Spire's Spite

Once the team had eaten, and all had a chance to bathe, they set in to sleep. Though they didn't abandon watches, even in the brightly lit Well room. It was one of the things 'The Observations' suggested, that even in places where you feel safe you should still have that routine so as to not make the mistake on the battlefield.

Bert had argued against the practise and said it was actually just setting up all of life to be a battlefield. A stunning show of insight from the man. Though Fritz quickly saw through it. Bert just didn't want to take the first shift. They swapped watches and so it was he who was still awake and saw Lauren return from her dinner.

She was smiling and humming a small song to herself. Walking slowly and carefully as if afraid she'd trip on the flat ground. The scent of wine reached Fritz and he waved to her. Lauren waved back and made her way to where he sat.

"I take it you had a good time," Fritz whispered.

"I did, it was nice," she replied, sitting on her own bedroll.

"Anything interesting?" Fritz asked.

She yawned and stretched her arms high. "I'll tell you in the morning, too tired, and too tipsy right now."

Lauren lay down and pulled a blanket over her head to block out the persistent light that glowed from a glimmering crystal set in the roof. She fell asleep immediately, snoring softly.

Fritz's watch went by rather peaceably, and he saw the nobles retreat to their separate, expensive tents and the other Climbers to their own far less impressive ones. Though every team still had someone, just like him, keeping an eye out for thieves or troublemakers.

Huh, who ever thought I'd be doing a guard's job?

The hours passed and Fritz changed watch with Rosie when his time was up.

He was asleep in moments.

---

Fritz woke, it wasn't a bad way to wake as Cal had set out a skewer of crab before him. He ate it ravenously, as the others, who were already awake, ate their own and listened to Lauren. She was regaling them with some of the knowledge she had been gifted or had guessed from her conversations with Sapphire.

"Apparently three teams here all at once, four now including us, is considered a little crowded. It seems most Climbers take a day or two to rest and move along, but the Prince's cohort had been here for at least three days. And the local team lost a member and is waiting to see if another team comes along."

"Why?" Rosie asked.

"Teams break up, get injuries or some just can't stand each other any more. Swapping or poaching members isn't exactly uncommon if you want to continue Climbing higher."

"Fortunately, we don't have any of those problems," Fritz said with self-satisfaction.

"There's still time," Cal said.

When the team stared at him he laughed awkwardly. "It was a joke."

"As I was saying," Lauren continued peevishly. "Having so many here at the same time is somewhat uncommon for the Mer Spire. Though really the most uncommon thing is the Empire 'prince'. Even if he's not a ruler of one of the Principalities and their Spires, he's still the great nephew of the Emperor."

"Don't care much about no emperor," Rose groused. "We've already got a king why do we need an emperor too?"

"He's not 'our' emperor, he rules the continent to the west and controls the Grand Spire of Light and Law. Though the talk is that he's pushing his reign outwards from the mainland. That he wants to bring Rain City and other independent kingdoms into the fold as his Principalities. Hence he sends an emissary from his very own blood," Lauren explained. "However, this is all rumour, and the king doesn't seem to mind the Empire's presence here, so it must all be under control. Especially seeing as he gave the 'prince' an escort of those boorish, but important noble sons and beautiful, but disposable noble daughters."

"That sound's an awful lot like noble politicking," Fritz said, finishing his delightful, if somewhat rote by now, breakfast.

"It is," Lauren agreed.

"And therefore: boring," Bert said.

She nodded at that as well.

"It's not so much that it's boring," Fritz argued."It's more a case of: why bother? We certainly don't have the power to change things. Not yet at least."

Though how long would that remain true? He wondered.

"That's also part of it. We common folk should just keep our heads down and batten down the hatches when noble fighting comes to the fore," Lauren stated. "My father said the whims of the powerful were akin to the sea like that. Waves you could ride on or drown under."

"Part of the common folk are we now? Miss merchant's daughter?" Fritz teased.

"Closer to common than to noble. Even when my sister marries in, if my sister marries in, it will be her children who stand to benefit from having some peerage. Though I'm sure my mother will turn it to the good of the family, or rather herself," she said bitterly.

The team was quiet for a heartbeat before Bert burst in with his usual vigour.

"Anyway, learn anything good from your dinner with the guide-gal?"

"A few things," Lauren said proudly, smiling slyly.

"Anything about the Doors?" Fritz asked.

"Never mind that, what do the Guides eat, was it fancy?" Bert interrupted.

