Dear Spellbook,

We tried a few days ago... I think it's best if I just get to it.

Riloth 19th the 1300th

I woke up early for once. I couldn't sleep, worrying about the day. I sat waiting at the table for everyone to wake, going over the plan in my head.

The pending battle affected us all differently. I worried, running over the plans, checking my potions, and jotting down any ideas that came to me. When I worry, I tend to overthink things, and I channeled that into my wizardry.

Bearskin exuded calm, as if the fight to calm brought him some sort of inner peace. Trish was excited, but gave her nervousness away with her excessive teasing. There's no need for me to repeat her words here.

Fine.

She finally figured out Tal meant weasel in Torcish and kept sneaking cheese into my pockets. I found a slice in your pages when I opened it up. I don't even think weasels eat cheese.

Levar didn't so much panic as turn his "Levary-ness" up to eleven. He kept offering new suggestions of potions with increasingly horrible side effects.

Roland and Dagmar remained silent through the preparations, except where speech was required.

Daulf was extremely encouraging.

When he saw me placing the metal potion flasks into my potion belt, he said, "Good job packing that belt, Tal, those potions aren't going anywhere."

Most of his encouragements seemed heartfelt, but the last made me reconsider the sincerity of all he’d said.

Through my trials, I’d found the best time to attack to be later in the day. During daylight hours, the kobolds all slept in the hall, allowing for a single Lightning Bolt to take them and a duergar out.

Abby however was in an optimal position early in the day, sitting high in one of her pools when I Teleport in allowing me to take her out with only a single Lightning Bolt. So, shortly after the restart, I flew off to the cave, killed Abby, and took a nap to recover my Will. I was prepared to take three clarity potions in the battle, but it would be best if I saved them for combat, and a nap served well enough to recover my Will.

At around 4 PM, as communicated to me by Levar through a twinned page, I continued on through the trapped tunnel. A late start served our eventual interest best. Somehow, we needed to sort through all the other issues going on in the resets before we ended them. Planning around a later final battle gave us fifteen hours to sort all that out before moving here.

How were we planning on stopping the demon from being summoned? Or rescuing Gerald? Or saving the people of— shoot. I don’t know the name of the village the kobold attacked. I need to figure that out. Anyway, how were we going to do all that?

Good question.

We have pretty much avoided talking about it.

So, at 6, I ran through the trapped tunnel, dodging the traps and triggering them as needed. I snuck down the stairs, turned the corner before in plain view of the sleeping kobolds, and stood ready to open the door to the Dahn.

I pulled the handle out of my satchel, extended my hand before me, and stood there.

Am I really going to do this? I could just not. Tier four spells can't be that far off. I could wait, train, study, and then do this myself.

I wrestled with the idea for a moment, before sullenly pulling my hand back, opening a portal to the Dahn. Silently, Trish stepped out and immediately ran around the corner. The halls around the outside were also trapped, but I’d provided her a map of their locations, which she’d memorized.

Next, Bearskin came out, and ran down the hall towards the kobold. Dagmar and Daulf, in their loud metal armor and Light orbs above their heads, waited for the signal.

I counted out thirty seconds before stepping out and unleashing a Lightning Bolt on the unsuspecting feralkin and the unfortunate duergar urinating on the wall beside them.

The crack of the lightning echoed through the tight halls, sending bats flying out over our heads up the stairs. Beneath the chaotic flapping of the swarm of bats came deep reverberations, until suddenly the doors thirty feet away on either side of the hall burst open as golems charged out of each. Roland shot the golem on the left as soon as she—Kim—broke through. The arrow struck, finding purchase in the stone before it began to grown. The shaft grew into a bare bush, growing out towards the walls as roots grew to entangle the golem. Kim swiped at the bush with a giant stone fist, ripping it free, but two more followed. Soon, the golem was trapped beneath a nest of vines and branches, which were growing out around her further increasing their grip on the walls.

While Roland took care of Kim, trapping a second behind her in the door, Roland, Daulf, and Bearskin ran toward the incoming golems from the right. A second followed the door breaker, and they came right for me. Though they lacked eyes, I could sense their focus on me. I sent Magic Missiles against the pair and watched as they disappeared into the lead golem, designation Fim. They did not try to attack or push Bearskin and Daulf out of the way as they came for me, but only meant to plow past the insignificant meat sacks. Bearskin leaned forward, weapon raised to block, left leg ahead and bent with his right extended behind.

