Blood And Chlorophyll Ch 23

Returning from their second delve had Kat in high spirits. Not only had they taken out a monster using minimal resources, and not only had Tabitha leveled up, but Roxy had proven herself a valuable asset to the team. Kat still wasn't ready to trust her entirely, but this single step in the right direction had certainly calmed her nerves. After visiting Alouette and knocking off a few other items on her personal checklist, it was Kat's turn to grab some sleep.

The next two days followed a similar pattern. The party would venture into the dungeon, get into a scrape or two, and then retreat for the day. No one was thrilled to be pausing more serious expeditions, but with Roxy being such a new addition, they needed time to truly incorporate her into the party.

It was also hard to argue with the results. By playing it safe, both Alicia and Katrina made it to Level Four on the second day. Kat took two points in Charisma, officially bringing her to twenty-one while adjusting her physique as expected. Alicia was predictably thrilled about the changes, and while Kat appreciated the extra spell power, she wasn't looking forward to needing to buy a new set of bras. Alicia took two additional points in Health, coincidentally also ending up at twenty-one.

Time was not on their side, however. The extra practice was incredibly helpful, but as Katrina woke on the third day, she did so with the knowledge that they only had a week left before the Dungeon went public.

Stretching her arms as she woke, Kat joined the party outside as quickly as possible. Just as she expected, she found everyone gathered around Elias's pond, and she braced herself for Alicia's enthusiastic greeting as she approached. It had become somewhat of a tradition for her girlfriend to leap into her arms every time she woke up, and it never failed to bring a smile to her face.

This time, however, as she caught Alicia, Kat nearly lost her balance after the first swing. With a surprised yelp, Kat resorted to hovering at the last second to avoid an unplanned landing.

"Shoot, I'm sorry, Kat!" Alicia said, showering the Vampire with kisses. "Maybe I just don't know my own strength anymore, what with all the training..."

Kat eagerly returned the kisses, but immediately noticed something strange. "Um, I'm not sure that's it, actually." She pulled away from Alicia, taking a moment to stare her in the eyes before she realized what was different.

"Kat? What's up? You're giving me a weird look."

"I need to test something. Could you do me a favor and stand up straight? As tall as you can?" Kat asked. Alicia nodded happily, and once she did, she seemed to notice the difference herself.

"Wait, hold on. When did you get smaller? Did something in the Dungeon curse you?" Alicia asked, comparing her height to Kat's with her hand.

"Sorry, you've got it backwards, Cherry Blossom," Tab said, walking towards the group. "Looks like you've been growing. I honestly didn't notice it until Kat pointed it out just now, but you've easily gained a few inches since we met."

"What?!" Alicia gasped. "But how? That doesn't make any sense!"

"Didn't you just hit Level Four?" Elias asked, leaning on the edge of his pond. "This is the second time you've taken more points in Health. To my knowledge, that doesn't normally make people grow, but you're a Dryad. I wonder if you get some extra perks as part of your plant physiology."

Kat chuckled to herself as she watched Alicia run around the clearing, comparing her height to everyone else. "No way! I'm the tallest person here now! But if this body is growing... I need to check something!"

Alicia sprinted away from the group, diving into her Heart Tree without any further explanation.

"We should start suiting up," Kat said. "She's going to be in there longer than she realizes."

Everyone nodded, and by the time Alicia reemerged, everyone was fully decked out and ready for tonight's delve. "Guys, my Heart Tree is growing too! My outer roots stretch way further now, and-- wait, when did you all get dressed? Ah, dang it, did I lose track of time again?"

"You did, but that's okay, gorgeous," Kat said, kissing Alicia on the cheek. "We need more time to get ready anyways; we can't grow our armor like you can."

Roxy jumped into the conversation next, quite literally. She'd been crouching on a nearby stump and leapt onto her feet as she spoke. "Well, should you grow it as we head over? We've got to make every second count, and we're burning moonlight!"

"Yeah, good idea," Alicia said. She quickly ran over to Elias, hugging him goodbye and messing up his hair for good luck.