"It was actually quite varied, for the middle of a Spire, three whole courses. First a white fin soup with bread and butter, it was delightful. Then a slab of monster steak, that was the true star of the night. The dessert, however, was a cake that was not quite to my taste and a little dry. We ended up sharing a couple of those mangoes after that and much preferred those. Even if they were a wet mess to eat. All in all, it was an extremely pleasant night."

"I'm glad you had some fun and that she was good company, but what did she say about the Doors?" Fritz said, aggravated at the aside and trying not to show it.

"Oh, right," Lauren said a small blush creeping onto her cheeks. "She said that two of the Doors are Persistent Doors."

"What's that?" Rosie asked.

"Well, they're floors that so commonly reoccur with such little deviation that might as well be the same. Every time they lock, reset or the Spire shuffles these Floors are here, at this Well, in some fashion."

"Huh. Two of them?" Fritz asked.

"There's another at the ninth," Lauren said. "Though I didn't get much about that one except for a comment about vile bog-man-alikes."

"Sound almost as bad as eels," Rosie said, as she absently scratched at her scales.

"And the two Doors on this level? Did she give you any hints as to what dwells within?" Fritz asked trying his very best to keep the conversation going somewhere useful.

"She did. One is easy to Climb. It starts you off on a sandy shore with hundreds of man-eating manatees."

"That doesn't sound easy," Cal said.

"Apparently they're slow and stupidly aggressive, easily surrounded or lured into traps. Their skin is like thick leather. In fact, it is leather. My armour, and yours, is made of it. The regular Climbers take that floor all the time, and seemingly it appears a lot, and not just here. They call it the grey leather shore, not a very imaginative name, but it was discovered by Climbers not poets. Sapphire found it odd that we hadn't encountered it, nor knew of it."

"And the other Door?" Fritz inquired, ignoring her pointed look. It wasn't his fault they hadn't encountered a grey leather shore. He'd led them well, and well on the way to greatness at that.

"The other is far more dangerous, it's where we can harvest, or rather, steal sirensilk," she explained.

When no one gasped or exclaimed, like Lauren seemed to think they would, she continued with a sigh, "It's a premium good, probably one of the best found outside of a larger Spire. Bolts of it are worth hundreds of gold."

"What's the danger?" Cal asked.

"It's in the name, sirensilk is woven from seafoam by sirens," Lauren explained. "Those fair maiden-monsters who sing sailors to their deaths. Then eat their flesh and carve their bones to make their tools and adorn their island nests."

"They sound lovely," Bert remarked. "But I doubt they can contend with us and our might."

"Well, I heard that they're stronger and tougher than they look, with feathers as hard as steel and talons that can part flesh like razors."

"Are you trying to talk him into it or out of it?" Fritz asked with a smirk. "You know he loves a good fight, you're just getting him excited."

Lauren shrugged. "I thought it would be put to a vote once you have searched the Doors. I was just telling you the tales I was regaled with."

"Fair," Fritz said. "Anything else we should know?"

"Well, apart from their enchanting song, which can be dealt with by deafening yourself, that's it," Lauren said. "Oh, and they live on rocky islands so there may be some need for swimming between their lairs."

"It is nice to have information about a Floor before we go through it," Fritz mused. "Much better than muddling about like we do."

"Like you do," Bert corrected.

"I thought you said you could sense danger-" Rosie began before Fritz hissed, "Shhhh."

"We can talk about Abilities on the next Floor, away from eavesdroppers."

Rosie tilted her head then shrugged.

"I suppose I should go see these Doors for myself," Fritz said standing.

"Good, leaves more breakfast for the rest of us," Bert said.

With that Fritz left them to chat amongst themselves. He strode to the three Doors as he retrieved his increasingly ragged chapter about underwater Floors. He knew he should be treating it better, even though he felt nothing but disdain for it and the Guild's practises regarding parcelling out such knowledge.

He began his performance, flipping through the booklet as if he were interested in what it had to say while he paced.

The leftmost Door was an arch of stone with a sandy ramp leading upwards. Cool air and dim light seeped down from the entrance. With his Door Sense, he felt a long, bleak shore and saw in his mind the great lumbering manatee beasts as they lay about, groaning their warbling cries. It was just as Lauren had said, a safe enough floor with some reward if they were to take on the messy task of slaying and skinning those grey creatures for their thick hides.

The idea didn't appeal to Fritz, as it was far too messy, gruesome even, and just thinking of the bloody task had an image of Vaa'gur's remains flash before his eyes. Swallowing down the sourness in his mouth, he searched the next door.

