Blue Fire, Black Roses, and Icy Moss

As the pair walked through the Silent Glaciers region, Victoria envied Sassi. The other girl had fire magic to keep her warm. Victoria only had the clothing on her back, and they were not much to write home about. She was wearing an all-white ensemble with an insulated jacket, white and insulated gloves with orange polarized goggles and she was still cold. Still, the job promised to pay well, so that was some consolation.

Their job was to go deep into a cave and collect a sample of a special moss that was said to be growing in the back of the cave. It was said to be growing beside a hot spring, so the hot spring was a sign that the sample was very close. This job had a complication that was spelled out in the notice. The moss was deadly to anyone without protection; it had been suspected that the moss was responsible for the untimely demises of people who had ventured into the cavern before them, but it had not been conclusively proven. Once they found it The pair would have to harvest the sample without using their bare hands.

Victoria wore gloves, so she should be able to handle that part of the job. The real challenge would be getting there intact. She followed Sassi to the entrance of the cave, but before she went in, she looked back at the delta that the cave was located near. The sight was spectacular... there was no trace of human habitation anywhere nearby. The water was so blue and so clear that the brunette could hardly believe it was real.

However, she was not getting paid to watch the water flow in the delta, so she turned around and followed Sassi into the cavern. The inside was bone-white and ice was everywhere. She followed behind her partner and noticed the stalactites hanging from the ceiling. They could pose a hazard if they fell, so the two would have to be careful as they explored. Victoria saw Sassi step back in time to avoid a falling stalactite... that was a close call.

"Are you OK, Sassi?" Victoria asked her partner. The other girl seemed to be fine but looked shaken from the narrow escape. Maybe Victoria should take the lead for awhile.

"I'll take the lead for awhile. I'll go ahead and see if there are any other stalactites that wanna fall on us." Victoria stated before walking ahead. She was going to deliberately trigger any other stalactites so that Sassi could follow in safety. Victoria spotted a river flowing through the middle of the cave. She would run to it and trigger the stalactites all at once. It was a risky plan, but it beat having to look up as they walked.

"Stay here. I'll run for the river! That should make them drop!" Victoria declared before breaking into a run. She sprinted for the river, weaving and dodging as needed to avoid an icicle through the head. She kept going until about eight stalactites had dropped down; she then paused at the water's edge and waved to her partner.

"Hey Sassi! I think it's clear!" She finished calling out just as she heard rumbling above her. She glanced up and saw one falling right at her! Victoria screamed and jumped out of the way just in time, eating cold ground instead of an icicle through the head. The brunette took a few deep breaths, then slowly stood up and brushed herself off. This might not have been such a good idea after all.

"On second thought, be careful! I don't think all of them have dropped yet!" Victoria warned Sassi.

[Word Count: 614]

Victoria had a feeling that Sassi thought that the former was really, really dumb. Her "plan" was half-baked, that much was for certain. But it had worked... up to a point. Victoria had almost gotten a point for her troubles. She needed to quit playing hero and work with the guild member, not against them.

"OK, my plan was kinda dumb. I didn't think that one through, so I'm gonna try and work with you." Victoria announced in embarrassment. She looked at the river and listened to Sassi ask if she had a way to cross the river without ending up in the water. The brunette did a facepalm. She had left the rope back in Rose Garden! Sassi did as well, so now both of them were facing the same predicament.

"I don't have a rope either, Sassi." Victoria sheepishly admitted. There had to be a way across, but how? She had an idea, but it was another half-baked one. It would be a good idea to ask Sassi's opinion before going off on another ill-advised solo run.

"Is there some way we can topple a column and walk across it? Or do you think we can find something manmade we can use nearby, like a rubber raft or at least a flotation device? Or maybe we can find rope in here that someone left behind?" Victoria quizzed Sassi. Maybe they should start looking around the room they were in for a way across. Maybe someone passing through had dropped something that could be useful.

Victoria looked around the room. There was no large column that they could bring down to use as a bridge. There were no rubber rafts or flotation devices nearby... not in plain sight, anyway. She also did not see any coils of rope conveniently lying around. This was a downer. The gap was just too large to jump across, even with a running start.

If they tried that approach, they would only end up with hypothermia for their troubles. Well, Victoria would. Sassi might be able to dry herself off quickly using her fire magic. Fire magic. That might be something to work with.

"Hey Sassi! If I kept you out of the water, could you use your magic to keep us both warm as I walked through the water with you on my back?" Victoria asked.

