm bed. Plus, it was almost like working in her shop as she ran around the room helping customers.

Of course, she found other uses for her imps in the private hours of the night and smiled as she recalled that first experience. For over a year, she was happily settled, sleeping with the occasional customer and having a good time. Then Roric and Jaina came along, and things changed so fast that it was hard to keep track of.

Roric was just her type, a savage-looking beastman with a love of being rough. Jaina was his sweet little slave girl, devoted and loving with an open appreciation for sex like no woman she had ever known. Before she knew it, she was in Roric's bed, and Jaina was quick to follow. Jaina admitted that she was the first woman she had ever made love to, and a few days later, she asked Chandice to be her girlfriend.

Chandice wasn't new to girls, but this relationship was so different. She would be in bed with Roric while Jaina was stripping and fucking a room full of strange men. Later Jaina would come in happy as could be to make love to them both and talk about how fun her night had been. It was such a wonderfully open and dynamic relationship that Chandice just couldn't resist Jaina's offer. Now they were lovers, and she was invited to go with them when they moved on.

“What are you thinking about?” Jaina asked as the disk followed Gisley over the countryside. Roric and Evalynn were leading the way to the caves, killing a few snaplings for good measure.

“I was thinking about us,” Chandice said and looked at Jaina as she thought about what happened just a few days ago. “What made you want to be my girlfriend?”

Jaina smiled and explained that Roric liked her a lot, and after that night, when Jaina ate her pussy, she told him how much she liked it and wanted to do it again. This led to a conversation about Jaina being a lesbian, and it just grew.

“So you did enjoy that?” Chandice laughed.

“I loved it,” Jaina admitted and ran a hand up her leg. “I can’t get enough of it.”

“But you have Evalynn and Gisley to eat now. You don't need me,” Chandice insisted.

“But I want you, and so does Roric though he has been sneaky about it,” Jaina said.

“How so?” Chandice asked as that sudden reference tickled her interest. It always did seem odd that it was Jaina who approached her and not Roric. She half expected him to ask her to be one of his slaves, but he never said a word in the end.

Jaina explained how after that conversation, Roric told her that he wanted her to be a lesbian and encouraged her to seek a relationship with Chandice. Jaina had been excited to hear that because she was fond of Chandice already.

“He knew I was attracted to you, so I think he used me to keep you close to him,” Jaina said as they watched him and Evalynn kill a snapping.

“The devious little beast, Chandice laughed as it all made sense. Roric had simply used his slave to do his dirty work. He wanted her to come with him, and Jaina was the bait. “So you think he did this whole lesbian thing to ensnare me?”

“Only because he could tell how much I loved eating you out. Technically you are the perfect girlfriend for both of us. You like beastmen lovers, and you're fond of girls,” Jaina answered.

“How do you know I am fond of girls?” Chandice asked defiantly.

“I saw that look on your face when I descended to eat your pussy. You looked like you couldn't wait to feel my tongue inside you,” Jaina replied. “Besides, when I mentioned wanting more, you told me you would give me another taste.”

“But do you enjoy being a lesbian?” Chandice asked with a serious tone.

“I am obviously bisexual,” Jaina said with a shrug. “You may have been the first woman I ever pleasured, but it was going to happen sooner or later. I am glad it was you because I really am attracted to you, and I am grateful that you're my girlfriend.”

“Hmm, and you don’t mind sharing your boyfriends with me?” Chandice asked.

“I will share everyone with you,” Jaina replied.

Chandice paused to think about this revelation and decide if this was what she wanted. Jaina was right. In many ways, she was dating Roric, and he treated her far differently from his slaves. She realized that she had two good reasons to go along with the group, which helped settle her heart on the matter.

“I love you,” Chandice said and looked at Jaina. “I do think of you as my lover.”

“I am your lover,” Jaina replied. “And that isn't the sex slave or seductress talking. I feel like you and I are the closest friends, sharing everything like we did Sergius last night.”

“I hope his date goes well,” Chandice commented.

“You gave him some really good pointers. The rest is up to him,” Jaina laughed. “If he screws it all up, I guess we will be seeing more of him.” She then paused and wondered out loud if his date would ever take a girlfriend too.

“I can tell he liked that idea,” Chandice laughed. “As soon as I entered the room and you introduced me as your girlfriend, he lit up. Then, when you asked me to help you fuck him, his face was so bright I wanted to laugh.”

