“They died because of me!” she shouted, surging to her feet and gazing furiously down at Aveyad.
“Maybe,” he replied calmly. “Or maybe they—and more of us—would have died if we had not entered the Pit Chamber with the force we did. Or maybe we would have died had you not charged the minotaurs when you first did. Or maybe Elias would have died had you not slain the lieutenant before engaging the other minotaur.” He shook his head. “They were all difficult choices, Talia.”
Talia opened her mouth to argue, but he spoke over her. “Do you remember Armsmaster Sirius’ words? He was always telling us that good leaders are bred, not born. That to become great leaders, we need to learn from our mistakes. And that half of what being a leader means is making choices—good or bad—and living with the consequences. I never understood what he meant—until now. If he was here right now, he would say, ‘Talia, you made your choices. Now it is time to own the consequences. Next time do better.’ Do you doubt that he would tell you anything else?”
Reluctantly, Talia shook her head.
“You did well Talia.” He paused. “And don’t you dare mention to anyone that I said that!”
A glimmer of a smile appeared on Talia’s face. He patted her arm once before standing and returned to his dinner.
“Thank you, Aveyad,” Talia whispered to his back.
He paused in his step and nodded once in acknowledgement, before retaking his place at the fire.
Game Data
Ability: Avatar’s boon
Skill: Conduit.
Description: Borrows strength from Eld to aid the caster by increasing the player’s power and making them immune to physical damage for a short period. Warning: Once the spell lapses, the caster is afflicted with a debuff.
Rank: Apprentice.
Cost: N/A.
Execution time: 1 minute.
Buff: Boon blessed: all attributes are doubled. The caster is immune to all physical damage.
Debuff: Boon bereaved: All attributes and total energy pools are halved (energy lost by the total energy pool being halved is not regained after the debuff expires).
Duration: 30 seconds buff and 15 seconds debuff.
Ability: Leap of faith
Skill: Divine magic.
Description: Grants the caster divine wings, allowing the player to magically propel their body forward for a single jump.
Rank: Apprentice.
Cost: 80 Essence.
Execution time: 5 seconds.
Buff: A magical leap over a maximum distance of 2m x skill.
Duration: 10 seconds x skill or until used.
Ability: Summon aspect
Skill: Conduit.
Description: Summons an aspect of a demigod or godling pledged to Eld, to aid the caster. Aspects are limited manifestations of their parent entity, that for a brief duration, are anchored to Myelad’s physical realm by the caster. Warning: The aspect is an independent sentient being, and the caster will have little control of its actions.
Rank: Apprentice.
Cost: N/A.
Execution time: 2 minutes.
Summoned: An aspect of a demigod or godling. Aspect level is 1 x skill.
Duration: 10 seconds x skill.
Chapter 14
5 Fei 1850 AB: Day Eleven
Demons and divines. They are two sides of the same coin. Both are immortal creatures. One is bred of divine essence, and the other of chaos. Neither being can be truly killed. Only their physical forms can be destroyed for a time. But the same might that makes demons and divines immortal also prevents them from fully manifesting on the physical plane. When they take form on Myelad, they do so as aspects of their true selves. —Johlya Seerixa, naturalist.
The next morning, Talia was almost back to her old self. If not for the occasional hesitancy in her step and the shadow in her gaze, Aveyad would not have believed the previous day had ever happened.
Lera had awakened in the morning, hale and recovered. Aveyad had felt obligated to be the one to break the news of yesterday’s tragedy to her, despite offers from Elias’ and Talia to shoulder the task. It had been his decision after all, to halt the fleeing party. A large part of the burden of guilt from Alok and Galian’s death was his to bear.
Lera had refused to believe him. At first, she had thought it a cruel joke on his part. Then she had cursed and railed at him, shouting her disbelief. Aveyad had been helpless to console her. It had fallen to Elias to walk Lera through yesterday’s events, and comfort the stricken young woman.
When she eventually rejoined the champions at the campfire, her face was scrubbed clean of tears. But her cheerful, carefree spirit was gone. Lost forever, Aveyad feared.
“Today,” said Talia as she addressed them, “will be much harder. Our party has been weakened, and the floor captain will have our measure now.”
She turned to Aveyad. “What is our count of essence crystals?”
“We have gathered three hundred and twenty-four so far. The minotaurs’ remains contained six each.” He paused and shot a glance at the impassive Lera. “Assuming Aralax managed to chase down and kill the other six creatures, we should find another thirty-six along the way.”
Talia nodded. “It still leaves us far short of our target of one thousand, and we have only the one day remaining. Time is not our only problem though. It has become clear that the floor is not completely spawned. Even if we kill all the minor demons, we will still fall short of our quota.”
“How much short?” asked Elias.
“More than two hundred crystals,” replied Aveyad.
All this time, Lera had been silent. Her gaze was turned inwards as she listened to, but did not partake in the trio’s conversation. At Aveyad’s words, she stirred and asked, “Does that mean we have failed the mission already?”
Aveyad shook his head firmly. “No. There is another option… The floor captain is a demon lord, and on his own, will likely yield more than five-hundred essence crystals.”
