Chapter 5

Chapter 5 THE DUNGEON WELCOMING COMMITTEE DESERVES ZERO STARS FROM A DISAFPOINTED VISITOR. Morgan and his friends dug only for a minute before they found the start of a cavern. There was a large underground hollow just beneath their feet. They descended carefully, carving out one block step at a time. It was dark. Even when they placed torches on the walls, they could see just a short distance. A tunnel stretched out before them, the ground sloping downward. "IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE ON THE RIGHT PATH," said Ash.

"Yeah," said Jodi. "The creepy, treacherous, descending-into-the-darkness, who-knows-whatcould- be-down-there path. That seems right." "FEAR NOT, BOLD ROGUE," said Po. "For we have magic on our side." Jodi rolled her eyes, but she smiled. "Our choice is clear," said Harper. "We need to push forward and hope for the best." Morgan didn't know what to hope for. He was wearing a full set of diamond armor—the best armor possible! So he was less vulnerable than ever before. But his friends and sister were plenty vulnerable. Did he have what it took to protect them all? That was the role of the person with the best armor. In gaming terms, he was the tank. And it was a big responsibility. He shivered with uncertainty. Po leaned over and whispered in his ear. "I'LL BET ALL THE MOBS WE ENCOUNTER DOWN HERE WILL BE WEARING CHICKEN COSTUMES," he said. "So there's nothing to be nervous about." Morgan turned and gave his friend a grateful

smile. Then he took a deep breath, gripped his shield tight, and stepped forward. The darkness gave way before them. Harper and Ash were right at Morgan's back, placing torches every few feet. Not only did that help them see, it would also help them retrace the route to their starting point. After a few minutes, the dirt walls and floor became stone, and the tunnel opened up. Morgan had a sense that the space was large, but he could only see so far. "I NEED MORE LIGHT," he said, so Harper

held up a torch. Morgan had been correct. They were in a vast cavern. But it wasn't made of rock and dirt, as he had expected. It was all stone and brick. And there were little specks of red light sprinkled through the darkness. "Spiders!" he hissed in warning. "Then our foe has made a grave error," Po said in his wizard voice. "For we are smiters of spiders! WE ARE ANNIHILATORS OF ARACHNIDS! We are—" An arrow flew from the darkness. It narrowly missed Po, hitting the wall beside his head. "WE ARE IN A LOT OF TROUBLE!" he cried. The spiders emerged from the darkness. There were a dozen of them, and they weren't alone. Sitting atop each spider was a skeleton. The bony creatures were armed with bows and arrows, and they were aiming them right at Morgan and his friends.

Spider jockeys! Po screamed. Jodi ducked into the shadows. Harper and Ash hurried to replace their torches with weapons. "Come and get me, you ghouls!" Morgan shouted to get the attention of their foes. He sounded braver than he felt. But this was the tank's job, wasn't it? Every arrow that he blocked was an arrow that wasn't going to hurt one of his friends. He held his shield up and ran toward the spider jockeys.

If his hope was to get their attention, then it worked. The spiders all moved toward him. The skeletons all fired in his direction. As long as they were right in front of him, he could block the arrows with his shield. But soon he would be surrounded. There was no way he could fight them all. Not alone… A spider jockey just ahead of him was hit with a flask. The container exploded on impact, covering both spider and skeleton with a sickly green poison. "Yes!" cried Harper. "DIRECT HIT!"