“He liked you,” Jaina agreed.

“Of course he liked me,” Chandice said and leaned into Jaina. “When a woman walks into your bedroom and says, sure, I will have sex with you, what's not to like?”

Jaina laughed as the two leaned into one another. Jaina asked why she chose warlock, and Chandice admitted it was for the sex.

“So you planned the imp thing from the beginning?” Jaina asked.

Chandice laughed and explained she hadn't thought of that until she realized how slow she was leveling. Her plan from the beginning was to summon a succubus to enjoy the sexual benefits, but that wasn't until level thirty. In the meantime, all she had were the imps and the demon hound, so she decided to experiment one day.

“So you do like girls,” Jaina laughed. “Or you wouldn't be after the succubus.”

“Is that what you think?” Chandice giggled and let Jaina in on a bit of secret. A succubus typically appeared as a woman, but it was technically neither. If the summoner wanted it to, it could appear as a handsome male demon called an incubus. Or, if you were in a fun mood, it could appear as a woman with a large, firm penis.

“Wait, it can go full-on, futanari?” Jaina balked.

Chandice smiled and explained how only the male incubus had balls, and the middle version had both a cock and a pussy. She was looking forward to this version but had to settle for the imps as that dream was far away.

“You really are kinky,” Jaina laughed.

“Says the girl who sleeps with a dozen or more men a night,” Chandice countered.

“I have normal sex. You prefer to be bound and ravaged by demons, speaking of which, have you ever tried the dog?” Jaina asked.

Chandice tried not to blush, but the effort was hopeless, so she came out and admitted that she had, but she preferred the imps. Jaina teased her, of course, but then put her arm around her and admitted she would like to try it too.

“What’s wrong with us?” Chandice laughed. “All we do is talk about sex?”

“Is there anything more fun to talk about?” Jaina asked.

“Well,” Chandice began as she thought about the answer. The truth was they had no real plan or destination except to keep moving closer to black depths and attempt the dungeon. Roric wanted to build a camp at some point, but he seemed hesitant to do it now, or maybe he was waiting for something. The only person who seemed to know what they were doing was Evalynn, as all she wanted was to follow Roric.

“I suppose I would love to know where this is all going?” Chandice said. “I mean, will we be together ten years from now?”

Jaina squeezed her hand and let out a sigh. “Roric and I always said we would take this slow, but it has been a mad dash from the moment we got here. The money was too easy to make, and other girls perfect for the roles kept showing up. We assumed it would be just him and I until level thirty, but here we are, a full-blown harem and a girlfriend.”

“That doesn’t really answer the question,” Chandice pointed out.

“I suppose the best answer is yes. I want this very much, and so long as you want us to love you, we will stay together. But you raise an excellent point. Roric and I should sit down with you all and discuss our plans for the future,” Jaina said in agreement.

Chandice realized she wanted that as, up till now, she felt more like a passenger on a bus driving into the unknown. She liked Jaina and loved her openness about sex, but there was always that fear that the ride would end and everybody would have to get off. She realized that in the short time she had come to know Jaina, she had truly begun to care. She wanted Jaina to be her girlfriend and, by extension, be a part of her extraordinary family. This was the most exciting thing that had happened since coming here, and for once, she felt a part of something fun. It was natural to be worried that this might come to an end, but deep down, she hoped it would last.

“I would like that very much,” Chandice said and looked at Jaina. “I want to be a part of this, and I don't want it to be shallow.”

“I guess it's easy to lose yourself to thinking this is just a game,” Jaina agreed. “But if you want it, I promise to take this very seriously and do my best to love you.”

“I want that,” Chandice said and leaned in for a kiss. “I want calling you my girlfriend to mean something.” She felt warm when Jaina wrapped her in a hug and joined the kiss, sharing a moment of pure passion. When it passed, Jaina laid down and put her head in Chandice's lap as she stroked her lover's head. It felt so good to say she loved somebody and even more to hear that she was loved in return.

“I think I see the caves,” Roric called from ahead, drawing her out of her contemplation.

She and Jaina looked up to see what appeared to be a forest valley with steep slopes marking the hillsides. There was a lot of fern coverage and some large boulders, but at least four obvious cave entrances could be seen. Most looked wide enough for three people to walk abreast, but one on the ground near the left was particularly large.

“Are we really going in there?” Gisley asked as they followed a winding path that led into the valley.