It was taller than the other two, and looked like a circular hole, cleanly cut, in a glacier. Freezing air, almost as cold as the blizzard blew out in a sudden gust and he could hear the sounds of distant shrieking carried on its winds. Fritz shivered, then alighted his Sense upon the icy Door. Beyond was some sort of maze of too-neat tubes of ice, crisscrossing and sprawling. He didn't get many impressions that hinted at danger, but cold was an insidious enemy and he dreaded to test it.

The last Door seemed almost idyllic compared to the others. A gentle ocean breeze, warm and salty, blew from the rocky ramp. Again he felt for what he could glean and found it much as he had been told. Winged man-alikes, or was it woman-alikes, sat on stony outcrops poking over a vast sea. He could almost hear their song, and almost took a step forward to listen closer to the alluring melody.

Fritz shook his head and stepped backwards, forcing his eyes to read the boring chapter in his hand as his mind recovered from the all-too-subtle, all-too-literal siren song.

It is easiest to tell when a Door leads underwater by its apparent moistness. However, this is not always a sure sign that you will find yourself in an ocean, lake or river. There are Floors that are extraordinarily humid or those where it rains constantly. A dreary prospect even at the best of times, and a complication that should be avoided when possible, as water will find a way into your equipment and few Climbers take the time to ensure their packs are properly waterproof.

The material, make and maintenance are the next things one should be conscious of, as a Door made of coral or ice could easily lead under the ocean, as could iron if it appears to be rusted- Fritz stopped reading the annoyingly obvious advice now that his head had cleared, then he made his way back to his crew to report his findings.

"What did you find? Oh, glorious scout-captain?" Bert asked.

"Exactly what you've been told, except that I think the middle Door is some frozen wasteland. One we're not suited to traverse without warmer gear."

"Speaking of gear," George said. "Should we purchase some from the Guides or see if the other Climbers have some they would part with for gold?"

"We should, though I'm loath to spend it all away when we have Treasures to fill," Fritz allowed. "Anything in particular that caught your attention?"

"Maybe a shovel, hammer and chisel or some more rope,"

"I have a chisel, got it in a chest, and Rosie's pick has a hammerhead," Bert said.

"You still have the chisel? I thought it would've rusted away by now," Fritz said, mildly curious.

"Still got it, and it's fine, only the hammer was ruined," he replied.

"So a shovel?" Fritz affirmed.

"Maybe a pan as well?" Cal asked. "I don't want to make everything a stew, spit or skewer."

"A pan as well," Fritz agreed, glad to see that even Cal was getting sick of the sameness of their meals.

"How about we get a know-note or two to find out what our other Treasures do?" Rosie asked, pointing to her helmet and then to Lauren's boots.

"A splendid plan," Fritz said.

"What about my flail?" Cal asked.

"Don't we already know what it does?" Bert countered.

"It might have another Ability, you never know. Same goes for those Treasures we got from the raid- from you know who," Cal ended lamely.

"How much were Know-notes again?" Fritz inquired.

"Nine gold triads," Lauren said.

"That's preposterous!" Fritz exclaimed, almost throwing the chapter he still had in his hand.

"It's robbery," Bert agreed.

"It's business," Lauren said. "It's all just gold to the Guides."

"Damn Guides, hate them bastards," Rosie groused.

"For once, I agree with you," Fritz said. "Though honestly, I'm surprised they would even sell Know-notes. Why not scam people by undervaluing their unidentified Treasures when they might have to trade them away for needed supplies?"

"I think that's a little too far, even for them. I don't think Ceph or any other Climbers would allow them to get away with that sort of behaviour," Lauren said.

"So how many should we buy?" Bert interjected before Fritz could complain some more.

"Six? Might as well check them all," Fritz said. Then he sighed bitterly. Fifty-four triads was a lot of gold. It could keep their Treasures filled or could buy them so many things on the outside, it felt like a huge waste.

"Don't worry," Bert said, reading his mind. "I'm sure the siren Floor will more than make up for what we lose here."

"I know. It just hurts losing so much wealth, especially since it's to the Guild," Fritz admitted morosely. Even though he did know it was for the best, it was better to have knowledge of what they had than not.

"So you two want to take the siren floor then?" Cal asked tentatively.

"Of course," they said together.

"Gold," Fritz said.

"Lovely bird-ladies," Bert added.

"Deadly bird-ladies," Fritz corrected.

"Even better," Bert said, grinning.

