The end of the night.

Before trying to get out, John decided to look more closely at the creature. He usually didn't get any xp from the creatures of his kingdom, maybe this meant that he also would get some loot.

He checked the body and it soon disappeared, liquefying itself to reveal a few items. First was a nice stack of fifty 100$ bills held together by a small paper band indicating in red writing that there was 5000$. Next was a small book. Then there were two bundles of spider silk. The last item was a repulsive blob of smelly innards, John would leave that here, he didn't even want to let the rats try it.

John picked the money and looked at the silk...

One was a just a very long roll of the thick white fibers (200 meters of it), the other looked about the same, a tight bundle of silk the size of a huge duffel bag, but it wasn't only silk.

Drider Chrysalis: creature ♀️
This cocoon contains a drider puppa changing itself to get to its adult form.
It will then grow and triple in size as it feeds itself.

John explained to the group what it was.

"That's something else... The monster was marked as corrupted and it was the only thing openly attacking us, this one could be friendly. This lurker was nearly twice as high as me, if the one in this triple in size the human part should be to scale with a normal human," he explained.

"You should ask some help from the healer, she might know more about these creatures. And I am sure she will love some research project on which to work with you," proposed Sylvia. John smiled hearing this, was she really trying to help him get closer to Tricia? Or was it just a pragmatic remark?

"That's a good idea. We still need to find a way out. But first I want to try to meditate at the Altar, we don't know when it will disappear and I don't want all of this for nothing. Everyone get some rest and something to eat. Sylvia, make sure everyone is fully healed," he instructed. He picked some water and food from his inventory to spread around the group. The rats were amazed at the taste of the food, none of them ever had anything better than the scarabs and mushrooms they usually ate.

John looked at the book, it was a skill book, he clicked OK and learned it.

New skill: Venom, 25mp
You can fill the palm of your hand with a poisonous gel. You can choose between lethal and paralyzing venom. If you hold a weapon while casting the spell, it applies it directly to the blade.
Paralyzing venom: slow down or paralyze target. Time before taking effect, effectiveness and duration will vary depending on the target's resistance and quantity applied.
Lethal venom: 3 dmg/second for 30 seconds.

John sat down and focused on the earth. He was trying to get in phase with the ground under him and the cave he was sitting on. He had little hope to gain earth mastery without the quest giving it to him, but he at least hoped to get an earth based skill, using it would get him closer to gaining control over this element and with some luck, an easy way out.

John opened his eyes half an hour later, everyone was sitting and getting some rest. The two elven sisters hugging each other, the rats piled upon each other and Sylvia sitting right next to him.

New skill: Rock shard, 15mp
Creates and throws toward a target a hard shard of rock. Holding some stone, earth or mineral increases the quality of the projectile.
Current projectile: pointy rock 30 dmg.

John was happy, but it wasn't a skill that would help him out of there. The mass of stone in front of the exit was too big to be moved by hand. Even using Charged Strike with the pickaxe was only barely chipping it.

In the end, he figured a way to get out. It took him nearly half an hour to dig the ground in front of the base of the stone, the floor being softer than the block. He then looped some of silk rope behind the stone and around the pillars. The three girls were pulling on the ropes, while John stood on the stone his back against the wall, pushing with his legs as hard as he could. Getting the stone to fall was too optimistic, but after a lot of effort the gap left at the top was enough to slip through, not a moment too soon in fact, the Altar and pillars had recently vanished into thin air.

Everyone crawled through the small hole and began the long walk to get out of Maze, Nashin delivered on her promise to guide them out and they were soon back to the castle where the rats were welcomed as heroes by their people. The story of the killing of the lurker bellow would soon be shared with the whole tribe.

John noticed that he had a text from Moira, probably received during the fight. He called her back as instructed.

"Moira? You wanted to talk? Sorry, I was busy and didn't notice the message earlier," he told her.

"John..." John was surprised, she usually called him Newman and her voice was charged with emotion. "... I'm sorry. We found... It's about your friend, Lydia, the girl who disappeared... We were right, a rogue mage from the Cabal was in town, a necromancer attracted by the work of the one we killed a few years ago. We found his lair... There was blood, body parts and reanimated bodies, none of the girls were alive. I'm sorry for your loss..."

John's heart skipped a beat, his former babysitter had a special place in his heart, she had been really nice to him and had been one of his first fantasies.

"Are you sure? Did you find her?"

"We have not found a body yet, a lot of ghouls were destroyed during the , but we found her purse in a pile with the others and Tricia says that some of the blood we found on some instruments is hers... I failed to find her alive, I hope you will forgive me."

"It's... It's not your fault, Moira. I mean, it's a shock... But it was probably too late already when you started looking. I'm at least happy that you caught those who did this, it's at least something. I'll see you tomorrow. Will you be able to tell her family? Will they at least get closure?"

"They can't learn the truth... We will create a cover story and get help from a few contacts in law enforcement. We will help them, we will make sure that they are cared for. I'm really sorry..."

The distress was visible on John's face when he hung up and the three girls gathered to hug and comfort him. John had trouble holding back his tears and despite the girls cuddling with him in the bed he wasn't in the mood for anything naughty. He set up an alarm for one hour before his usual wake up time and closed his eyes, trying to forget the stress and sorrow this day had brought him.