by Adam Horne
Necromancer’s Robe (rare): Provides a +3 bonus to Intelligence and Dark becomes a class skill.
Kelath stepped back without taking the item. “Elora, you’ll want to loot him.”
“Why are you all acting so weird?” Througar threw an arm over Kelath’s shoulder and also drew in Elora when she approached to check the body so they were all three huddled together.
Elora pulled away quickly and grabbed the robes from the body. “I’ll hang back for a second and try this on. You go ahead without me.”
“It’s not like we’ll see anything if you change equipment,” said Througar. “What’s the big deal?”
Galahad grabbed Througar’s arm and pulled him to the exit on the far side of the chamber. “The lady asked for privacy, so we shall give it to her.”
“See you in a bit,” Kelath said then laughed nervously at how lame he sounded. He turned and left the chamber.
They traveled down a corridor thirty yards before stopping to wait for Elora. A minute later she came trotting up behind them wearing her new clothes. The color of her raven hair matched the robe perfectly, giving her a very gothic look. Kelath’s jaw dropped open, and she laughed at his reaction, although she kept more distance between them than before.
“I’m ready to go on now,” she said.
They followed the tunnel as it sloped down to the third floor of the dungeon.
* * *
The corridor opened into an amphitheater with rows of seats spreading in a semicircle around them. At the center was a pit for gladiatorial combat with gates in the walls to release men or animals into the arena to fight. Most of them were smashed and the cages on the other side empty. In the middle of the arena paced a giant zombie with a bull’s head and cloven feet.
“Great!” said Througar. “We have to fight a minotaur.”
“A zombie minotaur,” said Elora.
“It is a creature like any other,” said Galahad. “With perseverance we can take it down.”
“Perseverance is a luxury we don’t have,” said Kelath. “If we all die and resurrect at the graveyard, chances are we’ll never get in here again. After the way we killed his guards, I’d be surprised if Itrix didn’t post his whole guild outside to stop us from doing it again. This may be our only shot at this.”
“Actually, we’ll get two shots,” said Galahad.
“What do you mean?” asked Elora.
“Recently, the gods granted me a power called rebirth. When I fall in battle, I can return to life, but it will only work once. It will be a long time before I’ve gained enough favor to use it again.”
Througar nodded. “So it has a long cooldown timer, got it.”
“We’re going to need a strategy,” said Kelath.
Kelath looked around the amphitheater. He couldn’t see anything that might be of use to them in the fight, either in the stands or the pit. On the far side of the arena was a stage with a throne and other chairs flanking it, presumably where the guests of honor would sit during combat displays. A stand next to the throne held an object that shone a bright, gold color.
Kelath pointed and asked, “Is that the magic lamp?”
“Yeah,” said Througar. “You have to beat the final boss to reach it though.”
“All right. This will be a tough fight. Does anyone have any suggestions?”
Nobody spoke up. Kelath wished there was some information on this dungeon and how the boss fights progressed on Genepedia, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. They would have to discover how it was done for themselves.
“Since we have no ideas,” said Kelath, “we’ll have to figure out our strategy during the fight. Keep your eyes open to how the boss acts, and if we can’t handle him the first try, at least we’ll know what to expect the next time.”
“We should stay close to the entrance while we fight,” said Galahad. “When I use rebirth, I’ll come back where my body is lying, and I don’t want to be in range of the boss. I might draw his attention before I can resurrect the rest of you.”
“Watch to see when he notices us so you know how far to run away,” said Kelath. “Everyone ready?”
They all nodded and descended the stairs to the arena. Originally there had been no path from the stands into the gladiator pit, but parts of the seating area had collapsed, providing an uneven stone ramp they could traverse with little trouble. When they reached the dirt floor of the arena, the minotaur turned to watch them. Unlike the zombies they’d fought before who stared vacantly with faded eyes, the minotaur had a clear gaze that hinted of intelligence.
“If this one’s a zombie, it’s smarter than the others,” said Kelath.
Elora patted Througar on the shoulder. “Be careful.”
“Easy for you to say.” Througar sounded nervous. “You can stand back and cast spells while I take the hits.”
Elora scowled, ready to reply, but Kelath cut her off. “Enough guys! We’re all nervous. Don’t take it out on each other. Througar, you can pull when you’re ready.”
Througar walked forward slowly, and the minotaur shifted its gaze to him, crouching down as if it would charge. When he was ten feet away from the front of the stands, the monster roared, ducked its head, and launched straight at him. Througar dodged to the side, but one of the monster’s horns still grazed his arm.
A couple things happened when the fight started. A portcullis slammed shut on the tunnel where they’d entered, cutting off any chance of retreat. On the far side of the arena, a shimmering magical barrier appeared around the table with the lamp to stop anyone from taking it. He assumed it would go away when the minotaur was defeated.
Kelath ran forward to join the fight. As he did, he shouted, “Galahad, did you see where Througar was when the minotaur charged?”
“Yes,” replied Galahad after casting a heal. “If I need to retreat, I should be fine as long as I stay close to the wall.”
“Everyone else, don’t go too far into the arena.” Kelath pulled out an ice bomb and threw it at the minotaur.
