Dungeon Dive
Page 12
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Galian unsheathed his axe and raced forward. He had barely taken his place on Talia’s left before the treants crashed into the line. The impact nearly bowled him over, though somehow, he managed to retain his feet. He countered with an attack of his own, his axe a blur as he executed whirlwind.
Two treants have hit Galian for a total of 35 damage (blunt). Remaining: 415 / 450 HP.
A treant has attempted to knock down Galian. Resisted.
Galian’s whirlwind attack has hit 5 treants for a total of 123 damage (slashing).
Talia fought defensively. While she channelled heretic’s hate, she did not have concentration to spare to use any other abilities. She weaved her sword before her and parried aside what blows she could. Those she failed to stop were brushed aside by her divine shield.
Talia has parried 5 treant strikes.
Three treants have hit Talia for a total of 0 damage (40 blocked by divine shield). Remaining shield: 410 / 450 HP.
On the right, the celestial elemental demonstrated why it had been entrusted to hold the right flank on its own. As the treant line advanced, the planar creature stomped down with its right foot. The ground quaked and a shockwave rippled out, knocking down half the treants. Then the celestial stomped down with its left foot and felled the treants that remained standing.
A celestial elemental has cast stomp (cone length: 5m, chance to resist: 5%, damage: 10-30 HP dealt to each creature in effect), 16 treants knocked down (duration: 3 seconds).
A celestial elemental has cast stomp (cone length: 5m, chance to resist: 5%, damage: 10-30 HP dealt to each creature in effect), 14 treants knocked down (duration: 3 seconds).
On the left, lacking the raw power of the elemental, the holy knight and the young titan waited for the treants to close. The titan clapped his hands together and compressed the air between them. When he pulled them apart again, he held in his grasp a two-handed club that embodied the angry dark of a stormy night. The knight unclipped and readied his own weapons, a tower shield and longsword. When the treants entered range, the titan swung down in a sweeping arc with his club on the smaller creatures. The knight, positioned on the titan’s right, fended off the treants’ swinging branches with his shield and stabbed out with his longsword.
A young titan has cast titan’s wrath. Storm club summoned (duration: 6 minutes, damage: 48-96).
A young titan has hit 3 treants for a total of 235 damage (air).
A holy knight has blocked 3 treant strikes.
A holy knight has hit a treant for 51 damage (divine).
On the party’s backline, the rangers drew on their essence and imbued their arrowheads with fire. Targeting the treants to the rear, the elves released a flaming volley into the massed creatures. The magical flames licked eagerly at the treant’s dry barks, which soon began to smoulder.
The ranger squad’s volley has hit 3 treants for a total of 30 damage (fire), 3 treants set alight (damage: 200 HP over 60 seconds).
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Despite the success of the party’s opening attacks, there were too many of the creatures. The treants surged around the party and pushed against their thin cordon. Soon, Aveyad knew, the weight of numbers would tell. The celestial elemental on the right could hold out, but the left and centre would be swamped soon. Galian was already straining. So too was the titan. The treants had begun to cramp the planar creature, preventing him from freely swinging his club. It was only the holy knight’s presence at the titan’s side that kept him from being completely encircled.
His eyes scanned the chamber. Even more treants were streaming within. Dammit, why did Talia have to dump this on me? The party simply did not have any further resources with which to reinforce the line. Not unless he himself took a place on it. And he would be of limited use. His divine shield would not last long, and once it failed, he would be a liability on the frontline. If only there was some way they could retreat into the corridor. Which was much narrower. There, he was sure, they could hold… Then it came to him. He didn’t need to strengthen the line, so much as reduce the width of the cordon. He knew what had to be done.
Aveyad reached out to the planar summons and Velia across the link that bound them together, and gave the spirits their orders. Then he began casting.
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Talia fended off another flailing tree limb and wondered how they were going to survive this mess. There were close to a hundred treants in the chamber. Far more than she had expected. She didn’t think the line could hold for much longer. Beside her, Galian struggled. Despite her best attempts to shield him, he was sustaining constant damage. She wondered if she had made the right decision, in calling him up on the lines.
