Chapter 032: Reunited

Tower Floor 3

Arista was overly anxious about traveling with Carter. She has traveled through the Tower several times but with an army of a dozen strong people. This time, It was just her and Carter. She started to assuage her fears by concentrating on Carter's acumens. He had saved her from a giant dread spider earlier, which nobody she knew could have killed. Even Arthur, with his magical speed, probably couldn't have harmed it. Carter knew magic and was massively strong and muscular.

"He kind of acts like a child sometimes, and he doesn't know much about the Tower," said Arista quietly as her fear started to build again.

Near the stairs to the fourth floor, a three-head-tall object made of bricks appeared on the horizon. She pointed to it and said, "We can get some food over there. It's tradition always to grab some," said Arista.

"Manna?" asked Carter. His stomach started to twist and churn on that word.

"Yes," said Arista, letting a small smile escape her fear.

Carter peered into the brick-sided well. A thick yellow sludge with white spots oozed over the sides onto the ground. The sludge changed color as it ripened, fermented, or whatever it did into a jello-like substance.

Arista bent down and cut some of the Manna off the ground. She placed it to her lips and acknowledged its freshness. "It's good. Help me pick it up," said Arista.

Carter looked back into the well again, and his stomach turned.

"Don't eat that, it's not finished. This Manna on the ground is ready," said Arista as she looked at Carter's face in the bright sunshine.

"How can you tell?" grimaced Carter as he looked at the yellow sludge again.

"What? Don't look at me like that. We spent decades eating this, and I know what to look for," said Arista.

"So that Manna I ate yesterday was that particular rancid substance that you found on the sand-covered ground," said Carter. No wonder his stomach hurt like hell.

"Stop looking at me like that. You clean the dirt off the Manna before you eat it," said Arista. She was upset at Carter for mocking the food that kept her alive for the last few decades or centuries.

Carter backed up and fell to his knees. The Manna made a squishing noise against his robe. He watched Arista extracting the Manna and copied how she did it. He pulled out a plate he had taken from the mansion and placed the square-cut, curdled Manna on it.

"You have too much. It will go to waste," said Arista. Carter pointed his finger and cast Sanitize on the Manna. The Manna browned on the outside and shrank in size.

"You ruined it," said Arista as she put ten manna squares into her bag.

Carter grabbed one of the cooked Manna and bit a tiny bit off of it. His face went from dread to indifference as he ate it. It didn't taste that bad. He shoved the rest of the square into his mouth, and it tasted rather good.

Arista looked at him for a moment and shook her head. "We tried cooking it, but it turned out not to have the same ability to keep you satiated for too long," said Arista.

"Don't care. Taste better. He grabbed an enormous pile and treated it the same way. He had a large plateful and placed it into his bag.

He stood up and walked over to the staircase. Even when cooked, Manna started to wrestle inside his stomach. It wasn't as bad as last time, though. He let out a belch.

Arista let out a little laugh as he saw Carter in distress from the Manna.

He let out small burps as he walked up the stairs when Arista grabbed his hand. "There are spiders and blink dogs on the next two levels," said Arista.

"Spiders and dogs who blink. Check," said Carter.

"No! Blink dogs! They can teleport and then attack. We usually walked back to back when we encountered them. But with only two people, fighting them will be dangerous," said Arista. She looked scared.

"If you want to stay in the mansion, you can," said Carter.

An angry look came to Arista's face, and she said, "No. I'm just warning you that it is going to be hard!"

"Duly noted," said Carter, and he climbed upwards. The staircase ended in a small field around a large tree. He heard dogs barking in the distance. If he couldn't kill 'blink dogs' on floor 4, he never would make it to the top.

Tower Floor 4.

"Oh, no. This is a bad spot to enter. We should go back down and wait for the staircase to reset," said Arista.

"How long does that take?" asked Carter.

"A few days at most," said Arista with a look of fear. She was a warrior, but she knew the difference between fighting and suicide.

