Venira was so focused on putting one foot in front of the other without making another scene that she was surprised when a dim phosphorescent light broke through the darkness not far ahead. She readied herself, and as per their plan, they jumped into action. All of them unsheathed their swords and moved forward. Luke took the front middle position, wielding a medium shield he had been carrying on his back until now. Daryl moved to the left flank, and the other man covered the right. As Venira stepped through the opening and took her place between them, forming a rough arrowhead formation, she prepared to cast a quick incantation.

  The cavern was small—maybe less than a mile wide—framed by patches of glowing greenery, large bushes, and two ornate entrances at the far end.

  They waited. And waited... and waited.

  Nothing. Not even a goblin lurked in the shadows. They lowered their swords and relaxed, though the unnatural stillness made the hairs on the back of Venira’s neck stand up.

  Luke eyed their surroundings skeptically. “This can’t be the second stratum. It’s supposed to be twice as big as the first one.”

  “T-that’s true. It’s too small,” Daryl added, coughing.

  “The map stops here, so one of those entrances must be it,” said their employer, eyeing the left passage.

  Luke huffed. “So, what now?”

  “We split up. Venira, you’re with me,” the employer said, tossing a dark stone to the remaining pair. Daryl caught it awkwardly, his hands smearing it with mucus.

  The gem seemed suspicious to Venira—she had never seen one like it before. She snapped her gaze to the employer. “Wait, we can’t do that. It’s too dangerous! What if we encounter a tough monster or a pack of them? We’re too low-level to survive in small groups, especially when we don’t even know what to expect.”

  He turned to her, his expression cold. “As I mentioned when I recruited you, I need to explore a part of the dungeon. What I didn’t mention is that it’s the second stratum.” He checked his knives and the straps holding them in place. “If you don’t want to continue this mission I paid you so handsomely for, you’re free to return the money right now. I’ll let you either go back or wait for us here.”

  She was speechless. She had spent most of the upfront payment on her new robe, and she knew he knew this. No one hired low-level adventurers for high-paying jobs, and the only work she had been able to get before now was far from what she’d imagined adventuring to be. Helping farmers plow fields, searching for lost pets, and assisting woodcutters barely kept her fed and under a roof.

  They all looked at her with varying degrees of smugness. She was cornered, the perfect pawn to use as an example of what happened to those who backed out now.

  He stared her down, his gaze piercing. “So, what’s it going to be?”

  She avoided his eyes. “I’ll… continue the mission,” she murmured.

  “In that case, keep your mouth shut and do as you’re told!” he snapped, glaring at her.

  His demeanor shifted, becoming almost military. With his arms clasped behind his back, he paced, making eye contact with all of them but glaring especially at her. His boots made muffled noises on the ground, softened by patches of grass growing between flat rocks and dry earth. “We have eight hours until the dungeon guards start getting suspicious. Do you know what happens to anyone caught using an unregistered passage? Do you?” He chuckled darkly as Venira paled. Yes, Venira, they’d strip you of your clothing and chain you in the darkest cell. Wouldn’t that be nice?

  He turned away, collecting himself. “Pour a bit of mana into the dark stone after you exit. If it vibrates, keep it close to your ear. It’s imbued for distance communication,” he said, looking over his shoulder at the others.

  As Venira and the man disappeared down the left tunnel, the other two exchanged glances.

  “Of course he takes the female mage,” muttered Luke, glancing at Daryl’s outstretched hand, now smeared with mucus and holding the dark stone. “Keep it!” he said, looking defeated. “And if the stone doesn’t work?” he shouted after the employer.

  “Then we’ll meet back here in two hours,” the man’s voice echoed back, losing itself as if coming from a faraway place.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  **

  Edan was pissed. He was supposed to be the heir of his family but ended up on the sidelines due to the pettiness of a noble of a higher rank than his father. It wasn’t his fault. Who could’ve known that the stupid pumpkin wouldn’t just fall, he clenched his fists thinking of it. The ball was a known routine—all kinds of nobles came to pay their respects, make connections or subtly measure their enemy’s political and financial strength.

  When the dancing started, Eaden tried to dance with the celebrated girl, Cecill, but Guso took her from under his nose. So of course he would try to humiliate the fool. Who wouldn’t do so as well in his shoes? So he did.

  He tripped the fool during a fast-paced dance, and he bumped into one— two—three couples until he finally fell. Edan was happy with that outcome. What he wasn't happy with was the 3rd couple falling on top of a group of three servers carrying a very large, very full chocolate vase meant for the chocolate fountain. With the floor suddenly covered in a carpet of liquid chocolate, every participant slipped and fell on each other like in a chocolate wrestling—hands and feet wiggling for purchase.

  Edan was the only one standing and he didn’t know who was more mouth agape—he or the other 300 guests. Father was a fool in listening to their petty demands, he told himself again as he and Venira moved forward slowly.

  It wasn’t good. Every time he remembered that cursed day, his grip over his anger slipped—the company didn’t help either.

