Wyn jolted awake. The others were standing over him, though Marcy was the closest, bent over with her hands on his face. She slapped him one more time.

  “Time to wake up, Wyn,” she said, then started pushing him up.

  Wyn looked around. They were still in Alistair, and the familiar grey and clear colored portal hung in the air beside them. It was the floor portal. The floor portal for the ninth floor.

  He breathed a sigh of relief. They had done it. The dragon was dead and Lucy was still alive. She sat near the portal, away from the others. Her right knee was pulled into her and her right arm wrapped around herself, as though she was cold. Or afraid. She stared at the floor and her left side where she was missing her arm and leg. She didn’t look his way despite the others moving and talking over him.

  He didn't mind her ignoring him considering the cost she paid. Would she resent him for being a cripple, now? She wanted to die, after all. Maybe she thought some life was better than none? There was no way to know what she was thinking, now. They had plenty of time to talk later. At least they were all alive.

  “I can’t believe we killed the damn thing!” John said. He was bobbing up and down beside Tasha, elated.

  “I can’t, either,” Cedric said. “I was sure more than one of us was going to be more injured. But we made it, and with time to spare.”

  “It was too close for my liking,” Tasha said. “I went through two mana potions and all of my callings. I hate seeing any of you incapacitated like that, and I hate that I couldn't do anything for Lucy.”

  John put an arm around her and pulled her close. She leaned into his embrace and accepted it. No one else seemed to mind.

  “I don’t plan on us taking another risk like that,” Wyn said.

  Marcy barked a laugh. “You say that like you don’t know any of us at all!”

  Wyn chuckled. She had a point. Trouble seemed to follow them. But hopefully the mess with the Assembly would be over soon.

  “At least we’ll be stronger,” Cedric added. “We can advance to the third tier, now. We have classes to upgrade.”

  The others paused at that realization. Wyn was so caught up with solving his own debt problem that he almost forgot this was the boss floor. Cedric was right. Now they had time to progress to the tenth floor to upgrade, and would undoubtedly have an easier time ahead of them for future climbs.

  Except for Lucy, of course. Her fate and decisions remained to be seen.

  “And loot to go through,” John said, interrupting Wyn's thoughts. “Don’t forget that!”

  Wyn looked around. The dragon was long gone, its body already faded back to the tower. When he passed out he must have missed the treasure that dropped from the dragon.

  “What did you collect?” Wyn asked.

  John’s face turned into a grin. He held out a war hammer that shimmered purple. It was still unidentified as it was simple with a smooth metallic handle and plain blocky head, but it was likely something great if it dropped from a floor boss.

  “It should be part of the same Frost Giant’s set,” Cedric said. “If not, it’ll still be a great value trade for some gear. The rest was the typical coins, gemstones, and potions.”

  “But a lot of coins, gemstones, and potions,” Marcy said. “A half dozen potions alone. And hundreds of crowns worth of the others.”

  “Maybe more if we sell the gemstones,” Tasha said. “Which we absolutely can do if you need the money, Wyn.”

  Wyn was grateful for the offer but he hoped his previous plan was still good. He looked over to Lucy who hadn’t moved.

  Slowly he walked over towards her and sat in front of her. He leaned towards her and waited. When she finally looked at him, he smiled softly but stayed silent.

  She was not the same person he knew. That much was clear. Whatever part of her escaped from the ordeal with Mathias left her into something… else. Someone changed. Whether that was for the better or not, Wyn wasn’t sure. But at least they had some time to figure it out.

  “I’m as good as dead,” Lucy said, her voice soft. “Killing Mathias pretty much secured my fate. And now I'm a fucking cripple. I wanted to die, to be reunited with my sister. You didn’t even let me accomplish that.”

  Wyn took a deep breath. He didn’t want to insult Lucy, but he wanted to be careful with how he talked to her. “One day you’ll see her again. We don’t live forever, after all. And I won't stop you from coming in here later on. But you still have a chance to do some good before then.”

  “Like what? The moment the Assembly finds out I killed Mathias I’ll be killed, too. Along with the rest of my family just for being related to me. Do you think I can run away?”

  Wyn looked around. The others were giving them space, but seemed to be antsy. Cedric kept checking his parchment and they were staring at the portal. Soon the floor would collapse and they needed to at least be back in Alistair’s base before then.

  A thought struck Wyn. “Why does the Assembly have to find out you killed Mathias?”

  Lucy huffed a laugh. “What other kind of explanation would there be? He won’t report back to them and then they’ll investigate. It’ll come up eventually.”

  “Will it, though? His body is here in the tower. Soon the floor will change and then it’ll be gone. There won’t be any evidence. Who’s to say he didn’t run away with my gold?”

  Lucy scrunched her face in thought. “He wouldn’t just run away like that. No one who’s part of the Assembly at his level just leaves.”

