The knowledge that only Fowl ended up with an item made everyone slightly envious, especially after they considered the stats it gave.

Finding the exit had taken a little bit. Three hours passed before they found it inside a crumbling house. No other creatures were on the tower floor, all apparently having been summoned by the rare werewolf.

The gems had been shared and used, turning everyone level three in the tower experience while getting Cordellia to level five. She had also reached level fifty-six while everyone else was now level fifty-two.

“I’m just saying, we sleep tonight in our beds and come back tomorrow,” Fowl argued. “Going in for a few hours and camping in a zone makes no sense. Why take a risk when we can easily eat, sleep, and crap in our own place.”

Everyone in the carriage laughed, knowing that Fowl was indeed right, yet hearing him use his brain like this made it even funnier.

They arrived at the tower early the next morning, quickly entering as a group.

“This is going to suck,” Max said as they peered at the tower floor before them.

Tombstones, crypts, and broken mausoleums were as far as they could see. A thin layer of fog hovered along the ground, and a half-moon illuminated the fog, helping to hide anything that might be inside it.

“You don’t like undead?” Cordellia asked, frowning a little.

“He does not,” Fowl said, winking at Max, who was trying to ignore his dwarf friend. They are one of the few things that make his life difficult. He’s not nearly as strong against them.”

Bobbing his head, Max changed out his gear, pointing to the hammer side of his halberd. “What our short dwarven friend is trying to say,” Max said, “is that my abilities don’t work the same on them.”

“Which means we’ll have to work together as a team instead of letting him do all the work.”

Cordellia smiled and nodded, enjoying how much Fowl seemed to get a kick out of what was going on.

Fowl grinned, put on his new chest piece, and created a circle of light that radiated about twenty yards around him.

“Who the heck is this dwarf, and what happened to my gloomy warrior?” Batrire asked, winking at Fowl, who was grinning ear to ear.

“Shame this didn’t work last night in our room,” Fowl said. “I really wanted to wear it to bed.”

“To help her find it?” Max asked.

Batrire snickered, and Fowl held up his stubby middle finger at Max.

“Are you two boys done?” Tanila asked. “I’d like to actually do some fighting at some point.”

“I’m ready whenever,” Max replied.

Fowl pointed at the pack of seven undead that were closest to them. The group was slowly meandering around, moving like they would eventually move around the outer edge of the entire floor.

“Three archers, two zombies, and two skeletons. I’m a bit concerned by the zombies' lack of weapons and how bloated they look,” Fowl stated as he loosened his shoulders. Those warriors on the skeleton side look different. It could be the green bones and weapons they have.”

Max nodded and frowned. “Doubt stealth works as the undead almost always see through it. That leaves a frontal assault. Archer will be a pain. Have the girls shoot and spell them while you handle the two skeletons?”

“What the heck are you going to do?” Fowl asked.

“I’ll take out the two zombies. Surely, with your new breastplate and the fact everything we face is taller than you, nothing should hurt.”

Tanila snorted and motioned she was ready.

Fowl chuckled, rotated his shoulders, and then let out a small yell, turning his attention back toward the undead.

Tanila started casting her spell as Fowl ran forward, shouting and banging his weapon against his shield. The undead turned from their slow walk and ran toward the dwarven warrior.

Arrows plinked off his shield and armor, causing the dwarf to laugh as the two skeletons reached him first.

Max moved past the two after they started swinging their swords at Fowl, finding him to be much tougher than most might realize.

Their green swords caused a cloud of smoke every time they hit Fowl or his shield.

Max smiled as the massive ball of fire Tanila sent at the archers landed amongst them. Cordellia’s arrow attacks only seemed to inflict any real damage if she hit the head of the skeleton.

Both zombies were now close to Max, who held his weapon in both hands. Setting his feet, and swung it like he was trying to send them into the heavens.

A sound came as both bodies exploded, bits of rotten flesh going everywhere as two massive clouds of green gas covered the area he was in.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Immediately, Max's skin felt weird, and his eyes started to water. Keeping his mouth closed, Max ran out of the cloud that seemed to be dissipating and made his way toward the skeletons, beating on Fowl.

His dwarven friend laughed. Fowl’s hammer was crushing bones with every strike, and everyone could see just how much a hundred boost in strength was giving him. The increase in Fowl’s dexterity also made him move faster, dodging and blocking with ease while dishing out damage he wasn’t used to doing.

Fowl slammed his red hammer against the skeleton on the right, hitting it in its chest, shattering its bones, and another cloud of green smoke poofed out.

“God!” Fowl exclaimed as he smelled the smoke.

Fowl repeated the attack on the second skeleton without hesitating, destroying it in a single hit.

Both of them backed up from the clouds that were forming around the bones.

“What the heck… is that?” Fowl asked, coughing once as he spoke.

“It’s a disease!” Batrire shouted. “Now finish that last archer!”

Both of them turned and saw one archer still standing.

Tanila had a stone wall out, stopping the arrows it was shooting, and tiny clouds of green smoke were coming from each shot when they struck it.

Cordellia was coughing a little bit, and Max realized she had actually been shot.