"It's a plan of last resort. I don't wanna get hypothermia because I'd only slow you down. We've both gotta reach the end of the cave in good shape, so unless we have no other choice I won't do it." Victoria hastened to tell her colleague. Even if only her bottom half got soaked, the cold would sap her energy and make her a burden on Sassi. Still, she would do it if it meant completing the job. But before she took a drastic measure like that, she would see if Sassi had any ideas. They were a team, after all.

Victoria paused to let Sassi speak. This time she was going to stay still and let Sassi speak. Victoria rubbed her hands together as she waited.

[Word Count: 520]

Victoria was surprised that Sassi even considered her idea. It was not like they had too many options, but even then the former was surprised that Sassi went with it. She must have known how the old saying went.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures."

Victoria felt the warmth as she was now shielded from the cold. She did not know how it would interact with the water, but she reasoned that the protection would last long enough to ferry Sassi across. It was worth a try. With no other options, they would have to try it.

"Thanks for the magic, Sassi." Victoria made sure to thank her fellow guild member for the helping hand. Without Sassi's help this plan would have been even more half-baked than usual. Now it was only "kind of dumb" instead of "suicidally stupid."

"OK, let's cross the water." Victoria said, helping Sassi get on for a piggyback ride. Once Sassi was safe and as secure as she was going to get, Victoria began slowly walking into the water. Victoria got ankle deep in the water, but it only felt mildly cold. That was a relief. Now she could focus on crossing the water before the magic wore off... if it did.

She was a quarter of the way through and the water got knee-deep. It was still tolerable to the brunette, so she kept going. She slogged through to the halfway point, but Sassi was still dry. The protective magic was still holding up. It was then that her arms began to wobble a bit.

"Sorry about that, Sassi. We're over halfway there." Victoria informed her passenger before resuming the slog. Now the water was slightly under waist deep. It was only a bit further, so the brunette kept going until she was to the opposite edge. Once there she turned around so that she could put Sassi down on the edge before pulling herself up.

"OK Sassi, we're there!" Victoria declared as the latter climbed out of the water and onto the frozen ground. She sighed when she spotted a coil of rope near the entrance to the next part of the cave. That had to be a joke. Someone's idea of a really bad joke. Of course she would find such a thing now after the need for it had passed.

Victoria helped Sassi to her feet, then walked over to the rope and picked it up. It was not totally useless. They would need it for the return journey once the sample was collected. Victoria wound it diagonally around her shoulder to keep it where it would be hard to lose. At least they had a way back that was a lot easier than giving Sassi a piggyback ride.

"Hey, look! I found some rope! It sure would have been nice to have earlier, but better late than never." Victoria commented. She took a look around to see if she could find any other convenient items lying about. There was nothing useful in the immediate area. Still, she could not complain. They were across the water and aside from being wet, Victoria was in good shape.

"I'm ready to go whenever you are, Sassi." Victoria calmly told her guildmate.

[Word Count: 538]

"What?" Victoria asked as she felt the cold again. Sassi raised a good point about the slender s-shaped bridge being made of ice, so the brunette did not dare complain. Sassi had saved the job by enabling Victoria to cross the water, so she kept quiet and listened when Sassi spoke. The latter crossed the bridge first and waited for Victoria on the other side. The latter was busy looking at the bridge and planning on how she was going to manage the crossing when she heard something.

It was a warning. Sassi's sudden warning prompted Victoria to look up. To her horror, a stalactite was falling right for her head! There was not much time to act.

"DAMN!" Victoria shouted as she took two steps back and fell onto the icy floor. She had fallen back just enough for the falling stalactite to land between her legs before impact. Victoria screamed as it shattered on the floor and sprayed her with ice and not blood. This was another close call. At least this time she did not do anything dumb.

"I'm OK, Sassi! Just a little shaken. That's all. Really." Victoria let her guildmate know that she was still alive before standing up. It sounded like the former was trying to convince herself that she was OK. She was not exactly used to dealing with falling things trying to kill her. She was more accustomed to dealing with human antagonists than naturally occurring ones. At least the pay was good.

"All right Sassi, I'm gonna cross the bridge now. Wish me luck." Victoria called out as she set foot on the ice that made up the only way across the gap. She slowly walked across because speed would not help on this type of obstacle. Haste could end up causing her to go over the edge; unless Sassi could fly, that would be the end of Victoria. She slowly made her way to the halfway point, then paused and took a breath. Now to make the rest of the crossing.

