“There were casualties,” Kur revealed, after they put some distance between them and the two parties they had just met.

  A bit up the pebble beach, there were two more white tents, pitched together, and pulling on his [Sight] Nar could spot at least two more on the way to Miasma point, with Jul and Sej confirming the presence of even more.

  “One whole party is suspected of having disappeared under the rubble of the ma’bat’s spires, and another was likely killed by the Grounding inside the Jungle Tops,” Kur continued. “And there were at least nine casualties besides. At least that these two parties knew of. The real number is likely higher.”

  “Fuck,” Leon said, clenching his jaw. “I am so sorry this happened.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Row said, patting his arm. “You can’t control this sort of situation, and we all know of the risks.”

  “Of delving! Not of—of trash like this!” Leon spat, his eyes blazing with a near pure gold radiance.

  “Trash like this is part of it,” Kur muttered, almost as though to himself. “Anyway, that is that and this is this.”

  “There’s more?” Mul asked.

  Kur nodded. “It looks like for three days now, no one has been able to cross the Gap into the Gloom. A fungal nightmare is blocking the way.”

  “A what?” Raf asked.

  “A fungal nightmare is a war weapon,” Era explained from his side, likely reading it from one of the guides she downloaded onto her implant. “It is grown by the Illum in times of war against the Atlatl, and it’s essentially a medium-rare boss. But it should be under the control of the Illum, and it shouldn’t be hostile against delvers, especially since all delvers in the Brightnight have already become enemies of the Atlatl and allies of the Illum.”

  “Which is why they have no idea why it’s there,” Kur said. “The nightmare has entrenched itself in the Gap leading up to the Gloom. A few domain parties have tried to fight it off but they have all been unsuccessful, and forced to retreat back to Miasma Point.”

  “How many parties are we talking about?” Mul asked, his suppressor kicking into gear.

  “I know what you’re thinking, but the Gap is incredibly narrow. You can’t fit many people in there, and there’s a risk of falling off the Gap as well,” Kur said. “Plus, by now, as I said, the nightmare has fully entrenched itself in the passage, and has spawned shroomlings as well and filled the place with traps. To make matters worse, this is indeed a war weapon, meant to be deployed during the quest. Meaning this is at least a level 70 boss.”

  “Also, there’s a reason why everyone that triggers the War Quest does so against the Atlatl,” Row said in the silence that followed. “The Illum are damned nasty to fight. They not only love using a disgusting variety of status effects by means of their infectious spores, they also use the bodies of their enemies to grow more of their kind. Sometimes, the victims are kept alive as their young nourish themselves on them.”

  “Crystal, what’s with this damned jungle and everything wanting to use our bodies as breeding ground?” Jaz growled.

  “It’s just the way it is,” Sej said. “A fungal nightmare is meant to be sent behind enemy lines, find a nice, dark spot to hole into, and then start popping out an army of shroomlings where people least suspect it. And despite the cutesy name, shroomlings are not cute at all. Not at all.”

  “And no one has beaten it yet? Really?” Eum asked, frowning. “Even if its level 70, several domain parties working together, and even rotating, should be able to handle it, no?”

  “The Gap doesn’t allow that many parties in. Tops four, maybe five if they’re small,” Kur said, shaking his head. “And this is a kind of battle that none of us has ever faced before. I only read a little bit about the Atlatl and the Illum, but the fungal nightmare is a prolonged, status effect and add riddled battle that requires an insane amount of precision, cooperation and effective status effect removal and healer coverage in order to pull off. None of our parties has ever faced anything like that, nor would they be able to pull off such a high level of cooperation just like that.”

  “And I’m guessing no one wants to try either, eh?” Jaz said.

  Row tutted at him.

  “He’s not wrong, but the bigger issue is why it’s there in the first place,” Kur said. “The frontlines are far from here, and a fungal nightmare is supposed to be under control of the Illum at all times…”

  “Yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a fungal nightmare going out of control,” Sej added. “Or fighting delvers when the Illum faction is on their side.”

  “You can say it,” Calli said, a hardness to her glowing eyes. “This is sabotage again. Which makes it our fault.”