“Gisley, you're more powerful than all of us combined,” Jaina laughed.

“Maybe, but half my skills are only good for sex,” she said and looked around nervously.

“Do you have any combat skills?” Chandice asked as she noticed the girl's concern.

“I have some fairy powers,” Gisley admitted. “But I didn’t pick the class that was supposed to provide all my combat skills.”

“Roric, Evalynn, and Chandice can handle the fighting,” Jaina said. “You and I can be crowd control.”

“I guess I can do that,” Gisley said as Roric came back to her.

“Remember, your white dress is magical armor,” Roric said and took her hand before slipping the ring of defense on her finger. “And this will help too.”

“Thank you,” Gisley said and looked at the band. “I can do this.”

“Of course, you can,” Jaina said and hoped of the disk.

“I will stand back here with you, and my imps will help protect us,” Chandice added as she and Jaina joined Gisley's side.

Evalynn took the lead with her glaive held out as they approached the first cave opening on the right. Roric was only a step behind her, with the girls bringing up the rear. The cave was a dark tunnel that was no problem for most of them, but Roric and Chandice couldn't see a thing. Gisley was the savior of the hour, casting a spell called moonlight on herself that caused a bright white light to floor the area around her. Oddly it cast no shadows no matter what was in the way, but where the light ended was an abrupt line of darkness.

“This place spells of filth,” Evalynn whispered as they moved down a crude tunnel. “Something lives here.”

“I can smell sweat and old fires,” Roric added as he shifted. “A hint of cooked meat as well.”

“Something moderately intelligent then,” Jaina suggested as they crept along.

The tunnel opened into a more expansive cave with piles of rock clearly made by hand as if meant to be barricades. In addition, there were piles of sticks and other wooden debris showing that something had dragged them in. Three tunnels led down different paths, but a bell sounded just as Evalynn crossed the middle of the room. She looked down to see she had pulled a tripwire of sorts and stepped off it to regroup with Roric.

“Whatever lives here knows we have intruded,” she said and watched the tunnels.

“Clever to place an alarm,” Roric agreed and readied his spear.

Then from a side tunnel came two small crossbow bolts that bounced off Evalynn's armor. Three four-foot-tall men who looked like walking rats rushed out with rusty metal spears and swords.

“Ratterkin,” Evalynn barked and charged the three while Roric used a power called first strike.

[lvl 12 Conqueror skill: First strike] If using a melee weapon, you fire a bolt of red light from your weapon, striking a nearby target for half the weapons damage. If your weapon is two-handed, the damage is full.

The red blast resembled a thrown spear and struck one of the beasts even as Roric rushed in. In seconds the battle was engaged as the monsters let out a shrieking chattering wail.

Chandice ordered her minions to attack, and shadow bolts added to the assault as her heart started to race. In all the time she had been here, she had never dared to attack anything that wasn't out in the open and easy prey, and even then, she had died twice. Being in so confined a space where danger could get up close immediately set her nerves on edge.

One of the beasts went down, but Gisley cried out a warning as four more rushed out of another tunnel. Jaina immediately hit them with allure, and they turned to look, but not one of them responded to seductive smile.

“They are already attacking!” Jaina cried. “I can't charm them!”

“It worked on me when I was attacking!” Evalynn cried as the beasts rushed to join the fight.

“You weren’t a savage creature!” Jaina answered.

Chandice felt a twinge of panic as two ran their way. She quickly pointed her staff and called on tendrils of the void.

[Lvl 7 Warlock skill: Tendrils of the void] A mass of demonic tendrils rise out of the floor the grasp and batter anything they can reach. The spell will slow and hinder the movement of medium or smaller creatures while doing slight damage to them.

Amass of writhing hellish tentacles erupted from the floor and flailed the ratterkin, stopping them in their tracks. While they were contained, she loosed a firebolt, doing her best to whittle them down before they could reach the group.

Roric dropped another of the monsters with a series of precise blows, but he had taken a few hits in the process. It was clear he was using a skill to sacrifice his defense to increase his offensive power.

[lvl 2 Conqueror power: Recklessness] All your attacks gain a bonus to hit and crit, but your defense lowers by 20%. The effect lasts until the battle is over or you die.

Chandice realized they weren't going to kill them fast enough, so she ran toward the mass in the tentacles and planted her staff before herself.

“Wave of fire!” she shouted as a curtain of flames rushed out before her. It swept over the struggling ratterkin, causing them to shriek and wail.