Victoria calmed down and began walking again. She put one foot in front of the other and did not speed up. She kept a steady pace until she was almost at the end of the bridge. Just a few feet more and she would be on solid ground. The brunette slowly inched her way across, then carefully set foot on the other side and walked several more steps to be absolutely sure she was away from the edge of the chasm.

"I'm glad that's over. That was a tense eleven minutes, wouldn't you say?" Victoria asked Sassi. It was a good thing that she was not afraid of heights. That would have made the crossing a lot harder than it already was.

"OK Sassi, what's next?" Victoria asked her as the former looked at the entrance into the next portion of the cave. The moss had to be close. At least Victoria was hoping it was close. She wanted to get away from the cave's falling hazards as quickly as possible.

[Word Count: 512]

Victoria took a look at the instructions on the back of the poster that Sassi had carried with her. They had to collect a sample of the moss without using their bare hands. That was simple enough. Both of them wore gloves, so no bare hands would touch the plants. Removing the moss samples from the wall would be a tiny bit more difficult.

"It says that if we manage to remove them from the wall and put them in a closed container or bag, we'll be safe from the spores." Victoria read aloud. The skeletons lying around were most likely people who were not aware of how to stop the spores. That lack of knowledge had cost them their lives. Thankfully the Black Rose mages had the benefit of an informational poster to guild them. They also had each other to rely on if the going got tough.

"OK, did we bring any jars or bags that we can safely carry the samples in? I forgot to bring some." Victoria said as she looked around the room. She spotted a pocketknife lying next to a skeletal hand. Her luck had turned good again. She carefully picked it up and showed it to Sassi. It was nothing special, just an ordinary folding pocketknife with a brown handle.

"Looks like we're in luck, Sassi. I found this pocketknife, so if we cut the moss off at the roots we should be able to get what we need." Victoria surmised. It sounded simple enough. The execution was what would be the challenge. She had a mouth covering, but she was not sure if it would be thick enough to block out the worst of the spore's effects. She did not want to trot off into a dangerous situation without consulting Sassi first.

"I'm willing to go up to the moss and get a sample, but I'm gonna need a thick mouth covering to make sure I'm protected against the spores that are already in the air. Would you happen to have anything I could borrow?" Victoria asked Sassi. The latter had proven to be a quiet but reliable companion for this job. She had helped Victoria temper her reckless nature before it killed her, helped them cross the river without either one of them getting hypothermia, and kept Victoria from getting a piercing headache near the bridge. They had made it this far by taking it slow and being cautious. Now all they needed to do was get the sample and they could leave this place.

[Word Count: 424]

"Thanks, Sassi. You're a lifesaver." Victoria thanked her guildmate as she took the jar and the covering from Sassi. Victoria wound the red blanket tightly around her face. It would do nicely.

"All right, I'm going in." Victoria declared before carefully holding the empty bottle in her left hand. She walked slowly towards the moss coating the wall, not wanting to fall and stab herself with the knife or fall and break the bottle. She approached carefully until she reached the wall. She set the bottle at her feet and gently took a section of the moss into her gloved hand.

Victoria began cutting at the root, being careful not to cut her fingers in the process. She cut once and the roots did not budge. She cut again and a small section of them gave way. The knife was kind of dull, but it was doing the trick. Another cut and more of the roots released their hold on the wall.

Suddenly Victoria began coughing violently. She stopped what she was doing before she cut herself in a coughing-induced loss of focus. After a minute of coughing, she resumed work on the nearly severed roots of a fist-sized clump of moss. Steadying her breathing and her hands, the brunette focused again and began cutting at the roots until they finally gave way.

"GOT IT!" She called out. Victoria put the knife down and picked up the bottle, being careful not to drop it and break it. She gently opened the container and carefully fit the sizable sample inside before closing the lid. Victoria's hands clamped down on the bottle as she entered another coughing fit. She had to get away from the rest of the moss before she joined the skeletons scattered around the room.

Quickly grabbing the knife from the floor, she walked away while maintaining a firm grip on the container. The farther she got from the moss the less intense the coughing became. By the time she stood in front of Sassi the coughing had subsided completely. That was a relief. She did not think her throat and lungs could take much more.

"We've got what we came for." Victoria triumphantly told Sassi. Then a thought hit her. Did they get enough of a sample for the client to work with?