Carter was told nothing about the Tower. Ella was supposed to give him some information before he left, but Red ushered him into the Tower before everyone else was awake. The moving staircases make traveling in the Tower harder. But his Detect Area map showed where the stairs were, making it much more manageable.

On top of a nearby hill, four large dogs appeared over the peak and started baying at the sky. One of them turned towards Carter, let loose an aggressive growl, and started running toward him fast. Carter pulled out his sword and moved into a defensive position.

"We need to get out of here!" screamed Arista.

"Just watch my back," said Carter. The teeth-baring blink dog turned invisible mid-stride, and Carter lost sight of it. An almost inaudible pop sound occurred, and a dog appeared on his left side and attacked. He bit into Carter's arm and removed some of his robe and flesh from his arm. With a mouthful of Carter, the blink dog disappeared again. He again heard the very faint pop in the air.

"Fascinating," said Carter. That's it. The air makes a slight pop and then appears. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

"We need to go!" screamed Arista again. The other dog appeared next to the other three, who all howled again. They turned towards Carter, seeing him as an easy mark, and ran full speed at him.

"You just need to wait for the popping noise," said Carter.

"What popping noise? There is no popping noise!" screamed Arista.

"Was he the only one that could hear it?" thought Carter.

"Oh no, oh no," repeated Arista as she grabbed the back of Carter's robe. Even over Arista's clamorous pleadings, he could hear the popping noise. He whipped his sword toward the noise, and two dogs blinked into existence. He hit them a little too early and only wounded one in the leg. The other one took another bite out of Carter and then disappeared.

The blink dogs were taken aback momentarily, regrouped, charged towards Carter, and then disappeared.

"I must swing the sword a little later," thought Carter. Two more pops. They were coming from behind him, and he turned around. Arista held on tight when he turned. Carter held back for a half-second and swung his sword, cutting the two dogs in half as they appeared.

A few more popping sounds behind him again. He twisted around and waited for the right time. Arista still chanted, "Oh no," as she pivoted with him. He swung his sword again and killed the other two dogs. The bifurcated, disemboweled blink dogs were scattered on the ground and disappeared, leaving only a dozen copper and two silver coins.

These dogs were part of the Tower. They were created magically by the defenses of the Tower, and when they died, the Tower absorbed their corpses back into the walls and rewarded the hero. He didn't understand why; the Tower just did.

Carter bent over, grabbed the pile of coins, and deposited them in his bag. Arista was still holding onto the back of his robe with her face nestled in deep. Carter started walking towards the next staircase. He had planned on killing every creature on this level to gain experience and treasure, but Arista needed to be escorted first.

"Where are you going?" asked Arista as she finally pulled her head out of Carter's robe and opened her eyes, "Where are the dogs?"

"Dead," said Carter. Arista's dismay could be seen on her face. "You killed them?" asked Arista.

"No, I gave them puppy treats, and they ran away," said Carter. He thought it was funny, but she didn't laugh.

More barking occurred ahead. He felt Arista grab his robe again. Her hands wrapped around his chest this time, and she held tight. Her large breasts were pushing into his back. He liked that.

Seven dogs this time. They rushed him and bit him a few times, but in the end, they piled up on the ground and disappeared. Twenty-four copper and six silver coins were lying on the ground. Now we're talking. He dumped them in his bag again with a large smile.

"They're quite easy if you know how to kill them," said Carter. He looked down at his torn robe and bleeding wounds. He started to heal them as he walked on. Arista seemed to be in trauma, not talking and just holding on for dear life.

A group of spiders showed up next. They were the size of cats and dogs. They came at him in a group of twenty. He shot a fireball at them, frying them all at once. They left a few silver and copper coins.

"Rather pathetic treasure compared to the blink dogs," said Carter. Arista was no longer talking to him.

After a few more enemies, they reached the next stairs.

"The fifth floor. Let's go," said Carter. Arista let go of him for a moment and looked around. She saw the staircase to the next level.

