The method they’d settled on wasn’t the safest, especially for Nepthys, but it was effective. If it wasn’t for that, Jake would have insisted they come up with something less dangerous, but he couldn’t argue with the results.

  The Enhanced serpents were dangerous, that much was evidently clear from their huge fangs, but much of that danger was from where they hid. Once they were on dry land, that threat was severely lessened.

  For all their size and lightning fast lunging, the serpents were slow to move normally and seemed to prefer to lunge and then return to their original position.

  All of that meant that they were able to make slow but steady progress.

  Eventually, though the heat exhaustion got to Nepthys, and at the final bridge, she dodged too slowly. The lunging maws of two Fire Serpents shattered a hastily created pair of shieds, but a Juvenile that Nepthys hadn’t seen sank its fangs into her leg.

  Surprise tore a cry of pain from her lips as she fell back, her short blade flashing as she cut through the snake’s neck. The damage had been done, though, and she didn’t have the time to dodge before the serpents attacked again.

  Only one shield blocked the attacking Enhanced creatures this time, with the other sinking its fangs into the meat of her thigh and rearing back.

  Nepthys’s swords fell to the ground as she screamed and hung from the serpent’s mouth, clutching her leg.

  The sizzle of her flesh and the stench of burnt meat filled the air as the heated fangs cooked Nepthys’s leg from the inside out.

  Icicles tore into the exposed underbelly of the serpent as it lifted Nepthys away, her screams driving Jake on as Aspen cut down the Beasts and he focused on killing the thing holding Nepthys.

  Reeling back in pain, the Serpent whipped its head to toss Nepthys aside before hissing and lunging down at Jake, its maw opening wide to show the sizzling blood on its fangs.

  Jake poured Wyrd into his blade as he leapt to one side, dodging the attack by mere inches. As the creature turned, slower now, he stepped in and hacked down at it with a vicious swipe of his blade.

  A thick edge of Wyrd formed around Jake’s sword as he cut right through the Serpent’s head, killing it outright.

  Burning hot blood spilled out, splashing on Jake despite his best efforts and he waited only long enough to make sure that Alan and Gargan had the other Serpent in hand before looking for Nepthys.

  With how the Serpent had thrown her towards the river, Jake had expected her to be already dead, and for this whole delve to be ruined.

  Despite the fear churning in his gut, however, Jake saw that she was still alive.

  Nepthys was lying atop one of her shields, suspended mere inches above the lava flow, blood slowly leaking down from her leg and pooling on the sheet of Wyrd.

  “Jake!” Nepthys called, her strained voice tight with pain. “I can’t hold this for long!”

  Jake saw the cracks forming in the shield and knew he had only a few moments to act before she fell in.

  His mind raced as he desperately tried to think of a way to save her, to somehow stop her falling in. His first thought was to hook something on her or grab her, try to drag her in that way. She was several feet out from the edge of the flow, though.

  She was just too damn far away!

  Cracks webbed through the shield as Nepthys’s Ability fought desperately to hold her up. This was far from what it was meant for, and he knew that time was running out.

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  If he could just get closer somehow…

  Realisation tore through Jake and he raced forward, burning one of his Manifestations to activate his Nature’s Path Boon right before he reached the lava.

  Immediately, the ground seemed to firm beneath his feet and every step forward was taken from perfectly level ground.

  The Boon was only at its first rank, so the Manifestation could only give Jake so much. Running on slightly uneven rock was one thing, but as his foot landed on the lava, the top rose up and hardened, creating a small foothold.

  Wyrd wrapped around his foot, protecting him from the heat of the lava as the energy within the Manifestation he’d used plummeted.

  Searing heat blistered the flesh of how lower legs from the ankle up, where the Boon didn’t protect him.

  A second step brought him close enough to grab Nepthys, the shield shattering a moment later as he lifted her and twisted, taking his third step.

  The firm and supportive ground his Boon provided was just good enough that Jake pulled off the awkward twist, letting him take a final step and dive back onto solid ground.