"I won't vote for the siren Floor unless you have a plan to deal with the song," Lauren told them flatly, with an almost disgusted look at Bert.

"We can use one of the remedies we found," Fritz said. "I believe there was one that would make you harder to fool by illusions."

"There was. Though I don't know how effective it will be," she hedged.

"Well, I may have an Ability that lets me resist such things," Fritz said. "And I have Control, that's got to help right?"

"Another Ability?" Lauren said sceptically, but when Fritz blandly smiled and offered no more information she continued. "I suppose Control could work, though I read it's unlike Resolve in that you need to actively use it rather than it being more of a passive enhancement. So you would have to be aware you were enthralled or enchanted to leverage its power."

"Fortunate that I have Awareness then," he boasted.

Lauren still seemed unsure but eventually shrugged.

"You haven't led us wrong yet," she conceded. "And I doubt the danger is nearly as deadly as the raid- as you know who."

"True as the rain," George agreed. "If we beat him we can beat some song birds."

"I'm in," Cal said, agreeing in an obvious attempt to turn over a new leaf.

They all turned to Rosie where she sat playing with the ring on her finger, and she said, "I got's no qualms about it. Siren Door is fine."

"I was keen at 'more dangerous'," Bert said. "The gold is just gravy, and I love gravy."

"Right, then let us make our purchases and Note our Treasures," Fritz ordered affably. "We'll rest here for a day to recover. And then onto the siren floor."

The team nodded and started heading away to purchase the Know-notes and other equipment.

"Can I go talk to the other Climbers?" Rosie asked.

"There's no law forbidding it, go ahead and mingle," Fritz said. "While I may be your captain, don't start thinking we're a military or militia. You're free to do as you will as long as it doesn't harm the team."

"Oh, okay. Yes sir," Rosie said with a lopsided grin.

Before Fritz could respond he realised, she was teasing him, and that could only be a good sign for our team.

He decided to pay along, "Well, move along soldier! You're dismissed!

She laughed and headed first to the noblemen, who promptly shooed her off with cruel words. Rosie had merely shrugged and tried the foreigners next, who seemed surprised at first but welcomed her easily. Bert seeing their amiability decided to stride over and introduce himself too, and soon they were laughing, talking and boasting boisterously.

They're immediate acceptance surprised Fritz a little, and he contemplated joining in the talk and tales, but he eventually decided against it. He needed some time just to himself. He was still reeling from his use of the Aberrant Seed. His Sanctum was, for lack of a better word, sore. It felt raw, like a skinned hand, and the cold energy would spike into an icy burning for minutes at a time before abating.

Fritz chided himself, what did he expect after exposing himself to such a dangerous power? Using the Seed had been monumentally foolish, even if it had been necessary and had saved his and his friend's lives. If a little pain was the repercussion of such a valiant act then he could bear it, and would do so again in a heartbeat. He sighed, he knew it would get better in time, and with the Well's recovery. Though he did think not to make taking such desperate risks a habit.

After thirty minutes, Lauren, George and Cal returned with the know-notes and the other miscellaneous equipment they had bought. They called Rosie and Bert back, who reluctantly said farewell to their new acquaintances. Especially Rosie who had seemingly taken a liking to one of the exotically handsome men there.

"Well, let's get through them," Fritz said as the team took out their respective Treasures and Lauren handed out the small white cards.

Glyphs were burnt into the pale paper as they activated them against their items. When they had read them they handed them off to another of the team.

"It's strange that we can read these," Cal said. "I never did learn my letters."

"Not so strange, it's just like the Sanctum squiggles," Rose countered.

"Glyphs," Lauren corrected.

"Right, those," Rosie agreed.

"It's because the first Know-notes originated from the Spire's, and something we learned how to make from studying them. So their magic is written in Spire glyphs. Though I'm sure if you learned to read now you could do so easier, now that you have a Sanctum."

"Because of Focus and Memory?" Fritz theorised.

"I don't know. I'm not really a scholar on such things, or have access to such restricted books," she replied distractedly.

"Restricted?" Bert asked, confused.

"The Guides," Fritz supplied as though that explained it.

"They have help from the church and nobles too," Lauren said.

"They do?" Fritz asked.

"Yes, or at least that's what I've heard. Now shush I'm trying to read what these boots do," Lauren reprimanded, staring hard at the Know-note between her fingers. "Hmm. Not bad for the next floor but not exactly ideal for my Powers."

