...
Auth has defeated a level 56 being and has earned 72 raw experience! After bonuses applied, 115 experience was earned!
Ding! Auth has gained a level. Welcome to level 35!
Chapter 17
The party stayed in the hallway as Tamara moved in stealth mode closer to the elaborate black double doors leading to the Boss room. She glanced back to make sure the party was out of range before she carefully opened the door to peek inside. What she saw put her at ease.
The room was a large rectangle with a large throne facing the entrance. If the room was the normal layout, there should be stairs behind the throne. The fabricator machine could be seen resting at an angle with the throne. Apparently the fabricator didn't fit the tight squeeze to enter the next level. The owner of the floor didn't seem to be in residence at the moment. It wasn't uncommon for the boss to appear only when the room has been triggered, cutting down on the chances of a scout to find all the boss's weaknesses then exploiting them.
Slowly and surely, Tamara closed the door. She quietly moved to rejoin her group in the hallway. On her approach, Jare whispered, "How does it look?"
"We're in luck! The throne room looks like it's triggered, and the fabricator is in the room. We can get two birds with one stone!" Tamara said as she refreshed her buffs on the group. "I didn't see any backup either. If he's alone, we'll beat him for sure."
Jare said, "Let's get that Fabricator!"
Azdel put his hand up in the air, palm first to halt the party. "Wait. We still need to buff and meditate to full mana. Also, the fabricator that we've been racing to catch up to has been left abandoned in the boss room? Seems a bit fishy to me." He watched as Tamara turned around and smiled at him.
"It may be a trap. But it doesn't matter. We're ready for almost anything. If we get an army, we'll AOE them. If Jenny's there, Jare and I will smack her down while the rest of the party concentrates on clearing the room." Tamara smiled confidently as she addressed the gnome. And after her mini speech, she nodded at Azdel's return grin and thumbs up.
As her mana filled out, Tamara decided to give Bob89 a pep talk.
[Tamara: Bob89, I hope you're ready for Jenny. She might show up unexpectedly or port us out.]
[Bob89: I am prepared. If we see her, you need to focus on your senses. She will have to use the skill a few times before I have enough data to analyze. I will tell you as soon as I find a solution to her abilities.]
[Tamara: Good luck!]
Tamara and Myst stealthed as Jare moved forward to open the door.
***
They entered the room and walked in together. As they approached the throne, torches along the wall lit themselves. At 60 feet from the throne, the Orc Litch King appeared accompanied by two shamen and four wizards. The Orc King cackled ominously as he stared down at the puny, grey leveled party advancing on him. "You are quite a bold group of adventurers! You dare to attack a KING? Every single one of you is over 20 levels below us. You will die, and I thank you for your service in the unlife!" Admiring Tamara's beauty, he nodded to her and said, "You, half-elf, are worthy of being a higher undead. Would you like to be a Vampire or a Revenant? You shall be my bride and queen!"
As they approached thirty feet from the throne, the King snapped his fingers and ten Skeleton Warriors appeared - all at level 55. The group paused in their advance. Tamara said, "This doesn't look good. Mages, move back. Jare, get their attention." Tamara finished a rune powered Shield reinforcing her already powerful shield and then slid into the shadows.
[Tamara: I'll need some shield buffs as you are able. I'm going to take out that King and I don't think they'll like it when I do.]
[Azdel: I got you. Auth, Sol keeps moving. We'll take turns while our Fireball rings refresh. We should be able to get a Ring and Shield rotation going. Auth, Sol, then me.]
She slipped into the shadows, immediately forgotten as Jare launched a Whirlwind, smashing into all seven opponents. The mages reinforced her Shield.
The Orc Litch King cackled as he snapped his fingers. Ten level 55 Skeleton Warriors appeared in front of him ready for combat.
Jare moved backward to kite them away from the wizards. Fireball was an amazing spell, but one of its drawbacks is the 30' range, which Jare was ruthlessly taking advantage of. By moving backward, he ensured that the raging enemies would follow.
