Start of this adventure from the end of Chapter 76

They entered the dungeon in high spirits, eager to go kill a few named bosses and score some points. That plan didn't last long.

Joseph looked around nervously. They had appeared on a small ledge overlooking a yawning chasm. A thin bridge about four feet wide spanned the hundred-foot gap. "I hate heights, i really do."

Timmy noticed it was just five of them on the ledge. "This is totally new, and we're split up. What is going on? Since when do dungeons change?"

Hugh scratched his chin. "Maybe having a new dungeon keeper, does it? Did you look at the dungeon controls at all?"

Timmy regretted not doing so. "No, I just wanted to blow off some steam and get some points. I'll look when we get out of here. Let’s see where the bridge goes." He started to move across when Joseph reminded him of their new marching order. "Sorry boss, but remember? You're in the middle now. DPS and healing depending on what's needed. We have a decent tank to handle the front."

Timmy hated the idea but gave in.

This one-armed crap was bull-shit. The whole situation was just bad! Had Suzette really died?! That was horrible. When did he become one of the bad guys? This was supposed to be a glorious crusade with him as the hero and Brandon handling the other details. They'd won! War over and Vern coming to surrender. And then suddenly it all went bad. Brandon bullying Suzette...Suzette collapsing and that horrible message...and then the Butcher enraging and tearing him and Brandon apart with his bare hands!

He needed to do some thinking when he got out, but first he wanted to kill stuff. "Good plan Joey. Let's head out."

Halfway across the bridge, the spiders started dropping. Big furry ones the size of basketballs. They slowly descended on webs, landing on the bridge before and behind them. Timmy swatted one out of the air as it dropped on him. "Junior league stuff, guys. Clear as we go. I'll take the rear and keep things clear. Hugh, pick them off as they drop if you can."

Hugh hated spiders. He really hated ones the size of small dogs dropping on him out the darkness. His nervousness might have made him mis-judge what Timmy meant. Then again, he really loved big flashy spells. "Fireball".

The spell crisped dozens of spiders that were in the air and had the added effect of giving them a look at the room. Below them was a drop of thirty feet down to a bone strewn pit with several large rats running around and corpses bound in spider silk. Above was a huge mass of webbing that was burning merrily. Panicked spiders were emerging from the webs. Dozens the size of basketballs, hundreds the size of baseballs, and crispy burning little spiders by the thousands.

A burning mass of sticky webbing fell behind them on the bridge. "Run for it, just run!" Timmy could see the whole nest was going to come down soon. They made it across to the other side, but found no way out. Joey spotted the door in the pit. "Look! There's a door in the pit on the other side under the bridge where we couldn't see it, and some stairs over on the right to get down."

David looked at the pit. "So, the door out is in a pit about to be filled by a huge mass of burning sticky webs and thousands of angry spiders? Good start to this little adventure."

Joseph hated the idea of wading into that mess. "I"m going to suggest we move to the back of this little alcove, and give the fire time to finish the webs and kill as much as it can, and then see if we can go back across the bridge and down a rope to the door."

David nodded his approval. "Good plan, what do you think Sir Timothy? Your call."

"Yeah, I guess so. I hate waiting, but I also hate getting all that webbing on my armor. It takes forever to clean off."

"I wonder what the other group is dealing with?"

=*=

Party two:

Saphronmage (arcane sigilist)

Sniperdiperdoo (arcane archer)

Ninjettebrunette (quarterling scout)

Bzrker666 (barbarian berserker)

Bruno (Contract Worker - Hauler.)

"Where the hell are we?" Saphronmage looked around at the room they were in. Nothing but scattered bones and scorched flagstone in it, and no sign of Timmy's group. This better not go pear shaped. She'd just shelled out 20 gold for her Robes of Many Pockets, and didn't want to get them messed up. She'd had to pay three more gold to have them dyed in her signature deep yellow. Storage items were too rare in this game. As a sigilist, she had to pack a ton of ink bottles, parchment, colored chalk, and magic powders. The 57 small pockets of the new robe were perfect for her.

"OK, pay attention folks. We didn't anticipate being split up. The other party has both healers. We have dps. So we kill fast and furious and have to rely on some healing potions if needed."

"Bruno, what sort of supplies are you packing?"

Bruno was a tall human with large arms. He wore a huge frame on his back that held three chests, and had several sacks hanging from the sides and a round shield. He was useless in a fight like all contract workers, but he was awesome to have in a raid when you wanted to take every last rusted weapon or copper coin.

"Sorry Miss Saphron, but I'm dead empty except for my lunch. I was told to bring nothing in so we could maximize clearing out the top floor."

Saphron felt a migraine coming on. "Damn. Ok, this will be slow, but I have a Sigil of Bandaging that can heal some if we stop for an hour. Let’s get moving."

Ninjette moved silently up the corridor. After a couple of moments Bzrker666 followed because no one had told him not to. The ROUS decided this was a great time to drop screaming from the rafters.

