Closing her menu, Cyn scooped the Voidling off of her shoulder and held it up to her face. Three black eyes squinted back at her, the creature softly grumbling as it settled onto her hands, sagging over the sides. “Hey buddy... do you want to be able to use some of my skills?” She really did not have a better solution than just asking outright, and Cyn could only hope she was able to get a clear answer from the familiar.

  Spam blinked asynchronously at her for a few very long and awkward moments, prompting Cyn to try and explain further. “I can take a skill that lets you use some of mine. I don’t actually know what ones, and it will probably make me get more options involving you in the future...” Cyn’s haphazard attempt to explain was interrupted by a very sticky, black tongue becoming plastered to her cheek. Cute, but it really wasn’t a response. She needed a yes or no from Spam, because if the familiar wasn’t interested then there was little point in taking Skill Share. Even worse, she might even be crippling herself.

  “Yes, or no?” Cyn made an exaggerated nod and shake of her head as she spoke. Before she had finished speaking, the familiar was bobbing up and down. Its whole body, not just its head, but Cyn was going to take that as an enthusiastic ‘yes’. The sight made Fish, who was sitting beside her on the raft, giggle. The two women shared a smile for a few moments, before Cyn placed Spam in the pouch on her tabard and reopened her menu. Looking over the skill selection again, and lingering over Shapeshift more, she chose Skill Share.

  Surprisingly, Cyn did not receive any notifications of what skills were being shared with Spam. She had to Inspect each skill to see if anything had changed, to find that only two of her skills had new lines in their description notating that they were being shared with the Voidling. Purify and Restoration. Cyn did not have a large number of skills, so it wasn’t shocked that only a few could be shared. Just a little disappointing. She did find it odd that Light Ball was not included, but it was possible a creature from the void wouldn’t get along with light attuned mana. Probable, even. There was no surprise over the exclusion of higher rarity skills like Siphon, or her multiple unique skills. Skill Share was only uncommon rarity, after all. Regardless of how useful it was currently, Cyn saw it as a foundation for the future.

  Satisfied with her choice, she moved on to the final notification. Unsurprisingly, it was just informing Cyn that she had failed her objective to hatch the Solar Serpent Egg. It had also vanished from her objective list in the menu, unlike her other failed objective to have all Awakened survive the floor. It was strange, but Cyn reasoned that the odd behavior supported her idea that that particular objective was not tied to this dungeon.

  The raft was nearing the shoreline by this point, but before disembarking she took the ten free points she had built up and dropped all of them into agility. Hopefully the stat would help her sense of balance, and she wouldn’t stupidly fall to her near-death again.

  ***

  Other than having another – or perhaps even the same – Shadow Crow follow the group for a time, most of the trip back to camp was uneventful. Considering the stress everyone had been put under over the course of the day, Cyn could admit that that was probably for the best. Not to mention, she was still suffering from the lingering effects of the Soul Slip backfire all the way back. This mostly manifested as a killer headache and overall feeling off-balance, so not crippling, but it would still be a bad idea to engage in combat or any other ‘interesting’ situations.

  They were nearly back when Cyn felt someone else approaching the group. It took her a heartbeat to identify them as Donovan, the stealth archer. She let everyone else know he was approaching, but that did not prevent them from jumping when he popped out of the shadows, heaving a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god.”

  “Is there a problem?” Cyn spoke up immediately. Donovan was supposed to be a part of the group staying behind that day, so if the archer was looking for them that could only mean something had happened.

  Donovan hesitated, before shrugging. “I mean, you all are alive so I guess not? You must have just missed the big fucking water snake coming down the river. I was coming to look for bodies.”

  Sam heaved a sigh, glancing at Cyn a moment before responding to the archer. “We didn’t miss the snake. But is everyone else ok?” Cyn felt her face heat up at the Berserker’s words, embarrassed.

  She wasn’t too worried about the camp, since the Feathered Brine Serpent had said it wouldn’t kill them. Although that meant taking the creature at its word, she saw little the serpent could have gained by attacking the camp unless it was out for revenge. Everyone was at a lower level than it, and considering that the Territory Heart was a decent distance from the water it also was unlikely to be a target. Not to mention, it was definitely eager to return to its natural environment.

  Donovan quickly confirmed Cyn’s speculation. “Yah, everyone is fine. Scared shitless, but fine.” Continuing the final part of the trek back to camp with Donovan in tow, the archer explained how the creature had drawn everyone down to the water using the ability Cyn and party had experienced, then just splashed water over them before swimming off downriver. More like slithering, since the shallow water did not cover its body, but that was beside the point. Despite it not hurting them, the whole ordeal was understandably unpleasant for everyone involved.

  The relief everyone at camp felt upon their return was palpable, the entire raid party clustering near the Territory Heart as if it provided tangible protection. Those who had traveled out to the plains for the day had returned not long before the serpent showed up, making Cyn’s group the only ones to have ‘missed out’ on seeing it. Scott said they were very lucky to have missed it, at least until Sam prompted Cyn to tell him what had happened.

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  “You did what?!” The Standard-Bearer’s roar of disbelief was followed by a string of very colorful curses. Cyn had barely made it to explaining why she had returned to the tower instead of going to camp for help when a red-faced Scott couldn’t hold it in any longer.

  Raising her voice to be heard over both Scott’s outburst and the whispers of everyone else around them, she explained, “I did what I thought was right. I know it was reckless, but I stand by all of the decisions I made today.” After a brief pause and glance at Cirrus, Cyn added on, “Well, except for nearly killing Cirrus. That was a mistake, I shouldn’t have risked his life to try and stop my fall.”

