They got a late start on 18A.

"I don't like this…" Patrick grumbled as he waited for the signal to enter the square.

"Me either, but we got outvoted." Penelope gripped her wands.

"I thought both of you would have liked getting to work first thing in the morning." Circe yawned.

"That right there is why this is a bad idea!" Patrick pointed at the youngest member of their team. "If we did this like we've been doing it, then we'd be almost done, but now people are acting like they're ready for a nap!" He shook his head. "We haven't even started, and she's tired. That's just begging for someone to make a mistake!"

"No one's going to make a mistake." Circe laughed. "Seriously, the two of you need to lighten up. We've got this!"

The Dungeon let out its constant sigh, signalling them to walk through the barrier.

"Looks like another quick shot to the left!" Circe sliced her hand towards where Frederica's group would enter.

"It dead-ends into a room." Penelope cast <Light> into the next tunnel, then used <Clairvoyance> to check the other path.

"Pea?" Patrick hesitated at the Y. "You see something?"

"There's a group in that room, and they're coming our way." She focused on the monsters. "Two Queen Flou, looks like a bigger version of the bugs we fought in the elevens. An Aelf, which looks like a wolf with stone skin. A Dair, which has the upper body of something like a squirrel, but from the waist down, it's like a horse tail with all the hair…" She fanned out her fingers. "The last monster is called a Last Breath. It looks like a living armor."

"What about the leader?" Patrick readjusted his shield as he moved into the tunnel to intercept the monsters.

"Assassin." Penelope cancelled the spell. "We should get Frederica's group before they catch us."

"They're coming into the hall already!" Patrick gripped his shield and summoned a stone wall to block off the tunnel. Cracks splintered the stone as the Queen Flou slammed into the barrier. "That's not going to hold them long!" He backed up towards the intersection in the Y. "Let's go!"

Penelope cancelled the <Light> in that tunnel and summoned two rounds of <Light Torrent>. She split half of them behind her as Circe led the charge towards the outer edge of the Dungeon. Marlow followed her in silence while the other Casters readied their fire and water spells.

Penelope stayed beside Patrick as the pair backed away from the tunnel. The balding man raised another <Earthen Wall>, then another.

"You're going to run out of mana if you keep doing that." Penelope looked over at the armored man.

"And they'll wear themselves out too." Patrick motioned for her to back up. "It's going to be a pain to clean up, but that'll give the hammers something to do while we get our stamina back."

"DOOR!" Ailis summoned a pillar of fire to block off the doorway on the right.

"It Ts at the end!" Circe moved ahead of the group. "I'm going to—"

SKREE!

A Dair shot through the doorway, launching itself at Fae-Anna. The two-foot-tall, flying rodent screamed as the three feet of flowing hair that made up its lower half melted and caught fire.

Fae-Anna blasted it with a jet of water, pushing the creature off of her and into the wall. The doused creature struggled to stand, only to have Circe put an arrow through its skull.

"PEN!" Circe pulled Marlow away from the burning doorway.

"I've got this one!" Patrick ran over to the door and braced himself as something clanged off his shield. The monster's howl echoed within the room.

"Wall is coming down!" Penelope twisted her <Light Balls> into shafts of light and threw them through the chunk of wall that got knocked away. She couldn't tell if her spell hit a monster or the wall, but they were used, which allowed her to turn <Clairvoyance> back on.

"We've got incoming!" Penelope kept her eyes closed so she wouldn't have double vision. "I got one of the Queen Flou, but the other one is still over there with the Assassin." She pointed at the room. "There's a pair of Aelves and a pair of Last Breaths in that room with a Knight." She pointed down the tunnel. "Frederica is fighting three of these Dairs, and something is throwing ice at her."

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"Circe?" Fae-Anna glanced up the tunnel. "Think you can get me there?"

"GO!" Penelope blinked to reorient herself. "We can handle this, but Frederica needs someone with a counterspell over there!"

Over half of the wall fell down, revealing a six-foot-tall insect with scythes at the end of its arms.

"That doesn't look like a bigger Flou!" Ailis thrust out her wand. "It looks like someone jammed a praying mantis on top of the Flou!"

"I said 'like'." Penelope summoned two sets of her spell and sent one round after the Assassin. The other round, she sent at Marlow.

The Assassin was able to use its <Backstab> skill before Patrick got his taunt off. The Shadow Demon picked the least likely person to fight back as its first victim.