Saphronmage has failed her save vs ROUScream and is stunned for 1 round.

Sniperdiperdoo has failed his save vs ROUScream and is stunned for 1 round.

Bruno immediately moved to a corner and squatted down, presenting nothing but a wall of chests. He held his shield by both hands over his head. The sigilist and archer stood exposed as the ROUS started tearing into them

Ninjette turned her head to see what was causing the noise behind her as the first of the weasels came around the corner. Bzrkr666 saw the swarm of rodents and charged, his skin glowing bright red and his twin axes sprouting fire and lightning.

Sensing no danger from the stack of chests, the ROUS concentrated on the cheese-colored morsel in front of them.

Saphronmage has been bitten by a ROUS for 35 points of damage.

Saphronmage is poisoned!

Saphronmage has been Critically bitten by a ROUS for 67 points of damage.

Saphronmage is poisoned!

Saphronmage has been bitten by a ROUS for 28 points of damage.

Saphronmage is poisoned!

Saphronmage has been bitten by a ROUS for 36 points of damage.

Saphronmage is poisoned!

Saphronmage has been bitten by a ROUS for 32 points of damage.

Saphronmage is poisoned!

Saphronmage is badly injured! Health 47/245

A player who takes the mage skill kit for their starting character starts with 100 health. After that, they gain 25 points per level along with the normal bonuses for STR and CON. Neither of those stats are what those trying to make a career as a spell slinger concentrate on. Saphronmage had raised her CON by 1 point with her tertiary Jogging skill. Which explains why she wasn't feeling very well after taking 198 points of damage while she was stunned, leaving her with only a sliver of health left.

Oh, and poison.

You have taken 5 points of poison damage x5.

Health: 22/245

The poison coursing through her system also slowed her down. She had a brief instant where she became un-stunned before the ROUS struck again and she dropped to the floor, dead.

Sniperdiperdoo tried to put some distance between him and the ROUS. Three of them charged him and he put an arrow into one, charging it recklessly with mana. The ROUS exploded. Like the sigilist, they were also something of a 'glass cannon'. The other two tackled the archer to the ground. The next round he was unsuccessful in getting away from four ROUS and was gnawed to death.

Ninjette raced to the room, only to see Saphron dead and the archer underneath the pile of large mutated rats. She quickly killed three of them from behind. The fourth bit her once before she killed it. She turned to see a few hundred weasels charging her and the barbarian underneath a mountain of squirming fur. She quickly grabbed the little loot on the ROUS and drank down a vial of fast acting poison. Less painful by far than being nibbled to death.

Brzrker was covered in a swarm of weasels. Many were dead at his feet as he swung wildly around him. He had large wounds where two had attached themselves to his legs and exploded like fury limpet mines. His nostrils burned from poison gas, and one eye stung from a spray of acid as he cut a rat in half. He fought on for a dozen rounds until there was nothing left to kill. As his rage ended, so did his resistance to poison, pain, and bleeding. He was dead two rounds later with no one around to heal him.

Weaseltongue the Very Clever walked down the hallway quite pleased with himself. The improvements the dungeon keeper had given him worked very well. This group hadn't even gotten to the Rat-Hydra. Hopefully he could test it out next time. He was puzzled by the large stack of chests in the corner. Investigating he smelled tasty food, and scared human.

"Excuse me frightened and soon to be dead human, but could you please explain to Weaseltongue the Very Clever what you are doing, and what that lovely smell is?"

Bruno saw no reason to turn around. "I'm hiding, go away. I didn't hurt anyone, and didn't see anything. I'm just the packrat."

"The packrat? Explain packrat? You don't smell rattish!"

"A packrat is a minion that hauls big loads of stuff. That's me. I haul loot out of the dungeon. But look, how about a deal? You let me go, and you can have my lunch!"

Weaseltongue the Very Clever considered. He could just take the 'Lunch'...but what was the fun of that? He needed to spread terror in the upper world. "What is in the 'lunch'? Is it tasty."

"I've got two cheese sandwiches, a barbequed rib from the tavern, and an apple."

"Weaseltongue the Very Clever is pleased with your offering! We have a deal."

Bruno handed over his food, and the rat showed him a secret passage back to the first floor. Bruno promised to spread word of the fiendish traps in the dungeon and to bring more cheese the next time he came in.

=*=

Timmy saw the notification on his raid screen that four people were dead, and one had left the dungeon. So much for the raid. It was up to his group. Like always.

The fires had burned low. Spiders still moved around in the remaining webbing, but most of it was on either end of the room, away from the door. They move across the bridge slowly, and Louie dropped down. The door was unlocked. He carefully turned the handle to reveal a long hallway. Motioning to the others to climb down, he moved in and started scouting ahead.

