After the full expedition gathers at the shortcut portal depositing them back on Floor Six, Prince Thaddeus turns to face them all. "I trust everyone is well refreshed? Five floors are completed, four remain, so we are more than halfway through! But the hazards will only grow from here, so I hope you're all well-prepared and fully alert."

Norlash chuckles while shaking his head. "I do indeed feel much better, that Priestess knows her way around a healing spell! It really does make me wonder, though. The dungeon puts us through this grueling endurance test, and then allows us to relax and recover? Are you sure it didn't try to drug us or something in there, Hylii?"

The dark elf smirks. "While detecting poisons in drinks isn't one of my specialties, I would certainly be able to detect if anyone here had negative effects coursing through their bodies. I can say that we are all uniformly in better health than we were when we entered the Lounge."

"Perhaps our ancestor was sincere in her claim to offer us all a final chance to turn back." The prince gets an intense look in his eye, and he turns it on each of his followers in turn. "And in her image, I shall do the same. If anyone has been swayed by the dungeon's arguments, or lost faith in myself and our cause, I also offer each of you the chance to turn back now. I will not hold it against you if you decide to do so."

There's a few blinks and disbelieving looks in response to that statement, and Nalain voices the collective mood. "Really? Not that I am considering it, but after everything we've been through you'd let us walk away here at the last moment?"

"Have I ever forced anyone to follow me against their will? Have there not been many who've chosen to turn back along the way?" Thaddeus scoffs before continuing. "Besides, there's a more important concern. If anyone chooses to turn back, it would be better for all of us if it happened now rather than while we are in the middle of a fight for our lives. I want to be sure that all of us here are fully committed."

Everyone in the party trades looks, but no one seems inclined to take the offer. Seeing the result, Linda gives her prince a smile. "Seems we're still united, my lord."

"And I'm glad to see it. The dungeon awarded us ten tokens for Floor Five, so we're more than halfway through by that measure as well. But back to the immediate concern - Floor Six! I see that the abyss here remains, and that the dungeon hasn't somehow transported us to an even more dire locale than we're used to. That said I do expect there to be some surprises waiting for us, so scouting is again essential. Tizzy, Reed, you're our most agile and sharp-eyed members, particularly with Hylii's magics to assist you. Have him provide you with the typical boosts, and then take the lead. If you encounter any monsters you cannot easily dispatch, fall back and wait for the rest of us."

"You got it!" Tizzy takes in a deep breath as Hylii enhances her muscles and senses, and gestures for the younger Blair to follow her as she enters Floor Six proper. As usual, the floor starts with an outcrop of rock hanging onto the edge of the large void within the mountain, with several jumps required to reach further walkways before coming across the first climbing challenge. While her short height might typically cause some difficulty with the jumps required, with the magic running through her now Tizzy manages the first leap without trouble.

As she gets to the second, however, she turns with a sudden halt and raises a hand to stop her companion. "Hold up! The dungeon's already pulling shit."

Reed frowns and examines the canyon around him. "Is it? I still see the safety net below, not that I exactly trust it. Is there a trap on the far landing?"

The half-imp grins, a show of professional respect to the dungeon designer. "Oh, no, this is way more devious than that. Take a look." Tizzy scoops up a loose pebble from the ground and throws it across the next gap - only for it to bounce off of the air halfway through, before falling into the void below. "You're lucky I'm good with illusion magic. There's a damn wall between the two sections and they turned it invisible. You jump into that, you're gonna break your face and then the rest of you a minute later when you land."

The fencer curses. "Dark gods! How are we supposed to get around it, then?"

"I think...hrmm, one second." The scout reaches out past the edge of the outcrop and begins to make tapping motions with her fingers. Apparently, she finds what she's looking for. "Alright, yeah, there's also an invisible walkway going around it. I could break the illusion but our magic isn't exactly the same...would actually be more efficient for me to just make one of my own. Take a look."

With a simple gesture Tizzy performs the unusual trick of revealing with an illusion, rather than concealing. A path of stone suddenly appears marking the path ahead, as well as a two-foot-tall block placed just right to catch any jumpers. Reed prods it with his foot a little uncertainly.

"You're sure your display here matches the actual stone?"

"I mean, the color might be different, but it's where you see it. I'll go first, c'mon."

The pair make their way across and to the first climbing wall, but rather than make her way up the cliffside Tizzy instead turns to the human. "Lift me up, I wanna get on your shoulders."

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"Alright..." At this point the young man is following along first and asking questions later, but the questions do come. "Is the wall not to your liking?"

"Well, not really! This is a good setup though, I can test most of these handholds without actually risking my life on them." With the two of them magically enhanced it's not too awkward for the woman to perch herself on the fencer's shoulders, and she soon begins pulling and tapping at the various handholds. One does end up getting a minor blast of arcane magic, causing it to turn into the goopy remains of an Earth Slime, but for the most part Tizzy seems satisfied with what she finds. "Alright, let's head up!"

