Bronze light spat them out face-first into green.

  They lay there a moment, stacked like laundry on a forest floor. Everything dripped — trees, vines, confidence. The air was soup. Their boots were soup. Their souls were probably soup.

  Leo pushed himself upright, sling tangled around his wrist. “All right. New level, new rules. We stay calm, we think, we plan.”

  They huddled together, still half-asleep, like a team that had already lost but hadn’t realized it yet.

  “So,” Leo said, taking charge, “step one: scouting.”

  Bert nodded solemnly. “On it.”

  He took two heroic steps forward, caught a vine, and vanished into a bush with a noise that sounded like “mrfgl.”

  A faint blue shimmer rolled through the humid air.

  The crystal pulsed, smug:

  Scouting attempt failed. +1 Humility awarded.

  Achievement Unlocked: Grace in Face-Planting. Reward: None.

  “Excellent work,” Harlada said without looking. “Reconnaissance complete.”

  Bert crawled back out wearing a fern. “Ground’s treacherous,” he muttered.

  “Really?” she said. “However could anyone have known.”

  Leo sighed. “Fine. Harlada—careful.”

  She was already levitating. “Please. I’m allergic to gravity.”

  Vines parted around her as she drifted up into the mist. Her new wizard hat (crooked brim, +1 INT) fought a losing battle with humidity.

  “See anything?” Leo called.

  “Trees. Fog. And something furry with ambition.”

  A low growl rolled through the roots. Two yellow eyes blinked from the shade. A tail flicked once, thoughtfully.

  The crystal pulsed, bored:

  Creature Detected: Jungle Cat.

  Estimated Size: Too Big for Comfort.

  Attempt: 1

  Leo swallowed. “Uh… how big?”

  Harlada descended, paler than her hat. “Big enough to eat a Bert.”

  Bert frowned. “Specifically me?”

  The growl deepened, like agreement.

  ***

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  They huddled again.

  Leo pointed toward the brush. “Ideas. Smart ones only.”

  “Run?” Bert offered.

  “Smart ones,” Leo repeated.

  Harlada folded her arms. “I can float over it. I cannot carry both of you without dislocating something important, and if I die lopsided I’m haunting you.”

  The growl came closer, unhurried. Leaves trembled.

  Bert brightened. “We distract it.”

  “With what?” Leo asked, bracing for regret.

  Bert raised a finger. “A ball of yarn.”

  The jungle went quiet. Even the insects considered leaving.

  Harlada blinked. “You want to defeat an apex predator with grandma’s leftovers?”

  “It’s a cat,” Bert said. “Cats love string. That’s science.”

  Leo rubbed his temples. “We’re in a death dungeon, not a pet store.”

  Bert shrugged. “You said ‘ideas.’ You didn’t say ‘good.’”

  The air shimmered.

  The crystal pulsed, delighted:

  Tactical Plan Registered: Yarn.

  Species: Idiot. Entertainment Value: High.

  Bert opened the Dungeon Shop. The list scrolled, damp and smug.

  Ball of Yarn (Common). Throwable. Embarrassing. — 1 coin..

  Click.

  The crystal pulsed:

  Purchase confirmed. You spent actual currency on nonsense.

  Title Earned: Impulse Buyer. Reward: –1 Dignity.

  Harlada covered her face. “We’re being roasted by the architecture.”

  Leo set his sling, resigned. “If this works, I’m abandoning logic.”

  Bert wound up and lobbed the glowing yarn into the green.

  ***

  Silence.

  Then, from deeper in the brush: a soft, rolling purr.

  Vines shook. Something enormous flopped over with dignified joy. Leaves flashed as a very large predator batted happily at a very small toy.

  Leo blinked. “Is… it purring?”

  “I choose to interpret that as ‘not currently eating us,’” Harlada said.

  Bert crossed his arms, expectant. “So. Compliments.”

  Harlada stared at him. Then, reluctantly: “…Brilliant work, Bert.”

  Leo sighed. “Yes. Outstanding. Genius application of textile theory. Are you quite insufferable now?”

  Bert beamed. “A little.”

  A parchment scrap spun down through the mist and landed in Leo’s hand, warm as if embarrassed for them.

  The crystal pulsed, put-upon:

  Unexpected Outcome Recorded: Feline Pacified via Yarn.

  Reward Granted: Map Fragment #1.

  Attempt: 1.

  Leo unfolded it. The ink crawled, resolving into crooked landmarks: a ridge like a sleeping crocodile, a spiral grove, a dotted line skirting a paw-print the size of Bert’s head.

  “Path around the hunting grounds,” Leo murmured. “Statistically sound.”

  Harlada settled back to the ground, hat dripping. “Let’s move before it trades string for snacks.”

  Bert adjusted his leather armor, proud and squeakless. “Told you. Cats love me.”

  A louder, happier purrrrrrrr rolled through the trees, followed by a thump that suggested the yarn had been conquered and immediately re-conquered.

  The crystal pulsed, dry:

  Observation: Confirmed. For now.

  They slipped into the undergrowth, following the dotted line while the jungle cat conquered textiles behind them, and for one blessed minute the Maze let them have silence.