Tamara moved forward, wary about getting close to the Skeletons, but she trusted in her stealth and Jare's powerful distractions. Coming into range, the enemy Fireballs smashed and burned all around Jare, but he remained undamaged due to his Divine Shield and his 100% immunity to the elements.
Without any hesitation, Azdel launched all of his Fireballs from his rings at once. All ten Skeleton Warriors were killed in the massive 900 damage explosion. Apparently, the summoned warriors had no fire resistance. The litch unfazed continued their assault without pause. Sol and Auth kept up a barrage of fireballs to finish up the warriors and scatter their bones across the room. The King snapped his fingers again, bringing forward another ten warriors.
[Tamara: His snapping is going to get annoying fast!]
[Azdel: We can handle his skeletons as long as they are content attacking Jare. Jare pretend to be hurting. The Fireballs rain looks pretty deadly, but you look like you're out for a stroll in the park!]
Jare groaned loudly and shouted, "You can't beat me. I eat flames for breakfast. Come closer and feel my steel!"
[Auth: Jare, you're supposed to keep them at a distance, not invite them closer!]
[Jare: Trust me. I know these noble types.]
[Azdel: Trust in his incredibly annoying presence.]
[Auth: I bow to your wisdom, old one.]
Azdel grumbled a bit, something about impertinent young ones.
The Orc King and his lackeys laughed to themselves, assured of their power. The King said, "No, I think not. You are beneath me mortal. You are invited to dinner, and you're the main course! Skeletons, that is your fate. Vampire Queen for the elf-girl."
Auth launched his Fireball to wear the skeletons down, while Sol took his turn to launch all the Fireballs using his rings, mowing down the skeletons.
The Orc King nodded appraisingly, "Good enchantments. You are far more difficult to defeat than I expected." He snapped his fingers and another wave of skeletons came forth. "You still have no chance. We are still fresh while you're dying. HAHAHAHA!" His companions laughed with him, sneering at their dinner guests. One shaman commented, "My King, perhaps these commoners will give us a few skill levels!" Another caster snidely replied, "They won't last that long. Hehe!"
[Tamara: Where did Arnaud and Myst go? Didn't they come in with us?]
[Bob89: I don't see video of them entering the room.]
[Azdel: I don't think they came in. Arnaud, I can understand, he strikes me as a cowardly mage. But Myst wouldn't disobey Tamara. This doesn't bode well, but we need to keep our minds on the current objective. Kicking Kingly ass!]
[Tamara: I'm focused. I'm almost ready. Need some more shielding though.]
Jare moaned and shouted weakly, "NOOOOO. The PAIN. I will never give up." He continued his overacting with a poignant gurgle.
[Auth: And they aren't even suspicious... How?? They're laughing.]
[Tamara: MY shield's at 4300, I should be able to tank a bit, but I'm Blinking out after my backstab. Wish me luck!]
[Auth: Get him good!]
[Jare: I will rush over if you need the help. Use your Sonic Stun, if necessary]
Tamara backstabbed The Orc Lich King for 28083 damage, which was around 25083 more damage than needed. Somehow she had managed to get an incredibly lucky 20x critical hit which triggered a second 20x critical hit. Her original strike was magnified 20*20 which was 400 times larger. This was very similar to hitting the Orc King hundreds of times with one strike! The King was instantly killed.
"Assassin!" Hissed the shaman. If Tamara hadn't one-hit killed the king, the shamen were his dedicated healers, w
hile the wizards probably had some weak but viable supplementary healing spells. He would have been many times more difficult to kill with skeleton warriors appearing with every snap of his fingers.
"My King!" Shouted the wizards. "You will pay for this insolence!"
The skeleton warriors ignored the death of their creator and some moved forward while others turned silently and struck Tamara. Two warriors struck her powerful mana shield, slicing off around a thousand damage - they would have killed her if she were without the layers of shielding surrounding her.
With his dying breath, the King snapped his fingers one more time and ten more warriors joined the melee. Tamara unleashed her finishing move, the Sonic Stun, and moved away, not prepared to tank another twenty hits.
