B01DCAV4W2 (S)

by Aleron Kong

  Richter and the kobolds crab walked away from the maelstrom of shards raging above them. Alma crawled on the ground looking up at the deadly shooting alley above her. Standing would have been to willingly place their bodies in the middle of a cross fire, so they edged away, being careful to remain hugged to the floor.

  The crystals continued to smash together faster and it became clear they were forming some type of crystal golem. Less than a minute after Richter had chosen ‘Yes’ on the prompt, a humanoid figure composed entirely of semi-clear iridescent shards stood ten feet tall in the middle of the crystal garden. Richter analyzed it.

  Crystal Guardian. Level 41. Health 980. Mana 470. Stamina 760. Disposition: Enmity. You have sought to harvest a Focus Crystal. The Crystal is a form of life, and like any life form, it will protect itself. The guardian is a defensive mechanism formed from the crystals that grow in the garden.

  The crystal monster raised its arms above its head as if in triumph or glory. The Focus Crystal pulsed with a slower beat again and was in the center of its chest. Richter watched the guardian stand there, seemingly oblivious to his presence. Then it turned its neck, and despite its featureless face, Richter was sure that it was staring right at him. Its gaze invoked a primal response in Richter.

  Oh shit.

  “Kill it!” he decided to shout instead, nocking an arrow and loosing.

  The kobolds sprung into attack. The three Kol caste kobolds jumped forward, two wielding spears and the third a stone cudgel. Their tails whipped blades at the guardian as well. The Dur caste kobold ran forward and swung his heavy mace at the guardian’s knee. The kobold mage began her casting, and her summoned pet lumbered forward to do battle with its large cousin.

  The initial results were less than impressive.

  The guardian barely noticed the attacking spears, both of which slid harmlessly across its hard surface. The tail daggers had even less of an effect. Dur’ghen’s mace blow buckled its knee ever so slightly and left a few fine cracks, but did no serious damage. Richter’s arrow struck it in the head, but glanced off. The guardian’s counterstrike was not so easy to brush off.

  It swung one arm studded with sharp crystals at Dur’ghen. The kobold dropped under the blow, but the guardian continued its swing. The arm connected with the unarmored bodies of two of the Kol warriors. One slumped to the ground, his body a ruined mess. The other kobold flew across the tunnel and struck the wall. It landed in a heap and a smear of black blood was left on the wall.

  Richter nocked another heavy arrow and began to imbue it.

  En’fota finished her casting and a stone spear, one inch in diameter, shot from her hand and hurtled towards the crystal man. The spear struck it in the shoulder and knocked it back a step. It immediately started attacking again. Dur’ghen swung his mace in both hands. The crystal guardian blocked the blow on one of its arms. All the kobold’s strike did was chip one of the shards at the end of its fist.

  The guardian kicked forward, trying to punt Dur’ghen across the room. The kobold’s natural dexterity coupled with Richter’s Haste spell let him avoid the attack. The remaining Kol warrior struck with its spear again, but the second attack was as ineffectual as the first. With a barking shout, En’fota finished another spell.

  Green light writhed around her right leg. She raised it up and then stomped down. The light flowed into the ground and disappeared for a split second, but then roots shot up from under the crystal guardian. The tendrils wrapped around its leg in an attempt to keep it in one place. Unfortunately, the roots were only pencil sized, and the guardian simply wrenched one foot free, then the other.

  The mage’s Binding Roots spell at least served to give Richter a clear shot. His arrow had developed the gold aura and black streaks that occurred when he imbued his attack. He released. The shot arced across the small space and connected with the creature’s chest in a large concussive boom! Richter’s earlier concern about not drawing attention were moot after the loud noises of the guardian’s creation. The kobolds all dropped low, startled and pained by the unexpected noise. Thankfully, the pain passed quickly and wasn’t enough to break the enchantment.

  The crystal guardian fell back into the wall of the cave. It connected with an impressive thud and fell down to a seated position. More crystals fell from the ceiling because of the impact. One large crystal stalactite almost crushed En’fota but she was able to dive out of the way. The monster wasn’t done though.

