III

Yui could barely move her hands. They felt… fat? The blackness on the tips was definitely a bad sign, right?

There was barely any light to see by, just some old scraps of wood on the floor, lit buy Divoeren, but his magic was almost gone now.

“Things are bad,” Yui said, looking at her bow on the dungeon floor.

“We have to survive!” Nefalar said, but his sword was angled toward the floor. He was breathing heavily, white frost coming out of his mouth.

They had been stuck in these chambers for two days now, unable to get out for the hordes of rat men hiding in the tunnels ahead. The way out.

Instead, they kept getting pushed back, further and further into this dank, rancorous dungeon. And there were a lot of rats.

“We just need to rest,” Nef said. “Gather our strength and then attack the rats—push thorugh, so we can escape!”

“I have almost no magic energy left,” Divoeren said, his eyes closing.

“Stop,” Yui said, shaking him awake. “You can’t go to sleep now.”

“But I’m so… tired.”

“We have to get out!” Nef called, and then his voice started cracking. “I think… I think this might be our last chance.”

His voice, his near defeat, started to make Yui shake, and she was already shaking from the cold, but now she was scared—even more than before. She didn’t want to die down here in this dark, stinking pit of a dungeon.

The rat piss had almost made her gag, but she wasn’t getting used to it, now. The dead, rotting flesh smells that wafted in every once in a while? Her nostrils never got used to those smells.

“Listen!” she said. “We’re not going to die down here! Divoeren, get up!” she started making fists with her hands as she held her fingers next to the fire. The warmth did not feel good. It was all she could do not to cry out in pain and tears because of how cold they were.

The three of them were next to the fire, scared, cold, hungry—freezing, actually.

And then the chitterling came, the sniffing and the gnashing of teeth. Yui saw their disgusting green eyes glowing in the dark tunnels ahead.

She could barely use her bow at this point, she was so cold. Did rats… did they like cold meat? Or would they cook Yui and her friends first?

“Venturing into this rat infested hole was a mistake,” Divoeren said sleepily.

“We can argue about it when we get out,” Nef shot back. “Now we have to fight, because the rat men are back! Get up!”

The pitch and number of the rats increased.

“GET UP!” Nef commanded. “Or we’re finished this time!”

Yui helped Divoeren to his feet. He was more than just tired, he was magic-tired. She picked up her bow and knocked an arrow, wondering if she would even hit anything.

The eyes in the tunnel…

There were at least twenty pairs, then thirty, then hundreds?

“Oh no,” Nef said. “That’s it. We’re dead. It’s over.”

“Stop! Yui called.

“Can’t you see? IT’S OVER!”

“Why are they so… agitated?” Divoeren asked?

It looked like Nef had completely given up. He wasn’t even holding his sword properly anymore. “Weren’t you the one who just said we couldn’t give up?” Yui asked.

“Against that,” he pointed, “there is no point.”

“No, they really are agitated,” Divoeren said.

Some rat men in their leather armor and wielding their wicked curved swords scampered into the chamber.

Yui let her arrow fly. It hit one in the head and it went down. But there were three others. Nef growled, then ran at them. “Die, you godsforsaken fell creatures!” He hacked one in half.

Then another came at him, and Yui put an arrow in that one as well.

Ten more scampered into the room.

Divoeren called out a magic incantation and a bolt of lightning shot forth, frying the rats in front of them. That gave them a moment’s respite, as a sizzling crackle and the smell of burnt fur and flesh filled the air. The smells were welcome among the rancorous urine and rotting meat.

“That was pretty good—“

But their mage couldn’t finish his statement. He passed out while he was standing and had it not been for Yui, probably would have broken his jaw if he landed face-first on the cold hard dungeon floor.

“Yes!” Nef cried triumphantly. “Burn, you filth!” He glanced behind himself, saw that Divoeren had fallen unconscious. “Oh no.”

Yui loosed another shaft into the rat men pouring into the chamber. “Keep fighting.”

Nef stepped forward, sliced a rat in half as he came charging with his sword. He parried another’s attack, then killed it in a chitterling cry halfway between a squeal and groan.

The rats were flooding into the chamber like a barrel of dumped fish.

“Looks like this is it,” Nef said. “Yui, run!”

“No!”

“I said run!”

Other than the pain, Yui couldn’t feel her fingers any longer. The only reason she managed to land any shafts was because there were so many slathering rat men. Many of them hissed, coming in to attack them while Nef cut them down.

He was right though. The rat men were pouring into the chamber. Yui glanced back at the exit passage—the dark, stained corridor that wasn’t truly an exit, just a way to venture deeper into this foul dungeon.

She wouldn’t leave Divoeren and Nef behind. She would die back there anyway. Instead she knocked another arrow, one of her explosive-tipped ones, and loosed. It landed among the wet furry bodies and exploded, a ball of fire and smoke erupting that sent rat men flying amidst squeals of death and pain.

Nef cut down three more, but there were so many of them pattering past him, hissing and gnashing their teeth that he couldn’t kill them all.

One came at Yui with wild green eyes and swung his sword. She cried out, dodging it. She then took her bow and hit it across the face. It fell and she kicked it into unconsciousness.

The general clamor of chitterling rat men went from hungry snarling to a strange frenzied cadence. Yui realized rat men were running past her into the corridor leading out of the chamber.

Why were they running away?

The rat men howled and she could hear them speed up their pace while Nef grunted, cutting rat men down that ventured too close to him.

Something was happening to the rat men on the other side of those three corridors they had come in through. They dispersed, avoiding Yui and her party altogether as they ran away frantically, deeper into their filthy, urine-smelling lair.

