by N H Paxton
Thankfully, it wasn’t as gut-wrenching as teleportation normally was, or I would have found myself on the ground, vomiting my breakfast everywhere.
“We’re back.” Ken’s voice was irritated as he paced around the party in a circle. “The gods-damned Dearth.”
Once More with Feeling!
“THIS PLACE STINKS.” Anya held her nose as we took the stairs into the bell tower one by one. Ken was in front, scouting for traps.
We were about halfway down the stairwell before I got a message.
<<<>>>
Personal Message – Dark Collector
Vlad,
It seems as though death isn’t going to stop you. I shall make it much more painful this time. Maybe you’ll learn your lesson and leave me be.
Die in a hole,
The Dark Collector.
<<<>>>
Valstrine, or Dark Collector, or whatever he was called, simply wouldn’t accept that we weren’t going to fail this time. We had a plan, and we would stomp his pathetic hide into the ground.
In the previous fight, we had managed to get him down to almost seventy-five percent Health with just the three of us. We would definitely win this time.
“Man, it’s really dark down here. Let me fix that. Sun’s radiance, flare and give us daylight in darkest darkness.” Zeno spoke quickly, turning his staff in the air a half dozen times before slicing it through the space in front of him.
A sphere of light, the size of an adult’s head, snapped into existence next to each of us. A buff popped up in my vision, for which I was thankful.
<<<>>>
Buff Added
Light of Sol: Clerics are not only Healers, but spirit guides. Using the teachings of the great image of the sun, the Light of Sol provides a long-lasting orb of light to any of those the Cleric deems faithful to their cause.
Effect 1: A radiant sphere of light hovers next to you, providing bright light for 100 meters. Duration, 24 hours or until dismissed.
It’s not so bad, basking in the glow of the sun. Sometimes it sets things aright, and others it sets alight.
<<<>>>
Well, that was a very handy spell to have. I wondered if I could manipulate my Keeper skill tree to borrow spells and abilities from Clerics, Necromancers, and Shadowmancers. I would have to look into that later.
“Thank the gods, now I don’t have to down any of those terrible Viagra potions,” Garret said.
“Careful, guys. This is where the floor collapsed last time, dropping us into that cathedral.” Ken disappeared in front of us, moving into Stealth as he plodded forward.
“Should be quiet now. Zombies in hallway.” I stuck a finger to my lips in the universal sign for silence.
Most of our party consisted of plate wearers, so Stealth was hard to come by. I estimated that we had moved about half the distance of the ceiling when the first shamblers started to groan. Then there were more, like a cacophony of grunts and moans spreading along the narrow passageway. I had a moment of déjà vu.
Ken appeared in front of the party, his globe of light exploding into existence as soon as he stepped out of Stealth.
“Bad news, more shamblers than last time. Good news? Floor isn’t broken this time.” Ken spun in place, his daggers finding their way to his hands in a flash.
The sound of metal unsheathing surrounded me as the entire Ebenguard drew their weapons at once. The fact that there were more shamblers this time around made me wonder if dungeons altered their existence based on the party size. Perhaps it was a coping mechanism? I would have time to consider it later, so long as we survived.
I drew Gamma down from the sling, holding him in front of me, my finger off the trigger, waiting. Anya stepped in front of everyone and smacked her sword against her shield, the sound bouncing off of the narrow walls, causing the air around her to vibrate. An ability then.
“Incoming.” Anya whispered the words as she planted the bottom of her shield firmly against the wooden planks of the floor.
A dozen shamblers ripped through the darkness, some tripping over others. One stumbled and fell, rolling to a stop a short distance from Anya. Ken snapped out of view, then appeared above the fallen shambler, his daggers flowing through the air. They slammed into the undead creature’s neck. It perished immediately.
Several of the shamblers slammed into Anya’s shield, pushing her back slightly. Her feet were well planted against the wood, the metal of her boots gouging the wood as she was forced backwards from the pure force of the colliding bodies.