"May I?" Fritz asked holding out a hand. She nodded and gave the card over to him and he read:

---------

Treasure

---------

---

Icewalker Treads

---

Alignment: Ice.

---

Capacity: 6/6

---

---------

Abilities Imbued

---------

---

Icewalk

Gripping ice, cold's embrace, freezing footsteps, keep the pace.

Steps you take with this Treasure freeze the surface below your feet.

Alignment: Ice.

Cost: Two.

Duration: One hour.

Refresh: None.

---

---------

"You think it'll freeze water, letting you walk across it?" Fritz said.

"That's what I expect," she said.

"Won't the ice be slippery?"

"I expect that a secondary property of the boots will be that allows you to walk on ice without slipping," Lauren predicted.

Bert prodded Fritz and he swapped the Know-note he was holding with the one his friend was proffering and read it.

---------

Treasure

---------

---

Flail of Inescapable Chains

---

Alignment: Metal.

---

Capacity: 6/6

---

---------

Abilities Imbued

---------

---

Chains of Binding

Wrapping links, strong and steel, catch your foe, and bring to heel.

This Treasure binds a creature with its chain.

Alignment: Metal.

Cost: Three.

Duration: Five minutes.

Refresh: One hour.

---

---------

Cal's flail seemed to have a mighty cost but five minutes of binding was surprisingly useful and had likely saved their lives against the raider. That and, it was still a hefty weapon with all the great durability of a Treasure. A good item, if not one he'd like for himself. Thinking on weapons, Fritz realised that he hadn't refilled his dagger, nor remembered to get a Know-note for it. In fact, he couldn't remember if he had ever refilled it with anything other than the bull's gold heart.

"Hold on!" Fritz said, standing and handing off the glyphed card. "Where's the gold? I need a Know-note, for my dagger."

"You don't know what it does?" Lauren asked incredulously.

"I never got around to it," Fritz admitted, putting on a proud face. "I'm a very important and busy man."

"A fool, you mean," Bert corrected.

"Perhaps. Though I still need that gold," Fritz replied.

Lauren, who held their funds, gave him the bag of triads and he quickly entered the Guild shop and purchased a Know-note for a ridiculous nine gold triads. Fritz seethed inwardly, but made sure not to show it on his face. He also considered identifying his barrier ring as well, but decided against it, he already knew what it did, mostly. Fritz returned to his team and eagerly activated his own Know-note against the bone dagger.

---------

Treasure

---------

---

Mortal Edge

---

Alignment: Curse, Death.

---

Capacity: 8/12

---

---------

Abilities Imbued

---------

---

Curse Strike: Mortality

Cruelly callous, all life offends, wounds unmending, and bloody ends.

This Treasure becomes wreathed in death, cursing a wound made by this strike. This curse resists healing and reduces health recovery.

Alignment: Curse, Death.

Cost: Four.

Duration: Three days.

Refresh: None.

---

---------

Three days. That's the part that stood out to him most. For three whole days the wound this blade inflicted wouldn't heal properly. Three days of bleeding would have definitely killed Bert if he had not risked the hidden door and taken the faeries deal. This dagger was deadly, he had thought he had known that already, all daggers were deadly if you put them somewhere vital. But now, with it written in black glyphs in front of him, it really hit him just how potent, how truly lethal, the blade was.

Fritz shivered. How in the Abyss had Steve gotten something this powerful from a chest? A chest in a minor Spire.

"What's wrong?" George asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Uh... I just wasn't expecting the Imbuement to be so... strong," Fritz said.

"Let me see," Bert said. "I want to know what I was stabbed in the gut with."

Fritz hesitated for a heartbeat but handed it over.

Bert whistled. "Whoa, that is nasty. I'm surprised I didn't die."

"As am I," Fritz said.

"You survived this!?" Lauren hissed as she read the know-note over Bert's shoulder.

"With a little help," Bert said smugly.

"A lot of help," Fritz groused. "My help, and favour to boot."

"What's this? A favour?" Lauren asked, looking at Fritz as though he were an oddity.

"Secrets," Fritz intoned solemnly and although the whole team looked ready to pounce on him for an explanation they dropped the subject. It wasn't wise to go shouting about such things, especially in a Well room with three other teams and the Guides as well.

"Your dagger makes the rest of our Treasures look poor in comparison," Lauren sighed, changing the subject as skilfully as she ever did.

"I doubt that, let's see the rest," Fritz entreated.

The rest of the Know-notes were still in circulation but they all came to him in time and he assessed each one in turn.

