The Adventurers Guild

by Phoenix Grey

  There was a cracking sound as ice shattered against bronze. A cool chill took over Azure's body, but it was gone almost as soon as it had come on. Broken fragments of ice lay at his feet as if someone had just tumped over a snowcone machine.

  Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu delivers 10 damage.

  Sir Thornton let out a battle cry and charged at the statue. Azure glanced over and noticed that Lonnell was frozen in place, his eyes wide as he stared forward. His entire person was covered in a light blue sheen.

  "Hey," Azure called to him, but he didn't respond.

  Knowing that whatever had happened was bad but not having any clue about how to fix it, Azure drew his sword and rushed in to join the melee. This particular statue seemed sprier than the ones before it. It blocked Sir Thornton's first attack with its trident. Metal clanged against stone as the two fought. Seemingly skilled in battle, the statue held its own against the two Adventurers.

  With a sudden show of force, the statue pushed them both away. Azure's back hit something solid, but Sir Thornton fell to the ground. The statue pointed its trident at them again and cast its spell.

  Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu delivers 10 damage. You have been frozen. You will be unable to move for the next 10 seconds.

  Azure wasn't sure which was more miserable, the unbearable cold infecting every cell of his body or the stiffness in his limbs. He was frozen in a strange position where his arms were thrust out to try to regain his balance. His eyes were so dry that he couldn't even blink.

  Whatever he had hit moved out of the way, and he fell hard onto his backside. If his throat could have produced an oomph sound, it would have. But nothing seemed to work except his eyes, which were now stuck looking up at the ceiling, and his ears. Having no idea what was going on was frightening, and the inability to move made it even worse. At least when he had been blinded, he could still run away, even if he didn't know where he was going.

  The sound of metal and stone and wood weapons meleeing against each other played in the background. Azure twitched as the stiffness began to melt away. His arms loosened and dropped to his sides, though they still ached from the cold.

  When he was finally able to raise his head, he saw Lonnell and Sir Thornton fighting the statue. It was doing well to block their attacks, though he did see a few chips in the previously smooth surface of its body.

  Suddenly, just as it had done before, the statue pushed them back with a show of great force. Both Lonnell and Sir Thornton stumbled, and the statue raised its trident to cast its spell. Azure turned to run out of range, but he was still struck in the back.

  Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu delivers 10 damage.

  This time, it was Sir Thornton who clattered to the ground, his body fixed in an awkward position.

  "He needs to heal," Lonnell mentioned as they charged the statue. The Asshole Knight's Health was just below 40%.

  "We all need to heal," Azure added. "But more importantly, we need to defeat this thing."

  They swung at it with all their might. Even circling it didn't seem to work. Between the two of them, they were only able to get two hits in before Sir Thornton defrosted. Trying to avoid being pushed back, Lonnell and Azure stayed on opposite sides of the statue. It swung its trident in a wide arch. Both men blocked, but the blow was too strong, and they both ended up on the floor.

  Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu delivers 10 damage.

  Before they had time to recover, the statue was pointing and casting its spell again. This time, Azure received two bolts of ice to his chest.

  Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu delivers 20 damage. You have been frozen. You will be unable to move for the next 10 seconds.

  As he fell back, he noticed that it looked like Lonnell hadn't been struck at all. At least, there was that.

  On the downside, the time it took for Sir Thornton and Lonnell to drink a few healing potions was all the time the statue needed to hit Azure and The Asshole Knight with its ice spell again. This time, Sir Thornton ended up being the one frozen.

  Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu delivers 10 damage.

  "We need to switch places," Azure told Lonnell.

  "Why?"

  It probably seemed like a selfish request. Whoever was in front of the statue was getting struck by the spell. But Azure had noticed that Lonnell's staff wasn't doing as much damage to the statue as his and Sir Thornton's swords were.