"How?" asked Arista as she released her death grip on Carter's waist. She looked back across the floor and saw no monsters.

Tower floor 5

"This should be more of the same monsters. Spiders, Blink Dogs, and an occasional Gnoll," said Arista. She felt a little better now that Carter had no problem going through the fourth floor, but she still held tight to his robe.

"Gnolls? What are those?" asked Carter as he cast Detect Area again.

"Mean hyena humanoids," said Arista. She looked at Carter quizzically and then asked, "You know what a hyena is, right?"

"It's a large dog that laughs," said Carter. Arisa frowned, wondering why Carter was so ignorant.

"Gnolls stay to the northwest of the floor. We usually keep clear of them. They are tough creatures," said Arista.

Carter looked at his map in the northwest corner and found several red dots. He also saw two green dots and a black dot. The only other green dots he saw were Arista and himself. Are there other humans on this floor? That black dot intrigued him, though. Last time, it was a weapon.

A loud baying occurred, and Arista planted herself behind Carter again. He was getting used to fighting the blink dogs, and only once in a while, they would get the better of him. It usually happens when more than three dogs attack him at once. The clasping Arista hindered his movement, and he had to ensure she wasn't hurt.

Once in a while, she would yell, "Leave the coins, let's go!"

"Leave the coins? That's ridiculous," thought Carter. She would probably be even madder if she knew he was heading toward the Gnolls in the opposite direction of the stairs. He knew that the black dot wouldn't stay there for too long.

More dogs, more spiders, and a couple of red beetles later, he neared the Gnoll's village. "Village?" said Carter.

Arista once more released Carter and started looking around. "Where are we?" said Arista, then she saw the village.

She hit Carter dead center in the manhood, and he let out a grunt. "I told you that we do not go to the northwest!" screamed Arista through gritted teeth. A cheap, tin noise started to go off as he saw the gnolls grab weapons and head for the entrance.

"Oh, sweet nature, we shouldn't be here," said Arista as she sat and hid behind the hill.

"It's a little too late for that," said Carter as he walked towards the village. "Wait here," added Carter. He didn't have to tell her twice. In fact, he didn't have to say anything because she wasn't going anywhere near that village.

He counted eight Gnolls, and they were running fast. Seven heads tall, with legs that had two knees. They were fast, but his teacher was faster. He sliced the first one and got hit from behind with a rusty sword. He turned around and chopped the arm of a Gnoll off, followed by his head. He went to block a sword and cut the Gnoll's sword in half. The jagged edge hit his arm, and it started bleeding.

He swung his sword around, perfectly connecting each hit, chopping heads, arms, and swords in half. By the time he was done, the eight Gnolls had been killed, and they disappeared. In their place, on the ground, were seven gold coins and those worthless silver and copper ones. Gold coins! These must have been special Gnolls to warrant gold coins. Under his foot was a small axe made out of obsidian. He lifted it and felt its heavy weight. It felt strong. He placed it in his rucksack.

"I guess the black dots aren't always special items," said Carter. He started healing his minor wounds and focused on the green dots.

The rickety village had four round tents made of a skin-like material. A four-head high fence of human bones and skulls circled the tents to keep out wandering animals. The village was silent as he walked through the gate and shouted, "Come out."

One of the flaps on the farthest tent blew open, and Carter could hear tearful crying. He hesitantly walked towards the back of the village, flipping each tent's flap open with his sword to inspect them for dangers. Each tent had beds and tables with Manna on them.

He slowly lifted the flap on the last tent and looked inside. Two crying faces looked towards him with tears in their eyes. A smile hit their lips when they saw Carter's face.

"You're an adventurer?" said one of the women. They had beautiful faces, little noses, and eyes like his friends from Japan back on Earth. He was amazed at this world's diversity.

"I guess I am," said Carter as he entered the tent. The two naked women pulled back a little bit because of Carter's large size. His hood had come off during the fight, and he pulled it back up. Their hands were bound with chains to a large rock in the middle of the tent.

