She glanced at the charred and burnt remains of the treants in the party’s centre. The treants had broken through the party’s left. She swallowed bile. Too preoccupied with holding the centre, she had not even realised the risk. Now Lera was critically wounded. Only Aveyad’s and the ranger’s quick thinking had prevented worse from happening.
Talia surveyed the party. They were in bad shape. Aveyad and the other three rangers knelt over Lera, tending to her wound. Lera and Aveyad would be no use in another fight, not without rest and recovery. The rest of the party’s essence and stamina pools were not in great shape either, each more than half-depleted.
It was time to retreat to the sanctuary of the entrance chamber. Reminded of her duty again, she called out, “Alok, get to work on the door mechanism. Galian and Elias keep watch on those open entrances. Let me know if anything approaches.” The rangers scrambled to their tasks as she walked over to Aveyad.
“How is she?” she asked.
Aveyad looked up, eyes heavy with strain. “She is stable, but we can’t heal her here. The wound is severe and will require the constant application of lay hands for at least an hour to heal.”
Talia nodded. It was as she had suspected.
Aveyad glanced at Alok, hunched over and tinkering with the mechanism beneath the pressure plate. “We’re retreating?”
Talia nodded. “We’re in no shape for another encounter.”
Aveyad hesitated. “Talia… I know I shouldn’t have spent my essence like that, but there was no time and I had to—”
Talia clamped down a hand firmly on his shoulder. “Stop, Aveyad. You made the right choice. After we rest up, we will have a day yet. We will figure out how to complete the mission. Just worry about keeping her alive until we reach the sanctuary.”
Aveyad bent his head gratefully and turned his attention back to Lera.
✽✽✽
Ilenmon Dungeon (First Floor)
Floor captain: Sufalyx.
Floor minions: 62% remaining.
Roving bands available: 3.
Invaders: 6 remaining.
Sufalyx frowned. The treants had not fared as well as he had expected. The party, it seemed, had more than a few tricks up their sleeves. So, the caster was a summoner, one with particularly powerful creatures. Is he the champion then? But the fighter with the deadly sword was an equally likely candidate.
The treants had not damaged them as much as he had hoped, but given the invaders’ almost certain low levels, their essence reserves must be running low… and one of the roving bands had completed their transformation—should I send them in? Yes, now was the time to push.
It was a risk, but well worth the potential rewards. He chuckled mirthlessly. Now champions, he thought, let us see how you fare against this.
✽✽✽
Five minutes later, Talia was pacing up and down the Pit Chamber. Alok was still not done. She began to worry. The party was exposed here. If Alok did not manage—
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alok sit back. Talia pivoted on her heel and hurried over. For a second nothing happened. Then, with a grinding of gears and rumble of stone, the doors began to roll up again. Talia released a breath she had not realised she held.
“Told you I could do it,” Alok said, with a quick smile.
Talia nodded. “You did. Well done.”
Alok rubbed the back of his head, massaging strained muscles. “How is she?”
“Still stable.” Talia raised her voice. “Let’s move out people. Alok, Elias, you two will carry Lera. Aveyad stay close by and monitor her. Galian, you are with me. We will guard the party’s rear as we retreat to the sanctuary.”
The party spun into action. With the others preoccupied, Talia closed her eyes and allowed herself a small smile. They had sprung the demons’ trap and survived without any losses. Thank Eld.
Bohm… BOhm… BOHM.
Her eyes snapped open. What now? The rest of the party froze as well. They had heard it too. She strained to locate the sound. The booming thud sounded again. Clearer this time. The smile slipped off her face. It was the stomp of marching feet.
Something approached from deeper within the dungeon. Her eyes crossed Aveyad’s as realisation hit both of them at once. The floor captain had sent a roving band. Dammit! She swung her gaze to the rangers.
“Move!” she snapped. “Back into the corridor quickly. We retreat as fast as we can to the sanctuary. Go!”
✽✽✽
The party gathered outside the door. It was still rolling up, ponderously slow. The moment he could, Alok slipped under. Then, working in tandem with Elias he pulled the still unconscious Lera through. She was wrapped in Aveyad’s cloak which had been repurposed as a stretcher.
