Cromus stepped into the room slowly, eyes sweeping the space. It was bare—smooth stone walls reaching up into darkness, the ceiling completely out of sight.

  "Everything okay, Cromus?" Kaazz asked from just behind him.

  "This room screams trap. Watch where you step," Cromus muttered, easing forward another pace.

  The tiles underfoot were nearly perfect. Nearly. Some had small chips or hairline cracks. Kaazz leaned around Cromus as Ush and Athas stepped into the room behind them.

  "Maybe the broken ones are tiles that already triggered something?" Kaazz suggested, raising his staff and pointing it toward one of the cracked sections.

  "Hold it!" Cromus said, grabbing his arm. "That could be true, but we’re currently stand—"

  The room shook.

  A deep rumble echoed around them as dust trickled down from the stone walls. Then, with a heavy slam, the tunnel behind them sealed shut. A massive slab had dropped into place, perfectly flush with the rest of the wall.

  Cromus turned just in time to see a tile near the sealed entrance glowing a deep, ocean-blue. Wavelike carvings shimmered on its surface—and Athas’s tail was only inches away from touching it as the Asalisk scampered up the wall in alarm.

  The group all froze. They looked around—the silence was deafening, dragging on for what felt like minutes. Then the rumble began again.

  The central pillar began to rise, groaning upward. As it lifted, four cylindrical openings—previously hidden beneath the floor—came into view, one on each side. Water gushed from them, flooding the room in powerful streams. More towers rose around the chamber, each with similar vents now spewing water.

  Cromus scanned the room, then made for the center, water already lapping at his ankles. Ush and Kaazz followed close behind. Another rumble echoed through the chamber, forcing the group to pause.

  Stone scraped against stone as massive slabs began pushing inward from the room’s perimeter, slowly closing in toward the center. From the angle and trajectory, Cromus realized the rising center pillar—and its valve—would soon be sealed off by the forming ceiling.

  "USH!" Cromus shouted, snapping his head around. The small goblin rushed to his side, grabbing his offered hand without hesitation. Cromus hoisted her toward him, surprised at just how light she was. He expected her to be small, but this was almost featherweight.

  Not that he was complaining.

  "I’m going to launch you—get as high as you can. The goal is the valve at the top!" Cromus said quickly.

  Ush’s gaze flicked from him to the valve. Her eyes narrowed, locking on the target. She curled her body up tight, crouching low with her feet braced against his open palm.

  She nodded once.

  The water had reached Cromus’s knees—and was now climbing past Kaazz’s waist. Cromus took a breath, then stepped back, pushing against the rising current. With a shout, he hurled Ush upward with all his strength.

  Ush soared, her form tucked tightly as she rose. Her momentum began to fade just as she neared the central pillar. At the peak of her arc, she extended her legs, planting both feet against the smooth pillar wall. She kicked off with force, vaulting higher, and caught the lip of the valve platform. With a scramble, she pulled herself up and over.

  Cromus let out a triumphant yell, a grin spreading across his face. "Logan and Banner would be proud," he thought.

  His moment of victory was cut short as he felt a sharp tug on his tunic. He looked down to see Kaazz, water now nearly at his shoulders.

  Without hesitation, Cromus lifted him up onto his shoulders. They watched as the stone slabs slammed shut, meeting the pillar and plunging the chamber into complete darkness. Athas clung to the wall just above the closing ceiling.

  Above, Ush struggled to turn the valve. The jolt of the ceiling closing had shaken her, and she steadied herself, digging her feet in as she pushed with all her might. Teeth gritted, she strained—Cromus, Kaazz, and Athas relying on her. Her body angled awkwardly as she forced the valve to move.

  The valve groaned in protest but finally began to turn, forcing Ush to adjust her stance quickly to avoid slipping. She beamed with determination, turning it until it would go no further. A new groan echoed through the chamber below. The water now reached Cromus’s armpits.

  Ush waited, unsure if anything had changed. The rushing water had stopped. Suddenly, something scaly nudged her hip. She jumped back, a dagger flashing into her hand—only to see Athas grinning up at her.

  "Athas! I thought you were still down there with Cromus and Kaazz," she said, exhaling and patting the Asalisk’s head.

  She reached to pat him again when the pillar shook and began to rise higher. The ceiling slabs reversed direction, retreating into the walls.

  Cromus held Kaazz on his shoulder as the light returned, revealing their relieved, smiling faces. But those smiles quickly turned to shock.

  The water around Cromus’s chest began to swirl. The rising pillar had revealed a drain at its base, pulling the water inward and forming a whirlpool. In moments, the current swept Cromus off his feet, dragging both him and Kaazz beneath the surface.

