Spam was, in fact, not ready for a swim. A stance the familiar made loudly clear from where it clung to the back of her head as Cyn swam for the island in the lake. That would have been surprising, if Cyn had not confirmed before wading into the uncomfortably chill water that Spam was not actually a species of frog.

  Voidling - Level 20 (?)

  ? 'Spam Mail'

  ? An enigmatic and incorporeal creature that lives in the gap between physical dimensions.

  ? This specific Voidling has found a way to maintain a physical presence after entering the transitional dungeon of dimension 242.

  ? This creature has formed a [Familiar Bond].

  ? This creature is bonded to you.

  Cyn wasn’t sure when Spam’s Inspect result had changed - since she had not had a reason to use the skill on the creature since first encountering it - so there was no way to tell if the extra information was the result of her higher level, the amount of time she had spent with Spam, or just because the Feathered Brine Serpent had cued her in to it. Regardless, it gave Cyn something to think about other than the nearby serpent that was watching them make their way to the lonely island in the center of the lake.

  She was trying hard not to think about it, a feat made increasingly difficult as the Feathered Brine Serpent maintained only a relatively short distance from her. The damn thing barely had to move to keep up. Cyn was pretty sure the creature was not a danger to her, at least temporarily. It and Spam had made a deal, and it did need her help. But that didn’t mean that its presence didn’t get her heart racing and adrenaline pumping.

  While she considered herself a pretty solid swimmer, the size of the lake meant it still took around ten minutes for Cyn to get close to the island and tower. The exercise had taken significantly more stamina than she had anticipated, since Cyn had based her estimation on running. There was only about a quarter of it left as she slowed down to approach the shoreline of the island, the tower taking up almost all of the landmass. There was only a thin strip of rocky dirt between it and the water. Looking at the structure up and down, she realized the tower itself wasn’t in nearly as bad of a condition as it had appeared from a distance.

  The most visible and significant damage came from the roof of the tower having collapsed and taken a chunk of the upper floors with it. While parts of the roof lay in a pile of debris off to one side, there was enough missing that Cyn suspected most of it would be inside of the building. Provided that the interior damage was limited to only a few of the upper floors, she estimated there would be around ten floors to search once she was inside. Considering the diameter of the building was only around fifty feet, searching for the serpent’s egg in a limited time frame did not seem unreasonable.

  One thing that only stood out to Cyn once she was nearly at her destination was the lack of any plant life in the water close to the island, and on the rocky shore. It stood in stark contrast to both the lake, which was filled with the kelp-like plants, and the tower itself. On the tower there was a sage-colored moss that grew over nearly every exterior surface, alongside a darker ivy that seemed to crawl vertically up and down the stone bricks that made up the tower. But there was a very clear line where the moss and ivy met the ground, and spread no further. It was much the same in the water, as rather than a gradual decrease in the aquatic flora approaching the shore, it simply cut off suddenly as if meeting an invisible barrier.

  These observations lead Cyn to stop and tread water above the lake plants, around fifteen feet from the shore of the island. Just a few feet ahead of her the dead zone began. There was almost certainly some kind of defense mechanism in place, causing the lack of life around the tower, but she could see no clues to tell her exactly what it was. Short of throwing Spam across the threshold – which was absolutely not an option that crossed Cyn’s mind – there was only one good way to find out.

  “So... do you know if there is some kind of trap defending the tower?” Never hurts to just ask. Cyn also had a backup plan of diving down to get some of the plants to throw into the dead zone, but she thought it was likely the creature would be able to tell her more than such a simple test could. And it would be nice to not stumble into danger blind, for once.

  A massive, scaled snout broke the surface of the water just beside Cyn, startling her since she did not realize the serpent had swum within touching distance. Do your eyes not work, Human? Or are you simply stupid?

  While at least one of those accusations was debatable, Cyn chose not to answer the questions posed. Instead, she tried to carefully rephrase what she was asking. “I see the dead zone. What I meant was, do you know what is causing it?”

  Crimson irises stared into Cyn’s hazel ones a few moments, before the serpent answered her in a soft whisper. Fire, a kind that burns even under the water. It consumes anything that ventures too close. She watched as the creature sunk back down, diving down to the bottom and picking one of the shrub-like plants in its teeth before resurfacing. It must have been more coral than shrub, since it retained a stiff, bushy shape even outside of the water.

  The serpent glanced at her again, before spitting out the plant with enough velocity to make it hit the exterior of the tower and bounce. There was no effect when the projectile bounced off the building, but the same could not be said when it hit the rocky shore. The instant the plant hit the ground it burst into silver flames, bouncing again and being consumed entirely before it could land a second time. While the plant was probably not a good indicator of how strong the trap was, the intensity of the blaze made Cyn cautious about just trying to heal herself and Spam through it.

  Even if I can survive the flames for a time, they grow ever stronger the longer they are allowed to burn. And I am too large to get inside without risking that the structure collapses atop my egg. Cyn nodded slowly to the serpent’s words, her eyes drawn back to the debris that originated from the collapsed roof. There was still moss attached to some of the rubble, indicating it should be safe for her to step on. It would not be an easy path to get to the tower walls, but she was confident she could traverse it. The two main obstacles would be fifteen or so feet of open water, and actually making it inside by either scaling the wall or finding her way to a door. There was no door on this side of the tower.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Making her way around the dead zone, towards what remained of the roof, Cyn decided to voice what she was thinking aloud. Just in case the serpent had any ideas, since getting back its egg was clearly important to it. “If I can get over the water, I should be able to make it inside.” Cyn had briefly considered going back ashore to get a log or something to float on, but quickly scrapped the idea. If it burned away plants that touched the area, a boat would not protect her from the flames. It was probably only nonorganic material that was safe.