“Annihilate!” Garret leapt over Anya, his axe arcing downward as he traveled.
The axe blades tore into the skull of a shambler, slamming it against the ground. The force of the blow caused the floor to crack.
“Oh man, not again.” Eberand braced himself as the floor underneath us gave way, collapsing into the cathedral hall below.
I remembered all of my training at falling from so many experiences just like this and rolled as I hit the floor. Unfortunately, I also hit my head as I rolled.
<<<>>>
Debuff Added
Concussed: You have sustained a severe head injury! Confusion and disorientation; duration, 54 seconds.
<<<>>>
Well, that was better than a series of broken anythings, I supposed.
Anya landed on her feet an arm’s length from me, her stance unwavering even though she had just fallen several meters.
Ken landed in his usual graceful style, while Zeno ended up in a heap, underneath some broken ceiling boards. He chugged a Health regen potion as soon as his arm was free of the debris.
Garret had managed to hold onto a broken rafter in the ceiling and was dangling there, his axe held in his other hand. He looked like he was trying to find the most effective place to fall, probably planning on burying his axe into the skull of an unlucky shambler.
Eberand had taken a knee when he’d fallen but was back to his feet with little effort.
“Shamblers, a dozen, incoming from the rear hall.” Anya called out the numbers as she adjusted her stance and whipped her sword through the air.
There was a shining of light, and her sword caught fire. The heat from it was so intense I could feel it from where I was standing.
“Brand of Fire’s Light, burn the sins from the dead!” Anya rushed into the oncoming group of shamblers, her blade blazing in the air.
“Damn, she found some new skills while we were gone.” Ken darted next to me and stopped, giving me a half smile. “If you don’t get with that, she’s mine.”
“What?” I was so taken aback by what he had said that it didn’t even register that a shambler was stumbling toward me.
“Whoops.” Ken launched a flurry of steely blades at the oncoming creature, shredding the beast to ribbons before it could even strike.
“Rogues,” I muttered as I raised Gamma from the sling and fired off a series of Shatter Spike bolts at the horde of shamblers Anya was tangling with.
Ken vanished as the bolts ripped through the air.
The spears of shimmering crystal found their marks, detonating into clouds of incinerating Chaos energy.
Garret fell from the ceiling, his axe beneath him as he struck a shambler like a meteor, his body engulfed in his typical red aura.
The familiar hissing of the Reaper Knight stopped us all in our tracks, as it had before. This time, though, none of us were fighting for our life.
“Begone,” the knight said from the darkness at the back of the cathedral.
A blast of dark wind threw the entirety of our party backwards, slamming us against the wall behind the pulpit where the knight had undertaken his transformation previously.
That wasn’t how I remembered the fight playing out.
“Pestilence, the lot of you.” The robed figure wasn’t the same one we had fought previously. This one was already heavily armored and carried a pair of enormous axes.
“Lord Vlad.” Garret raised an eyebrow as he picked himsel
f up off the floor.
“Not same, need new tactic.” I rose slowly, my legs feeling a bit like rubber bands.
A tag appeared as I focused on the knight, naming him as [Saru’Amin, The Forgotten Enforcer].
“So, not gonna blow yourself up this time to save us all?” Ken chuckled as he performed an acrobatic leap, arching his back and throwing himself to his feet.
“No need,” Eberand said as he gathered himself, picking Zeno up next to him.
“I’m gonna shred him with light.” Zeno wiped blood from the side of his mouth with the back of his hand, leveling his staff at the shrouded monstrosity.
“Let’s get him.” Anya pushed herself up, then rose to her feet. She put her shield on her back and grabbed her sword in both hands.
“I’m going to need you guys to protect—” Everyone charged at the enormous knight before Zeno could finish his sentence. “Alright, that works.”
I tossed Zeno a smile as I turned and fired a bolt of Damnation Corruptor at the knight.
