Dungeon Born
Page 32
“Of course not, Hans! We need to try though. We won’t last a week in here without aid. I’m betting no one brought more than a few sips of water, for one. Next, we have no food, and no shelter. We can either face whatever the problem is now, as healthy as we are going to get, or wait until we are weak from hunger and thirst. What say you?” Dale challenged him.
“I say it is still a bad idea. Sadly, it is the best we’ve got unless,” he looked around to see if anyone else had ideas, “No? Onward then, I suppose.” They shrugged and turned toward the deep dungeon, retracing their steps till they stood outside of the Boss room on the first floor. They shared their knowledge of the normal tactics, getting into formation as best they were able. Moving cautiously into the room, they prepared to fight.
~Cal~
Only the normal amount of Mobs stood in the room, the five members of the Boss squad. I had cycled out the normal squad with the Alpha squad that I used specifically for ambushes I knew would succeed. The Alpha squad had grown, and were easily the oldest Mobs in the dungeon at this point, the only group that had not died. Intelligence shone in their eyes, showing me that if they had a Beast Core they would be sentient by now.
The Essence that they absorbed from each kill had increased the potency of their attacks, adding their affinity as elemental damage. Their bodies were now striped in the colors of their Essence as well. This would be a win-win battle for me, either I rid myself of these persistent interlopers, or I reclaim the upgraded patterns of the Alpha squad. In both situations, I could only get stronger. Dale’s group entered the room, ready for battle.
I was actually taken by surprise, before I could send the attack signal to my squad an arrow accurately flew across the room and sliced the jugular of one of the two Oppressors, effectively reducing the number of my multi-attack Bashers to one. With a cry of rage the remaining squad left their bleeding, twitching brother to his fate. The Alpha squad was well used to working together at this point, which showed in their movements and tactics. Utilizing its ability to its fullest, the remaining Oppressor leapt off the earthen affinity Smasher and unleashed his attack from a distance. A blast of air as sharp as a blade raced away from him in a horizontal line, aimed downward from a high point of the jump to slash at an angle.
The blast hit the ground in front of Dale’s group, blasting shards of stone into the party - who lost sight of the charging Mobs in the resultant dust cloud. The impact of the Smashers’ feet on the ground allowed for the humans to successfully dodge when the massive Bashers tried to ram Hans and Adam during their momentary blindness. The infernal Impaler slipped into a hidden tunnel and began to circle behind the group. A Warhammer landed on a Smasher, shattering its armor downward, literally shredding the animal’s insides with what had previously been its greatest protection.
A bow, acting as Rose’s staff, slammed into the other Smasher but its hard armor made the attack ineffectual. The Smasher turned and battered Rose to the ground with a heavy attack; she cried out as she fell. Tom’s hammer descended like the judgement of God onto her aggressor, blasting the dying Basher into a mess of flying gore with the power of his attack. Hans was attacking the final Oppressor, dodging its rapid attacks while barely seeming to touch the ground. Soon, his flashing blades overwhelmed the poor creature, allowing it to join its brethren in death’s release.
No other assailants visible, the group tried to catch their breath and began to sit down. I watched a flash of fear cross Dale’s face as a memory impacted him. Eyes flashing silvery-brown, he glanced around the room. Raising his Morningstar he ran at Adam, who was working to heal Rose, her leg shattered. With a primal yell Dale swung at the cleric, the Morningstar on a crash course with his midsection. I watched in glee, having no idea what was making Dale attack his friend, but glad to see it happening.
Mid-swing - just as Adam’s eyes began to widen with the realization that he was under attack - the top of the Morningstar released from the shaft of the weapon, traveling out in the same, smooth arc the weapon’s hilt was traveling in. The spiked ball missed Adam by a foot, yet buried itself in the skull of the Impaler just as it left the hidden tunnel, horn blazing with infernal fire. Skull shattered on the first hit, the hellfire then raced along the Impalers body, consuming it absolutely.
