Stepping into floor 19 was once again a unique environment for the novices. A foggy haze covered the dark swampy environment. Each step made sound regardless of what they tried. Dark vines wrapped around the edges of the pools of water. The spiked vines followed the pools of swamp water onto land and became branched for warped trees.
“Everyone stay together. If you get lost in this fog you will die. The half-spiders will be difficult to face but that is largely because of the ease at which they can navigate this terrain. We will have to be careful around their webs. Otherwise, it will trap us here. Ian, we will need your fire for them. Be prepared and do not be wasteful.”
James began planning out a path through the swamp and deciding on which one was best. Nearly all paths through the swamp eventually led to the exit, that was if you stayed near the paths of course. Depending on the path taken you would face slightly different enemies before reaching the final path to the boss.
“We need to make a decision and I want it to be in part yours. The path splits apart up here and we will need to pick one of the paths. The shortest one has a high density of enemies, but we can get to the end quicker. The longest path only has a few but more traps as a tradeoff. There are a few smaller break-off paths but that is a general idea. What are your thoughts?”
“Whatever is fastest,” Ian answered, “I am almost out and done with this dungeon. We almost died on the last floor and were lucky to get by with the few scrapes we did.”
“I don’t really have a preference. As long as we can stay safe I don’t care how we get to the boss area,” said Naomi.
“I’d rather not stay here very long. This place creeps me out,” Derek said. He pushed one of the spiked trees with his sword and it shook for a few seconds.
James turned to Wes. He was barely holding his shield. As soon as they had stopped he set his shield down in relief.
“I want this done as quickly as possible.”
“Quickest way through it is. Everyone follows me. I will call out when we come up to the group of enemies.”
James kept everyone close as they followed the path he took. Occasionally he would point out traps to the group as they trod towards the boss at a pace slightly faster than walking speed. Some of the traps he pointed out included quicksand, choking vines, and high-pressure geysers that could cut limbs off which were all hidden within different pockets of the swamp environment.
As they continued their trek the number of spiderwebs wrapping around the trees and bushes increased.
Mossy walls arched to create an entrance to a cave. James prepared a torch, and it lit up the cave that was wide enough for two of the spider people to walk side by side. The sound of running water followed them for a while and then was quiet.
“They are here,” James said speaking up so they could all hear them, “ Ian send a fireball that way.”
The sound of clacking started and grew. Ian launched his fireball in the requesting direction, and it went into the darkness and hit something. There were shouts, some hissing, and the oncoming foes rushed at them quicker.
Wes got down in front and prepared for the enemies. James was the only one that could see clearly in the dark with Naomi’s night vision being a bit weaker. Due to this James saw the four arachnoid monsters first. They had human torsos and spider bodies. They wore basic medium-strength armor and wielded spears. As they entered the light one of the two monsters grabbed hold of the cave walls and hung from the ceiling before continuing its march toward them.
“Ian takes out the top one’s grip. Derek, I need you to handle one of the spiders and I will take care of the other. Naomi support Derek and Ian where you can. Wes is prepared to take some hits when Derek can’t hold up.”
Derek stepped up and swung his sword around. With his sword against a spear was going to be tricky. He started off defensive as the spider monster stabbed repeatedly with its spear. Each time Derek tried to get in close the spider would pull back its spear and go for one of Derek’s legs.
James and Naomi fired off arrows and they annoyed the spider monsters. The spears weren’t great blocking tools against the arrows. The result was an accumulation of arrow wounds as the ranged attacks did repeated damage.
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Ian launched a final heat wave attack and the spider trying to climb above and past their team fell back. With the third spider staying back Wes’s job was easier and he focused on blocking the spears. Each attack against his shield rang out with a thud. Ian fired fireballs safely behind his tower shield.
The spiders were somewhat resistant to the heat, but it was weakening their armor allowing other attacks to get through. While Derek kept one of the spiders occupied but still undamaged by his sword, James was able to get a few good shots in.
James used his charged shots and looked for weaknesses in the armor before he fired. An arrow flew past Derek’s head and landed in one of the spider’s leg joints with a second one hitting its armored carapace next. It was falling weaker by the second with its accumulated wounds.