Fim met the flat of Bearskin's weapon and Bearskin's tattoos lit up a brilliant blue through his clothes, his arms compressed just a bit, but then the golem came to a halt.

I stood dumbfounded, not believing my eyes.

Bearskin pushed off his back leg, using the power of his Font to gain purchase, and toppled his foe, following that with a two-handed overhead swing down the golem's chest. The obsidian teeth met the magically enhanced stone, and the rock gave way, sending a spray of stones everywhere.

While Bearskin had met the lead golem, Dagmar and Daulf and sidestepped the battle to meet the one behind. Bim—their target—tried to run through them, and was met by Daulf's shield. Daulf was sent flying back, but he halted Bim's momentum enough for Dagmar to jump in and take a few swings at her legs. Bim ditched her charge to deal with the pest at her feet, but as her arms came down to crush Dagmar, I cast Gust, sending her safely out of reach.

Daulf stepped into the gap and brought his great pickaxe down on the arm. With the resounding ringing of a pick splitting stone, the bottom foot of the golem’s arm fell off below the point of impact. Before it even hit the ground, Dagmar was behind Bim, pummeling it with her twin weapons, each one eating deeper and deeper into her back. Bim took a retaliatory swing at Daulf, which he met with his shield, sending him flying back unharmed. Bim turned around to confront Dagmar after her swing, only to be met by a heavy blow from Daulf once more, as I’d caught him in the air with Gust and sent him flying back at the golem.

Throughout the melee, Roland continued to rain arrows on the trapped Kim. The roots that encircled the golem glowed in the myriad colors of Assuine’s power, and each arrow he sent revitalized the energy powering the spell. Each new arrow chipped the pristine stone surface, and roots worked their way into these minor imperfections. Soon, the golem was covered in a web of cracks as the roots expanded inside it.

Bearskin made three strikes against his foe before it levered itself off of the ground, propping itself up on its arms. As Fim moved to stand, Bearskin grabbed hold of one of its legs in two hands and flipped the golem over his head, sending it crashing into the wall where it then hung, dangling from his foot which had been Bonded where it struck.

I’d never seen a golem act indecisively, but the action seemed to stun Fim, as it didn't move at all for a moment, allowing Bearskin to push its head and arm against the wall, further Binding it in place.

Before the giant warrior could capitalize on his opponent's immobility, Kim burst into a cloud of rubble, flying out into the hall as a fourth golem ran through her. Rim stepped out into the hall, unconcerned about his fallen sister, and ran at Roland. Bearskin immediately abandoned his foe, and ran to intercept the newcomer. Once more the golem’s ignored Bearskin, and once again they were surprised at his strength. He fixed himself in place with his Primal magic and swung his weapon with all his tattoo and potion-enhanced might at the running golem. His ensouled weapon struck the golem where its legs met its torso, and kept going, leaving a bisected golem in its wake. The ear-shattering crack of the initial impact deafened us all, and we watched in awe as the pieces hit the ground in silence. Fim’s upper body weakly tried to drag itself forward before collapsing into a motionless heap.

Bearskin turned away from his fallen foe, a wide smile plastered across his massive head. He raised his weapon above his head and let out a roar as he ran to finish off Bim. As he ran, I saw the aura of his weapon shift briefly from the normal swirl of red and brown, to briefly contain the gray aura of Rim. The green faded as quickly as it appeared, only to leave a small gray circle next to the blue and dark brown ones that already sat there.

Bim spun around to face Bearskin, swinging wildly at Dagmar and Daulf, sending them flying back. She ran to meet Bearskin, being her non-damaged arm down on him with an overhead swing. His aura pulsed gray just before impact, and Bim’s arm met Bearskin’s upraised arm with the crack of stone one stone. Just as he caught the blow, he brought his weapon around in a wide swing, shattering Bim’s leg. Bim fell to the ground, and Bearskin, Daulf, and Dagmar quickly turned her into rubble.

While that was going on, Roland fired arrows at Fim, though these did not grow into vines, instead being runed for penetration—a costly endeavor requiring a liberal supply of Barion’s gems. Fim attacked the wall repeatedly with her free hand until he’d shattered it completely, falling to the ground. He rose unsteadily, large chunks of stone stuck to his head, foot and arm, and I sent him toppling backward with a third-tier Gust, where he soon met the fate of Bim.

After pummeling the last golem, Bearskin turned to me and asked, “Is that all?”