Critical hit!
A cheer died on Kelath’s lips when he realized the mob hadn’t been frozen. Many bosses were resistant or immune to stuns, so it wasn’t a huge surprise. What the minotaur did next was. It turned on Kelath, dug its feet into the ground, and charged like it had done to Througar. The patch of icy ground around its feet didn’t even slow the monster down. Its head rammed into Kelath’s stomach, launching him backwards and removing half his health.
“Get back here, beef breath!” yelled Througar, who was struggling to cross the ice.
“Undead don’t breathe,” said Elora.
“I had to say something.”
“Next time, say you’re going to turn him into a bullwhip.”
The minotaur snorted at Elora but pounded off to reengage Througar. Kelath used an elixir, and along with a heal from Galahad, he was nearly at full health again. He switched to casting a fire bolt alongside Elora because chances were good the enemy would run out of the flames if he critted with a fire bomb. The fight continued for a couple minutes with them wearing down the boss’s health and the boss periodically charging a random member of the party. Things were going well until its HP dropped to half.
The minotaur stomped the ground with one of its hooves, causing a tremor that rippled in a circle around it and stunning all of them. It snorted loudly as it pawed at the dirt, a red aura building around the beast’s body with each swipe. The muscles in its back and arms bulged, and it grew taller as its legs elongated. By the time it finished transforming, it towered over Througar at twice his height. The stun wore off, and the minotaur resumed its attack.
“Elora, can you cancel that effect?” asked Kelath.
She waved her hand in the swiping motion she’d used before, but nothing happened. “My interrupt isn’t working. The rage power it’s using must not be magical in nature.”
Kelath cursed. With each second, the minotaur’s attacks grew stronger. Galahad was barely keeping up wit
h healing when the boss targeted Elora and charged her. She was able to get a barrier up to soak some of the damage, but the attack was so powerful it took off a third of her health even with the protection.
“Stay away from her!” Througar yelled to get the minotaur’s attention. “Itrix always talked about the trouble they had once they got this boss below half health. I think I see why now. It keeps getting stronger the longer it stays enraged, meaning this is a race against time to do enough damage to kill it.”
“That’s what I was thinking, too.” Kelath tossed an elixir at Elora so Galahad could focus on keeping their tank up. “Everyone, keep attacking it.”
After a minute, Kelath decided there was no way they could kill the minotaur before it wiped out their party and ordered a retreat. He wanted them as far away from the arena as possible so they wouldn’t accidentally pull the boss while preparing for their next attempt.
Kelath was the first to drop. His health bar was full when the minotaur charged him, but it did more damage than his total HP. His body flew backwards into the stands and landed with a crunch on the stairs. A message window with two options appeared.
You have been slain, but there is a healer nearby who may be able to resurrect you. Would you like to return to the nearest graveyard or wait for assistance?
He pressed the button to wait and the dialogue disappeared. Because he was dead, the world changed to shades of gray with a mist covering the ground. It swirled and blew upwards in places, sometimes blocking his view. Througar, Elora, and Galahad continued fighting, although it was hopeless. Galahad couldn’t keep up with the amount of damage the minotaur was laying on Througar, and he was the next to fall. With no tank to distract it, the boss went after Elora, who fell in three hits. Galahad lasted for a few more than that by healing himself, but finally he succumbed too.
The minotaur roared in defiance over their inert bodies before returning to the center of the arena.
Chapter 26
As their characters died, ghostly specters rose up to float above the bodies. Througar’s spirit leaned towards the minotaur as if it was still trying to go after the enemy, and a ghostly moaning issued from its mouth. Elora’s spirit peered around, its eyes stopping on Kelath. A wispy appendage extruded from the body and waved in his direction, and he marveled at the possibility that she might actually be happy right now. Galahad’s spirit hung its head when it materialized, unable to look at them.
When the minotaur had returned to its place in the middle of the arena, a golden beam of light shone down from above on Galahad. It absorbed both the spirit and the body before expanding in a blinding flash. In its place, Galahad stood whole again, although he still looked dejected as he pulled a flask of water from his bag and sat down to drink it. When his mana was replenished, he went to each of their bodies and cast a spell to resurrect them.
“I’m sorry I failed you,” said Galahad when they had all been raised.
“Nonsense!” said Elora, who placed a hand on his arm. “That wasn’t your fault.”
“She’s right,” said Kelath. “The fight is meant to be difficult. I think we would need much better equipment than we have now to even come close to defeating this boss.”
Througar looked at him with concern. “So is it over then? Is there no way we can beat the minotaur?”
Galahad peered around the room, his eyes resting on the stage at the opposite end of the arena. His brow furrowed in thought, then he spoke. “The enemy’s gate is down.”
Kelath peered at him in confusion. All the gates in the arena had been smashed, and besides, what they wanted wasn’t behind a gate. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s quoting Ender’s Game,” said Elora.
“What’s that?”
“An old science fiction book.” Elora smiled, a knowing look in her eyes. “Galahad, perhaps you should explain what the quote means.”
