Rezlar is clearly doing his level best to not panic, and I’d say he’s doing a pretty good job of it, all things considered. The confidence of the others probably helps, as do the few small encounters I send as they do their gathering. I only send some minor stuff, just enough to be a warm up. Rocky would be crushed if I tired them out before he could have a real fight.

At least, a fight as real as the ring will allow. While Rezlar looks like he’s hoping his will is in order, the others are looking more and more excited as they get closer and closer to finishing their gathering. After hitting a few nodes in the caverns, Rhonda and Lucas discuss their stores.

“Anything else we’re low on, Lucas?”

The jumping spider chitters and the goblin taps her chin. “Bale morels are mostly for antidotes. What we have should be plenty for now.”

Lucas nods and chitters, seeming to agree, and Rhonda smiles wide as she turns to Rocky. “Then I think we’re all good! Lead the way, Rocky!”

Rocky raises a gloved fist in victory, and notes start drifting through the air. The kids have no idea what Eye of the Tiger is, but Rocky obviously recognizes it. Slash approaches and nods at the kids and Rocky, and my boxer leads the way. Rhonda and Freddie are looking even more excited now, but Rezlar is just looking confused as he follows.

Rocky takes the chance to warm up a bit on the walk, looking a lot like his namesake in the iconic montage as he leads the way. My various denizens along the way simply watch as they go by, and many follow behind them. Over in the arena, my ratkin and spiderkin are gathering, eager to watch the show.

They cheer as Rocky enters, my zombie reveling in the attention and excitement. Rezlar looks tempted to bolt, but Rhonda and Freddie manage to convince him to smile and wave at the crowd. I’m definitely going to need to get the aranea to make crowd signs for the next big match, and get Teemo to explain how the wave works. That’s for next time, though. For now, Rocky shows the kids the sign with the rules.

Only those in the ring are in the fight

Fights will last for three rounds, or until one side is incapacitated or surrenders

Party members not in the fight may cast buffs and heals on fighters in the ring only between rounds

Losing does not incur the typical penalties, and Rocky has sole discretion to hand out what rewards are available after a fight. Should Rocky be defeated beyond the capacity to do so, Thedeim will provide the proper rewards

Once in the ring, challengers may not leave until the fight is finished

Challengers may not join mid-fight, nor between rounds

Rezlar calms down a bit as he reads, and only Freddie seems to want a clarification.

“All of us can fight at once?”

Rocky eagerly nods and hits his fists together. The orc nods and looks to the others.

“Are we all in?”

“Yeah!” comes Rhonda’s excited reply, and Fiona and Lucas chitter their approval as well. Rezlar sighs and holds out the plank with the quest.

“I’m in. Same tactic as with the twinsnake?”

Freddie glances towards Rocky as the zombie climbs into the boxing ring, weighing their options. “If he lets us, sure. We’ll probably all need to be ready to move, maybe even scatter, quickly. We won’t be able to keep much distance between us and him in there.”

The others all nod, and the bell dings to get their attention. Rocky stands atop a turnbuckle, grinning around his mouthguard. He reaches out a gloved hand and beckons them in challenge. The party exchange glances and nod, and move to enter the ring.

My favorite zombie shouts in excitement and takes his corner as Slash stops the music for a moment. Once the kids are in the ring and in formation in their corner, with Freddie, Rezlar, and Fiona providing a front line defense and Rhonda and Lucas behind, the bell dings, and the boss music starts. Drums beat an energetic tempo as Rocky strides forward, the party readying their defenses, and the screech of an electric guitar is all the warning they get as he sends a quick combo at the party.

A left hook sends a lash of fire at Rezlar, a right hook sends an arrow of ice at Fiona, and a heavy straight sends kinetic energy barrelling down on Freddie. Rezlar parries the fire with his floating water rapier, though it dissipates into steam from the attack. Fiona catches the arrow of ice with a thick wad of webbing. Freddie, though, seems to have taken the real attack.

A floating shield of light crumples under the assault and winks out of existence, and Freddie grunts as he takes the excess force on his metal one. Rhonda works with Lucas on a response, sending out a pair of spells as Rocky grins and lightly bounces on his feet.

“Ice Armor! Flaming Weapon!” A thick coat of ice covers Freddie and his shield, leaving his joints free so he can still move. At the same time, flames wreath Rezlar’s metal rapier.

Rocky smiles as he steps forward, and this time it’s Rhonda’s turn to grunt as he tries to take control of the elements from her. It turns into another grin as she fights him off, Rocky loving to have a challenge. In a blink, he summons his own fire and ice, and meets the front line with opposing elements.

