Hah, that's nothing new. We'll just do what we always do.

[ compared to that relaxed kitten lounging on the couch mere hours ago, it's like talking to a different person. the tumbleweed, leading the way, is oddly silent.

you walk and walk, twisting and winding around corner after corner, filled with dread and disorientation and the subcutaneous desire to flee, but somehow, thanks to the tumbleweed's guidance, the Ace's blessing, or some divine mercy from another source, nothing ambushes you.

eventually, the maze parts. an object starts to loom in the mist. underneath the sunlight coiled around your staff, you can dimly make out... a cave? ]