Floor-to-ceiling shelves cover the walls. Half of the shelves contain small treasure chests; the rest are empty. Only a foot or two wide, the chests aren’t identical, but they’re all similar in size and style. I take a couple steps closer, admiring the multi-colored jewels set into the chests. One seems to be decorated with winding ivy, another with bright suns, a third with violet swirls. Everywhere I look, the small chests vie with each other to be the most eye-catching, the most beautiful, the most desirable.
One of those chests holds the jewel that we're after. One of these needs to open for us. But, out of the fifty or so options, how are we supposed to know which is correct? I activate my Power Perception, checking to see if any of them glow, indicating magic within. But none show even a sliver of power. That's fine. Maybe they're just sealed tightly, so nothing escapes. Maybe they're not locked with magic. Maybe the chest we need only appears when we defeat the boss.
None of us has moved beyond the five foot radius around the door. Unsure of what exactly will trigger the appearance of this final boss, I for one am unwilling to move or touch anything until I’m sure we’re all ready.
"You guys think that jewel is in one of this chests?" Callidus asks, eyeing the shelves hungrily. "I haven't gotten to use my lock picking ability yet."
I grin. If that were me, it would be driving me crazy. Erinocalypse looks at me. I shrug.
"Go for it," she tells him.
He hesitates, then takes one slow step toward the shelf nearest him. He pauses. Nothing happens. He takes another slow step and a third. We’re all on edge, hypersensitive to any potential change in the room, but so far there’s nothing.
Once Callidus reaches the shelves, his hands hover first over one chest than another, trying to choose. From where I stand across the room I don’t see any difference between them, but maybe Callidus senses something.
He makes his choice. He touches the wooden lip to open the lid.
The room explodes.
Or that's what I think as I scramble to cover my head and shield myself against the wall. But there's no shrapnel, no bomb. I feel no injury.
A gorgeous sorceress appears in the exact center of the room from a flash of light and smoke. She’s tall and striking and I can’t take my eyes off her. At first it's difficult to tell where the flame of light ends and her copper red hair begins, where her silver robe ends and the swirling smoke begins. Her wide blue eyes and defined cheekbones give me pause, but her expression is one of utter calm and disinterest.
“Well, hello boys and girls. What are you doing here?”
Name: Marilyn
Race: Human, Sorceress
Level: 34
Description: Once a powerful sorceress in the kingdom above, Marilyn has been trapped below ground for centuries. Be wary of any claims of friendship from her, any attempts to make an alliance. She has had a long time to plan her escape and anyone who encounters her will serve as her pawn.
I glance at Callidus; he's still standing near the chests, but he is no longer reaching for one. His hands are clasped behind him.
TexBadass clears his throat. “Miss Marilyn, ma’am? We sure are sorry to be disturbing you.” His accent seems thicker when he’s groveling. “We’re just travelers trying to find our way, but it seems as though we’ve reached the end of the line.”
“What a shame,” she says with a smile that makes me think she doesn’t find it a shame at all. “I’m sorry I can’t help you. I’m trapped in this cave myself.”
Erinocalypse frowns, confused. I can’t blame her. It seems difficult to believe that someone who literally appeared out of thin air could be trapped anywhere.
“Really? Trapped?”
Marilyn turns her cold eyes to our own sorceress. Erinocalypse squares her shoulders and stands up a little straighter; a tiny surge of pride courses through me.
"Oh, yes." Marilyn's voice is cold and yet still seductive. I wonder if she will try to woo us. To convince us to help free her somehow. "Queen Vivian grew unhappy with me, scared of my power and jealous of my beauty; she tricked me and trapped me in this cave while she continues to rule the kingdom above."
This Queen Vivian must be pretty damn powerful.
“Well, ma’am,” TexBadass simpers. “We’d be happy to help you if we can.”
She turns to him, amusement twitching on her lips. “Would you, dear?” She takes a step closer to him, the first time she has moved since she appeared.
He clasps his hands in front of him and nods. While he is all submission, my hands clench my bow. She hasn't even glanced at our weapons but I'm sure she knows exactly what each of us hold.
