Talia rejoined the party, none the worse, but slightly breathless. “Let’s go,” she said, then strode forward briskly, leaving the rest of them hurrying to catch up.
Aveyad trotted to her side. “That went well,” he said.
She eyed him sideways. “Yes, your plan worked better than expected.” She paused. “Good job.”
After he spotted the elementals, Aveyad had come up with the audacious plan. He had proposed that the party depart from standard dungeoneering tactics, which dictated that the party clear all hostiles from their path to ensure a clear line of retreat. They had been under levelled to start off with, and with the loss of the two rangers they were now understrength as well. They could not afford to grind through the dungeon. Aveyad had suggested the party bypass the magma elementals and as many other encounters as they could in a bid to save time, and reach the final chamber with as much essence as they could.
The plan, however, was not without risk. The most glaring weakness was that it left the party with no means to escape if things went wrong. It was a risk they had all been willing to accept. They would complete the mission, or die trying.
It is a plan, Aveyad realised ruefully, that is not dissimilar to many of Talia’s own schemes. In a moment of self-honesty, he admitted to himself that Talia’s unconventional ideas had generally more merit than he gave her credit for. Though he would never make such an admission to Talia. If I did, she would never let me forget it. He smiled to himself. Talia looked at him curiously. He chose not to enlighten her.
“How many more groups of demons do you think we will have to wade through before reaching the floor captain?” he asked.
“No idea,” said Talia, shaking her head. “But it can’t be many, given that according to the Game’s report, we have finished nearly half the floor.”
“I hope so,” said Aveyad. “The demon in charge, Sufalyx, has proven surprisingly adept.”
“You’re right,” Talia admitted. “I didn’t expect it to be this hard.”
Aveyad understood what Talia meant. When he had listened to the older champions talk back in Crota, Aveyad had received the impression that though the upper floors of the dungeons were one long, tedious grind, they were not difficult. Nor were their floor captains particularly innovative. It was only beyond the third floor that things got truly dangerous. This floor captain’s adaptability in comparison was alarming, to say the least.
After a moment’s silence he said, “You know Eld recognised the floor captain’s name. During the commune, he warned me that Sufalyx was a wily opponent and to be careful of him.”
Talia stared at Aveyad in surprise. “Really? Eld said that? That is disturbing.” She frowned. “But that does not tie up with everything we’ve seen in the dungeon. The trap at the Pit Chamber was well-laid…” Talia paused, and swallowed painfully. Their failures there were still too raw to speak about easily. “But I can’t help feeling that if we were more experienced, we would have done better. And he has made mistakes too. He miscalculated with the magma elementals. Resistant as they were to our attacks, they were too slow to pose any true threat—at least not if we didn’t stand and fight.”
“I know. I have been wondering about those mistakes too. And I think the explanation is simpler than we realise: the floor captain was not ready.”
Talia looked at him blankly, not following Aveyad’s reasoning.
“Think about it. The duplicate encounters, the lack of observer and communication wards, the low number of creatures, and of course the presence of the imps; all of this suggests that the floor’s design is incomplete.”
Understanding filled Talia’s face. She nodded. “Yes, that could explain everything we’ve observed but… why would the floor captain be so foolish as to not configure the floor before it became accessible?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps it was arrogance or complacency.” Aveyad shrugged. “I doubt we will ever find out. Though it does improve our chances of finishing the floor.”
“You think the floor captain’s forces in the final chamber will be understrength?”
“Maybe. Or at least, I hope so.”
✽✽✽
Sufalyx roared and his eyes flashed as he crushed the goblet within his grip. The final chamber’s transformation had long-since been completed. Gone were the banquet tables, laden with food. Now the room was bleak, stark, and configured for combat. Except for the wine. Sufalyx had decided to keep that.
