The party: Auraman Manner

Alvec found it hard to imagine how Vato could live in these conditions. The Empire of Fire and Water had a relatively cold climate. The winter snows could get rather deep, and the cold ocean winds assured that a place like this would be terrible to live in with so much possible exposure to the elements. Granted, a building like this likely had a large basement. It was possible that with a bit of fortification, it wouldn't matter that the manor had a cannon hole in its upper level. The gate, while intact, was wide open. An old, rusted chain and broken lock lay on the ground. Adding another grain of evidence that someone at least had been here.

To be fair, though, it just as easily could have been someone doing some light robbery. Alvec couldn't think of dumber ways to get in trouble with the law than stealing from Throne Land. If anyone found out about it, in the best case, you'd be paying back taxes. You would certainly be forced to return your ill-gotten gains and then be given some sort of punishment. Forced conscription, perhaps.

The party approached through the gate. Their presence did not go unnoticed. Piles of junk metal and scrap animated, floating off the ground. Rusted and decaying, old knives, ladles, pots, and pans swirl around a single tiny mote of darkness. Mavec called out to the rest of the group. "We've got junk constructs here. Alvec, Don't rush in. We can't take a chance on you being unable to cast."

"What makes them so dangerous to wizards?" Naya asked as she unsheathed both of her swords.

"Ever hear of tetanus? It's a disease they often carry. It can cause the muscles in the jaw to lock right up. You ever hear an arcane incantation uttered through a closed mouth? They don't work too well," Mavec replied as he ordered Piccora in front of him.

"What else do we be needing to know?" Illaria asked as she took up position front and center her Wakizashi already in hand.

"They can break up into a swarm," Alvec said. "If they do that, no amount of armor or evasiveness will mean a damn; they'll hit you just by encompassing you. Also, they're much tougher than they look. Your blades aren't going to be as effective as we'd like them to be."

"Also, they're immune to magic, so you guys are on your own here," Mavec stated.

"Speak for yourself," Alvec said as he plucked a glass vial from his bandolier. "Their defenses don't extend to elemental damage, so I'll be able to keep some pressure on them."

"Show off," Mavec grumbled as he stuck to the back line. Running up and hitting them with his hammer sounded like a one-way trip to getting tetanus. Being the only one not making ready to engage them left him able to spot something else slithering through the tall grass. The flash of iron scales headed straight toward Bait was a bad omen. An Iron Cobra, a snake-like construct, is able to inject the victims of its bites with potions or poisons. "Bait, watch out," Mavec shouted, but the thundering gunfire from Bait's musket must have drowned out his warning cry. The iron cobra got close and sunk its fangs into him. The poor goblin yelped in pain and staggered backward. The snake quickly slithered back into the house.

Naya's swords were barely making a dent against these damn things. She'd need Alvec to help her enchant them at some point. Enemies this hard presented a unique problem for someone who won fights by scoring many weaker hits. Echo was having only slightly better luck. The wolf snapped his fangs at the floating and spinning metal pieces. She danced around the incoming blades and struck back as best she could.

Alvec tossed a vial of acid at one of the constructs. It sizzled and burned, but unfortunately for the party, acid and alchemist fire were not all that powerful. Hell, a single shocking grasp was as potent as up to five bottles of acid. Still, it was better than nothing, so he'd have to do what little he could to help his friends.

Illaria managed to do some appreciable damage as she struck through the center mass of the swirling junk in front of her. Bait's gunshots had seemed to weaken and truly anger it. The mass of rubble exploded out, surrounding Illaria. A sharp pain filled her side as a two-pronged bronze fork plunged through the gaps in her armor. Bait squeezed off a few more rounds into the one-swarming Illaria. His vision went fuzzy at the edges as he saw his shots connect. The sphere of floating debris rained down on her and her surroundings in a terrible cacophony as the life went out of the creature.

Bait rubbed at his eyes and pushed through the feeling of nausea that swept through him. The goblin dashed ahead of the group, refusing to let the Iron Cobra slip from his sight. The snake flipped through a small hole in the wall, and Bait dove behind it. The goblin twisted and contorted himself painfully as bits of drywall and piping poked and prodded into him. This gap was honestly too small for even him, but never underestimate a Goblin chasing something. He quickly found himself between the walls. Metal Snake out of sight, but Bait see path forward. A good thing too, walls narrow. Bait no able to turn around. The only path forward would be to crawl after dumb snake.

