“Okay, so are we going to try to burn down this jungle?” Fowl asked as they stood, staring at the thick trees and foliage leading to the dungeon.

“Tanila might be able to,” Max replied, winking at Tanila. “She’s the one with an epic skill now.”

“You two, stop that,” Batrire said, chiding both boys for their behavior.

“Thanks,” Tanila whispered to Batrire.

“Don’t think anything of it, sister. Now, when can I get that autograph like you promised?”

Tanila groaned as Fowl and Max started laughing.

“Three!” Fowl shouted.

“I got left!” Tanila yelled as Max moved toward the one on the right, halberd ready and in Stealth mode.

Max cut down his target while Tanila sent a shard of ice as big as he was into the ape charging from the left. It hit with such force and power that it forced the ape back, shattering its top half as it froze.

“HOLY ELF TITS!” Batrire shouted as they witnessed Tanila’s newly upgraded spell.

The last ape found itself cut down a few moments later.

“Are you sure we need a fifth?” Fowl asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “If Tanila can hit like that…”

“They're not at our level,” Tanila replied, ignoring Fowl’s praise. “Besides, we all know those didn’t pose the greatest challenge this dungeon can throw at us. Let’s not just give up on the plan we all agreed to just because I’m such a badarse now.”

Max chuckled when Tanila gave a slight bow after finishing speaking.

“Gods, what am I going to do with you three?” Batrire groaned. "It was bad enough with those two and their big heads; now I have to deal with an elf who is full of herself.”

“FIVE!”

Max cursed as two apes dropped behind Tanila and Batrire right after Fowl pulled another group of three.

“I’ve got them! Focus on the others!” Tanila shouted.

Ignoring the temptation to turn and try to help her, Max instead focused on the one closest to him.

Coming out of Stealth, he cut down the ape in a single blow. It amazed him how much had changed in the last few weeks.

Fowl banged his hammer against the shield of the one on his right while the one on his left charged and slammed into his shield.

The dwarven tank slid back about two feet but remained unaffected as the ape roared.

Max came at the one on the right, spinning to hack off both of its legs right below its hips.

He had chosen the move so he could see how Tanila and Batrire were doing, and Max almost tripped when he saw one ape impaled on a massive stone spike and the other frozen solid.

Moving to the last ape, Max cut through its neck and decapitated it, while Fowl killed the legless ape by repeatedly bashing it in the head.

“Maybe Fowl was right, and we don’t need a fifth,” Max said, inspecting the carnage from the beasts Tanila had taken out on her own. “I’m not sure I could win in a duel against you.”

“I doubt that,” Tanila said with a smirk. “Once you got close, I’d be done for. Besides, I’m pretty sure you’re smart enough to figure out how to beat me.”

Nodding, Max smiled and gave her a wink. “I’m pretty sure it would be an epic fight, to say the least, and we both would probably use everything we had.”

Fowl glanced back and forth at his two friends, casually discussing how they would fight each other.

“Sad when you’re not worthy of licking their feet,” Batrire teased Fowl as she patted him on the shoulder.

“Wait. I could have licked their feet?” Fowl asked.

Max groaned. “Ok, that made my stomach roil… the thought of Fowl licking feet.”

“Keep your kinks to yourself,” Tanila added as she glared at the dwarven tank.

Ignoring their concerns, he laughed and started walking further into the jungle.

“Let’s go people. We got a boss to kill.”

“What the hell is this?” Fowl asked as they stood outside the portal leading to the boss floor. “This isn’t possible.”

The others nodded, looking at the orange and purple portal that pulsed with a deep thrum.

“What… no, don’t even try arguing we don’t need to do this. Imagine if Everett or Tom were here,” Max said. “I don’t think we can tell them about this anytime soon.”The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Tanila nodded. Max saw how she was grimacing as she stared at the portal.

“What’s wrong Tanila?”

Their elven mage shook her head as she saw them looking at her. They all looked concerned.

“It’s just me and my big brain trying to do the math behind something like this,” Tanila explained. “I won’t go into details, but the fact that we are staring at a rare boss floor scares me. Not because it is rare, but because of something else… the question of why we keep getting these.”

“Do you have an answer to that question?” Batrire asked, watching her friend and noticing the concern on her face.

“Yes and no. If what we all believe about Seth is right, then the real question we have to ask ourselves is, can someone track what is happening to him? If the other god doesn’t like Seth, is this somehow a way to identify the skill he has?”

Max winced at that possibility. “I’m not certain how that would work. I mean, how would this help a god track me?”

Tanila sighed and frowned. “I’m privy to things I could be killed for sharing, and yet, I'm going to trust you three now because if we add another party member, it will be difficult to find another chance to talk like this.”

She motioned to a spot on the ground. “Let’s sit and rest for a moment. This is going to take a bit.”

“There are more gods than the three gods that we all believe in,” Tanila said, watching the others nod slowly. “For our world, those are the ones who rule our homes. On the other worlds, it is someone different…”

“Like the worlds connected through portals and gates?” Fowl asked.

