Serenity didn’t have strong feelings either way about the plan; if it was a Death-based level, he’d be fine and could probably keep Naomi safe, but he had no idea if he could open a shortcut or not. At least, he wasn’t sure if he could open it without communing with the dungeon; he had the feeling that if it was one of the dungeon’s secrets, the dungeon would be willing to tell him about it once he was there.

Serenity tried asking the dungeon while he was waiting on Daryl, but the dungeon didn’t want to answer his questions about the ninth level; he got the impression it enjoyed being mysterious and didn’t want to spoil an area he hadn’t seen. Serenity suspected he could get more information if he pushed, but there didn’t seem to be any reason to do so.

Daryl gave Serenity plenty of time to meditate; at least, he expected that was what the others thought he was doing. Sleep seemed unlikely, though that was also possible. Naomi and Gabriel were more active, but both of them stayed within the sheltered inner room and allowed Daryl to use the tunnels. It was enough to make Serenity wonder if this was something that happened frequently.

The dungeon was happy to show Serenity clues to all of the secrets he’d missed on the way to where he was, however, and Serenity took notes on several of them as things he should have people watch for. The boss in the deep sea of the ocean level was to be avoided, but there were several deep “wells” a little ways into the ocean, too shallow for the deepwater boss but still completely underwater, that would be interesting to look into.

Serenity had no idea how the secret of the blizzard level was supposed to be found; it was almost an entirely separate level. You had to somehow get above the storm; if you did, the storm clouds would become solid, like a second layer of ground, as though they were ice covered in snow. A heavy cold fog radiated up, making the solidified cloud’s appearance remain the same. Instead of a blizzard, the area above the clouds had biting, cold winds and a near-complete lack of cover, but there were magical spots scattered across the clouds. The dungeon didn’t tell Serenity what was there, but he got the feeling that whatever it was probably had something to do with the cold.

The dungeon was reticent about the fifth level, but it was willing to show Serenity enough that it looked like his guess about a second hidden secret if the “hidden” boss were knocked into the volcano instead of directly defeated. It wouldn’t be easy to get; from what the dungeon showed him, the eruption covered a significant area. The level’s exit was in the same place once the lava cooled, but that didn’t seem to be where the secret was. Serenity could think of a couple of possible locations, but neither would be fast to find and it was entirely possible it was in a third spot he hadn’t thought of. That was almost certainly why the Silver Blades thought that the fire-heart was the only real prize.

The secret of the sixth level was just plain weird. The dungeon showed Serenity something that looked almost like a lightning-tornado, then a group of them dancing around someone. The person stood there and took the lightning; when the lightning ceased, there was a shining block of something left behind; Serenity couldn’t tell what it was through the continual lightning that ran over it. He wasn’t sure how to trigger that secret, but he was sure he wasn’t going to try any time soon. It would require either someone really good with lightning or some serious preparation.

The seventh level’s secret was straightforward; you just had to track some of the echolocating mice to their den. Each den had something small hidden in it. If the Silver Blades hadn’t turned down Serenity’s suggestion of hunting the mice, they might well have found the secret by accident.

The eighth level’s secret was also simple, but it wasn’t nearly as easy. Serenity’s guess about something hidden being guarded by the monsters below the floating island path was correct, but he’d vastly underestimated the difficulty. When the dungeon showed him what he’d have to face, he was almost glad they’d skipped it; it would take significant care to make their way through that mess.

It definitely wasn’t just the fall that might kill someone if you slipped off a floating island; there were at least hundreds and maybe over a thousand of monsters milling around the pit; from what the dungeon showed, if you wanted the secret you had to kill all of them because they’d come looking for you when you got close. Serenity was honestly surprised the Silver Blades had ever pushed their way through the monsters to find out about the issues climbing the far wall. It must have taken days, possibly weeks, even without getting near the secret. Whatever it actually was; the dungeon didn’t show that.

On the other hand, a group of people at Tier Eight who needed combat practice or simply to use their Paths in combat to grow might well find the area rewarding. Perhaps that was the real reason; it would be a long exercise. You’d have to choose the initial groups carefully so you didn’t attract too much attention and slowly whittle them down.

When Serenity finished talking to the dungeon, Daryl still wasn’t back. Gabriel and Naomi were seated in a relatively sheltered nook; Naomi hadn’t brought out anything for her comfort, but Gabriel was wrapped in a thick, warm-looking blanket. It looked like they’d been talking earlier but had fallen silent.

Serenity headed over to check in with them. “Any idea…” He trailed off, uncertain how to finish the sentence.

Naomi shook her head. “Depends on you and Daryl. I’m willing to take the risk; even if you can’t trigger the shortcut, we won’t be down there too long. Now that you’ve had a chance to think, are you willing? The area’s full of Death magic; it’s supposed to be really unpleasant even if you can stand it.”