  Four steps. A whole manifestation used up in four simple steps.

  Lying on the hard rock, grazed and bleeding slightly from the tumble, Jake knew he’d have sacrificed far more to save her.

  Extricating himself from the tangled heap they’d formed, Jake grabbed at his belt, cursing as he found that he’d landed on one of his potions.

  Fumbling out a second, Jake poured a liberal amount into the deep wounds on her thigh before feeding her the rest.

  Nepthys sighed and relaxed as the numbing effect of the potion went to work, but Jake could tell that it hadn’t dealt with all the pain. Not for a wound that size.

  “Will one potion be enough?” Alan asked, hurrying over to join them and putting Nepthys’s swords down next to her. “I can give you one of mine?”

  “I don’t know,” Jake said, frowning as he looked at the rapidly healing wound on her thigh. The two monsters had bitten the same leg, which seemed to be both a good and bad thing at the moment.

  On the one hand, the single potion had covered both wounds, but on the other, he was concerned about lingering damage.

  “Damn, that’s deep,” Aspen said as he reached them, going down to one knee next to Nepthys as he examined the wound. “Looks like it’s not going to heal nice either, not with those burns from the fangs.”

  “Damn it,” Nepthys said tightly, fighting to sit upright while keeping her injured leg stretched out. “I just hope I can still use it.”

  “It looks like it isn’t sealing up properly,” Aspen said, gently manipulating the area around the puncture wounds. “The burns are interfering with the potion. I can try and fix that, but it’ll be damn painful and will need another potion.”

  “Do it,” Nepthys said firmly. “I need to be able to move properly for when we go to the next floor.”

  “Got it,” Aspen said, a serious expression settling onto his face as he lay down his spear and drew his belt knife.

  Jake watched with muted horror as Aspen cut into Nepthys, opening up the wounds before washing them out. The wound ended up wider than before, but the burnt and cauterised sections were gone.

  Nepthys had grabbed Jake’s arm when Aspen began to cut, her eyes wide as she fought back a cry, her fingers digging into Jake’s skin.

  Jake wished he could do something to alleviate her suffering, but she was already slightly numbed from the first potion, and giving her a second now would ruin Aspen’s work.

  Gritting his teeth, Jake waited as Aspen finished his bloody task, giving Nepthys a potion as soon as he got the nod.

  This was his third one expended, and he’d be taking a fourth in a moment for his burnt calves. One broken, two for Nepthys and one for himself. All necessary, and they were all an expense he would gladly pay again if needed, but it did weigh on him.

  He would be going into the Guardian floor of this tier with less than of half of his potions. That boded poorly in Jake’s mind.

  Not to mention the fact that they had yet to do the Challenge for this tier.

  Grimacing, Jake looked down at the puncture wounds Nepthys had suffered, only to see that they were mostly healed.

  That part of her thigh didn’t quite match the rest now, and it had the pinkish tinge of new flesh, but it was better than before.

  “Alright, let’s test it,” Aspen said, helping Nepthys up and motioning for her to walk around.

  The Inquisitor did just that, testing the range of motion and stability of her leg. “Thank you, Aspen, this is better than I hoped for.”

  “I’m glad I could help,” Aspen said, his serious expression fading to a more relaxed smile.

  “Are you at full strength?” Jake asked, noting her frown as she bent and flexed her leg.

  “Not quite, but good enough for what we need,” Nepthys said, sighing as she looked down at the large hole in her clothes. “These chestpieces have been good, but we need a full set of armour.”

  “Agreed,” Jake said, wondering if they could get Varin to make them with some drake leather. Maybe even the scales of these serpents. “That’s for after the Dungeon, though. How are you feeling, ready to move on?”

  “As ready as I will be,” Nepthys said, gathering up her weapons and dusting herself off. “I’m just glad that this was the last bridge. I’m not sure I could run fast enough otherwise.”

  Nepthys’s deadpan delivery had them all chuckling at the macabre joke as they started back toward the bridge.