~Twenty-Nine~
The head of the Morningstar came back to the hilt, resuming its place with a *click*. Adam returned to healing Rose, but had to ask how Dale had known what was about to happen. Dale was exceedingly relieved that he had made the correct call.
“A while back a guy in my old group, Steve, was standing in that spot and got skewered by a smaller version of that thing. I didn’t see it except right when we came through the door, so I knew it was trying the same trick.” Dale tried to say nonchalantly, still shaking from battle reaction.
Hans came and clapped him on the back, “Nice work! You’ve been practicing with that weapon then? Worked out the enchantment? I’m impressed by your control there, if you hadn’t known exactly what you were doing, you would have crushed Adam's ribs! When did you start working out the kinks of it?” He babbled excitedly.
“Erm,” Dale sheepishly looked around, “I ah, that’s actually the first time I’ve really used it…”
Hans looked on in shock as the others laughed a bit bleakly. “He’s mad. I’m stuck in the dungeon with a madman.” Hans was near inaudible as he passed judgement on Dale.
“Hey!” Dale yelled as the others laughed harder, “Better than skewered!” The group ignored him as they settled in to cultivate. Thanks to Adam, Rose was already healed from the fight.
“You do good work, Adam.” Rose praised him, “Thank you for fixing me up.”
Adam blushed furiously, he was very unused to female attention, regardless of his aristocratic looks. Perhaps because of them really. No commoner wanted to worry that their child would be slaughtered on suspicion of being a Royal bastard. “Um, anytime. Really. Sorry I’m not more... Useful... in a fight.”
“A fight is not over until you are fighting the next one!” Tom declared what was obviously ancient barbarian wisdom. “Healing is as much a part of this battle as was my turning of those bunnies into flying orbs of goo!”
“Thanks? I think?” Adam muttered, trying to parse what Tom had declared. Tom looked very pleased with himself for some reason.
The Essence in this room was still fairly dense, so the group was able to recuperate much of their lost energy. Even Hans joined this time, needing a bit of a pick-me-up. A few minutes into this Rose suddenly cried out and clutched at her chest.
“What? Rose, what's wrong?” Adam shouted, by her side in an instant, preparing to heal her.
“My Chi!” Rose gasped, tears in her eyes, “It’s healing! Get back, I need to cultivate!” The others took a step back as she drank in Essence as a sponge takes in water. Switching to his enhanced sight, Dale watched as the trillions of shards and imperfections in her spiral began to smooth, the natural flow being restored. Tears were pouring down her face as she smiled a real smile for the first time since Dale had met her; he watched as her Center became whole.
As the last of the broken Chi threads fixed themselves, the Essence around her increased the speed of refinement, howling into her center as her body took in the Essence it had been denied for over twenty years. In only a few minutes, the loose Essence in the air was depleted to the point that she could not pull another drop, though her entire being cried out for more. Her Center being restoring had an interesting effect on the rest of the group. Her smile had increased morale, and the relaxation in her stance told of her release from decades of pain. Determination solidified, the group resumed their dungeon dive, descending into the second floor.
Dale led the way, determined to clear the sub-level and heal his own center. The difference in speed between Rose’s cultivation before and after healing proved that his increased speed was but a fraction of what was possible. He threw himself at the first roaming squad of upgraded Bashers
they found, killing two in as many strokes. His sudden violence and initiative shocked the others, and they became caught up in competition.
Arrows - missing teammates by fractions of an inch - thudded into weak points in the Bashers. A Warhammer moving faster than it had any right to transformed bounding bodies into jelly, splattering the barbarian with gore. Dale’s Morningstar cracked bones and rock armor, and a well-placed dagger from Hans severed the thread keeping their enemies tenuously attached to life. Adam watched the laughing, blood crazed team he was a now part of and began nervously praying.