Serenity couldn’t help himself; he chuckled a little at the idea that Death magic would be unpleasant. He hadn’t realized that there was even a question; of course he’d go down one more level into a death-based level if others were willing. He thought he’d already agreed, but perhaps he hadn’t.

It was even more amusing that they must have thought he was lost in thought about heading down for the entire time he was listening to the dungeon describe what they’d missed. He’d been having a pleasant conversation while they thought he was debating something unpleasant!

Serenity smiled at Naomi. “I’d be happy to. Death magic doesn’t bother me, and I admit I’d like to see what this dungeon’s done with it. This is a pretty interesting dungeon.”

Serenity felt the dungeon’s appreciation of his compliment. It was clearly still paying attention to him.

“It’s up to Daryl, then.” Gabriel didn’t move from his warm cocoon when he spoke. “I don’t want to go down there if any one of us isn’t willing.”

“You should have thought of that earlier.” Daryl’s words echoed through the entrance before he stepped into view. “You made plans without asking anyone. I’m tempted to pull us out of here and let it be a lesson to you. Your way isn’t always the right way and I don’t like being pushed into a corner.”

Serenity blinked at Daryl. The other man clearly had a taste for the dramatic; it wasn’t something he’d noticed about the man before, but he supposed it went well with how loud Daryl was. Serenity hadn’t heard him moving around after he stopped talking to the dungeon; he’d assumed the wind naked the noise, but with how quickly Daryl appeared he must have been hiding just out of sight, listening.

Gabriel looked like a deer caught in headlights; he didn’t seem to have a reply ready for Daryl.

“I wish you weren’t right about the chance being worth it. We’ll go, but if I say we’re done, we leave then. No matter how close we are. Got it?” Daryl glared at Gabriel.

Gabriel nodded. He seemed to be unsure whether he should be happy they were going to follow his plan or unhappy to be called out for his shenanigans. Serenity thought he was leaning towards happy, but he couldn’t tell for certain.

The one thing Serenity could say for sure was that after this dungeon run, he was just as happy that he wouldn’t be staying with the Silver Blades. They were powerful, but both Daryl and Gabriel were convinced they knew best; he wasn’t sure if they were close friends or simply competitive. Either way, while he liked Gabriel more than he liked Daryl, Serenity really wasn’t that fond of either of them.

Naomi, on the other hand, didn’t bother Serenity. He didn’t really have much to say about her either way; she stayed out of most of the arguments the same way he did.

“Right.” Gabriel nodded more firmly. His blanket vanished quickly enough that Serenity suspected it was based on a Skill of some sort rather than being a real physical item. “Are we all ready?”

“I am,” Naomi stated softly.

“Is there anything you think I should know before we get down there other than that there’s a death field?” Serenity wasn’t entirely pleased about walking into the area without an explanation when the people he was with, other than Naomi, had been there before.

Daryl gave Gabriel a look Serenity couldn’t decipher, then answered his question. “It’s a hedge maze filled with death magic. There are statues and plants; the plants are worse, especially if you try to push through the maze walls. The layout doesn’t change, but it’s gloomy and hard to find your way around. The statues don’t do anything other than try to beat you to pieces, but the plants have thorns and their thorns make the aura worse. Don’t get hit by them.”

Serenity blinked at that. He was glad he’d asked; most of the time, deathly areas were filled with undead animals of one sort or another; humanoids were particularly common. Death-attuned or undead plants were rare. He wasn’t sure what to think of the statues; it was possible they were a death-tainted rock or wood, but he wouldn’t know until he saw them. He felt himself start to grin. “I’m looking forward to that. I haven’t seen a death-attuned plant in quite a while.”

Sure, he’d probably seen some on Tzintkra, but those were plants that had been forcibly converted to use Death instead of Life. In a dungeon, it was entirely possible that he’d find plants that were actually Death-based. He might well find other things of interest, as well.

Daryl sighed heavily. “It sounds like we’re all ready, then. I’m not looking forward to this, but go ahead and move to the next level.”

Serenity accepted the transfer, then looked at his new surroundings. They were, as Daryl implied, only dimly lit, but Serenity could still see enough. They were in a twenty-foot high circular area; the walls were a little fuzzy to his Eyeless Sight, which meant they were probably the hedge Daryl mentioned. It was a little too dim to actually see until it occurred to Serenity to ask Aide to enhance his vision; once he did, he could see the slowly-moving tendrils of the hedge clearly enough to know that it wasn’t just a bush; the leaves were long and skinny, probably capable of grabbing things, and there was a large number of long thorns.

The air was comfortable and filled with Death; when Serenity saw that the other three seemed uncomfortable, he released his aura and triggered Eat Death. It would help them cope.