You're joking. Frigun Harrow?" Asked Olivia. Tay nodded. "The crime boss of Finick's Bay…Awesome!" She whispered.
"Yeah, really cool," Tay grumbled. "Olivia," Said Raya admonishingly. "What?" Asked the younger-looking adventurer defensively.
"I doubt Mr. Mallor wants to talk about his personal life right now." Olivia stared at her for a moment, before sorting her expression and looking apologetically at Tay.
"Sorry." She said simply. Tay shrugged, rubbing his still-aching body. Even with the high-quality healing items, the pain of a hundred cuts was something that left a numb feeling behind.
"It's fine. I could see how it might be an interesting story." He trailed off, unsure of where to begin. Sharing his past wasn't something he normally did, with anyone.
"He wasn't a great father figure. After my parents disappeared—" He flinched. "—died, I was on my own. Pretty sure I nearly died out there. Harrow was the one to end up saving me." His steps began to fade from his ears as he began to lose himself in his own history.
"He took me under his wing for whatever reason—He's never gotten around to explaining why. He taught me how to survive in the gang, taught me how to swing a sword." He looked sideways at Alexander, the not-so-distant bruises from their training sessions still fresh in his mind.
"Evidently," he said with a sigh. "He didn't do a very good job." The group snickered. "And so the years went on. Failures lead to punishments, success led to lessons on improvement." Even If he was starting To trust the Phantoms, he wouldn't be showing anyone his scars.
"It's funny, there was a time I would do anything to please that man. I tried and tried, but he wouldn't ever say it was enough. It felt like every time i came to him with whatever successful mission I came back from, he would always say 'More, more.'"
Perhaps a little bit of an exaggeration, but it sure felt that way for Tay.
"Sounds a lot like Raya's Pa." mussed Olivia. "How so?" Asked Tay. Raya continued to stare forwards as they traversed the endless maze of identical grey tunnels.
"Well, she's one of the best adventures this city's ever seen, but I don't think her Pa has ever complimented her. At least not in front of us." She shrugged. "I think a lot of us have issues in that 'area.'" She said, making a broad motion with her hands.
Tay nodded. "Sounds about right." He chuckled. "The only times Harrow ever came close to giving praise was when he had an agenda he wanted to further." Just like now.
"Sounds just like old man Finick." Said Olms in his deep growly voice. "But we don't ever know what he wants."
"He has some sort of scheme," interjected Alexander. "But as for what it is…" He trailed off.
"My Father is an enigma even to myself," said Raya. "What he wants, what his plans are, and why he's keeping me here are all mysteries I would very much like to know. But as I'm sure you know, men like my father do not share. With anyone." She smirked at Tay. He certainly did.
"If you don't mind me asking, what were your parents like?" Asked Alan. It was a good question. What his parents were like…he hardly remembered them, it was so long ago.
"They were adventurers—I think. Honestly, they're a blur, I can barely remember their faces. I just remember them being gone a lot. My Nani was practically family because she was around so much." He couldn't quite remember her name. Drewna, maybe.
"But when they were home, It was nice. They were good to me. My father often taught me how to use a bow—I think he wanted me to be a hunter or something. My mother taught me more mundane things like cooking and sewing. I remember holding her hand as we walked along the beach." He stopped as his eyes watered. An arm wrapped itself around his shoulders as Olms tried his best to be comforting. It was too bad that he had very uncomfortable armor on.
"My ma died when I was six." Said Olivia softly. "Died outside the city." She looked at the ground. "It's sorta funny, the most dangerous thing in this city is rarely the thing that does us in." She chuckled sadly.
"Do you not enjoy It? Asked Tay. A smile crossed her face. "I love it." The smile twisted into a beastly grin.
"If one of us were to decide to leave this life," Said Alan. "She would certainly not be the one." A round of chuckles went around the group. Tay liked that sound. Honest and true unlike the measured laughter around his regular company.
"So when did you Become an adventurer?" He asked Olivia. She thought for a moment, one of her daggers twirling in her hand dangerously close to her neck.
"I think I was 13. After Ma passed, Pa became…Distant." She said uncertainly. "I had to find a job, and adventuring sounded The most fun." She giggled to herself. "I can still remember my power's realization, how exhilarating it was. I wouldn't want to do anything else."