Talia has cast heretic’s hate (radius: 2.3m, chance to resist: 18%, duration: 46 seconds, debuff: enraged).
Twenty treants are enraged (compelled to attack the caster).
A bubble of near-palpable hate sprang around her as heretic’s hate completed. At last, she thought as the gazes of the treants surrounding her turned her way. Immediately, she stepped forward and away from Galian, drawing many of the treants with her.
She flowed into attack, Judgment a spinning blaze as she executed whirlwind. The two-handed sword, burning with holy fire, sawed through wooden limbs and branches. She felt the weight that pressed against her lessen, as the demons shrank away from the blade’s divine flames. She stepped forward again, maintaining the momentum of her onslaught.
Talia’s whirlwind attack has hit 8 treants for a total of 830 damage (slashing, divine). Four treants killed.
But all too soon, the attack sequence ended, and she was forced back to Galian’s side by the renewed push of the treants. She gulped in a breath and waited for her pulse to settle before she repeated the manoeuvre. But it was a stopgap measure at best, she knew. Eventually, she would run out of stamina or make a mistake. She stole a glance at Aveyad. His face was scrunched up in furious thought. Hurry up, Aveyad and find us a way out of this.
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On the right flank, the celestial elemental received Aveyad’s orders over the spirit-bond. “Your will, Champion,” it responded. Then the creature hunched over and, unhinging its jaw impossibly wide, spat out celestial winds. Tornadoes, summoned from the celestial plains, formed within the creature’s body. At the elemental’s command they leapt forth and poured into the chamber in a fury of sound and air. Gale-force winds ripped through the gathered treants, sending many hurtling backwards and leaving the rest dazed and faltering.
A celestial elemental has cast celestial winds (duration: channelled spell that lasts until deactivated, cone length: 5m, chance to resist: 5%, damage: 10-30 HP per second), 18 treants dazed, 12 treants pushed back.
Rooted to the spot by the titanic forces it channelled, the elemental swung its head back and forth, and swept away the treants from the party’s right flank.
Heedless of the winds, the treants stubbornly tried to push through, but the winds were too powerful, and they were flung back time and again as the elemental channelled the celestial winds.
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“I hear and obey, Champion,” said the holy knight over the spirit-bond as it acknowledged Aveyad’s orders. The knight stood tall, and leaning forward, charged across the left to Galian’s side on the line’s centre.
A holy knight has charged 5m, 10 treants knocked down (duration: 3 seconds).
There, he clanged his sword and shield together as he threw out tendrils of will in a psionic challenge that taunted the treants into directing their attacks towards him, much to the relief of a sorely beset Galian.
A holy knight has cast taunt (radius: 1m, chance to resist: 7%, buff: taunted, duration: 24 seconds).
Six treants are taunted (compelled to attack the caster).
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Talia was getting desperate. She didn’t think she could keep Galian alive much longer. Despite her frequent mini-offensives, she had not been able to thin the treants’ numbers sufficientl
y to relieve the pressure against them. Talia licked her lips. It was time to take a gamble.
Howling winds from the party’s right flank pulled her gaze that way. The elemental channelled celestial winds. A bold move and a dangerous one. If the celestial ran out of essence before the treants were defeated, its winds would die and the party would not be able to keep the treants from penetrating their cordon from that direction. Her gaze skipped to Aveyad. He was in the midst of a spell. What is he casting? she wondered.
Galian stumbled and she moved to cover him. A second later, a blurred streak announced the holy knight’s arrival in the centre. Shielded on both sides by the heavy fighters, Galian gratefully regained his feet. A second later, the hovering Velia healed him of his injuries. The knight taunted the nearby treants and pulled some of their attention away from Galian and Talia.