Once she was ready, she began leading the way to the Dungeon. The entire time they walked, Kat watched as Alicia skipped back and forth between all her different projects. Many of them were small trees, and Alicia was excitedly comparing her height to every single one. On several occasions, Tab caught her staring at Alicia, but she'd gotten used to the Foxgirl's playful ribbing.

Alicia was a fantastic girlfriend, and Kat swore to never miss an opportunity to appreciate how lucky she was.

"Alright, everyone remember the plan?" Tab asked as they approached the entrance.

Kat nodded, holding up the key they'd secured days earlier. "First, we need to get to the door blocking the staircase, then we can finally head down to the second level. The deeper we go, the harder it is to retreat to safety, so let's make sure we're playing it safe."

After squeezing Kat's hand, Alicia walked up to the barrier blocking off the Dungeon and pulled it down. They fell into formation quickly; after all their practice, it was practically second nature.

They'd grown quite comfortable with the first floor, having explored it several times over the last few days, and they wasted no time heading towards the staircase. On their way, they had to fight off another pack of wolves, as well as several more fungal corpses, but they escaped the battles with minimal injuries. As they arrived at the door, Kat pulled out the wooden totem they needed.

Predictably, the totem slotted perfectly into place. The stone around it began the glow, followed by the vines nearby, which then began to shudder and twitch. Kat jumped back, not sure what to expect, and a series of barriers appeared in front of her. She caught Alicia's eye, warmly smiling as she nodded with gratitude.

The many vines that made up the doorway started moving, slowly retreating into the surrounding foliage. Several tense minutes passed, each disappearing vine revealing another gap in the entryway. Cold, stone stairs gradually revealed themselves, sinking deeper into the Dungeon before vanishing into darkness. As the final bit of plant life vanished, a cold breeze washed over the party, as if the Dungeon had been holding its breath until this very moment.

With no obvious threats, Alicia removed her barriers and started down the steps.

The stairs took them deeper than Kat had expected. It felt like they were walking down three or four flights of stairs at once, and the long descent did nothing to help her nerves.

It's got to be because of the trees, right? Each Dungeon floor needs to be tall enough to feel believably like a forest.

The cold breeze that had greeted them earlier vanished, the air itself now unnaturally thick and still. The previous floor had felt suitably alive, with chirping crickets and chittering squirrels implied to be around every corner, but those sounds hadn't traveled deeper with the party. The only noises to be heard were their own footsteps, softly echoing off the stone walls around them.

Kat didn't mind the silence itself, but she feared what it revealed. Without any ambient noise, it grew much harder to ignore Tab and Roxy's heartbeats. She could hear the blood rushing through their veins, carrying promises of decadent ambrosia and glorious symphonies. For a brief moment, she almost wished they'd gotten hurt on the previous floor; providing Inspiration would have made a fantastic distraction. With no one in need of assistance quite yet, however, she didn't dare risk exposing their position to any monsters that lurked nearby.

She was so focused on maintaining control that she failed to notice when Alicia stopped descending. She caught herself quickly, then looked around to see the entire party had stopped.

"Shoot, sorry," Kat whispered. "What's up?"

"It's just so dark, I can barely see," Alicia said.

Confused, Kat stepped to the side to look past Alicia. Everything seemed perfectly clear to her, but after a moment, she noticed that the dull color in the stone had shifted slightly.

"Huh, look at that. I never would have noticed, I've got fantastic night vision. How's everyone else faring?"

"I'm just a human, so no night vision for me," Roxy said.

"My race gives me a bit more clarity than usual, but nothing crazy," Tab whispered. "You might need to take point, Fangs.

Kat grumbled to herself, hesitant to change the marching order, but she couldn't argue with Tab. "Alright. I'll try to move slowly so you don't lose track of me, but speak up if anything else changes."

Moving to the front of the pack, Kat gripped her guitar tight and started walking.

It'll be alright, Kat. Alicia doesn't need to be in front of you to protect you. Being in front also puts more distance between you, Tab, and Roxy. C'mon, focus on the stairs, check for traps, that kind of thing. Don't think about the blood thrumming under the surface of their skin, how it yearns to join its song with the encroaching night, how it--

Shaking her head again, Kat took a deep breath and began silently tapping her fingers on her instrument.

