Race to the tournament.

The three of you make it to the top of the ladder sometime in the middle of the night. You opt not to relight the torch, as it might be dangerous to alert creatures to your position. You're banking on the time left until day to mean fewer creatures will be out, but it's still a dangerous play. You look forwards, but then you start to wonder which way you're even meant to go.

Then you remember Jelly.

"Hey... What are you going to do now?" you turn to her and ask.

She points at herself. "Me?"

"Oh yeah. Did you want to go back down to the tunnels? That's like your home, right?" Niki asks.

"I don't know..." she mutters.

You think. "Well, if we bring her with us, she's definitely going to stand out. I don't know if it would be a great idea bringing her into the town right now. But if you want to come with us, Jelly, we'll figure something out. Feel free to do whatever you want."

Jelly gazes up at the night sky. "I want... to come with you." She slowly steps up to you and gives you a sudden embrace. Then, she starts to melt into tendrils of purple goo that envelops your body. You start to worry your clothes are going to be dissolved, but instead, she crawls her away up and around into your backpack. There's an immediate change in weight.

Noticing you grunt, Niki picks the backpack right off your back and slings it over herself instead. "Don't be a baby," she says.

"I was going to carry it!" you reply.

"You're not strong enough."

"It isn't like you're a bodybuilder, you know..."

"I have the power of the sun on my side, Kyle." She flexes her arm.

"More like on your breasts," you mutter.

"Huh?"

"Let's get going. We don't want to be late, do we?"

"Hell no!" Niki begins stomping forwards through the sand. "It's this way. See those rocks in the distance there? I recognize them. They're the hillside where we found the cave to begin with. Onwards!"

With Jelly in your pack, though currently held by Niki, the three of you trek forwards. It'll still be a long walk back to town, but you should get there before the excitement begins. You'll be a little tired, but it could be worse. The problem right now is that Niki has no weapons at all. If she needs to fight right away, she'll be in quite the predicament. You're still fully equipped and ready to go, so that's the good news. You just have no idea what to expect from the Golden Sword, and after the cave-in that caused all of this to begin with, you need to keep your wits about you. They know you're here.