Jeremy walked around the circular safe room that was maybe thirty paces across. The sun, sky, and forest of large alien trees covering the wall were an illusion, but still pleasant to look at. Soft grass covered the floor surrounding the large pool and fountain. The sound of the fountain was so peaceful it made him want to curl up on the grass and sleep for a year.

  He and his new friend stared at each other.

  “Let's spend the night here and go home tomorrow.”

  Urg grunted. Jeremy assumed this was a yes. He used Identify on his new friend.

  UrgMiZinNeh.

  Race: Beastkin

  Sex: Girl

  Child-Fighter: Level 3

  He pulled off his leather boots and armor and walked through the grass, enjoying how it felt on his bare feet. He joined Urg, sitting by the pool, and dangled his bare feet in the water. The water felt amazing. The way things were going, who knew when he'd get to stay in a place like this again? He used Detect Traps, but, of course, he found nothing.

  Thinking to hell with it, he took off his clothes (except his underwear) and dove into the fountain pool, splashing Urg until his new friend joined him and paid him back. It turned out the Forest People could swim quite well. It was like swimming with a hyperactive St. Bernard.

  The sun went down, and they lay on the warm grass looking up at the stars. Jeremy was no expert, but no way could these stars be from his world. There was a large red star in the center of the sky and two pale moons on the horizon.

  “That hunter god with bow,” Urg pointed at the sky, “and that five-headed monster with one eye.” She pointed at a different set of stars. “If monster wins, will eat universe.”

  “How old are you?” Jeremy asked.

  “I've seen six winters.”

  So how old was that? For all he knew, six years could be almost adult. How long were their planet's years? How long did they live?

  “When do you become an adult in your world?” he asked.

  “I will be old enough for a husband in ten more winters.”

  “So you're just a kid. Your parents must be huge,” he responded.

  “Yes. Parents much bigger than me.”

  Jeremy stared up at the alien sky. For a time, they were silent. “All we need is a fire and marshmallows. And decent food would be nice.” The dungeon rations filled him up, but that was all that could be said for them.

  “What is marshmallows?” she asked.

  He explained how when he was younger, his father would take them on camping trips, and they'd roast marshmallows over the fire and then add chocolate and graham crackers to make S'mores.

  He then had to describe chocolate and graham crackers.

  He didn't mention how Dad had left Mom for a younger woman two years ago, moving to another state with the woman and her two daughters. That was a far less pleasant subject.

  Urg talked about some of the foods she liked to eat. There was a fruit they would put dried fish inside and roast over coals. It sounded disgusting, but she seemed to like it.

  Morning came far too soon. The fake sun rose in the sky. Neither of them said as much, but they knew it was time. The two adventurers ate breakfast (dungeon rations again) and drank from the fountain. The water in the fountain was fresher and tasted better than the water from their water bottles.

  Then they put on their armor and left the safe room.

  The dungeon was much like they'd left it. A smiley-faced octopus-thing saw them and started bouncing up and down and squeaking, summoning its fellows. Soon, ten octopus creatures were in front of them, with more on the way.

  Urg was there, so things didn't go as they had before.

  With a roar, Urg charged the monsters, swinging her large club as if it weighed nothing, smashing monsters left and right, sending others flying. Jeremy followed, using his knife to finish off wounded monsters and attack any that attempted to come at them from behind.

  Soon it was over, and the two were alone again.

  There was something else. The green slime and bodies vanished, leaving a flask of blue liquid. Jeremy activated Identify.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  A flask of healing potion.

  He picked it up and handed it to Urg. It was the least he could do.

  She wouldn't take it. “Yours.”

  “I drank yours yesterday,” he said.

  “You need more.”

  “Hmph,” he said, putting it in his pack. “I'll carry it for you. Let me know if you need it.“

  They continued forward. Jeremy wondered how much longer they would have to walk to reach the end of the first floor of the dungeon. Once they reached the end, there would be six floors to go.

  They encountered another tiled trap. Both knew how to get past it. And a candy jaw trap, which they ignored.

  Five three-foot-tall toy monster ducks accosted them. They weren't quite ducks. They had four large dark eyes, yellow fur covered their webbed feet, and they had wide orange beaks, so Jeremy decided to call them velociducks. The velociducks began quacking and waddling towards them.

