Dungeon Walkers 3, page 29
Exhaling in relief when she felt the mask back in place, Nicole glanced back to him. He gave her a small shrug as they waited. Time seemed to stretch out for them and, after a minute, Stern duck-walked a little closer to the edge to look down.
The cave system had the same lightly glowing moss that every other cave had, allowing those with night vision or better-than-human vision to see easily enough. The room below them had a twenty-foot ceiling, with the ledge seven feet from the top. Small beds dotted the room; in the middle was a grander area, clearly the boss’ spot. The cobold standing there wore stone armor and walked with heavier footsteps than he should.
Stone-infused, Stern thought. That’ll make things tough for Zasha... Pawly and the boss will be extra damage to each other... The others will have a hard time even hurting it. Trish’s hammer is the best chance to manage it.
Nicole gave him a questioning look when he waddled back to her. “Well?” Her word was a whisper.
“Stone-infused. Use cold,” Stern whispered back.
Nicole nodded, her palms sweating. Where are they? She worried as time seemed to stretch out.
A sudden roar came from below them, followed by the sound of things being bowled aside. That got Stern to stand up and step forward, his crossbow up. Nicole rushed to his side, magic forming around her hands.
Zasha came charging through the room, Pawly flying above and behind him. The rest trailed the two summons, clearly taking stock of the stone armor the boss was wearing. Trish shouted commands— Cammie and Cyra stayed back and Jon slowed down, as he was to protect them in case the boss leapt.
As Trish rushed behind Zasha, the boss’ first ability became known when a pit opened in front of her. Trish leapt sideways, making it past the edge and rolling when she hit the ground. That delayed her from getting closer.
Zasha spat a spike of earth just before Stern’s bolt and Nicole’s Iceball slammed home. The cobold jerked his arm wide, then lunged at Zasha. Stern grabbed Nicole, throwing them both backward. Earth spikes from the boss flew through the spot they’d been in when they hit the ground.
“Thanks,” Nicole panted.
“Cast, but if he motions at us, get back and down,” Stern said as he got to his feet.
“Okay,” Nicole panted as she struggled to get up.
Zasha and the boss clashed with the crack of stone hitting stone. The two were not doing a lot to each other, but it looked like a vicious fight. When Pawly zoomed in, her tentacles hit the boss, discharging her lightning. The boss screamed out as his whole body locked up. Unfortunately, Zasha had been biting the cobold, so he let out a pained whimper as the discharge surged through him.
That moment of paralysis let Trish rush forward again. She was halfway there when the boss shook off the stun. It hissed at Trish, who jumped for all she was worth, clearing the pit that appeared in front of her by mere inches. She stumbled, rolled, and came back up running. The boss turned its eyes to Cyra, Cammie, and Jon in the back and laughed.
Stern’s bolt and Nicole’s spell hit it as Zasha scrambled to regain its attention, jerking its gaze from the trio to them. The laugh deepened, and Stern grabbed Nicole, knowing something new was coming. He was dragging her back with him as part of the ledge broke off, falling to the floor.
“Fuck!” Stern gasped when he pushed against the wall. “One more salvo, then we’ll have to retreat.”
“Yes,” Nicole said with quick, shallow breaths.
“Wait,” Stern grinned. “Pawly, I need you!”
Nicole’s breath caught as she understood what he was thinking.
Pawly dive-bombed the boss, stunning him again, before she flew over to them. She could fly almost as fast as she could run, but rarely did. Stern nudged Nicole toward her.
“Take Nicole down to the others. It’s too dangerous up here. I’ll go back down the tunnel.”
Pawly chuffed as Nicole climbed onto her broad back, grabbing Pawly’s neck fur tightly. As Pawly flew off, Stern aimed and fired just before Trish got to the boss, who was shaking off the last stun.
Trish’s swing came right after Stern’s bolt. Oddly enough, her strike slammed into the back of the bolt, driving it even farther into the boss. Screaming in pain and rage, the cobold stomped his feet, and the whole cavern shook.
Stern scrambled to grab the wall. His crossbow dangled on its sling as he did, but he didn’t grab anything before the ledge crumbled and he fell with the rocks.
“Stern!” Cyra screamed, rushing his way. Cammie and Jon ran after her when they saw him fall.
Pawly dropped quickly beside the debris, and Nicole started to dig before the others could get to help.
The noise of the fight vanished a moment later as the others dug through the rubble. Stern groaned as he pushed a thin slab of rock off himself. His whole body ached, his left leg worse than the rest of him.
“Stern?!” Cyra asked worriedly; one of her heals infused him in the next moment.
“Leg... moderate,” he panted against the continuous pain.
She used her bigger healing perk as the others finished digging him out. They all saw his broken leg briefly before Cyra’s spell set it. She sniffled as she used her last healing ability for the day to make sure he was okay.