  “Yes to the first, no to the second,” Kur said, and he eyed the blue skinned guide. “So we’ll need to progress with caution, then?”

  “I don’t know how they managed to control the beast, but at least they don’t seem ready to directly attack us,” Sej said. “Not yet at least. But the longer their attempts fail and you all grow in level, the more likely it is they will try something desperate.”

  “Well, we’ll deal with that when it comes, I guess,” Kur said, eyeing the distant washed red smoke plumes. “Alright. We’re going to Miasma Point first. The apprentices have been gathering there under Juf, so we’ll go there first to learn more about this but, one way or another, the Gap needs to be opened, or no one is leaving this jungle.”

  Which means, we are the ones doing the opening, Nar thought. Ugh, this nightmare seems like it's going to be a pain to deal with.

  **********

  Thump-tsssss.

  Thump-tsssss.

  Thump…

  The dull pounding echoed throughout the stifling, dead air that hung like a heavy blanket over the dark pebble shore.

  They were now close enough to be able to look up and see the enormous pillars of industry working the giant billows pumping Miasma from the Hungry Jungle.

  As inner pistons of dull, gray metal rose and fell in synchrony, each group of four towers sucked air through a large billow, which pumped out the red, swirling and rotten mist through large sections of piping, eventually leading the gas to a central hub that sat, squat, amidst dozens of such pillars and billow combos.

  A 10-foot tall barbed wire, rusted fence ran alongside the perimeter of what Sej had explained was a distillery, with rusted, misshapen and even broken warning signs loosely hanging from it. The squat building at the heart of the operation looked as though it had seen much better days, but Sej assured them that it was operational, day and night, turning the red mist into a concentrated crimson, rotten liquid that was then carried across the Gloom to the Heart of the Jungle and the exit contained herein. From there, it was stored in the storehouses of the town’s port, ready to disappear into the Labyrinth and the Nexus’ infinite supply chains.

  Slow streams of red leaked from the many pipes, and the whole operation looked just barely put together, as opposed to a production site that was a crucial economic feature of the dungeon landscape.

  Nar caught glimpses of masked men in bright yellow protective suits darting in and around the machinery.

  He wrinkled his nose at the sight of the gaseous stench emanating from two large, broken down pies which discharged a reddish muck onto the dark waters of the lake. It was quite the gloom image, which made the startling beauty of the massive waterfall crashing down from the heights of the Jungle Tops behind it all a brain numbing contrast. Besides the waterfall, propped against the sheer cliff itself, was the ma’bat’s southern nest, with the beasts darting in and out and flying overhead.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  And right in front of it, the Gap, and the others… Nar thought, turning his eyes from the momentous curtain of twilight-colored water, to a conglomerate of white tents put together in a clear haphazard manner that had been intended to be temporary.

  “Around twenty tents,” Sej estimated.

  “Meaning forty parties,” Kur mused.

  “Why don’t we wait by the Gap and do some scouting, while you go and talk to Juf?” Row said, eyeing Kur with an almost semi-glare, as if expecting resistance.

  “That was my plan,” Kur said, sighing.

  “And take Leon with you,” Calli said, elbowing her brother. “Our party needs to take responsibility for this.”

  “And take Nar too,” Gad said. “It’s good to broaden his horizons.”

  Nar sighed, but what was there to say to that?

  “Don’t do anything crazy, okay?” Kur told them as they parted ways.

  “Kur?” Nar called as they wandered into the encampment.

  “Yeah?” Kur said, and waved at a party leader he recognized.

  “Gad told me about the Circle, and all the factions, and that Merit System stuff,” Nar said.

  Kur’s shoulder sagged. “I guess I won’t have to give you a crash course then. And I should really have that talk with everyone about that… Leon?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got enough of a gist to guess at what’s going on,” the paladin said. “Plus, the academy is similarly a battleground for influence and power, though for different reasons. Anyways, what sort of position are you in?”

  “I lead a third faction, which is much smaller and neutral in comparison to the two great ones that divide the leadership apprentices. One of them is led by Juf, whom you are about to meet,” Kur said. “I sometimes sway things to either side, and I do hold some say with parties from both sides of the divide, but, in general, I’m pretty hands off.”