The bolt scorched the air as it blew across the room, punching through a shield the knight had erected around himself. He looked confused for a moment, his helmed face turning side to side as though looking for something.
Garret was the first to strike, his axe arcing through the air, the blades singing as they flew. The knight parried the attack with a single axe, catching Garret’s on the haft.
Anya struck next, her flaming sword finding a way inside the knight’s guard. He backpedaled as the flames leapt at his armor and robes.
“Not so fast, asshole.” Eberand flanked the knight from the side, his greatsword crashing against the knight’s left spaulder, throwing him off balance.
A groan escaped from below the helmet of the beast as he nearly toppled over. He fell to a knee, catching himself before he fell to the ground.
“Strike clear the abyss and rend the darkness!” Zeno thundered.
A bolt of light the width of a man’s chest ripped from the end of his hands, shooting across the hall. It slammed into the Enforcer with the force of a kiloton grenade, lifting it from the floor and carrying it into the air. It collided with the wall behind it, knocking mortar loose and sending shrapnel in every direction. Even as far away as I was, I had to shield my face with my arm to stop chunks of stone from hitting me in the face.
The beast’s Health dropped down to thirty percent in a single spell, not counting the damage that Eberand, Garret, and Anya had done.
Ken appeared from the air above the knight and rammed his daggers into the side of its helmed head. The wound erupted in a spray of black blood, dropping the knight’s Health to twenty-five percent.
“There will be no forgiveness.” The knight’s voice was more of a gurgled mess than before, but at twenty-five percent, the previous boss had sprouted wings and developed insanely powerful magic attacks.
Another burst of black wind pushed the melee crew back, knocking Garret off his feet, rolling him into a pew. It cracked and smashed, the chunks of wood falling on top of him.
“I guess,” Zeno gasped as he struggled to stand, “I should help them. Heal them or something.”
I hadn’t noticed he had fallen down. The spell he’d used must have taken a considerable chunk of his Spirit if it had forced him to the floor. Keeping my eyes on the boss, I moved over to Zeno and helped him from the floor, handing him a Spirit regen potion after I got him to his feet.
“Thanks, but I’m good.” Zeno raised his hand in the air, then pulled a blade across it, blood leaking from the wound.
He clenched his fist and closed his eyes, the blood swirling in the air for a second before he breathed it in through his nose. When he opened his eyes, he looked refreshed.
“Am confused. Time for talking later, though.” I clapped him on the shoulder and turned back toward the fight.
The Enforcer had taken on an otherworldly appearance, his robes burning away to show armor plates that glowed red and black, pulsing in time to a heartbeat. The sounds of battle and the clash of metal on metal made me acutely aware that the fight was still ongoing.
The green gloop that had previously been hanging on the armor and clothing of the knight was gone.
“Debuff, attack, reduce to ash.” I raised Gamma and fired another round of Damnation Corruptor.
The attack landed and sunk into the knight’s armor, that familiar green corrosive appearance taking hold once again.
I released a volley of Impaling Chaos, then immediately after it fired off a triplicate of Shatter Spike. The toll it took on my Spirit was considerable, but it was well worth the effort.
The attacks landed in sequence, Impaling Chaos spraying the air with black blood while the Shatter Spike crystalline bolts exploded, engulfing the beast in a cloud of black fire.
“Ah, that’s probably not good.” Zeno’s words were punctuated by a loud roar that carried through the room like a tornado.
Anya, Ken, Garret, and Eberand were tossed back from the beast like discarded rag dolls, all sailing through the air out of control. The boss’ HP bar was showing at ten percent, the critical phase.
An explosion of black wind whipped around the boss as his armor plates sloughed off of his body. His axes fell to the floor with a heavy clanging. What remained was a frightening mass of muscle tissue and blood.
“That’s terrifying.” Zeno clenched his jaw and frowned, his concern evident.
“Still not as bad as Collector.” I shook my head at the absolute hideousness standing on the opposite end of the room.