Rezlar is forced to summon water around the basket hilt of his rapier to try to block the icy punch, knowing it’d be foolish to try to parry or block with his actual blade. “Whirlpool block!” he desperately shouts, the water moving in a quick circle to try to keep the powerful punch from finding proper purchase. His sword arm and Rocky’s fist both recoil from the meeting, and Rezlar is pretty sure nothing is broken, so he’s willing to call it a draw.

Freddie takes the incoming fire punch on his ice-crusted shield, but there’s a lot more follow through than with the ice punch. The ice shatters and melts, and Freddie’s shield is starting to get uncomfortably warm already. “Shield punch!” he grunts as he summons another ethereal shield overtop his mundane one, and forces it forward. He's used that against some of my other undead before, and they usually stumble back a bit from it, but Rocky only leans back for a brief moment.

Rhonda shouts as Rocky is momentarily off balance. “Scatter! Don’t give him a single target to focus on!” She darts between everyone’s legs as Freddie turns and yields ground to Rocky, this time actually putting the boxer off his rhythm, and giving everyone a chance to scatter to the other three corners.

The party all give Rocky a wary gaze as he turns to face them once more, my zombie looking like he’s having the time of his unlife. He points a glove at Rhonda, and everyone flinches, before he moves on to point at Freddie. By the time the glove moves to Rezlar, it’s clear to the kids he’s picking who he’s going to focus on. The glove continues to cycle between them as Rocky grunts a little tune, clashing with the boss music, and they all do their best to prepare their defenses.

Freddie plants his feet and summons his full phalanx of five shining shields, each reinforced with Fiona’s silk to help absorb blows. “Shield give me strength!” he shouts, his axe raised high and defiant. Rezlar digs deep into his training, summoning two more watery rapiers. The floor of the ring around him splashes slightly as small waves roll, his feet moving nimbly in his new stance. “Dance of the Tides!” Rhonda’s robes and hat billow as she embraces the secrets of fire and ice, Lucas helping her keep it under control. Flaming chunks of ice orbit her, her breath a fog and her eyes wisps of flame. “Inferno Maelstrom!”

The crowd goes wild, seeing the challengers hold nothing back. Rocky’s glove stops on Freddie, and the orc stands proud against my only scion specifically designed for battle. Rocky moves almost faster than Freddie can see, and he reflexively brings all his shields to bear against the overwhelming attack.

Stars almost seem to form around Rocky’s glove, small motes that crackle with the distillation of their elements, fire and ice in forms purer than most can even conceptualize. The first shield vaporizes from a fire mote, while the ice mote causes the next to shatter. Raw power obliterates the third, and the cycle repeats in the mere moments it takes for the attack to complete. Raw kinetic energy impacts Freddie’s shield, and the brave orc is driven to the mat from the force, unconscious and hopefully unaware of the broken arm under his broken shield.

Before Rhonda can do more than widen her eyes, Rocky is upon her. His boxing footwork lets him weave through her whirling field of fire and ice, and a gloved hand knocks the wind and the fight out of her with a single, measured, blow to the stomach.

Rezlar’s fencing reflexes let him attempt to take advantage of Rocky not focusing on him for a moment, and his rapiers flash as he closes the distance. One rapier simply evaporates as another turns to useless ice. He feels a little better that Rocky ducks the third, his attack at least enough of a danger that the boxer can’t simply ignore it. He doesn’t see the uppercut coming before Rocky’s fist impacts, the tide dashed upon the rocks.

The crowd’s roar is deafening, and Rocky helps the healing slimes get the kids before he raises both fists, victorious! Even sweeter than victory for Rocky is getting to have a proper fight. I know he held back the force, but not his techniques. I’m proud of his skill, even more proud of his control, and proudest of all that he made sure the kids would be fine and get into the slimes.

I have mixed feelings as I watch the party quickly start to heal. I’m very glad the slimes work as well as they do, even if I’d prefer the kids didn’t need to learn that first hand. Should I have asked Rocky to hold back a bit more?

…No, I don’t think so. My whole goal as a dungeon is to try to prepare people for other dungeons that won’t be as nice. If they keep being delvers, broken bones are probably among the least of the things they’ll have to face. It’d be a disservice at best to not make sure they’re aware of that fact. I get the feeling none of them will be discouraged from this, though. Some people, if they get beat at their best, crumble into thinking they just aren’t good enough. Seeing the defiance in all of them before Rocky’s final assault makes me confident they’ll see not a failure on their part, but a success on Rocky’s, and will take up the challenge to match him. Their growth has barely started, and now they know the kind of heights to strive for and achieve.