(Morcster Chef) Secrets in the ceiling - Ch. 88 (Patreon)

“I found a secret entrance,” Belmont said proudly.

“More like destroyed half the dungeon,” Malissa said, brushing dust from her hair with a grimace.

Luckily, the hole that Belmont had created was on their side of the river. They gingerly made their way across the room, avoiding large boulders and rubble as they went. Arek reached it first. He clambered past a small pile of rocks and put his eye up to the hole.

Similar to the other hallways in the dungeon, it was dark. Faint green light from the ever present moss lit the cave with just enough light to make out the surroundings. The hallway took a slow turn to the left a short distance from where Arek stood.

“It seems like a legitimate door,” Arek said, climbing back down the pile of rocks. They shifted under his weight and the orc flailed his arms, jumping to the ground with a thud and barely managing to land on his feet. He cleared his throat and brushed some of the dirt off his shoulder.

“An unsafe, legitimate door,” Ming said, kicking a tiny stone out of the way as if it had personally offended her.

“Back up a little,” Arek instructed the others. He grabbed one of the large stones and pried it away from the doorframe. It was far too heavy to lift, but the orc was able to roll it to the side and only cause a minor avalanche of pebbles in the process.

The orc sneezed as the dust entered his nostrils. He curled his lip and wiped his nose with the back of a green hand before grabbing the next rock. Belmont lumbered over beside Arek. He braced his back and knelt, groaning as he tried to lift a large stone near the center of the doorway. He let go after a few seconds, huffing.

“It’s a lot heavier than it looks,” Belmont muttered.

Malissa gracefully slipped past the rubble and slid up beside Belmont. She braced her back against the small opening that Arek had already created and pressed her feet against the large rock at an angle. She bared her teeth and narrowed her eyes as she extended her legs.

The boulder trembled. Inch by inch, Malissa pushed it away from the door. It let out an annoying screech as it scratched across the rubble. Arek and Belmont put their own weight in along with Malissa’s, giving the last bit of force needed to roll the large rock away.

A large pile of rocks that had been resting on it collapsed with a puff of dust, but the door was largely clear. Ming sneezed. Malissa and Arek followed suit shortly after.

“Why are you sneezing, Ming? You’re the farthest away from the door!” Belmont complained.

“Why aren’t you?” Ming countered, her voice distorted due to her stuffy nose.

“Air filtration spell,” Belmont replied. He offered them a smug grin. “It’s a pretty minor one, but it filters out just about everything that isn’t breathable air.”

“When did you learn how to cast that?” Malissa asked.

“I didn’t. I had three different enchanters tattoo the inside of my nostrils with runes for it,” Belmont said.

They stared at him. Arek was the first to crack.

“Why three?” The orc asked.

“Some of them might have cast a faulty spell, or they might have had a grudge against me. You never know,” Belmont said, leaning in and lowering his voice. “However, it’s unlikely that three different enchanters would all have an issue.”

“You know what, I’m not even going to question that, as it clearly worked out,” Malissa said. She sneezed again, then grimaced. “But let’s not stay in here any longer. I’m going to sneeze my brains out at this rate.”

Arek sniffled and nodded in agreement. They crept into the new hallway with Malissa at the lead once again. Mercifully, there was a slight wind coming from the other end of the darkness, so most of the dust hadn’t entered the hall.

“Is it even worth trying to sneak up on anyone at this point?” Ming asked. “Belmont probably woke up the entire dungeon when he opened this door.”

“There might have been other secret doors,” Belmont said. “Remain quiet. They know we’re here, but they don’t know when we’ll arrive at each room. If anything, putting them on guard for a long time will give us an advantage. A stressed opponent is an easy one to defeat.”

“You must be an absolute pushover then,” Ming quipped. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you relaxed.”

“I am not stressed,” Belmont said, affronted. “I am alert. There is a very fine yet important difference.”

Malissa shushed them. She gestured towards the end of the hallway, where it opened up into yet another cobbled room.

“You realize there’s absolutely zero way they didn’t hear us talking in the hall, right?” Arek whispered to Malissa.

“I know. I wanted them to be quiet for my sake, not the fishmen’s,” she whispered back.

The Happy Sunflowers crept forward through the shadows. It took absolutely none of them by surprise when they reached the entrance to the room and found that it appeared entirely empty.

It was a little smaller than the previous room and had a door on every wall. There was a lake full of familiar looking greenish water in its center. The cobblestone was wet, but there were no fishmen in sight.

They entered the room, weapons drawn, and kept their distance from the lake. Belmont knelt and peered at the ground. His brow lowered and he nodded towards the lake.

“Footprints. They’re fresh,” he whispered.

“Ah. I wonder where they could have gone,” Ming said in her best impression of Arek’s dry tone.

“Maybe they’re on the ceiling,” Malissa said, chuckling.

Ming glanced upwards subconsciously. Her eyes widened as they met two yellow orbs staring back down at her.

“They’re on the ceiling!” Ming yelled, thrusting her staff upwards and releasing a blast of pure magic from the tip.

The attack caught the fishman off guard, knocking it from its perch. The monster fell to the ground and landed headfirst with a wince inducing crunch. The Happy Sunflowers looked disbelievingly from it to the ceiling, but there was nothing else there.