ELIAS - SYSTEM-BOUND: BOOK THREE, page 17
Basic Regenerative Elixir – Just one vial of this elixir will increase that person’s regeneration rate by 10% for the next 30 minutes.
Now, if everything worked as described, my ability to self-heal would be increased. Well, if I had made a mistake in the manufacturing process, then I could well be changing my shorts within the next ten minutes and causing everybody else to treat me like a pariah. On the positive side, Martha had kissed me again, and nobody had yet commented on it. I really liked her, but girls were as much an alien species to me as Kepit was. Was I supposed to kiss her back at some point? No, I’d tried that once and made a proper fool of myself. Anyway, this wasn’t the right time or place for such thoughts.
I brushed myself off and took a deep breath, just wiggling the fingers in my right hand to make sure everything was working as it should. I was happy that was the case, so I re-equipped my spear and gave myself a few seconds to refamiliarise myself with it.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Luca staring back at me.
“Anything? Any sudden urge to shit yourself?” He asked, his face utterly serious.
“Luca!” Martha hissed, tapping her brother on the arm.
“No need for that language. And stop being so crude!”
Luca grinned and shrugged.
“What? It was a genuine question. Kepit and I need to know how far back we need to stand to ensure our safety.”
While Martha’s stern face broke into a grin, Kepit’s had a look of confusion as the humour went way over his head.
Luca just waved a dismissive hand, “Pfft. My talents are wasted here…”
Thankfully, the elixir I’d taken appeared to be working as it should, and my pants were still the same ones the System had insisted we all wear. With my hand functioning as it should and my arm as good as new, I led the group from the antechamber through an archway that funnelled us into a short corridor. The light from the glow stones faded away behind us as we travelled through an area with none. Ordinarily, I might have been unnerved by such a thing and wary about pushing on without the aid of Kepit’s better vision. That was no longer the case now that I had my enhanced version of Sense Danger.
The cooler air of the antechamber changed once more, perhaps a little warmer, thicker and heavier – the kind that stuck to the back of your throat if you inhaled too quickly. I thought I detected the faint tang of rotting vegetation, but I didn't yet know why that would be the case. I felt a gentle breeze blowing down the passageway, but there was nothing fresh about it. No, I thought there were words being carried along with it. Was it actually words I was hearing, or just the air blowing through something making it sound as such? I stopped and listened again.
“Out!”
I swallowed. That was really creepy. The sort of voice I was more used to hearing in some horror flick, slow, breathy and drawn out for extra traumatic effect.
“Anybody hear that?” I asked, ensuring to keep my voice to no more than a whisper.
“I don’t hear anything,” Vaeren replied, although I got the feeling from the link that he was unsettled by something – I knew I was.
The chamber beyond the corridor was vast, much larger than anything else we’d seen in this place. The ceiling vanishing into darkness above, with the only lights I could see coming from a few braziers set further back. Even these didn’t actually illuminate the room properly, but merely painted the walls with dancing, flickering shadows with their unnatural-looking flames.
After spending a few moments looking for any signs of immediate danger, I felt confident enough to step inside. I noticed some weird shapes on the floor beneath my boots and wondered about their significance and purpose. If I had learned anything from this world, it was that most things had a purpose.
“They look like glyphs,” Vaeren said, stepping up beside me and crouching down to take a better look.
While that was also my thinking, I knew the nine-year-old boy beside me knew much more about those sorts of things than I did.
I waited a few moments for Vaeren to run his small hands over the stones and watched as his fingers trailed some of the shapes set within. Even I could tell they were old, something ancient, or at least made to look that way. I thought I could feel my Sense Danger wanting to tell me something, but it was almost as if it didn’t know how. Was it to do with these weird squiggly shapes on the floor? Were they dangerous, or could they become hazardous if activated? I guessed that could make more sense, and would explain the uncertainty in a skill I was already taking a liking to.
The room was still and quiet – unnervingly so. No scurrying rats, no scraping of claws or creaking of undead soldiers coming to life, just the sounds of our slow, purposeful footsteps. As we moved a little further into the chamber, I could see something positioned between two of the braziers. It stood tall and upright like a coffin standing on its end, but I knew it to be a sarcophagus, something I’d have expected to find in a museum back home.
I edged nearer and noticed the sarcophagus was wrapped in chains, with thick iron links that had rusted over the years. Whatever was in there was clearly meant to stay in there, so why did I get the feeling that was precisely where our next opponent was going to emerge? We had reached the centre of the chamber, and that was when my senses started telling me of imminent danger. We must have triggered something when reaching this point.
The chains around the sarcophagus rattled, only slightly, as if giving us a forewarning of what was to come. I felt the breeze pick up again, and that word carried with it once more.
“Out!”
“I heard that!” Luca said from somewhere behind me.
I was glad somebody else had. At least I wasn’t going completely mad.
I cast my buff, and Kepit did likewise. I stepped forward as the chains rattled again, this time louder and for longer. Something was stirring within as I noticed the entire casing shudder slightly as if being shaken. The chains rattled again, this time continuing without pause before snapping and dropping to the ground. There was a loud clang as it echoed throughout the chamber, and everything went momentarily still – the calm before the storm.
