The sword he's carrying, long and curved and sharper than a dream, gleams in an unseen sunbeams and the tassel on the pommel dances in an unfelt breeze.

jump

He nods, slightly, and does, in the sort of smooth, economical way that seems to work with his magic.

He gets high enough to catch his fingers on a tiny groove in the opening, then swings himself up to land on his feet in the higher passageway. It's the sort of maneuver that's borderline impossible without magic.

"Are you awake?" he asks the sword, voice quiet.

i think so

how do you tell

"You're talking. I haven't heard of unawake weapons doing that," he says. "What do you remember?"

movement

dancing

"The fights, it sounds like." He cracks his neck. "Do you know what a dunj is?"

Ugh. This will probably take way too many words. Maybe he can get through the 'let's work together until the dunj is closed and then I'll have Carrie explain the rest'? Carrie likes talking.

is that this place

will there be more dancing

"That's this place, yes. We're fighting monsters, so we can close the dunj."

okay

you are good at moving you should do it more

"I'll try." Acrobatics is an unusual but not unprecedented thing for a weapon to grant.

And it fits him, he thinks.

Fortunately this is a very three-dimensional labyrinth, and he's able to test jumping between pillars and up crags as he does.

Unfortunately, he doesn't make it far, only to a widening in the cave system, before there's a susurration and then a massive hum of clicking, and the non-beetles are swarming again. They're good at climbing, and numerous, but he glances around - then jumps to balance on the top of one broken-off stalagmite, stabs a few that crawl up to him, and jumps again, this time bouncing off a pillar to land behind the beetles. They fall over each other as they try to switch gears, the larger ones crushing the small ones beneath their bulk - leaving him with easier targets.

yes like that

we dance around and between as they trip over themselves

His mouth might be making a vague attempt at a grin. He likes fighting monsters, though these aren't as much of a challenge as some, especially with the sword newly awakened.

Skewer one overgrown beetle, jump, bounce off a pillar, cut one that'd grown wings in half, bounce off the ceiling, land sword-point-first in a third.

He also likes the not having to talk thing. Convenient, that.

This is... fun, the word probably is. The dancing and the weaving and the slicing and the grace of it all. Aesthetically satisfying.

He finishes the last few with another dramatic leap - he likes this, maybe there's some drama in him after all, but being able to move clearly and swiftly feels amazing - and then lands neatly.

"We're clear for now," he says.

what next

"Keep delving. We need to close the portal, and we need to reach the center to do that. There's usually tougher monsters nearer it."

good

He nods, and keeps going.

The beetle swarms get bigger - and composed of bigger individuals - as they go. Means they're getting close.

Then they reach a cavern, enormous and echoing and carpetted with bugs that're cat sized at the smallest - 

And someone's shouting, "Take that!" from a nearby ledge, swinging a massive greatsword two handed through a horse-sized beetle. 

She notices their entrance, looks over, shouts, "Late to the party, huh, Sasuke?" and throws her sword at them, flickering to land on her as she lodges in the stone.

(Sword-throw based teleportation is the stupidest power and she loves it.)

She bends, grabs Bridget's handle, and yanks her out of the stone, before throwing her in an arc through some flying beetles.

"Try to keep up!" she shouts behind her as she flickers away.

'It's Piece Maker!' Bridget shouts mentally. 'Also hi new sword!'

hi

that seems inefficient. our way is better.

'This way's awesome. And I bet we're better at these big flying ones than you guys.'

Sasuke starts parkouring off beetles while stabbing them. This is probably moderately stupid, since it sometimes involves stabbing the flying beetle he's standing on, but he's keeping enough momentum and has enough of a sense of where everything is that it works.

"Focus on finding the portal stone!" he calls.

see? better

what does the portal stone look like?

"Big and glowy with weird writing, or a glass sphere, or one fun time a ball of flame - they vary a lot but usually stick way out from the dunj," Carrie calls.