Staring at that gold, Tom nodded, keeping one arm wrapped around her back. “Yeah… gold goes for a lot, least back home it does. A lantern is useful, more light would help a lot, and this here.” Tom grabbed the moldy journal, cringing a bit at its feel. “Wonder if there’s anything useful in here,” he mused, opening it up, his hand lightly rubbing her back much like one would a cat’s.

She lifted her shoulders a little. "I couldn't tell you what they're worth. I've been stuck down here for a long time, remember, but it should be something, right?" She squirmed, rubbing and pressing against the hand at her back, letting out a little sigh of delight. "Can you read it? It looks older than dirt."

As it turned out, the journal was legible, barely. Most of the pages were practically rotted away, but Tom found a passage describing 'The Temple of the Water Gods', going at great length about the three water gods, and their fierce protector that was described at Tr'ol fairly well.

Hand still scratching at her back as he read, Tom idly nodded. “Yeah… it’s a bit hard to read, but I can. Sounds like it’s about, well, you, Tr’ol. That temple was dedicated to Water Gods, and you’re their protector?” he asked in confirmation, setting the journal aside, seeing nothing else of use in it. “That’s the only thing, it goes on for a bit about the temple and you, but nothing that seems very useful,” he remarked.

She paused, her eyes going wide as a distant memory stirred within her. "Oh! I remember now. I was… chosen as the wave swimmer. In fact, I like that name better. Call me Wave Swimmer." She smiled brightly. "I hope to swim in some actual waves."

“Okay, Wave Swimmer… and right now, I’d be happy to be somewhere not filled with traps and warm. No dragons or snow… or anything that might want to kill or maim me. That’d be quite lovely,” he blithely remarked, sighing as he eyed the journal. “No point bringing it with us though, And let’s see if this lantern works,” Tom curiously remarked as he pulled it out and started fiddling with it, trying to figure it out.

The lantern had a little oil in it, and with some fussing, the little built-in striker was coaxed to life, shedding warm light across the room. Wave Swimmer looked up at the carvings in the wall. "A long time ago, ponies would sing and pray here. The traps were only turned on after they were all gone. It was a happier job back then."

Tom took a moment to get a better look at Wave Swimmer, now that there was actual light. He hadn’t really questioned just how he could see in the dark, and he noticed the odd mix of pony and fish that blended together quite well before moving on to look at the carvings. “What happened to them? Did they just stop showing up one day, or?”

Wave was a gentle blue color of welcoming water, her eyes a dazzling green. Her soft mane ran around her shoulders in a wave of gold that shimmered in the light. "I heard fighting, and it became quiet. Then the traps came on. I knew it, in my bones, and there were no more ponies." She peered at Tom. "You didn't see any on your way here?"

Tom shook his head even as he shivered, moving his gaze back to Wave. “No… I ended up in a chute pretty soon after getting here, and I would’ve noticed ponies, or, skeletons,” he added in a quieter voice. “It sounds like they all died, though, from what you said. At least we’ll be out of here soon, yeah?” he lamely added on, setting the lantern down and using his free hand to touch her mane out of curiosity.

Her mane was like finely spun silk, soft and straight. She smiled at Tom. "Well if I have to be stuck with somepony forever, at least it's a polite male. It could be far worse than that." She made an odd gesture with a hoof then pointed back out to the hallway. "We should keep going, and what was that about a dragon?"

“There was a dragon and a lot of… treasure, right before I hit the chute,” Tom remarked, running his fingers through her mane for a few seconds before grabbing the saddlebags in one hand and the lantern, the other wrapping around her. “Brace yourself, gonna go ahead and stand up… and even if I’m on a completely different planet, I was taught to be polite, and despite your obvious statement of what you could do to me… you’ve been very nice, Wave Swimmer.” Tom let out a sigh, slowly starting to stand back up, using the wall for a brace as his hands were full.

Wave's eyes were on him the entire time, watching curiously. "I wasn't sure at first, but these are clothes, right? At first I thought they were, a lot of raiders wore them, but then you aren't a raider, and not a pony, so I thought, maybe not." She reached to press at a shoulder. "Are they for rank? They look like it."

“Yeah, they’re clothes,” Tom replied once he was on his feet. Feeling where her hoof was at, he let out a rather sarcastic chuckle. “Yeah, I guess so… all it meant to me was how much I was being paid though. My job was kind of a crappy one, but it paid decently enough, and I was able to do my school, work…” he trailed off, staring into the distance for a few seconds before refocusing.

Wave perked an ear. "School? Are you a foal? Humans get big! I thought you were an adult for sure."

“I’m an adult, most humans are about my size,” Tom remarked with a small chuckle. “I’ve just been working on my college degree, sorta fudged it the first time around. I’m twenty-six, most people are done by my age, but I wasn’t quite yet there.” Tom stopped at the doorway, looking both directions, eyes avoiding that skeleton as the lantern added a rather large quantity of light in comparison to before.

She shook her head. "Twenty six? You're no foal, but you're still attending school? You must be quite a sage." She pointed ahead. "Don't step on that one, or the one two ahead of it, that's the way." She began to guide Tom along, until they reached some stairs. She hesitated, shuddering. "This is it…"

“Not really… most folks go to school for twelve years, and then another four or so,” he remarked, then fell quiet, focusing fully on dodging the traps as he felt the burn in his arms slowly return. “This is it? This is the exit, then?” he asked her, feeling that shudder as he tightened his hold on her, one arm moving to her back. Taking a step forward, he was careful to keep his balance as he started ascending the stairs.

She nipped at him when he began. "One moment… This is my last chance to turn around, go back, and just, you know, guard." She glanced left and right. "You'll protect me, right?"