“There is one thing you could do for me, possibly. There is one way to drop the protective spell keeping me penned in.”
She turns around the room slowly, turning her back on each of us in turn, daring us to attack.
I catch Erinocalypse’s eye when Marilyn turns away from us. She shakes her head almost imperceptibly and she's right. We can't believe the red-head. I don’t trust this. If Marilyn is the final boss in this dungeon, there is no way what she needs from us will be no big deal.
"I'm not asking much. Just a token really. A trifle."
"Well, ma'am, I'm sure if there's something we can do …” TexBadass answers.
"That's very kind of you, Bryce."
TexBadass frowns. My stomach drops and I anxiously seek out Erinocalypse’s face. Her eyes widen when she catches my eye. How does this NPC know Tex’s real name? There is no possible way that was purposefully coded into the game. There are all kinds of privacy laws and terms of service; Toterra Online would never allow for such a thing. How could this corrupted code gotten access to such private details?
TexBadass clears his throat uncomfortably. "What is it we can do for you, ma'am?" There's a new steel to his voice.
Marilyn turns to face him directly and offers a seductive slow smile. She lifts her chin slightly, winks at him, and in another flash of light and smoke disappears.
Chapter Forty-Five
Before we even realize the battle has begun, the smoke has cleared and where previously a tall, imperious sorceress stood, now we are facing four slightly smaller, though otherwise identical copies of the same. The hair, the robe, the smirk are all the same, but each of the four move independently of each other. They stand in the center of the room, backs to each other and face out at our party.
There’s a brief pause; I hold my breath.
SteelFeather is the first to react.
Shield held carefully in front of him, he only needs to take one step closer to swing at the Marilyn nearest him. As he closes that gap several things happen at once.
Balderdash13 is right behind him, her axe in the air, ready to be brought down on another Marilyn’s head; I loose a Fire arrow at the Marilyn nearest my side of the room and Erinocalypse casts Petrify at the sorceress farthest from her. But even with our four simultaneous attacks, the enemy remains nearly unscathed. The four women deflect and extinguish and shield themselves almost perfectly.
We have to be faster. Or more clever. Or … luckier.
As that thought flies through my mind, Erin is already casting again and again. She fires off three more Petrify spells, hitting two of the four Marilyn-copies and cutting our possible attackers by half for at least a small window of time.
Again, SteelFeather moves first, swinging directly at one of the petrified women before either of the other two can stop him.
One of the other clones shoots a spell at our tank, deliberately aiming below his shield and lighting his feet and legs on fire, but not before he swings his sword. His blow lands in the tender muscle between the neck and the shoulder, exploding in blood all over the sorceress as she swiftly dies.
[+ 1000 XP]
“Ah,” SteelFeather grunts, as he collapses to the ground.
Erinocalypse diverts her focus to putting out the flame, so new attacks are up to Balderdash13 and me.
I shoot another Fire arrow at
the frozen Marilyn clone closest to me, just as the Petrify spell effect ends. It is swiftly extinguished and diverted, landing harmlessly on the ground a few feet away.
I try to fire again quickly, hoping to hold the enemies’ attention so Balderdash13 can get in a blow. First a Water arrow then an Earth arrow. Really, anything will help. Any way I can make contact and shave off a tiny bit of health will help.
One of the remaining three has her attention on Balderdash13, waiting, almost toying with her and taunting her to come attack.
With my next arrow nocked, I feint the aim, at the last second targeting the clone focused on Balderdash13. A Water arrow hits the side of her face, not doing much harm but causing her to cough and sputter as she expels the water from her nostrils.
In that small moment, Balderdash13 takes her chance, swinging her axe at the clone’s legs and knocking her to the floor taking about forty percent of her health at the sam time. Erinocalypse is just behind, pairing the incapacitation with a Fire Bolt that knocks off another third of the enemy’s health.
I continue to fire at the two Marilyn’s still standing, trying to hold their focus and keep them from helping their third. They each fire angry spells at me; for a short moment I’m completely blind with a stabbing pain in my side that drops me to my knees.