  "Just trust me on this," he said, popping open three more healing potions as he tried his best to skirt around the statue and switch places with Lonnell without being hit by the trident. It didn't work out so well. Using the wide arch technique again, the statue managed to scrape across Azure's cuirass, nearly making him stumble and fall.

  Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu delivers 5 damage.

  Only 5 damage? A glancing blow, Azure thought to himself.

  Sir Thornton joined the fray again, switching tactics to focus on cleaving the statue's arm. There was no way it was going to let him get that close, though. He was stabbed in the stomach for trying. The Asshole Knight cried out in pain and stumbled backward. Lonnell immediately stepped in to take his place while Sir Thornton drank a healing potion to recover from the wound.

  "I'm seeing no end to this," Lonnell said just before the statue pushed him back, cast its spell, and froze him.

  Azure saw his opening when the statue began to cast. He put all of his strength into driving his blade through the statue's back, but it simply slipped off of the stone. "Fuck."

  "We have to cut its arms off," Sir Thornton yelled to him.

  "How's that working out for you so far?" he bit back.

  Azure landed three more hits before the statue began to cast again, each making the notch in its side deeper, though the statue showed no signs of pain. Their tactic of going for the body clearly wasn't working.

  This time, when the statue began to cast, Azure aimed for its head. His upward swing glided off of the smooth surface, though one of the stalagmites severed, falling to the ground and splintering into stone shards.

  Congratulations! The skill: One-Handed Weapons has reached Level 8. This skill enables you to use all manner of one-handed weapons to defeat enemies. What you do with your other hand is up to you.

  Congratulations! You have unlocked Critical Boost I. The odds of a one-handed weapon scoring a critical hit have increased by 10%.

  The statue appeared to duck forward, but Azure couldn't really tell if it was because it was in pain or swinging around to attack him.

  He went flying as the statue smashed him in the side with its trident.

  Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu delivers 20 damage.

  "I think you did something to it," Lonnell called to him as Azure quickly scrambled to his feet.

  Unfortunately, where he had landed put all three of the Adventurers in the line of sight for the statue's spell.

  Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu delivers 10 damage. You have been frozen. You will be unable to move for the next 10 seconds.

  Azure was annoyed he hadn't had time to tell them he thought that breaking the statue's stalagmites was what had injured it. Relying on his companions' intellect to figure it out proved to be fruitless. They simply whacked at the statue with their weapons until Azure defrosted, Sir Thornton still trying to get to its arm while Lonnell did almost no damage swinging his staff into its stony side.

  "The head," Azure yelled before the statue could cast again. "Go for the""

  Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu delivers 20 damage. You have been frozen. You will be unable to move for the next 10 seconds.

  Damn it!

  As soon as he thawed, Azure tried to skirt back around the statue again. "Get to the front," he barked at Lonnell.

  Thankfully, his friend listened, and it paid off. When the statue went to cast, Azure took the opportunity, putting all of his strength into a high swing that cleaved off the majority of the statue's stalagmites. Infuriated and in pain, it turned to attack, landing the blow. Azure went flying once more, but at least his companions had see
n what he had done this time.

  Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu delivers 20 damage.

  "Don't drink potions, just kill it," he called out to his companions as he noticed them both giving pause to refill their Health. "It's almost dead," Azure added, but so were they"not to mention they were all suffering from loss of Stamina. This battle had taken a lot out of them.

  Sir Thornton ignored him, downing another healing potion. They were so disorganized that it was frustrating. If anyone needed to be listening, it was him. Lonnell's only use in this fight was as a decoy.

  The statue cast again, freezing The Asshole Knight this time, though it didn't really matter so much anymore. As long as there was a sword wielder on the opposite side of the statue, this fight was as good as done.

  Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu delivers 10 damage.

  "Stay on this side," Azure told Lonnell as he rounded the statue again. Its eyes followed him. Thankfully, when it began to turn to attack, Lonnell came in from the front to distract it.

  Azure felt weak. With only 25% of his Health remaining, he desperately needed a healing potion. But finishing this battle was far more important.

