(Morcster Chef) A dip in the river - Ch. 87 (Patreon)

Nearly half an hour passed before any of the Happy Sunflowers stirred. Arek was the first to move. He rose to his feet, his hand glowing with dull yellow light. He waved it over his whole body, starting from his feet and ending with his hair. Wherever the light touched, the water evaporated.

“What spell is that?” Ming asked. “I didn’t realize you knew any water magic.”

“I don’t,” Arek said. “This is the spell I use to accelerate time for inanimate objects. It’s great for making bread rise quickly or meat marinate. It can only push things forward a few hours at most, but that’s enough to dry our clothes out.”

The orc dried Malissa off next before doing the same to Belmont. The two adventurers gave him appreciative nods once he had finished.

“Thank you,” Belmont said. “I wasn’t relishing the thought of slopping around in wet clothing for the next few hours, but there’s no way I’m taking off my armor to dry it.”

“Is anyone too tired to continue pushing forward?” Malissa asked. “I don’t think the next rooms should be as hard as this one was, although the boss isn’t going to go down easy.”

“I think I’ll be okay,” Arek said. He passed out some jerky from within his bag. They all claimed a strip of meat, and Ming took an extra. Arek popped the snack into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

“So, what now?”

“Well, there’s always that door,” Malissa said after swallowing her food and jerking her chin in the direction of the door on the other side of the river. “But we need to keep in mind that this dungeon is a maze. There very well might be another door hidden somewhere that could lead us through a more direct path to the boss.”

“I hope it isn’t at the bottom of the river,” Ming said. “I’ve seen the three of you go for a dip and I think I’ve already had my fill. River water wouldn’t sit well in my stomach.”

All three of them turned to stare at Belmont. The armored man paused mid bite, raising an eyebrow.

“What?”

“Secret door. This is your thing, Belmont,” Malissa said, nudging him with her foot.

“I have never once set out looking for anything secret,” Belmont protested. “That could result in drawing the attention of malicious treasure hunters that would pursue me in search of my loot.”

“Let me rephrase that,” Malissa said. “Imagine your dream home. Would you have some form of getaway path in case it came under siege?”

“Logically,” Belmont scoffed. “What sort of fool wouldn’t build an emergency escape in their house?”

“A dead one,” Malissa said, nodding along. “So…if you had such a passage, it wouldn’t be easy to find, would it?”

“Of course not,” Belmont said. “It would be well hidden. I see what you’re getting at, Malissa.”

He rose, rubbing his chin contemplatively. He paced around the edge of the room, inspecting the cobblestone walls and muttering to himself.

“It would likely be somewhere that nobody would expect,” the healer said. “But somewhere convenient as well. For humans, that rules out the bottom of the river. However, a fishman…”

“Stop,” Ming said. She crossed her arms. “I don’t think anyone wants to dive into the river looking for a door, and you’d sink if you went in alone.”

“…would never place a door underwater, as they would expect my thought process,” Belmont continued. “So, if they expect someone wise enough to check the bottom of the river, they would then place it in the least logical place possible.”

“Which is?” Arek asked, unable to tell if Belmont was either a complete lunatic or a genius.

“The ceiling!”

He pointed victoriously to the sky. They all followed his gaze to the top of the room. It was made of the same cobblestone that the walls and floor were, although there was less moss on it. There was no doorway or entrance in sight.

“I don’t see a door,” Ming said.

“Of course you don’t,” Belmont snapped. He strode over to one of the fishmen’s corpses and grabbed a trident. He prodded the ceiling with it, sticking the weapon into every single crack and hole that he spotted. “It wouldn’t just be in plain sight. There would be some sort of key.”

“Right then,” Malissa said. “New strategy. I don’t think we’re going to find a door in the ceiling, so we’ll just continue onwards through –”

A loud click echoed through the room. Belmont’s trident had sunk several inches into the ceiling. The three pronged fork at the top had completely vanished, leaving only the handle visible.

“Aha. A keyhole,” Belmont proclaimed.

Nothing in the room seemed to have changed.

“Did it actually do anything?” Ming asked.

“Of course not,” Belmont said. “What kind of key works immidiately after sticking it in the lock? You have to turn it.”

He grabbed the handle of the trident with both hands. His gauntleted hands scraped against the metal for a moment before he got good purchase on the weapon and it started to turn. A dull repetitive clanking noise started above them.

With every heave and twist that Belmont made, the clanking increased in speed. What had once been a slow stride turned to a brisk walk and then a gallop. The clanking soon became a loud metallic buzz.

Belmont released the trident and the four of them clapped their hands over their ears as a high pitched whine filled the room. Then it was gone. Arek blinked, lowering his hands and looking around the room warily. He kicked the cleaver up from the ground and into his hand.

“What did you do?” Arek yelled over the din.

The room shuddered. Dust rained from the ceiling and the river rippled, waves of dank green algae splashing onto the shoor. Rock tumbled from the walls, forcing the Happy Sunflowers to back towards the middle of the room to avoid being crushed.

A small dark hole where the rocks had once been formed in the wall to their left. It was only about the size of a large melon, but a dim green glow emanated from behind it. The rumbling slowed to a stop, leaving them alone in the silence once more.