"Can you save us?" said one of the women.

"Sure. Do you know where the keys are?" asked Carter.

The women lifted their hands and pulled them out of the oversized shackles. "They weren't tight. We didn't have anywhere to go," repeated the women.

They both stood up; their tanned, naked bodies were both toned and fit. "I am Mari, and this is Ami," said the first woman. They didn't look hurt or malnourished. Even their black hair was silky smooth.

"Let's go then, um, Mari and Ami," said Carter.

They both slowly walked out of the tent and looked around. They were surprised at how quiet the village had become. Mari walked over to a wall and pulled a rusty sword off the wall.

"It's been a while," said Mari. Ami smiled and said, "She's wanted to grab that sword for the past few years."

"Years?" said Carter. Ami moved her beautiful face up and down. She was very timid, while Mari was slightly aggressive.

Carter reached down and grabbed Ami's hand for a moment and saw the familiar symbol of Arthur on her hand. "Arthur?" said Carter.

"He left us here to rot. The Gnolls ambushed us, and he used us as a diversion so he could get away," said Ami.

"Arthur's a bastard," said Mari as she grabbed Ami's hand from Carter's grip. She didn't want anyone using her and Ami again.

Carter gave Mari a baffled look and then dismissed it. Trust is something that will come hard to anyone who's under Arthur's control. He started to walk towards Arista, who was still hiding behind the mound of dirt. As he walked over the mound, Arista pointed her sword at him with a yell. "It's okay, they are all gone," said Carter

"Really?" asked Arista. Ami and Mari appeared behind Carter, and Arista pointed the sword at them. Arista's face started to change into a happy one as she screamed out, "Ami? Mari? You're alive?"

Arista placed her weapon back in her belt, stood up, and hugged Ami and Mari. Carter looked past their tearful reunion and saw a group of blink dogs approaching them. He pulled his sword out with a smile and met them halfway.

After hugging, Mari looked over Arista's shoulder and said, "Shouldn't we be helping her attack those blink dogs?"

"Blink dogs?" questioned Arista as she turned around. Fear ran through her veins for a moment, and then she calmed down as she saw the distance between them and her.

"No, Carter can take care of them," said Arista, not wanting to place herself in harm's way.

"There's quite a few," said Mari, pointing towards the dogs with her sword.

"No, let's just wait here till he's done," said Arista.

Mari's eyes narrowed as she stared at Arista and asked, "Is Carter a male like Arthur?"

Arista looked back at Mari, and she knew she had slipped up. "I didn't say that," said Arista.

Carter waved to them and started walking towards the staircase.

Arista screamed, "Let's go! It's clear!"

Tower floor 6

Carter climbed the stairs up to the Sixth floor and disappeared. Arista grabbed Mari's hand and started to pull her up. "We need to keep together," said Arista. She was about to breach the 6th floor's threshold when a foot came down and kicked her backward. She fell, pulling Mari and Ami down with her to the bottom.

"What the hell!" screamed Arista. She stood up and checked herself for wounds: no physical wounds, just emotional damage from being kicked down the stairs.

"Do you think that was Carter?" asked Ami.

"Yes! He was wearing the stupid red robe," said Arista.

"Did you get hurt? You're bleeding!" said Mari as she pointed at Arista's chest. Arista placed her hands on her chest and felt the wetness from a large patch of blood.

"It's not mine," said Arista. She looked up toward the top of the stairs. The floor above was opaque, not allowing you to see until you crossed the threshold of the stairs.

"Somethings wrong," said Mari.

Arista looked towards the stairs again with fear. She didn't want to get involved with something that could hurt Carter.

"Let's go. Carter might need our help," said Mari.

"Let's just wait until Carter returns," said Arista as she started walking backward from the staircase.

"I might have been a prisoner for the past few years, but I never stopped being a samurai!" screamed Mari as she ran up the stairs.

Ami gave Arista a look of pity and then followed right behind Mari.

