CHAPTER 15
A confusion set over me as I stirred awake. The warmth of a fire beat back the internal chill I felt. I peeled my eyes open and whimpered in exhaustion. What had made me so tired? With a huff, I managed to pry myself into a sitting up position. I scanned as a bat the size of a dog was dead on the other side of the fire. Nicole was giving a briefing on self-healing at the other fire with the team listening aptly. She wrapped up her lecture when she saw me slowly waking up.
“Hey handsome. Cyrene said you found a rare creature in the dark of the caverns that just wanted to eat you. We simply need to stick you in deep poorly lit narrow tunnels to discover them,” Nicole said with a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek when she reached me. Her exposed cleavage from bending over enticed me to drag her into my lap. The exhaustive wave that washed over me forbade me from such actions. I reached to the back of my neck and felt a massive lump. “That dead bat is a vampire bat. Yup. At some point you had it latch onto your neck. Cyrene said this bat can numb the area it bites and then with enough time it sucks you dry. Most people only feel a slight gust of wind when they land. Here is the super fascinating part. As it drinks blood the bat grows. This one was about halfway into a transformation. When fully grown they can walk with a hulking figure and fight.”
“Sneaky little shit. I never felt him,” I said. I gave a slight yelp as Nicole sliced the bulge on my neck to drain it. “Wait, I did. I even looked for spiders. Ugh, fuck caves.”
“I wanted to monitor you while this happened because I was not sure how the poison will react with air,” Nicole said as he tilted my body to let the blood flow from me to the ground. I heard the blood splattering and in a few seconds, it started to slow as the drain finished. “Your body seems to be doing fine so far. When it heals you should be mostly better.”
“Thanks,” I muttered while absorbing the pain.
“Yes, well… Shala killed him with a bolt of electricity that managed to hurt you too. You lived, while the monster did not. You have his numbing poison running through your veins. Looks to be breaking down. I need to learn how to combat poison,” Nicole said with a frown.
“Potions. Anti-poison potion. Need to get the right kind to combat the right poison. Help me walk over and I will give a two-minute brief,” I said with a yawn and feeling too tired to lift myself.
“They will come over to us,” Nicole said and left my side. She waited for Shala to conclude her talk and then convinced the team to come to me. A few dragged chairs with them and Desmond carried the big throne with no problem. “Gryff is going to brief us on potions.”
Mysti raised a hand and Nicole nodded.
“Since he is awake can we loot the creepy bat thing? I am really curious as to what the rare animal drops,” Mysti said in a chipper tone.
That elvath was rarely sour and I loved that about her. The dynamite bust and incredible sex were the bonus. Cyrene saw me losing focus and waved for attention.
“Not super rare, merely not found here in the mountains. Most of the deep cave dungeons under the forest have these but they flee unless they find an easy target. Fire mages cook these no problem in bat form, hence they fly at sight of adventurers. Not sure if this is a Frooska thing or if it flew up that water tunnel from deep below,” Cyrene said and Ossa went to work as she talked.
The sawing of bones was minimal and soon the slurping sound of the heart being removed hit my ears. She eyed the orb and tossed it to Nicole. Nicole washed the orb off in a bucket while studying it.
“A summon pet. Same thing as the body. Not undead but close. Might be worth something,” Nicole said while giving the orb a closer inspection.
“Color?” I asked.
“A purple, wow. Not sure what that means for this spawn but this is the first purple orb from this dungeon,” Nicole said while eyeing the orb. “What is it good for?”
“The vampire bat is an assassin’s tool. Since that orbs is a purple or epic its valuable; nothing too fancy. The vampire bat king lives in the Gruok Dungeon and drops a mythic level version. Slightly bigger and quicker blood drain. They are an assassin orb because they have a few hundred feet range and if you find a sleeping target they drain the victim until death. The best part is they convert most of the way through into a hulking upright brute. When they transform they tend to eat the neck of their victims for any remaining blood. After that, they rampage and cause a massive amount of damage with suicidal tendencies. As they sow destruction the defenders find they are hard to kill. Hence the assassin can escape easier. They are very weak when small to all sorts of common pets such as a falcon, cat, dog, and a keen guard too. Not an auction worthy find but some decent silver,” Cyrene said and I summoned my loot chest behind me.
