by Taj McCoy El
Margaret pointed to the pile. "What if it just spits out more weesps?”
“Well, that would suck!” Grax murmured. "I mean all this work for no payoff?
“Let me charge those spears,” Mayah said cooly.
Grax handed them over his demeanor tense. He crossed his arms again and began tapping his foot. He stopped as the black grains kept going under his foot.
The pile was 2 feet and steep, about waist high, and steadily growing. As it got taller the base got wider. And the Royal Death Claws waited. After three minutes, small black sparks popped off it, and the flow of granules under their feet was tapering off.
“Finally!”
“You think this was supposed to surprise someone?” Mayah asked, her eyes on the pile.
“Maybe?” Grax shrugged. “I mean, look at Grandma. She fell for it.”
Margaret growled her dissatisfaction while Grax just chuckled.
The pile suddenly took on a liquid sheen and became fluid and amorphous. It wriggled and oozed. A slit bubbled into existence on the side that was facing them. It popped open revealing a bloodshot eyeball two feet across. It had a pupil of darkness so black it seemed to pull you in.
It began shaping itself into a humanoid form. Small pseudopods would wriggle out, and then pull back into the body like a human-shaped bag being filled with rabid jellyfish.
“Spread out and get ready,” Mayah suggested quietly.
The eye blinked back and forth tracking their movements until two smaller eyeballs popped open on its shoulders and began individually tracking them. Thick plates formed over the body like a knight’s armor.
Grax threw a dagger at the beasty but it bounced off an invisible shield
“When is this cutscene gonna end?” Grax whined breathily while doing the spaghetti arms.
Mayah tried to hold in her laughter but it came out as a snort. Grax gave her a conspiratorial wink. Which made her let out a loud chortle.
Still giggling she returned her attention to the boss that was forming. She found the armor had grown spikes on its helm and pauldrons out of its wrist and elbows, a full belt ringed its waist in spikes. The thighs? Spikes. Knees? Spikes. Shins, elbows, feet, heels? Spikes.
It’s a bit passé but I can see the point. Mayah pun-ished herself.
Three eyes popped open on its head, one in front one on either side and slightly towards the back. After the blackness on its chest dripped into a misshapen grill for the first eye, the creature suddenly took an en garde stance and a rapier-thin piece of itself grew from where its fist should be, becoming its sword. It stood ready in front of the door, motionless. Mayah cast analyze and Achilles Heel.
Skaduweesp Commander
Level: 17
“Eyeballs are the weak spots. Everything else just comes up the same as the armor on its chest.”
“Let’s claw its eyes out. Mags you first,” Grax taunted the ranger.
“Get bent, flea-boy,” Margaret replied while taking aim. “I’m ready.”
“Let’s do it. Light (W) grenades first.” Mayah tossed a grenade above the commander and it exploded. What happened next left them all confused. The commander, dodge, sliced and stepped out of the way of every falling piece of paper and began advancing around the runes.
“It’s faster—” Mayah screamed.
“Much faster!” Grax yelled. Mags! Shoot it!”
Margaret aimed for the central eye and released. The arrow flew true until it was deflected by the commander's sword. The arrow glanced the commander's upper arm and took a bit of its blackness with as it flew on. The dent in the commander's arm rapidly bubbled and refilled.
Your party has attacked
Skaduweesp Commander
Level: 17
-12 arrows
- 4 Light
1309/1321HP
“Guys…” Grax said as he deepened his stance.
“Yeah?” Mayah asked while trying to figure out any weakness.
“We need bigger guns…”
He ran forwards and teleported above the commander and slashed downwards. The commander raised its rapier above its head and caught Grax’s blades. As the rapier bent the commander angled the tip of its rapier downward and spun, allowing it to sidestep from under the rogue.
Grax hurriedly raised one sword over his head blocking a quick slash aimed at his eyes. The commander used the beat to angle his rapier tip upwards and step forward aiming the tip at Grax’s chest. Grax used his offhand to parry the lunge upward. The rapier pulled back a few inches slipping his blade and was thrust forward into Grax’s shoulder. Grax stepped back windmilling his arms and swords defensively as the commander pushed his attack.
Margaret nocked another arrow another and let fly. The commander deflected the hit again. Grax seized on the opportunity and slashed into the commander’s leg leaving a deep gash growing patch of rime on the black armor-flesh of the leg.
Your party has attacked
Skaduweesp Commander
Level 17
-15 slashing
- 140 Spike (W)
1154/1321HP
The commander beat at Grax with a flurry of blows. He was having problems holding him off when its foot whipped out and caught Grax in the head. Mayah dove in triggering Whack-A-Vole.
