« (The Raptors) »
For the first time Hainrich had doubts as to whether they would be able to kill this blasphemous dungeon. The ants from hell had been an unwelcome surprise; they had faced ants before, but every dungeon he had found them in before, went in for the giant variety.
His lips thinned as Leo filled the chamber they had just left with the sun's flames. They hadn’t passed the first level and already Leo had had to use two of his god given divine spells.
“Hey skunk boy – who’s a stinky boy – beaten by a baby – prima donna baby – Daviinos you stink.” The harsh voice came from behind them.
Daviinos was hurting, he hadn’t got round to healing his wounds yet, and the ants’ venom itched as well as hurt. And now some bastard was mocking him with a variant of the centaurs’ mocking ditty. Daviinos lost his temper, spun round and charged into the dungeon’s first floor end chamber.
Hainrich spun around and tried to grab his friend. He failed and watched grimly as Daviinos disappeared into a pit trap. He stepped into the room, scanning for monsters. All he saw was a drab looking grey bird, a parrot. Annoyed he snapped off a magic missile at the bird. The parrot squawked in surprise as the missile severed one of its feet and most of its tail feathers.
Hainrich looked down into the pit at his friend. Daviinos was dead. Impaled on several spikes at the bottom of the pit. Blood pooled around him.
“Poor Polly,” squawked the parrot as she flew unevenly towards the stairs heading to the second floor, trailing blood the whole way.
« (Marty) »
Marty watched anxiously as Polly made her lopsided escape. He felt like cheering when she disappeared down the stairs.
“I don’t believe it,” murmured Rosita. “We got one of the Raptors on the first level.”
« Well it won’t happen again. The System is complaining that the ants are too powerful for the first level. We have taken a whopping experience penalty. Mind you, we’re still in the black thanks to Daviinos. »
“Are we still going to use the last swarm on the second level?” asked Rosita.
« No! Damn the System! Sorry Rosita, I’ll be using them on the fourth level. I think we can get away with that. Just. »
“I’m surprised that silly song worked. Was there anything else in those stories we listened to about the Raptors that could prove useful.”
« Daviinos was a bully. I met more than a few in my past life. You learn what can set them off. Look, they’re headed down... »
“Are you sure we should let them through the second level easily,” worried Rosita.
« Yes. We’ll stick to the plan. I’ve pulled the better guardians down. Hopefully they’ll let their guard down. Think we’ve shot our bolt. »
« (The Raptors) »
It was a sobered group of adventurers that headed down the stairs. Hainrich was in the lead as usual. “We don’t have much time. That Sun forsaken satyr will spill the beans.”
“So we press on... And hope there are no more ant swarms,” agreed Leo.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The second level of the Rose Dungeon proved easy, though it was nerve wracking. All the chambers were filled to the brim with vegetation, traversed by winding trails. It was tailor made for ambushes, and the small carnivores that attacked them managed to hit them far more than should have been the case. However the various monsters proved unable to defeat the Raptors' armour.
The hornets failed to defeat the magical shields erected by Leo, though they did force him to use more mana than he would have wished.
The level guardian was a wolverine. This was contrary to reports. The creature was unable to prevail even when supported by two wolves.
Once they had finished collecting the loot, the Raptors ventured down the stairs to the third level.
« (Marty) »
Marty watched as Hainrich waded into the overgrown chamber as he emerged from the stairs. Leo followed only to be attacked by several snakes. Soon both Hainrich and Leo were concentrating on killing the numerous snakes. They advanced without great difficulty making room for Luminos the Brawler.
As Luminos stepped into the chamber, concentrating on the fight in front of him, a bobcat pounced from its creeper covered ledge above the entrance from the stairs. It landed on Luminos’ shoulders and promptly deployed its claws and teeth.
The Raptors won the fight but at the cost of Luminos’ right eye. Hainrich watched grimly as Leo healed their principal trap finder and ranged combatant, who had now lost his depth perception.
“When we get to a temple, I’ll see that you get that eye back,” promised Leo.
Marty smirked to himself, ‘If, not when,’ he thought to himself.
“What do you think will happen next,” asked Rosita.
« Well, under normal circumstances they should withdraw to recover. Then they would be ready next time. As things are, they have to continue. I think I can take out Luminos on this level. »
“What – what about the other two, they are the really powerful ones. Aren’t they?”
« Yes, but Leo is almost tapped out. And his melee skills are not that good. I think the Kappa and Luna, our little fox girl will be able to take him out. Especially, with some help from one of our dryads. »
“What about Hainrich?” worried Rosita.
« Hopefully the elves will arrive before then. If not, we’ll still have most of our dryads on the fifth level. And we can count on the Runners who were on the first floor. The elves, them I think we should send out of the dungeon. They aren’t fighters. »
Rosita flitted out to pass on the message and give their guests their ideas, while Marty watched the Raptors.
« (The Raptors) »
Luminos the Brawler was feeling annoyed. He was embarrassed at having been surprised by that damn cat. He followed Hainrich through the overgrown caves, jumping at every rustle, his head whipping from side to side.
Leo was starting to feel frightened. He didn’t think he would survive this run. His divine spells were nearly all gone, and he needed to visit a temple to recover them. His spirit magic was still available, but his mana reserves were almost dry. The damn ants had drained him. At least he had the consolation that he was doing his gods work, and he would be rewarded. But he desperately wanted them to succeed so this wouldn’t be all in vain.
Then the bear attacked Hainrich, and when he turned in response to the growl coming from the rear, Leo found himself fighting two of those cats that had taken Luminos’s eye.
Luminos hesitated for a second, then deciding that the bobcats were a bigger threat, both because of their numbers, and the fact that Leo was the weaker fighter. He turned and moved to support his friend.
He was surprised when a strand of brambles wrapped round his neck, surprising him because they came out of his blind side. The pull dropped him to his knees, and he dropped a hand to the floor to steady himself. Then he felt a stabbing pain in his cheek and reaching up he grabbed the king cobra that was attached to his face.
Hainrich felt like cursing the gods. Here they were doing their work, and he had lost another friend. The chamber was a mess. Scattered around were the carcasses of the bear, two cats, two hooded snakes and one of those pestilential dryads. And then there was the body of their good friend, Luminos the Brawler.
He bent his head in prayer; then he led Leo on. They cleared the level without further loss and contemplated the stairs heading down.
« (Berthold the Cunning) »
Berthold the Cunning dismounted and watched as Slasher jumped down from his perch on the saddle. He looked round at his warband and smiled grimly. He noted in passing that some grooms had taken their horses in hand.
He raised his hand. “It is time. The gods forsaken scum have invaded our ally, and slain some of our brothers and sisters. Follow me, Aldrya and the Forest!”
The warriors of the warband roared out, “Aldrya and the Forest!” drew their weapons and followed their war leader into the Rose Dungeon’s new entrance.