  “There are always exceptions. They won’t find a body, that’s an absolute fact. Whoever he reported to will likely ask questions, yes, but the only person he was managing was you, right? So when that happens, tell them you hadn’t heard from him after we met tonight. That he took my gold and offer and disappeared, and you hadn’t been able to reach him.”

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  “That’s a damn pitiful plan. Relying on me lying? And hoping they take the bait?”

  “You’ve lied before. This could be the last lie you ever tell for them. I’d help, too, since I was the other party involved tonight. Maybe there’s someone else I can tell about selling my farm to get out of this mess.”

  Lucy remained quiet. Wyn could tell she was thinking about his idea as she returned to staring at the floor. But the look on her face wasn’t one of sadness anymore. It was contemplation. She was likely going through the scenario’s possible outcomes, weighing the options in her mind.

  “The alternative you could do is to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life,” Wyn said. “Try to escape them so you don’t get caught. What kind of life is that?”

  “I’ll probably need to do that anyway,” Lucy agreed. “Fuck's sake, look at me. But even if we can convince them that Mathias ran off with your gold, they’ll just reassign me. It will never end.”

  Wyn grit his teeth. “And there’s no way to buy out your debt? Not even the tiniest chance?”

  Lucy shrugged. “It’s called a life debt for a reason. I’m in it until the end.”

  “Then you should fake your death,” Cedric said. He sat down near them but not too close, looking at both her and Wyn. He offered a rare sympathetic smile. “How much does the Assembly know about the tower’s magic?”

  Lucy straightened up. “They seem to know everything, but I don’t know exactly. Mathias was ignorant on some parts, like thinking that the coins found inside the tower were somehow better than coins in the rest of the country. He thought they were magical or carried some sort of divinity.”

  “That’s the first I’ve ever heard of that,” Wyn said.

  “Yea, because he was full of shit. He also thought that when someone gained a class they could never leave the city or they’d die along with the magic. Someone once told him that magic gets weaker the longer it’s away from Alestead and the tower, and he thought that also meant people. Like the magic gained from classes causes us to die. It’s why he never gained a class and only forced me to. He took bits and pieces of information, rather right or wrong, and mixed them together to create some ridiculous belief in his head.”

  “That’s useful,” Cedric said. “We could take his ignorance and use it for own advantage.”

  “How?” Lucy asked.

  “He likely told his own superiors the same things. Unless someone was knowledgeable about tower magic, there’s a strong chance they took his word for it. You said before he was looking to start increasing the Assembly’s reach into Alestead? That means they haven’t been here before. So taking his incorrect conclusions he reported means we can abuse them. They don’t know the extent of the magic here.”

  “Like healing magic,” Lucy whispered. She looked to her mostly missing left side.

  “Or really any magic,” Cedric added. “It might sound brutal, but come up with a plan where they think you’re dead, too. That’ll end your sentence with them and make them believe you’ve paid your lift debt. Then heal up the best you can or escape or however you decide to weasel your way away from them and go be with your family.”

  Tears started streaming down Lucy’s face. Wyn could tell she believed Cedric, and that his suggestion could work. He had to admit, it was a good one, too. A large part of him wondered if Cedric hadn’t come up with that before tonight as a possibility of her escape. Wyn wouldn’t be surprised if so. The man thought ahead often. Since their time in the caves and him losing his arm, it seemed like he hadn’t taken his life for granted.

  Or maybe that was his plan in those days when he threatened to leave the city? Wyn had convinced him to stay back then. Maybe this had been born long ago.

  “We can work out the details later,” Tasha said, sitting beside Wyn and Cedric. “We’ll help you, too. You’re a part of this team, after all.”

  Lucy wiped her eyes. “Even after all the shit you went through because of me?”

  “Not because of you,” Wyn said. “I was wrong at first. You’re just as much of a victim of them as me. Even more of one, actually. If we can both find a way to leave them in the past I’m for it.”

  Lucy nodded. “Okay. I think I need some rest first. Not sure how much of a life I have missing an arm and a leg but I'll think on it.”

  Wyn breathed a sigh of relief. “At least it's still a life.”

  Together, the six of them stepped through the floor portal back to the base of Alistair, Lucy propped up between John and Wyn. John had already secured the available treasure and Marcy agreed to split it that evening. Most of it they skipped while rushing to get to the boss, but they still picked up several items as well as the small hoard from the dragon boss. It wasn’t nothing. Their rewards from clearing the floor were obtained, too, and Wyn was happy to see his reward of over 500 gold crowns.

  They couldn’t find a cart to take them back to the guild house so late at night, so they walked in mostly silence while Tasha kept a light above their head and Wyn and John alternated carrying Lucy on their backs. It was a small price to pay for her sacrifice. No one bothered them, and it was mostly a quiet chilly night as the windy fall air swirled around them.