  Cromus clutched Kaazz tight to his chest with one arm while clawing desperately with his other and his feet. The tiles offered no grip—too shallow, too smooth. In the dark and chaos, Cromus slammed into a jagged edge, pain shooting through his ribs as air escaped his lungs.

  Desperate, he swung his free hand and latched onto the pillar. With a surge of will, he cast Animal Affinity, sprouting a long, slender tail from his tailbone. The tail wrapped around the pillar, anchoring him as his hand slipped.

  Kaazz slipped lower, but Cromus held on, arms locking around him again as the tail held fast.

  Finally, the water receded enough for them to break the surface, gasping and coughing, lungs burning. The air was sweet—painful, but sweet.

  The pillar began to lower, sinking into the floor until it vanished completely. Even the valve was gone, as if it had never been there.

  Ush and Athas rushed over.

  "I KNEW YOU’D BE OK!" Ush shouted, hugging Kaazz, then Cromus.

  "We wouldn’t have made it without you, Ush. You did great," Cromus said. He paused, seeing her eye something behind him. He turned—and saw the tail.

  "Oh, yeah. Just something I did on the fly. I’m really glad it worked. Though... it was an odd feeling, using it to hold on. Especially since it’s only connected to my tailbone."

  The others gave him a few long, weird looks.

  But before Cromus could respond, a sharp buzz echoed through the chamber. A glowing hourglass hologram appeared on the far wall to their right, suspended in midair. Four tiles—spaced evenly across the floor—lit up with a dull blue glow. The hourglass flipped, its sand beginning to drain rapidly.

  Without waiting for instructions, the group bolted toward the glowing tiles.

  Cromus, with his longer strides, reached his first. Ush and Kaazz followed close behind, leaping into place. They turned just in time to see Athas scrambling—his short legs and low center of gravity not built for speed.

  Cromus braced to run back for him, but a third buzz echoed sharply around them.

  Athas froze, letting out a small whimper as magic swirled around him. A translucent bubble formed at his feet, lifting him gently into the air.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Cromus cast Animal Link with a surge of instinct. ‘Athas, you okay, buddy?’ he asked mentally.

  Athas’s worried expression softened just slightly. ‘I... I think so?’ he replied, still unsure.

  ‘It’s okay, buddy. We’ll figure this out,’ Cromus assured him. He noticed Athas beginning to poke curiously at the bubble. It stretched under his foot, only to spring back into shape.

  Before Cromus could say more, another loud buzz echoed through the chamber. Three new tiles lit up at the base of the remaining walls.

  "I’ll take the far one. You two grab the closest on your sides," Cromus called.

  The hourglass flipped again. The countdown resumed.

  They sprinted. As they ran, pillars began rising—sporadic and obstructive. One shot up beneath Athas, lifting him even higher into the air.

  Three erupted in front of Cromus. He vaulted the first and repeated the motion a second time.

  Ush ducked and weaved gracefully between hers, the obstacles spaced further apart in her lane.

  Cromus reached his glowing tile and looked back. "USH? KAAZZ? YOU MAKE IT?!"

  "I MADE IT!" Ush called out.

  "DAMN PILLARS—MOVE!" Kaazz yelled just before another buzz. Cromus didn’t need to see it. He already knew.

  Kaazz was bubbled, arms crossed in frustration as he floated up to join Athas.

  Another buzz. The tiles beneath Cromus and Ush launched upward. Cromus dropped to a knee. Ush nearly lost her footing but caught herself.

  Two more tiles glowed.

  Cromus and Ush locked eyes—then dashed again. This time they leapt from rising and falling pillars, their movements precise.

  Cromus’s tail helped him maintain balance, even letting him enjoy the rhythm of it—until one platform dropped unexpectedly.

  "HEY—WHOA!" he shouted, missing the landing. His tail whipped out, grabbing the closest pillar and letting him twist awkwardly to pull himself up.

  "YOU OKAY?!" Ush called.

  "FOR NOW!" Cromus grunted, scrambling to the next glowing tile.

  "BE CAREFUL—SOME OF THEM MOVE AFTER SITTING!" he warned her.

  "THANKS FOR THE HEADS-UP!" she replied.

  Cromus thought, ‘Lucky them. Getting bubbled is the easy path.’ He glanced up.

  Athas whimpered, and Kaazz said something he couldn’t hear.

  ‘Athas, what’s going on?’ Cromus asked.

  ‘The bubbles... they’re filling with water,’ Athas replied. A pause. ‘Wait—it stopped.’

  Then all the pillars began to shift. Some raised, others lowered.

  Cromus’s platform dropped.

  A new buzz. Through a gap, he spotted a single glowing tile further ahead. The hourglass turned again.

  He leapt from one pillar to the next, using his tail for leverage. At one point, with no path forward, he threw himself sideways and clung to a pillar like a caterpillar until he crawled atop it.

  Two nearby platforms lowered—just as he didn’t need them.

