Chapter Twenty: See Spot Jump

There were no more side corridors. No stone bridges, no arching doorways leading down to some crowd of murderous thugs. Instead, the platform led to a large, two hundred foot gap that had an elevated platform at the far end. It was low enough and far enough away that they could see the whole thing. It was definitely floating in the air.

There was a massive Cyclops, easily twice as tall as the Bugbear had been, and heavy. He had a big belly and chest, powerful arms and thick, stocky legs. His bulk and the distance actually made it difficult to judge his size correctly.

He was holding the leash to an equally monsterous black and brown dog that stood almost twelve feet high at the shoulder. The leash led to three thick leather belts wrapped around the three necks that supported the dog’s heads. The Cyclops was forced to pull ruthlessly on the leash to keep the animal from charging. All three heads started barking, causing a distant but still quite loud ruckus.

Denton stopped the group beside a stone marker like the ones found at crossroads, but ancient looking. “Okay troops. This is it. If you told me that my first time leading a party against Bulgo would be with a tier two Wizard and a tier three Illusionist, I would have called you deranged. But I have to admit that we’re doing well. Shockingly well. All we need to do is beat Sarna, and we’re done. He’s tough and strong, but he’s also slow and stupid. Any one of the dog’s heads could outsmart him, but hopefully we can kill Bulgo without too much trouble.”

He told them how he had only been this far once before; the group had wiped on this spot. From what he remembered, the dog was vulnerable to all forms of magic, but had a ton of hit points. His far right head spewed a Cone of Cold, the middle one puked a sticky green acid, and the head on the left, Fire. Once all three heads were dead, a statement that Zuglah found vaguely disturbing, a pathway would materialize and they could proceed to battle Sarna.

“I have a way to get us all onto the platform right now, if you want. Why don’t we just go kill the Cyclops?” Zuglah was thinking about the Jump potion he had in his sling.

But Denton wsa shaking his head. “The dog can span the gap. Then we’d just be fighting them both at once.”

“I think I can fix that.” Denton stared at him for a long moment as if trying to divine his thoughts. Finally, he nodded.

“I don’t know what you have in mind, but I trust you. And I think it’s worth the risk, if we can eliminate the beast. But if it goes wrong, it’s going to go very, very wrong. Know that.” The nods were somber, faces serious. Everybody was excited to try this. Zuglah could feel the potion surging within him.

They lined up along the invisible divide, four across, and Zuglah took a sip of Jump. He passed the vial to Warwick, who drank quickly then passed it to Pliesson. After him, Denton strode forward while finishing off the potion. When Zuglah turned forward, Bulgo was already galloping towards them.

“Get ready.” Denton was trotting now, and Zuglah broke into a run to keep up. So did the others. Bulgo leapt. “Not yet!”

Denton waited until Bulgo was at the height of his leap, and he shouted, “Now! Everybody on Sarna!” The Cyclops was lumbering backwards to the rack of throwing spears. Denton leapt, and soared upwards farther even than the great dog had jumped. The Cleric leapt next, not nearly as vigorously as the Fighter, but he landed solidly. Pliesson actually ran along on all fours for two quick steps before he leapt, and he quite easily surpassed Warwick. Zuglah Shadow blinked.

As predicted, the three-headed monstrosity snarled in frustration when it saw his prey leap away from him. Well, Zuglah hadn’t predicted that so much as the dog immediately turning about in pursuit. It ran as hard as it could towards the edge of the platform, needing every ounce of speed it could muster to make the return jump. Right before Bulgo’s last two steps, Zuglah cast his Blast of Frost as widely as he could.

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The great dog’s middle head and left hand one both saw him as he reappeared, and the flame-breathing dog tried to spew fire at him, but he had too much momentum. Too much and not enough. The Blast of Frost slowed the dog’s speed, but it could do nothing for its inertia. With a futile leap, it gracefully soared out, then down into the abyss of fire. Zuglah was overjoyed.

When he blinked up to the top platform, he found the battle fully in progress. Denton was standing directly in front of Sarna, swinging the maul and knocking away the huge spear Sarna was jabbing with. To his left was a gigantic Kodiak bear that looked tiny in front of the Cyclops, roaring and swiping with its claws. The bear was most likely a harmless illusion, but it looked dead solid and would definitely help confuse and distract Sarna.

Zuglah immediately drew his dagger and launched The Ice Knife at Sarna. The hoarfrost was an excellent debuff that would allow Denton to use his speed against him more effectively. Sarna tried to swat the streaking shard of ice away but it was too fast. It struck him mid-chest, followed half a second later by a series of Dancing Mana slugs. Sarna reeled.

In his confusion and desperation, he spun about and tried to launch a sneak attack against the bear. His spear met no resistance as he thrust it into the middle of the huge illusion, and caused him to lose balance. It was enough for Denton to land a blow to his leg that broke it completely. Sarna went down, and the Fighter delivered the final blow as if it was just part of a combo.

Denton bowed his head for a moment, and everything went silent. Then, he turned to face the observation platform and raised Sternhammer above his head. He let out a roar of triumph that Zuglah thought was completely appropriate. The watching students took up a cheer that almost reminded him of Bulgo’s barking; distant but still really loud.

A portal opened, and two dozen students poured through, still cheering wildly. They mostly gathered around Denton and Warwick, but a surprising number of people, including the Humans, mobbed Zuglah and Pliesson as well. Everyone was cheering and slapping them on the back. Zuglah stood there, letting the good feelings wash over him.

Foadan Gamstone strode through the portal, arms crossed. He let the glowing green opening vanish, which did more to draw the students’ attention than anything short of a thunderclap might. Denton and Warwick came over to stand with Zuglah and Pliesson. Zuglah spotted Randall in the crowd, and motioned him to come and join them. He shook his head.

“Denton. Let’s get Randall.” As soon as he said it, Denton moved. Man of action indeed. At that point, Randall could either come along, or fight him. He made the right choice and came with. Gamstone nodded his approval.

“Zuglah Glun.” The red-bearded, cube of a man declared. Any chatter ceased. “That was as tidy a bit of Wizarding as I have seen in this particular dungeon. The real goal of Wizardry is not the pursuit of power, but of knowledge. You truly exemplified that here today. I do believe that is the first time that Bulgo has ever been defeated by cantrip. Now, if you gentlemen would please go open your chest, we can go back to the tower and talk about who’s going next.”

The crowd parted to create a path towards the rack of spears. Braced around the back side was a large, ornate chest that pulsed with a soft silver hue. There were many appreciative murmurs, as Foadan Gamstone was the only person present who had even seen it before. Denton knelt reverently in front of the chest and looked towards the group. “Thank you. I honestly thought that it was too late for me, but clearing Spellman’s Caverns on the run that raises me to gyiol sazal is honestly the best gift you could have given me. I don’t even care what’s in here. You guys were all amazing.”

The class started clamoring for him to open the chest. Laughing, he pushed the heavy, lacquered lid up. His smile fell away. “I take it back.”

Resting on two dark-wood, highly polished display arms was a beautiful sword. The handle was long enough to use with two hands, and the pommel displayed a demonic looking face peering back at him. The cross guard was golden and had graceful curves that made the weapon look delicate. The blade was fine, long and sharp. Zuglah Identified.

The Exquisite Phantom, savage attacks, exquisite defense. Useable by any class.

“Sweet baby.” Someone whispered. “It’s Phantom.”

“Gross.” That was from Redda Mo.