Nancy went first, her knife in hand as she struggled to climb the ladder that was bolted into the wall.  She popped her head up and looked around carefully before continuing up.  Next Chloe scampered up the ladder with surprising dexterity.  She was frightened and clearly anxious to get away from the rats and back into the sunlight.

Allistor passed his spear up to Nancy, then climbed himself.  That necessitated removing his hand from his wound, relieving the pressure, and allowing the blood to pump more freely.  He’d lost a good bit since the battle, and he was going to need to stop the flow soon or risk losing consciousness.

Upon reaching the top, they paused while he let Nancy treat his wound.  He used his belt to restrict the circulation in his leg while she poured some water on it, then applied the salve she carried in a jar.  Afterward, she tied a rag around his thigh tightly enough to keep pressure on the wound without cutting off blood flow completely.    Then she made him turn around so she could put some of the salve on his back.

“What did this?” she asked.

Chloe made a face and said, “Ew.”

“Octopoid.  Came up out of that hole right after you went in.  You got very lucky you went the direction you did.  I figured it had killed you.  Lured it up here for a little vengeance.”

Nancy shuddered.  “Those things are horrible.  I’m glad you killed it. And that it didn’t see us.  That would have been bad.”

Allistor studied the terrain as she worked on his back. Whatever was in that salve was working wonders.  The sting of the hooks was completely gone, and it felt cool on his skin.  “What is that stuff?”

“Hmmm?” Nancy looked down at her hand. “Oh, a little something I mixed up.  Gardening is my hobby, and I’ve somehow picked up a skill called Herbology.  It tells me what some of my plants can do when I focus on them.  And when I started mixing them together, I learned Alchemy, too.  The description for this stuff says it helps with coagulation to stop bleeds, prevents infections, and heals for 5 points per minute over ten minutes.”

“That’s awesome!  I just learned Weaponsmithing.  Totally by accident.  This new world… it’s a lot like the virtual games I’ve played.”

Nancy grinned behind his back.  “I played my share of those as a kid.  That was a long time ago, though.  Still, you’re right.  This does feel familiar.”

Allistor wasn’t sure where in the town they were.   All the usual landmarks had been crushed to rubble and ruins by the monstrosity that had invaded their town that morning.  Not a single wholly undamaged building still stood.  The thing was like a petulant child smashing a sandcastle on the beach.