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Each time Zephy banged on a crystal, the dark cave would be illuminated by a soft blue glow.

Harper trailed after the others, sword strapped to his back and eyes darting to and fro. He was terrified and each shadow looked far more sinister than it should have. None of them knew the way out and neither did their guide. The only thing they could do was keep pushing forward.

They marched on until they entered a giant chamber, there was a pool of water and it lit up the room with a glow similar to that of the crystals. "This is beautiful..." Harper muttered as he stared into the water. He could see all sorts of fishes below, some more frightening than others. 

Zephy went ahead to scout the surroundings and not long after they heard a loud. "Clear!"

There weren't any monsters in this part of the cave, but there didn't seem to be a way out either. "Hey...do any of you see a way out?" Harper began scrambling onto a couple of rocks. The boy scanned his surroundings and noticed a ledge by a couple of giant mushrooms, farther up ahead there was a faint glow. "I think there might be a path somewhere up there." He stated before pointing towards the mushrooms.

"We can use them to get onto the ledge." He hopped off the boulder he was on and made his way there.

Harper planted a foot on one of the bigger mushrooms and smiled when it proved strong enough to carry his weight. He took another step onto an even bigger one only for the ground beneath him to shake. The mushroom was growing?

The boy yelped and fell onto his back. What the poor guy saw next nearly gave him a heart attack. 

[hider=Dun Dun Dun]
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Quickly, he rolled out of the way and a few seconds later, giant claws embedded themselves into the soil. If he had been a second too late...that thing would have gutted him. "G-Guys!" The amulet on his neck grew brighter and before he knew it he was on his feet. The boy unsheathed his sword expertly and when the monster reached out to swipe at his face, he swung his sword in an upward arc and sliced through its hand. 

"Gosh..." Harper stood frozen in terror and watched as the severed hand writhed on the damp cave floor.

The monster let out a hiss, but it didn't seem fazed. The vines on its arm began to regenerate and when Harper looked up the creature had both its hands back. It smiled, revealing a crooked row of pointy teeth. The vines from the mushroom monster's back snaked towards the boy and grabbed him by his ankles. It yanked him up into the air as if he weighed nothing and Harper dangled helplessly before he was thrown into the water.

"Ssssshhhhhh" It hissed. The thing's eyes glowed like yellow flashlights and with incredible speed it rushed towards Inadi, Leila, and Ace, both claws pulled back and ready to strike when the time was right.

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She felt light headed and things looked blurry.

The girl squinted her eyes at the figure who had approached her. She couldn't find her voice, but she recognized the blurry figure...it was Jasper, wasn't it? The girl felt a cold sensation wash over her and suddenly the pain began to ebb away. She took in a breath of air and propped herself on her elbows. Riley still felt a bit woozy but she managed to get onto legs that felt like jelly. "T-Thanks," the girl sounded exhausted. She looked down at her bloodstained clothes and winced, wondering if she could have died. It scared her, the thought of dying in Nowhere but after a few moments of silence, she shrugged it off and gave Jasper the biggest grin she could muster.

"I think you just saved my life." She placed both her hands on Jasper's shoulders and nearly sent the both of them tumbling to the ground when a sharp pain shot through her side. Okay, the wound was closed but sudden movements still ended up hurting her. "Ow...ow," she made a face, "ouch...okay...okay, I'm good...you just saved my life. You're now a hero!" Riley took a step back and noticed she had left two bloody hand prints on the healer's robe. "Oh jeez, I'm sorry." Riley rushed forward in an attempt to dust Jasper off but wound up doubled over, her hands resting on her knees.

"Owwww, okay! Okay! I've learned my lesson!" The girl shouted to the holy Celery above. "I will obey the guides! Gah!" The girl leaned against a tree for a few moments then straightened up slowly. "Seriously, thank you Jasper. I like living, so I'm really thankful." Riley looked around and peered at their surroundings. "By any chance did you see any of the others? I was too busy freaking out about death and stuff," she shrugged, the silly grin never leaving her face. "It'd be a good idea if we regrouped, right? We should go find them."