  I cannot spit you over there like the Lakenut. You are too heavy, Human, and the force it would require would kill you. It had been quite vicious before, but now that Cyn was actively trying to help it the creature had shifted to almost docile while they spoke. No less dangerous, obviously, but it was nice to feel like they were temporary friends.

  “Would it kill Spam to be shot over there?” Upon Cyn’s perfectly reasonable question, there was an immediate chorus of angry sounds that emanated from the familiar. It had already been grumbling, a small sound she had learned to ignore after traveling with the frog – or rather, Voidling – for so long. But apparently the suggestion was too much for Spam. Treading water, Cyn reached back behind her head to Pet the familiar while the Feathered Brine Serpent seemed to seriously consider her question.

  Hmm... I do not know. The Voidling is quite odd, and I am not familiar with its species. Even if I could, it could not retrieve my egg alone, could it? After another brief pause the creature turned its serpentine head towards shore before diving back below the surface of the water. Perhaps the other Humans will have a better idea. Cyn had been debating if she should try and explain her logic, which revolved around using Soul Slip at its maximum distance to just barely reach the shore, but was distracted by the mention of other Humans.

  Cyn had not been out on the water nearly long enough for the group to have made it all the way back to camp and return with reinforcements. Turning back towards the shore herself, she could make out the distant forms. Four of them were standing roughly midway between the shore and trees, while two others were just entering the water. Sam’s bulk was easily recognizable as one of the swimmers, confirming it was the group that was supposed to leave for camp without her, but Cyn was not able to recognize Cirrus as the second swimmer until they were quite a bit closer.

  She was mildly annoyed at the pair leaving their four lower-level allies to fend for themselves. But just as they arrived, and before Cyn could voice that annoyance, Sam rather forcefully dunked her head under the water. What the fuck?! The Berserker did not hold her there, instead letting her go almost immediately. Cyn bobbed back up to the surface, coughing and sputtering while poor, not-actually-a-frog Spam wailed pitifully.

  “Sorry, Spam. Collateral damage.” Sam’s voice was thick with emotion, confusing Cyn further. Before she could fully catch her breath, the familiar was plucked from her hair. Realizing he was probably about to dunk her again, she quickly used Soul Slip to hide behind Cirrus and dodge the Berserker’s large, grabbing hands.

  Peeking out from behind her Human shield, Cyn exclaimed, “What the fuck, Sam?!” The Berserker looked pretty pissed off, though the effect was dampened by the bubble-gum pink familiar now clinging to the top of his head. Cirrus, she noticed, did not look particularly happy either. Whether that was due to the situation as a whole, or just Cyn using him as a shield, was unclear.

  Sam jabbed a finger towards her, practically yelling, “You! That’s what! I can’t just march back into camp and say,” Sam started miming his hands talking to each other, taking in a mocking tone, ”So, Scott, uhhh Cyn ran off again and I left her behind. That’s cool, right?“ The Berserker slapped both hands onto the water, creating a large splash to spray over Cyn and Cirrus. The latter being the second victim of water-based collateral damage Sam had caused in the span of a minute, and causing the rogue to swim out from between the two of them arguing. “Seriously?! We are supposed to be in this together, Cyn!”

  “ I created a problem, and I am fixing it! You should be getting them, ” Cyn gestured back towards the four waiting near the shoreline, “back to the camp! I can take care of myself, Sam.”

  The Berserker’s voice quieted, taking on a pleading tone as the three of them treaded water, “I know that. But you don’t have to ‘fix’ things by yourself. What if something happened to you? What are we supposed to do if you run off alone, and just disappear forever? I don’t want to find out what I am supposed to do without you... or Scott... or Dana... or Hex.” Sam’s voice cracked, forcing him to take a deep breath to calm himself. “I’m worried sick every time one of you do this. So stop trying to leave all of us behind. Please. ”

  While Cyn was still convinced she had made the right decision to go by herself, Sam’s words filled her with guilt. “I didn’t want to put anyone else in danger.”

  “We’re always in danger. All of us. Every second of this dungeon has been dangerous. How many times do you think one of us would have died without you swooping in to stop it?” Sam held up his fingers, counting out the times he believed Cyn had saved them.

  “Everyone probably would have died when we got trapped in the entrance cavern after leaving Cogtopia.” I forced us to stay in the town for too long. The fight probably would have been easier if the spiders did not have as much time to prepare.

  “Scott would have died to the Illuminant Queen.” The boss enraging was my fault.

  “I would have died to the Trial of Vitality.” I nearly attacked Hex out of misplaced anger, and after getting myself caught by the vines I barely made it in time.

  “Hex would have killed me and Dana in the Trial of Will.” Without me and Spam, it’s unlikely everyone would have faced the trial together. Plus, my ability to resist was more of a miracle, not a sign of strength.

  “Only god knows what would have happened if you had not been there to see through the illusion on that corpse-creature.” Probably nothing, since the trial was over. My panic attack only delayed us more.

  Sam paused a moment, seeming to try and think of any more, and that gave Cirrus a moment to say quietly. “There are multiple others who owe you their lives. If you have already saved everyone so many times in such a short time span, what do you think would happen if you suddenly vanished because you were alone? If you were no longer around to save them?”