Galahad nodded. “The main character is a child being trained to fight in outer space. He’s incredibly smart, and the instructors make him fight harder and harder battles to test him. At one point, they give him an impossible scenario, one he can’t win by playing according to the rules. He has to get one of his players through a doorway in the enemy’s base to win, so he sacrifices most of his men to get a small group to the gate. One of them passes through even though they hadn’t defeated the entire enemy army yet, and they won the battle despite most of his troops being disabled.”
“I don’t get it,” said Througar. “How does that help us?”
Kelath looked at the room again and thought he understood what Galahad was saying. “We don’t need to kill the minotaur. We just have to get the lamp.”
Througar shook his head. “That’s a great idea, but it has that barrier around it. We can’t remove the barrier without killing the boss.”
“Actually,” said Galahad, “Elora has a spell that cancels magical effects.”
“But it only works on people,” she said. “I can’t target a magical field like that.”
Kelath smiled. “I can.”
Elora’s eyes widened. “Do you really think that would work?”
“What are you guys talking about?” asked Througar, frustration evident in his voice.
Rather than answer, Kelath retrieved a flask of conjured water and pulled the cork. He held it out to Elora, who waved her hand over it in a motion similar to what she did while countering the necromancer’s spells earlier. The potion began to froth and bubble, even though nothing moved into it from her hand like with the fire or ice bombs. After a couple seconds, it calmed and the water changed to the same milky white color of the bomb Reek had used to dispel the rage affect when Bandit was about to attack him in the laboratory.
You have learned the Antimagic Bomb recipe.
Kelath smiled, put the cork back into the bottle, and handed it to Througar to examine. He asked Elora, “Did you learn the recipe too?”
“Yeah,” she said.
“Antimagic bomb,” said Througar. “Do you think this will work?”
Kelath shrugged. “I don’t know. Galahad, what happened in that story after they took the enemy gate?”
Galahad thought for a second. “I believe they were allowed to win the game, but after that, the administrators changed the rules so the entire enemy team had to be incapacitated before the gate could be opened.”
“So it only worked one time, but that’s all we need. Elora and I will create several more of these in case we need to get a critical hit to deactivate the magical field.”
Elora clapped her hands together. “Ooh, this is exciting! I hope it works.”
They spent a few minutes making preparations and coming up with their plan. Througar would attack the minotaur and keep its attention, with Galahad providing healing. Kelath and Elora would run past and climb onto the stage, throwing bombs until they either lowered the barrier or determined their tactic wouldn’t work. If need be, they could return to the fight, although it was clear to all of them they would likely fare no better than the last time. Througar and Galahad wished them luck as they lined up at the bottom of the ramp to start their attack.
Througar rushed into the arena with Bandit right behind. He darted out of the way when the minotaur charged, and Galahad followed after him, casting heals when they were needed. Kelath and Elora skirted around the outside of the arena, staying as far away from the boss as they could to keep from being noticed. They ran up the stairs onto the stage and moved close enough to the table with the lamp to target it but not so close as to hit themselves when they threw bombs.
Kelath released a bomb he’d been holding while running, and it exploded a foot in front of the table. The magical barrier didn’t even flicker. “Shoot, I’d hoped it would be that easy.”
“Maybe it will work on a critical hit,” said Elora as she threw her first bomb.
Kelath pulled more bombs from the pouch on his belt and threw them as fast as he could. He’d made ten, assuming that would be enough f
or him to get at least one critical hit, but when the last one landed, he still hadn’t triggered the effect. Elora was able to throw faster and ran out well before him. She was already casting the spell to make more bombs.
“You guys might want to hurry up!” yelled Througar.
It couldn’t have been more than a minute since the fight started, so Kelath was surprised to see both Througar and Galahad were at half health. “What’s going on?”
“The boss keeps charging Galahad because he’s the only other person here. He’s having trouble casting his heal spells. They keep getting interrupted.”
Kelath hadn’t considered that in making their plan, but he had also figured on getting a critical hit by now. To Elora, he said, “My luck score is higher than yours. Why don’t you keep making the bombs and feed them to me as I need them?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Elora dropped two of the white bombs into his hands and started to conjure more flasks of water.
Kelath threw the two she’d given him, but neither of them were critical hits. He was starting to think this type of bomb couldn’t crit, but he kept throwing anyway. He glanced at the party list and saw Galahad and Througar were still losing ground, each of their HP hovering around a third.
“Drink healing potions if you need to,” yelled Kelath.
“Thanks!” Througar shouted back. “We never would have thought of that.”
Despite the sarcastic tone, Kelath resisted gloating when both their health bars jumped up to around half. He threw the bomb Elora handed him and waited for her to summon another. He’d lost count of the total number he’d used at this point, but it had to be at least fifteen.
“Any luck yet?” asked Througar.
“No,” Kelath yelled back, “but if this does work, I’m going to wish that you can’t talk anymore!”
There was no reply, so Kelath glanced at the party window while he waited for Elora to give him the next bomb. Througar’s health bar was empty and his portrait grayed out. He’d died, and Galahad wasn’t far from joining him. Kelath snatched the bomb from Elora’s hand as soon as it was ready and let it fly.