The wizards moved closer to get into Fireball range. Once in place, they laid waste to the warriors and casters. When the last mage was killed, they looted the cores and air. Despite wading through around 50 enemies they found only the cores, air, and experience to be of use.
Jare has defeated a level 56 being and has earned 72 raw experience! After bonuses applied, 115 experience was earned!
...
Jare has defeated a level 56 being and has earned 72 raw experience! After bonuses applied, 115 experience was earned!
Ding! Jare has gained a level. Welcome to level 35!
Tamara has defeated a level 56 being and has earned 55 raw experience! After bonuses applied, 89 experience was earned!
...
Tamara has defeated a level 56 being and has earned 55 raw experience! After bonuses applied, 89 experience was earned!
Ding! Tamara has gained a level. Welcome to level 45!
Azdel has defeated a level 56 being and has earned -0 raw experience! After bonuses applied, 0 experience was earned!
...
Azdel has defeated a level 56 being and has earned -0 raw experience! After bonuses applied, 0 experience was earned!
Sol has defeated a level 56 being and has earned 58 raw experience! After bonuses applied, 93 experience was earned!
...
Sol has defeated a level 56 being and has earned 58 raw experience! After bonuses applied, 93 experience was earned!
Ding! Sol has gained a level. Welcome to level 43!
Auth has defeated a level 56 being and has earned 70 raw experience! After bonuses applied, 112 experience was earned!
...
Auth has defeated a level 56 being and has earned 70 raw experience! After bonuses applied, 112 experience was earned!
Ding! Auth has gained a level. Welcome to level 36!
Azdel said, "I think this is the last level. The boss was ridiculously hard. If Tamara didn't play assassin, we'd be dead for sure."
[Tamara: Guys. I'm going to look for my cat.]
Tamara was standing near the double black boss room doors that led back to the previous floor. As she sent the group chat, the room rumbled the exit to the portal room closed with a thud. She caught figures moving in the distance. Arnaud was carrying a kitty cage with Myst trapped inside, and he was leading Jenny and hundreds of orcs to them.
"Stop right there!" She shouted out to the invading group. Oddly, they did as she requested. She noted that Jare and Azdel moved up to join her. She nodded to Azdel to take the lead as she moved back into the boss room and out of sight of Jenny.
[Tamara: Keep them busy. I'm working on the backup plan.]
Jenny called out. "I'm impressed that you managed to beat the Orc Lich King. He was a pain in the butt, but he was not a pushover. You've exceeded my expectations, but you did have help!"
Azdel shouted, "Arnaud, have you decided to turn traitor against your group?"
Arnaud replied, "I have always been Jenny's lover." He gazed lovingly at Jenny. Looking back at his former group, he said, "Do as we want, and we will let the cat go. You're all free to go as well!"
Jenny affirmed Arnaud's words. "Yes. We only want to get into the base. You can have the cat and your freedom!"
[Tamara: Jare, come back, scout down the unknown hallway. Auth, take his place. Guys, get ready to Blink on my mark.]
[Bob89: Hmm. So there's a base nearby. I would put my money on the other door leading out.]
Auth moved over to the door as Jare left to scout. He said, How do we know you'll keep your word? Will you make an Oath?"
Jenny looked shocked. "You don't trust me to keep my word? That is terribly crass of you."
Azdel nodded to Auth. "I like the idea of an Oath as well. Please comply."
[Auth: Tamara, I hope you're close because this negotiation is going badly.]
[Tamara: The boss doors will arm when closed. I'm trapping the floor. Get out of there when you're ready.]
Jenny nudged Arnaud. "Swear the Oath, dear."
Arnaud said, "I Arnaud -"
Auth interrupted him. "Jenny needs to say the words too."
Jenny signaled her companions forward. "You leave no choice but conflict."
Auth and Azdel gingerly closed the doors and Blinked down the hallway. They passed Tamara drawing a rune circle around a small round object the size of a cherry. She urged them on. "Go on, I'll catch up. Almost done!" They nodded and noted that Tamara had built a small wall of permacrete. It looked like she was trying to seal the hallway up but ran out of time. With a last flourish of her inscriber, she Blinked after her party. Soon after, an explosion rocked the dungeon, knocking everyone down. The overpressure managed to severely damage their shields and knock them down, but the shields were able to handle the damage without dropping.