But in the midst of his rage, Sufalyx no longer cared. He flung the wine bottle against the wall. Cursed champions. The mangy curs had run from his elementals. Run! He still could not believe it. Never in all his long centuries had he ever seen the like. It made no sense. Champions always attempted to secure their lines of retreat. Yet these two had cut themselves off—deliberately. Just how dim-witted are they?
He paced the chamber, and looked for something else to throw. Should I send out another roving band? He wanted to. He dearly wanted to. But no, it would be a waste. And he was uncomfortably aware how few minions he had left. Best to keep the roving bands for the final chamber, he decided.
What to do about the champions then? There were only two more encounters between the dungeon party and the final chamber, and if they had bypassed the first encounter… then they would attempt to do the same in the next chambers. He wrenched to a halt. He was wasting time. He kicked one of the servile imps that hung about him. “You! Hurry to the elemental chamber. This is what you will tell them….”
✽✽✽
The party repeated their tactics at the next chamber. The room was configured identically to the previous one. Two magma elementals guarded the door and the other eight patrolled the room. Talia and Aveyad exchanged glances. The room’s design lent further weight to Aveyad’s theory about the dungeon.
Aveyad’s plan went off without a hitch. If anything, it went even smoother than the previous chamber. Talia did not even bother using charge. She swept around the chamber in a wide arc and gathered a trail of elementals behind her, while the rest of the party, untroubled by the creatures, cut across to the exit.
Encouraged by their twin successes, the party approached the next chamber with more confidence. Like the previous two, it contained magma elementals. None of them, however, patrolled. All ten were evenly spaced out throughout the chamber.
The floor captain had responded.
✽✽✽
“What do you think?” Talia asked Aveyad.
He mulled it over, then said slowly, “I think the floor captain is trying to combat your heretic’s hate. See how far apart they are standing? If you charge in, I expect the elementals will fall back beyond the aura’s range, and wait for the rest of us to try crossing.”
Talia nodded. “I agree. Any idea of how we can counter his move?”
Aveyad closed his eyes in thought. A second later, he opened them, and smiled. “We let the demons see what they expect to.”
“Meaning what?” she asked.
“Come. It’s better if I show you.”
✽✽✽
Talia stepped into the chamber. The elementals tensed and swung to face her, but held their positions. Confirmation, if they needed it, that the demons had changed tactics. She took advantage of the creatures’ inaction and strolled towards the two that guarded the exit.
The other elementals backed warily away as she passed, seemingly content to let her through. Idly, she wondered if they would let her exit the chamber altogether. But no, Aveyad’s revised plan called for her to draw away the two from the door. He is quite talented at these unorthodox approaches, she thought, amused.
As she neared the exit, the magma elementals that guarded it watched her with unwavering attention. They held themselves rigid as they fought their instincts to attack. She stopped a metre away and, savouring the moment, smiled sweetly.
Their eyes burned and their fists trembled. But before they could vent their fury, Talia burst into motion and chopped down with Judgement onto the one
on the right. The magma elemental flung up its hand to intercept the blow. Sparks flared, and rock chips flew, as the blade bounced off the solid rock of the creature’s arm, and failed to do any real damage.
Talia has hit an elemental for 4 damage (52 resisted). Remaining: 446 / 450 HP.
She cast heretic’s hate and warped the thoughts of the two door-guards. As one, they abandoned their post and flew at her in unreasoning rage.
Talia has cast heretic’s hate (radius: 2.3m, chance to resist: 23%, duration: 46 seconds, debuff: enraged)
Two magma elementals are enraged (compelled to attack the caster).
She stepped back and drew them away from the door. While she parried their blows, she kept a careful eye on the other elementals. None moved to aid the pair. She backstepped, pulling the two enraged elementals with her.
“Now, Aveyad,” she said.
✽✽✽
At Talia’s signal, Aveyad, dressed as a ranger, marched into the room. Beside him, mimicking his actions perfectly were two other ‘rangers.’ The close-knit formation of three darted across the room to Talia.
