You have been poisoned: -3 hp/h for 16h
Cedric spat out the glossy purple berry in disgust. He stood, lifting what remained of his shirt to his lips and caught some of the mostly filtered water with his mouth. At least the water in this godforsaken forest wasn’t poisoned. He swirled the water in his mouth, then spat it out onto the offending berry bush. It took a little effort to clean the majority of the mud from his shirt, but the garment was so soiled by this point that he didn’t bother being meticulous.
He stood, staring with tired eyes at the endless spined trees around him. Ten days. Ten wet, miserable days of slogging through the jungle. Of constantly getting harassed by unnaturally aggressive wildlife. Of being forced to drink from brackish puddles, and eat raw meat. Fire was impossible, Cedric had tried, and eating any of the plants was beyond lethal. He’d tested dozens, all poisoned, and without a reliable poison cure he was leery of trying more.
At least nothing in this forest could hope to compete with the Arterial Shieldbearer. His hulking guardian needed no sleep and possessed such a massive health pool as to completely nullify all attacks. Exsanguinate coupled with Sanguine Field made swift work of any small pack creatures that dared approach, and Riposte handily allowed the Arterial Shieldbearer to rebuff any of the larger predators.
So he was alive. Miserable, but alive.
His palm flashed, sending an upgrade to the Hartebeast Behemoth somewhere to the south. Cedric had frankly lost count of the number of upgrades that had flown towards the behemoth, though not all the upgrades had flown to the mystery creature. Some had infused into the Shieldbearer, augmenting it with Thorn Veil, as well as granting Sanguine Field, Second Wind and Gore Creep. The most noticeable effect was the persistent slow propagated by Sanguine Field, but all the upgrades had helped immensely over the last couple of days.
Cedric shot the poisonous berry bush one final glance, attempting to memorize it for the future, before continuing on. The path he chose, and the one he had been following for days now was towards a column of smoke on the horizon. It rose above the forest, only sometimes visible, but ever present and constant if he was patient.
Suddenly, the forest opened up, and Cedric stepped out into the light to behold a huge crater. The ground dropped before him, falling a hundred feet before gently leveling out. The bottom of the crater was black with soot and ash. Parts of the ground glowed dully with that black and red inner light that super hot materials tend to emit. From these hotter spots, a steady stream of smoke rose, coalesced and darkened the sky.
Surprisingly, some trees had somehow taken root in the cooling crater. Their bark was a glittering white, as if in protest to their hellish environment. No leaves or fruit adorned their branches. Despite the lack of photosynthetic organs the roots proliferated freely through the superheated ground.
“Geothermal trees,” Cedric murmured to himself, a habit he had picked up from existing alone for so long. “Suppose it’s possible. Bet I could start a fire on some of that lava down there. No more raw meat for me!”
No normal animals lived in the crater, but a few strange and magical creatures did. All around the perimeter, piles of rocks rumbled and rolled from tree to tree like stoney gardeners. Any of the smaller six-legged lizards who approached the trees were summarily crushed and thoughtlessly disposed of.
The movement in the crater was telling to the virility of this world, but there was one spot that was noticeably lacking in wildlife. Off to the side, a quarter of the way up the sheer walls, a glittering portal of silver and blue spun languidly on the rock face. A dungeon. Around it a group of four bipedal dog-things bickered in an unfamiliar barking tongue.
“Too good to hope for humans, but any intelligent creatures works I suppose.”
All four were clearly tamers like he was. Even from a distance, the blue sapphire lodged into the base of their wrists was obvious. Additionally, each was riding a massive six-legged feline with a blue-purple hide and long whisker-like tendrils trailing all the way back to where they joined a slender tail.
No target selected...attempting to tame nearest creature
Taming Hartebeast Behemoth...Failed, reduce distance to begin taming.
“Hmm,” Cedric chewed on his lip. Out here in the overworld the only monster he could tame was the Behemoth, but he wasn’t willing to challenge what was likely a raid boss without a full party of monsters at his beck and call. For that he needed dungeons. Starting with the silver-blue dungeon if those creatures were friendly.
Cedric chewed his lip thoughtfully. It was definitely a risk revealing himself to a group of strangers, but he was running on borrowed time as is. He needed help. Civilization. A roof over his head at the very least. He wasn’t made for forest life and forest diet. In the worst case, the creatures were hostile, but he had the cliff face as a barrier, so he should have time to escape or make a stand.
Decision made, Cedric jogged around the edge of the crater until he was looking down at the dog-like creatures.
“Hello, down there! Yes, hello!”
The dog-people stopped their conversation with a jolt, and turned to face him. There seemed to be a moment of hesitation, before they barked something back up at him, and two of their number waved hesitantly.
“That seemed vaguely friendly,” Cedric muttered to himself, then louder. “Hey there! I’m just a tad bit lost and really in need of shelter and a proper dinner. Would you mind helping a stranger out...”
He trailed off as, inexplicably, blue letters scanned across his vision.
“What is that?”
“I can’t understand anything it is saying.”
“We need to get closer, come on.”
At that, the leader of the dog people, kicked their mount and the large feline began to prowl up the side of the cliff. Cedric backed up nervously, second guessing himself for a moment before logic won out.
“Protect me,” Cedric hissed to the Arterial Shieldbearer. It hefted its shields, turning its bloodshot eye on the approaching riders.
As they approached, Cedric saw that the creatures were surprisingly beautiful. Dense manes of orange and gold protected their necks and shoulders like the world’s most comfortable scarves. The thick fur extended down their backs and arms, and became shorter around the front of their body. The color also changed to a paler straw yellow around their chest. They didn’t wear any clothes except for several leather belts that supported the various gear they carried. Despite their dog-like appearance, their feet were plantigrade like a regular human, and their fingers were long enough to grasp the thick-hafted spears secured to their saddlebags.