  Spam grumbled its disagreement, but Cyn was more focused on the fact that the older man’s eyes looked like they might be about to burst out from his head. “Fall?” After asking the strangled question, he managed to remain quiet enough for Cyn to finish her retelling of the day, though the red color of Scott’s face only got darker as time went on. It might have been funny, if Cyn wasn’t a tad concerned about possibly giving him a stroke.

  “Well, bless your lucky li’l heart, child.” Alright, she wasn’t concerned anymore. Scott’s normally mild southern drawl was thick with sarcasm and barely restrained anger. “Er’one survived, so there’s not a single damned lesson to be learned.”

  While Cyn had expected a lecture upon return to camp, she found herself suddenly not in the mood to deal with it. “Actually, I learned a lot. And I intend to keep learning, starting by going back to the tower tomorrow to check out things I did not get to today. Either by myself, or with anyone else who is willing to take the same kinds of risks.” She had learned quite a few things, but the biggest lesson of the day for Cyn was to be more aware of who she was adventuring with. Taking risks alongside reluctant tagalongs only made things more difficult. Glancing around quickly, she looked for any signs of those who might feel the same.

  Cyn was unsurprised to see the Hex incline his head when their eyes met, a barely discernable smirk lifting up one corner of the Seeker’s mouth. Dana was watching the conversation with a closed-off expression, giving nothing away. Cirrus, who had previously been interested in teaming up to explore, looked much less eager now that he had had a taste of Cyn’s brand of misadventure. She couldn’t blame him for that. The real surprises came from Donovan and Fish. The archer was regarding her thoughtfully, knuckles pressed against his lips. Fish was chewing on her lower lip, eyes darting between Cyn, Mountain, and Scott. It looked like the other mage wanted in, but wasn’t sure about standing up to the Standard-Bearer who had stepped so easily into a leadership position among them.

  Scott stared her down for a few silent heartbeats once Cyn’s gaze returned to him, before speaking through clenched teeth, “Well, it’s not like I can really stop you, can I? You are going to do whatever it is you want, consequences be damned. Just try to remember that your actions affect everyone.” She had no intention of abandoning the more risk-adverse members of their raid party, but Cyn wanted – needed – the knowledge and power that came with big risks. It was the only way she was going to be able to keep them alive when it came down to the wire.

  Cyn started to turn away, thinking the conversation was done, but she was stopped by a heavy hand on her shoulder. Turning her back towards him, Scott took a few deep breaths before speaking in a softer, almost gentle tone. “I just don’t want you to get hurt, sweetheart. Or worse. We need you to stick through this with us.”

  Sighing, Cyn tried to explain her reasoning while also reassuring the Standard-Bearer. “I’m not going anywhere. But everyone has to get stronger, Scott. Some of us will have to pull more weight in this dungeon, for multiple reasons, and I am ok with being a part of that group. I want to be, even. But I’m not going to get stronger by catering to everyone else’s fears. And I’m not going to get stronger by being in camp, or from just following other people around as they do their professions or face weak enemies. My profession requires me to go out and face things like the Feathered Brine Serpent, and I love it.” Despite the fact that her own decisions often led to Cyn being scared out of her mind, she did love it most of the time. The adrenaline. The knowledge. The split-second decisions, where pushing her limits could mean the difference between life or death.

  If she didn’t love it, how could Cyn stand to keep going out of her way to put herself in these kinds of situations? She didn’t have to have a friendly conversation with the creature after Spam made the bargain on her behalf, but she did. She didn’t have to push for more answers after handing over the egg, but she did. Even after Cyn had recognized she was in danger, she kept going right up until she was almost eaten. This attitude towards risk wasn’t exclusive to Creature Handler, either, as she behaved much the same way when it came to her class. Martyr just did not have as much of a focus on knowledge compared to her profession, and instead she was prone to putting herself in danger in general.

  Smiling, Cyn added in a teasing tone, “Plus, my whole thing is ‘getting hurt’ remember? Sometimes, I even do it on purpose.”

  “Don’t remind me.” The Standard-Bearers exaggerated groan and the scattered laughter around them broke the tension. Squeezing her shoulder a moment, Scott tried to smile back before letting her go. It did not reach his eyes, but at least it felt like they had come to a sort of agreement.

  The raid started to disperse, needing to ready themselves for nightfall, and before Cyn could approach anyone to confirm their interest, Hex walked up to her. “Seriously? I get stuck watching people struggle to stab rats all day, and you get to have all the fun instead?”

  Cyn’s lingering smile turned into a grin. “I think we have a different definition of fun compared to most people. My party was not thrilled.”

  “Yah, well, kidnap me to go with you next time. I started to consider if I could throw a knife far enough to hit the Roc, I was so bored today.” The way Hex said it did not sound like a joke. At least he only considered it, instead of just impulsively trying like I tend to? “Grab me before you head out tomorrow. I do enough of my profession at night, I don’t need to be doing it all day too.”

  She nodded as the Seeker wandered off, looking around for a few other people. Finding Dana, the Tactician waved her off before Cyn got too close, calling out. “I’ve had more than enough of tight quarters. Talk to me when you decide to do something stupid outside.”

  Cirrus avoided her entirely. Fair. Donovan had much the same reaction as Dana, though he also stated that he had already made commitments to his group for the next few days anyway. Fish, though, gave Cyn a nervous smile when approached. The young woman was talking with Wolf and Elk, so Cyn initially felt as though she would be in the same situation as the archer. Instead, Cyn was pleasantly surprised to find that the pair were actually encouraging Fish to ask about joining her in something dangerous. They had a lot of faith in Cyn’s ability to keep people alive, or they felt pushing themselves was important. Either way, she was glad to have the mage come along.

  Cyn reasoned that three was enough to take a look at the tower again, without taking too many people away from Scott’s scheduling. For once, she actually had something to look forward to.