Tom winced at that nip, her teeth were quite sharp after all. He stopped, looking her in the eyes. “I, uh, can’t really promise anything, I doubt I’d be of much use against a dragon, after all. I’ll do what I can, so long as you help me too?” he asked, looking over his shoulder for a moment. “I’d rather not go back through that, after all.”

She gave an uncertain nod. "A fair trade." She pointed up the stairs. "Onwards, to Equestria, and what secrets it holds for us both."

Eric Wolfgang picked up his dice and mini, looking down with a fond smile before he slipped them in their bag, and put his character sheet away. It’d been a fun session, and very nostalgic. It was hard to find time for games anymore, and getting back into character as ‘Sin the Librarian’ was a pleasure he had sorely missed. But now it was time to get back to reality.

He waved to his old friends and said a few goodbyes before heading back to his car and packing things away. Before getting inside himself, he pulled his phone out to check his messages, hoping he hadn’t missed some from his wife again. She could get a bit antsy when he got too caught up in his game and didn’t notice a message, and his phone seemed determined to deliver his updates silently sometimes, regardless of the volume setting.

But the message waiting for him wasn’t from his wife. I didn’t actually say who it was from, actually, not even a return phone number. It was simple, if cryptic: “Where do you want to be?”

As a software engineer, he puzzled on how the messenger client could even accept an input without contact information, wondering if it was a security exploit involving an all white space id or something, but then set the idea aside. Some punk scammer was trolling him. Probably offering some free trip that would never materialize in exchange for very real personal information that would get his identity stolen.

But Eric was in a fanciful mood after the fantasy gaming session, so he decided to troll the troll in return. “Somewhere where magic is real,” he answered, not able to pick a single setting to request. He half expected they would offer a trip to Tahiti in response. It’s a magical place.

“You can only bring one thing with you, what you're wearing at this instant doesn't count. Pick one thing,” his mystery correspondent replied.

Eric stopped to think for a bit. He half wished he hadn’t just set down his gaming bag, but honestly what good would that junk do in a magical place. Or even Tahiti? Did people play D&D in Tahiti? Ultimately, he just decided on his backpack. He didn’t think he had anything of much relevance to such a place, but the ability to carry whatever he found there comfortably might go a long way. “My backpack,” he responded, wondering if there was anything in it at the moment.

Eric discovered that he was wearing his backpack, and fell face-first into a marbled floor. On looking up, words were forming in the air in simple font. 'You have chosen humbly. You may start in a desirable location, or, if adventure is what you seek, I could offer that. Assist another who has taken the challenge, who may yet face the possibility of death, and I will grant a favor at a later date.'

Eric stared at the words for a minute, quietly contemplating. The reality of what was before him was just beginning to dawn in his mind, and he wasn’t quite up to dealing with the implications just yet. His mind tingled with excitement and tension. Was he really in a magical place now? It seemed hard to deny. And a favor from an obviously powerful being could be quite a boon. Struggling to his feet, he swallowed and nodded to himself, steeling his resolve. “I’ll do my best to help.”

Elsewhere, Tom ascended stairs with Wave held securely in his grip. They were just about to set foot on the last step when reality bent inwards and spat out a confused human to the ground in front of them. Unfortunately, a soft 'click' sounded from where Eric landed.

Wave Swimmer's eyes went wide. "Not that one! Run!"

Eric looked quickly and decided to get up and run in the direction Tom was facing, hoping the strange alien being in his arms would correct him if necessary. Now wasn’t the time for careful thought. “Running!”

Tom felt the burn in his arms as he hit that top step, and Wave’s voice called out moments after Eric’s arrival. “What? More traps? Come on already!” Tom loudly whined even as he started to run, on the last dregs of his adrenaline already from the climb as his stomach growled, reminding him it’d been many hours since he’d last eaten. “Welcome to Equestria!” he called out to the new arrival, groaning nearly the entire time as he moved as fast as he was able to.

The stairwell they had emerged from slammed shut with iron bars, and the heavy crash of a ball falling into place filled the hallway as it began rolling along after the humans and their mer-pony companion. Her eyes were on the ball. "Faster, faster faster!" She pointed off to the right. "There!" A small alcove, big enough to serve as a closet and little more, was coming up rapidly.

Eric ducked into the alcove first, pressing tight against the back wall and reaching out a hand to pull the others in, sucking in his gut as he did. “Thanks!” he managed, while his mind took the moment to process what was said. ‘Equestria?’

Tom was thankful for that helping hand as he hit the side of the alcove and heavily leaned against the wall, panting for air. “I’m just gonna… rest a minute. Or an hour. Yeah, that sounds nice, I hope to God those are the last traps,” he gasped, looking at Wave for a few seconds before turning to look up at the human that’d appeared out of thin air, the lantern’s light illuminating the alcove. “So… get many messages from unknown sources asking about going somewhere else?” he sarcastically quipped.

Eric waited for the ball to roll by before slipping out of the alcove and slumping to the ground. “Just the one, well, one exchange. I was a bit vague about my destination.. so Equestria, huh? Didn’t think Equestria had dungeon crawls…” He dug in his backpack a bit and drew out some beef jerky. “Trade you, for a bit?” he asked, nodding toward the mer-pony. “I’m Eric, by the way. Who’re you?”

Wave perked an ear at Eric curiously. "Well, there are at least two of you. Are you sure humans didn't replace ponies?" She offered a hoof towards Eric. "Wave Swimmer, charmed. What are you doing here?" She watched him curiously, likely waiting for him to admitting to being a raider or stealer of artifacts. Next Chapter: 4 - Why is it Always a Dragon? Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 18 Minutes