Ifrit in tow, we were en route to Bahal on dragonback. Our objective, of course, was to enter Underground Volcano and have Ifrit prevent its eruption. It would have been faster to return to Fule and use the Transportation Gates, but we couldn’t bring Ifrit that way because she didn’t have an Adventure Bracelet. Flying to Bahal was still pretty fast, though, and it ensured that we wouldn’t get lost in the desert.
Ifrit rode tandem with Tarte, who sat behind the sleepy Fire Spirit and made sure she didn’t fall. They looked adorable, but Tarte also seemed nervous that she was going to let Ifrit fall by mistake.
“Sharon, are we going straight to Underground Volcano once we land in Bahal?” Kent asked from atop his Dragon where it flew before us.
“Since Ifrit is with us, we might want to camp out in the dungeon instead of spending the night at the inn,” I explained. “If something happened while we were at the inn, we may not be able to handle it.”
“Got it,” Kent answered.
I couldn’t guarantee our safety while we were with Ifrit, so I wanted to get to Underground Volcano and have Ifrit complete her task ASAP.
“There’s Bahal!” Cocoa pointed out the small town and its oasis near the horizon.
Usually, we land before we get to the city... Maybe we can get away with getting a little closer this time. Remembering the cacti at the edge of Bahal, I asked the party, “Can we make a little detour?”
“What did you have in mind?” Kent asked, and I explained how I wanted to see the cacti from above. “Those cacti are something else,” Kent agreed.
“It’ll be some sight from the sky,” Cocoa chimed in.
Tarte and L’lyeh, who hadn’t been to Cactus Vista as far as I knew, listened to our conversation with curious expressions on their faces.
“Let’s fly over Bahal and land a little way ahead,” I said. I would have loved to take our time gazing at the cacti from the sky, but Dragons circling above the city for too long was sure to scare the people of Bahal.
“Good idea. If we stop above the city for even a minute, they’ll think it’s a Dragon attack.” Kent laughed, and we all agreed.
Stroking the back of my Dragon, I whispered, “Fly over Bahal for me.”
My Dragon squeaked and flew over Cactus Vista like I’d asked. We crossed over it in a heartbeat, but the brevity of the sight made it even more beautiful...and memorable. Giant cacti stretched their flowers of pink and orange and teal and white to the sky as if taking pride in the grandiose beauty of Bahal itself.
“It’s gorgeous,” I breathed, feeling a smile tug at my lips. I’d barely had a second to take in the view, but this would be a memory I’d cherish. “Let’s fly a little farther, then we’ll land and walk to the city.”
“Got it!” Kent answered.
We tried to wake Ifrit, but she was out cold no matter how much Tarte shook her, so we made our way to Bahal and directly to its Adventurer’s Guild. Without speaking to anyone, we took the stairs down to the basement. The receptionist gave us a quick—and very surprised—glance, which made me think she was going to report our return to Tolley the Guildmaster. She must have expected us to take a lot longer to retrieve Ifrit.
After walking through the underground corridor for a while, we came to a large black door of simple yet sturdy construction.
“Is that the door, Sharon?” Kent asked.
“Yeah. I just have to hold up the permit here...”
The door slid open, revealing a longer corridor. In contrast to the surface, the air was cool down here. Aqueducts ran along either side of the corridor, carrying water from the oasis that provided a cooling rush of mist.
“It’s ameowzing that all this is under the Guild,” Tarte cooed.
“You wouldn’t expect something this grand,” Kent agreed.
Both of them walked ahead, looking around with a mix of excitement and anticipation for what the new dungeon had in store.
“Hopefully we can quell the volcano and find Tarte’s new equipment...” I said.
Tarte’s tail straightened, showing her excitement.
“It has some kind of resistance, right?” Kent asked.
“Right. It’ll let Tarte fight on the front lines too. That will free you up and expand our repertoire of strategies,” I explained.
“That’s exciting, but I’m nervous about learning new formations.” Despite his concern, his face was lit up—he couldn’t wait to test how much he could grow.
“You’re a quick learner, Kent. You’ll be fine,” I assured him.
Tarte huffed, psyching herself up. “I can’t wait to contribute more!”
“I’m counting on you, Tarte,” I said. “You’re going to get a cape with resistance to Fire. The boss is the one that has a chance to drop it, so it might take some hard work before we get our hands on one.”
“No purroblem! We defeated Ifrit. This boss won’t stand a chance against us either!” Tarte proclaimed, full of energy.
“I agree,” I said, even though there was no telling how many times we’d have to defeat the boss until it dropped the item we were looking for... I just had to trust in Tarte’s luck. “Fire-resistant equipment will make the heat more bearable and prevent a lot of Fire damage. You’ll have to switch up your gear when we go to different dungeons, but it should be very useful to you.”
“Yes, Meowster. I can’t wait.” Pure excitement glittered in Tarte’s eyes.
At this point, we came to a door at the end of the corridor. “That’s the entrance to Underground Volcano,” I announced. The door, built from glittering burgundy ore, looked steadfast—it’d take more than a firm push to open it. My guess was that the ore used in the door was a rare one imbued with mana.
“All right, it’s my time to shine!” Kent stepped up to the door, rolling his shoulders. Apparently, he was going to try and brute-force it. When he pushed the door with both arms, it only creaked slightly. Unfortunately for Kent, it wasn’t budging an inch even as he groaned and pushed until his face was beet red and drenched in sweat.