After Lera was out, the rest of the party rolled through. With Lera’s stretcher leading the way, they retreated down the corridor as fast as they dared. Their pace was limited to a quick walk. If they went any faster, Aveyad feared Lera’s wound would reopen, and turn fatal. All the while the echo of marching feet drew nearer.
Aveyad kicked angrily at a loose stone as he kept pace beside the two rangers who carried Lera. He and Talia had been so preoccupied with the dungeon’s odd behaviour that they had forgotten the most basic tenets of dungeoneering: always be prepared for ambush by the roving bands.
The floor shuddered, vibrating in tandem with the stomping feet of the approaching enemy. The demons closed too fast. He exchanged a glance with Talia and voiced what they both knew. “We’re not going to make it. They will reach us before we get to the sanctuary.”
Talia nodded reluctantly. “Keep moving.” She gestured to Lera. “Get her to the sanctuary as fast as you can. I will try to slow them.”
Aveyad wanted to protest, but the only alternative strategies he could come up with were no better. The champions could call on Eld for aid. It was a measure of last resort, and one which Armsmaster Sirius had repeatedly admonished them to use only in the direst of circumstances. But while their circumstances certainly qualified as dire, commune with Eld required time, and right now, time was what they lacked most.
No, thought Aveyad, our best chance of escape lies with Talia.
Game Data
Ability: Dual casting
Skill: Spellcasting.
Description: This ability temporarily doubles the magical pathways in a caster’s body, enabling them to cast two spells simultaneously.
Rank: Journeyman.
Cost: 320 Will per hour.
Execution time: 5 seconds.
Duration: Infinite (activated ability).
Buff: Can cast two spells simultaneously.
Ability: Shock wall
Skill: Air magic.
Description: Places a permeable field of static at the targeted area. All creatures that enter the wall’s area of effect take damage. Warning: Only one shock wall may be active at a time.
Rank: Apprentice.
Cost: 80 Essence.
Execution time: 5 seconds.
Area of effect: Wall of length of 1m x skill at targeted area. Maximum wall width of 1m.
Range: Up to the caster’s direct line of sight.
Damage: Inflicts a maximum of 0.5 x skill of air damage per second damage to the targets.
Duration: 1 second x skill.
Debuff: Causes all creatures caught in the ward to be shocked (stunned). Can be resisted.
Chapter 12
Mages and warriors. Game scholars the world over have debated for centuries on which is better, and while today it is accepted fact that mages are the stronger of the two, this is not the whole truth.
Widely known, but not often acknowledged, is that at lower levels, warriors are the more powerful. Apprentice and novice mages are perpetually starved of essence, and while they may have a plethora of mighty spells at their beck, they often cannot use them due to a shortage of essence. Warriors with their lower cost and less flashy abilities do not suffer the same handicap.
But at h
igher ranks, the balance swings in favour of mages, who then have both potent spells and the essence to cast them. —Mechanics of the Game by Jostfyler Graldvir, Game scholar and champion of Weeran.
Talia slowed her pace and opened the distance between her and the trio with the injured Lera. Besides her, the corporal did the same. The footsteps grew ominously louder, but their foes were still not within sight. It did not bode well.
It was not until they reached the halfway mark, and Talia began to hope they would make it after all, that she got her first glimpse of what pursued them.
It was a group of minotaurs, each six-feet tall and wielding great axes. But for their cloven hooves and sharpened horns, the bovine horrors were fully covered in plate mail. Their visors were raised, revealing distinctive glowing-red eyes that were fixed unblinkingly on the fleeing party.
Creature: Minotaur knight.
Type: Monster (disguised minor demon).
Rarity: Uncommon.
Level: 39.
Health: 800 / 800.
Attack: 40-50 (blunt, slashing).
Defences (physical / psi / spell): 70 / 39 / 39.
Special effects:
Demonic (+100% divine damage, -100% chaos damage).
Fire retardant: Resistant to Fire (-50% fire damage).
