If Theo could be taught the spell array for a standard spell, he could reverse-engineer it to construct a simple ward. Whatever skills he lacked in the spellcrafting department could be made up with his Shadow’s Spirit Core. And with something like Death magic, he wasn’t planning to mess around. Zarali taught him the simple form of a spell called Death Ward and he learned that the concept of ‘death’ in the magical schools wasn’t as clear as the word.

    Instead of just killing a person, the spell might take years off their life. It might wither a limb, remove a sense, steal attributes... It was nasty magic. Theo prepared to weave his spell, extending his aura around the group and turning off his defensive ward. First, he inspected the spell he had constructed.

    [Deflect Death Magic]

    [Advanced Ward] [Linked Ward]

    Creates a reactive barrier that impedes all foreign Death magical energy from entering the bubble.

    Trigger:

    Detect Adverse Magic

    Duration:

    50 days.

    He assumed he would need to maintain this barrier for their entire time on Frank, so he infused it with his most powerful ability. Spirit Weaving. He invoked it, weaving his potent soul into the spell. The field he had produced expanded around them, engulfing a massive area in the sky with his power. With the spell now active on him—and with almost no need to maintain it—he inspected the effect.

    [Nullify Death Magic]

    [Advanced Ward] [Linked Ward]

    Creates a suppressive field that resists most hostile magic within the bubble. All death-aligned magic cast within the bubble will fizzle.

    Spiritwoven Bonus:

    The power of this ward is linked directly to the caster’s willpower. Effectiveness of this ward is increased depending on the caster’s willpower.

    Trigger:

    Detect Adverse Magic

    Duration:

    50 days.

    The ward was already interesting. Theo had a ward that technically nullified all magic within a bubble. But Xol’sa kept talking about how nasty Death magic was, and how they needed something to target that type rather than using a blanket spell. The alchemist looked above as a wave of darkness rolled off from Frank. He had completed the spell not a moment too soon. High in the air, that wave of black crashed against his spell. Flecks of purple-blue energy rained down on the group.

    “Ah. That was a powerful Death spell,” Xol’sa said, shaking his head. “Without your cheat barrier, we might’ve all just died.”

    “Cool, cool, cool. Can I stab it?” Tresk asked, her daggers at the reader.

    “No stabbing,” Aarok commanded. “Get ready for the beast to dive. Then we’re jumping aboard.”

    Just jump on the giant horror from another world, Theo thought. After fighting stealth dragons... Another day in Broken Tusk, I guess.

    Theo had little exposure to this world. It was his first time going into a dungeon with any intent other than to look around. He was part of the team that would clear the dungeon. It hadn’t occurred to him how strange that was until now. He watched as Frank swooped through the air. If it could even be called ‘swooping’. The way the monster moved was in a lumbering fashion, banking over the course of miles. It was even stranger how little wake it created from each maneuver. As the group waited to jump onto the monster, he kept his eye out for more attacks. ra?N?bЕs??

    “The scale of that thing,” Theo muttered, watching as Frank finished his banking move and passed below the islands.@@@@

    “Yeah, really boggles the mind doesn’t it?” Tresk asked. “Get ready to jump, stinky.”

    Aarok headed the effort, standing near the ledge of the island and crouching. Enhanced by attributes, he made the jump over to the soaring monster with little effort. Theo watched as some fouled their jumps, tumbling to the depths below. He made sure to be near them, giving them a boost as they jumped to prevent their deaths. Future sight was overpowered, and there was no reason not to use it. Once most of the others were across—and the ones he saw through his Wisdom-enhanced sight weren’t sailing to the ground below—he made the jump himself. It was a bit too easy, thanks to his enhanced attributes.

    “Right, because why would there be a dungeon in a dungeon?” Zarali asked. “Is there yet another dungeon inside that one?”

    “And one after that!” Tresk shouted. “Dungeons all the way down, baby!”

    “Perhaps,” Aarok said. “What do your senses say about the dungeon core, Xol’sa?”

    “It says the core is inside the other dungeon. I normally cannot sense the contents of a dungeon, but this one seems to be the exception.”

    “Any other useful information you can glean from the entrance?”

    “None.”

    Aarok jerked his head, pulling a few people into a private meeting. He dragged Luras, Zarali, Tresk, and Theo into a private meeting. His face looked troubled, but the alchemist couldn’t help but smile. He remembered a story he had been told about the half-ogre. He and Luras had wanted to join an armed force called the Qavelli Irregulars. It was meant to be a standing army maintained by the kingdom and sent to fight in wars. They didn’t fit into the normal rank-and-file, so they were given the title ‘irregular’. How far the man had come from being rejected to leading a dungeon no one had ever seen before.

    “We’re riding on a giant whale,” Aarok said, pursing his lips. “If that wasn’t weird enough, we’re talking about jumping into another dungeon. What kind of risks are we talking about, Xol’sa?”

    “Literally anything you can imagine,” Xol’sa said. “Although Theo might be more the expert on this topic.”

    “Don’t look at me. This is my first dungeon.”

    “You understand extra-spatial places, though. You have a world of your own, can travel to a floating island in the void, and have visited the domain of the gods.” Xol’sa nodded to himself, as though he understood the error of addressing his pupil. “When you push between realms, is there a common factor between them? What behaves differently?”

    “Time, mostly,” Theo said with a shrug. “Whether we’re talking about time moving at a different pace, or time as the driving factor for wearing someone’s mind away, it is always time.”

    “So if you put a dungeon in a dungeon, there may be time dilation effects,” Xol’sa said with a shrug. “And the expression of that time might be different. When dungeons experience a lot of time they...”

    Xol’sa let the words hang in the air.

    “Oh!” Tresk said, her hand shooting up. “They release monsters!”

    “Unless they cannot release monsters because they’re a dungeon in a dungeon,” Xol’sa said.

    “I’m waiting for the part where I understand this,” Aarok said.

    Theo was, too. Xol’sa made it sound like the alchemist was the expert, then pulled this professor 180 on him.

    “I suspect the nested dungeon is wall-to-wall monsters,” Xol’sa said. “Based on the energy readings I performed and the information I have.”

    “There’s a simple way to tell,” Tresk said, shrugging. “Let me go in there.”

    “That’s too risky,” Aarok said, shaking his head.

    “Nah, I’m gonna jump in for a microsecond and jump out. Theo can watch through my eyes in his future sight and let us know what’s up!”

    Everyone shared a look.

    “That’s not a horrible idea,” Luras said.

    “I actually agree,” Theo admitted.

    “Fine,” Aarok grumbled. “Let’s get this over with.”

    Tresk rolled her shoulders as she approached the entrance. All she had to do was have the intent of going in, and that fate would play out. Theo shifted his sight to hers, watching the world from a much shorter vantage point. He gave her a quick nod and she approached the entrance.

    “Stop,” Theo said, holding his hand up and shaking his head. “Yeah, that’s not good.”