[lvl 3 Warlock power: Wave of fire] Creates a curtain of flames that starts just before the warlock and rushes out for twelve feet in a narrow cone. Deals fire damage to all creatures struck by the wave.

Just as one of the creatures was about to break free, a beam of light struck it from above as Gisley used her Moon ray power and finally dropped it.

[lvl 9 Lunar Fairy skill: Moon ray] A beam of pure moonlight strikes a target you designate, dealing moderate radiance damage.

The last one stumbled through the barricade and came rushing at Chandice with an old sword. She pointed her staff, desperate to get another firebolt off, when Jaina suddenly dashed between them. Her fingers were now long, razor-sharp claws, and she moved almost like water, flowing around the monster's attacks as she lashed it like an animal.

[lvl 6 Morphic skill: Fluid Reflexes] By becoming partially fluid, your reflexes significantly increase, allowing you to flow around attacks, doubling your chance to dodge, and reducing slashing, stabbing, and crushing damage by 50%. Lasts 20 seconds.

Another of Gisley's moon rays struck the creature as Chandice's imps helped Evalynn and Roric finish off the others. Just as quickly as it had started, it was over, and Chandice had a moment to try and still her beating heart. Jaina rushed to Roric and Evalynn, putting her healing kiss to work to mend their wounds.

“Are you alright?” Gisley asked as she touched Chandice’s arm.

“I'm fine,” Chandice said in a rush. “I got a little nervous, is all.”

“You did really good,” Gisley said and pointed around the room. “You kept those busy while your imps helped kill the others. You were even brave enough to charge in and use your fire spell.”

“What was I thinking?” Chandice said in a nervous chuckle.

“Anybody else hurt?” Jaina called as she looked around the room.

“Chandice and I are fine,” Gisley said. “Also, I can heal a little if needs be. The lunar fairy has a slow regeneration-like heal called dust of recovery.”

“Good to know,” Roric said as he turned over a body with his spear.

“These aren't particularly dangerous in small numbers. It's when they swarm that it becomes a problem,” Evalynn said as she knelt to search a body.

“They can take a few hits,” Roric added. “I am guessing they are level eightish?”

“About that,” Evalynn agreed.

“Why don’t I give you two my kiss buff,” Jaina said and went to Roric and Evalynn.

“How long does that last?” Roric asked.

“Fifteen minutes,” Jaina said. “It isn’t a very big buff, but it adds to strength and health.”

[lvl 12 Seductress skill: Kiss of Passion] grants the passionate defender buff, slightly increasing strength, endurance, and health. Lasts 15 minutes.

Jaina gave them both the buff and then the bodies were looted. All they found was a small handful of brass coins and one tarnished silver. The weapons were all poor quality and badly corroded and would only be good to sell to a smith who would melt them down. Roric decided they weren’t with the trouble of carrying out and decided to try the tunnel that the crossbow bolts came out of.

“I didn’t see any crossbows in the loot,” Chandice mentioned.

“That’s why I want to check that tunnel,” Roric said as he led the way. “I think there are more of them.”

Chandice ordered her imps to flank Gisley as they proceeded down the tunnel, careful for more tripwires. They went maybe fifty steps before it twisted to the left and vanished behind a boulder. Roric was about to ask Evalynn to look ahead when Jaina offered to look for them.

“I can blend into the wall so that they won't see me,” Jaina said and activated a skill called blending.

[lvl 12 Morphic skill: Blending] You can now blend into your surroundings like a chameleon, even altering the color of clothing, but it does not affect armor.

Chandice gasped as Jaina suddenly faded and was nearly impossible to tell apart from the stone of the wall. If not for her movements, she doubted she could keep track of her at all as the brave woman crept forward to look around the rock. She lingered for just a moment, then dashed back to report there were seven more in the room ahead, and one of them was big.

“Probably a ratterkin brute,” Evalynn said. “Leave that one to me.”

“The others are all behind piles of stones with crossbows ready,” Jaina said.

“Hmm, so we can't attack unless we're willing to absorb a hail of bolts,” Roric said as he thought about how best to solve the issue.

“I might be able to help,” Gisley said. “I can create a shield of light to block the bolts like I did with the pyromera’s fire.”

“Is that what that three-headed thing was called?” Jaina asked.

“I remember that wall of light,” Roric said as he thought it out. “You saved a bunch of people with it. Do you need line of sight to use it?”