The trio’s entrance drew the attention of the eight unengaged elementals. Without hesitation, they rushed towards Aveyad. This was the most dangerous part of the plan. Aveyad raced to reach Talia before the elementals converged on him. If he was encircled before he reached her, the plan would fall apart.
Aveyad’s ruse had been to disguise himself as a ranger, and use the spell mirrored selves to fool the elementals into believing that the illusions next to him were the real rangers, while the true elves slipped through the exit under the cover of stealth.
The plan worked. Aveyad reached Talia without mishap and slipped behind her before the eight elementals caught up to him. Once behind Talia, he cast divine shield.
Three golden bubbles sprang into being, two of which were illusion. While the mirrored selves spell was active, it worked to keep the copies identical to Aveyad.
When the elementals caught sight of the three ‘rangers’ surrounded by divine shields, they faltered as they realised something was amiss. But the ruse had already run its course. The rangers had escaped and now all that remained was for Talia and Aveyad to follow.
Talia charged.
Talia has charged 9m, 6 magma elementals knocked down (duration: 3 seconds).
Aveyad, who had waited for just this, sprinted in her wake. The elementals that avoided Talia’s charge tried to block his escape, but Talia intercepted two, while Aveyad’s divine shield shrugged off the blows of the other two. He dashed out of the room, weaving with impunity between the downed magma elementals.
A short while later, Talia fled the room and joined him in the corridor.
Battle Log (Ilenmon Dungeon Dive, Chamber 7)
The battle has ended.
Combat results
Hostiles encountered: 10 magma elementals.
Hostiles killed: 0 magma elementals.
Party members: 4 remaining.
Floor status: 46% complete.
Primary objective: 360 / 1,000 essence crystals gathered.
Chapter 15
Every dungeon floor has three portals. The first portal, at the floor’s entrance, is the exit gate. The second portal, between the final chamber and the rest of the floor, controls access to the demon captain. The third portal, within the final chamber itself, grants access to the next floor. Once a party leaves a floor, they may not return to it. They may, however, exit the dungeon altogether. —Jostfyler Graldvir, Game scholar and champion of Weeran.
Sufalyx swallowed his anger, and held down his rage. The champions had escaped combat again. They were proving to be more elusive than he had expected. But the time for games was over. They would enter the final chamber soon, and then there would be no more running. No more charlatan tricks to escape their fate. They would be forced to face him head on.
They had done well to reach this far. But their time had come to an end.
✽✽✽
The dungeon ended after the seventh chamber. The change was as abrupt as it was startling. The corridor beyond the room continued for less than a hundred metres before it ended. The bricked walls and paved floors were sheared off and transitioned jarringly into a rock cavern.
Lera and Elias, who had scouted ahead, stood at the corridor’s edge and warily studied the dank darkness of the cavern, while they waited for the two champions to catch up.
Aveyad and Talia hurried to the rangers’ side. After they peered into the cavern, the two champions stared at one another. The floor’s premature end all but proved Aveyad’s theory. The floor was unfinished, seemingly as if its builders had been disturbed mid-construction.
Aveyad had never heard of any other champion witnessing its like. He looked back into the cavern. In its centre was a ruby glow, the only light source in the darkness.
“What happened to the dungeon?” asked Lera.
“We’ve reached the end of the floor it seems,” responded Aveyad.
“But where is the floor captain?” asked a confused Elias.
“Through that,” said Aveyad, gesturing to the cavern’s centre. “That light must be coming from the portal to the final chamber.”
“No use us standing around here,” said Talia. Let’s go find out what’s down there.”
✽✽✽
A few minutes later, the party was assembled in the cavern before an iridescent ruby portal. Both Talia and Aveyad recognised the mammoth structure from the stories of other champions. It was the portal to the floor captain’s chamber.
Every dungeon floor had one, and they all shared the same characteristics. The portal was a red shimmering veil that hung on mithril pillars carved with divine script, and was wide enough for the entire party to walk through abreast. Beyond it, the level’s floor captain awaited. Once they went through the portal, it would lock behind them, and it would remain so until Sufalyx was dead. After this, there would be no turning back.