I need a speed boost.
She swung in small controlled downward arc letting the hammer slide through her left hand to extend her reach and the commander dodge the blow. She slid her hand back up towards the head of the hammer and ducked behind the haft as the rapier slid next to her ear missing her by a few centimeters. The rapier then slid up the haft towards the head slicing the fingers of her left hand. She let go with a yelp.
You have been attacked
Skaduweesp Commander
Level 17
-213DP Slash
1401/1614
You have received a Debuff
Sliced fingers
-73% left hand functionality. Your left hand is now at 27% functionality.
Timer: 3:00 minutes.
Without a pause he pressed the attack, Mayah held her left hand out of the way trying to make it work. She swept happiness back and forth as best she could while backpedaling away from the commander's lunges. She knocked the blade aside as best she could but he stepped outside of her guard on the right. All Mayah saw was flash of black, and then pain erupted from her ribcage.
You have been attacked
Skaduweesp Commander
Level 17
-467DP Stabbed (Critical hit punctured lung)
934/1614HP
She looked down to see a second sword sticking out of her side. A flash of fire covered the commander, and he pulled back. As the sword pulled out ice blossomed in her chest. Mayah spun to a knee, and she faintly heard Margaret's voice. The pain throbbed with every heartbeat and her breath wheezed. She felt Margaret’s hand grab her. Everything felt hazy and pixelated around the edges and blackness squeezed her heart.
You have received a Debuff x2
Bleeding -3HP/Sec
-50% Health Regen.
Timer 8:00 Minutes
Pierced lung -50% stamina
-50% Stamina Regen.
Timer 8:00 Minutes
925/1614HP
She pulled her hand away from the wound, small red squares fell over her hand like little plastic poker chips. They coated her side and fell in large clumps to land on the ground and shatter into a million pieces. They bounced outward like glitter or sand in low gravity. She watched as the edges of her hand blurred into low resolution and her breathing became ragged. Hyperventilating, she couldn’t focus and lost balance. She stopped herself from falling over with a hand on the ground.
In the distance she heard her name. it was muffled and she couldn’t take her eyes off of her hand and the red pixels. She coughed out more glitter and wondered how that happened.
Margaret screamed in her face and everything snapped back into focus. She took a deep wheezing inhale and the pain made h
er want to vomit. She looked and saw Grax battling the commander solo and getting pushed back taking a slash here and a slash there.
Mayah pushed Margaret off her and pointed to the battle and wheezed, “Grax… Go!” she could feel a bubbling in her lung.
Margaret looked at Mayah stunned.
“Go!!!” she repeated with all the effort she could muster.
Margaret screwed up her face and began shooting arrows at the commander. Its arms became fluid as it battled her teammates. The vuurms launched volleys of napalm at it and it backed off giving Grax a break. Grax tossed an immalatto at the commander who deflected it to the ground where it went off covering the commander in a flash of flames. Margaret began shooting everything she had at it.
Low regen, low stamina and lots and lots of pain. Looks like it's time to level my last Skill.
With the help of Happiness, she pushed herself up to standing and walked towards the battle. With her mana sitting at almost full and a conversion rate of 4 mana to 1 point stamina, even with the 50% stamina reduction, she would be able to add over three hundred stamina points. Even if they bled away like water she would be able to finish this battle. The pain flared up, and she clutched her side.
“Maybe it’ll help with the bleed effect,” she wheezed to herself.
She triggered Shield (F), Fire (A), and Aegis (S), the black buckler forming on her left arm, dumped as much mana into her stamina as it would take and activated Rage of Pyrmos.
As Fire (A) and rage of pyrmos took effect deep red threads of coruscating flames billowed up through her Shield (F). The convection currents made her hair float upwards. The warmth surrounded her, and the pain turned into a barely noticeable stitch in her side. She ran towards the commander triggering Crushing Blow, Whack-A-Vole, Torch, and Acid (D). The eye on its shoulder opened wide and the commander backed away from her angling off Grax. As she closed to ten feet, she used Runic Soul to cast Surge (S) behind the boss.
It was hit in the back and knocked towards Mayah off balance, and she dropped an overhand smash onto the commander's shoulder felling it to a knee.
Your party has attacked
Skaduweesp Commander
Level 17
-162 crushing (37x4 critical hit + 10% Rage of Pyrmos)
-147 Acid (D)
-67 Fire
843/1321HP
The Acid (D) corroded its whole shoulder. The black sludge sloughing off to fall in wet slaps to the flagstones. The eyeball that was there fell to the ground as well. The gore began turning into smoke on the ground. Mayah wound up again and triggered Spike (W). Swinging horizontally, she tagged its left shoulder. The commander managed to roll with the hit which flipped him into a roll out of Mayah’s hammer’s range. It used the momentum and stood up. Its shoulder began frosting over as Spike took effect.