Stern let out a rough breath when the pain vanished. “I’m okay now.”
“That ledge worked, but also didn’t,” Trish said as she came toward them.
“Glad you got Nicole down before it collapsed,” Jon said, hugging his wife.
“We need to salve our hands,” Cammie added. “I know I have a few cuts from digging him out.”
“You killed it?” Stern asked as he was helped out of the rubble.
“With your help,” Trish snorted. “Your last bolt hit right where I was striking. It drove the bolt in, and it dropped a moment later. The exit orb appeared right after that.”
Stern snorted. “The luck from the bolt being in the right place was offset by me falling.”
Cyra kissed him passionately when he got to her. “I was so scared.”
“Sorry...” Stern murmured when the kiss ended.
“These two made it much easier for us,” Cammie said, patting Pawly and Zasha. “They always do.”
“They’re good friends,” Stern smiled.
“It’s done. We need to go get your bag,” Trish said. “Then it’s shards, perks, and out of the dungeon.”
“Yeah. Come on, Zasha. Let’s get my bag,” Stern said.
“Maybe we should all go?” Nicole suggested softly. “Just in case we missed some earlier?”
Stern nodded. “That’s for the best. Thanks for reminding me about that. Just because we beat the boss doesn’t necessarily mean the dungeon is cleared once we get to higher tiers.”
As a group, they headed back the way they’d come to reclaim Stern’s bag.
Chapter Thirty-nine
“Welcome back,” Ria smiled when they appeared in the shop. “Did you want to start with shards?”
“As we normally do,” Stern nodded. “Mary Lizwre is her name.”
“Yes, two shards. Here you are,” Ria smiled as two parts of a half heart appeared on the counter.
“Thank you.”
“Would you like to spend the rest of your points or choose your perks?”
“Perks,” Stern said. “I’ll go first this time, if that’s okay?” He looked over his shoulder at the others.
They agreed it was, so Ria placed three pages on the counter before him.
Stern took a moment to look them over. He snorted at the first and nodded at the second before sighing as he set the third one down. “Well, I’m pretty sure I know which one I’m going to take.”
“What are the options?” Trish asked.
“The first is Self-Healing. The second option is Empathic Resonance. While the last, staying true to form, is a summons perk. It’s the third companion slot again.”
“You don’t need the second one,” Cammie said. “The three of us can see your love in everything you do and say.”
“Agreed,” Cyra nodded. “It’s between healing or a third friend.”
“It’s Stern,” Trish said. “A third friend might be just what we need at times.”
“Pawly? Zasha?” Stern asked, turning the two pages around in his hands. “What do you think?”
Zasha trotted over and stood up to lick Stern’s right hand, since he was in his smaller form. Pawly floated over, dropping down to his right side and purring.
Stern put the other page back and took a seat against the counter. “If you’re both sure.”
“Companion?” Jon asked.
“Yeah,” Stern replied. “Since they’re okay with it, I’ll do it. They’ve been key to a lot of our runs so far. Others might call me a fool, but they just don’t understand what we can manage.”
Taking a deep breath, Stern willed the perk to be his. The bright light burst the page apart, then flooded him with power. He jerked in place— all of his muscles locked up before he slumped into unconsciousness.
“Stern?!” Cyra rushed to his side, touching him. After a moment, she let out a shuddering breath. “He’s okay...”
“We’ll want to lay down for this and every dungeon going forward, it seems,” Trish said softly. “I’ll go next.”
“Go ahead,” Jon said, holding Nicole. They watched Stern to see how long it was going to take for him to wake up.
Ria collected Stern’s unwanted perks, then gave Trish a smile as she set down the next three. “Choose well.”
Trish nodded before she checked her options. Her hands shook as she set them down. “Well... the Goddess is being mean today.”
“What did you get?” Jon asked.
“Iron Mind again. Improved Runic Crafter, which would let me add two slots... or the last one... Distant Protector. If I can see the person I can use Protector on them.”
“But… how would that work?” Cammie asked slowly. “You normally trade places with the person you protect.”
“It might mean we still change places, or it could mean I just end up next to them. I’m not sure.”
“You’d change places,” Ria said gently. “Ending up next to someone is the perk Bodyguard.”
“Oh, right. I know that one,” Trish said. “I forgot about it.”
“Improved Runic Crafter...” Jon breathed out in wonder. “That perk is worth a mint to any crafter.”
“While Distant Protector will allow her to save one of us if needed,” Nicole said softly.
“And Iron Mind is a rare perk all by itself,” Cyra said, gently stroking Stern’s hair.
“What are you going to take, Trish?” Cammie asked.