  Eventually they made it to the guild grounds and were greeted by Faye. She was sitting on the front steps along with Brett, another member of her team. When the six of them walked up, Brett stood up while Faye just leaned back on the entry stairs. She seemed relieved to see them while Brett looked angry, though both of them grew concerned seeing Lucy.

  “Damnit!” Brett yelled. “What in the hells happened!”

  “Is something wrong?” Marcy asked. "Why are you two out here on the steps?"

  “I thought all of you were going to be gone well into tomorrow morning,” Brett said. “Weren’t you going out to celebrate or something? Why in the hells are you carrying Lucy!”

  “What’s going on?” Faye asked, and she looked to be a mixutre of angry and shocked. “You’re all wearing your climbing gear. I thought you were going to dinner and having a party?”

  “We never said we were going to a party,” Marcy said. “We said we were going out for a night together as a team.”

  “I’m sorry, but we’ve had a long night,” Cedric said. “We just want to come in and go to bed and Lucy needs rest.”

  "Lucy needs the damn infirmary," Faye said, walking up to Lucy, who was still on John's back. "Gods, what the fuck happened?"

  Wyn knew he needed to be the one to answer. He was their leader, after all. Lying was going to be the last thing he wanted to do, but he hoped he would at least have had some rest before having this conversation.

  “It's a long story,” Wyn said. He regretted it immediately.

  Brett cursed while Faye glared at him.

  “A long story?” Faye repeated.

  Wyn sighed. “Well, some events happened, and then, well… we ended up climbing. It didn't go as planned.”

  “No fucking kidding," Brett said. "And why climb so late?”

  “Marcy,” Faye said. “What happened?”

  Marcy crossed her arms. “Can we just explain in the morning? I want to sleep. I’m exhausted.”

  “How many floors did you clear? Or try to clear?”

  Marcy opened her mouth but then stopped. Wyn cut her off. “Just one. Can we please do this tomorrow?”

  “It already is tomorrow,” Brett said.

  “You’re hiding something,” Faye said. “Spill it.”

  “Faye,” Marcy said.

  Faye raised a hand. “Normally I wouldn’t push, but a member of your team is injured to the point of never climbing again. Tell me what happened.”

  The others looked at each other and Wyn sighed. Apparently there was no avoiding it. But maybe he could hold off talking about the Assembly for a bit longer, and hopefully completely.

  “We climbed the ninth floor,” Wyn said.

  Brett’s face fell while Faye stood up, and they both spoke together. “What?”

  Wyn shrugged. “We went inside once before but I wanted another go. It’s on me.”

  “Was it worth it?” Brett asked. "Trying to clear it and failing and still having a member of your team injured?"

  “Specifically after we said you all weren’t ready?” Faye added.

  Wyn slowly nodded. Hearing them chastise him was like a punch in the gut. He knew it was coming and he still felt shame rise within him.

  “Godsdamnit,” Faye said. “We have rules in place about that! There’s a reason why we restrict teams to certain tiers! You weren’t prepared!”

  “We made it, still,” John said. “We didn't leave. We cleared it. Though that dragon was a real terror.”

  “No shit!” Brett said. “I’m a third tier Climber and even our group had trouble with it! Gods, how did you manage that? Rollo, in Nigel’s group, nearly died, and they're more experienced than all of you!”

  “We definitely had some trouble,” John said.

  Marcy hit him on the arm, which made him flinch. She shot him a look that could kill and he realized his error too late.

  Brett sighed. “Just when I was starting to like you guys.”

  “Tell me everything,” Faye said. “If you’re lucky, we can catch Gregory in a good mood. Maybe the punishment will be light and you won't be kicked from the guild.”

  “I think it’s safe to say I’m not in one,” a voice said, and everyone turned to see Gregory standing off to the side of the guild’s entrance, standing with his arms folded. He was wearing simple clothes along with a serious expression that Wyn recognized.

  It was the same look superior officers had when their soldiers messed up. Wyn knew they had, of course, but the reason was sound.

  Wyn clenched his jaw. Unfortunately the reason meant spilling the truth about everything.

  “Wyn’s just protecting me,” Lucy said. "It's actually my fault."

  Everyone turned to her. It was the first time she had spoken since they left Alistair. She tapped John's shoulder who let her down, and she stood with his help. Defiantly, she didn’t take her eyes off of their leader.

  “What do you mean?” Gregory asked.

  “I’m the reason we climbed the ninth floor," Lucy continued. "It’s all my fault. Me being here, them, us being a team. Every part of tonight, including my own injuries.”

  “Lucy,” Wyn said.

  “No, Wyn. It’s time I told the truth. It’s going to come out before long, anyway.”

  “What in the hells is going on?” Brett asked.

  Lucy ignored him, returning her gaze back to Gregory. “Have you heard of the Assembly?”

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