---------

Treasure

---------

---

Clearbreath Helm

---

Alignment: Air.

---

Capacity: 6/6

---

---------

Abilities Imbued

---------

---

Air Bubble

Clad in wind, free and clear, breathe in deeply, without fear.

This Treasure is enclosed in a bubble of clean air.

Alignment: Air.

Cost: Two.

Duration: One Hour.

Refresh: None.

---

---------

Rosie's helm was more useful than he thought it would be, and likely the reason that she hadn't suffered as badly from the poisonous gas of the raider. It probably had a filtering effect or something even when it wasn't using its Imbuement, or so Lauren had suggested. The next card featured the raider's bow.

---------

Treasure

---------

---

Unbreakable Bow

---

Alignment: Metal.

---

Capacity: 9/9

---

---------

Abilities Imbued

---------

---

Adamant Shell

Plated black, can't be hewn, blocks all blows, and is immune.

This Treasure is coated in a sheen of Adamant.

Alignment: Metal

Cost: Three.

Duration: Nine seconds.

Refresh: None.

---

---------

Fritz didn't know what to make of this particular Treasure, its Imbuement seemed at odds with what a bow was meant to do. Though he supposed using it offensively as a club, or defensively as a staff, could come in handy if you were closed in upon and forced into melee combat. It wasn't bad, but it definitely wasn't ideal. The Know-note for the Quiver came around and he read it with pleasant surprise.

---------

Treasure

---------

---

Deep Quiver

---

Alignment: Space.

---

Capacity: 6/6

---

---------

Abilities Imbued

---------

---

Hidden Compartment: Bow and Arrows

It's storage, simple, another space, where gear is kept, without a trace.

This Treasure can store one bow and three arrows within a hidden space.

Alignment: Space.

Cost: Arrow: One, Bow: Two.

Duration: None.

Refresh: None.

---

---------

He had to admit that this Treasure was good, it did just what you wanted for a quiver, and he knew you could keep the bow stringed within, allowing you to surprise people with a sudden bow attack. Fritz suspected Sid would enjoy this, and it would make a fine gift for her. The last of the glyphed paper made its way to him and he read:

---------

Treasure

---------

---

Sea-skin Ring

---

Alignment: Force, Water.

---

Capacity: 9/9

---

---------

Abilities Imbued

---------

---

Sea-skin Shield

Slipping, flowing over skin. Splashing, saving who's within.

You are enclosed in a smooth barrier of water.

Alignment: Force, Water.

Cost: 3

Duration: Nine seconds.

Refresh: None.

---

---------

The raider's ring was potent indeed. A more advanced, water-aligned, version of his own barrier ring. Fritz contemplated trying to trade his own ring for it but could see any attempts to wrangle this particular Treasure would be useless. Lauren was enamoured with the white ring of bone and she smiled at him prettily when he tried to broach the subject.

"I think I'll keep it for now. Don't want my chest caved in again, you know," she said, much to his hidden dismay.

"We don't have any more Know-notes?" Rosie asked, looking at her own dry coral ring.

"We can get that one done outside. Don't you think? We're already down to, twenty-seven triads," Lauren explained.

"Hmm, I guess so. Doesn't really do much anyway," Rosie said. "But it has grown on me. It's the first piece of jewellery I ever got."

Pity entered Lauren's eyes for a moment before she said, "This is just the beginning, once we're out we can get you something even nicer."

"We'll be rich. True as the rain," Bert said slapping Rosie on the back.

She smiled at that.

The time they spent in the Well room passed by in a restful, if watchful blur. Lauren had another dinner with her newest friend; Rosie, Cal and Bert mingled with the other Climbers while Fritz and George spent some time in silent contemplation and companionable silence. They slept another night and in the morning they had gathered their things and were ready to go.

It seemed they were the only ones to do so, the other teams had other priorities, or so he had heard. The nobles were waiting on the 'Prince' to decide when he was ready to ascend the rest of the way. Apparently, he was treating the Climb as something of an amusement, a chance to relax and cavort, away from the eyes of high society. Much to the chagrin of the noblemen stuck outside his silk pavilion, waiting on his whims.

Fritz smirked at them while he passed by, delighting in their sour faces and enraged eyes.

The locals he was more cordial too, giving them nods as they waited on some more Climbers to join them to replace their injured team members. The foreigners were still resting and recovering, and those awake bade their team a yelled farewell which they returned in kind.

Fritz led his team to the rocky ramp that led to the siren Floor beyond.

"Just four more floors."