  Urg grabbed her club and smashed the lead duck on the head. It died with a mournful quaack. She made short work of the other four. Jeremy didn't have to do anything. No more healing flasks, though.

  She sniffed, head back, nostrils flaring. “Fire.”

  Soon, Jeremy could smell it, too. What could it be? A new monster?

  They moved forward, and the smell of fire grew stronger. The source of the fire came into view. It wasn't a monster. It was fellow adventurers.

  Four adventurers, in a much wider part of the dungeon passageway, surrounded by the remains of what had been as many as fifty velociduck monsters, their burnt, dead bodies in the process of being reabsorbed by the dungeon.

  In the distance, Jeremy could see the red path leading to a long flight of stairs that ended at a stone door. The end of the first floor of the dungeon!

  About time.

  At this rate, they'd be out of the dungeon in a couple of days.

  The source of the flame that had killed the monster velociducks appeared to be a tall, slender, older boy with long dark hair and a wooden staff, wearing silver and white robes. A spellcaster. The boy appeared to be at least 15.

  Two of the older boy's companions were large fighters, covered head to toe in armor. The third was a girl, close to Jeremy's size, wearing light armor and looking warily at her surroundings, her movements quick and sure. The group rogue, perhaps?

  “Hello.” Jeremy nervously stepped forward, Urg walking hesitantly behind him.

  “This floor of the dungeon is a waste of our time,” the tall boy was saying to his comrades. “It's common knowledge there are no decent monsters on the lower floors of this dungeon. We need to get to the third or fourth floor before we start farming for experience, or we'll be here for years with nothing to show for it.”

  The other three nodded. The language they spoke wasn't one Jeremy recognized, but of course, he understood it perfectly.

  “Fellow adventurers, welcome,” the tall boy said, smiling and motioning for them to approach.

  Jeremy cast Identify on the adventurers. All he got was ??

  Too high-level for him to Identify?

  “Hello,” Jeremy said again. “I'm Jeremy, and this is my friend, Urg.”

  The tall boy smiled in a way that made Jeremy think of sunlight. “Welcome, Jeremy and Urg.” He clasped Jeremy's hands, then he did the same with Urg. “You are among friends.” There was a strange symbol on the sleeve of the older boy's robe, wavy dark lines through a white background. Jeremy also noticed the boy's ears were more pointed than normal; if he was a girl, he'd have been beautiful. Could he be an elf?

  “I am Mezirma, son of Melydas. These big guys are Toris and Boxtar,” he said, placing his hands on the heavily armored fighters. “And this is Srini, our guide.” He motioned toward the lightly armored girl.

  The three other adventurers nodded towards Urg and Jeremy. “And you, Jeremy, seem very new to adventuring.”

  Jeremy nodded. “I didn't know dungeons existed before yesterday. I didn't mean to come here and I don't want to kill monsters. I just want to go home.”

  “From one of the new worlds, I see. Well, Jeremy, the first lesson all adventurers learn is it's a lot easier to enter a dungeon than to leave one.”

  “So how do I get home? My mother must be freaking out right now.”

  “Well, you're welcome to join us. We are on our way to the top floor with the exit portal. Of course, there's the hydra.”

  “Boggan said it was a baby,” Jeremy said, thinking that with adventurers like these, the dungeon might not be so bad after all.

  Mezirma grinned. “Even a baby hydra is a force to be reckoned with. Nine fire-breathing regenerating heads, and it releases a poison miasma that will kill a normal person in less than a minute. But don't worry. I have a plan.” He turned to Urg, who was standing next to Jeremy, looking out of place. “UrgMiZinNeh of the forest people. That is a very nice club.”

  Urg nodded, looking pleased. “A present from elders.” She held it out.

  “Can I hold it?” he asked.

  Urg handed it to him. Mezirma swung it a few times and handed it back. “Excellent balance, made from the heart of a Dragonwood tree. Very nice.”

  Jeremy did Identify.

  A club carved from the heart of a guardian dragonwood tree. Charmed for durability and accuracy.

  He felt embarrassed that he'd seen only a club. There was often more to things than what appeared at first glance.

  He felt something on his stat sheet.

  You have been invited to join the Mezirma/Boxtar/Toris/Srini adventure party. Do you accept?

  Yes/No

  Jeremy immediately selected Yes.