[- 1070 HP]
Almost twenty percent of my health gone, but once my sight returns I can keep firing.
Callidus joins the other two of our group in zeroing in on the felled sorceress, rushing to her side with dagger in hand. He doesn’t bother with a backstab, but gets in a clean swipe to her gut before he is blasted back with the force of a spell. He lies there immobile for several seconds.
The sorceress remains on the floor, holding on to just a sliver of health, but if we can keep one of the others from healing her we’ve got her. I fire two more Fire arrows, only hoping to light their robes on fire and keep them distracted while Erinocalypse calmly fires another Fire Bolt directly at the fallen Marilyn’s chest, killing her swiftly.
[+ 1000 XP]
The remaining two sorceresses, the bottoms of their silver robes charred and blackened, look at each other, nod, and disappear in another flash of silver smoke and light. In their place a single Marilyn reappears, two feet taller than before, as though her power and physical presence have absorbed the two clones that we had just been fighting.
I hesitate; I’m surprised at the sudden shift and looking around, it seems my group is as well.
Only Tex is ready. TexBadass who pays attention to our party more than the enemy. TexBadass who has spent the entire dungeon taking care of us. TexBadass doesn’t hesitate at all when Marilyn appears.
He shoots a spell at the sorceress, his only ranged damage offer and the only time I’ve seen him use it. It looks similar to the Burning Smite spell I have, but it’s impossible for me to tell since Marilyn blocks it handily and then flicks her left hand carelessly and a blue beam of energy envelops TexBadass.
“To me!” Erinocalypse calls, casting her protective spell over us. We crowd around her, opposite the cavern where TexBadass remains frozen, a look of surprise on his face.
All haste stops. What will she do to him if we attack?
“It’s so kind of you to offer your help earlier, Bryce.” Marilyn keeps her attention on our healer, but I do not believe for a minute she is ignoring us. “All I need is a sacrifice. Your blood. And since you volunteered …”
“He didn’t volunteer,” Balderdash13 calls out desperately. “He didn’t say you could take his blood.”
“He didn’t say he would do anything,” I yell, backing her up.
“Ah ah ah,” Marilyn turns to smile at us, gently scolding as she strolls to our side of the cavern. Her utter lack of urgency is unnerving. “He said he would be happy to help. This is the help I need.”
Turning to look at him, she gestures with one hand and a heavy rope appears out of thin air and wraps itself around TexBadass like a python, pinning his arm to his sides and gagging him at once.
Marilyn keeps her focus on the healer while the rope does her bidding, which allows SteelFeather to cross the room to her without being stopped. He gets within just six or seven feet of her.
“Stop,” she says coldly.
The command surprises the tank and he stumbles awkwardly, just nicking her shoulder with his sword instead of the heavy hit he had looked posed to do.
She does not even flinch but continues her slow stroll across the room to where TexBadass is immobilized. I have an arrow in my hand, ready to shoot, but what will she do to our healer if I attack?
Marilyn makes a small circle around TexBadass, carefully looking him up and down as she walks behind him. With one hand she traces her long nail along the underside of his jaw. He can’t move to pull away, but a spark of fury brightens his eyes.
With one quick motion, the sorceress produces a small silver dagger in her other hand and slices TexBadass's throat. Callidus gasps.
“No!” Balderdash13 cries, frantically casting a healing spell.
I feel nauseous. I had not even seen the knife in her hand. Still tied and frozen, he can't hold his wound shut; he can't even change his expression. We have to watch him bleed out with no way to help him.
The red gauge on the side of my field of vision shows TexBadass’s health points draining from him the same way his blood is. Balderdash13’s spells can’t staunch the flow. There’s nothing we can do to help him.
Marilyn smirks at us, then turns her back to us again. As soon as we are out of her line of sight we attack. My Fire arrow leaves my hands as Erinocalypse's freezing spell sails across the room. Marilyn stumbles when hit. The arrow and spell only have a brief effect, though both drain health. SteelFeather has regained his balance. Marilyn turns back around to attack us at the same moment Balderdash13 and SteelFeather reach her with their melee weapons.