“Yes, but I can jump out and use it right away to absorb the bolts, then you guys rush in,” Gisley offered.

“If she fails, she is going to be a pincushion,” Chandice pointed out with some concern.

“She is high level,” Evalynn added. “She can probably absorb quite a few of the bolts.”

“I can do it,” Gisley insisted.

“Alright,” Roric agreed. “But do it right away. The light is following you, so they will know you are coming.”

“I understand,” Gisley said and crept toward the rock, the bright moonlight filling the tunnel. The others followed close behind and got into position before telling her to go ahead. Gisley jumped out and threw up her hands, calling out the words wall of starlight.

[lvl 8 Lunar Fairy Skill: Wall of Starlight] Creates a twenty by ten wall of shimmering light that blocks most physical and elemental attacks. Magical attacks are reduced in strength but can pierce the shield.

The room filled with light as the barrier went up. Screeches and cries of alarm followed a second later, as did the sound of crossbow bolts striking her shield. Roric and Evalynn didn't wait more than a second before they charged around the corner and rushed in. Jaina quickly followed as Chandice rushed to Gisley's side and put her imps to work.

“Focus on that one!” Chandice barked and pointed to one of the four monsters that we're ganging up on Roric. Jaina activated her skill to absorb some of the damage going to her master and rushed in to help him with her claws. Gisley started unleashing moonbeam after moonbeam as Chandice pointed her staff and loosed balls of fire.

Evalynn was hardest pressed, with a rat-man of nearly equal size, swinging a spiked club. He was aided by two of his comrades, working diligently to get behind her where the hits would be easy. Chandice worked hard to do as much damage to one of the creatures as possible, focusing down one ratterkin until it finally dropped. Roric and Jaina had killed another by then, but Evalynn was still trading blows with the big one. It was clearly losing the fight judging by how it staggered, and with a swipe of her glaive, she threw the beast back, causing it to finally fall. The four smaller ones that were left didn't put up much of a fight, and just as before, the battle ended with them ganging up on the last one.

“We are doing good?” Gisley asked.

“We are doing fine,” Roric replied as Jaina kissed Evalynn back to health.

“I like how you heal,” Evalynn said with a smile when Jaina was done.

“How much health do you have anyway?” Jaina asked.

“I am all tank and heavily armored,” Evalynn replied. “They aren't doing much damage to me, to be honest. I could probably have solved this room by myself if I was willing to run a long fight and lose half my health.”

“Well, now we know who fired those bolts earlier,” Roric said as they settled in to loot.

Once again, they found only a small number of brass coins and a few silvers, which disappointed Roric, who was hoping for more. This room had two tunnels leading off, so he sniffed down each one and then made his choice, leading them deeper into the dark.

Chandice followed along and then remembered how close to level nine she was. With a quick glance at her character sheet, she was pleased to see she had hit level nine. A quick peruse of her skills showed they might be very useful.

[Lvl 9 Warlock skill: Curse of corruption] Drain the targets strength, lowing damage dealt while also causing slow damage over time.

[lvl 9 Enchanter skill: dancing weapon] Enchant a small weapon with animated life to attack nearby threats. The effect lasts for one minute, and then the weapon breaks down into dust unless it is magically shielded or player bound.

“Anything good?” Jaina asked when she noticed the sheet open.

“I think so,” Chandice said in a pleased tone. I have a good curse, and I have an offensive enchanter power.” She was looking forward to trying her skills out when the floor suddenly shifted and collapsed on one side. It became a ramp of sorts, tumbling the group into a chamber below, where they fell into a pool of shallow rancid water. There were three dead bodies of previous adventurers lying in the water around them, perhaps no more than a few hours old. Their equipment was scattered about as if whatever killed them had no use for any of it.

“Up!” Roric shouted as he helped get Evalynn to her feet.

“Ugh, none of us are good at detecting traps,” Jaina groaned as she stood up and shook out her arms.

Roric held his weapon out and looked around for any sign of danger as the stone ramp closed above their heads. Suddenly there was a strange moaning sound as red lights appeared down a tunnel. They quickly formed a line with Roric and Evalynn in front while Gisley was shielded in the rear by the others.

“What is that?” Roric whispered to Evalynn as the red lights got closer.

“More ratterkin brutes,” Evalynn replied as she tensed. “A group of six big ones, but something is moving around their feet, and their appearance is wrong.”