Trish exhaled, looking between the three perks. “It’s a tough call... if I’d had Distant Protector earlier, I could’ve swapped places with Stern when he fell. I wouldn’t have taken anywhere near as bad an injury as he had, so there are times it would be better for us in a fight.” Shaking her head, she looked up at Pawly. “Pawly? Help, please?”
Pawly glided down, pushing a single page toward her.
“Protecting those we love is important,” Trish said, petting Pawly. “Thanks.”
Pawly purred before floating back up.
Trish took a spot on the ground, resting her head on Stern’s stomach. “This might get complicated, depending on how long he’s out.” When she accepted the perk, her body went rigid as she passed out, too.
“I’ll go next,” Jon said. “May the Goddess grant me choices like Trish had.”
Ria gave him a bright smile as she laid out his choices. “May she smile upon you, Walker.”
Jon dismissed the first page with a grunt— he didn’t see value in Thick Skin at this point. The second page was Improved Runic Crafter, and his hands shook at seeing it. Setting it down slowly, he almost grabbed it and took it before he could second guess his choice. When he picked up the third page, he nearly dismissed it until he looked up at Ria. “Would this let me ignore fear?”
“Most fear. Fear caused by Ghastly Visage would be negated.”
“Jon?” Nicole asked with hope in her voice.
He turned to face her, holding the third page. “Iron Mind. I could see you… finally.”
Nicole swallowed— she wanted her perk negated, but to let him see her in private was also high on her list of wants. “The others?”
“Doesn’t matter. I want to see you. I know you’re beautiful, regardless of your perk. This will let me take your mask off when we’re alone.”
“Iron Mind is still very useful for dungeons, too,” Stern murmured, feeling wrung out. “Take it.”
Jon moved up to Nicole. “Is this okay, my love?”
“Yes.” She hugged him tightly, kissing his neck. “Please.”
Jon slowly lowered them both to the ground. His head ended up on Nicole’s thighs as she knelt for him to rest there. “I’ll see you soon, dearest.” When the perk entered him, Nicole held him and cried happy tears.
The other three who were awake watched with happiness for them. They’d all known that Jon and Nicole wanted to be able to remove the mask when they could safely.
“I’ll go,” Cammie exhaled a shaky breath. “Wish me luck.”
“Luck,” Stern and Cyra said together.
“Cammie, take your time. Choose well,” Ria said, swapping perks out.
Cammie closed her eyes, calming her nerves. Opening them, she started reading her options. Her eyes widened, and kept widening as she read each. When she finished, she was unsure of what to do.
“Uh... so this is… yeah,” Cammie said. “I can take Improved Long Trapper; line of sight regardless of what trap is used. I can pick Improved Magical Trapper 1, so I can make three magical traps a day with Nicole, and it sounds like it can upgrade again... or I can take Duplicate Trap. That’ll give me an identical copy of any trap I make, with all the bonuses or restrictions of the first one, and the summoned trap isn’t restricted by other perks.”
“Does that mean you could make two magical traps a day with Nicole?” Cyra asked.
“It does,” Ria said.
“That could be huge later,” Stern said. “If you keep getting trap bonuses, you could duplicate it, but the other two are good, too. Tough choices.”
“What do I do?” Cammie asked. “The choice is so hard.”
Pawly floated down, purring, brushing against Cammie’s back. Cammie turned around to see Pawly push a perk toward her.
“This one?”
Pawly meowed at her in response.
“She says Duplicate Trap,” Cammie informed them.
“She’s picked Trish’s, and she’s picked mine before,” Cyra said. “We trust her to help us a lot.”
“True,” Cammie nodded. “Zasha, do you agree?”
Zasha barked softly, giving her a doggy grin.
“Okay.” Cammie took the perk off the counter. She arranged herself to rest against Trish as Stern eased himself out from under her. “Good, I was hoping you’d be up to help Cyra. See you in a bit.”
“We’ll be here,” Stern said.
Cammie passed out as the others had. Cyra checked her, then took Stern’s offered hand to stand up. “I’ll go next so Nicole can stay with Jon.”
“For the best,” Stern murmured, rubbing her back. “We’ll be here to help.”
“I hate perks now...” Trish grumbled, waking up.
“When I see my father, I’m going to chew him out for underplaying how bad it is.”
“Cyra, may the Goddess bless you,” Ria said as she placed the perks out for inspection.
Cyra read two of them quickly, having seen them before, then paused to read the third. “Improved Life Sense 3 again, as well as Greater Mirrored Ally. The new one is Bulwark’s Staunch Defender, which would let me use the ability three times a day instead of once. I tried to use it on you when you fell, Stern, but it didn’t help there. It has to be an actual attack; the rocks didn’t count.”
“Any of them would still be good,” Jon murmured as he woke up. “Nicole, it’s unpleasant, but I’ll be here to hold you when you take your turn.”