Marilyn throws a spell at SteelFeather. His shield seems to protect him from taking damage, but the force of the spell knocks him to the ground. I get in an Earth arrow, hoping the increased strength of the hit will do more damage. As Marilyn spins to face us, Balderdash13 swings her axe hard into the sorceress's shoulder, interrupting her casting.
Marilyn’s health dips. We're making progress. We just need to keep her away from TexBadass and whatever she needs his blood for.
I glance up into the corner of my field of vision and realize Tex's avatar is grayed out. His eyes are still frozen open, but he must have died. Damn it. Damn it! There is no way we can last another thirty minutes for him to respawn. We have to survive this battle without our healer. A wave of dismay crashes through me.
The tanks keep her occupied, dodging some but taking a lot of hits. They’ve gotten so used to TexBadass’s reliability, they probably don't even realize that our healer isn't around to help them. As SteelFeather lands another heavy hit to Marilyn's side, I hastily cast Bestow Relief on him and he fights on. I laugh nervously, hopelessly. He has leveled up so much that I can't even tell a difference in his health points after I cast my spell.
I can’t help him.
Chapter Forty-Six
I slide over to Erinocalypse's side. She has her back pressed to the wall of the room, well away from where SteelFeather and Balderdash13 are battling.
“Health,” I say in a low voice.
She glances at me. “What?”
“Tex is dead. My healing spell is garbage. What do you have?”
She pales. “Nothing. Or, not much. Let me see.”
I fire off another two arrows at Marilyn, missing her with both, while Erinocalypse casts her healing spells.
"Damn it!" She shakes her head. "That's barely anything. We have to do something. We can't last long enough to kill her." Panic creeps into her voice.
As SteelFeather draws another blast of spell, ducking behind his shield, I have an idea.
SirAsh3r: You’re the new healer
Balderdash13: WHAT
SirAsh3r: Tex is dead. It’
s gotta be you. I have some potions and things if you need it, but you have to keep SteelFeather alive.
Balderdash13: WHAT
She catches my eye across the cavern and mouths the word what again. She ducks, barely dodging a blast of fire from Marilyn's palm, almost losing her balance as she hurries to my side of the cavern.
With only one attacker, Marilyn begins making her way to TexBadass's corpse and the pool of blood waiting for her.
"I can't do this, Asher," Erinocalypse warns. She recasts the protective bubble around us while SteelFeather takes on the sorceress by himself.
“Here.”
I shove a potion into Balderdash13's hands. She drinks quickly, nodding to herself, standing up straighter as the health points refill. She casts another healing spell at SteelFeather, and a third, bringing his health at least above half. I have another mana potion in my hand, ready in case she needs it. But while we’ve been recovering, Marilyn has gotten closer to Tex.
"Take it, take it," I yell at Balderdash13. I have just enough time to equip my bow and fire a Water arrow, harming Marilyn a little but mostly just distracting her before she can get to his blood.
With his health restored, SteelFeather's attacks become faster, more precise. He lands two blows before she sends him tumbling across the room. I fire arrow after arrow, but most miss. My hands are shaking. Erinocalypse sends a Fire Bolt at the other sorceress, who extinguishes it before it reaches her.
SteelFeather gets to his feet, and he and Balderdash13 stumble their way back to the fray when Marilyn reaches TexBadass. She kneels down, dipping one long pale finger in the pool of blood. As she gracefully rises to her feet, there is a small blur of movement behind her. Before I even realize it's happening, Callidus fades out of Stealth mode and backstabs Marilyn, pushing his dagger high up into her ribs.
“Ah!” she gasps.
The direct hit almost drains the rest of her health. I guess even a boss can be a glass cannon. The sorceress has enough energy to whirl toward the teenager but he's ready for her. Scrunching up his face and almost looking away from the carnage, Callidus stabs her again, this time in her chest. Blood pours down his wrist and he gags as he pulls away. She pushes at him fruitlessly, wiping Tex's blood on the kid's shirt in her haste. The fury in her face would be frightening if it were not so petrifying. She collapses to her knees, still readying another magical attack.
Depths of Camlan Page 19