Mari crossed the staircase to find several large boars running by the entrance, kicking up dust. They were heading south and ultimately ignored them. Using one hand to hold Ami back, Mari held her sword up and looked around. A significant disturbance occurred a few hundred feet south of the staircase, and those boars that had just passed them were joining the fight. She could see hundreds of giant boars running around in a circle. Ami pointed to the ground.

"Several hundred silver and copper coins are lying in the dirt next to a large blood spot," said Ami.

A large snort occurred behind the two women, and their heads turned around. They still had one foot on the staircase as they saw the most enormous boar they had ever seen. It was twenty heads tall and tusks the size of a sheep. One of the tasks was covered in blood. It was hard to tell if it was the boars or someone else.

"Nature, help us," said Ami as she covered her mouth.

Arista popped out of the staircase just as the giant beast started running at them. A look of "I told you so" came over her face but was replaced by a look of fear.

Mari grabbed Ami and Arista in a giant bear hug and pulled them down the stairs. They fell to the bottom and stared at the hidden floor above them. The stairs rattled and shook as the giant boar tried to use the stairs. Luckily, the Tower wouldn't allow that.

"I've never seen that before," said Ami.

"Me neither," said Arista.

"Let's just wait for Carter to come and get us," said Mari.

"Good...Good...idea," stammered Arista.

Ten minutes had gone by when a noise occurred on the staircase. Carter was walking down while counting some gold coins in his hand. His robe was almost destroyed, and blood covered it from head to foot.

"That beast gave ten gold coins. There should have been more treasure after those boars ambushed me as I walked up the stairs. Not fair," said Carter as he stepped off the last stair.

"What happened?" said Ami. Arista and Mari drew in close.

"I would consider that to be a boss fight. Hundreds of boars and one Giant, non-conjured monster boar boss," said Carter.

"Bullshit," said Arista, "I've been to the sixth-floor hundreds of times. I've never seen that many boars in one location or a Dire boar."

"Don't know what to tell you. Seems like they were a little bit riled up. Like they were waiting for something or someone," said Carter.

"Maybe the ambush was set up for Arthur's party?" questioned Mari.

Carter had cast Detect Area before exiting the 6th floor and found a cluster of green dots towards one of the edges of the floor.

"They are upstairs, hiding," said Carter.

"How do you know? Maybe they already went back to the village," said Arista.

Carter couldn't be a hundred percent sure. The green dots could be more prisoners or people trapped on that floor. "I guess I don't know," said Carter.

"I guess we need to go see," said Mari.

Carter stared at naked Mari and Ami, who were standing next to Arista. He wondered why the Gnolls removed their clothes or if they did it themselves. Maybe it was wash day?

Ami started laughing, and then she pointed at Carter. His robe was torn to shambles, exposing his skin underneath. His hood was the only thing still intact. What Ami was pointing at was his semi-rigid manhood, which was beginning to show through one aptly torn hole.

"You are a male!" screamed Mari.

Carter looked down and said, "Damn! These robes are crap!"

He pulled his robe off and grabbed a complete one from his haversack. Mari and Ami were staring intently, and Arista didn't like it. His muscular body was covered with white healing glows and fresh and dried blood in different hues of red. Arista had already had sex with Carter, and she was starting to get lascivious just watching him.

"Stop drooling, you two. Arthur would never let you do that," said Arista.

"She's right. I'm surprised he didn't try to kill him already," said Mari.

"He tried. He imprisoned us in the dread spider pit," said Arista.

"Told you," said Mari with a smile on her face.

"Did you make it out?" asked Ami.

"What do you think, dummy? They're here, aren't they?" said Mari sarcastically.

"You don't have to be mean about it," said Ami as she approached Carter, who finished placing his new robe on. She grabbed his hand and followed behind him.

"Do you have any more of those robes?" asked Ami quietly to Carter.

"I'm sorry, Ami. It's just that sometimes the stuff that comes out of your mouth...is...ignorant," said Mari.

"Well, you don't have to listen to me anymore!" said Ami.

