Chapter 16

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[Dungeon]

After the harrowing experience in the swamp level, they took the dungeon a little more seriously. Floor one was frankly way too easy for a group of their stature and the second floor too. They had become unknowingly complacent, and even though they fought against that superiority, carelessness crept into their movements.

When they reached the pool of water in which Jackson had taken the hit from the fish, they hadn’t stopped to evaluate the probability of this being a trap or even considered it. They had stopped briefly, observing the sense of taking it seriously, but they didn’t really do it.

They hadn’t thought it would be anything different from the rest of the level; just another pool of water to cross. So, with a little recklessness they pushed through and got hit.

The experience served them well and I was glad of it. As they walked and talked I got the feeling that killing them would be bad. That wasn’t to say that if they got themselves killed I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I wasn’t going to go all out at them. They seemed important.

As well as the fact that they seemed to be pioneers they had praised my ingenuity and design and it made me feel good. I preened at their compliments. If there was any sure way to get in my good books it was to compliment me.

I liked this group.

As they cleared the swamp and descended the stairs I could feel their apprehension, thick and sticky like mud, it clung to them. They were nervous and as they experienced the cacophonous assault of the rainforest their trepidation only increased.

Their shoulders locked up and they moved with far less fluidity and grace than earlier – Kael being the exception to this. His instincts seemed to serve him well.

They checked their rear almost constantly and switched their focus from sound to sound, wary of an attack.

They still had a way to go before they ran into one of the groups though. The rainforest had nature affinity Torrads. Like Kobolds they were an animalia humanoid, but instead of the trapping and building that Kobolds were so known for, they had a stealth in the forests that the clumsy Kobolds couldn’t match. The group that they were closing in on had twenty-two warriors, five rangers and three druids. The druids would group together and perform a Storm Calling magic.

Storm Calling was a tier three magic spell which involved the Creation and Evocation realms of magic. The druids would group up and combine their magic within an enhancement sigil – a construct of mana that could be created first or an object imbued with the necessary factors – and begin to evoke the elements.

Wind, fire and water were needed to help create the wall of dense air that would buffet and trap the adventurers whilst the warriors and rangers picked off the weaker ones that weren’t contained.

It was a very difficult magic to combat and I was interested in seeing how they dealt with it.

Torrads had a natural affinity for the forest and their druids excelled in camouflaging the ambush. But as they were a fairly basic mob, I had had to use three druids to achieve the tier three spell. It would hopefully be worth it though and I thought they would at least be a good test for the group.

Kael was a slippery one and his vigilance might be a problem. I wondered if he would discover the ambush before it could be launched.

He did not. I wasn’t sure if I was pleased or disappointed in him. I decided on pleased and settled down to watch.

They had just reached a slightly sparser section of the forest when the trap was sprung. Kael was leading with Sebastien not far behind and so the storm didn’t encapsulate them. Instead, it got the other four. Jackson, Sigurd, Jenna and Lorelei. The powerful winds buffeted them and only with the assistance of Sigurd did the mountain of a man manage to stay standing, shielding the mages from the flying debris.

Kael promptly vanished, using his skills as a rogue to hide from the Torrads, whilst Sebastien drew all of the warriors to him. They held distance initially using their bows. Whilst they weren’t rangers, they knew the bow was a far safer method of chipping down at a lone enemy and so they fired, maintaining a distance with great effect. Even with the Zweihänder Sebastien couldn’t close enough to deal damage.

Things were not looking great. They would most likely hold out though. The druids wouldn’t be able to keep the spell going for much longer and the mages were both protected from it anyhow.

The tide turned as Kael eliminated the druids, surprising me and them with his skill. Damn it, they were expensive. I sulked. Stupid Rogue.

With the storm down, it didn’t take long for the Torrads to lose. With Kael slowly eliminating the stragglers and archers and Sigurd’s brutal dispatching on the frontlines. The Torrads had been forced to close in, resorting to melee as the fire of Lorelei cut off any retreat routes. They had to take their chances battling Sigurd, a task they were not up to.

Jackson shielded Jenna as she patched up Sebastien and it wasn’t long until the Torrads were all dead. Sliced and diced, stabbed or burnt, they lay strewn around the place, blood seeping down and returning some of the precious mana to me.

A shame. But it was valuable experience nonetheless.

After beating the Torrads and healing up, the party progressed smoothly once again, running through the rest of the level and picking off smaller groups of Torrads with ease, those without druids to conceal their presence were especially vulnerable.

They found the stairs, having not been turned around in the forest, something I was impressed by. It was hard to keep a straight track when you had to move around all the trees and undergrowth that subtly tried to get you lost.

The stairs took them down a few metres before depositing them in a large chamber. Unlike the previous chambers this one was relatively small, perhaps fifty metres across and sixty tall. It was circular and had a sandy dirt floor as the ground.