  “I see,” Leon said, simply.

  Ouch, Nar thought, as Kur too, fell silent. That was criticism, wasn’t it? But Leon doesn’t know anything about Juf, and how she was chosen by the System as one of three raid leaders of the Ceremony. Or, is it that he’s disappointed that this nightmare thing hasn’t been cleared out yet? Ugh… Why do I need to be dragged into this leadership crap? Don’t I already have enough to worry about?

  Yet, swallowing his complaints, Nar followed quietly after the two party leaders.

  Kur continued to greet people he knew as he passed, and while some of those party leaders responded with joy, and perhaps even relief, that Kur had survived the Grounding ambush of the ma’bat’s northern nest, in others, Nar had to work to keep his expression neutral at the barely masked hostility that glimmered, contained behind certain party leader’s stares.

  What in the Pile are they doing in that Circle? Nar thought, as they passed by one such party leader and his people. It’s like they’ve forgotten that we’re all auramancers here, and that we fought together for the right to leave the B-Nex. Or does that not matter anymore, and it’s really every party and faction for themselves now?

  The Nexus was certainly that kind of place. The strong devoured the weak, and one couldn’t expect to be handed anything without earning it, pushing people to individualism.

  Maybe this Merit System, and the fact that our futures will be decided by what happens in the Circle is enough to make them all forget about our past, Nar thought. Well, even Juf once told us to forget everyone else and just get the fuck out of the B-Nex, didn’t she? Hmm, I wonder if she was amongst the first to go through the Gates…

  Nar clenched his jaw at the thought. Is Kur really someone to let someone like that walk all over him?

  He shook his head.

  Whatever’s bothering him is what’s keeping him stuck in this neutral position, Nar thought. I doubt someone who once took charge of the defence of a cubeplant against an army of cannibals would let other party leaders intimidate him. Which leaves the question, what in the Pile is bothering him so much?

  “It’s Kur, can I come in?”

  Nar raised his head at Kur’s question, and pushed the thoughts aside as he followed after Leon into the white tent.

  “Kur! You survived!”

  Nar could only gape as a blue skinned woman, as tall as Kur, rushed forward to take him into a fierce embrace.

  Heh? Nar thought as he beheld the tears glimmering in the sanicuad’s deep, lilac eyes. I thought they were enemies? What in the Pile is going on here?

  He glanced at the paladin, but Leon’s glowing eyes betrayed nothing of his thoughts.

  I feel like there’s something going on, but I can’t tell what it is, Nar thought, holding back a sigh. And this is why I don’t want to have anything to do with the leadership.

  Juf, a sanicuad, the only one Nar had ever seen, was blue skinned like their guide Sej. However, where Sej’s skin was an ashen deep blue, Juf’s was a much lighter blue that was almost white, or gray. And while their guide’s hair and even eyes were also different shades of blue, Juf’s hair was pitch black, and hung loose down her back, while her eyes bore a startling large pupil of a bright lilac that almost seemed to shine in the relative darkness of the tent.

  I wonder what her affinity is… And weapon, he thought, unable to spy anything from her normal looking green and brown jungle suit.

  Juf dragged Kur towards the chairs in their communal area, where Kur greeted a group of other party leaders, and Nar threw discreet glances at the other members of Juf’s party as he followed Kur.

  Hmm, I don’t recognize any of them, so I guess none of them is from the Blades Hall, Nar thought. But they all look competent enough…

  “So, what happened?” Juf asked once Kur was seated. “And Nar I recognized, but who is this?”

  Leon smiled at the light skinned party leader.

  “My name is Leon, and I’m a paladin of the Order of the Great Winged One,” Leon said. “I invoked the Crystal’s Mercy, and Kur and Row’s domain party saved mine from certain death. I have since joined them to journey through the Brightnight together.”

  “A three-party domain party?” Juf asked, her eyes growing wide.

  She’s shocked at that? Not that we brought an aethermancer paladin to her tent? Nar wondered.