Plate armour (-90% piercing damage, -80% slashing damage).
Talia’s heart sank. Ten minotaur knights. Even fully rested, the party would have a hard time defeating this menace. She cast a despairing glance at Aveyad, but his attention was fixed on Lera, and he had not caught sight of the minotaurs yet.
The minotaurs trotted relentlessly forward. The ease of their march belied the rapid pace of their pursuit. She tightened her grip on her sword. She could handle two of the creatures. Three even. But the rest of the party… None of them, in their present condition, could go toe to toe with even one of the behemoths.
There were not many choices here, and all of them bad. The demon captain had played this well. He had kept them distracted by the dungeon’s strangeness and lured them, overconfident and brash, into the Pit Chamber. She cursed. Her fault that. He had nearly had them there. And now this—the hammer blow, in the form of a full squad of minotaur knights.
The party could not win this—not unless they called upon Eld for aid. Of the two more powerful spells that Talia could use to directly channel aid from Eld, avatar’s boon was the quicker. But it still required a full minute of commune. And she would not have a minute. The minotaurs would make certain of it. It is too risky, she judged.
Which left escape. The odds of which were better, for at least some of the party to reach the safety of the entrance chamber. If she could distract the behemoths long enough. If she did that—and survived—she stood a much better chance of escaping on her own. Can I hold them long enough? Given the strength of the force that hurtled towards them, she doubted it. But she had to try.
She stopped. Beside her Galian also halted. He frowned at her in confusion. She turned to the elf and said quietly, “Galian rejoin your squad, and tell Aveyad—” She stopped, choking back sudden emotion. Galian stared at her, alarmed now. She breathed in deeply and resumed. “Tell Aveyad, to keep running and not to stop until you reach the sanctuary of the entrance chamber.” She paused. “Tell him, I will rejoin you there.” She had to add that last bit, or fool Aveyad would refuse to leave.
“But—” protested Galian.
“Go, Corporal!” she snapped, the whip of command in her voice.
Galian stumbled backwards. “Yes, Champion!” he mumbled. After one last backward glance, he fled to the party.
Talia, on her own, turned to face the minotaurs. Appropriate, she thought. Just the way she always suspected it would end. Her alone, but for her God. When the creatures were almost in range, she gathered her essence, and cast divine shield and heretic’s hate. Then she charged. Into the approaching minotaurs.
✽✽✽
The minotaur lieutenant, Puwroc, pounded forward with his squad. He squinted at the fleeing prey and tried to figure out which one was the champion. Sufalyx’s orders had been emphatic. At all cost, he was to kill the champion. The rest were unimportant. He sniffed the air and smelt elven blood. One of the archers was injured. That would make it less interesting.
He peered at the mortals again. With one wounded, there was little chance of them escaping. Even weighed down by a mountain of armour, the minotaur bodies his demonic soldiers wore were strong enough to maintain their pace for hours yet. Puwroc was impressed by the shells Sufalyx had crafted for them. Rarely had he worn a mortal body this capable.
The prey split. One stayed behind while the rest fled. Puwroc chuckled, the sound an awful blend of gnashing teeth and wet coughs. Her ploy was clear. She intended to delay his troops while her party escaped. Does that puny human truly expect to hold us for long?
His amusement died as a divine shield flickered around the fighter. That would make her one of the potential champions. Though her actions made that unlikely. In Puwroc’s experience, the strong never sacrificed themselves for the weak. Sufalyx’s information had identified her as dangerous. Not enough to threaten his squad of course, but formidable enough that he would have to be careful with how he handled her.
The fighter had a taunt ability of some sort, he recalled. She must intend on using it to distract his squad while the champion fled. Puwroc would not let that happen. He ordered his troops to cast bull’s fury.
Ten minotaurs have cast bull’s fury (duration: 4 minutes).
In moments, each minotaur’s mind was wrapped in the red, protective haze of a bovine’s anger that shielded them from the invasive tendrils of a mental attack.
✽✽✽
At the sound of slapping feet, Aveyad’s head whipped around. “Champion—” gasped Galian as his chest heaved for breath.