"I believe we've got a big enough sample. Just one clump of moss is the size of my fist. I can go back and get more moss if you think it isn't enough." Victoria stated to her guildmate while washing off the blade of the knife in the hot spring. It was true that Ace status made Victoria the ranking Black Rose member present, but she did not want to trample all over Sassi after the latter had saved the mission thrice. She also wanted Sassi to get a bit of experience with decision-making in case the latter took on some solo jobs in the future. It was her decision as to whether they got another sample or called it good with what they had.

[Word Count: 510]

Victoria listened to Sassi and learned that she thought that they had enough moss for a sample. That was good enough for her because they could get out of here now. She could hardly wait to leave this frozen place. But first they had to retrace their steps to get out. That included crossing the "bridge" and recrossing the frigid water.

There was no point in complaining about it. Victoria carefully followed Sassi, eyes cast upward to watch for stalactites waiting to fall. She kept a watch until the pair reached the S-shaped bridge and found a large stalactite wedged inside of it. Her heart sank. They would have to cross it and hope that it did not collapse on them.

"I'm here, Sassi. I'm still with you." Victoria declared as she approached the obstacle. How was she going to climb over it if one hand held the jar? Very carefully, that was how. In the future she might want to invest in at least a messenger bag to carry items in. That would be a good idea, but she did not want to give enemies something to grab her by in a fight.

"How do you want to do this? Do you want me to wait for you to climb down the other side before I climb up? Or do you wanna gamble on us both being on top of it at the same time?" Victoria asked Sassi. The brunette did not like the look of the situation. The bridge was holding so far, but she did not want to stand on it any longer than necessary. If both girls stood on the stalactite at the same time, their combined weight might cause it to break through and doom them both. What could they do?

Victoria did not want to risk tossing the sample and making Sassi fall while trying to catch it, nor did she want to risk throwing it too far and breaking their only container if she missed. There had to be a better way to do this. Sassi might be able to pull another rabbit out of her hat and save them both, but Victoria would have to wait. She just hoped that they had time to spare.

[Word Count: 373]

Victoria listened to Sassi and found her suggestion to be entirely reasonable. The first she had heard of the yeti crabs was the sound of their legs scraping the ice. She caught by surprise just like her guildmate. The notice said very little about yeti crabs, but she should have known to expect unforeseen complications by now. They had come this far with teamwork and with teamwork they would finish this.

"OK, Sassi. I'll put it in your backpack, then I climb. Once I'm on top, I'll help you up before our little friends catch up." Victoria readily agreed to the plan. The ace quickly sprinted behind Sassi, opened her backpack, and looked for an empty space. The other girl had enough gear to be ready for just about anything. If she could find a way to store items that an enemy could not grab onto, the ace would follow the example of her guildmate and carry a backpack so that in the future she would not have to use her teammates as pack mules. As it stood, Sassi was the star of this mission.

Victoria looked for a space, but there were not too many to be had. She looked behind flaps, she looked behind personal belongings, and she looked everywhere inside the pack. Then it hit her. There were plenty of open pockets big enough to hold the bottle staring her right in the face! Victoria sighed.

After recovering from embarrassment deep enough to make her blush, Victoria quickly placed the bottle in an empty pocket that was well-protected by Sassi's belongings. Unless they deliberately tried to break it, the sample container would be quite safe. She quickly closed the pack and made certain that it was securely closed, then told Sassi so that she would not hang around any longer than she had to.

"OK, the container's in your backpack. I'm gonna climb the stalactite. Then when I get up there, I'll help you up!" Victoria informed Sassi before facing the obstacle and jumping straight up. Her gloved hands grabbed the edge and the brunette used her feet to climb up, being careful not to slip or kick her guildmate in the back. Victoria was not much of a climber, but Sassi was counting on her to be one right now. She soon pulled herself up and stood on top of the stalactite. If this was what it took to climb one stalactite, she would hate to see rock climbing.

"I'm safely on top of it, Sassi. I'm gonna use the rope to haul you up. Get ready!" Victoria instructed as she pulled the rope off of her body and quickly unwound it, lowering the rope until one end dangled on the floor behind Sassi.

"All right, the rope's down. Make yourself an opening and get outta there!" Victoria shouted before bracing herself to pull her guildmate to safety. She would try to help with her magic, but loud noises might trigger more stalactites to fall and kill them both by making the bridge collapse. Victoria did not want to run that risk, so Sassi would have to deal with the fuzzy crustaceans herself.

