The air was dry and hot. Clara looked across the landscape and contemplated the most efficient way to proceed. She began to advance in slow but determined walk forward. It wouldn’t do to hurry, but showing weakness was equally as bad. Life was all about balance. She knew of traps and ambushes, having survived all that had been pit against her, including pits.

Her mind was drifting, which was unacceptable. She moderated in breathing into a slow and steady rhythm as she advanced. Climbing up the smooth rock she noted that it provided minor tactical advantages to an enemy in terms of terrain. Her armor would have limited hiding capabilities in this terrain. Stealth was not her strength, strength was her strength.

The other players may play at builds and strategies, but they would crumble in direct combat against her overwhelming might. She reached the apex of the glassed landscape and stared at a hatch into the ground. It had taken effort to locate the collapsed tower, but she would take its power for herself.

She scanned the area. There were no presences about. She spoke into thin air knowing she would be heard. “Bring in the earth and fire mage on my location.” A portal opened and two mages came through. “Prepare for entry in three minutes.” Both mages nodded and began chanting, not wasting a single second.

She had heard from one of Kenji’s companions that there was a high level slime down there and a book. The man had been easy prey for her to extract all his useful information from. Paying for info brokers was wasteful. She knew it was better to use her overwhelming strength to claim that information herself.

Both mages lit up torches. Clara jumped down through the hatch with a resounding boom as her armor hit the stone. She felt the floor sag slightly but it didn’t give. This place could withstand around thirty percent of her combat abilities. “Clear.” She said. Her deep voice resonating up to the mages.

Clara advanced into the next room searching for anything of value as her mages trailed behind to provide light. She looked at the statues in the room. The statue of the woman was both feral and feminine in a wolfish sort of way. The statue of the man opposite her was ruined, but clearly her opposite. Her information said that was a goddess called Tafe.

Clara walked over and tried moving the statue base. It was solidly built onto the floor. She turned and scanned the remaining statue depicting a monstrous creature. The blank stone where its face should be and the hundreds of legs indicated a difficult opponent with unknown abilities. A challenge for later consideration, she would have to run combat simulations to judge how she compared to such a foe.

She continued downwards with the mages trailing silently behind. The next level was a ruined conference room of some sort. Nothing of value located. The next level appeared to be a library. The books were all consumed with mold. She flipped one of the better looking ones open but it crumpled into sticky goo that coated her gauntlet.

“Repel.” The goo flew off her armor and splattered across the floor in front of her. “Do not touch the stuff or the books.” She warned the mages. Having them die would be inconvenient. She continued to advance down the sunken tower. She came to a door with a hole.

“I sense movement through the door.” The earth mage said. Clara bent slightly and looked through the hole. There were statues. Those statues were probably enemies. She moved her left hand and freed her ball and chain while her right took her blade.

“Remain here. Don’t speak unless attacked from behind.” She didn’t wait to hear their responses as she charged forward. The door shattered and she was in the room. Eight enemies of stone composition, estimated battle time fifteen point two seconds.

The battle ended after seventeen seconds. Clara frowned as she contemplated why her analysis was off. The speed of the statues was impressive but it was the fact that she had stepped on a piece of rubble that upset her footing at a poor moment. A minor error she would need to work on correcting. “Clear.”

The following levels brought out monsters of all kinds. Living rocks, small worms, and even what appeared to be a small child. They were all obliterated without mercy or hesitation. The earth mage was useful in clearing the blockages and making sure the floors didn’t cruple. She reached the entrance to level twenty which led to a large chamber without an apparent function.

In front of her was the black slime that had been mentioned. She watched its movement carefully and noted that different sections were operating independently. Spinning her ball and chain, the weapon began to emit a whirring sound due to its speed. The slime moved forward preparing to attack. She released the ball and it crossed the distance faster than even she could see.

The ball struck the ground that was directly underneath the slime. It also passed through the slime on the way there. BOOM! The shockwave shook the entire dungeon and left a crater in the floor. The black slime had dispersed slightly but quickly began engulfing the ball. It was immune to blunt force and shock waves, unsurprising for a non-solid creature.

“Repel.” A good portion of the slime was vaporized and the rest pushed back. A book dropped to the floor. Clara snapped the ball back to her and secured it to her side. She then drew her sword and advanced. She stopped near the book and noted that she could not see the black slime anywhere.

The slime had vanished into the shadows and cracks. Fear tried to grip her, but that was laughable. She readied her blade and reached for the book with her free hand. Out of the crevices the slime leapt up and moved to penetrate her armor. “Repel.” The slime was pushed off her armor and quickly congealed in front of her.

Clara moved her sword straight into the slime. “Freeze.” The slime around the blade turned to ice. The rest of the slime burst apart collapsed into the shadows. She scanned the chamber for anything else of interest but there was nothing left that she could see. She swung her blade down as fast as she could. The chunk of ice flew off from the force of the attack and shattered against the opposite fall.