  “REALLY!” Cromus grumbled.

  “WHAT!? ARE YOU OK?!” Ush yelled.

  “I’M FINE!” He yelled back. “though getting annoyed.” he said to himself.

  To which Cromus swore he heard a chuckle near him. He struggled with two more, pillars and he had the target pillar in view, he made a small hop to it and let out a sigh of relief.

  “Oh no.” Ush said to his side.

  Looking up Cromus realized he wasn’t able to see her because of the other pillars blocking his view till now. “fuck.” he whispered.

  The buzz went off and Ush was bubbled. but before rising it filled halfway with water then rose up to Athas and Kaazz level.

  Cromus took a deep breath, closed his eyes and steadied himself. the buzz rang out, he opened his eyes to the center pillar glowing and rising high into the air, the ring of pillars around it following, and the ring after that. this pattern continued till the furthest ring out was almost flush with the floor.

  Cromus found himself five rings deep, and he could estimate fifteen rings away from the center. Not to bad of jumps. On que of that simple thought all the pillars started to move up and down. paused, the pattern shifted, some down others up, some slow others fast.

  “OH COME ON! I SWEAR YOU ARE JUST MESSING WITH ME KEEPER!” Cromus yelled his frustration.

  “Well I had to push you somehow.” The keeper appeared.

  Cromus almost jumped but would of lost balance and had to rain in his reaction. “Now you choose to show up?”

  “Yep. You did kinda finally break.” He said smiling.

  “That was your goal?!” Cromus asked.

  “Well I had a talk with Sais, he let slip that you have a temper. I just wanted to see for myself.” The Keeper said as he floated. “Oh boy it was worth it. you really should learn to control yourself a bit better, you are almost an open book.” His hands went behind his head as he leaned back in the air and floated away with a cheeky grin, as the familiar buzz rang out.

  Cromus’s blood boiled, his head lowering as he locked his sights on the final pillar, his body began to lower as he analyzed the pattern of pillars. his tail swaying side to side like an agitated cat.

  He sprung into action, jumping at precise moments as pillars dropped to land perfectly and others just before they sprang up, sometimes launching Cromus one or two rings closer to his goal.

  “WHAT!” The Keeper spat.

  Cromus jumped to the final to last ring as his feet landed on the pillar all of the pillars dropped. making it impossible for his feet to reach the top of the glowing pillar but was there ever a rule he had to be standing on the tile? Not a word came from Cromus, he simply crouched, flexing and tightening his leg muscles.

  The Keeper smiled.

  Cromus launched himself shooting up like a rocket, his right arm extended where his fingers cleared the lip of the pillar, before digging in with a strong grip. the buzzer rang.

  “DID HE ALSO TELL YOU I GET EXTREMELY FOCUSED WHEN I'M PISSED?!” Cromus yelled back at the Keeper.

  The pillars dropped down to floor level and the bubbles holding his group floated down before popping releasing all of them.

  “No Sais left out that final tid bit.” The Keeper said. “But great job. Nonetheless, you were like whoosh, Weeeee, WHOOOSH!” he said, getting very animated playing out Cromus’s past movements.

  “Yeah it was awesome Cromus!” Ush said.

  ‘Didn’t know you could move like tree people.’ Athas thought at him.

  “It was very inspiring.” Kaazz chimed in.

  “Well enough stroking his ego. Though I have an offer for you Cromus.” The keeper said with a devilish grin.

  “Oh? what type of offer?” Cromus asked.

  “Well I can tell you still have more questions, I will answer some. IF you do not participate in the next room.” The Keeper said.

  Cromus looked over his group and back to the keeper. “What type of room is it?” Cromus asked. “Not telling.” The Keeper said quietly.

  “Well that's not a very good deal. I can figure things out later if needed.” Cromus said, shrugging.

  The keeper sulked a little “Fine, you are no fun. I will say it is not a physically inclined room.”

  Cromus raised an quirked a brow. “So its something to do with knowledge, will or charisma.”

  “Something like that.” The keeper said.

  “Well if its charisma based that is too much I can’t risk anything on that.”

  “FINE! FINE! Its a puzzle. there happy, do we have a deal?!” The keeper asked an annoyed hand out.

  Cromus grinned “You guys got this.” He said before grabbing the Keepers hand “DEAL!”

  “Excellent.” He replied and snapped his fingers as a tunnel opened up the opposite side of the chamber to them.

  You have beaten the trial of the tides trap! You have received 1000 experience points.

  “A thousand points just for a trap room?” Cromus asked after reading the notification.

  “Is that one of your questions?” The keeper asked.

  Cromus paused. “No, Am I right to assume there is some type of bonus to experience gain in dungeons? That's my question.”

  “Yes.” The keeper said as a bubble appeared around Cromus.