Tay had to agree. The power flowing through you, the feeling of your own potential. It's indescribable.
Suddenly, everyone stopped. They stopped moving, breathing, blinking. Something was happening. They could feel the tower doing something, something it shouldn't be. The ground beneath them began to vibrate and then ungulate as if the tower and the stone within had suddenly become alive.
"Flood…" Olivia murmured. Tays skin tingled as bums formed. Not a flood! He prayed. "It isn't." Said Raya. Her pollsword was at the ready, the black matter with purple lighting had engulfed the blade entirely.
"It's a Wave." She wiped a bead of sweat from her cheek. The floor stopped moving, and the vibrations returned. But this time it was different. It wasn't a constant even feeling, but rather rapid and sporadic, like a great many things were all running at once.
Rata tilted her head as if to listen, and then she bent, her back arching slightly. With a soft breath, she said: "Run!"
It didn't take long for the wave of monsters to find them. They ran and ran, but with the monster's in a blind rage as they were—even worse than usual, they could only give themselves more time.
Monsters seemed to appear from every tunnel and crack. They crawled along the ceiling and up cavern walls. The higher-level adventurers could only do so much without risk of destroying the tower's outer walls. They couldn't let a wave outside onto The unsuspecting people below.
And even in such a situation, the group was breathing a sigh of relief knowing this wasn't a wave.
Level 3 monsters were appearing quickly, almost as fast as level 2s normally did. In such numbers, and as the team was unable to stop and deal with each one, they were starting to pose a problem.
Tay swung out his sword whenever possible, trying to do his part to keep the hordes of little grey Fey monsters out of the way of his companions.
Alexander and Olms both were at the front clearing whole packs of the creatures like blades of grass. Olivia and Alan were targeting the wildly Lashing tentacles of the bigger monsters.
Perhaps three minutes after they had begun to retreat, they had managed to kill another level 3 and Tay had been the one to deliver the killing blow. With that came the greatest feeling any adventurer could ever have.
Evolution.
Level 2! The room of monsters—and people, stopped dead as light flooded from his body. He felt the warm sensation of new power, of a part of himself That had been hidden from him, now revealed.
The fighting didn't stop for long, however. Soon, they had to run again. But Tays body was aching. The last time he had evolved he had gone unconscious, and he really, really didn't want that to happen at that exact moment.
Eventually, they found themselves trapped. Whole troops of Fey walled, crawled, and wriggled to them like an endless army. Tay was barely able to stand now, the evaluation was coming into full effect. He could hardly see the heaps of bodies that were amassing around the group.
"Raya," Alexander said hastily. "It's time to do the thing." He gestured to the wall behind them. She nodded, and the group moved hurriedly away. They blocked the attacks from the monsters as magic surged from her, forcing even Tay back into awareness.
The black and purple matter swirled around her body in beautiful, almost molded, curtain-like rivers. It started from her feet, and ended at the tip of her weapon.
Power. Sheer, unchallengeable power that felt like nothing, manifested. And with the flick of her wrist, that power surged forward. And then there was nothing where there should have been something.
The stone where she had aimed was gone. So was the stone beyond, and even beyond that. Tunnels and caverns, once blocked, were now opened for them.
The attack had created a perfectly cylindrical path for them, and at the other end of it was the beacon they had planted when they entered the floor.
The thunderous sound of rapid footsteps came from behind them as they ran. Olms carried Tay like a light sack of wheat. Olivia ran at the back of the group, her daggers were flying on their own in the air, a faintly green haze surrounded them as they sliced at the oncoming monsters.
They were only second away now, just another few strides and…darkness enveloped them. Then a dizzying blur, and then the sound faded away.
The team—mainly Tay, stumbled out of the gate elevator. Adventurers making their way to the wall of shimmering blue had to hug the caves walls so to not get shoved to the ground. Once the team regained their composure, they sat on the cold stone beneath them.
Silence filled the cave as the suddenness of the surge is registered by the team. "That was…" Tay said breathlessly. "A lot?" Asked Alexander. Tay nodded before, oddly, a fit of laughter overtook him.
"I-I'm sorry—" He wheezed out as his body shook from his almost minical giggling. Soon, Olivia began to chuckle, then Olms, then Alexander and Raya, and even Alan. Soon, laughter echoed off the cave walls as the team enjoyed the fresh salty air.