Marlow was able to cleanse the debuff.

  Penelope left the tunnel Patrick’s group started in lit up as well as the room they were in. Breathing hurt, but that was the only lingering ailment.

  “Look at what I got!” Circe held out the white bow so Penelope could scan it from the wall in the tunnel.

  “You needed a new weapon.” Penelope tried not to wince as she looked at her trusty wand. The weapon had been with her since the first column of the first floor. I wonder when I’m going to get an upgrade.

  “You’ll get one soon!” Circe sat down next to Penelope and nodded at the doorway. “Marlow tried yelling at Patrick, but he’s not paying attention. They explored the rest of the rooms, and they’re empty, so Peter is watching the door over by where Marlow was with Allis.” She bumped into Penelope’s shoulder. “How’re you feeling?”

  “Sore, but I’ll live.” Penelope touched her chest. “Weaken is a nasty debuff.”

  “It looked like it.” Circe scrunched her brow. “Didn’t you have like Cripple and a couple others too? Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “And a couple others.” Penelope repeated as she tried not to think about just how many debuffs had been in that single arrow. “I’ll be better once Frederica gets here.” She looked down the tunnel. “She should have been here by now.”

  “Maybe they ran into more trouble?” Circe tapped the tip of her new bow on the floor. “You want to go check on her?”

  Penelope shook her head, sending stars across her vision. She blinked them away. “Patrick won’t leave, and we can’t take Peter. That leaves us with…” Her brow furrowed. “Who was our Tank?”

  “Cecil. Wow, that archer did a number on you.” Circe rubbed Penelope’s shoulder, and the other woman didn’t flinch away. “Yeah, we don’t need to go out there.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Penelope focused inward as the pain in her mind grew. Jeru, what happened?

  “Marlow didn’t get all of the debuffs. You still have Mind Fog and Dull Sense active for over twenty minutes.”

  Can I fight like this?

  “I wouldn’t recommend it.” Jeru appeared in front of her, worry etched on his face. “It’s rare enough to see a Demon using the light element, but is also rare. Firing it with an arrow to pierce your defenses was genius!”

  Great, we can explain to Circe how to do it later. Penelope rubbed her forehead. This headache is killing me.

  Penelope cradled her head between her knees. With Circe there to keep an eye on things, she didn’t need to be as vigilant, and the headache was only dulled by not having her eyes open. It felt like hours passed when a new voice grabbed her attention.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Oakley paused in the tunnel.

  Penelope looked up at the other group. All of them were there. Frederica pushed her way around the man in metal armor and knelt in front of Penelope. “What happened?”

  “Nasty debuff.” Circe chirped. “What happened to you guys?”

  “Stupid Demon knew and blocked the tunnel. The spell didn’t go away when we killed it, so we spent the last twenty minutes hammering down the wall to get here.” Frederica looked around. “How are things on your end? We saw you cleared a room too.”

  “Patrick tried exploring instead of staying put.” Circe reported. “Pen and I showed up in time to take out the boss.” She gestured at Penelope. “She got hit with debuff soup and is having to wait out the timers.”

  “How much longer?” Frederica looked towards the doorway leading to the rest of the team, then back at Penelope. “So I know how long I can yell at Patrick.”

  Jeru?

  “Just over ten minutes.” Her trusty parasite’s soft voice didn’t soothe her much, but it didn’t make the pain worse.

  “Ten minutes.” Penelope closed her eyes and leaned her back against the cold stone wall.

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  “Two dungeon blasts, then we’ll see how you are.” Frederica paused after she stood up. “I could do this without you if you’re not feeling up to it.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Penelope winced as the sound of her own voice stabbed her brain. This is worse than any hangover I’ve ever had.

  “Which is exactly one, and you weren’t that hungover.” Jeru cleared his throat. “But I’ve been in enough other people’s heads to agree that it is comparable to the worst of hangovers.”

  “We’ll see. No harm in watching the newbies while we clean this up.” Frederica lowered her voice. “You did the same for me.”

  “I could move once was removed.” Penelope groaned. “It won’t take long before I can move once the others are gone.”

  “Then we’ll leave you alone.”

  Boots shuffled against the stone floor as the group walked by. Penelope could hear two people breathing but didn’t dare to open her eyes again.