[Word Count: 527]

Once Sassi was on the rope, Victoria walked forward and pulled as hard as she could. She did not have all day to do so because the crabs had caught up to Sassi. The brunette pulled and pulled until her colleague was on top of the stalactite. She helped Sassi up and to her feet. She did not know if the crabs could climb the ice, but she was not going to hang around and find out.

She quickly hauled the rope up and wrapped it around her before a yeti crab could use it to get to them. She was surprised that one had not used a claw to grab onto it, but then again most animals were not smart enough to realize that the rope could be used to climb. Victoria was thankful for that. She really did not want to deal with super-intelligent crustaceans any day soon. Sassi's leg showed evidence of what just one of them could do... if they could think, the two of them would be in deep trouble.

"All right. We made it up, so now we've gotta get back down. Here's what we're gonna do." Victoria said. The pair could probably just jump to safety, but right now they did not need to take unnecessary risks. if they missed their jump or broke their legs when landing, it would be game over. Victoria paused for a moment to ponder her sudden about-face.

Her of all people advocating a cautious approach? She almost laughed before remembering that Guild Aces were held to higher standards of behavior than the average member. That included not rushing blindly into every situation and slowing down to think before acting. if Victoria wanted to remain alive and keep her title, she had to learn those skills. Sassi already had them; that was why she was able to save the job from failure all those times.

"I hold the rope and you climb down. Once you're down, I'll lower myself from here. Then we make our way back to the river and go from there." Victoria stated. Whatever her other faults were, a lack of bravery was not one of them. However, bravery was no substitute for being able to stop and think before acting.

[Word Count: 376]

Victoria's plan went off without a hitch. The pair had gotten away from the crabs and had crossed the bridge without incident. Now they had to get across the frigid water again. Once again Sassi came to the rescue by spotting an unusual hook-shaped stalactite that they could use to swing across the gap. Victoria had had enough of the frigid environment and just wanted to get back to Silver Moon Inn.

"Nice idea, Sassi. We'll definitely try it. I'd rather swing on a rope than try to walk across that water again." Victoria said as she unwound the rope from her body and fashioned one end into a lasso. She then twirled it above her head and threw for the hook. Her effort was a total failure... the lasso fell into the water with a spectacular splash. Victoria pulled it in and squeezed the rope out before trying again.

Victoria's second attempt was no more successful than her first. Again the lasso plunged into the frigid water and again she pulled it back in for another go at snagging the hook. The brunette took a deep breath, focused, and tried again. The third time met with success; the lasso caught the hook and stayed in place.

"You know what they say... third time's a charm." Victoria quipped to Sassi.

"Now we've gotta decide who goes first." Victoria declared to her guildmate. The Ace was putting priority on getting Sassi across. If some freak accident happened, Sassi would be able to take the sample and finish the job for them. Her mind made up, Victoria spoke again.

"Normally I would go first because if anything fails, it should fail on me. But you've got the sample, so I say you go first. That way if the rope fails on me when I try to cross, you'll be able to get out and complete the job for the both of us." Victoria voiced her decision. She hoped that Sassi would be on board with it. She also hoped that the rope would not give out on Sassi and ruin their plan.

[Word Count: 350]

Victoria watched as Sassi swung across the gap and made a landing that was less than perfect. Victoria involuntarily recoiled as she witnessed Sassi land face-first on the other side. To her relief, her guildmate got up and flashed a thumbs-up to let the Ace know she had made it. Any landing that one could walk away from was a good landing. Now to get across the gap herself.

Victoria took the rope into her hands, took a deep breath, got a running start, then jumped and hung onto the rope until momentum carried her to the other side. Once she felt that she was at the right point, she felt a drastic change in altitude. The stalactite gave way while she was still on it! Victoria screamed and let go, just clearing the ledge and making a face-first landing like Sassi had done before her. The rope and the stalactite splashed into the water and made an impressive splash, sending up no small amount of cold water.

The shaken brunette slowly got to her feet and gave a thumbs-up sign to Sassi. Now she knew how her guildmate had felt after doing a faceplant into the snow. Again, any landing one could walk away from was a good landing.

"Well, that was fun. I'm ready to leave whenever you are, Sassi." Victoria said to her companion, wiping away the snow that had stuck to her face. The Ace wanted out of here. Sassi wanted to get out of here too. The pair had gotten what they had come here for, so it was time to call it a day and take the sample to the client. Payday was always nice.

[Word Count: 281] [Total Word Count: 5,025/2,500]