They had reached the boss floor and I was looking forward to seeing how my boss did in its first battle. With any luck it would give a good showing, like the Torrads had. I looked forward to the coming conflict.

What would their strategy be? I wondered.

How would they tackle it?

They paused outside the level to observe it. I couldn’t wait!

Get on with it! I was excited.

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[Sigurd]

Soon we reached the end of the rainforest and it was a huge relief. It had worn our nerves down and ripped our composure to shreds; the peace of the stairwell was a welcome opportunity to rest.

Floor five was a much smaller, simpler one than the previous floors and as we looked over the level from the doorway, the opposite stairwell was clearly visible.

The floor was very sparse, and the empty ground seemed somehow ominous. It was most likely trapped somehow. I seriously doubted the floor would be this simple. Sebastien seemed to agree with me and we advanced out with measured steps, Kael leading the way as he would be most likely to spot and avoid any traps.

As we stepped fully into the room, the floor seemed to quiver in anticipation. The room was circular and about 50m in diameter. Large trees grew around the circumference and their reaching branches clasped like hands where they met in the middle.

The entwined and interlocking branches hid the wall and I wondered if that was where the enemies were. It seemed like an odd way of hiding the fight, but the enemies had hidden well from us last time and it had worked.

I was perplexed by the room, it just didn’t fit the ethos of the dungeon. Perhaps it was a boss floor? I didn’t know.

We hadn’t had a boss fight yet and that was unusual. Most of the dungeons that I’d delved had had boss fights at the end of each floor. But then again, nothing about this place was normal. I’d thought that since it hadn’t had a boss fight at the end of floor one or two then perhaps it wasn’t going to have one at all.

But if it were, then this would be it.

“I think this might be a boss fight” I said giving voice to my suspicions.

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” Seb replied. “The floor is too small and there are no traps or anything of interest.”

“But how do we trigger its attack? And what is it?” Jackson questioned.

“It’s probably some giant bug, where else would the dungeon hide a boss, it’s probably under our feet right now. Lurking, waiting for us to fall prey to its clutches.”

I looked down warily, what a way to induce panic.

“Thanks for that image Kael, its already tense enough without you inciting panic. I didn’t want to have to consider that” Jenna retorted, glaring at him. She couldn’t manage the look and a smile forced its way-out moments later.

He cackled evilly.

“I guess we just continue then, if there’s a boss it’s most likely not just gonna let us walk straight past. Right?” Said Lorelei

“Probably not” I replied, looking back at Lore. “Let’s continue then.”

“Jenna, Lore, go to the centre. We may get ambushed and I’d rather you weren’t at the back, Jackson out front and Sigurd can you take our rear.” Seb commanded, snapping into leader mode once again.

“No problem” we echoed back.

In the new formation, we advanced, crossing the centre with no problem. As we neared the exit stairs, I began looking over my shoulder more frequently. With the short space in front of us, attacks were most likely going to come from behind us.

“Is it... Do you think it’s not finished?” Lore questioned, confusion over the floor evident on her face.

“Maybe. It’s odd nothing has stopped us yet.”

A few more steps towards the exit and the trap sprung. I wasn’t that surprised to be honest.

The floor rumbled, and the doorway slid closed, the rock flowing to cover the staircase like water. In a flash we were locked from progressing. That was new.

I spun quickly. We weren’t locked in, that was good. The entrance stairs were still accessible. Whew.

With a cacophonous crash, something jumped down from the canopy, sending up clouds of dust and gravel from the floor and obscuring the monster.

The dust settled slowly, revealing the monster that hid behind it like a performer dropping the curtain. Where once was nothing, now was something.

And what a something it was. It roared with a low, throaty growl, baring its huge dagger like teeth and wide-open jaw, fit to swallow a man. I cringed at the assault on my ears, thoroughly intimidated.

Five metres tall with arms and legs a half meter around, this brute was an imposing figure. It stood like a gorilla, hunched over, the thick bone protrusions from its knuckles digging into the ground, as if furrowing it.

As the monstrous head lowered from the roar, I stared in awe at the two large, wicked looking wooden spikes protruding from its head just above the ears. They seemed to be mimicking horns and I certainly didn’t wish to tangle with them.

Like a drake, there were a series of sharp plate like spines tracking along its back. Green in colour, they blended in with the long fur that coated its body. Like bushes growing out of its back they disguised its shape and hid the danger.

It slammed its brutish club like hands into the floor with ferine, destructive glee, showering us with dirt before charging at us.

It was quick, far too quick for its size. Its whole presence belied a slow, powerful creature, not a quick, agile one.

We only just managed to scramble out of the way before it crashed through our group.

Its arms churning like a whirlwind as it passed us by.