Thankfully, it was only another minute before the stairs leveled out. They found themselves in a thin hallway, much like the initial entrance to the Dungeon, but it began to open up very quickly. Stranger still, Kat began seeing hints of light from up ahead, but she couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

Her attempt to peer through the darkness, to find the source of the light, was frustrated by the large tree that sat in front of her. While the Dungeon entrance had led them straight into an open clearing, with the walls gradually turning into trees, this tunnel led them directly into one, massive tree trunk. The dim light she'd noticed earlier was vaguely visible from the left and right, hinting that they could walk around the large trunk, but the paths were tight.

"Do you guys see that light?" Kat asked quietly.

"A little bit, yeah," Tab said. "I'm not sure what it is though."

"Well, the only way forward is around this tree, but we'll have to go through one at a time. I'll go first, try to stay close."

Kat was forced to hold her guitar at an awkward angle to walk around the tree, but thankfully the path opened up quickly. The stone wall began to veer off, replaced with more trees, and she gasped as she finally saw the forest that lay in front of her.

In many ways, it appeared quite similar to the forest above them. Thick trees reached for the sky, their branches opening and interlocking to create a canopy of leaves, but the colors had all shifted. No longer were they various shades of brown; the trees on this floor were all pale and white. They were also far more varied in size, with some as wide as powerful oaks and others barely a foot thick.

It was hard to focus on the trees, however, when the source of the strange light had also been revealed. Roughly a third of the trees in the area were holding clusters of bioluminescent mushrooms. The larger trees had powerful, foreboding shelves of glowing fungal growths, while the small ones held cute little caps no bigger than Kat's palm. Every mushroom in the clearing radiated a dull, blue light, giving the forest a ghastly, ethereal feel to it.

As Kat looked around, she also saw small traces of moss that glowed a similar color. Patches of this moss gathered on the floor, crawling over decaying leaves and broken sticks, and some of it even hung from branches, almost appearing to be suspended in midair.

"Wow," Alicia gasped, stepping next to Katrina. "This is beautiful!"

"How visible is everything?" Kat asked. "It's as clear as day for me, so I can't tell if this glow changes anything."

"It's certainly better," Tabitha said, the next person to leave the tight passage. "I don't feel completely blind, but there's still a lot I can't see."

Roxy was last, and she gasped as she walked out. "Oooh, this is fantastic. It's both good and bad, though; yes, we'll have some light to keep our bearings with, but the glow might also mask other things. It's a trick I use pretty frequently, actually. Give people something to focus on, like pretty glowing mushrooms, and it becomes even harder to find everything else. We should expect some ambushes."

"First things first, we need to understand the layout of the floor." Kat began looking around, hoping to find hints of other passages or rooms. "Just stick close, keep your eyes peeled for monsters, and hopefully we can find the next door quickly."

"There might not be a door," Tab whispered. "This could be the last floor, for all we know."

"Well, only one way to find out!" Alicia added. She turned around then, with a wave of her hands, summoned a small cluster of glowing green tulips to highlight the exit passage.

With nothing left to say, everyone fell into position and began walking. They kept a slow, even pace, their eyes peeled for anything that looked even remotely out of place. Despite her body feeling much more at home in the darkness, she was nervous that the Dungeon would be stepping up its intensity now that they were on the second level.

Every snapping twig, every crunching leaf threatened to draw attention from unknown beasts. With Roxy's warning in mind, Kat did her best to watch the patches of darkness in between the bioluminescent plant life, but the first several minutes passed without incident.

As they traveled deeper into the forest, they began seeing different patterns in the various glowing decorations. Some clearings were filled with nothing but growing fungal plates and mushrooms, while others were entirely lit by patches of moss. Sometimes the glowing moss stuck entirely to the floor, sometimes the trees, and Kat had no idea if the various differences meant anything.

She wondered if this floor might be a puzzle. Maybe there were clues hidden in the moss or the patterns of the mushrooms? Their current clearing was entirely overtaken by moss, but it neither rested on the ground nor clung to the tree trunks. Instead, it was strung between branches as if someone had tried to hastily put up Christmas decorations. Katrina's focus had shifted to one particular large network of moss, one that was unusually smooth compared to everything else they'd seen so far.