“Even more than those, but yes. A few gates can be opened to other worlds, but those are usually the ones in which our god has power. Ockrim has multiple worlds, as does Thuyja. I know this because my parents have talked about me or one of my siblings one day, perhaps, going to one of them and taking power there.”

“How is that–”

“Just wait, please,” Tanila asked as she cut off Max. “The battle between the elves, humans, and dwarves from long ago was caused by people coming through those portals. The truth is, the last I knew, the three gods here didn't actually want to fight. Our prayers and actions here make them stronger. Yet other gods sometimes involve themselves, for whatever reason, with a world controlled by a god or goddess they don’t like.”

“Like the one that has helped Seth,” Batrire said as Tanila stopped to take a drink.

Tanila nodded and looked at Max, who sat there trying to absorb everything she told them.

“All I know is, as we get stronger and accomplish more, eventually we will attract the attention of our gods. If, as we discussed, we get close to completing the tower, then, without a doubt, the gods will be able to tell someone is growing stronger. That can be good and bad… good because if we go to another world and conquer in their name, they will grant all sorts of perks and powers. One of my sisters… she…” Tanila shuddered and stopped talking, shaking her head as she looked down at her cup. “I have a sister who is actively trying to get stronger no matter the cost… she is a follower of Thuyja, but of the old ways.”

Tanila looked at Max and winced. “She would kill you in a heartbeat, not because of what you are or the power you have but because you are a human.”

Looking at Fowl and Batrire, Tanila sighed. “She might even kill you without hesitation. She believes our race should be the only one.”

Max let out a low whistle when he heard that a princess was out there killing humans and trying to get stronger.

“Wait… she’s a princess like you?” Max asked. “I mean, like you like you?”

Tanila nodded, knowing what Max was asking. “Yes, and she has no problem using the one she acquired. It is an ugly thing.”

“I’m sorry, but you haven’t told us what you two seem to be talking about,” Batrire said. “Is there something we need to know?”

Shaking her head, Tanila frowned. “Not here and not now, but yes… I have shared a few things with him I haven’t told you. I will–”

“No, don’t. Don’t share just because you think I want to know. It’s ok if you two have secrets, just like Fowl and I have secrets. “

Tanila smiled and nodded as Batrire smiled back.

“Anyways,” Fowl said in a long, drawn-out way. “So what does all that have to do with these portals and us?”

“The more portals we go in, the stronger we get, the more I’m worried we’ll be noticed by a god that doesn’t like us. It’s one thing to get noticed at the tower's higher levels. It’s totally different when you are in the tower's lower levels or not even in it. Our strength isn’t enough to possibly to discourage them from attacking us.”

Tanila leaned over and drew a picture of the tower in the dirt.

“My parents have completed to the lower sixties in the tower. To say they got there on their own is a lie, as my grandparents spent a great amount of money and power to give them the best partners to get them that high. Eventually, they realized the dangers of it, and my grandparents told them it would be fine if they stopped. If my dad wanted to, he could kill me in an instant, and there would be nothing I could do to stop it.”

Fowl gulped at that, glancing at Batrire and Max. “That powerful?”

“You’ll realize the difference the day we get into the tower, and those crystals Everett gave us can be used. Some say it's like a drug.”

They sat there in silence for a while, and then Fowl stood. “Well, who cares? I say we go kill this boss and get stronger. I mean, we can’t turn down a chance like this! A boss! A fricking rare boss!”

Max chuckled and nodded. “I hate to agree with Fowl. I’m up for doing it. Everett and Tom would kill us if they ever found out we passed up this chance.”

Tanila rubbed her face, groaning slightly.

“What’s wrong, hun?” Batrire asked.

“Just the thought of another elf in our party… being the only one right now makes me special.”

They all groaned when they noticed the smirk on Tanila’s face, hidden partially by her hand.

“Well, at least Seth will still be special,” Fowl said. “No one with a head that shiny can’t be.”

“Enough you three, it’s time to get to work. Let’s see what’s inside this boss portal.”

Max, Tanila, and Fowl all chuckled as Batrire bossed them around.

“Well, this reminds me of that cat boss we faced,” Max said. “Only, this looks far worse.”

Fowl nodded as he smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Suddenly, I feel the need for something stronger than water.”

They all looked at the layout of the boss floor. Trees over three hundred feet tall grew in random positions throughout the room. It was hard to tell, but the boss's room appeared to be at least five hundred yards in diameter if they estimated the distance correctly to the boss that they could barely make out. Each tree trunk was over ten feet in diameter, and the first branches were easily fifty feet up.

The dirt floor almost seemed to glow as light from the sun, visible through the trees, reflected off it.

“Are we taking bets on how tall that thing really is?” Fowl asked.

Max shook his head as he stared at the boss sitting on the ground over two hundred yards away.

“Thirty feet? Maybe more?”

Looking over his shoulder again, Max tried to ignore the fact that there wasn’t a portal to exit the dungeon.

Do not fear it… Consume it!

The voice was back, and it seemed giddy at the prospect of what was before him.

Quiet Bob!

An angry tone of displeasure flooded his mind and core.

Mocking me is not a wise choice. Remember, without me, you may find yourself without any skills…