“Well,” said Talia. “We’re here.” There was a tightness to her breath that she tried to conceal. Since the battle at the Pit Chamber, Aveyad realised that he had misunderstood Talia all along. She was not emotionless. Under that icy mask of hers, she was just as scared and nervous as he was. But he did not comment on the betraying slip of her mask. For whatever reason, Talia hated to display vulnerability.
Something pushed her to forcibly project strength. Recalling Elias’ words to him, from what seemed like very along ago, he had an inkling that whatever it was, it was not pleasant. He would wait until she was prepared to speak of it.
“You’re ready for this?” she asked.
Aveyad nodded, though his own stomach was tied into knots. The party would have to jump through the portal blind, relying only on the knowledge of previous champions as to the likely numbers and levels of the creatures they would face within.
“Let’s get this done,” said Talia and turned away from the portal to speak to Elias and Lera.
Aveyad followed her, praying to his God as he did. Eld give us strength.
✽✽✽
One hour later the party was ready. After careful deliberation, Talia and Aveyad had decided to enter the fray with as much strength as they could muster. Aveyad summoned a full complement of planar creatures. Pre-summoning the creatures was a risk, but once within the chamber he would likely be too hard-pressed to engage in any summoning spells.
Aveyad has summoned a lesser divine: a level 48 celestial elemental (duration: 8 minutes).
Aveyad has summoned a lesser divine: a level 48 holy knight (duration: 8 minutes).
Aveyad has summoned a lesser divine: a level 48 planar drake (duration: 8 minutes).
He had decided not to summon the young titan again. The magma elemental form that the floor captain had chosen for his demons in the last few chambers made clear that the demon was aware of the strength of Aveyad’s air magic, and was prepared to counter it. To forgo the risk of the titan being neutralised, Aveyad called forth a di
fferent creature, a planar drake. The drake had a wingspan of three metres and was covered in ice-white scales. While grounded the creature was ungainly, but when in the air it made up for it with impressive mobility and agility.
Yet the two champions did not stop there. The unpalatable truth was that without Eld’s aid they were unlikely to survive the encounter in the final chamber. So, before they entered the portal, both champions entered commune with Eld, and pleaded for his aid.
Aveyad has summoned a demigod: a level 43 aspect of Barlax (duration: 8 minutes).
Talia has summoned a godling: a level 46 aspect of Satia (duration: 8 minutes).
Barlax’s Profile (Condensed)
Name: Barlax. Level: 43.
Player type: Centaur lord (demigod aspect).
Race: Divine. Health: 800 / 800.
Stamina: 1300 / 1300. Will: 550 / 550. Essence: 950 / 950.
Attack: 86 (divine).
Defences (physical / psi / spell): 105 / 53 / 70.
Satia’s Profile (Condensed)
Name: Satia. Level: 43.
Player type: Sylph sorceress (godling aspect).
Race: Divine. Health: 800 / 800.
Stamina: 950 / 950. Will: 1000 / 1000. Essence: 1400 / 1400.
Attack: 100 (divine).
Defences (physical / psi / spell): 73 / 95 / 115.
In response to Talia and Aveyad’s requests, Eld lent them his aid in the form of Barlax, a centaur lord—and twin of Aralax—and Satia, a godling, in an incarnation of a water sylph.
Satia was near akin to a God herself, and one of the few godlings that owed allegiance to Eld. In the Chaos Wars she had been Eld’s right hand, his greatest general, and many whispered, his most ruthless. To her had fallen the tasks that others shied away from. In any physical form, she was fearsome. That Eld had provided them with her service for this quest was gratifying, but it was also a sobering reminder of how critical this mission was to Crotana. Her being here meant she was unavailable to other champions on the frontlines of the war, and that she would be unable to retake physical form for weeks after this encounter.
Dungeon Dive Page 17