The spider rushed forward and performed a wide sweep with its spear. Derek ducked under the slow move and put his sword in the way of the spider when the opening in its defense presented itself. Derek slashed his sword clean through two of the spider’s legs and spear arm. Bleeding out, legless, and weapon arm on the ground it collapsed.
The spiders from the back were enraged and forced their way forward trying to occupy the space and attack Derek. Wes saw Derek’s exhaustion and ran in front to take some hits while Derek recovered. In the meantime, Ian used his mana sparingly and James and Naomi teamed up against the last spider.
Naomi practiced her knife work while James provided cover for her. Naomi took her time to throw a few of her knives and then move inside the spider’s attack area before moving in for some stabbing. James used his arrows to target the spider’s weapon hand. Using careful aim and good timing the spider was not able to get a full-force attack against Naomi or anyone else.
Naomi got in four good stabs at the spider causing straps in the armor to fall and blood to flow over the armor. James was happy with this result and prepared another set of charged shots aimed at the new weakness that had opened up for them.
“No!”
There was a clatter and James looked to the others. Wes’s shield was in pieces and a spear hole was made through his chest. A second later the other spider did the same to him.
Derek without a sword in hand ran over to Wes. Ian fired off blasts of fire trying to cover for Derek. James froze for a moment before releasing his charged arrow at the spider nearest Derek. It would at least keep Derek alive for a bit longer despite his decision to go without a sword. Blood kept flowing out of Wes. Derek tried to grab one of Wes’s potions but was fumbling.
James turned back to Naomi. She was also fumbling. Close quarters weren’t her forte, and she had been expecting backup from James. Something that he wasn’t providing at the moment. She had gathered a few cuts before James could step in. A powerful arrow shot pushed back the spider long enough for Naomi to fall back behind him. It was almost dead he just needed a lucky shot.
It was currently in its rush phase and charged at James. He tried to sidestep it, but the spear worked to his disadvantage. The monster clipped him in the shoulder before pushing him over. He was only able to get one deep cut in with a knife before he hit the ground. While on the ground he was able to see the other three, now made two.
Ian’s flames were sputtering. He was running out of fuel required to keep Derek alive. Derek had taken Wes’s potions from his now-dead body, and they were the only thing keeping him alive as he endured multiple attacks as he tried to crawl back to his sword.
James lifted his bow again with a new arrow. Pulling it back felt heavier. A thousand thoughts flashed through his mind. He realized now that this dungeon was too much for them. They were unprepared, didn’t have the skills necessary, and more importantly, they had tried to push through too quickly. With his help and some good planning, they could have made it through, but he had expected too much of them. He had expected too much of himself. He couldn’t be everywhere at once to watch over them. He had failed them. He focused on a single thought. They needed to survive.
Throwing out one of his potion bottles he didn’t even care if it was a waste. The bottle hit the middle spider man and splashed onto the others. Smoke billowed out and James held his breath ready to get close. James ran past Ian towards the nearest wall.
“Everyone get out of here. I will try and hold them off,” James said desperately.
James pulled in what mana he could and prepared one of the few truly magical attacks he had. It would take out his entire reserve leaving him with just his knives for a while until he could regularly fire his arrows. If he survived that long. He pushed some of this mana into his legs and went up in an empowered jump.
James’s arm hurt as he pulled back the bowstring with his hurt shoulder. An arrow materialized without him having to reach for one in his quiver. Lightning cracked from his fingers, and he released the arrow once his back touched the cave wall.
The arrow went cleanly through two of the spider monsters, but he could not get the third in line with the others. The charged lightning arrow hit the ground with a fizzle. It shocked the third spider man monster, but it largely shook it off.
James’s feet hit the ground followed by a hand as he tried to hold himself up. The elation of killing off two of the spiders fell as his bow hand felt blood. He looked to the nearest spider and realized his mistake.
As the spider was about to die it had taken advantage of his height in the air. James heard words from the novice but couldn’t focus enough to hear anything clearly. His hand keeping him up started to fail him and he coughed up blood. James felt his life drain from him and he closed his eyes.