  It grabbed a spike of crystal from the wall. Rather than using it as a handhold, the guardian tore the crystal free to the sound of crunching glass. Still seated, it threw the spike at Dur’ghen. The crystal shard was two feet long and at least six inches thick. The projectile hit the kobold in a glancing blow. He hissed in pain. The blow spun the kobold around and made him fall to the ground.

  Richter ran forward a few steps and cast Grease. The guardian had been in the process of regaining its feet, but fell back down when its legs slipped from beneath it.

  Richter smiled and said, “Is it hot in here?” Might be a little cheesy, he realized, but what was the use of being a badass monster fighter, if you couldn’t say badass one liners? He extended his arm and cast Flame.

  Power flowed from him and his entire arm tingled and glowed red for the split second before a gout of flame shot from his fingertips. It touched the edge of the grease circle the crystal guardian was still trying to escape and suddenly the guardian was sitting in a round hell of its very own. Whereas before it had moved awkwardly trying to regain its balance, now it flailed frantically to escape the ongoing damage it was taking.

  “Alma! Blast it to keep it in the fire!”

  The dragonling flew above the guardian and unleashed a Psi Blast. The monster’s limbs stilled and it just lay there, half of its body still in the fire. It would have been a great idea for Alma to keep blasting it silly, but the cool down on her ability precluded it. She asked Richter if she should attack it with Brain Drain, but he couldn’t risk it. The damn thing had too much health and its level was too high for her to stun. Besides, the flames might hurt her. She flew back and hovered above his head.

  While it was incapacitated he tried his stored Charm spell. He didn’t really think it would work on a creature like this, but he had to give it a shot. The spell found no purchase. Richter was disappointed but not surprised. He moved back by the kobolds. Dur’ghen and the Kol caste kobold stood ready to attack it again. En’fota was in the process of ordering her earth elemental to attack the guardian while it was down, when Richter snapped a command.

  “Cast Stinking Mud!” he ordered her.

  “We would need to back up first master. We are within the radius of the spell.”

  They all backed away while the elemental scurried forward to do its mistress’s bidding. Once they were at a safe distance, En’fota began the spell’s four second cast time. While she did that, Richter began imbuing another heavy arrow. He looked at his target and saw that the guardian had gotten up and had grabbed the earth elemental in one hand. The mage’s pet struggled to still fight, but the size disparity just could not be overcome. With a mallet like fist, the guardian was bringing sledge hammer blows against the hapless creature. Dirt and pebbles fell from the elemental with each blow and it quickly lost cohesion.

  The elemental served its purpose though. The gold aura over Richter’s arrow had developed black streaks that flowed across it. He waited until after En’fota finished her spell. With a guttural noise, that sounded painful to make, she finished her casting.

  A ripple passed over the ground in front of the party and its wake the ground began to slowly bubble. The entire stone floor converted to a plain of thick mud. The spell effect extended back 10 yards! As amazing as the effect, was what was really spectacular was the smell! Each bubble that rose from the mud released a smell like rotten eggs.

  The sudden olfactory assault almost made Richter lose his focus, but he maintained his concentration and released successfully. The arrow shot
towards the guardian and struck it in the chest again. His aim was perfect. The short distance coupled with use of his Focus skill meant that accuracy was not a problem. The shot staggered the guardian, but this time it didn’t fall. That was only because its legs had sunk two feet into the ground however, thanks to the kobold’s Earth magic!

  Richter tasted victory. He analyzed the monster and saw that it had lost hundreds of health points already! Cracks spider webbed across the iridescent body, worst in the chest. He thought he should be able to wear it down to nothing before it could cross the thirty feet through the sucking mud. Smiling, he nocked another arrow and was about to activate Drill Shot when the Focus Crystal in its chest flared.

  The guardian swung one massive hand into the wall, crushing some of the crystal growing there. The ruined shards didn’t fall to the ground though. In fact, all of the crystal near its hand lost definition. Small rivers of crystal began to flow towards the monster. The fluid flowed up its arm and over its body. It settled wherever there was a crack. In just a few seconds all of the obvious damage had disappeared and its surface was as unblemished as when the battle had started.