Talia glanced again at Aveyad, this time unable to disguise the worry in her gaze. He was still casting. What is he doing? As much as she appreciated the extra help in the centre, the holy knight’s departure had left a gaping hole on the left. Behind the knight, the treants were surging into the gap created by the holy knight’s withdrawal. The titan was mobbed. Beset of all sides, the beleaguered giant was helpless to swing his club. It would fall soon.
A treant has hit Talia for 0 damage (18 blocked by divine shield). Remaining shield: 267 / 450 HP.
Taking advantage of her distraction, a treant’s blow had pierced her guard. She turned her attention back to the melee in front of her. She only hoped Aveyad knew what he was doing.
And hadn’t damned them all.
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Reaching into the magical core at the heart of his spirit, Aveyad pulled out white strands of essence, and wove them into lines of air, charged with static and the form of lightning. Peripherally, he saw the titan pulled down.
But not all the treants mobbed the titan as he expected. Many streamed past, into the party’s unprotected middle. A cold shiver of fear ran up Aveyad’s spine, and he nearly dropped the weaves of his spell.
He had to finish quickly, or he would have doomed them all.
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Alok let his arrow fly. The flaming arrow landed in the centre of its mark. He smiled in satisfaction. Another demon killed. Or at least it would be, once the arrow’s magical fire ate through its treant shell.
He pulled out another arrow and was about to set it to his quiver, when a disturbance on the party’s left flank drew his attention. His eyes widened. The party’s defensive cordon had been breached and a flood of treants streamed in.
“Lera, Elias, look! The treants are through on the left. We have to stop them!”
Flinging down his bow, he unsheathed his swords and raced to intercept the creatures before they could assault Talia and Galian from the rear. Behind him, he heard Elias’ and Lera’s bows clatter as they took up their own swords and followed him.
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Aveyad completed the spell before the titan could be defeated. He drew the charged lines of air across the party’s left flank, centred on the young titan’s position, and placed to trap as many of the treants that spilled through the party’s perimeter. On the edge of his vision, he saw the three rangers rush to meet the treants.
Aveyad has cast shock wall (length: 21m, chance to resist: 5%, duration: 42 seconds, damage: 21 HP per second), 24 treants stunned.
Aveyad’s shock wall has healed a young titan for 21 HP.
The shock wall flared to life, and the treants within it fell into a stupor, stunned and electrocuted, while the young titan was revitalised. The planar creature sat up and recovered his dropped club. The titan—a creature born of the storms—was not only immune to the shock wall’s crackling energy, he was healed by it as well.
Aveyad breathed out a sigh of relief. The left flank had been secured, though there were still the nine treants that had broken through to deal with. The rangers were doing their best to hold them off, but the three elves were in trouble.
Three treants have hit Lera for a total of 64 damage (blunt). Remaining: 338 / 402 HP.
Three treants have hit Elias for a total of 57 damage (blunt). Remaining: 443 / 500 HP.
Three treants have hit Alok for a total of 21 damage (blunt). Remaining: 339 / 360 HP.
He moved to their aid. Conscious of the need to conserve his essence, he aimed a measured spread of magical projectiles into the nine treants to disrupt their attacks and allow the beleaguered rangers to get in blows of their own.
Drawing on his essence, he wove golden strands of essence through the Planar sceptre and released a flight of starbursts into the treants on the left.
Aveyad’s volley of 5 starbursts have hit 5 treants for a total of 302 damage (divine).
The golden sparks of divinity bit into the disguised demons, causing them to momentarily falter. Lowering the Planar sceptre, he raised the Spellcaster’s wand and unleashed a flurry of shock bolts to the treants on the right.
Aveyad’s volley of 4 shock bolts have hit 4 treants for a total of 160 damage (air), 4 treants dazed (duration: 1 second).
The blinding-white miniature lightning bolts crackled as they struck and for a brief moment dazed the treants. But it was not enough.
Beset by two treants, Lera missed a block and opened herself to a raking blow. The treant’s thorn-encrusted branches shredded her leathers, and ripped through her exposed torso.
