“The new alpha sounds like a dick,” Helga observed.
“I spoke to him, warning him that continuing in that manner would cost him his pride. They now know they have an alternative pride to choose if he doesn’t behave better. Many know from the stories of the elders that the gryphons thrived when they lived among the mages, and would do so again. We shall see whether he heeds my advice.”
Fitz asked “How many in the pride now? I’m sure the Mages Guild would be interested in re-establishing the gryphon force if their population has recovered.”
“I counted forty in total. Thirty were females, and five were youngsters, including two of the males. So counting Braxis and the male here, there are only ten fully grown males. Though there may be more that were out hunting.”
Braxis, who had calmed his new little pride and was listening to the conversation, squawked at Fitz. The wizard nodded his head as Kai translated.
“Braxis says there are two other prides, both led by his first generation of sons who split off to form prides of their own when they became strong enough. That would have been nearly…” Kai broke off to estimate the timing.
“Nearly seven hundred years ago,” Fitz supplied for him. “We released Braxis and his mates more than a thousand years ago. The first-generation sons would not have been strong enough to form their own pride for two or three hundred years. Still, depending on how many females they each took with them, their prides could be equal to the size of this one by now.”
Fitz patted the old alpha on the side of the neck. “He tells me he trained his sons and daughters in the old ways. They know how to fight in formation, both in the air and on the ground. Unfortunately, they never learned to speak any human tongues.”
“Well, for now, we will welcome them as fellow citizens of Dire Keep. We won’t ask them to carry riders in combat. Though they would come in handy as scouts, if we can find a way to communicate.” Alexander turned to face Braxis. “Braxis, will you and your pride swear an oath of loyalty to the keep, and our guild? Think carefully, as the oath will bind your soul.”
Braxis tilted his head, as if thinking. He made a questioning squawk, and Kai answered him at length. Fitz said, “He’s explaining about the Dark One, and the likely attacks the keep will face. And about the binding of the oath. He also just described the large herd of livestock you keep close by.” The wizard grinned at that.
When Kai finished speaking, Braxis held a brief conversation with the other gryphons before stepping in front of Alexander. He leaned down and head-butted Alexander’s chest, then nodded his head. Nobody needed a translation. Alexander scratched Braxis’ head a bit, saying, “Thank you, my new friend. And welcome to Dire Keep. We are honored to count such noble beings among our own.” He bowed his head to the old alpha gryphon.
“We still need to clear downstairs,” Max reminded everyone.
“Right. Braxis, we have to head down into the tower basement and clear out whatever tried to infiltrate our home through the mirrors. I’m afraid you and your pride won’t fit through the trap door. If you like, you can fly ahead to the keep. You know where it is. I’ll give you a note for Silverbeard, letting him know you are allies.” Alexander reached into his bag for paper and pen.
Braxis nodded his head, and Alexander began to write. “Drop this in the courtyard, then land outside the walls. I don’t want any of the guards to panic and attack you. Master Silverbeard will send someone to retrieve you when it is safe.” Alexander rolled the paper up, then stuck a dragon pin through it as an identifier. Then a thought occurred to him.
“Lainey, can you make four leather thongs long enough for their necks? I want to give them each dragon pins, or pendants I guess, just in case. Brick, can you shape these into pendants with a hole for the thongs?” He withdrew four pieces of obsidian, slightly larger than the pieces he used for dragon pins. One by one, he imbued them with the Undying and healing spells. He put more mana into the healing spell for these, as the gryphons were much larger creatures, and he wasn’t sure 2,000hp would be enough.
As he completed each one, he handed them over to Brick to be shaped. Lainey took them and ran leather thongs through them. She handed them to Kai, who placed one over each gryphon’s head. He explained as he did so, telling the gryphons what the pendants would do. Once they were set, Braxis nodded his head and took off. The others followed.
Brick once again led the way as the group moved downstairs. Once back in the first-floor store room, Lugs lowered himself down the hole first to hold the ladder. Alexander followed, and removed the stone wall blocking the exit door while the others climbed down.
“Remember, whatever tried to get through that mirror was twice our level at least.” Sasha looked at Fitz and Kai. “Well, for most of us.”
Following the usual pattern, Brick and Lugs covered the door, shields up, as Max opened it.
The landing outside the door was still clear. Fitz and Alexander both cast light globes. Brick moved down the stairs, followed by Lugs. Fitz positioned his globe just above and behind Lugs’ head, while Alexander set his near the back of the group.
The stairway led downward the first fifty feet or so with smooth carved stone walls on either side. Then, quite abruptly, the left-hand wall disappeared as the stairway began to curve slightly to the left. Looking down, the group saw nothing but darkness below. No floor was visible.
Fitz summoned another light globe and sent it floating downward, saying, “Anyone down there has to have seen us by now, no point in hiding our presence.”
The group stood watching the globe drift down, most with one hand on the remaining wall for balance. Though the stairway was plenty wide, even for Lugs, peering over the edge at the falling light gave a slight sense of vertigo, making more than a few feel as if the stone stairs were less sturdy somehow.