  Sir Thornton rejoined the fray, this time working as a frontal diversion. The statue pushed both he and Lonnell back, and when it raised its trident to cast its spell again, Azure delivered the finishing blow. Shards of stone flew across the room. The statue doubled over, dropping its trident to grab the top of its head where the stalagmites had been severed. It crumpled to its knees, and Sir Thornton cleaved it in half with a triumphant shout that echoed throughout the chamber.

  Defeated Level 10 Statue of Mhanuu. 90XP rewarded.

  Congratulations! You are now Level 9! Your base stats have been boosted. You have earned 3 points to assign to your characteristics. Please note that adding points to some characteristics(Vitality, Intelligence, and Strength) will further boost your base stats. You may also advance any 1 skill of your choosing by 1 level.

  "Five down, one left to go," Sir Thornton said haughtily.

  Azure didn't make time for bravado or focusing on his new level. He hit the deck, hoping to avoid Gaia's slicing wind spell, and it miraculously worked. Meanwhile, his two comrades ended up on their backs.

  It took a bit longer to defeat Gaia this time around thanks to them all needing to heal up. Azure gulped down two Potions of Minor Healing. He thought about drinking one of his Potions of Minor Stamina but then decided against it. Surely, he could press on until they defeated this last statue.

  Sheer lack of energy and focus made him unable to dodge the hand spell. It slammed him to the ground, and a part of him didn't want to get up, though he forced himself anyway.

  Level 10 Gaia delivers 20 damage. You have been knocked down.

  But Gaia was slowing down as well, which made her an easy target for his arrow. It appeared that shooting the stone in the center of her forehead did nothing. If destroying this statue didn't finish her off, Azure decided that he'd aim somewhere else next time.

  "Shit balls," Azure grumbled as he popped another healing potion while they waited for the last statue to approach them.

  Though the statue didn't move, the floor began to change. The men's eyes fell as the ground beneath them turned into a series of 3x3 foot colored tiles. The only places on the floor that weren't colored were the tiles that they already stood on.

  "What's going on?" Sir Thornton mumbled.

  The statue still didn't move. It merely stood there the same as it had all this time. Clearly a woman, the statue was completely naked, her long hair flowing up in a swirl as if carried by the wind. Her arms were outstretched, her breasts full. In the center of her stomach was the shadow of a baby curled in the fetal position. There was nothing menacing about the statue at all. She was simply serene, a soft smile playing on her face as she stood with her head bowed, seeming to be looking at the baby.

  The Asshole Knight turned to Gaia. "What are we supposed to do now?"

  "Another puzzle?" Lonnell's eyes roved over the tiles on the floor. They were the same colors as the stones on the walls and door.

  Stooped over recovering, Gaia said nothing.

  "Maybe you should shoot her," Sir Thornton suggested.

  The idea of shooting the statue seemed wrong somehow, but what else did they have to go off of. "I don't see any weaknesses," Azure commented, wanting to conserve his last remaining eight arrows.

  "Aim for the baby," Sir Thornton said unabashedly.

  "I think we should wait to see if the statue does anything first," he hesitated.

  "Let me try this first." Lonnell dug into his bag and pulled out a small item"what appeared to be an herb. He tossed it on a tile some six feet away. Nothing happened. "I thought they might be traps," he confessed.

  "I'm still not convinced." Azure stared down at the brown tile directly in front of him.

  "There's only one way for us to find out," Sir Thornton said what they were all thinking. "One of us is going to have to move. It should be you, Azure, since you have the highest Health out of all of us."

  "I think it should be whoever has the most healing potions left," he countered. "I have five."

  "I only have three, and though it pains me to say it, I'm the weakest here, so it definitely won't be me."

  "I'll go," Lonnell spoke up, seemingly unwilling to disclose how many healing potions he had left. Azure could only guess that it was enough to get him through the rest of the dungeon. Lonnell was pretty good about keeping on top of his supplies.