“Which brings us to the heart of the matter,” said Talia. She pressed her hands together. “To complete the mission, we have no choice but to face the floor captain.” She stared at where they had burnt the remains of their dead. Her voice brittle, she continued, “Failure is not an option. I will not let their sacrifices be in vain.” She fell silent.
Aveyad took up the thread of the conversation. He and Talia had already discussed the matter, and both were firm in their resolve to go on. He looked at the two rangers. “The battle against the floor captain will be much harder than any we have fought already. There is a good chance more of us will be killed.” He paused to give them a moment to digest his words. “Knowing what we will face, do you still wish to continue?”
Lera and Elias exchanged glances. Aveyad added, “There is no shame in turning back now, you know.”
Elias bowed his head, seeming to leave the decision to Lera. The elven woman’s gaze flitted from Aveyad, to Talia, to the burnt-out remains of Alok and Galian, before coming to rest on Aveyad again. “We go on, Milord,” she said simply.
Aveyad nodded gravely, “Thank you.”
✽✽✽
The party made its way back to the Pit Chamber. Along the way, they encountered several pockets of dropped essence crystals. The minotaurs had not escaped Aralax after all. The Pit Chamber was as they had left it, with its six doors open.
“Which way?” asked Aveyad.
Talia eyed the darkness that shrouded each entrance before shrugging. “We scout them all before deciding.” She turned to the rangers. “Lera, you start with the one on the left. Elias, take the one on the right. Aveyad and I will maintain guard here. Clear?”
Both elves nodded.
“Don’t leave the range of the battlegroup’s communication,” Talia cautioned, “and make sure to send regular updates. If you see anything amiss, get in contact immediately.”
The rangers nodded again. They both knew their business, and Talia’s instructions were not really
necessary. But after the near-disaster with the roving band, the party was still on edge, and none of them found fault with the extra care Talia took.
After a quiet discussion between themselves, Lera and Elias set about exploring the entrances, and left Talia and Aveyad alone in the Pit Chamber. Aveyad glanced around the room. There was nothing for him to do. He sat down near the entrance from which they had entered, and waited. In the middle of the chamber, Talia paced up and down. Every few seconds, she glanced up at the entrances through which the rangers had disappeared.
He wanted to ask how she was doing, but he didn’t see that conversation going very far. “Do you think Lera will be alright?” he asked instead.
Talia stopped her pacing and swung to face him. “She will. She is resilient. Elias handled it well, laying out the facts as he did. The emotional distance helps.” She resumed her pacing.
Aveyad winced, remembering his own fumbling attempt at speaking to Lera. He had gone about it all wrong, he realised. His thoughts broke off as the rangers’ report came across the battlegroup.
“All clear in entryway one. The corridor beyond leads into an empty chamber,” said Lera.
“Same here,” said Elias. “This one is clear as well.”
Aveyad saw Talia’s stiff posture relax slightly at the news. “Good. Head back here and start on the next two,” she said.
✽✽✽
A short while later, the party gathered together to discuss the results of the rangers’ scouting. Four of the entrances had proved to be dead ends, with the corridors from them leading nowhere. The fifth door, the one across from the entrance where they had entered, continued on, deeper into the dungeon.
“So,” said Aveyad heavily. “It is not a maze then.”
Talia grasped his meaning and nodded. “That makes it both easier—and harder.”
Lera and Elias both frowned in confusion. For their benefit, Aveyad expounded. “A dungeon may have one of two basic configurations. The first is a maze, where the floor captain seeks to confuse and slow the invading party with the architecture of the dungeon itself. Such dungeons quickly become convoluted, and in lower floors, they are almost impossible to navigate.”
“But the upside of a maze is that in order to properly misdirect a party, the floor’s force must be diluted to lure the party onto false trails,” added Talia.
“But that is not the case here?” asked Elias.
Talia said, “Correct. The floor captain here seems to have gone with the second option, configuring the floor as one large fortified stretch between the entrance and the exit. Navigating it will be trivial, but the demon’s forces will be concentrated, forcing us to fight every step of the way to gain ground.”
Silence greeted her words as the rangers worked through the implications. Seeming to sense the bleakness of their thoughts, Aveyad added, “It is not all bad though. The dungeon’s mechanics will prevent the captain from concentrating his forces too heavily.”
“But between encounters we may still be ambushed by roving bands,” said Talia. She wanted to make certain Lera and Elias understood what awaited them.
“How many more bands will we encounter?” asked Lera.
Talia said, “It varies. Two is usual for a first floor. No more than three though.” The rangers looked unsettled at the thought of confronting the minotaurs again.
Talia studied their faces. The rangers gazed steadily back at her, despite their unease. Nonetheless, to be certain that no one harboured second thoughts, she asked, “Is everyone ready to proceed?”
Aveyad, Elias and Lera nodded curtly in response.
“Good. Let’s move out.”
✽✽✽
The party proceeded cautiously down the corridor, all four alert for traps and ambushes. The passage’s architecture was unchanged from the one through which they entered the dungeon. After continuing unerringly straight for a few hundred metres, the corridor widened into another room.