  If I had known these three would be such a pain in the ass, I would’ve—No… it wouldn’t work. Throughout the trip, he had to listen to the bickering of the three morons. One suddenly got sick 200 meters down through the hidden passage, made a lot of disgusting noises and couldn’t finish a sentence without sneezing. The second, taller one was dumb as a rock and kept trying to hit on the mage by insulting her. And finally, the mage woman. What the fuck is wrong with this woman? She seemed the normal one, up until she started to trip, slide, hit her head or catch her obviously new robe in rocks which he could swear weren't there when he passed by.

  The only thing holding him back from killing all of them then and there was the slight chance that one of them might get lucky and hurt him, or take the chance to run and who knows what their commoner mouths would spill out to the guards. This is too important. After all, I can deal with them later, he mused silently as they advanced in the dark, the only light coming from the torch he held. He had no trouble seeing in the dark. Thanks to his magic ring—one of his few magic possessions, he was able to sense his location in space due to a rare passive skill the ring got during its creation. A power that saved his skin more times than he felt good acknowledging. However, he decided not to use it so openly. The actual power of the ring was Analyze which he didn’t shy from using. He was caught in his own thoughts as the gargantuan cave swallowed them—if it could still be called a cave.

  **

  Venira stopped just outside the cave, next to her new shitlisted employer—meaning, listed on her ‘‘kick in the balls first and ask questions later’’ list. The vast bioluminescent field stretched endlessly, broken only by tall, twisted trees and human-sized mushrooms scattered throughout. No monsters in sight, yet.

  There was no air circulation present, but the air felt fresh and slightly warm even though she was a few miles underground. Her knees wobble slightly, seeing the majesty that was presented before her “This is…”.

  “The Expanse of Second Stratum. Yes.” he said, taking out the map again.

  She sat down, mesmerized. She could almost hear strange noises coming from far ahead, monsters, she thought. The ceiling was so high that the only way she was able to see it was due to the glowing mushrooms growing upside down. Then she looked at him. He was scribbling notes on that strange map of his. She wasn’t sure if to be mad, scared or grateful for brimming her here. It’s not what she was expecting to see in the second stratum and without being level 30 and with a group of 5 there would be no chance for her to come to this place. That is, not through legal means.

  “Ah, fuck—”

  Startled, she asked “Is everything ok,” already rising up and dusting off the remaining pieces of rags that was her robe. A part of her mind was already making scenes in which they were attacked by monsters or worse, got caught by some high levelled delvers and dragged to the tower guards to be left for who knows how many years.

  He was learning as she approached. Grabbing something he had dropped, probably, she thought.

  In his left hand he was holding a dark stone which she recognised immediately. It was similar to the other one, with a small difference. While the first stone was pure black with some jagged edges as if sculpted, this one had a streak of gold letters on it. “Keep an eye out for any monsters, will you? I need to focus on something.” he said, staring intensely at the stone.

  She tripped over her feet hearing that. He almost said please. Maybe there is something good in him after all. She decided that giving him some space would probably be for the best. Sincerely, she was looking forward to getting back home, filling a large bathtub and soaking in it until her skin rivaled her old granny. All that would come sooner if she helped him out a bit and they finished fast whatever they were doing there. And I’d probably need another robe. Hopefully he will pay the other half when we return to the surface.

  With that in mind, she decided to get a bit closer to the edge of the clearing. Not too close as to get in danger, but close enough so she can have a better sight of anything trying to approach them. She was confident in her skills as a mage, even if she didn’t know many spells.

  Not for the first time she found herself mesmerised by all kinds of shrubs and patches of glowing mushrooms. Her gaze followed this light to something she was wondering how she could have missed it so far.

  Eighty feet or so to her right, a lone flower was glowing. Her eyes widened. “Could that be a Rose,” she asked herself, approaching it cautiously. She wasn’t very knowledgeable in alchemy, but every adventurer was given a crash course in survival and material gathering as they were the most important information a newbie needed to know to stay alive outside the walls. From her studies, she remembered something about the plants that grew in the wild, and most importantly in the dungeon.

  While most plants that grow in a dungeon can have magic properties and be the base ingredient for certain low grade potions or just as an additional ingredient to lower or grow a specific effect of a potion, one should be aware of the rare plants. These usually exhibit a special trait or magic propriety which can vary from the partial transmutation of the plant into an monster eg. a mandrake, to a soft glow, overgrowing, growing in inhabitable places or attracting monsters as some plants are edible for some species.

  An Expertise in Potion Ingredients and Where to Find Them by Neigh Shabbat, Senior Researcher and Herbalist of the Great Hall

  She leaned forward but ended up crouching, feeling a twinge in her back from the earlier trek. The flower was unique, delicate yet vibrant—its red petals glowed faintly in soft pinks and purples. Venira didn’t know she liked flowers.

  A sweet lemon-like smell was lingering in the air, accentuated by an earthy wood tone. You’re certainly an interesting one, aren’t you, she smiled fondly. She rarely had time for herself, and until now, she never stood in one place and took time to just… look at one. Her eyes moisturized as some memories from her childhood came back to her—