As the rest of the party catches up the two again move on ahead, and the next challenge they find seems to be one of combat. Tiny flying beasts swoop down to attack the pair, but between Tizzy's barriers and Reed's precise thrusts, half a dozen of the monsters are slain without either of them being at any risk. Following that is a new sort of trap consisting of a stretch of walkway that threatens to crumble to dust as they walk across it, but a shout back to the others lets Linda know to reinforce it with her own barriers before they attempt it.

Eventually though they reach a challenge which leaves even Tizzy stumped. Jumps between sections are common, but the next one they come across is a good fifty feet - and at a slight incline at that. Wincing, the scout takes another look around. "We can't possibly be expected to jump across that, right? Or fly? There's a limit to how difficult a floor can be!"

Reed scratches his head. "Perhaps something could be done with ropes? Although I don't see anything for a grappling hook to catch onto. Could Linda's barriers get us across?"

Tizzy considers it, but frowns. "Possibly, but holding up the weight of the party for long enough for people to get across...I definitely couldn't do it, and it'd probably seriously drain her, too. Which would be bad if the spell gave out halfway through. Look around, we might be missing something."

As Tizzy begins peering over the edge of their current position, checking if something might be hidden below, Reed turns to examine the rock face instead. Pushing and tapping, he searches out hidden switches or buttons - when suddenly something finds him instead. Just as he's about to rap his knuckles against the stone a bony hand reaches straight through it, grabbing onto the human's leather jacket and - somehow - pulling him directly through the solid rock. Noticing the movement, Tizzy immediately gets back up to her feet and swears.

"Gah! Hidden tunnel! Dammit, should've paid more - I'm coming, Reed!" The scout quickly leaps through the illusory facade and finds herself in the middle of an undead ambush. A skeletal orc had apparently thrown Reed deeper into the secret chamber where he now finds himself surrounded by four more of the monsters, while the original turns back to face the newcomer. A rusted blade lifts into the air, and Tizzy curses again as she ducks back out of the tunnel. "Fuck, I ain't melee! Guys, we need backup!"

While the rest of the party hears her shout, half of them are still occupied with safely traversing the crumbling stone section. Seeing that they might not arrive in time to help, Tizzy sighs, takes a deep breath, and re-strengthens her personal barrier spell before heading back through the false wall. The first skeleton is still waiting there but her arcane blast is faster than its arm, and the creature shatters into fragments and dust against the tunnel's sides. The next part is a little bit trickier however, given that she can't just go wildly firing off magics without hitting Reed as well.

The man seems to be having a hard enough time of it as it is. The adventurer is an expert swordsman, but one who excels in fair duels which a four-on-one is definitely not. The fact that skeletons lack vital organs to puncture seems to be a slight issue as well. As Tizzy watches one does lose its head thanks to a thrust at its neck, but Reed pays for it a moment later as two others swing at his left side. Before she can react one blade has dug itself deep into his forearm, while the other claims two of the man's fingers. On the plus side the injury does cause Reed to collapse to the ground, which makes things a little easier on the mage.

"Keep down! I got em, Reed!" Another quick application of her barrier spell saves the fencer from a possibly fatal blow, while a storm of rapid-fire minor blasts knocks limbs and bones from the creatures one by one. It's not long before the fight is over, but it is just long enough for Lyman to come barreling into the tunnel.

"Reed!? Is he - Reed!" The man quickly rushes over to his son, who greets him with a restrained smile.

"Damn, couldn't have saved a few more for me, Tizzy? I only got one of them myself..."

"True, they did only get your offhand, so you probably coulda handled at least one more..." The scout forces a smile to her face as she rushes forward, already grabbing at her potion supply. While they should be sufficient to stop the bleeding and perhaps even heal the wound on Reed's arm, the fingers are another matter. The party does still have a few of their best-quality potions remaining, but even those would require the man to stay still and rest for at least a day to keep the severed appendages attached.

It's only a minute more before the rest of the party catches up, and Lyman is already prepared to report on his son's health to his lord. "Ah - Tizzy did well to move so quickly, my prince. He'll live, and should be back on his feet in a few minutes."

Thaddeus nods. "That's good, and thank you, Tizzy. Can you still fight, Reed? No bravado, give me an honest answer."

The fencer clenches his blade tightly, but has a pale, sick look on his face as he stands back up. "Another potion and I should still be able to fight, my lord. But...not at my best. Even with the bleeding stopped the pain is quite...quite significant, prince. Nor will I be able to move my left side as quickly. I...may need some assistance with the climbing from here on, as well."

The prince has a grim expression, but gives the man a nod. "There's no shame in admitting to injury, Reed. We'll have Hylii do what we can, but we'll have to move you to the rear until you've at least had some more time to recover. Lyman, can you take over scouting duties with Tizzy?"

For a moment the older Blair seems to want to object, looking to stay closer to his wounded son - but the man isn't a healer, and can see that it would be a poor use of his skills. "I can, my lord."

"Very well. We'll rest here for a moment, then the two of you can continue. If you're in shape for it, Tizzy?"

The woman gives an eager nod. "Lil bit tired from all those arcane spells, but nothing compared to a boss fight. We'll be out of this floor in no time!"

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