Nicole walked over and tossed the orb in. With everyone ready, I pulled out my notes and gave another yawn while studying the scribble I had written.
“Sorry team, I need to sleep so this will be a brief... briefing,” I said hoping for fake laughter and there was only a tiny bit. “Cannot win them all. Potions come from plants in the gaming verse. There are millions of potions and they can all be broken down into two categories at the very start. Wild or farmed. The alchemist who wrote this guide went on a tirade about how farming certain plants, herbs, and roots would dilute the potency. They also railed angrily against the fact that adventuring for ingredients meant actual risk vs reward. Well, some leaders long ago determined it was better to make diluted potions. The common practice is farming safely from garden beds and not braving the wilds for stronger ingredients. I want to get more books on alchemy that way when we do treks around new areas we might be able to acquire wild ingredients. This was more of a how-to guide and not a picture book on which plant does what and can be found where. An alchemist is needed on the - to hire - or - to develop - list. Shala write that down. And before you make a joke, yes I want to buy a picture book!”
I ensured I made air quotes around those words to get my point across. Nicole shooed everyone back away from the fire since I was done. When the team was gone she laid me back down and curled up into me. A final yawn later and I went back to sleep.
∞∞∞
The time for battle arrived with the twilight of the morning sun. The steep canyon walls reduced the light at first so we proceeded slowly forward in our two wagon caravan. The snow had piled higher but those familiar dinosaurs did not care as they pushed through the white powder. The plan, for now, was to reach the first room of the dungeon. The reality was it was more like a bowl cut out of the mountain. The whole setup of an above ground dungeon had me wondering.
“Cyrene why do people not just go up top and rain death from above?” I asked while gazing up at the canyon tops.
“Ah, that handy guide would have explained it. The upper rockwork and soil are loose. There are infinite ice canyons and random holes. When I went through this we had harpies, they were so handsome…” Cyrene gave a longing sigh as she recalled their beauty. “Of course, they were less handsome than you. Those harpies were not unlike bearfrii in their desire to rest their wings. They fell every time they landed up high sending rock and snow to crash down low.”
Dib sat with us on the driver’s bench and scoffed. “This is a dungeon. There are rules, even a non-adventurer like me knows some things are off limits.”
Cyrene frowned and shook her head. “Yes and no. If you have the patience and time you can knock down enough loose rock to find hard surfaces and then set up firing bunkers. The process has been done, merely not an effective or wise tactic. But in principle you are correct. This dungeon may have an open sky but the moment you fly above those canyon walls you are buffeted by high winds and landing is dangerous.”
“What do you recommend for this upcoming room?” I asked and Cyrene pulled up on the reins.
The canyon walls banked left and we could barely see the opening of a large area. I turned to see Ossa and Desmond stop their wagon while wearing heavy blankets. The plan was for Di
b to fly up and do a quick recon and come back. He had been warned seven times not to go too high due to wind. He got the message and swore if Cyrene said it one more time he would smack her with his frying pan.
The little bearfrii launched from the wagon and I went in to get warm while he worked. Cyrene and I went down the tiny stairway and dropped into the wagon to find three lovely elvath sipping warm tea. Mysti patted the seat beside her and I gladly occupied the comfy spot. The honey tea was yummy and the warmth it provided felt great. Ten minutes went by when Dib came back. He entered the side door and behind him was Desmond using the door to join the briefing while also letting in all of winter.
“Hundred plus trolls, most asleep or in tents. I saw one big fellow that might be an ogre and the rest were either archers or held a wooden shield and one handed weapon. There are no defenses and the community is random in the layout,” Dib said and I let out a whistle.