I took my stance, as the sarcophagus shook, more violently this time, and the front tipped forward, the lid was opening. Within a few moments, it had tilted over and came crashing down to the stone floor. There was an eruption of noise and dust, and I instinctively held my breath even though I was far enough away not to breathe any of it in. Then, as the dust cleared, a tall figure stepped forward, emerging through the shadows. There it was, our next opponent.
Veythar, The Crypt Warden – Level 12 (Elite Boss).
Chapter 24.
The Crypt Warden stepped forward from his sarcophagus, his tall shape straightening with a slow precision as if he had all the time in the world. I suppose, technically speaking, he did – he was already dead, after all. I think time had done about as much ravaging on him as it could already, so what did a few seconds more matter?
The Warden’s armour, if indeed you could call it that, was a patchwork of corroded steel, bound together with rusted iron straps. Across its back, resting at a slight angle, was a large halberd, its blade glistening in the flickering light given off by the braziers, and looking far too clean for my liking.
We remained where we were, ready to move, attack or defend, depending on what our opponent did first. The Warden’s burning red eyes stared in our direction, unmoving, focused. Its face, nothing more than decayed and rotting flesh, but still definable. Its mouth curled up slightly as if it were trying to force a smile, but failed on so many levels.
The silence was then broken by a booming voice that echoed around the room.
“I am Veythar, Warden of the Crypt. Keeper of The Master’s secrets and slayer of those unworthy to be here.”
Okay, so it looked like we had a boss who was fond of its own voice. I was almost willing it to make a move, but no, our Warden friend had more to say yet.
“You have trespassed into the resting place of those that were once legends,” Veythar continued as he took a short step forward, but then stopped again.
“You dare disturb the rest of the fallen. Did you think you could really pass through to the Master’s Sanctum unseen? Did you not think you would be challenged?”
While it was tempting to reply that we didn’t think that at all, nor had we tried to sneak in or past anything or anyone, I somehow doubted I would have got any sort of coherent reply. This was clearly part of the process – the dungeon doing its thing, and this guy wanted to have his moment in the spotlight before we sent him packing.
“Your insolence shall not go unpunished!” Veythar continued on.
He certainly had a lengthy speech, and I was beginning to wonder how long it had taken him to write it.
“Geez, is he going to fight or talk us to death?”
I heard Luca’s comment and smiled, never once taking my eyes off the large figure standing no more than thirty paces away from us.
“Honestly? I’m not sure yet,” I replied.
Veythar then stepped over slightly as if feeling the need to look into one of the braziers, before turning to face us once more. He then reached over his shoulder and removed the halbard from his back and planted the butt down on the stone floor with a loud ringing sound.
“I am the blade that severs all hope. I am the hand that ends your journey. Are you ready to join those who have failed before you?”
There was a momentary pause before Veythar lifted his halberd and moved into a stance that suggested he was finally done talking and ready for battle. He let out a loud, echoing roar as the braziers responded to his call by burning brighter, causing larger shadows to dance across the walls. My Sense Danger skill was screaming at me, but not from one point. What was I missing? Surely my target was in front of me. Unsure what to expect, Veythar then advanced, slowly but with a certain grace to his movements, which made him look as if he were gliding across the floor.
Veythar closed the distance between us in just a few very deceptively smooth strides, his halberd swinging up in a wide arc. I brought my shield up just in time to deflect the first strike, but the sheer force reverberated through my arm, nearly knocking me off balance. That thing wasn’t just for show. Geez, it almost took my arm off – I just had to hope my poor shield was up to the task.
Before I could even think about retaliating in any way, shape or form, the Warden twisted his halberd around and slammed the butt end down onto the stone floor once more. A pulse of pale green light rippled outwards like a shockwave, passing through our legs and disappearing into the darkness of the chamber. A moment later, ghostly chains erupted from the stone floor beneath us, one set no more than a few paces from where I was positioned. Luca was not so lucky as I heard him cry out. I fell back as I could see his legs were trapped, and he had been dragged to the ground, his bow now fallen from his grasp.
Kepit darted over to cover him while I tried to intercept the warden from approaching Luca. Bound by those chains, there was no way he would survive a single blow from that halberd, and I had no intention of allowing that to happen. I could see the shadows from Vaeren’s Shadow Leech spell hit Veythar’s body, but the Warden never once broke stride as he calmly and smoothly moved across the floor, closing in on our fallen group member.
I gave everything my legs had to give, and just barged into the figure, hoping my shield spike would at least do something. The Warden did stagger a little, so at least I’d forced him to break his stride. More importantly, I’d also regained his attention. The downside? I had to leap to the side to save myself from getting my legs cleaved from the rest of my body – and I wanted to keep them attached. Veythar was quick and already had his halberd spun around as he thrust the butt end of it forward into my waiting shield. Again, the sheer force of the blow was enough to cause me pain, and I could already feel the slow trickling heal from Vaeren’s spell taking effect.