Soon they were standing in the first room breathing deeply as they attempted to calm themselves and replenish their stamina. The gore from the groups of Bashers in the room still dripped gently from the ceiling, intermittently splattering them with viscera. They dropped to their meditative poses and began cultivating, Dale working as hard as he could without sacrificing purity or density. Easily outstripping even Adam, Rose cultivated with the force of a tornado, drinking in Essence through two open channels of affinity.
They relaxed a bit as the room drained of Essence, flowing unnaturally fast out of the room and deeper into the dungeon. They stood, preparing their cooling muscles for more fighting, and entered the tunnel. Only one other time had the path to the final room been so clear, though this time the Essence was rushing toward the Boss room, not away. Rage abated, they moved with more caution, skirting around traps carefully instead of recklessly. The enemies Dale’s group fought against had tactics used against them, instead of just force and anger. Soon, they stood in the third main room, looking at the odd loot they had just found.
“Is this arrow type even usable?” Dale handed the items in question to Rose. The metal shaft was weighted at the tip, round and heavy.
Rose inspected it, held it to her ear and shook it. “It has some kind of liquid in it?” She whispered wonderingly. “I… Could use it, but I have no idea what would happen. What about those daggers, Hans?””
Hans had an odd look on his face, a nearly sickly grimace. “Yeah, these are usable. They are the weapon of a killer, not a fighter. I’m… not sure I want them. Look at this.” He held up the daggers, pointing at the tiny Inscription on the hilt directly opposite the point.
“If I am not mistaken, that is the inverted liquid Rune we’ve seen previously. If I do this,” here he twisted the dagger hilt, opening a small hollow compartment, “and fill it with poison,” which he did, a vial of poison having recently dropped as it had in every room thus far, “when I activate the Rune, the poison will be injected into whoever gets stabbed, depositing it deeply inside their body. That will make it spread very quickly.” Hans actually shuddered. “I think something is going on here.”
Dale looked at him sharply, he had learned to trust Hans’s instincts, “What do you mean?”
“It is almost like the dungeon now wants us to succeed, which makes me nervous. Earlier it threw everything it had at us in an attempt to stop or kill us, now it is outfitting us with poison and odd weaponry. I think… I think we should make sure to use this stuff.” Hans fiddled with the new assassin's blades.
Even Adam had found a weapon he could use, an oaken staff banded in tungsten. It had the Inscription to become light as a feather on it, as well as a spiked end at the base that could be used for walking or stabbing. The top held a fist sized topaz stone, which would allow him to focus his celestial Essence away from his body better than even a Diamond would. With the staff being so light, he could weave it through the air like a baton, and the heavy weapon would still hit as hard as normal.
Dale looked at a glass vial he had found at his feet, trying to determine what it could possibly be used for. The shape of it was fanciful, an odd rounded shape on one end, while flat with a small convex part at the base. The vial would never stand on a shelf, the cylindrical shape and odd ends would make it roll around. Plus, there was no discernible way to open it, making him assume it was intended to be thrown or smashed. The conundrum made him scratch his head, the blood drying there was making him itch. He glanced at his weapon, and a thought occurred to him.
He activated the enchantment to allow the head of the weapon to move away from the hilt, and placed the vial there. The odd flat-then-grooved pattern of the bottom fit onto the hilt, and the head came back to rest on the curved top. It was now obvious that if he hit something, the vial would shatter, coating whatever he struck with the liquid contained within. He pointed this out to his group, and they decided to try and use it after he promised he would dodge the liquid.
Tom got nothing else that was obviously for him, they supposed the Warhammer was enough as it was. Feeling left out, he coated his hammer in poison, grumbling about not having a new toy. Feeling as prepared as possible, they made their way through the oddly empty tunnel, entering the Boss room to a strange, frightening sight.
~Cal~
“Cal.” The whispered voice of Dani pulled my attention away from Dale's group. I had just dropped them the gear I felt would help them kill the Distortion Cat prowling in my Boss room.
“Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.” Dani whispered as the tentacle drew ever nearer.
The end was drawing close, so I tried to comfort her as best as possible.
The tentacle drew nearer, the maw opening and a tongue flicking hungrily around, forked like a snake. The gaping maw reached for Dani, wanting no more than her death.
“Well, that is new. Looks like it’s stuck, hit it quick!” A voice directed softly, but in the silence of our impending death they may as well have been shouting. The tentacle quickly began retreating, trying to escape while not touching the roots. It sliced poorly along a spike, opening a shallow wound as the Cat hissed. I turned my attention out of my immediate surroundings, watching the unfolding battle. Dani softly cried in relief.
~Dale~
The heavy hitters of their group were charging, and an arrow was already in the air. The Cat hissed again and shadows began billowing out of it, darkening the room as the front line slid to a stop, unsure of this new ability. The arrow missed the Cat as it dodged, but the modified tip shattered at its feet; making a puddle of brilliantly shining light that the Cat accidently dropped a back paw in. Now free of the shaft under the Silverwood tree, the Cat started to move - unknowing of the light shining with each step it took.
The room was now fully darkened, the light from above stopping against a wall of umbra only a foot below the celestial quartz. The furious Cat sprinted silently to the edge of the room, then charged at the group from their left, trying to catch them off guard. The shining paw was the only reason Tom noticed the pouncing animal. With a great shout of intermingled fear and adrenaline, he swung his mighty Warhammer to intercept the Cat’s path. The Cat spun in midair, a tentacle snapping out and impacting the ground, throwing it out of the way but interrupting its own assault.
It faded back into the darkened room as the group moved to form a defensive half circle. Hans, Dale, and Tom stood with their backs to Adam and Rose, who in turn stood against a wall. Dale began calling out orders, telling everyone to begin using their Essence viewing abilities. Unfortunately, the darkness in the room was created by Essence, so this vision could not penetrate the inky darkness. Rose pulled an arrow halfway back, squinting into the shadows and preparing herself. Adam looked around, trying to find any way to help. He looked to the heavens as he prayed, and an idea wriggled into his brain.
The Cat decided to end this f
arce of a battle and used a potent ability, a powerful sonic wail. The maw on each tentacle opened wide and shattered the still air with a pandemonium of noise. The roar was quadra-tonal, each maw having a slight variation of sound. Laced with infernal energy - the source of darkness itself - the noise hit the group as a physical blow, stunning them and paralyzing their muscles as the Cat charged in for the kill. Dale could feel the death of his new friends approaching, but could not struggle away from the bonds the sonic wail had imposed on his mind and body.
Dale's mind went into overdrive, the word ‘bonds’ had triggered a memory. The Cat appeared out of the darkness, now sauntering toward his helpless victims. Dale forced himself to reach out to the pendant he was wearing, infusing it with Essence. A ripple of golden light whooshed out of the pendant, destroying the infernal bonds placed on him. Dale leapt at the startled cat, swinging his Morningstar at its head. A tentacle blurred, moving in to catch the blow, shattering the glass vial and dumping the contents onto the massive Cat.
As the liquid poured across the front of the Distortion Cat's body, light began to glimmer on it, increasing to a brilliant shine. At the same time, the liquid that had made its way onto the fur and skin of the Beast began melting anything it touched. The Cat howled and bounded back into the darkness, though it's shining form and loud hissing gave its position away. The effect of the sonic wail ended, the rest of the group was able to spring into action. Rose began firing arrows as fast as she could line up the shots, Tom, Dale and Hans charged the shining Beast, and Adam started an incantation.
Incantations are the verbal form of releasing Essence or Mana. Using an incantation tended to be frowned upon if a Rune was available because it permanently used up a person's Essence for an instant, single use effect on the world. This allowed cultivators to shape their Essence or Mana - aided by hand gestures or movement - into the form they needed at that moment.