“Was that really necessary?” I asked, rubbing at my throbbing cheek.

  “You hit me first,” Ersabet said. “Much harder than I hit you, I might add. Consider yourself lucky I held back.”

  “I’m sorry, I wasn’t in my right mind. I knew Elena wasn’t really there, but I thought that if I was wrong…if it was really her…” I trailed off, unsure of what to say. I had let the hag bewitch my mind. If not for Val, I would have been broken. I would have reached out for my wife, and then the hag would have had complete control of me.

  “Can we not fight any more of those things?” Kitz asked meekly.

  Delen pulled him into a side hug. “Seeing my dead father once was enough for a lifetime. I see no need to go through that again.”

  “I saw my ex-husband,” Tabby said. “From Earth. What does that mean?”

  “You fear him?” Ersabet asked.

  “I guess, yes. Maybe more like I fear the woman I was when we were together. That part doesn’t really matter, though. The hag saw my memories. My real memories, just like she did with John. How’s that possible?”

  “The hag searches for the most impactful memories to use against you,” Val said. “Your real memories of your real life are far more meaningful to you than the Triarchy’s fabrications.”

  Should we be concerned that she saw our real memories? I questioned Va. I know we killed her, but she’ll respawn in a few days. Will she realize that we were different, and I don’t know, break her programming, or do something to alert the authorities?

  “No, I wouldn’t worry about that. She’ll respawn with only her pre-implanted memories. It will be fine.”

  I shared Val’s words with Tabby. “We’ll be okay.”

  “We will all be okay,” Ersabet said. “Now let us rid ourselves of these awful memories and move on. That building ahead could make a good place to eat and rest. We will need to be at our full strength if we are to defeat a floor boss.”

  Now that the hag was dead, that heavy darkness was dissipating, and our enhanced vision was working properly again. Without some form of light or night vision, I couldn’t imagine anyone fighting their way through this dungeon, let alone fighting a hag shrouded in an evil darkness.

  The building before us was in decent condition. It had a rounded roof like most of the fancier buildings in Nessa, and a single wing with a tower. Eager to be away from the dead hag, lest she be reborn in some horrid manner, I helped Ersabet open the heavy door.

  I peeked inside and had to shield my eyes, as the interior was lit by lanterns. My vision adjusted quickly, and I realized the light from the lanterns wasn’t from a normal flame. This flame was blue with no source, floating lazily in the center of the glass casings. It was magic.

  Ersabet took a step forward, but I grabbed her arm. “Are you sure this is safe?”

  She smiled at me and walked through the threshold. She didn’t vaporize or anything, so I followed.

  Upon entering, I received an instant notification.

  You’ve entered a safe room! No mobs can enter this building, and no player-versus-player combat is permitted. You may stay in the safe room for up to 48 hours. If you exceed your allotted time, you will be teleported to a random location within 500 meters of this building, and you will not be permitted to reenter this specific safe room.

  “Whoa, come on in, everyone. We’re safe here. I just received a notification that no monsters can enter this building, and no players can hurt us in here.”

  The others practically dove through the doorway after hearing those words.

  Tabby let out a great sigh of relief. “Now this is a game feature I can get behind.”

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  We took a moment to explore the building. The tall ceiling was once adorned with elaborate art, but now it was an indecipherable ruin of muted colors and peeling paint.

  The interior was dusty, but intact. A large, round stone table rested in the center of the room, but the chairs had been dragged to different locations around the building. One grouping of chairs encircled an old cookfire.

  “Players have been here before us,” I said, pointing out the charred logs.

  “Yes, and others will come after,” Ersabet said. “Safe rooms are a necessity for any dungeon crawl. They provide respite, a place to rest and regroup. But most importantly, they provide a safe place to eat. Speaking of which, I am famished.”

  “Girl, you and me both,” Tabby said, massaging her stomach.

  I cycled through my inventory and pulled out some bread I had stored away, and passed it around. I had meat, but wood was scarce here, and I wasn’t about to break apart the door to the safe room. “I have some dried meat too, if anyone wants some.”

  “None of that,” Ersabet said. “We need a freshly cooked meal.”

  I held out my hands. “Cook it with what?”