In an alcove about 50' into the hallway, Louie saw a large chest with gold trim. A body was laying in front of it with 3 darts in its back. The lock on the chest was broken, the lid open an inch, and a crowbar was in the corpse's hand. It all told a story of an impatient player who thought breaking into things would save him from traps. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he opened the chest and checked its contents. He could always tell Timmy nothing was in it.

Instead of loot, he saw teeth. Lots and lots of teeth. A huge purple tongue wrapped around his throat and pulled him into the chest. Louie had time for a small scream as the mimic in front of him heaved itself up on eight spidery legs and the huge maw of the creature bit down on his head and torso. Joseph entered the hallway to see a chest on spider legs running away from him, with Louie's legs sticking out it.

Too bad for Louie. He wasn't chasing a monster into a dungeon without the others.

Timmy, David, and Hugh made it down a minute later, and David shut the door and spiked it. Timmy wasn't happy to hear Louie had fallen prey to a mimic. Again. Either he was getting dumber, or mimics were getting smarter.

"We lost Louie, so David is on point, followed by me, then Hugh, and then Joe in the rear. Let's be careful folks."

Four destroyed chests and two dead mimics later they made it to another large cave. The single occupant was a rat/spider hybrid of huge proportions. The body was arachnid with eight legs ending in hooked claws. Mounted on that was the torso of a huge rat kin holding an axe in each hand, and several more axes hanging from straps on its torso. They entered the room, carefully looking for other monsters or traps. Their foe waited patiently, a hundred feet away.

Timmy looked at the monster. "What do we think folks? Pretty damn big. This might just be a straight forward boss fight."

David nodded. "And wouldn't that be nice for a change. He'll be throwing axes though, no need for so many otherwise. Maybe you and I lead with shields and try to tease out his ammo first?"

"Yeah, lets' do that. Help me switch from sword to shield. Before we engage, light him up good Hugh, and shave off some of his health."

Timmy and David moved up. At about 50' the rat-spider threw his axes at them. Both were concentrating on their shield skills, and took little damage. They started to rush the thing as it drew two more axes. Hugh cast his Fire Beam spell. The spell was single target and would do a significant amount of damage with a high chance to hit.

The rat-spider crossed both axes in front of him, and the spell reflected off of them, bouncing back and hitting Hugh.

Quit hitting yourself! That hurts!

Hugh hits Hugh for 110 points of damage. Hugh fails to resist his own spell since he was busy casting it.

While Hugh was putting out the fire on his clothes, Joseph tossed him a quick heal, and David scored a nice hit on the Rat-Spider. Timmy tried a shield rush, but the creature had too much mass and too many legs to knock down. David's next hit was blocked by the Rat-Spider's axes, and his sword rebounded, hitting him in the head.

David had hit David for 120 points of damage. Don't worry, no one got a screenshot of you doing that, I'm sure.

Timmy and David were both slashed for minor damage from the front legs. The creature was keeping its axes ready to reflect their hits. Timmy tossed away his shield and drew his sword. "We need to hit it more; and overwhelm its defense. Heal whoever takes damage Joe!"

A minute went by as both Timmy and David wore the beast down with slashes, taking some damage from the legs. The thing would block some of the attacks, but Joseph was able to keep them healed. Hugh kept to his smaller spells in case one was reflected. The rat-spiders health was steadily going down. The monster must have realized it wasn't going to win, as it changed strategies, and charged at Joseph and Hugh, the sudden movement catching Timmy and David off guard and moving them aside.

Hugh saw the huge beast bearing down on him and panicked. He cast Fire Beam again. It was the wrong time for a critical hit.

I thought we agreed you'd quit doing this?

Hugh critically hits Hugh for 220 points of damage. Hugh fails to resist his own spell since he was busy casting it

Can we say crispy critter? Nice try. But you have certainly earned a chance at picking up fire resistance in Tier 2.

Hugh dropped to the ground, burning and near dead. The Rat-Spider buried its axes into him to be sure.

The monster's moment of triumph was short lived however, as all three remaining characters hit it from behind, severing two of its legs and bringing its health down low. The fight was over a minute later.

"Damn, we lost Hugh. That thing wasn't too tough once you figure out the reflecting skill." David selected a couple of hand axes to take with him.

Timmy found his shield and Joseph hooked it to his back. "Yeah, it could reflect, or attack, but not both. Not good for a boss. If instead of one big one, there were several of them, it would be much tougher. More actions and more reflections."

The room emptied onto the spiral heading down to the Big Rat. Timmy looked at the ramp but shook his head. "Not today, but soon. Let's get out of here and see what happened to the others. They should be waiting."

Joseph stopped walking. "Timmy, they're dead. They won't be back until the end of the war."

Timmy turned around, angry. "What? That's not right. The dungeon isn't part of the war, it shouldn't count as casualties. They should be back soon, you'll see."

David and Joseph shared a look and then followed him out. Neither said the obvious come back that maybe he could complain to the dungeon keeper.

From the shadows, a clever rat-kin took notes.