The party had managed to travel a good 400 feet from the double doors. The slowest party member had a buffed agility of 22 miles per hour, which took them about 13 seconds to reach 400 feet. The effects of the blast caused parts of the ceiling to collapse and smoke from the vibrations and crushed rocks filled the air. Tamara looked behind her and saw some of the walls and floors were melted from the explosion.
[Tamara: Guys. Strengthen your shield if that blast got it low. If she triggers the second trap, we'll have a repeat of the first explosion! Except it will be worse since the wall I made blunted the first blast. Permacrete walls can take a lot of abuse!]
[Azdel: That was a powerful explosion. What did you put in the trap? How's your cat?]
[Tamara: Plasma rifle batteries. I was in Line of Sight, so I stored him.]
[Azdel: Those rifles must be powerful. Very convenient that you could recall the pet. The heat and expansion from that blast were significant, especially considering this dungeon has no oxygen.]
[Tamara: The rifles were Ancient technology. My cat likes to access my dimensional storage spell, so it wasn't difficult to store him]
The party stopped to reinforce their shields. They ran down the pathway. A couple of minutes later, a second explosion knocked them down again. Having no permacrete wall to protect them, a blast of heated gas passed them, knocking them to the ground and catapulting them forward. Jare with his full plate armor, sliding perpendicular to the ground like a sled and spiraling down the hallway using the ceiling, walls, and floor as a roadway. The others didn't fare much better. None of their mana shields survived the explosion, but their armor and hitpoints protected them.
***
The group survived the second blast. Fortunately, they were tough cookies and they tanked the overpressure with their armor and hitpoints. A few heal spells and rounds of shield spells set everyone back to pre-blastwave. Jenny probably didn't survive the blasts, but the group turned back to stare at the damaged hallway. They were hoping that Jenny had perished but willing to end her should she continue. At the minimum, they needed to rest and meditate for mana.
They weren't that lucky. A bedraggled Jenny came into view, flanked by two orcs. Her health wasn't quite full, but it was clearly ticking up noticeably. Her armor had taken a huge beating in the blast. It was full plate steel set with gold highlights and chivalric decoration. When it was brand new, it must have been spectacular. After the blast, the armor
had gaping holes, scratches, and indentations crisscrossing the surface. Soot stained the entire armor. But what was most telling was that areas of the plate look like it had melted then rehardened quickly. For instance, her gauntlet fingers had hardened drops of steel hanging off the ends. Even the gambeson underneath the armor had taken damage, but it was in better shape than the rest of her armor.
"Your trap was impressive. I had hoped that you had been caught in the explosion from your own trap." Jenny said as she caught a view of the party. Laughing that turned hysterical, she slapped her thighs and crouched down, trying to get herself under control. "You wreaked my dungeon and my army, but you still survive! The hole from the blast reached up through over three floors. And they are melting."
Tamara grimly said, "Jenny give up. Don't force us to kill you. Your army wasn't even real."
Looking up and laughing again, she replied, "No. I think not. I will probably fail, but I won't let you leave unscathed. Even with your numbers, you will have a hard time with me." Smirking, she added, "I can also use the Guild buff, while you can't."
Tamara said, "You mean Sol and me?" She asked apprehensively.
Her smirk grew wider, she answered, "No. Any of you who perish will perish for real. No Adventurer's Guild buff for any of you. You can give up and save yourself some pain."
[Tamara: She's the dungeon master. She may be bluffing, but I don't know.]
[Sol: I will do as you wish, Oathmaster.]
[Azdel: It might be risky attacking a level 100, but she's been through massive explosions. She's probably a bit addled from the blasts. I don't think any of us still has shielding after the blast. We'll need to buff as we go.]
[Jare: Let's take her out.]
[Auth: Looks like it's decided, we're going after her! We've got our non-shield buffs ready. She's probably unbuffed in her rush to get here.]
Escape From Litchfield Page 28