“Wrong how?” Jaina asked.

Chandice lifted her staff and shot a ball of flame down the tunnel. It illuminated the space as it passed, giving them a glimpse of what was coming. They were ratterkin alright, but their eyes were dead and the fur hung in rotting patches. Around their feet was a swarm of black rats with pure white eyes and terrible sharp teeth.

“Zombies!” Roric cried as he tensed to meet the coming hoard.

“Those are carrion rates,” Evalynn groaned. “Their bite is terribly infectious, and if you die from their disease, you rise an hour later as another zombie.”

“Then let's keep them at range,” Chandice said and ordered her imps to open fire. She put a barrier of tendrils in the way to slow the advance down before joining in with bolts of fire.

Gisley reached out a hand and commanded the monsters to sleep, causing a cloud of silvery dust to fill the hall. The zombies pressed on unphased, but some of the rats dropped out, falling to the floor in a slump.

“Doesn't work on the undead?” Jaina asked as the wall of monsters reached the doorway to the room.

“It doesn’t work on anything that doesn’t need to sleep,” Gisley replied.

“Well, I can keep a few busy, but I draw the line at zombies,” Jaina groaned.

“Keep them busy how?” Chandice asked

“My seducing smile works on undead as of level fifteen,” Jaina said.

“You're not going to let them touch you?” Chandice balked with wide eyes.

“No, but I can lead them around a bit,” Jaina said as the mass of approaching zombies started to fan out. She rushed to the side and used allure, causing several of the zombies to look her way. Then she used seducing smile, and two peeled off, heading toward her for reasons that turned her stomach.

Chandice was not about to see her girlfriend molested by zombies and focused her fire on one zombie, with Gisley using moonbeam to help. Roric and Evalynn charged in, with Evalynn using her broad slash to throw most of the rats back and give them even more room.

Chandice stepped back as she cast her new curse on one of the zombies battling Roric and nearly tripped over one of the dead players. She happened to glance down just as the player twitched and started to move. She realized, to her horror, that they had died to the rats, and their hour was up. They were rising as zombies right behind them!

“Imps! Shoot this one!” Chandice called in alarm, changing their target to the zombie rising practically at her feet. She saw it grope for a nearby sword and remembered her recent enchanter skill.

“Dancing weapon!” she cried and pointed her staff at the sword before it grabbed hold.

The sword glowed with yellow light and came to life, floating into the air before beginning to swing as if held by a compliment warrior. The zombie was slashed immediately as two shadow bolts struck it. Chandice backed up to Gisley, who turned around to see the three dead players rising as more zombies.

“What do we do?” Gisley asked as she realized they might soon be fighting.

“We kill them as fast as we can,” Chandice said as her heart raced. Zombies weren't particularly strong, ranging from level five to level ten. But the body used was always a factor as the monster's overall health was boosted by size. None of the monsters in the room were larger than a human, so they wouldn't be too hard to beat. It was the sheer weight of numbers that was the issue. There were now nine zombies in the room and at least a dozen rats still awake. Most of it was on Evalynn and Roric, who could take a decent amount of punishment, but these three would be on her and Gisley. Gisley could likely take some punishment, but Chandice wasn’t particularly durable.

“Get back,” Jaina called as she jogged backward with two amorous zombie ratterkin following. As she went by, she used take me instead and drew one of the player zombies away.

[lvl 8 Seductress Skill: Take Me Instead] Forces a single target to check willpower or become aroused with the seductress, causing them to focus on seducing her.

Chandice readied her staff as the last two came shambling their way when Gisley reached up and took off her slave collar.

“Fairy fire!” she shouted, and a line of pure white flames roared from her hands, throwing a zombie back as it practically disintegrated.

[lvl 45 Lunar Fairy skill: Fairy fire] An intense blast of fairy energy that races from your outstretched hands. It produces a straight line that strikes all targets in its path for ten yards. It does massive damage but has a one-minute cooldown and uses a significant amount of fairy dust.

“How long have you had that ability?” Chandice asked as she backed away from the last zombie and left it to her two imps.

“I always had it,” Gisley said. “It just takes a lot of power to use.”

“You should have used it while they were bunched up in the tunnel!” Chandice cried. “It would hit a whole bunch of them.”

“I'm sorry, I am not very good at this,” Gisley admitted and used a moonbeam to finish off the final zombie.