  “Oakley stayed behind.” Jeru’s whisper felt like a shout. “Sorry.”

  It’s fine. Thanks for keeping an eye out. Penelope groaned. I’m never drinking again after this.

  “ can be learned on the fives, and judging by how Caleb reacted to Marlow being able to cancel all the debuffs, I’d bet he’s going to learn it at fifteen.”

  So many questions about that, but… Penelope squeezed her eyes tight. Wait until I can think without you killing my head.

  Silence was her answer, but it was all that Jeru needed to do to let her know that he agreed.

  ******

  “Ding! You are now free of all debuffs!” Jeru’s singsong voice filled her mind the moment after the pain subsided.

  Thanks. Penelope rubbed her forehead as she opened her eyes.

  “Whoa!” Circe grabbed Penelope’s arm. “Are you okay?”

  “Debuff is gone.” Penelope smiled at Oakley, who was still wearing his helmet. “Thanks for staying.”

  The other leader shrugged. “We need a Tank in each entryway.” He glanced at her before turning back to look down the hall.

  “Can I get you anything?” Circe repeated her question.

  “Water.” Penelope wetted her lips with her tongue. “I think I got dehydrated somehow.”

  “On it!” The younger woman sprinted for the doorway. She was gone before any form of gratitude could form on Penelope’s lips.

  Since Oakley’s back was to her, Penelope turned her attention inward. What were you saying about the debuffs, and why can’t Marlow learn ?

  “Each element has a limited amount of things that it can learn as far as clearing debuffs, status effects, and damage over time afflictions.” Jeru launched into teacher mode. “Marlow took nature as his element, which gives him access to stronger healing and allows him to deal with things like poison and bleeding, but he doesn’t have access to anything mental related.”

  Which one is the best? Penelope braced herself for the lecture that was coming.

  “All of the elements learn a healing spell, though some are very weak in comparison. For instance, the fire answer to bleeding is , which leaves a nasty scar but will stop bleeding. Earth, nature, and light, on the other hand, learn , which will also stop a bleed without the nasty byproduct.”

  I’m guessing those are the better elements for healing?

  “It depends on what you need.” Jeru took a deep breath, though he didn’t breathe, which called into question the need for such a dramatic effect. “Light can cure just about anything, while Fire is the only thing that can cure for example. I could make a list of debuffs and the elements that can cure them if you want.”

  Maybe sometime when I have a chance to read. Penelope put a smile on her face as Circe ran into the tunnel with a metal helmet full of water. What you’re saying is that since Caleb is a light-based Healer, he’ll get the spell, and Marlow will only get targeted ones?

  “Basically. And before you ask, yes, if Caleb had learned the Tier Zero version of the spell, it would have reduced the timer, but he would have needed to have cast it ten times to clear the full timer and to have known he needed to learn it before he hit level nine.”

  More stuff that would be helpful for other people to know, but I can’t explain how I know it.

  “Now you’re getting it!” Jeru laughed.

  “Here’s your water.” Circe offered the helmet to Penelope.

  “Thank you.” Penelope took a long drink. The water held a metallic aftertaste, but it was refreshing, which was all that mattered. Penelope wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she handed the mostly empty makeshift cup back to Circe. “Thanks, I needed that.”

  “ALRIGHT!” Frederica clapped her hands as she walked into the hall, Marlow and Eldri on her heels with Cecil behind them. Her gaze fixed on Penelope. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’ll be fine.” Penelope stood up. “I just hope we don’t see any more debuffers.” She flinched under the oppressive gaze, shifting her eyes to her feet.

  “You don’t look fine. You look like you need to sit this one out.” Frederica turned to Marlow. “Tell Robert that we’re tapping him in.”

  “I’m fine!” Penelope took a step forward and lifted her wand, creating her four balls, along with their echos. “See?” She twisted the wand, rotating the balls above her. “I’m fine, a little tired, but it’s late, so we’re all a little tired.”

  “I still think you should sit out, but I’m not going to leave you if you want to go.” Frederica’s eyes lingered on Penelope before she turned her gaze to the others. “Alright, let’s clear this zone as fast as we can! We’re behind, so I want to get through this one and the next one tonight!”

  “Hooray!” Circe pumped her fist. “Let’s do this!”

  Oakley turned and headed down the tunnel, with the others behind him.

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