I looked down the hall to see Trish waiting, casually leaning against a wall.

“Yeah, that’s all of them,” I answered.

“Good,” he said with a sigh, the glow of his tattoos winking out, and his body sagged. “I will need an hour or two.”

And then he laid down, and fell into one of his healing comas.

Trish approached, looking at the golem, eyebrows raised as if impressed.

“I’m going to be honest,” she said when she got close. “I thought you were embellishing how big these things were when you told us about your experiences. If anything, you undersold them.”

“Well, I’m glad you believe me now,” I said.

“Oh, no. I still don’t believe you,” she teased. “I watched. You didn’t do anything that whole battle. I’m starting to think Dagmar soloed both of the ones in the Dahn.”

I let out a heavy sigh and sat down on the largest chunk of rubble nearby. The short battle had exhausted half my will, but left me exhausted as my adrenaline faded.

“They were supposed to kill the Force anchor first,” I said, gesturing to the pile of rubble at my—well, butt. “How did it go with the duergar?”

“Eh, they were pretty shit fighters,” she said with a shrug. “They tried to run away while invisible, but they slipped on the ice I’d prepped. Then they tried to get big to kill me, but that only made it easier for me to stick to their blind spots.”

“I hear talking,” Levar’s voice came from around the corner. “Is everyone still alive?”

“Everyone’s fine,” Daulf said, full of cheer.

We’d won, but it was not over, and we didn’t want to celebrate too soon. There was still the team downstairs. Now that we knew this battle could be won, we needed to find a way to win it decisively so that we could maintain our strength in the battle below.

Levar brought out some water, and passed it out before fleeing back into the Dahn. I had been fairly confident no one would come up here. Trish and Roland took their drinks and stood guard at the stairs on the far end of the hall. Once we’d rested, Dagmar and I proceeded to explore the floor in greater depth. We searched for two hours, turning up nothing. Like above, the kobolds had destroyed everything. Dagmar found a hidden room sealed by runes, but inside we found a tunnel dug up from the floor. The kobold’s had discovered it in their trapping, and plundered it as well. The traps, at least, had all been triggered. It looked as if the duergar had sent the golems—and a few kobolds—around to trigger all of them. Darts, arrows, spikes, and pits littered the place, the remnants of a very direct campaign of trap disarmament.

Bearskin stirred sometime after 7 and we had a quick snack before moving on.

“I saw you got a new stone on your—” I paused, still uncomfortable using the word to describe his weapon, “—sword. What does it do?”

Bearskin smiled wide once more.

“It was a great Contest. I am glad the golem agreed.”

He then closed his eyes, and said, “Throw a rock at me.”

Not needing to be told twice, Trish conjured a ball of ice and threw it at his head. Bearskin raised his hand, and caught the frozen projectile without even turning his head towards her.

“I am aware of everything within two arm spans of me,” he explained, opening his eyes.

“Your arm spans, or my arm spans?” I asked.

“Mine,” he answered, eliciting an impressed whistle from Trish.

He went on to explain the stone skin ability he also gained, but as he’d already used it for the day, we would have to explore it later.

Once we’d all rested, it was time to move on to phase two. Dagmar and I would go down the stairs at the end of the hall, into the caves below and explore them carefully for any ways in, while Daulf and the rest would try to find a way through the collapsed tunnel on the current floor. They each had a Light above their heads, which would disappear if I died, signaling a retreat to the Dahn.

“Let me give the rubble a quick once over,” Dagmar said, before we embarked down.

We moved to the rubble as a group.

“It looks like this collapse occurred alongside all the other seismic shifts we’ve seen,” she said after staring at it for a few minutes.

The halls were two squares, sharing a central tunnel, on one end another hall had extended out from the center, but it had collapsed. Dagmar said this would have led to the original entrance.

“I can’t detect any drafts, though.” she said, disappointed after sniffing the air.

Bearskin closed his eyes as he stood near the wall of rubble using his new ability.

“I can not tell,” he said, disappointed. “Movement and life I can detect, but the rest is... fuzzy.”

“My turn,” Roland said, pulling a mouse out of his pocket.

He held the creature cupped in and whispered something to it before letting it run into the stone.

“I can see it!” Bearskin explained, eyes still closed as he pointed at the rubble, where the mouse was.

Dagmar and I turned to leave, and then it happened.

Trish had walked closer to the rubble, and we all heard a click.