Carter pulled out a more petite robe and handed it to Ami. He loved to see her naked, but he didn't need any distractions. He held another robe up and pointed it at Mari.

Mari took it with a sneer as she looked at Ami holding Carter's hand. Mari was much taller than Ami and acted like her big sister.

Carter walked back up the blood-stained stairs with an Ami in tow. She let go as soon as she saw the monstrous boar dead on the ground a few feet from the stairs. Carter walked over to the beast and held up his haversack with the opening aimed at the monster. He shook his head at the difference in circumference.

"Is that a bag of holding?" asked Mari when she stepped through the threshold of the stairs.

"Yes, but it's not big enough to hold that creature," said Carter.

"Did you use its Gathering cantrip," asked Mari with a look of superiority.

"Gathering? What's that?" asked Carter.

"What were the words Mage White used? Oh, yeah, Congregare Thesaurum," said Mari.

"How do you know those words?" said Ami.

"I worked for Mage White at the Capital for years. She's the one that sent me to this forest for Death Petals," said Mari.

Carter held open the bag towards the large carcass and said, "Congregare Thesaurum."

A purple mist came out of the bag, encircled the target, and the dead monstrous boar floated in the air and disappeared.

He felt the spell hit his stomach. He aimed the bag toward all the coins on the ground and released the spell that he renamed as Amass Treasure. The coins, covered in a haze of purple air, floated into his bag and disappeared.

Mari grabbed a few silver coins from the ground and shoved them into her robe as they flew by. She gave Carter a broad smile and then stuck out her tongue.

"What will you do with silver coins, Mari?" asked Ami.

Mari thought about the question for a second. "I hope to get out of this Tower and Forest at some point in the future."

"Good luck with that," said Ami as she showed Arthur's thrall symbol on her hand.

Mari snubbed Ami, walked up to Carter, and placed her arm around Carter's back. She rubbed his chest and said, "You'll take me out of here, won't you, big boy."

Arista tensed up her muscles and inhaled quickly to calm herself down.

"Quit teasing Carter, you two. We need to see if we can find Yuma and the other warriors," said Arista. She was the only one of the three women who would leave with Carter. She was having his child, and she was also his Thrall.

Mari kissed Carter on the cheek and released him.

Carter smiled and started walking off toward the east. "I know where to look," said Carter. Arista was about to complain but stopped and just followed. Carter had just saved her life back on the staircase with one kick. She was starting to like him, and that scared her. He was still planning to go to the top of the Tower, and he could die.

After a few hours, they hit another gnoll village. A dozen slobbering gnolls were walking around inside the little village. They looked agitated and alert. Stealthily, Carter crouched down behind a large bush covered with sharp thorns. The foliage was thick and concealed their presence. Arista, Mari, and Ami aped him and ducked behind the bush.

"This is why we don't usually go this way; it's because of these gnolls," said Arista.

"Arthur's group probably didn't have a choice of direction with all those giant boars pursuing them," said Carter. He had noticed many boar and humanoid footprints that went to the east near the staircase. He also had his reliable Detect Area, which he had cast earlier. His head was still fuzzy from using too much mana. He didn't realize Detect Area used a lot of mana, and he had to use it sparingly next time.

The village on his map had twelve red dots and six green dots. "Six captured villagers?" said Carter softly.

"How do you know there are captured villagers?" asked Arista.

He also noticed that the next bigger Gnoll village had over forty red and eight green dots. It looks like they split up the prisoners.

"Can you take them?" asked Arista while she stared into Carter's eyes. Carter shrugged his shoulders as he watched the enemy guard the village's perimeter.

"Are you kidding? Twelve over-sized gnolls are guarding them with stronger swords than ours. We need to go back to the village and get another party together," said Mari.

Carter sat down and pulled out some of the sanitized Manna he made. He placed one to his lips and bit down on it. Mari and Ami looked at each other, and a small growl was heard.

"Heck of a time to eat your meal now," said Arista.