  Richter’s lip curled and he analyzed it again.

  Crystal Guardian. Level 41. Health 920. Mana 270/470. Stamina 300/320…

  Richter cursed. The damn thing had completely regenerated! At least it had to use a good amount of mana to do it, but this was NOT good! The crumbled remains of the earth elemental fell from its hand and it started pulled one leg free of the mud to start lumbering toward them.

  Richter started imbuing an arrow. “How long is the cooldown for the spell you just cast!” he shouted.

  “Thirty minutes, master!”

  Dammit, he thought. He watched the guardian lumber closer and closer. When it had crossed half the distance, he shot at its heart again. He had timed its shot for when one foot was in the air and free of the muck. Its torso swayed back from the hard hit, but it didn’t fall like Richter had hoped. It was able to swing its foot back and plant it in the mud. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to kill it before it got to the end of the mud if it kept healing itself.

  He had to do something! Brute force alone wasn’t working and Richter was the only one with a ranged attack except for En’fota’s Stone Spear. There had to be a way to outsmart this thing! What he really needed was a way to delay it… Richter looked at the three kobolds near him.

  “You,” he said to the Kol caste. “Run around the guardian and start attacking from behind. Don’t let it catch you!” Richter turned back to the guardian nocked a wood sprite arrow. He activated Drill Shot. Two seconds later, the arrow left the string and started spinning as it flew through the air. It struck the guardian’s chest just to the left of the Focus Crystal. The sprite arrow bored into the crystal for a second before stopping. The arrow remained there, sticking straight out of its chest.

  The kobold fighter had crossed the distance to the guardian. His smaller size and weight made him sink less into the mud than the guardian did. Both of their movement speeds were reduced but the fighter was still a touch faster. Richter almost wanted to cheer when the crystal monster started lumbering towards the Kol.

  He took the respite to reach into his Bag. He pulled out two crossbows he had taken from dead kobolds and handed them to En’fota and Dur’ghen. He doled out the bolts between them and the three of them started firing at guardian. He also drank a restore mana potion. Now that it was trying to kill the Richter’s charmed kobold, he didn’t have a clear shot at it chest. Drill Shot wouldn’t reach its heart; the only vulnerable spot Richter could see. He started imbuing.

  The two other kobolds started firing as quickly as they could. With the shoddily made crossbows, that wasn’t very fast at all. The weapons had some stopping power, but at best they merely chipped away at the guardian’s body. Still, it was better than nothing.

  The Kol caste dodged and jabbed. His attacks barely did any appreciable damage, but of course, that wasn’t the point. Richter, En’fota and Dur’ghen were able to keep firing with impunity as their comrade conducted a deadly dance with a construct almost three times his height. If it wasn’t for the mud, then the Kol might have had a real shot at continuing to avoid the monster’s attacks, but it was not meant to be. The distraction he provided came to a sudden and tragic end.

  The kobold jabbed at the face of the guardian and then attempted to jump back. One foot came free of the mud, but the other stayed mired. The monster’s fist came across the kobold’s face with crushing force. Blood sprayed across the mud and the kobold fell limp to the ground. The monster reached down and grabbed the body in both hands and started pulling. The damage was enough to rouse the kobold, but all he could do was scream.

  Richter sent Alma in. The cooldown on Psi Blast had elapsed and she swept towards the monster, unleashing her power. The guardian released the kobold who fell to the mud. Crossbow bolts continued to plink off of its body, while it staggered. Richter continued to imbue his arrow. The dragonling flew clear.

  After two seconds, it recovered from Alma’s attack and reached down again. The Kol caste kobold hadn’t been able to escape. Blood seeped through the kobold’s skin in places mixing with the mud. Even worse than the superficial injuries, the guardian had crushed one of the fighter’s legs before it released its hold. It grabbed him again. Holding the kobold above its head, it began to pull for a second time. The Kol screamed and screamed and blood began to speckle the guardian’s head and chest. With a horrible wet sound, the kobold was wrenched apart. The crystal monster dropped both halves and turned towards Richter and the other kobolds again.