Aveyad paid him no mind, his attention caught by the horror beyond the ranger. Bearing down on the party was a squad of armoured minotaurs. And standing alone against them was Talia.
What—why—how? A slew of questions ran through his mind, but no sooner did they occur to him than he realised what was happening. And what Talia was doing. “Talia!” he shouted across the battlegroup, but it was no use. She had shut down the link on her end.
She stood no chance. Not against ten minotaurs. Even with Eld’s aid the outcome was doubtful. He swallowed bitterness. But she must know that already.
Galian’s shouts pulled his attention to the elf. “Aveyad, we cannot let her do this! We have to help her!”
He turned to the corporal. Galian’s face was flushed, and he looked ready to charge off to Talia’s aid on his own. The rest of the party though, was in no condition for a fight. Lera hung limp between Elias and Alok while Velia hovered above, and did her best to stop Lera’s wound from worsening. Aveyad himself had barely any essence left, not even enough for a divine shield. Fighting the minotaurs on these terms would be disastrous.
“Corporal—” he began.
“No,” interrupted Galian, anticipating Aveyad’s next words and stubbornly refuting the possibility. “We fight. We will not abandon her,” he said firmly.
He expects me to order a retreat, Aveyad realised. Is that what I was about to do? He looked from Galian to Elias and Alok. Both looked equally grim, but nodded their heads in support of the corporal. “There is a way,” he said slowly, “but it will be dangerous. And we might not all survive.”
“What do we do?” demanded Galian, not bothering to ask about the odds. Aveyad nodded. So be it. He glanced up the corridor. The distance between Talia and the party had opened up. She had begun casting. It would not be long before the minotaurs engaged her.
“Alok, set Lera down and join Galian in front. The two of you will have to protect me. I am going to enter commune and call on Eld for help. The trance will leave me defenceless. I need two minutes. Once the minotaurs become aware of what I am about, they will charge our position to disrupt the commune. You will have to hol
d them off. Can you do that? If not, this will all be for naught.”
The two paled, but nodded nonetheless.
“Elias, do your best to break up their charge, however you can,” said Aveyad.
“And Champion Talia?” asked Galian.
“We have to hope she can hold out long enough,” replied Aveyad grimly.
Without further delay, Aveyad ordered Velia to the side of the two rangers and, sitting down, fell into a trance.
Aveyad has begun commune with Eld.
✽✽✽
Talia emerged from her charge amidst the minotaur company.
Talia has charged 9m, 8 minotaurs knocked down, 2 resisted (duration: 3 seconds).
But her charge bought her no more than a few seconds as the behemoths quickly regained their feet. None attacked. Instead, they shook their heads to clear out their daze and looked to their leader for orders. Heretic’s hate had failed, she realised.
Ten minotaurs have resisted heretic’s hate (mental attack immunity).
Her gambit had been anticipated and the minotaurs had protected their minds. She swung round to check how far the party had managed to flee. And despaired. “Aveyad, you fool, why?” she muttered.
Because of course the party had not fled. Instead, Aveyad sat motionless while Alok and Galian stood guard over him. He was in commune with Eld. The golden motes gathered about his form made that self-evident. The minotaurs had realised the same thing. They ignored Talia and reformed their lines to charge and destroy what they saw as the true threat. Talia cursed. There was no way the two elves could stand against the creatures.
There was only one other way for her to regain the minotaurs’ attention. Show them another threat. Bereft of choice, she called on Eld.
Talia has begun commune with Eld.
✽✽✽
Puwroc stared down the corridor at the dancing motes that surrounded the seated figure beyond the two elves. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction. The champion had finally revealed himself.
His gaze flicked dismissively over the fighter in their midst as he turned to his men and ordered them to form up. Let her stay here while he and his men destroyed her champion. He grinned. It would torture her more than anything else he could do right now. Later, he would have time to think of something more… inventive to punish her insolence. He swung forward and prepared to bellow out the command to charge. Then froze.
Dungeon Dive Page 13