"I'm hungry," said Carter, placing another in his mouth.

"Can I have one?" said Ami. Carter pulled another one out of his bag and handed it to her. She sat down next to Carter and took a bite.

"This doesn't taste half bad," said Ami as she held her hand for another. Carter slipped another one into her hand, and Mari grabbed it.

"Let's concentrate on the problem at hand," said Mari as she threw the Manna in her mouth.

Carter finished the last piece of the Manna and stood up. "I'll be right back," said Carter. He wasn't one to fight without a plan, but this didn't need one. He fought them before, and they only had rudimentary fighting skills. They yelled and screamed a lot, but that usually didn't hurt.

Carter stood up, pulled out his great sword, and bounded toward the rustic village of the Gnolls. Arista, proud of herself that the plan didn't include her, smiled and said, "That's that." She sat back down, pulled out her Manna, and ate.

Mari and Ami snuck their heads over the hill they were hiding behind and spied on Carter's attack.

Carter was much faster than the Gnolls and dispatched them with haste. He loosened his haversack's drawstring and cast the Amass Treasure spell as he swung his sword. The coins rose from the ground and entered the bag effortlessly. Some Gnolls were even startled by the flying, glittering coins, allowing Carter to kill them more easily. They were all dead within a few minutes, and Carter was happy for the plum treasure he collected.

He fell into a chair made from bones and skin-rope creaking under his weight. He looked at his newly blood-covered robe and shook his head.

"Hello? Is someone out there?" asked a voice from any of the eight tents behind him. He turned his head and shouted, "They're dead. You can come out."

He beheld the clanking noise of chains rattling up and down. "We're locked up, dumb ass," came a voice he recognized.

"Ah, Yuma!" said Carter loudly.

He hoisted himself out of the strained chair when he detected the screams of Arista running towards the tents. "Yuma!" she screamed.

"Arista?" asked the voice.

The village had been here for a long time. Carter contemplated whether the Gnolls built it or the Tower created it when the Gnolls spawned. Probably the latter. A glimpse of shiny metal caught his eye on a far wall. He walked over to the six-head tall fence, and strapped to it were the weapons of their prisoners. On a small hook was a metal ring that had a key on it. He grabbed it and turned around.

"We need the key!" screamed Arista as she panicked, emerging from the tent. Carter held the glittering key out, and she grabbed it from him without commendation.

"You're welcome," said Carter. Mari and Ami followed Arista back into the tents. Carter heard a familiar boar's grunt coming from the east and decided to abandon the celebration and continue his quest. He left through the gate and headed east.

The boars are pretty easy to kill now. They try to swarm you with large numbers but aren't smart enough to coordinate their attacks. Most of the time, they end up attacking one by one. They charge at you full speed and try to gouge you with their tusks. Carter usually sidesteps the frontal assault and slices them down the side, opening their guts to the ground.

Carter opened his bag, and the silver and copper coins flew into it. He grabbed a silver one before it entered his bag. He stared at it for a moment. This one was different. It had a picture of a small boy and the words "Carmen the I" on it. Was this the master of the Tower?

He threw in the silver coin, touching the inside of the bag. A large whisp of mana emerged as he felt a sudden pain in his spirit. He fell to his knees as he tried to unfetter his finger. His eyes rolled back into his head as he fell to his chest with a thud. He silently screamed as he neared passing out. The bag finally loosened its grip on his finger, and Carter turned unto his back. He breathed heavily as he lay on the ground.

"What the hell, bag," said Carter. He felt most of his mana drained, leaving him vulnerable and mad.

He propped himself up with his sword, using it like a cane. He stood wobbling and staring off towards the horizon. He wasn't quite there. He reached down to grab some more Manna but hesitated for a moment near the rim of his haversack. He placed his hand in and pulled out two Manna pieces.

"I guess it's had enough," said Carter as he ate his burnt Manna. His eyes returned to focus, and he placed his sword back into his rucksack.

Was he able to escape this floor without another escort quest?