Everyone froze, and looked around at each other for a heartbeat. Then, the floor dropped out below Trish, and the hole grew, stone falling into the ever-widening pit with a thunderous roar.

I cast Slow Fall on Trish as soon as she dropped, but she still disappeared down the hole. Bearskin grabbed Roland by the wrist, and threw him away from the widening pit, even as he himself fell. Dagmar and I were outside the range, having been on our way out, and Daulf hadn’t gotten close enough to the wall.

A scream of pain came from the hole as something struck Trish, and I dove into the hole. By then, the pit had grown to fifteen feet wide, but narrowed like a funnel down to eight or so. The walls were crudely but functionally dug by kobolds, and not the smooth work of dwarves. I didn’t notice any of this at the time, obviously, as I was diving head first into a trap.

Ten feet down, I passed Bearskin as he climbed the wall with his Bond magic, and I could see Trish four Bearskin-lengths beyond him. Slow Fall had slowed her descent, but descend she still did. I crashed into the side of the tunnel, thankful my Mage Armor was still active, saving me from losing all the skin from the side of my body on the rough hewn walls. The focused updraft of the spell slowed me as I neared Trish, but my speed was too great, and the spell was not focused on me and I knew I would fall through it. I grabbed her leg as I passed, and she screamed in pain once more.

“Sorry!” I yelled out of reflex as I cast Fly, dismissing Slow Fall in the process.

We fell a little longer as I pulled myself up to grab her by the torso, and then I sent the full brunt of the spell downward.

We slowed, but we didn’t fly.

“Flood!” I cursed as we descended into the darkness.

“It’s fine,” Trish said, voice devoid of all emotion. “When we get to the bottom, leave me, fly back up and get the other to the Dahn.”

Before I could answer, the surrounding walls opened up, and we landed gently on a fresh pile of rubble in the cave just before the Primordial.

“Forget that,” I yelled, “Get on my back!”

To her credit, she didn’t protest.

Normally I couldn’t run with her weight—not because she is heavy or anything like that obviously, but because I am a weak, weak mage who couldn’t lift a fork if it were made out of lead. Actually, Spellbook, if Trish ever reads this, just don’t let this paragraph appear. With Fly acting as Wind Run, I could run with her at double my own speed, but turning was very awkward. If Trish reads this, replace it with:

I ran with Trish on my back, using Fly to boost my pace.

Distantly, we heard voices, but I didn’t look back. The uphill climb was exhausting, even with magic. I’d traveled down this tunnel a few times, each time with golems in pursuit, but the way was clear in my head. As I neared the top, I sensed someone drawing upon the Fonts, but could not stop it. A bolt of fire lit up the cavern, and I spun around, sending my palm up towards the source of the light

“Bo,” I said between pants, and an invisible Barrier appeared before me. I leapt back, Fly propelling me away and the ball of flame crashed into the ground a couple of paces away, exploding into a wall of flame. My Shield blocked the brunt of the fire, but the flames licked around it scorching my arms and Trish’s side.

I turned when I landed and jumped out of the cavern to the stairs. From behind, Trish shoved a vial into my mouth, and I swallowed. I tasted the “tang” taste of whale excrement, followed by the refreshing of my mind.

“Run!” she yelled from my back, as our teammates came into view at the top of the stairs. Bearskin, Daulf, Dagmar, and Roland all stood with weapons at the ready and ignored her plea.

I sensed another drawing of the Fonts, this one much more powerful than the first, and another Fireball larger streaked past us towards the four ahead. A familiar shimmer surrounded Daulf as the other three fell behind him. The Fireball hit his shield and detonated, the flames wrapping around his shield just as they had mine, but when the fire dissipated, the group seemed unharmed, though Daulf’s face grew shocked and pale. He yelled something to those behind him and they all charged. As I passed them, Bearskin took Trish off my back and pulled me along with her.

“Come with me!” he commanded.

He dragged me along like a kite. Free of Trish’s weight, my spell threw me into the air. Before I could react, he’d dragged me to the stairs, and I saw the destroyed remains of the door to the Dahn.

Oh no...

Behind use, Roland was firing arrows into the stairs, which had become cloaked in a magical darkness. Roots grew from the ceiling, attempting to block the entry, and Dagmar stood at the edge of the darkness, battling some unseen foe. Before being dragged out of sight, I saw Roland’s roots wither and die as Daulf was thrown out of the darkness, sliding across the ground.