The rest of the group entered the building in Bait's wake and were greeted by the sight of a grand foyer. Once, it must have been an elegant space; even now, worn away by time and elements, it still clung to the majesty of its past. The floors were black and white marble tile, some of which had cracked and chipped over the years of neglect. A red carpet, threadbare and fraying at its edges, led to a small set of stairs on either side of a raised platform. A statue of the founder of the Auraman house stood upon it in all its glory. The man was carved, wearing a loose set of ceremonial robes with a sword along his side. As far as any of them could see, there wasn't anything to be worried about. There were doors to either side of the room; Mavec tried one, finding the handle rusted beyond his ability to turn. A sign that there had been a lot of water damage here.

"You really think Vato lived like this?" Mavec asked.

"I can't imagine a powerful wizard found living in a damaged and abandoned manor to be fun," Illaria said.

"It would have been bad for his health, too," Naya said as she approached the statue. A distinct clink from beneath her feet surprised her as the floor shifted. The figure in front of her moved; it pulled its stone sword into its hand and chopped down at her. She scrambled backward, falling to the ground, and dodged the blade by inches. She rolled with the momentum and sprung back to her feet a few feet away, seamlessly drawing both blades. A series of grinding noises and a loud bang came from above them, while a smaller set of thumps came from around the corner as two more constructs ran into the grand foyer. They looked to be more compact versions of the scorpion-inspired designs the party had faced at Mel's and the tower.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Illaria drew her blade and, rushed in against the statue and swung at it. Her blade pierced it, digging into its stony structure. A black ichor leaked from where she had thrust her sword. Alvec raised his shield and moved in his hand, sheathed in electricity. He lunged forward, tagging the mini scorpion and letting the electricity discharge through it. Echo bit into the other one approaching Naya and, much to everyone's surprise, took the legs right out from under it, slamming it to the ground. Mavec wasted no time capitalizing on it; Piccora surrounded herself in lightning and slammed her small body into the construct. The grinding noise above them thundered. Suddenly, bursting through the ceiling, a series of scythes swept down. They passed harmlessly over the small scorpion models and not so harmlessly at everyone else. Echo and Naya each caught a blade as they swung by. Naya cried out in pain while Echo growled loudly. Alvec managed to dive for cover, only barely being missed. Illaria parried the blow, slowing it momentarily as she moved aside. The blades missed Piqoura due to her size, and Mavec, still standing at the entry door, was clear of their path. The blades retracted into the ceiling, and more grinding noises immediately began.

"Guys, no good way to say this, but that's an automatic reset mechanism. It will keep doing the scythe blade thing until we find the off switch," Mavec said.

"Got any suggestions on where it might be?" Illaria asked.

"Considering where the blades swung, it's going to be somewhere behind the statue, maybe in the statue's pedestal or one of those back walls," Mavec responded.

"These constructs won't just let us through; we'll have to kill them quick. No holding back," Naya said as she stepped over to the one that Echo had down and swung at it with both blades, which bit deep into it. It retaliated, spraying her with fire from its tail.

"Don't think we were planning to take it easy," Alvec said again as he tagged the construct with more electricity, which it was vulnerable to. Better yet, being made of metal meant the electricity practically leaped at the chance to shock them. Alvec barely had to try to connect against them. There was a problem brewing, however. Accounting for the defensive spells they'd cast and now burning through his offensive spells as quickly as he could, it wouldn't be long before he was down to just swinging a dagger. Something he wasn't particularly good at. He couldn't imagine that Mavec was in any better of a position. The two of them were still fledgling wizards; the pair had only recently managed to cast second-circle magic. Neither had the magical reserves or gold to stockpile spell scrolls or wands. "Think Piccora can rush the pedestal?" Alvec shouted.

"Sure, I've got one ranged spell left," Mavec replied. Piccora took a sawblade to her flank as she ran past the one she had been engaged with; her right hind quarter showered sparks as she dashed up behind the pedestal. The blades came slicing down again; they weren't so kind this time. Everyone save Illaria caught an edge.

"Is it my imagination, or are these things getting faster?" Naya shouted.