“We pile wood, set defense and then try to pull a few in at a time. As long as we have a solid barrier to work behind and an amazing healer we will prevail,” Cyrene said minus her usual confidence. This sounded more like apprehension. “They lack leadership and tend to enrage. We all have the leftover rubble from the first engagement. We use that to create our wall. Fires will be even better as they hate to get too close to them. Remember they are inherently weak to fire.”
“Remind me to ask about my ruby later,” I muttered to Mysti and Desmond pulled out a large gem with a grin. “Never mind.”
“You okay with that plan boss?” Shala asked as she and Barq joined the group from their side room. “I have my whole chest filled with wood. That didn’t sound right.”
There were some side snickers that faded quickly. I did find myself still smiling when I slapped my leg.
“Alright, we have a plan. We drive the wagons a little forward of this turn, then start setting up a defensive position. We are going to need a left and right wall with a fire at the end of each so the enemy slows for the flames. Leave an opening wide enough for Desmond. Pile excess wood high to let our ranged troops elevate,” I said while thinking it over.
“Maybe second-tier walls where we can get the height and still have safety. If we despawn the wagons before we are noticed we should have plenty of time. Where do you want Ossa and Dib?” Nicole asked.
“Wherever they want and I am not sure we have enough to build a wall and then a fort behind it. Ossa has the cave so a fall back cave with a nice fire and warm stew going for lunch sounds fantastic to me,” I said and there were nods all around. I clapped my hands now that we had a plan. “Time to get to work. We start by staying low in the wagons. If they despawn the fall is the shortest. I will drive this big girl.”
There was some muttering for ladies to do the driving but I bounded up the stairs and back into the mid-morning chilly air. The wind above me howled as swirls of snow crossed the canyon gap. I looked forward and saw the turn just ahead. With a slight snap, the mimic dinosaurs tugged at the wagon. We rolled forward and the snow compressed under us with a soft crunch.
The Queen’s Bitch rounded the corner with two slight back and forths because she was so long. I really wondered if she went up or longer in her upgrades. The wagon pressed forward and I could see the circular outline of where the next set of trolls lived. There were the tops of tents, a tower of wood that looked ready to collapse, and the rest was obscured by the high snow. That was good because if I couldn’t see them then they couldn’t see me. I saw no troll in the tower probably because if one went up, the structure would crumble and go down.
The internal fear that I would go too far ate away at me. I halted our progress with a slight tug. When I heard nothing we went forward again. I continued this inching forward until I felt the tower guarding the canyon entrance could fall on us. This was certainly close enough. Five minutes passed by while I heard the team shuffling into the snow. I saw chests spawning to flatten the snow and then despawning. The timers were short on familiars so I went to go help them. The moment I was down from the wagon Mysti removed it into her core.
“Okay, start stacking wood here and there,” I said in a hushed undertone while pointing to the left canyon wall and then the right one. I gazed at our woodpile and we needed more. The hindsight expert inside of me said we should have chopped wood on the ride here. “One wall only, see if we can make a few standing spots. If not we will just have to fight in here and try to keep the opening choked.”
Ossa and Dib approached with smiles and waves. Dib said, “We will be a half mile the other way if you get into trouble, well that is the fallback. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Cyrene said between wood hauling trips.
“See you in an hour or two,” I told them and went to help stack the wood.
A half hour passed of us preparing. There was enough wood to build a thick enough wall with a few parapet spots. The opening was only four feet wide and a small fire burned on each corner. There was still the issue that a wall of snow stood between us and the enemy. When we ran out of things to do, we started brainstorming.
Mysti had the best idea we could think of.
“You sure you like this idea the best. Sassy is not the… hmm, how do I term this? Most reliable pet,” Mysti said. I think she was unimpressed with the discounted awesome pet that was not so awesome. As usual, Mysti put a positive spin on the situation. “Maybe this will level her and she improves.”