  “That’s right. Together, we have faced and overcame many challenges,” the paladin said, smiling with the sort of innocent smile that Nar had come to understand meant anything but. “And we have obviously reaped great benefits from our association!”

  “I… see,” the sanicuad said, smiling pleasantly at Kur. “That is great to hear!”

  He’s provoking her, isn't he? Nar thought, a little part of himself dying inside him. Damn it Gad, why did you send me here?

  “Well, we only did our duty,” Kur said, his tone easy. “Regardless of that, I’ve come with some bad news.”

  “Oh?”

  “Unfortunately, we have discovered that Leon and his party have been chased into the Brightnight by a malicious element,” Kur said. “And one that has been taking action, indirectly and discreetly of course, to harm them. This is why they needed to call for the Crystal’s Mercy, and also why the Grounding was triggered.”

  Again, the party leader Juf, who headed half of the Circle, surprised Nar by letting the revelation wash over her as though it was the canteen’s next week’s menu.

  “I see. That explains how the Grounding was triggered, then,” Juf said, holding her chin. “But why are you being chased like this, Leon?”

  “Our circumstances are a bit special,” Leon said, grimacing with an apologetic smile that again Nar could see right through. “Our party member’s families are… Well, they have some weight in the Nexus, shall we say, and someone seems interested in making sure we don’t return from this delve. We are very, truly sorry that this mess has affected the apprentices of the Scimitar. Once we have concluded our delve, our families will reach out to Tsurmirel for amends. And we will repay Kur and Row’s party for the risk they take in aiding us.”

  “They are doing a good thing,” Juf said without hesitation. “We know the risks we take in our apprenticeship, and this is not something you could’ve controlled or predicted.”

  However, a ripple of movement had spread across the party leaders gathered around Juf at Leon’s words. Shoulders lifted, feet shifted, and some hands even curled into fists?

  Leon… Nar thought, shocked by what his [Awareness] picked up on. Are you trying to help out Kur?

  Leon and the others had been adamant that their families needed to be kept a secret, so that people helping them in the hopes to curry favor and rewards did not negatively affect their assessment with the professors and masters of their academy. But now, the paladin seemed resolved to throw that caution out the window, and either provoke Juf and her party leaders, or, to try and elevate Kur in their eyes. After all, Leon had pretty much just declared that their families were the kind that were in a position to openly approach Tsurmirel, a guild of billions, and that Kur and Row would be rewarded. Likely a lot.

  Am I just thinking too much? Nar pondered. Ugh, this is giving me a headache. Why are they speaking so weirdly like this? It’s like they’re fencing with words!

  “That said,” Juf continued. “I guess now we know why the fungal nightmare is blocking our passage. Its your… malicious element.”

  “Yes, we suspect as much,” Kur said, glancing at Leon, who nodded. “Can you tell us more about it?”

  “Why, are you going to deal with it?” one of the other party leaders asked, a stocky woman with an ashen scarlet skin reminiscent of the zeibar race.

  “It’s our fault. It’s natural for us to be the ones to deal with this. With the graceful help of Kur’s domain party, of course,” Leon said. “Also, know that once we are through to the Gloom, we will make sure to keep our distance from the common itineraries that the Scimitar’s disciples should be taking. This should ensure that no further accidents occur that will get you all involved. And again, I am terribly sorry that it has happened.”

  “Will you need help?” Juf asked.

  Kur shook his head. “It's best if we deal with this ourselves. We’ve been through a lot together already, so our three parties should be able to pull off the necessary coordination.”

  “Hmm, makes sense,” Juf said. “Go ahead then.”

  “Really?” a lengos asked, shock in his purple neon irises. “But faction leader—”

  “We haven’t been able to break through, and the beast is only popping out more and more shroomlings the longer we delay. Unless you and your domain party would like to try your hand at it, of course?” Juf said, in a tone that was gentle, but that to Nar, almost felt like a slap.

  “No?” Juf asked. “It’s decided then. As for the nightmare…”

  Crystal, Nar thought, as Juf launched into a detailed explanation of their enemy. I’m never letting Gad push me into this kind of shit ever again. I’d rather walk through the Hungry Jungle than be here!