The Demon's blades bounced off the Healer's neck. Marlow's skin took on a silver tone as his skin turned to metal. Patrick laughed as the Assassin stumbled away from the Healer.

"Didn't know I could do that, did you!" Patrick braced against his shield as the monsters slammed into it again. "Someone kill that thing!"

The <Light Balls> were too close to the Demon, and <Backstab> had a cooldown. The four spells crashed into the Demon, then a stream of fire vaporized its head, reducing the Demon to a pile of items.

"I think I broke the hood." Ailis winced as she looked at the smoking items.

"We can worry about that later." Penelope hurried over to Marlow. "You okay?"

The graying man just nodded, his eyes staring at what was left of the Demon that could have killed him.

"We've got to get in that room." Penelope turned to Patrick. "Wait for them to back up, then lock your shield."

"You sure about that?" Patrick leaned against the metal. "Her wall is down."

Penelope summoned two more rounds of her spell. The eight balls rotated around her as she focused on the door. "Nothing in there is going to be able to grab the shield; you'll be fine." She glanced over at Ailis. "Don't miss."

"I won't." The other Caster promised.

"NOW!" Patrick twisted the shield, only to reveal a spiked shield on the other side.

Penelope stopped her projectiles from hitting the wall of metal, but Ailis used a channeling spell, which scorched the spiked protection.

"We're going to have to fight them in here!" Penelope moved back towards the broken wall. "Let them in!"

Ails ran past the Tank over to where Penelope was standing as Patrick unstuck his shield and backed up the tunnel, one hand guiding Marlow back with the other hand on his shield.

The Shadow Knight charged into the room, slamming into the other shield. Penelope and Ailis unleashed their spells on the Demon's exposed back, only for the pair of Aelves to jump in the way. Both of the canines landed on the stone floor, their red eyes fixated on the two women as they stalked towards them.

"Again!" Penelope blasted the canine on her right, dropping it before it got close. The other Aelf dodged to her left, then leapt at her. Penelope <Blinked> farther back, away from the snapping jaws of the monster.

Penelope shook her head to brush off the disorientation. "Aly, why—?"

The other woman was covered in red armor. The arms strained to hold her still as Ailis struggled against the monster that was suffocating her.

Can I shoot the thing without hurting her? Penelope ran towards them, blasting the Aelf as it charged her, this time dropping it before it reached her.

"No, but you're going to do a lot less damage to her than it will."

Penelope blasted the armor with her <Light Balls>, one at a time. It took four hits at different places before the entire suit of armor disintegrated into sand and fell off of its victim.

Ailis gasped for air as she fell forward, landing on her hands and knees.

"You're going to be okay!" Penelope ran past the other woman, setting her sights on the original target.

The Shadow Knight stabbed at Patrick's prone form as the Tank clawed at the Last Breath covering Marlow. Penelope blasted the exposed Demon in the back, dropping three rounds of her spell into its back before it dropped.

"Patrick!" Penelope skidded to a stop beside the Tank. "You're bleeding!"

"And he's dying!" Patrick stabbed with his sword as he failed to pry the mask off Marlow's face.

"I've got this!" Penelope cast <Light Torrent> and slammed all four projectiles into her friend's chest.

Just like with Ailis, the magic armor dissolved into sand, but unlike Ailis, who gasped for air the moment the armor dissipated, Marlow wasn't moving. His lips were blue, and his glassy eyes stared up at the ceiling.

"Do we need a potion—?"

Patrick yanked off his helmet and pressed his lips over his friend's mouth and blew. He started compressions, then blew into Marlow's mouth again.

Penelope dug into her pocket and pulled out a Healing Potion, but Jeru put his hand over hers. "It won't help."

"I'm not going to let you die!" Patrick slammed his fist into Marlow's chest. "Give me that!" He ripped the potion out of her hand and poured it into the Healer's mouth, covering it with his own as he blew the liquid down Marlow's throat.

"What…" Ailis covered her mouth as she watched Patrick try to bring back his friend.

"One of you get CALEB!" Patrick wiped the tears out of his eyes. "Give me another potion!"

"It's not…" Penelope swallowed. "He's gone, Patrick."

Ailis burst into tears as she ran down the tunnel towards the other group.

"He's not dead until I say he is!" Patrick dug into the pouch on his belt. He pulled out another potion and poured the liquid down his friend's throat. "Don't just stand there, help me!"

Tears flowed down Penelope's face as she kneeled next to the older man. "Patrick! Patrick!" She grabbed his arm. "I can see his status in the party menu." She closed her eyes. "He's dead."

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