  Richter’s arrow had shifted from a pure gold to scant black lines to the black streaks now appearing solid in a barbershop pattern. As soon as he saw it face him head on again, he released. The arrow struck it square in the chest and the shockwave flattened the mud and the boom even hurt Richter’s ears. It also finally knocked the monster down.

  Richter looked at the bloody severed halves of the kobold laying in the mud. He felt like a monster himself, but he looked at Dur’ghen and said, “Go attack it.” The thick scaled kobold didn’t hesitate. It started to stride towards the fallen monster, mace in hand.

  Richter downed another mana potion. When the guardian got up, he could clearly see cracks in its chest again. Still none of them reached to the Focus Crystal though. Richter cursed. Just what did he have to do to kill this thing?! Once again, the Focus Crystal flared and the guardian slapped its hand against a wall. The crystal flowed away from the wall and up its arm. Just like last time, the clear liquid stone flowed over the guardian’s body and healed all of the damage it had taken. Richter noted that a portion of the now bare cave wall glowed blue. He shut that from his mind though, and got back into the fight.

  Richter checked its status again.

  Crystal Guardian. Level 41. Health 920. Mana 91/470. Stamina 283/320…

  With gritted teeth Richter drew a sprite arrow. At least the bastard wouldn’t be healing again! He triggered Drill Shot again. He just had to wear it down! All he had to do was kill it before it reached him. Of course that was when things got screwy again!

  The monster took one step towards Dur’ghen who set himself to meet it at the edge of the mud. The guardian didn’t try to close anymore of the distance, though. Instead, it pointed a crystal arm at the kobold and the Focus Crystal flashed. In a heartbeat, the arm halved in diameter but doubled in length. Before Dur’ghen could move, the spear like appendage shot through his chest. The kobold screamed in pain and swung its mace weakly at the crystal arm. He swung twice more, each attempt weaker than the last, and then his head slumped forward in death.

  The crystal guardian’s arm resumed its normal size. It took a step towards Richter and En’fota, finally free of the mud. Richter shouted at the mage to run, and the two remaining party members both dashed away to make space between themselves and the blood spattered monster.

  “Can you summon another elemental?” R
ichter shouted.

  “I don’t have enough mana, master!”

  Cursing, he gave her his last restore mana potion and tossed it to her on the run. En’fota drank it. After another few seconds, he asked if she had enough now.

  “Yes, master!”

  “Then fucking summon it!”

  They both turned left around a corner and then turned back to face their enemy. En’fota started chanting. Richter drew a heavy arrow and extended his aura around it. He then began pouring in his mana as quickly as possible. The steps of the guardian grew louder and it came around the corner. Richter released!

  He hadn’t had enough time to invest much in the imbuement, but the ‘heavy’ quality of the arrow coupled with the extra power were enough to make it fall to one knee. En’fota finished her summoning just in time! The elemental rose from the tunnel floor and jumped on the guardian.

  The small elemental and the guardian looked like mini me fighting Austin Powers, but Enfota’s pet still had powerful hands. As proof, crystal fell to the ground as it attacked. The kobold had just enough mana to cast Stone Spear again. The stone projectile hit the monster in its chest. Richter shot it in the same place, but did not have much mana left. The blow only created a few cracks in the crystal.

  The guardian had been twisting at the waist as it tried to grab the slightly faster earth elemental. It finally caught the summoned creature though. The garden’s protector threw the small rock man at En’fota and she went down with a large thud. With no other distractions, the monster turned its full attention to Richter. It extended one hand and the Focus Crystal began to pulse again. Knowing what was coming he mentally called out.

  *Alma. Blast it!*

  The dragonling swooped from above and hit it with another blast. The guardian’s arm dropped as it struggled to overcome the two second stun. Richter reached into his Bag and pulled out a specific arrow. The entire fight he had been hoping he could knock the Focus Crystal free of the guardian’s chest. He had reasoned that without its heart, the crystal monster would simply fall apart. Now though, Richter just wanted to survive.