Tasty? Am I spending too much time as a bird?
*Well,* came Warrion’s voice. *I think you're all going to want to see this for yourselves.*
*Bears?* Garath asked dumbly.
*No,* Warrion said, *which is odd. I swear that spirit-bear thing came in here.*
*Alright,* Garath said. *Good enough. Head back this way, we’ll see you soon.*
*Yeah, about that. I wish I could. At the end of that first tunnel, where it’s almost too dark to see, there’s a hole in the ground. I fell down it.*
The rest of the Party moved cautiously down the tunnel leading out of the cave’s entrance, the smell of decay growing stronger as they went. Eventually they found the hole Warrion was referring to. It was easy to see how he had fallen. Very little light made it this far into the cave. Garath called a halt from the Dreadreaver’s shoulder.
*Only way forward is down, I guess. Warrion, how far is the fall?* Garath asked
*Pretty far, dude. It's more like a slide though. Honestly, it was fun. Five stars, would recommend.*
After minimal deliberation, the Party concluded that the best way forward was down the chute. Athios joined Garath in Crow form on the Dreadreaver’s opposite shoulder and they each clung on to his thick hide for dear life as it led the way down the slide that Warrion had so thoroughly recommended.
The Golem skidded to a stop on a flat surface at the end of the feather-ruffling joyride, nearly hurling Garath and Athios into the unknown ahead. The rest of the Party followed in short order, each looking disheveled as they slowed to a stop near Garath, Athios, the Dreadreaver, and a currently-invisible Warrion, the single exception being Alice. The Lore Keeper floated calmly out of the tunnel and onto the platform with her typical expressionless countenance. Bill skidded to a stop as well, followed shortly by Handsome who rolled his way into the clearing, stood up, then promptly fell back down, holding his head with bony hands .
All Party members accounted for, Garath turned his attention to the subterranean marvel before him. A sage green, bioluminescent moss carpeted the platform on which the Party stood, as well as the vast cave ahead. The moss didn't provide much light, but between the spongy carpeting and the fluorescent mushrooms dotting the gallery's floor and walls, it was enough to see by. Garath gasped as he took it all in.
The massive underground gallery was framed on both sides, floor to ceiling, by curved, bone-white pillars. They connected at the top of the gallery along a vertebral column that stretched the length of the room. If he had to guess, Garath would say that the column above was a perfect anatomical fit for a spinal column matching the skull they had entered minutes before.
We’re inside an enormous bear carcass. Gross.
As far as he could tell, the platform Garath's Party was standing on was located somewhere between the shoulder blades and on the bottom of some ridiculously-sized, long-dead bear's chest.
Inside of a giant carcass or not, they weren't alone. Everywhere he looked, Garath saw movement, mostly from the delicious bugs that lived in the walls and floor.
Okay. Definitely too much bird time.
Some of the squirming critters were several times larger than they should be, but Garath reminded himself that his opinion of what ‘should be’ held less weight than wet toilet paper since The Culling. The abnormally large insects didn’t pay the Party any attention as they continued doing their part to decompose the carcass. His bird brain told him the feast was too good to be true.
Dead ahead, Garath saw something that was definitely too good to be true. A large, gold-plated chest sat in the center of the room, not even fifty yards ahead.
Auto led the Party forward, the path slanting upward as they moved toward the back of the buried bear. The ribs keeping the gallery structurally sound gradually shrunk as they went, and the gallery with it. Quietly, cautiously, they approached the too-obvious box of loot. Standing ten feet or so away from the chest, the Party came to a stop.
*We’ve gotta open it, right?* Garath asked, from his Dreadreaver perch.
“Yes,” Alice replied.
“No way,” Warrion disagreed. “Look at this thing. It screams ‘I’m a fucking trap’. Bare minimum, it’s gotta be a mimic.”
*He’s not wrong,* Athios said from the Golem’s other shoulder. *Way too easy.*
“In my previous observations of The Tower, other Parties happened upon such chests,” Alice told them, walking forward to take a closer look. “I have yet to experience a ‘trap’ specifically as a result, but it will not simply open whether you decide to open it or not. This one, I believe, is a cursed chest.”
Warrion threw his hands up in exasperation. “See?”
“I don’t find it to be a fitting moniker,” Alice went on. “That is what The Tower calls them. From what I have seen, these chests do not have, nor do they give, a curse. I believe it is simply a warning that you may have to fight to earn the prizes inside. The items found here in the Dungeon are significantly more powerful than crafted items, or anything found in smaller dungeons. Completing the chest’s requirements also has the chance of granting access to the next level of The Tower.”
*See?* Garath asked. *Prizes. How do we activate it?*
“Someone must place their hand on the chest. It will become clear what is expected.” Alice frowned slightly. “Probably.”
*Okay,* Garath replied dubiously. He pointed with his beak. *I nominate Auto. That way, if we’re attacked, they’ll already be on the tank.*
Auto looked at Garath, mounted on his stoic demon. He looked unsure, though the Unibear’s expressions were limited so Garath couldn’t be certain.
*Yeah alright,* Auto said finally. He huffed dramatically, then took a step toward the chest.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Maimon said with both hands held up. “The chests we’ve opened so far in smaller dungeons have given items to the person that opens them. Most of the time those items seem to