  She grinned, and a quartered piece of firewood appeared in her hand. She placed it on the ground and pulled four more from her inventory. “You should use your inventory more liberally. There’s no reason you shouldn’t have basic supplies like firewood stashed away.”

  “Lesson learned,” I said. “I’ll take care of the fire.”

  I shaved some kindling from the log and stacked it neatly before pulling out my flint and steel. I sparked it, and the kindling took to flame instantly. I frowned when I didn’t get a notification about leveling up my Firestarter competency. I’d probably need to start a few more fires since it was getting up in level now.

  Ersabet and I both produced the best meat from our inventory and set about preparing a meal for the crew. Amazingly, Ersabet also had butter stashed away, which changed the game completely.

  We chowed down in silence, enjoying a full belly and a little peace, but we were never truly comfortable. We knew where we were and the difficulties that awaited us. This was only the first floor, and our plan was to reach level three and somehow track down the gorgon and kill it without turning to stone. It was a tall order, but it had to be done. I kept telling myself it was possible.

  While I had some time, I opened a notification that I had received after defeating the hag. She was worth a lot of experience too, and the next monster I killed, even if it was a small one, would likely give me enough XP to level up again.

  New Achievement!

  Mindfull

  You encountered your first mesmer-type enemy. These are the sort of nasties that can manipulate your mind. They can make you see things, hear things, and act against your will. Some can worm their way into your mind and read your thoughts or feed off your emotions. Players with a weak mind are sure to fall to a mesmer’s psychic depravity, yet somehow, you fought one and survived. Let’s be honest with each other, it was a close call, but you pulled through in the end! Nice work, bucko.

  Your mental fortitude against psychic attacks has been slightly increased. Congratulations.

  If I had it my way, I wouldn’t be fighting any more mind-fuckers again.

  With that out of the way, I broke the group’s silence. “What’s everyone think? It’s getting late already…I think. Do you want to get some sleep here before pushing for the end of the floor?”

  “I’m tired,” Kitz said. “So, I vote we stay.”

  “A little rest wouldn’t hurt,” Delen said, “and I’m not eager to engage in combat with more horrors.”

  “I’m not either,” I said, “but I understand what you mean. Ersabet and I have powers and training…”

  “Training?” Ersabet snorted, interrupting me. “What training do you have?”

  I held out my arms in offense. “I was trained in the Kurskin army.”

  She burst out laughing. “The Kurskins trained you for two weeks, and no doubt spent more time showing off their own talents than instilling any into you. The most you learned from them was how to take a hit.”

  She wasn’t far off, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. “I’m just saying that this is way harder for the others than it is for us. I think it would be prudent if you and I handle the brunt of the fighting.”

  “If you can resist fighting me instead of the monsters, that might be doable,” Ersabet said.

  My face flushed, and I felt anger rising in my chest. “That’s a low blow. I was trying to save my wife.”

  “You were trying to save the hag, not your wife. You knew going in that you’d likely see things that weren’t really there, but you fell right into her trap. I had thought your mind was stronger than that.”

  “Maybe if you and your people hadn’t invaded my planet and broken my mind, we wouldn’t even be in this situation.”

  “Oh, so you hit me because you wanted to, is that it?”

  I squeezed my fists and resisted the urge to stand. “I want to right now.”

  Ersabet tossed a meat skewer over her shoulder. “Perhaps we should resume your training. It is rather fun for me.”

  Tabby stood up and held her palms out at us. “Not here. Not now. You two are arguing over nothing, so shut up, and let’s get some rest.”

  “Four hours,” Ersabet said. “Then we resume the crawl.”

  “Fine with me,” I said, as I pulled out a few blankets from my inventory and tossed them around. I didn’t give one to Ersabet. She had her own to use. “Maybe Ersabet’s mood will improve with some rest.”

  She stepped toward me, but Tabby intercepted.

  “That was rude, John,” Tabby said. “Apologize to Ersabet, so that we can sleep.”

  “Are you serious?” I asked.

  “Be quiet!” Kitz screamed. “You’re all acting like children.”

  When a child tells you that, they’re usually right.

  Without another word, I lay down on the hard stone, closed my eyes, and fell asleep within a minute.