Something crackled, and a ball of pink energy and bright light flew into the chamber and obliterated half a score of fleeing rats. “What is happening?”

It had been a magic bolt!

“I don’t know,” Nef said, raising his sword for the possible emergence of some stronger monster that didn’t get along with the rat men.

But then four adventurers burst into the space, a knight at their head and flanking him was an archer, a mage and another man with a sword.

“Adventurers!” Nef called.

Yui’s heart jumped into her throat.

They were saved!

The knight at the front ran past Yui, barely glancing at her as he cleaved rats with every step he took, his long sword sending arcing sprays of the monster’s blood flying through the air as they jumped and climbed over one another to escape death.

The clamor of the rat men receded into the darkness and all became quiet as the adventurers stopped their pursuit. The knight lowered his sword and stalked up to Yui. “Are you all right?”

“I—“

She couldn’t speak as tears began to well in her eyes. She almost burst into sobs then, but she steeled herself and nodded vigorously.

The other swordsman asked after Divoeren who was being looked at by their mage, a slight blonde girl in green robes and a gnarled staff in her hand. “Is he all right?”

“He’s unconscious, but fine,” she said. “He overused magic.”

“Thank the gods you came,” Nef said, addressing the new group of adventurers. “How did you know we were in trouble?”

Their rogue, who Yui hadn’t noticed until just now, said nothing, simply stood watch under the magical orb that was producing light for them all, her knives sticking out of the bottom of her fists.

Yui didn’t think they would come back.

“This dungeon is dangerous,” the knight, who Yui thought was their leader, said in answer. “We heard that you came in here and ventured forth to rescue you, knowing the tier-level of this festering pit.”

“We were—“ Nef began, but Yui cut him off.

“We were fools to come in here!”

Nef looked defeated. “Yes.”

“Perhaps next time you will think better,” the mage said. She had a kind demeanor, but now her face definitely held a look that chided Yui. The mage then looked down at Divoeren and muttered some invocation. There was a flash of magic, and then it died.

Divoeren stirred, groaning as he reached up to hold his head. “What happened?”

“You overexerted yourself,” the mage said. “Lie still. You should be able to stand in just a little while. Let my healing magic do its work.”

“Mm,” he noised. “Thank you.” Then he seemed to recall their danger, and glanced toward Yui. “Are you all right.”

She nodded. “We’re fine. The rats are gone.”

“We’ll help you leave the dungeon,” the knight said. He was tall, handsome with dark brown hair pushed back to the nap of his neck. His armor was of high quality. But of course it was. He was a top-tier adventurer!

“Thank you, Knight.”

He smiled. “I’m no knight.”

“You’re well on your way, the other swordsman said.”

Oh, Yui had been mistaken. But the way they pushed in here and the way he fought, slicing and dicing rats as he went as if they were weeds—or carrots!—she had thought he was a top-tier adventurer, when in truth he must only be a mid-level.

Yui was too weak to be in here. Nef and Divoeren, too. This was a huge mistake, one she wouldn’t make again. She would be more firm against Nef and his reckless ideas in the future. She felt her cheeks heat. She would chide him later—probably while crying her eyes out. If he wanted to marry her, he would need to start protecting her better.

“We didn’t know how dangerous this dungeon was,” Nef said.

Was he making excuses?

“Know your place,” the mage said. “You’re low-level adventurers.” She stood. “The rats here are indeed low-tier monsters, but their numbers make them extremely dangerous.”

“We”—Divoeren said, then grunted as he sat up—“we realized that when they swarmed us.”

Nef extended a hand and helped him up. “Yes. We were able to beat back their first ambush on us, but they managed to force us deeper into this dungeon. With each of their attacks, there seemed to be more and more of them.”

“That’s what they do,” the lower-level swordsman said. “Gods, it reeks in here.”

“You need to study your monsters,” their leader said. “By the way, my name Yoreno.”

He extended a hand Nef shook it.

“Hey,” Yui said, recognizing the name. “Aren’t you that protégé of the Lady Brennovo?”

“None other,” their mage said. “I’m Mai.”

Yui nodded to her. This was no ordinary group of adventurers, this was the Emblazoned Party. They took to using that given name after going on a series of daring adventures and coming out with hordes of loot. They had even defeated a dangerous boss that top-tier adventurers would normally be careful around.

“You’re the Emblazoned Party!” she exclaimed.

Their rogue with the long daggers seemed to relax somewhat as she stalked toward the group. Yui took note of her long elfin ears.

“I guess so,” the other swordsman said.

“Yes,” Nef said. “You’re Dellwyn Blackridge. And you,” he pointed to Mai, “Are Mai Everrun.”

She nodded.

“We look up to you,” Yui said. “To all of you.”

“You didn’t mention my name,” the archer said sullenly.

“That’s Lev,” Dell said, pointing, his smile one of teasing. “Nobody knows who he is.”

“It’s why we had the audacity to come in here in the first place, “Divoeren said, scratching his head.”

“A mistake,” Mai said.

Yoreno took a few steps toward the exit and turned back to regard them all. “It’s time to go. Before those rats bring another horde with them.”

“I agree,” Mai said. Then to Yui she smiled. “We’re good adventurers, but we know our limits. We can talk more when we get out into the fresh air.” She pinched her nose.

Yui laughed.

“We try to know our limits,” Dellwyn said with a smirk as he hefted his sword and shield.

Their leader, Yoreno said no more. He simply stalked toward the corridors they had burst out of so suddenly as he lead them out of the rat ways of Kaigalor Mountain.

Yui thanked the gods they had arrived. Otherwise, they would all be dead right now, meat for this disgusting horde of monster rats.