“That is the spirit,” Nicole said and spawned her pet. When Zoey spawned hers there were three tigers shivering in the snow looking angry as hell. “I think they hate the snow.”
Barq chuckled and then said, “Yeah, pets are real creatures. More or less like Gryff’s hydra. They are still animals but less than Kor because these won't talk. I would send them forward now before they just lay down.”
“Go!” Nicole said and went to boot her cat. The tiger growled but bounded forward and dove into the thick snow. “They are going to be pissed.”
“I don’t think there is a friendly mechanic to these,” I replied with arms crossed.
The next two tigers entered the snow to go find some trolls to lure back. A minute passed before Cyrene grasped what I was saying.
“It depends…” She said with a snarky grin. “Kor will jump on a poison grenade for you. Those cats will probably just go aggressive and die. There are lectures and debates on the matter but no general consensus besides some people entrenched in their ways.”
“Wait, you have unreasonable and irrational minds here too,” I said with a chuckle.
A loud roar of a tiger sounded not far away. I did not know that trolls could scream like a little girl, but I now knew they could. I also would be shocked if a tiger leapt from the snow and started mauling me. I watched the girls call their pets back.
Desmond waited by the breach. Shala and Barq were in the rear. Mysti and Zoey went up the wall off to the sides and I stood to Desmond’s right while Cyrene stood to his left. We were ready for the coming tide of enemies. Three tigers burst through the snow wall widening the hole they created earlier. They ran for fire and growled at the entryway. To prevent continuous core drain the pets were returned to their orbs. Desmond stepped forward and we all tensed.
We waited as we heard the muttering and grumbling of trolls ready for revenge. Then we waited some more as the enemy faltered in their determination. Finally, a few minutes later a mumbling troll who clearly was frustrated broke the hole and caved in snow from both sides. Behind him was a long single file line of angry trolls thirsty for blood.
“Let them in one at a time. Do not kill them in the queue yet, we want them to stay in a single file. Once they are inside the wall we go for the kill. Cyrene, body removal detail,” I said. Zoey, as well as Mysti, showed restraint instead of shooting.
Desmond did not show any restraint as the ogre targeted the troll at the front before he could shuffle out of the snow. He arched that mighty greatsword down with a powerful swing. The troll
was somewhat locked in by collapsing snow and screamed as his eyes saw his impending doom. The ogre’s sword parted the skull and became stuck about mid-torso. Desmond yanked the body free of the snow while flinging it into the back lines.
“I got dis,” he said in perfect ogre fashion.
The next troll had a little bit less snow to contend with but faced the same fate. The arm went up to block the blow with a shield but the ogre was simply too strong and the weapon he wielded too sturdy. The death was as swift as it was brutal. As the line shifted forward the ranged troops could see our elevated archers. When they started taking arrow fire, Mysti needed a heal and Zoey retreated to the ground. Right now things were working great letting them slowly trickle in.
“Mark them,” Cyrene said, reminding us to get credit.
I summoned a mana spear into my hand and shot it into the air. The boom ruptured my eardrums but Nicole blasted an area heal in anticipation. Down the line, there were mild spells affecting the enemy. The trolls finally grew frustrated with the lack of forward progress and started creating side paths in the snow. If they made enough progress they would be able to topple our shoddy walls which left me having to react.
“Open up, everything you got! Step left Desmond!” I bellowed out.
The ogre stepped to his right and I ignored the minor directional detail. Before too many deviated I summoned a new spear and hurled it at the arranged enemy. My spear cracked the air and went through the gut of the first troll and then through the next ten before stopping. I hurled a second spear and this time the lucky troll left alive from the first throw dove to the left out of the way. His buddy behind him, well they gave an ‘uh-oh’ look as my spear removed most of their neck and continued to decapitate three trolls behind it.
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