-0-0-0-0-0-

The "Lost" Dungeon, Unnamed Island, Kalenic Sea

-0-0-0-0-0-

Felin took point as the party entered the triangular passage, though it was a little tight for someone of his size. In his left hand, he held a newly-lit torch, illuminating the tunnel before him. Light from the flickering flames revealed the roughly-hewn walls of the tunnel, the black sand beneath their feet and the next dozen yards of the tunnel, before it curved off.

He grunted and pushed forwards, the rest of the group following behind. Layla was second, Herna Third, with Teak watching behind them in fourth. After a minute of quiet walking the walls of the passaged seemed to narrow, leaving a smaller gap. With a frown Felin pushed through. Just as he managed to navigate the almost too-tight passage, his armor got caught on an outcropping of rock he hadn't noticed. He turned his head to get a better look at.

It was a hand. A hand made of stone. With uncommon delicacy, he removed the caught strap and grunted at Layla. She looked it over.

"Not human. Never was human. The proportions are wrong and as far as I can See, it's just rock." He nodded and moved on. It took another five minutes till the tunnel ahead became illuminated by a familiar teal light. As they emerged from the darkened tunnel, the first thing they noticed was the light in the cavern roof. The second was that this cavern was not as barren as the previous had been. Layla frowned.

"I don't know how much help I will be here. The Dungeon has saturated all the rock in this area with mana, enough that I wont be able to confidently point out monsters. No dungeon would just waste this much mana. It's done this as a direct counter to my abilities." She concluded to frowns and agitated mutters. Nonetheless, they moved on.

They were led on a back-and-forth pattern, twisting past more stone arms and towering stalagmites. The Mana-light's effects were particularly unnerving, given the sharp and surprisingly deep shadows it cast across their path. Teak was almost overwhelmed, attempting to watch every shadow at once.

They were so busy watching the rocks and shadows that when the trap came, they didn't notice until they were in it's jaws.

With a rumble, eight Monsters quickly un-buried themselves from the sand. One shield-and-sword type, and three of the boxer types on each side.

And the party was trapped in the middle.

Felin wasted no time. Almost the second after the crabs had emerged he was on them, his longsword slicing down onto the unfortunate crab in his way. With reflexes almost as fast, the monster raised it's two bulging claws and intercepted the sword, catching it on the spurs of hardened shell. The man disengaged, just in time to dodge a swing from a second crab. Swinging the sword back around, he sliced through the unprotected joint of the overextended pincer, severing it completely.

Behind him, he heard the 'twang' of Teak's crossbow, followed by a wave of heat and the unhinged laughter of their resident pyromaniac.

The injured crab retreated behind it's fellows. The remaining two boxer-types spread out, boxing him in. The final crab stepped forwards to face him, front and center. There was a moment of stillness between them. Felim almost got the sense that this was a duel. In the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of orange. With a heavy swing he deflected the boxer's wild jab, then twisted to deflect the second boxer's opportunistic attack.

Right. Monsters, he though, No honor at all. The next minute was a blur of steel and shell, pincer and sword clashing and pushing. Completely focused on the dangerous dance, he didn't notice when Layla came under attack.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Okay, lets see. Knight occupied by those four in the front, Pyro and Rogue occupied by the reinforced group of Crabs in the back... This was my opportunity.

I watched as no less than five Assassin Crabs crept slowly up and over the stone barriers keeping the party hemmed in. Neo hadn't yet noticed them, likely thinking that the crabs that had already ambushed them were the trap. She had been keeping an blind eye on both fights, looking ready to step in if the others faltered. She had seemed worried for a second, when another squad had reinforced the beleaguered crabs attacking the Rogue and Pyro, but in the end left them to it.

Pyro was a strange one, that's to be sure. The first sign that she was casting magic was her mana suddenly bursting from the pores of her palms, somehow being converted into heat and light an inch from her vulnerable skin. I watched closely, almost as if I was squinting. I noticed the many rings she was wearing. Six were dim, the mana within laying dormant. One on each hand, however, burned bright. She also seemed to be directing the streams of fire with the finger the rings were worn on.

Theory: Humans need tools to convert mana into attacks beyond raw mana.

Then the girl breathed fire directly from her mouth, when a Brawler got too close.

New Theory: Humans CAN turn mana directly into fire somehow, but need tools to direct it.

Rogue was certainly holding his own as well. The man could reload his crossbow with supernatural quickness, keeping the crabs at bay with sharp stabs of his dagger when needed. Thankfully the thickened shell I gave the Brawlers and Knights was enough to prevent the crossbow bolts from fully penetrating, unlike the Assassins. Though, it did mean some looked like large pin-cushions.

With Knight, Pyro and Rogue fully distracted, I ordered my semi-aquatic assassins to strike.

With the aid of strengthened muscles two of the crabs leapt into the air. The sudden movement alerted Neo to the danger, and she twisted in place. Bringing both arms up, mana surged from her core down her arms and out of her forearms. Pnce extruded, the mana formed into blades, running down the length of her arms and two feet beyond her hands. Unable to dodge in mid-air, the crabs fell to their doom. The final three Assassins jumped bare seconds after first two.

As the manablades cut them both in twain, the second wave was upon her. With a cry of exertion, two more Assassins joined their four dead brethren in Crabhalla. The final crab got through, landing it's attack to a pained shout.

The crab brought it's pincer, shaped for piercing strikes, and slammed it directly into the chest of the surprised woman. Though a humming manablade soon ended it's life, the monster's pincer remained lodged in the... right side of the woman's chest.

Damn. I was hoping for a killing blow. If they have more potions, which is almost a guarantee, they should be able to heal a pierced lung easily. then again, it depends on how fast they can get one to her.