The moss was gathered on tree branches, just like everything else in the clearing, but the branches themselves were strangely uniform in thickness. They arched up, glowing lichen clinging to their incredibly smooth bark, before splitting off in several different directions. The split in the branches seemed almost artificial, however, and as Kat kept investigating, eyes opened under the branches.

They stared back, reaching deep into Katrina and demanding all her attention. Their visage was captivating, and Kat felt as if she were staring directly into the depths of space as she studied their speckled blue pattern.

The branches moved along with the eyes, and Kat now saw the creature for what it truly was; a massive deer, its antlers clinging to large patches of glowing moss that had obscured its fur. It was a magnificent beast, far too majestic to be trapped in this Dungeon, and Kat wondered how it had gotten here. Was it trapped? Did it need their help? She swore she saw herself reflected in its gaze; a look of desperation only shared by creatures trapped in bodies not their own.

Something struck Kat's shoulder, and a voice shook her from her thoughts.

"KAT! WAKE UP!!" Tabitha screamed.

Chaos had exploded in the clearing around them. The party had scattered from where they'd been standing moments earlier and were now locked in combat with a collection of malformed, monstrous deer. Glowing lichen ate through their skin, puppeting their bodies, and their mouths twisted open far wider than should have been possible, their teeth replaced with dripping, ethereal mycelium.

Despite having only spaced out for a second, Alicia, Tab, and Roxy already seemed to have taken several hits. They were all standing around Kat, protecting her from the monsters that swarmed the clearing.

Panic set in, and Kat immediately grabbed her guitar and took to the air. Her fingers started dancing across the strings, her healing Inspiration setting in.

"I'm good! Go!" Kat shouted, looking around the clearing. She saw five deer, maybe six, but it was hard to tell given how fast they were moving. They charged around at unnatural speeds, their unusual grace at odds with their monstrous demeanor. Thankfully, now that the party wasn't trying to protect Kat, they were better able to mount a retaliatory strike.

Tabitha crouched down, then launched towards the nearest enemy with blistering speed. She was nothing more than a blur as she started laying into her target, continuously jumping away from any attacks directed at her.

Alicia formed another small network of barriers and patches of thorns, hoping to corral the monsters into predictable patterns, but this time she elevated herself on a barrier as well. She began jumping from barrier to barrier, periodically crouching down to strike a monster before retreating to safety behind a Wall of Thorns. She repositioned her barriers much faster now, continually shifting them around the clearing, both to distract her opponents, but also to minimize HP loss should any of the enemies decide to break them down.

Roxy was the hardest to keep track of, as was the nature of her class. She would appear with blades drawn every few seconds, each time from a new, unexpected angle, only to retreat into the darkness after finishing her strike. There were plenty of distractions for her to capitalize on, and each attack landed with deadly precision.

As Kat continued playing, she kept her eyes peeled for any opportunity to keep her party safe. Alicia did her best to distract as many as possible, but there were still plenty of opportunities to prevent monsters from gouging the Dryad's barriers.

On several occasions, she threw out a magical stun to create an opening for Tab or Roxy. Others, she would reposition to shove a deer into a Wall of Thorns, watching as thick barbs dug into its skin. She even defeated a monster herself, reducing it to a puff of smoke with a well-timed Sonic Blade. Barely a few minutes passed before the group had successfully repelled the attack.

Roxy had scored the final strike, blades sinking deep into a monster's gut before it vanished entirely. Once the coast was clear, Kat took one last look around the clearing before returning to the ground with a heavy sigh.

"Kat, are you okay?!" Alicia asked, running towards the Vampire before cautiously kissing her cheek.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, though... what exactly happened?" Kat asked.

"Not entirely sure, Fangs," Tab said, sheathing her weapons. "We were all walking along, then you began staring off into the distance with a blank look on your face. We tried to snap you out of it, but a few seconds later we got swarmed by monsters. Had to break formation to keep you safe, and it took you a solid twenty or thirty seconds to snap out of it."

"Probably some kind of hypnosis or charm effect." Roxy was bouncing around the clearing, digging through detritus to try and find all the loot. Once she finished, she brought it all to Kat, who promptly put it in a small pack.