Chandice growled and turned her imps back to helping Roric, who had dropped one of his zombies and a couple of rats. It was clear she was suffering from injuries, but Jaina was too busy leading zombies around the room to try and heal.

“That heal you can cast, does it work while they are fighting?” Chandice asked.

“Yes,” Gisley replied. “They just need to stand in the circle it creates.”

“Can you cover both of them?” Chandice asked as she hoped she was right.

“I think so,” Gisley nodded and held out a hand.

[lvl 12 Lunar Fairy Skill: Dust of recovery] You create an illuminated snow globe-like effect where silvery dust swirls around. All allies in the area of effect are slowly healed of their wounds. The spell drains your dust pool at a slow rate.

Roric and Evalynn were suddenly encased in a dome of silvery light as glitter swirled around them. It had no effect on the monsters, but Chandice could see they were slowly being healed. She focused fire on the most wounded zombie, causing it to fall a few moments later. Then she turned her imps on the rats while helping Roric with his last large beast. Gisley looked like she was straining to hold the healing effect up, so Chandice went for one of her enchanter powers.

[lvl 8 Enchanter skill: Mana winds] Bless a target with a flow of mana from the magic winds, causing any magical poor to recover at five times the normal rate for one full minute.

She hoped that would slow the depletion of her mana pool and then focused on corrupting the remaining zombies. Evalynn dropped her second one before Roric and charged into his battle, dragging all her rats with her. Now that the rats were bunched up, Chandice used another tendril of the void, careful to drop it so it could reach the rats but not her friends.

Quickly the tide began to turn, and before she knew it, there were only a few rats left, plus the three zombies chasing Jaina around the room. Her magic weapon crumbled to dust, leaving her just the imps, but now that she could focus on her spells, that was all she needed.

“Hurry up!” Jaina cried, still backing away from her thralls. “I am not having sex with dead rats!”

“Run through Gisley’s heal!” Roric cried as they killed the last rat.

Jaina did as instructed, running past Roric and Evalynn as they picked one of the zombies off. By the time Jaina circled the room, it was dead, and they picked another off as she passed by. The plan was almost ridiculous as the zombies mindlessly pursued Jaina, eager for sex. When the last zombie was led through the healing light, it was quickly put down by the whole group.

Chandice breathed a sigh of relief when it finally fell into the filthy water.

“That was a bit of a mess,” Evalynn said as she leaned on her weapon. “We have no idea how to work together.”

“It was a trap,” Jaina said and looked down at her filthy stocking feet. “And I am sick of being in this water.”

“Evalynn is right,” Roric replied. “Now that I see more of our powers, we should have tied those monsters up in the tunnel with Gisley and Chandice firing from range. Then Evalynn and I should have kept them bunched up so none of them could reach the rest of you. We made a mistake by not using Gisley sooner and letting them spread out into the room.”

“That fairy fire spell is a high cost,” Gisley said.

“All the more reason why you should have used it when it would have hit multiple targets,” Roric countered.

“I will try to remember,” Gisley replied as she looked sad.

“Gisley,” Roric said and came to her side to pull her into a hug. “You did just fine. We need to work the kinks out and find our rhythm, is all. But, I tell you what, now that I know you can do that, I will tell you when and where to use it, ok?” Gisley nodded, and he looked up with a smile at Chandice. “You did really well too. Nice job with the spells and buffs. When did you get the ability to weaken then and enchant a weapon?”

“Level nine,” Chandice admitted. “I read the spells just before we fell in the trap.”

“Good timing,” Evalynn said and peered down the tunnel the monsters had come from.

“I used a lot of power,” Gisley pointed out. “Chandices spell is helping it recover, but I need moonlight to recharge fully.”

“And we have no idea how to get out,” Chadice said as she looked to the closed ramp above. “Who knows how many monsters we will have to fight.”

“We will get out,” Roric assured them and looked around at the bodies. “Let’s loot the players to see what they had and then get down that tunnel. I want out of this water as soon as we can.”

With a plan set, they hurried about their tasks to discover the players had modest amounts of coin and some valuable adventuring gear. Throwing it all into the magic bags, they headed off down the only tunnel away, hoping more than anything else that it would be dry someplace up ahead.

Chandice was still nervous about being so confined, but Roric had made her feel important, and she felt motivated to keep trying. With a mana wind cast on herself, she led her imps into the gloom and hoped she would hit level ten to unlock her next pet before she needed it.