Party Chat

[Thron of the Fallen Skies]: Entry hall clear.

[Arcs S'tar]: I believe the skeletons were the only trap here.

[Aster K'lon]: [Mana Sense] is not detecting any further resistance in the immediate vicinity. We should not encounter any further adversity in this hall.

[Arcs S'tar]: Yeah, it's a well-type. Not sure on the specifics though.

P-System Log

That last statement was probably prompted by this new room. It's an octagon, and it is expansive as all hell. It has to be at least a hundred feet from end to end. My dome barely fills the room, that's how big it is. It's a stone one--granite, maybe? The material is pretty consistently smooth and gray, at least--and there's a huge fountain taking up a solid half of the room in the center. Four grey metallic pillars stick out of dark blue water, standing there menacingly with some purpose that I can't identify and a heaping dose of mana that I can. At the very center, water spouts out of the fountain, catching the glint of the wall-mounted [Lights]. It's giving this place an atmosphere of something almost like an indoor mall, but in an eerie way I can't completely quantify.

There's three separate paths stemming from this room. One dead ahead on the other side of the massive fountain, one to the left, and one to the right.

Party Chat

[Arcs S'tar]: Standard path-clear protocol. Right to left.

[Jerome Smith]: Can't we split up? We're individually powerful enough to each tackle a branch, aren't we?

[Aster K'lon]: Never split the party, Jerome, even if you think you're ready for it.

P-System Log

I though Jerome was supposed to be good at gaming. At the very least, I thought he had the basics of strategy down. "Don't split the party" is like, rule zero of DnD and most other party-based RPGs.

I guess most of his focus went to single-player stuff, huh? Lone hero and all that? It would explain why he's so shit at working with Aster and these new guys, at least.

Party Chat

[Jerome Smith]: Alright, makes sense. Marching order?

[Arcs S'tar]: Thron and then me. You two can figure it out yourself.

[Aster K'lon]: Very well. However, I believe that having Jerome further in front is prudent. As you saw previously, one of his primary offensive skills is [Misty Strike], which carries the risk fof hitting teammates should he activate it from the back.

[Jerome Smith]: Nah, it's not an issue. I have other skills that can help me handle movement.

[Aster K'lon]: If you say so.

P-System Log

Huh, but he knows marching order? Weird.

Anyway, looks like they figured out marching order to be the dwarf, the elf, Aster, and finally Jerome, bringing up the back.

When he talks about "another skill", he's definitely talking about [Explosive Teleport], that new skill that I just granted him. Doesn't that also deal friendly fire damage if he activates it from his current position?

Oh well. That's not my concern. I'm just here to facilitate Jerome's poor decisions, not make them for him.

Time to head into the room on the right, I suppose.

P-System Log [what was that]

My perception dome is still pretty much just limited to the scope of the fountain room, but I can still get some fuzzy idea of what's happening in the rooms around us. Back where we came in from, there was just an enormous crashing sound, as if an elephant just ran straight into a concrete wall.

Looks like I'm not the only one that heard it.

Party Chat

[Jerome Smith]: Did you hear that? That was from behind us, right?

[Arcs S'tar]: Yes. That came from the entrance from whence we came.

[Aster K'lon]: The innate protections of a Dungeon Core mean that there shouldn't be much sound--if any--coming from outside. Despite that, I sense no mana inside.

[Arcs S'tar]: Allow me to check.

[Searchlight Assess] cast! Party Chat

[Arcs S'tar]: I detect nothing in the entrance hallway. Whatever is making the sound, it is not coming from the dungeon.

[Jerome Smith]: Is this kind of thing normal?

[Arcs S'tar]: Not at all. I am yet unsure whether it is cause for worry.

[Thron of the Fallen Skies]: It could simply be renovations occuring outside. Would you like to return and examine its cause?

[Jerome Smith]: Can we just get a move on with the dungeon? I don't want to abandon any of the progress we've made on the delve so far. If it's a problem, it'll still be there when we get back, right?

[Aster K'lon]: I concur with Jerome. Best to complete this dungeon and obtain the rewards from it before examining this. If it becomes a more immediate issue, we can switch focuses.