Fitz finally halted the globe nearly two hundred feet below them when the floor became visible. Seeing only flat stone floor within the area of illumination, the wizard commanded the globe to move forward, away from the group.
The light crossed over a small but fast-moving stream that cut across the chamber floor. Near the stream on either side were clusters of large mushrooms sprouting up from the stone. Their exact height was hard to determine from so far away, but they looked easily large enough for a human to walk beneath. Silvery-white flashes in the water suggested the presence of fish in the stream.
Continuing across the chamber below, the light revealed the opposite wall, next to which was the portal that Fitz had expected to see. Or rather, the stones. The portal itself was not active.
Fitz directed the light to follow the wall clockwise, which would bring it to the bottom of the stairs. The group resumed their descent, keeping one hand on the wall to their right, and one eye on the light as it moved along the wall below. As they neared the bottom, the sounds of the stream become more recognizable. Along with a lower toned chirping noise. It was a similar to the background sound of cicadas, but not nearly so loud.
The light reached the bottom of the stairway not far from the portal. Once it was clear that nothing awaited them there, Fitz sent the globe off across the room again.
Just as Brick reached the bottom of the stairs, Fitz called a halt, pointing toward the light globe. It had crossed the stream again, and was just above the field of mushrooms. Standing there, looking much like a mushroom itself, was what could only be described as a monstrosity. The thing stood with most of its torso above the surrounding fungus. Which made it maybe fifteen feet tall. Its skin was pasty white and covered in boils that looked primed to erupt. The monster had two heads, the right one massive with a single horn on the right side and red, watery eyes that leaked pus. The other head was about one quarter the size and protruded from the thing’s thick neck. It had a small horn on the left side of its forehead, and a bulbous nose from which green slime dripped into its wide open, toothless maw. Both heads sported random tufts of filthy, stringy hair that stuck to the boils on their scalps.
The thing had two massive arms with bulging veins that ran black beneath its nearly translucent skin. Another much smaller arm and a deformed, infant-sized leg protruded from its chest. The thing almost looked like it had partially absorbed a smaller version of itself. It was clearly undead, and detested the light that had exposed it.
The undead thing raised its right arm, swinging a bone-handled axe and striking the light globe above. The light burst into a thousand sparks before fading away.
“What the hell was that?” Dayle whispered.
“Necromancy,” Fitz growled. “That was a demon abomination. Somehow a necromancer managed to raise one as a corpse.”
“That shouldn’t be possible,” Alexander said. “When demons are killed, their bodies turn to dust and the souls return to the demon realm. Unless you capture their soul in a gem. Or something similar.”
“Indeed,” Fitz replied as he summoned another globe and sent it toward the monster. “But you saw it yourself. It seems someone has found a way. Much as you yourselves have modified your own magic abilities in ways others have not.”
The globe reached the area where the monster had been. Fitz had it hover much higher this time, so as not to be so easily destroyed. The demon thing was standing at the edge of the stream, alternately looking down at the water, and up at the light. It roared in frustration and pain. It swung at the globe with a flail held in its left hand, but missed. Alexander noted that the flail seemed to be made of segments, like the spinal column of a large snake, with a fanged and spiked skull at the end.
“I don’t think it wants to cross the stream,” Jules observed.
“Aye, young lady. If it were willing to do so, it would have met us at the stairs already,” Fitz agreed.
“Well, then it should be easy enough to kill.” Helga pulled her new sword from its sheath and grinned hungrily. “That thing should be worth some good xp, too!”
Alexander used his identification magic on the monster.
Belorgz
Undead Abomination
Level 108
Health 38,000/38,000
“Well, shit. It’s a named boss. Level 108. Has a ridiculous 38k health,” he informed the others. Brick whistled in admiration.
The group descended the last few steps and began to move toward the monster, which was still flailing angrily at the light globe above.
As they neared the mushroom field on their side of the stream, Jules exclaimed, “Ooh! Ladybugs!”
Sending his own light globe forward, Alexander could indeed see scores of insects with red dome-shaped shells spotted with black dots. Only these ‘ladybugs’ were each three feet long. They seemed to be feeding on the smaller greenish fungus that grew underneath the much larger mushrooms. Here was the source of the sounds Alexander had observed from the stairs. The ladybugs were chittering away, occasionally waving a segmented foreleg or antennae at one another. Alexander used his identify skill again.
Fungal Devourer Beetle
Level 23
Health 1,800/1,800
Once again, he passed the info on to the group.
“So, they’re low level, and vegetarian?” Misty asked. She looked skeptical.
“They might be good for alchemy ingredients,” Sasha mused “Let’s take one back to Lydia and see what she thinks.”
“I’ll get it!” Jules volunteered. “I love ladybugs!” She dashed forward before Alexander could object. Approaching the nearest of the bugs, she slowed to a walk.