Your party has attacked
Skaduweesp Commander
Level 17
-30 crushing
-60 Spike (W)
-58 Fire
407/1321HP
Grax teleported behind him and used a Sword skill he used in the first duel with Mayah. Rapid slashes with his katanas arched the commanders back forward. He finished off with a double sword thrust through the commander’s chest.
The eye on its torso rolled up and dripped black ichor that turned into smoke upon hitting the ground. As the swords pulled out Grax pushed off its back into a flip. The giant eye closed and died releasing a cloud of black smoke reminiscent of Surge (S) poured forth and knocked Grax and Mayah back.
Mayah dropped more Mana into stamina leaving her Mana at about half. An arrow sprouted from the eye on the left side of the commander’s head and it stumbled to the side. A purple glow came forth and the damage healed. It pulled the arrow free and its shoulders and torso began healing quite rapidly. The eyes, however, remained closed.
Margaret shot an arrow at it and as it sunk in there was a ripple in the blackness and it passed right through the commander. Mayah cast Fight (S) and her shadow clone ran forward. She triggered Crushing Blow and aimed for the right side of its head and connected solidly.
Your party has attacked
Skaduweesp Commander
Level 17
-60 crushing (30x2 critical hit)
593/1321HP
She figured the Shadow did more damage to shadow based creatures as it bypassed the intangibility. She continued the onslaught as its heal had been interrupted and used the shadow clone to wrap it up.
“Grax!!!”
Grax flew at it in a frenzy now armed with his light spears. He stabbed the commander in the back and left him impaled. He stabbed him in the leg with his other spear. A third spear was already in his hand which he shoved into the commander’s side. Another went into its head.
Grax leapt back as Margaret yelled "Clear!!!" and shot a sizzling black arrow into the commander. It exploded out of its back leaving the exit wound expanding like a hotdog in a microwave. As the commander raged it destroyed the clone and dripped to the ground one eye floating on top of a bubbling black mass.
The amoeba puddle tried to slide away leaving smoky evaporating bits behind. Mayah Cast soul snare and with Rage of Pyrmos still active ran to it and began beating it with her hammer over and over and over again.
When she started to get a headache, she saw her stamina was low, and she had a slew of notifications. She deactivated Rage of Pyrmos and dumped her remaining ergs of mana into her now unaffected stamina. She stood and looked around finding Grax, Margaret and Vergie standing together about twenty feet away staring at with eyebrows raised.
“What?”
“You back to yourself?” Grax questioned. apprehensively.
Mayah took a step towards them, and they all took a step back.
“What’s going on? Do I have something on my face?”
“Besides the Hitler-stache? No.”
“Then what?”
“Oh, not much. Except for the fact, you were just beating that thing into the ground for about ten minutes now, and when I tried to stop you, you swung at me a few times. I had to teleport behind you and run.”
"I did?”
“Look at your logs if you think I’m kidding.”
“It was horrible dear. Your eyes were glowing red—with no pupils or anything.” Margaret looked at Mayah like her favorite teacup poodle had grown into house-sized Cujo. "I was going to shoot you with a stun arrow but wasn’t sure it would work. I didn’t want to agg you in that state,” Margaret filled her in frantically.
“Ten minutes?” She turned to look at the spot where she had been hitting the commander and found that the four by four-foot area of flagstones was pulverized.
“Wow!”
“You can say that again, princess.
“Wow!” Mayah said jokingly.
"I didn’t mean literally.”
“But seriously, ten minutes?”
"Did I stutter?"
“Shush, cat, this is serious.” Margaret sternly warned Grax. “What happened, dear?”
"Well, the last thing I remember was smashing that amoeba thing and it felt so good that I wanted to smash it again. Let me check my notifications.”
She scrolled up to just before the commander had perished.
Berserker rage activated
Anyone in your field of vision will be targeted until your stamina drains or you have a successful intelligence check. You will be able to damage friends, foes, furniture, and floors whether they’re flagstone or not.
Rage of Pyrmos level 2
You have defeated Shadow’s Sheer Shine City
500XP
4108XP till next level
You have received:
Eye of Shadow
Bracers of umbra
Skaduweesp Commander’s dagger
Vial of Skaduweesp essence x13
3 Gold
Ding!!!
You have unlocked the entrance to the Temple of Umbrasom
Soul Snare Successful
&n
bsp; Rage of Pyrmos level 3
Flesh of the Magii level 2
Mining Level 2