[Arcs S'tar]: Very well.

[Thron of the Fallen Skies]: Works with me.

P-System Log

Into the next room we go, then! They're filing in in the same order that they decided earlier.

This new room is a little eerie. Follows the theme of the fountain room, I guess, but this one tones the dial up to eleven. Right in the middle of this room is a circle of grey stone sarcophagi standing up straight, artfully designed patterns marking each and every one of them. There's a mountain of mana buried in each one of them as well. We'll see whether or not anyone notices.

It's kind of creepy, this room. I wonder if there's corpses of past adventurers lying rotting in those coffins right now. It fits the general theme of death that this dungeon has, and I suppose that means it's doing what it's supposed to do. It's offputting, though.

Observing them closer, I can make out text on some of them. Joann, Ke'stin, Tristan... names.

Party Chat

[Arcs S'tar]: History-type room. I believe these may have ties back to real figures in continental history.

[Thron of the Fallen Skies]: Huh. Has this dungeon showed a propensity for history before?

[Arcs S'tar]: Others in its system have. It is possible that it simply took the knowledge from a fallen adventurer.

[Aster K'lon]: There is mana present in the sarcophagi. Be on your guard.

[Mass Assess] activating! Passive [Necromancer's Shield] triggered! [Assess] blocked! Passive [Necromancer's Sword] triggered! Party Chat [Aster K'lon]: We are engaging! Be ready! P-System Log

Five of the six sarcophagi just opened. Their contents are... moderately horrifying, to say the least. Mostly decayed corpses, closer to skeletons than anything else. Each of them have heavy wrappings all over their body, like they were mummified at some point, but those wrappings are a lot more than linen and whatever people used to use for mummification. There's mana packed into those, and they're practically shimmering. It makes for a disturbing effect, what with the silvery flapping coverings and decayed flesh and exposed bones. I don't know why it feels worse to see these than the skeletons before. Is it the human factor to them? The fact that they might've had names, once upon a time?

Whatever. They'll die all the same.

[Flameburst] cast! [Manaburn] cast! [Misty Strike] activating! [Misty Strike] dealt 110 damage! Critical hit! [Misty Strike] dealt 234 damage! Enemies defeated! Experience split and distributed! Party Chat

[Jerome Smith]: 110, 234.

[Aster K'lon]: I've told you before, Jerome. You don't need to announce damage numbers if the opponents are dead. Also, 87 with a splash of 5, 6, 9, and 12.

[Arcs S'tar]: 57 with a splash of 5 apiece.

[Jerome Smith]: Felt like it anyway.

[Thron of the Fallen Skies]: I may have underestimated you a touch.

P-System Log

A touch? Jerome's damage output is insane for a guy who's literally level 3! He's on a higher leel than Aster and Arcs already!

Welp. There's three of them still up. Aster and Arcs weren't quite able to finish off their own targets, but they should be able to in the next hit, I think.

The mummies are making a move, though. The three of them that haven't fallen to dusty pieces are moving surprisingly fast, splitting up and casting skills towards the grouped-up party. We didn't make it that far inside, so everyone's still clumped in one place.

[Undead Memory] -> [Inferno Spear] cast! [Inferno Spear] dealt 63 damage to you! Party Chat

[Aster K'lon]: I recognize this. [Undead Memory] mimics a skill that an undead knew in life with less power.

[Jerome Smith]: So these enemies aren't just generated by the dungeon?

[Undead Memory] -> overcharged [Thunderstrike] cast! [Lightning Rod] consumed 1 charge! Damage nullified! Party Chat

[Aster K'lon]: It pays to have good gear.

[Arcs S'tar]: If these are non-generated undead, who are they? Adventurers?

[Thron of the Fallen Skies]: That seems likely. There were a few total wipes in this area recently, weren't there? This might be their remnants.

[Jerome Smith]: Hold on, you're telling me we're fighting dead adventurers? Like, real people?

[Arcs S'tar]: We may very well be.

[Jerome Smith]: Fuck.

[Arcs S'tar]: Come. Let us put them to rest.