An arrow flying close by me and slamming into the Warden’s body was enough to tell me that either Kepit had suddenly taken up archery, or more likely, Luca was free, back on his feet and seeking revenge. While the shot didn’t appear to do much more than cause Veythar to rock back slightly, I saw something interesting when he did. Just a glimpse, but it was more than enough to tell me how we defeated him. Set within his chest, just the same as the other undead creatures we’d fought so far, was the familiar glow of a core. Smash that, and we defeated the seven-foot-tall, halberd-wielding dead guy.
As Veythar swung his weapon around in a wide arc to stop Kepit from getting too close, I saw the window of opportunity to get a quick counterattack in. Once the large shining blade had whizzed past in front of my face, I darted forward, now within the arc of the weapon and used my Thrust ability to shove my spear deep into the Warden’s chest. Despite the metal armour, my blade was more than a match, and although I felt some resistance, the tip sank deep. I’d hoped for a killing blow against the core, but it didn’t happen. Veythar let out a loud cry and swung his weapon around again. Slamming the butt down onto the stone floor had me withdrawing back to a safer distance as the green light washed across the ground. I had to jump aside as one set of ghostly chains emerged just a few feet away from where I was standing.
I didn’t hear anybody crying out, so I hoped that was a good sign and that nobody had been caught out by them this time. I was about to attack again, but Kepit was already one step ahead of me, ducking under the swinging halberd and swiping both of his axes against one of the Warden’s legs, causing it to stumble back and let out another shriek of pain. Good. If this thing could feel pain, then we’d happily oblige to give it. However, before I could follow up on Kepit’s strike, Veythar had already moved further back. Retreating to regain his composure? Or was he backing off to do something else we hadn’t yet seen? Why did I think the latter was probably true?
Veythar staggered a little before regaining his composure. I had no idea whether dungeon bosses could self-heal, but he didn’t appear to have any long-lasting aftereffects of Kepit’s strike. The Warden spun the halberd around in his bony hands, a manoeuvre so smoothly accomplished that the thing must have spent years practising it. Rather than bringing the butt-end of his weapon down on the floor, Veythar slammed the point into the stone. This time, a wave of blue light swept outwards. There was nothing any of us could do to avoid it, and we were all swept off our feet, ending up on our backsides.
“Feel my power!” Veythar than roared out, before deciding to follow that up with another raucous laugh that echoed around the entire chamber.
“You mortals are no match for me!”
Again with the talking. I’d already decided that this guy spoke far too much.
While we were all getting back to our feet, my danger sense located two new sources of potential threat. I glanced both left and right to see two small skeletal beings rising up from the ground. Just smaller versions of the undead soldiers we’d fought earlier.
“Kepit, Luca – You’ll have to take care of those. Vaeren, focus on the big guy with me!” I shouted, trying to think on my feet – or at least trying to think while getting to my feet.
I had to put my trust in my friends to do as I’d asked without having to check, and I had complete faith they would. Martha would remain on hand to heal anybody who got hit, and we’d also have the smaller heals from Vaeren’s spell to help things along.
I dared a sideways glance at one of the newly emerged skeletons, only to see an arrow slam right into its head and almost send it back to the floor again. Yeah, they’d be fine. I needed to focus on the big guy before he started rambling on in another of his speeches and bored us all to death.
Veythar edged forward again to attack with his halberd, swinging it in a wide arc which I easily stepped back from. That allowed me another opening, which I was only too happy to oblige and take, thrusting my spear in through his patchworked armour once more. I retreated quickly before he had the chance to catch me with the backswing – an action that appeared to infuriate him, as he roared out in protest once more.
The Warden surprised me when I expected him to make another attack, but he opted to retreat again, closer to his sarcophagus. Did he just miss his bed, or was he about to summon more of those skeletal soldiers?
“Not sure what he’s doing!” I shouted as loud as I could to warn the others to expect the unexpected.
I was breathing heavy as I waited for our enemy to make the next move. The two skeletons he’d summoned had been swiftly dealt with by the others without fuss or injury to anyone. Suddenly, I saw the flames from the braziers rise up as if reacting to what Veythar was doing. Come to think about it, what was he doing? With his halberd in one hand in an upright position, he was gesturing or waving with the other.
“Witness the power of my flames!”
The words rang out as he again slammed the butt of his weapon down onto the ground. I noticed the weird glyph patterns we’d seen on the floor starting to glow. Call it intuition or my new skill working overtime, but I knew to move.
“If you’re standing on any of those glyph markings, you may want to move!” I shouted, although I had to admit my voice wasn’t half as impressive or as loud as Veythar’s.
I’d barely stepped onto a clearer section of the floor when the flames leapt from the braziers and started stretching across the stones, effectively dividing the chamber into different areas. I found myself penned in by a wall of flame some seven or eight feet in height.
“Everybody okay?” I called out.
“We’re all fine. I can’t see you to heal, though,” Martha called back.
“That’s fine. Heal Vaeren, that will heal me too,” I replied, surprised by the fact that I’d remembered that small detail about our linking.
Veythar glared at me with those hungry, fiery eyes, his ugly, rotting face trying to smile again.
“All alone. You will suffer for your insolence!”