Garret, Ken, Eberand, and Anya had regained their feet and were moving toward the center of the room, where Zeno and I were standing.
“Plan?” I looked down at Eberand, who threw me a smile then raised both of his eyebrows in quick succession.
“Burn the bastard, boss.” He turned and shouted a word in a foreign tongue.
The air around us shimmered and shook as another buff flooded my vision.
<<<>>>
Flames of the Everliving Phoenix
Everliving Fire: The power of the Everliving Phoenix empowers the weapons and attacks of your party members, granting fire damage to their weapons equal to the Lore Warden’s Intelligence in percentage of base damage.
Effect: Increases damage output for all weapons by 52% as fire damage. Duration, 2 minutes.
Not everything that lives dies, and not everything that dies has to stay dead. Rise from the ashes. Strike like the sun.
<<<>>>
A red flame appeared around Gamma, and I noticed it on everyone else’s weapons as well. With renewed vigor, the entire party moved to attack.
I fired off a triple volley of ShadowFire bolts, distracting the enraged Enforcer. The attack landed but did little damage to the beast. But my intention wasn’t to deal damage, it was to allow Ken the chance to attack from behind.
Ken appeared in the air, above and behind the Enforcer. He fell from the sky, his blades out, sinking them deep into the creature’s neck. It bucked hard when he landed, trying to dislodge the acrobatic Rogue from his newfound perch.
Garret and Eberand struck opposite legs of the enormous knight, their weapons slamming into the bone and sinew simultaneously.
The creature buckled forward, the flames from their weapons igniting the flesh and blood of the beast. Struggling to remove Ken from its back, the creature was too slow to catch itself. It fell face-first against the stone tiles of the cathedral floor.
Anya plunged her flaming blade into the back of its head, two-handed. It sank through the flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter, the front of its head erupting on the floor like an overripe pumpkin.
Its Health bar reached zero, flashed, and disappeared. Ken removed his daggers and performed a deft flip off the back of the beast, landing gracefully.
“Well, that was different.” Eberand looked at the corpse of the Enforcer, whose body melted into a puddle of blood and decay.
“I’m not kicking it this time.” Ken wip
ed his daggers off on a nearby torn banner that hung from a wall, then slipped them into the sheaths at his hips.
“Level up!” Anya did an unfamiliar dance in a circle as she celebrated her level, pumping her fist into the air to an unheard beat.
“That was awesome.” Zeno walked up to the puddle of blech, which was formerly the boss for the chamber. He crouched down and dug his hand into the grossness, pulling out a handful of coins. “Better not leave the loot behind, eh?” He pocketed the coins and strode off, whistling to himself.
First, he had expended a huge portion of his Spirit casting an enormous spell, then he had refreshed himself with his own blood, and then he didn’t care at all about the disgusting pile of dead boss he’d just looted. I wondered if this was what it meant to be a “gamer.”
Garret found a pair of [Greaves of the Unyielding Storm]. A fitting name for Garret.
Anya took only money, but she seemed happy enough to have just the gold.
Ken and Eberand each found a new helmet. Ken’s was the [Skullcap of the Urchin] and Eberand’s was the [Great Helm of Undaunted Victory].
I looted the beast last and found a number of things I had not expected, like an incredible pair of shoes and a blueprint.
<<<>>>
Shoes of the EverDark Keeper
Armor Type: Light; Unnatural Cloth
Class: Ancient Artifact; Set Item
Base Defense: 28
Primary Effects:
+10% to Movement Rate
+9 to Intelligence
+9 to Spirit
+15% resistance to elemental and arcane damage
Secondary Effects:
+135 XP per kill
+15% gold looted
+25% resistance to poisons and diseases
Reduces toxicity of consumed potions to zero
Restriction: Keeper
Set Effects: Forgotten Keeper (2 of 5)
1 Piece (Active): Increases Combat statistics by 5%
2 Pieces (Active): Reduces damage from all sources by 5%
<<<>>>