Racing across the ground, Max reached the archer, dodging the arrow it sent at him. One swing later, another pile of bones was created.

Max jogged back, avoiding the clouds of gas that were finally starting to dissipate. Batrire cast a spell on Cordellia and then scowled playfully.

“That’s going to be awfully annoying,” Cordellia said, taking a deep breath and not coughing. “A disease attack… with a cloud effect?”

Fowl’s hit points were topped off, and Batrire hadn’t even healed him. Their new and improved dwarven tank had more hit points than Max could imagine, and if the chest piece gave the same regeneration rate he had, it would mean Batrire was going to be able to focus on everyone else for a while.

“What’s more annoying is that Seth can one-shot each of those,” Fowl said. “I was finally hoping to carry us all.”

“I think we’re actually glad you can carry your own weight,” Tanila replied as she studied Fowl. “That reward you got seems impossible to imagine. If stuff after tower level fifty is close to that, we are in for a treat.”

Max nodded and remembered what Tanila had told him last night when they were alone in their room.

“No one shares those stats, though, and even Everett and Tom won’t tell us what items are like on tower level fifty-one and beyond.”

“Can we stop talking and start fighting?” Fowl asked, shifting excitedly from side to side. “I really want to see what I can do.”

As Max and Fowl took off toward the next pack, Tanila nudged Batrire with her elbow.

“I wish that chest had given him some intelligence. You do realize he’s going to be pretty upset when that item disappears.”

Frowning, Batrire nodded. “He says he knows, but the truth is, he really doesn’t understand what it’s going to be like.”

The grin on Fowl’s face never disappeared as he waded into groups of six and seven skeletons at a time, letting them damage themselves against his thorn aura and crushed them quickly with his hammer and newfound strength. The disease cloud that came each time one was defeated couldn’t overcome his massive constitution, which was now over three hundred.

Max continually praised and encouraged his friend, laughing as the two of them tore through every pack of creatures that assaulted them.

“Pack of three casters and six skeletons!” Fowl shouted as he scouted ahead.

“Hold up!” Batrire yelled back. “Give us a moment to get set up!”

Only Max could hear Fowl’s groan as he shifted anxiously, waiting on the other three.

“Slow down. I know what you’re feeling,” Max said. “You feel invulnerable and able to take on everything, but remember, we found out the hard way that I wasn’t a few times. We also need to be careful not to let our friends back there get hurt.”

Sighing, Fowl finally frowned, seeing Max’s concerned expression. “I know… it’s just… for the first time in so long, I feel like I can actually do something. Like I’m really contributing.”

Max put a hand on his friend's shoulder and patted it a few times. “Only you feel like you're not doing anything. Without you, neither of our friends back there would be alive. You’ve kept them safe, taking injuries that would have killed most and sacrificed yourself before,” Max replied. “Don’t forget you almost died once trying to keep them alive. Just keep on being the dwarf we love.”

“How do you do it?” Fowl asked as he glanced back at Batrire and saw her recasting her buff.

“Do what?”

“Keep a steady head? I mean, I know you do stupid stuff, but I can’t imagine how it must feel to be able to do everything you can.”

Taking a deep breath, Max slowly let out, “Honestly, it’s hard—just like you feel it right now. I was being stupid on that flower floor, but everything felt easy. That same overconfidence almost got us all killed on the werewolf floor. I’m not perfect, but I try to remember one thing.”

Max motioned with his head at the three behind them. “I got people I love and care about. As a warrior, we both know how we would feel if someone died because we were stupid.”

Grunting, Fowl nodded and playfully punched Max to the side, wincing when he moved Max slightly. “Sorry!”

Laughing, Max rubbed his side and pretended to be hurt.

“Bah, I can see your health bar!” Fowl said.

“Stop fooling around!” Tanila called out. “We’re ready when you two are!”

“Go get 'em, wonderboy,” Max said, giving Fowl a push.

Running toward the pack of skeletons, Fowl roared.

“Damn, that one looks a bit harder,” Fowl stated as he pointed his hammer at the massive skeleton fifty yards away.

Bobbing his head, Max studied the twenty-foot-tall skeleton. Its bones were red, and it was covered in red plate armor. Each of its hands held a massive red sword that appeared to be over seven feet long.

“Can you see that aura around it?”

Max saw what Fowl was getting at. It stood in a circle of tombstones, and a slight red haze seemed to emanate from its lower half, filling the fog with a red tint.

“You two seem cautious,” Cordellia stated. “Should we be concerned?”

Tapping his chest, Fowl shook his head. “I’m not, but as a warrior, it’s our job to make sure we protect you all. Just wanted to ensure that everyone knows what to do.”

Batrire snickered and winked when Fowl turned to stare at her. “Lead on, my love. It just feels funny to hear you talk like that.”

“I don’t see any other creatures with it,” Tanila pointed out. “We think it can be that easy?”

Max shrugged and motioned at Fowl. “He’ll deal with the boss. I’ll handle anything that might come our way.”

“Just let me get its attention, and then you can all start attacking,” Fowl said as he started to loosen up his shoulder. “Hopefully, I won't have to use any skills.”

Groaning, Batrire shook her head. “And there’s the jinx.”