The rest of the party, hearing their leader's cry of pain, redoubled their attacks. With speed and precision, Rogue shot the half-dozen crabs remaining through their eyes and into their soft insides. That weakness needs to be addressed, though I don't see how...

Pyro immediately disengaged, rushing to Neo's side with a potion in hand. She handed to injured woman the potion with a whispered comment. "Alright, ready? One. Two. Three!" With a yank she pulled out the pincer, synchronized to Neo downing the potion.

Knight had dispatched his opponents in seconds, now standing guard over his wounded party member with searching eyes. Ah. Now I understand. They had been toying with the crabs, attempting to gain a better estimate of their abilities, strengths and weaknesses.

I probably can't expect them to downplay their abilities anymore.

Let's pull a few dozen more crabs out of reserve, shall we? I think they're due a horde-mode attack. I might also increase Sebastian's size a bit. Suddenly a pony doesn't seem big enough. Two horses side-by-side seems more appropriate for their skill level.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"That was close." Herna commented, pulling back from her inspection of the wound. "If it had hit the same spot, but on the other side of your ribs, that pincer would have gone straight through your heart." Felin shifted.

He felt like shit. Too busy playing with his food to keep an eye out for his oldest friend. Layla waved the mage off, sitting up. With speed visible to the naked eye, the skin around the wound shifted and moved, closing with a quickness expected from the quality of potion they'd used. She shivered, and Felin grimaced. Yeah, the higher tier potions might heal you faster, but it felt damn weird when you could feel the mana shifting and knitting your flesh back together.

Layla took a deep breath, free and easy, then turned to her team. "Alright. Assessments?"

"Early Elder." Teak immediately began, "The monsters cover each other's weaknesses well, are intelligent and capable of advanced tactics. I don't know how much was the dungeon feeding them instructions or their own instincts, however." Herna frowned.

"I'd say Late Mature. I didn't observe any magical effects in the monsters, but the minimalized weaknesses and the way the different types take different roles in the fight definitely points to an experienced Core." She rattled off, then frowned. "They were very wary of my fire. Either they knew it's effects and kept back or they didn't know what to do about it."

"The Bigger ones have a thicker shell; my bolts became lodged in their shells easily but never fully penetrated. The eyes are obvious weak spots, as with most monsters." Teak added.

"Joints are unarmored, but they defend them well." Felin said, his voice rough and weary. "Inexperienced against Guilders, or other mana-enhanced humans, despite mimicking their weaponry. Middle Mature." The quiet man fell back into silence, his piece said." Layla nodded at them all.

"Late Mature, then." Layla said. "Though I expect we won't run into the same situation again, we should watch for layered strategies; traps within traps or divide and conquer tactics. They may be inexperienced, but these monsters can still injure and kill the unwary." She finished sardonically.

Freshly reminded that they were delving a Lost Dungeon, the party continued with renewed caution.

They ran into several more groups of the crabs (always three with bulging pincers and one swordsman) but mowed through them without trouble. It was only as they reached the fourth cavern that they ran into real resistance. A mix of the previous caverns, it had more space to manoeuvre but much of the cavern remained obstructed or draped in shadows.

Initially, all was quiet. The party was on guard, watching carefully. Ahead, Felin spied a doorway carved into the rock. The frame was square, decoratively carved with symbols and blocked by slabs of stone with handles that could barely be called doors. That was obviously the way forward. One problem though. There was a big clearing of open space between them and the doors.

And that space was completely filled with Crabs.

The monsters didn't give them time to organise. The moment they had paused in surprise, the crabs charged. Like an orange tide they advanced. When the first line fell to sword, bolts and magic, the second rolled over their fallen allies with no hesitation.

The next twenty minutes was filled with frantic combat where they saved each other from more death-blows than they could count. Strikes that would have severed limbs become shallow cuts. Disabling blows turned to deep bruises.

In the end they survived. The piles of dead monsters towered above them, while the humans panted in exertion. Blood soaked their armor and robes, hair was matted with sweat and viscera.

"Haa... Rest up... while you can..." Layla panted, mana reserves likely dangerously low. "Haa... That was probably... all the monsters... left on this floor... probably...." Teak collapsed to the bloodsoaked sand, followed shortly by Herna and Layla herself. Felin plunged his sword into the sand and leaned on it, remaining on guard.

Potions were consumed, wounds healed. Teak took some time to restock his extremely depleted bolt by pulling used bolts from the corpses around them.

They weren't sure how long it took but they all gathered before the elaborately carved doors. Herna ran her hand down the stylized carving of a crab, equipped with sword and shield pincers. "The Floor Guardian is probably one of these" She said, stepping back. Felin and Teak moved in to push open the doors.

with a grinding noise the stone was pushed aside, revealing a circular arena. The ground was the same black sand as the rest of this floor, the walls however were carved just as intricately as the doors they'd just opened. Around the edges of the area were dozen rocks of various sizes, all shaped like a camouflaged crab. When the largest of the rocks stood, revealing a crab of immense size. It stood ten feet tall, and with it's legs spread was thirty feet wide. The body itself was ten feet wide, with a shield five feet across and a sword six feet long.

Their party stood four strong with no major wounds. Mana levels were replenished, though potions could never bring a mage's reserves to full. Teak had a few dozen arrows, a far cry from the hundreds he boasted fit in his enchanted quiver. They only had a few healing potions between them, not having expected resistance this stiff.

"Fuck. This is gonna hurt." Felin cursed, rolling his shoulders. Raising his sword he charged in, roaring the wordless war cry of the men knowing they might die the battlefield.

And the battle began.

-0-0-0-0-0-