"Not your imagination," Illaria confirmed as the statue took two sword strikes at her. The first smacked hard into her armor, nearly spinning her to the ground. She recovered quickly and intercepted the second attack with her Wakizashi; she used the half second of contact between their blades to reposition herself from under it, twirled around, and drove the blade into its overexposed side. "I could use a little help here," Illaria said, her last words drowned out as a jet of flame leaped from Mavec's outstretched hand. It collided with the statue's throat, leaving a section of red hot stone. Illaria capitalized on the moment, driving her blade into the red-hot rock at the base of its neck. Her blade clipped straight through, decapitating the statue. She smirked with glee and turned to face another one of the small scorpions. The scythes came down again. Naya and Echo threw themselves prone, dodging out of the way. Illaria and Alvec weren't so lucky. Both took another glancing wound as they passed by.

Meanwhile, Piccora stood at the pedestal, searching for a way to disarm the trap. It took the clockwork construct a few moments to figure out how the mechanism was stopped; cleverly, it was hidden in the recesses where the feet of the statue stood when it was at ease. Piquore hopped into the indent of one foot before stretching her body between the two indents. A distinct click occurred, and the racket above their heads began to calm down.

"Good work Piccora!" Mavec shouted to her. Despite its head resting on the floor, the statue continued to move. It grabbed Illaria and squeezed hard. With its arms wrapped around hers, she was left with little recourse to attack. Naya gritted her teeth; there wasn't a way to get a clean slash in without risking hitting Illaria.

"Focus on the smaller ones," Alvec shouted as he took aim at the statue. Hitting Illaria was only a concern if your spell could miss. This one didn't. An arc of flame whipped out of his hands and struck it square in the back before rebounding and hitting the small scorpion before him. The scorpion shuddered under the fire, and it gave out, collapsing uselessly onto the ground. The statue, however, was still functional. Mavec retook aim, except this time, rather than shooting from himself, he took the shot from Piccora, who had the only unobstructed view of the creature's backside.

Echo pinned the other scorpion down before biting into the equivalent of its throat and ripping out a chunk of cables. Naya also took the opportunity to run behind the statue and give it one more quick slash at the section of heated stone. She was careful not to swing too deep, not wanting to slice Illaria. The statue shuddered before finally going slack, releasing Illaria. It was difficult to tell if it was truly down for the count or if the damage it had taken had simply caused it to power down for the moment.

Mavec approached it, taking a quick look. There didn't seem to be any effort by the statue to recover from its wounds. It wasn't definitive, but he was more confident than not that it was done for.

"Alright, how are we all holding up?" Illaria asked as she gently stretched herself out, assessing the damage that had been done by both the scythes and the statue. "And has anyone seen Bait?" She asked. A knocking came from the walls in response, just a bit higher than eye level for Illaria.

"Bait here!" He shouted. His muffled voice squeaked out of the walls.

Mavec walked over to the wall and gave it a solid pounding.

"Owe!" Bait shouted in response.

"Bait, do you be doing ok in there?" Illaria asked.

"Bait, ok, can't turn back round dough."

"Should we try to cut him out?" Naya asked.

Alvec examined the wall. "It wouldn't be hard to cut into, but I'm worried about stabbing him on accident."

"Don't Stab, DON'T STAB," Bait hissed loudly.

"Well, what do we do then? Just leave him in the wall?" Mavec asked. "No offense, but if we're down Bait's marksmanship, we'll need to take a break. I'm running low on spells, so Alvec must be running on fumes, too." Mavec stated.

The pair may have been graduates of the arcane academies, but the brochures didn't warn you that even graduates weren't all that powerful. Spells were divided up into ten circles. To graduate from the academies, you need to be able to cast second-circle spells. After a lot of independent practice, Mavec was proudly able to cast a paltry four second-circle spells and about five first-circle spells. Thankfully, the null or zero circle spells cost almost nothing to cast. He could do those all day long. It was his understanding that even the mages who served in the banners could, at most, cast 5th-circle magic. In recent memory, only the archwizards and heads of academies could cast any stronger magic. Illaria's voice brought him back to reality as they stood in the foyer.

"Agreed, let's set up camp here," The woman did her best to position their sleeping gear in such a way as to be defensible, pulling the doors shut behind them to limit the number of directions they could come under attack from. It wasn't long before they all settled around the wall where Bait was stuck.