Talia halted the party some distance away and sent Aveyad and Lera forward to scout. The chamber, in contrast to the passageway, was well-lit by luminous crystals that lined the ceiling and walls. No door barred the room’s entrance and its light spilled out unimpeded. Aveyad, under the cover of blend, and Lera, cloaked in stealth, crouched just outside the blaze of light to study the chamber’s layout—and occupants.
The room was rectangular in shape, and as large as the Pit Chamber, but had only one other exit. Like the rest of the dungeon, the ceiling stretched high overhead, and gave the room the impression of being even bigger. Within the room were two rows of burning braziers. Each brazier was a copper bowl mounted on a stone pedestal.
Marching between the braziers were giant stone forms that were a patchwork of black rock, and the dull red of smouldering coals. Behind the patrolling shapes were a trail of burning debris. Even from this distance, Aveyad could feel the heat that emanated from the eight creatures. Magma elementals, he thought, as he watched the creatures tramp up and down the chamber with the slow deliberate step of their kind.
His gaze drifted to the exit at the far end of the room. That exit, like the one near which they crouched was unbarred. But guarding it, were two other elementals.
Creature: Magma elemental.
Type: Elemental (disguised minor demon).
Rarity: Rare.
Level: 35.
Health: 450 / 450.
Attack: 55-80 (blunt).
Defences (physical / psi / spell): 95 / 35 / 45.
Special effects:
Burning (-2 HP per second to nearby creatures).
Demonic (+100% divine damage, -100% chaos damage).
Rocked (-90% physical damage).
Magma (immune to fire damage, -90% air damage, +95% water damage).
The floor captain has chosen their forms well, he thought begrudgingly. Magma elementals were formed from igneous rocks, bound together and animated by an elemental spirit of the earth. They were highly resistant to physical and air attacks, which made them a tough challenge for the party.
Aveyad calculated how much essence he would have to expend in the battle. He grimaced. It was a lot. Far more than he could afford to—not with the floor captain still to face. But as he studied the elementals’ lumbering forms, an idea struck him. Perhaps there was another way…
✽✽✽
Five minutes later the party was ready. After a whispered conversation Talia had readily agreed to Aveyad’s plan, and now they were all in place. With one final look to confirm the party’s readiness, Talia completed her own preparations, and cast leap of faith, divine shield, and heretic’s hate. Then she rushed into the room, with Velia trailing behind. Aveyad and the rangers waited concealed at the entrance, ready to act when the time came.
On sighting Talia, the patrolling elementals stomped towards her, while the two guarding the exit remained in place. With Judgement in hand, Talia rushed to meet the creatures bearing down on her. When the elementals were almost in range, she charged past them, knocking down those in her path to engage the two that guarded the exit. The magma elementals had no abilities with which to shield their minds from heretic’s hate and, succumbing to her aura’s mental assault, were forced to abandon their post.
Two magma elementals are enraged (compelled to attack the caster).
Talia stepped backwards, and towards the patrolling elementals. They had picked themselves up and were converging on Talia once more. With the force of an avalanche, the stone behemoths crashed into her rear. Aveyad winced at the impact. Despite being surrounded and jostled from all sides, Talia kept her feet. She weaved Judgement defensively in front of her, and parried as many of the incoming blows as she could, while her divine shield bore the brunt of the rest. All the while she retreated steadily backwards into the room.
Aveyad watched nervously. Even though Talia’s divine shield blocked the damage from the magma’s burning aura, the heat had to be nearly unbearable. Her small form was completely obscured by the larger elementals.
Only Velia’s floating shape above, let him pinpoint her location. Talia fared well, but he knew that would quickly change if her divine shield collapsed.
Despite Aveyad’s apprehension, their plan unfolded without a hitch, and the moment they had waited for, occurred without any harm befalling Talia.
Ten magma elementals are enraged (compelled to attack the caster).
Immediately, Talia charged to the room’s far left corner. The enraged elementals followed. She wedged herself into the corner where the elementals’ own size would work against them. Given her position, only three elementals would be able to attack her at once. She watched the oncoming elementals impassively. “Now Aveyad. Go now!” she commanded.
Aveyad and the rangers raced across the chamber to the corridor beyond. The enraged elementals paid them no attention, and bore down on Talia instead. Aveyad stopped at the exit and turned back to keep watch on Talia, while the rangers continued onwards. “We’re through,” he shouted. “Now get out!”
Talia abandoned the battle and, with a flap of the ethereal wings granted to her by leap of faith, leapt over the elementals that encircled her.
Talia is no longer winged.
She landed gracefully near the exit, and without looking back, fled the room. The elementals turned and attempted to give chase. But it was already too late. The party had escaped into the corridor beyond, where the demons, bound to the chamber by the dungeon’s mechanics, could not follow.
✽✽✽
Battle Log (Ilenmon Dungeon Dive, Chamber 5)
The battle has ended.
Combat results
Hostiles encountered: 10 magma elementals.
Hostiles killed: 0 magma elementals.
Party members: 4 remaining.
Floor status: 46% complete.
Primary objective: 360 / 1,000 essence crystals gathered.
Dungeon Dive Page 16