A treant has critically hit Lera for a total of 30 damage (blunt). Remaining: 308 / 402 HP.
Lera has sustained a major wound (punctured artery, damage: 2 HP per second).
Lera collapsed, writhing in agony and with arms clenched around her wounded side. Alok stepped over her fallen form and attempted to shield her, fending off the attacks of six treants at once. But already he struggled.
In that split-second, Aveyad was confronted with a devil’s choice. Prioritise the mission and conserve his essence, or save his companions. He did not have to think twice. He activated dual casting. Tendrils of will raced through his being and split the magical pathways in his body into two imperfect copies of the original, temporarily granting him the ability to dual cast, but at a much higher essence cost.
Not pausing, he raised both his wands and sent simultaneous streams of stars and lightning into the treants. He targeted the weakest of the creatures that assailed Alok.
Aveyad has activated dual casting.
Aveyad’s volley of 2 starbursts + 2 shock bolts have hit a treant for a total of 160 damage (divine, air). Treant killed.
It exploded in a shower of white and gold sparks. He shifted his fire to the next. Shrieking, it too fell to the ground, a charred mess. Not hesitating, he sent his magical missiles leaping from treant to treant, spending essence at a prodigious rate to kill off the creatures as quick as he could.
Aveyad’s volley of 15 starbursts + 14 shock bolts have hit 8 treants for a total of 1209 damage (divine, air). Eight treants killed.
Essence pool depleted.
When the last one fell over dead, he hurried over to Lera’s huddled form, ignoring the frozen Alok and Elias, who had been struck speechless by his display of magical might. He crouched down to lay hands on Lera’s wounded torso.
Lay hands was a conduit spell, and thankfully required no essence of his own. Golden tendrils of essence, drawn from Eld, spun out from his hands and into Lera’s injured side.
Aveyad’s lay hands has healed Lera for 43 HP. Remaining: 255 / 402 HP.
Aveyad’s lay hands has healed Lera for 40 HP. Remaining: 295 / 402 HP.
Aveyad’s lay hands has healed Lera for 44 HP. Remaining: 339 / 402 HP.
Lera’s wound has stabilised.
Her wound closed and the bleeding stopped. The wound was still there, but the injury had been stabilised. He would need more time than he had available now to heal her fully. He had mended her as best he could for now. It would have to do.
Aveyad stood up wearily. With his essence pool nearly depleted, his body was shaky. It took
him a moment to get his trembling limbs under control. There was not much else that he could contribute to the fight.
He lifted his head to survey the battle. It seemed well in hand. On the right, the elemental had single-handedly crushed the treants. The treants had foolishly tried to wade through the elemental’s celestial winds and had died in droves.
On the left, while matters progressed slower, the outcome was no less certain. The shock wall held the treants captive until the young titan stomped over and crushed them with his storm-forged club.
On the front, the line seemed to have stabilised. Talia and the holy knight had the treants under control with heretic’s hate and taunt, while Galian in between, prevented either from being overrun. Velia flitted between the three, healing them of any substantial damage incurred. Once the celestial elemental and the young titan could swing round in support of the centre, the battle’s outcome was assured.
Aveyad looked at the rangers. He had acted impulsively, and with the same recklessness he often accused Talia of. And quite likely put the mission at risk. But he had saved his companions, and he couldn’t find it within himself to regret his decision.
He breathed in deeply. They would face whatever came next as best they could.
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Battle Log (Ilenmon Dungeon Dive, Pit Chamber)
The battle has ended.
Combat results
Hostiles encountered: 90 treants.
Hostiles killed: 90 treants.
Party members: 6 remaining.
Floor status: 38% complete.
Primary objective: 300 / 1,000 essence crystals gathered.
The battle ended as Talia drove Judgement through the last treant. She leaned wearily on her sword and wiped the sweat off her brow. The fight had been brutal. Several times the treants had almost broken through the front. To hold them back, she had been forced to use her abilities more than she had wanted.