  "Hold up real quick," Azure said. "I leveled a little while ago. Let me assign my characteristic points and level my skill before we proceed. We never know what might happen when you step on one of those tiles."

  Both of Azure's companions nodded, and he thought to bring up his character sheet, wanting to make quick decisions in case something unexpected happened.

  Name: Azure

  Race: Human

  Level: 9, 5% of the way to next level

  Health: 91 / 230

  Mana: 220 / 220 (240)

  Stamina: 125 / 260 (280)

  Vitality: 14

  Intelligence: 13 (2)

  Strength: 17 (2)

  Agility: 13

  Dexterity: 12

  Charisma: 10

  Luck: 12

  Skills: Archery Lvl 4; 33% of the way to next level

  Stealth Lvl 3; 60% of the way to next level

  Analyze Lvl 8; 18% of the way to next level

  Cooking Lvl 5; 52% of the way to next level

  Alchemy Lvl 3; 83% of the way to next level

  Foraging Lvl 7; 90% of the way to next level

  One-Handed Weapons Lvl 8; 4% of the way to next level

  Tracking Lvl 1; 80% of the way to next level

  Two-Handed Weapons Lvl 5; 0% of the way to next level

  Fishing Lvl 1; 60% of the way to next level

  Drinking Lvl 1; 20% of the way to next level

  Languages: Common Tongue, Sprite, Goblin-Tongue

  Adventurer Rank: E

  Considering how low he was running on healing potions, Azure put all three characteristic points into beefing up his Vitality, effectively raising his Health by 30 points. It may feel like a waste later, but for now, he needed the Health boost.

  The harder decision was choosing between leveling his Archery or One-Handed Weapons skill. While he felt that leveling Archery would be more beneficial in this particular dungeon, it would take much longer to naturally level his One-Handed Weapons skill from 8 to 9 than it would his Archery skill from 4 to 5. Though it partially pained him to do it, at the end of the day, it just made more sense from a time-saving standpoint to spend the level on his One-Handed Weapons skill.

  Congratulations! The skill: One-Handed Weapons has reached Level 9. This skill enables you to use all manner of one-handed weapons to defeat enemies. What you do with your other hand is up to you.

  "Done," Azure said as he closed his character sheet, praying that he wasn't going to regret not l
eveling his Archery skill instead. Turning his focus back to the battle, he asked, "Where are we even supposed to go?"

  Lonnell cast his gaze across the expanse of tiles to the statue. "That is the statue of Dyasitet, Goddess of Life. I could be wrong, but I think we're meant to reach her."

  "Any input would be nice," Sir Thornton called back to Gaia.

  Azure wasn't sure if she was blatantly ignoring them or if she just couldn't hear inside of her protective barrier. Whatever the case, she didn't even acknowledge that Sir Thornton was speaking to her, seeming frozen in her hunched over weak state breathing heavily while she regained her strength.

  A white tile was directly in front of Lonnell. He held his breath and lifted a foot to place it on top of the tile. If not for the serious situation, Azure might have laughed at his pinched expression. He was squinting, pre-cringing for whatever fate may befall him if it was a trap.

  His foot went down. Nothing happened. A sigh of relief passed through his lips. "Maybe it's not a puzzle after all."

  "That doesn't make much sense," Azure said, still feeling apprehensive.

  Lonnell walked around on the tile a few paces, though he didn't cross over to the next. "Nothing happened."

  "Maybe it's just meant to trick us." Sir Thornton shrugged. With confidence in his step, he moved forward, crossing over to the red tile in front of him. As soon as both feet were down on the tile, a torrent of fire shot up from it. He screamed in pain, falling back, his Health bar dropping.

  "Definitely a trap," Azure reiterated the now obvious.

  "There has to be some order to which we're supposed to proceed." Lonnell looked around at the floor in thought.