“Prep portal at my location. Send alert beacon.” A portal opened and a stone slab was ready on the table in front of her two minutes later. She reached through and took the stone slab. She then laid it on the ground off to the side of the portal. “Activate and then conceal it.” She told the earth mage. “We leave in thirty seconds.”

The mage got to work and we were through the portal in twenty seven seconds. His efficiency was excellent. She made a mental note and increased his overall value to herself by five percent. “Good job. Rest for one day and then continue on your regular duties.”

Both mages bowed. It was important to give one’s servants time to recover after a stressful mission. She strode to her bath chamber and stepped into a giant tub of water. “Repel. Repel. Repel.” She kept repeating the command again and again. The water was blasted away from her and then swirled back around her, cleansing her body. After a minute she walked out of the now muddy pool feeling clean and refreshed.

She stood there by the pool as the water drained from her armor. “Repel.” The water was forced out of the armor and away from her body.

Clara walked over to her stone chair easy chair. The armor was all the comfort she needed. She slept and contemplated her next move. There were many people and places to hunt down. The one and only Kenji Shadowen, Blood Rain, was currently the most interesting and elusive target on her list.

***

She returned from a particularly troublesome battle against a horde of half human half dragon mages. The fire they spewed was quite intense and her armor had trouble repelling that type of attack, though the outcome was never in doubt. One of her sensor mages ran up. “We had an alert from location seventeen, desert tower, fifty three minutes ago. We were unable to scan who caused the alert.”

That last part was interesting to Clara. A hidden opponent was rare and catching one even trickier. While she knew of a number of them, it was probably Blood Rain based on the latest report of him stealing a land ship from a town near the desert. “Prepare a portal for immediate transition.”

“Shall we call up the support mages?”

“No.” The MP costs were incredibly high and she didn’t want to decrease her training. While Blood Rain had a reputation it wasn’t one of direct combat based on the fact he had started a fire rather than feel his enemies’ blood fly through the air. He was also missing an arm which would limit his HP and SP.

She moved to the portal room. “It is going to take fifty seven more minutes. We had to call up the other shift.” The portal mages assistant said to her. She gave a short nod and contemplated the battle ahead. Clara estimated over a ninety percent chance of killing or capturing him. Unfortunately Blood Rain was prone to doing the impossible and actually managing it.

“Prep the RID. If it is Blood Rain he cannot be allowed to escape.” More mages rushed off. It had taken time, but house breaking them had been worth the effort. The mage assistant returned.

“It is being charged. The key is still at full charge and everything will be ready in eighty nine minutes.” It was a long period of time, but the process could not be rushed. A failure would be catastrophic and the fail safes were in place for a reason. She took a seat in a waiting room. She then slid open the mouth guard of my helmet and carefully enjoyed some water, plain rice, and fish. To dilute the body with impurities was foolish. A clear mind and body were both the pillars of true strength.

“Portal is ready in fifteen seconds.” The mage assistant said. She closed the hatch to her helmet and stepped up to the platform. The portal opened and she stepped through to the top of the sunken tower. The air was hot and it was mid-day here. She recalled her previous tactical assessments.

The portal closed and she scanned the area. She saw her target come up the hatch in the ground. Perfect timing and exactly the person she had been expecting. She unclipped her ball and chain. Blood Rain spun around and she noted his tri-pronged foot and lack of a left arm based on how his shirt hung. A puff of fire rose out of his body. He was very interesting. Ripping the secrets from his mind and his flesh would prove most enlightening.

“I am The Encasement. You are dead.”

***

I was just looking through the news and this story caught my eye. Apparently you can shoot a bow and arrow without arms.

http://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/precision-doesn-t-require-arms?iid=ob_homepage_deskrecommended_pool

I will note that the individual in question had a couple of devices to assist him like a harness and a way to release the arrow with his mouth. He was also born without arms. I figure that when you spend your entire life working around the disability it just who you are and not a disability.

Please note that The Encasement is female, but comes off as non-female. Since she is in dark armor and the fact she doesn’t correct anyone means she is often assumed to be a man. So when the MC refers to The Encasement as a ‘him’, the MC is making a mistake. Unlike Tor, she isn’t the fun loving trouble maker.

Rain of Blood versus The Encasement!

In the left corner and underdog we have Kenji Shadowen, Blood Rain, Causer of Calamities, Breaker of Breckley, and the guy who is the offspring of a fire salamander and an alien. Missing his left arm, this will be the fight of his life. In the right corner we have The Encasement, Master of Mayhem, The Black Demon, The End, and the suit of armor that makes grown men wet their pants and women weep in terror. Clad in armor, supported by a cadre of mage slaves, and with unique weapons that break all the rules, I give you your champion. The Encasement!