“Jules, wait!” Alexander called out. “It’s too close to the others. Try and lure it back this way a bit.”
Jules nodded her head, pausing to remove an apple from her bag. She used a dagger to cut the apple into several sections, then tossed one to the ground next to the insect. Nothing happened for several moments. Then the insect seemed to sense the bit of fruit, turning to investigate it. After a few seconds, the insect bent and grabbed the apple slice in a pair of black chitinous mandibles that glistened with green slime. Upon seeing those, Alexander called out again. “Please be careful! Those mandibles look like they might be poison!”
Jules nodded, taking a step back. She threw another apple slice to the floor between the insect and herself. The bug moved forward, grabbing up the fruit without hesitation. She repeated this process twice more, until her target was a good thirty feet from the closest beetle.
Sasha cast a thorn trap over the insect, but the thorns did not penetrate the beetle’s shell. It barely seemed to notice as it devoured the fruit. Jules stepped forward to grab it, saying “Don’t kill it! I want to see if I can tame it!”
The elfess stood next to the beetle, which was more than half her size. Reaching down, she placed another apple slice right in front of its mouth. She spoke softly at the creature, reaching out as if to pet its back.
Alexander nervously looked toward the demon. It remained on the other side of the stream, now holding up a chunk of mushroom in an attempt to block the light in its eyes.
He returned his gaze to Jules, just as her hand made contact with the beetle. The moment she touched it, it let out a loud screech. Its shell separated into two ‘wings’ which shot out to either side. The one closest to Jules sliced across her thigh, cutting deeply and causing her to fall. Sasha quickly cast a heal on Jules, who was crying and holding her leg.
The beetle attempted to run away, but was held down by Sasha’s vines. In a panic, it released a blast of green gas from its hind end. The cloud quickly enveloped Jules, and her crying was replaced with coughing.
The beetle’s initial screech had alerted its nearby cousins, which took up the call as well. In seconds, dozens of the bugs were racing toward Jules. Brick was dashing forward, with Lugs and Helga just a step behind and the rest of the group following. But they weren’t going to reach her before the bugs did.
Sasha desperately cast an aoe thorn trap between Jules and bugs. Maybe a score of them were trapped inside. Alexander cast wizard’s fire on three of them, lighting them all on fire. A few of those behind tried to run over top, and were burned as well. But more than thirty of them simply moved around the burning trap and continued toward the now unconscious Jules.
Her health bar was dropping steadily. Sasha cast another big heal, while Lyra and Benny did the same. “She’s been poisoned!” Kai cried out. “Use a cleanse!”
“I tried mine, it didn’t work!” Sasha was nearly crying herself. Lyra and Benny just shook their heads. Theirs hadn’t worked either.
“There must be an acid mixed in with the poison!” Fitz shouted. He halted and began to cast a spell of his own as the others raced forward.
Two of the bugs reached Jules a step ahead of Brick and Lugs. One bit into her thigh, the other her neck. Brick and Lugs reached her, each of them using their hammers to bash one of the beetles into oblivion. But the damage was done.
Jules’s health bar dropped to zero, then quickly recovered to 1% as her dragon pin’s Undying spell kicked in and kept her alive. But the DoT from the poison gas, and whatever poison the other two bugs had injected with their bites combined, erased the small sliver of health in less than a second.
Not realizing Jules was already dead, Brick and Lugs set up between her and the remaining oncoming bugs. Beatrix waved her arms, and a wave of water surged out of the stream, gathering bugs and tumbling them violently as it moved toward the burning pile of bugs. Max and Lainey were firing arrows with blinding speed. Helga, Warren, and Dayle joined the two tanks, forming a wall of armor and steel in front of their fallen friend. They hacked and smashed at any insects that moved within range. More clouds of green gas exploded from dead and dying bugs. Forewarned, the players all held their breath.
Fitz finished his cast, and a strong wind arose from behind the group, pushing the gas back toward the stream. The players all quickly took advantage of the clear air, taking in great gasping breaths.
As soon as her cooldown expired, Sasha cast thorn trap again, directly in front of the tanks. It managed to
trap the remaining beetles, but once again did no damage. Knowing what was coming, the players in the front line backed up a few steps. All but Brick, whose shield would protect him from the fire. Alexander cast wizard fire again and again, his anger at Jules’ death taking control. Helga lifted Jules and carried her back to the healers. Then all of them moved forward to begin stabbing and smashing the bugs nearest the edge of the fire.
Hearing the monster across the stream roar, Alexander looked up and cast wizard fire on it, too.
“What are you DOING!” Sasha screamed at him, moving to get right in his face. “You don’t start a boss fight before the trash mobs are dead!”
Alexander stepped to the side, clearing his line of sight to the boss, and cast a massive burst of Ray of Light at the undead monster. His pulse hit the thing in its larger face, burning a hole through its nose and into whatever it had for a brain. The thing’s health bar barely moved.
The Greystone Chronicles Book Two: The Dire Lands Page 52