Chapter 7

Chapter 7 THE FLOOR IS LAVA! ALSO, THE WALLS ARE LAVA! OH MAN, EVERYTHING IS LAVA!! As soon as they returned to the game, Harper hefted her pickaxe. If they were right, the object they wanted would be found deep belowground. So there was no point trying to go back up to the room where they'd fought the spider jockeys. Instead, they would hack their way through the stone wall at the water's edge. Harper expected to find more darkness on the other side. Instead, the air radiated with an orange-red tint. She knew what that meant

before she'd even stepped through the narrow tunnel they'd cut. "LAVA," Jodi said breathlessly. "I've never seen so much of it." Harper hadn't either. A great expanse of lava stretched out below them, like an ocean of roiling fire. More lava streamed down from high above, forming awe-inspiring lavafalls. The gray stone of the bridge they stood on looked orange in the glow of the cavern. More bridges crisscrossed the space. There were bridges above them, bridges below them, bridges running in every direction. They formed a complex set of walkways—it was hard to imagine where they all led. Harper felt dizzy trying to take it all in. And she knew those bridges were the only surfaces that

would be safe to touch. Touching lava, on the other hand, would be a very bad idea. "We'll have to be careful," she warned. "One false step…" "Please don't finish that sentence," said Po. "WE'LL STAY ON THE BRIDGE," Jodi said. "Right in the middle of the bridge. Honest." If even Jodi and Po were taking this seriously, then Harper knew she was right to be worried. They followed the bridge to a crossroads. They could choose any of three directions. "How do we know which way?" asked Morgan. "Without any information to go on, one guess is as good as any other," said Harper. "EENY, MEENY, LET'S GO THAT WAY." They turned right, following the stone walkway until it ended at a wall. "Should we cut through the wall?" asked Jodi. "IT'S AWFULLY RISKY," said Ash. "For all we know, there's more lava on the other side, just waiting to rush in." "I think I see where we need to go," said Po. He pointed over the edge of the bridge. "CHECK THAT

OUT." Harper peered over the ledge, taking care not to get too close. Po was right. Below them, at the level of the lava, there was a red door. It was the only door in sight. Surely it would lead them deeper into the dungeon. Harper tried to trace the path that would lead them to the door. But there were too many bridges and strange intersections. It was impossible to follow the path with her eyes. "It's a maze," she said. "A three-dimensional maze suspended over a vast sea of lava." "And I thought memorizing dialogue was tough," said Morgan. "Forget the maze," said Po. "WE CAN BUILD OUR OWN BRIDGE FROM HERE." "Hmm." Ash tapped her chin. "We didn't bring enough building material with us."

"BUT I SUPPOSE WE COULD DISMANTLE THIS BRIDGE AND REASSEMBLE IT," Harper said, finishing Ash's thought. "I don't love the idea of moving blocks around when those blocks are the only thing keeping us from, you know…fwoosh!" Morgan said. "WE'LL BE CAREFUL," Harper promised. Jodi grinned. "Why be careful when you can be creative?" "Spoken like a true rogue," Po said in his wizard voice. "Tell us, then, young ruffian. What trick do you have in mind?"

"AND SPOIL THE SURPRISE?" Jodi said. "Just follow me, Po the Wise, and maybe I'll teach you something new." They followed Jodi, retracing their steps to the hole they'd cut through the wall. "WE'RE BACK WHERE WE STARTED," Morgan complained. Jodi didn't say anything. Instead of returning to the reservoir room, she walked to the edge of the bridge, right where it met the wall. Then she started placing blocks, forming a ledge that would allow her to walk along the wall. Po peered at the lava below. "I thought