It skidded to a halt before the wall, receiving a lashing from Lore on its back as it came to a stop. Under the stream of fire, the hairs crisped up, blackening and falling off, releasing a sulphurous smell as they did so.

The evocation ended shortly before the skin was hit, unfortunately. But the exposed area would be a weak point we could exploit, the matted fur would most likely block any arrows and blunt any strikes.

Seeing how tough the beast was, Kael, Jenna and Lorelei retreated to the fourth-floor stairs and fired spells and arrows from the safety of the narrow corridor. The opening was too small for the monster to reach them and they could deal out damage when it peaked into the cone of vision they had.

Jackson, Sebastien and I spread out around the room drawing its attention to three points and hopefully splitting its focus.

As luck would have it, the creature lunged for me, reaching out with its stocky arms. I ducked the blow, rotated around its legs as it tumbled forward and sunk my axe into its calf. It didn’t get very far before stopping. It growled at me and the axe was nearly ripped out of my hands as it spun.

I ducked and jumped clear, getting caught - just barely – by it.

The blow spun me and knocked the axe from my hands. It tumbled to the floor, clinking as the metal scraped over the gravel as it slid away.

It tried to stomp on me, but I rolled away from the blow, putting myself further from my axe. The creature in between. It lunged again, and I circled away leading it towards Jackson.

“Jenna, heals if you can. Lore can you target its legs. Burn away the fur if you can.” I shouted in a clear moment as I brought the beast to bare.

It swung a punch, but Jackson managed to deflect it into the wall with his shield before dropping to his knees at the impact.

With a bone shaking crash, the monsters fist impacted. The wall cracked slightly, and chunks fell away as the monster pulled back its hand.

The bony protrusions had been crushed by the force and the impact had torn up the fist as they leveraged away from the hand, ripping through the muscles and tendons.

It roared in pain at the damage, before taking a well-placed fireball to the mouth from Lore. I took its distraction as a chance to get my axe.

It took us another five minutes of hacking, slashing and burning the beast before its fury took hold and any restraint or planning went out of the window.

It charged, swinging its fists like wrecking balls, breaking through the rocks and mud as we danced away from it, taking the opportunity to hack at its legs.

If we managed to take out a leg, then we took out its mobility. After that it would be a sitting duck that we could take down with relative ease.

I’d slowly been working at its right calf and several chunks of flesh had been hacked away. With its thick muscles though, it took a lot of work to get through them.

Working in tandem with Jackson was key to this fight, as he could, if not block, redirect a blow to give me the opportunity to strike. Once it locked on me, Sebastien would strike at the leg, ripping through the muscle on its calf with the huge sword.

After one particularly savage blow, the monster stepped back onto the weak leg only for it to buckle under its weight. It slipped and collapsed falling to the floor and roaring its protest.

The fight was over now. We closed in on it and ended the fight with a sword thrust to the eye. It flailed around briefly as it died, nearly striking us, but eventually it lay still.

The charred, smoking corpse, bleeding over the floor in waves as its heart finally ceased pumping.

I sighed in relief. It was a tough monster and though it hadn’t been a particularly hard fight it was still nerve wracking. With the mages backing us up, it was fairly easy as Lore could deal damage and Jena could heal us as we took it down.

It didn’t take us long to collect the loot, dissect it and advance. There wasn’t much of interest here and the loot the beast carried was very lacking.

Certainly not balanced with how tough the boss had been. We complained about it a bit but moved on regardless. There was nothing we could do anyway.

We moved to the staircase – now re-revealed after defeating the boss - and stepped out onto the stairs.

A flash of golden light took me by surprise as we walked, and I stumbled in shock. The others were likewise taken aback at the show.

“What was that?”

“No idea, be careful though.”

I agreed with the sentiment.

We descended the stairs and walked along a small corridor before exiting into a nice room, it was larger than the boss room by a lot, but it was open and calming.

I liked this room.

It took us a while, but we eventually realised that it was supposed to be a saferoom. Often new dungeons didn’t include saferooms until they got much larger. It seemed this one was breaking the trend yet again.

I was thankful for it as we had been delving for a long time now and a rest was in order.

We decided to explore it tomorrow though, but for now sleep prevailed and we would rest.

Behind where the corridor had exited there appeared to be buildings. A short investigation revealed them to be rooms and we decided to try our luck in them.

I trudged up the stairs of the building, my axe dragging behind me as I could now let myself relax, the axe was heavy, and I was weary.

It had come on suddenly, but the tiredness was bone deep and it slowed my movements, it had caught up to me now.

The rooms themselves were fairly sparse, but what was I expecting? A royal suite? No, of course not. It was better than many of the inns I had stayed in, so that was a plus.

I shoved my gear in the chest, unrolled my sleeping mat and climbed onto the mattress with it.

Sleep wasn’t long in coming.