The group crested the ridge, and the leader held up a furred fist as an unspoken signal to stop. It spared as second to glance at the Arterial Shieldbearer, before settling his gaze on Cedric. Cedric noticed idly, that the creature’s irises were a glorious shade of aquamarine.
“Greetings stranger,” the leader barked and Cedric went a little cross eyed as he attempted to keep an eye on them while reading the system translation. “I am known as Kayete, alpha of this pack. Who might you be?”
“Hello,” Cedric said carefully, then repeated what he said earlier. “My name is Cedric. Cedric O’Conner. It’s a pleasure to see a friendly face after all this time trudging through the forest.”
“May I ask...What are you?”
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“Human. May I ask what you are?”
“Gnoll. How have you found yourself so deep within Gnollan without recognizing a Gnoll?”
“Well, about that...” Cedric chuckled, giving a brief explanation of his current situation. “...I’ve been walking to the smoke since then hoping to find civilization or maybe another dungeon.”
“A Traveler,” one of the smaller gnolls in the party whispered in awe.
“Well Sedrik, you found a dungeon all right.” Kayete shrugged, gesturing vaguely down into the crater. “We are on Adaka, but if you forgo your claim to the flesh of the dungeon you are welcome to join us. The more fangs in the pack the better. You are welcome to come back to town with us afterwards as well, and we can see what we can do about your...situation.”
Adaka, Cedric mouthed the unfamiliar word. Some kind of ceremony or ritual involving a dungeon? Or the flesh of the monsters inside more like.
“That would be great!” Cedric perked up. “Would you be willing to share food and clean water with me? I have been running on raw meat and mud for what feels like forever now.”
“You doubt me?” Kayete snarled, a low growl bubbling in the back of his throat. “I may be young, but I will provide for you all you need as alpha of this pack.”
“Sorry!” Cedric blinked and raised both hands non-threateningly. “I didn’t mean to offend. I am simply unfamiliar with Gnollish culture. Forgive any transgressions as ignorance rather than malice.”
“Hmm,” Kayete growled. “A very gnollish saying. Yes, welcome to the pack and to the hunt. Let me introduce my mates—”
“I’m Micah!” the gnoll on the far left stood in her saddle, raising her hand like she was in class. “I’m going to get my second Tame today!”
“Tikah,” the gnoll to her right said shyly.
“Takete,” the last gnoll said curtly, glancing at Micah. “Only if I don’t tame it first.”
“We’ll see about that slowpoke!” Micah stuck her tongue out at the other gnoll.
“Silence,” Kayete growled. “Come, let us hunt before the sun crests. It would be best to return to town before nightfall.”
With that, the group began descending the cliff face. Cedric was a little lost for a moment, as none of Gnolls offered a ride down, but then he shrugged and called the Arterial Shielbearer to help him. With two legs, two arms, and two broad, rigid shields, Cedric found himself carried easily down the cliff face with the sound of a massive beating heart pounding in his ear.
“What monster is that?” Micah asked wide eyed as the Shieldbearer set him down at the entrance to the silver-blue dungeon.
“Arterial Shieldbearer,” Kayete barked. “An A-rank battlemage. An excellent first Tame to be gifted.”
“It’s not my first,” Cedric glanced sourly at the gnoll. “I got this one in a dungeon not far from here.”
“Oh no! Where is your first?” Micah gasped, covering her long mouth with her paws. “I kind of guessed from your story, but to lose your first...I’m so sorry for your loss!”
“It’s...alright,” Cedric scratched the back of his head, not really sure how to respond to that. He had barely known the Clinger. It had died to save him, which was nice, but it was still an animal.
“Condolences Traveller Sedrik, but we must begin. Enter the Dungeon Micah, and the rest of you. Let us hunt.”
Micah pushed back tears as she urged her mount into the swirling portal. The rest soon followed and Cedric found himself standing on a beatific cliffside overlooking a swooping mountain range.
Entering Voidsky Mountainscape.
Augments found: (0/6)
The land cut away before them like a great knife had chopped the land. As Cedric stepped forward, he froze to gape at an endless void that seemed to absorb all light at the bottom of the ravine. Kayete’s lifted a fist and growled in warning.
“Careful,” the Gnoll growled. “The dungeon is Open. Even Kor’Shakar herself won’t save you should you fall.”
“No, kidding,” Cedric muttered. He stepped back from the edge and triggered Tame.
No target selected...attempting to tame nearest creature
Taming Voidborne Skyshade...Failed, reduce distance to begin taming.
“There is a Voidborne Skyshade here,” Cedric told his party helpfully.
“Indeed,” Kayete growled, scanning the horizon. “Malhar Voidlings coming, let’s move.”
He kicked his mount and the party began the slow descent down the side of the mountain toward the next mountain in the range. In the distance a group of small centipede like monsters skittered up the cliffside at them. Their carapace was a deep purple with huge mandibles that clicked menacingly and gave Cedric the hibbie jibbies.
“Turn, and unleash ranged spells,” Kayete said. The party spun, and as one the large felines unleashed a pulse of distorted air from their open maws. The blasts of wind slammed into the Voidlings, pushing nearly half of them off the mountain. The rest hissed, spitting globs of purple goo at them. Riposte flashed, deflecting the projectiles with negligible damage to the Shieldbearer.
“Good, dismount and release.”
The four Gnolls hopped off their steeds with more or less grace, and with a snarl the 4 felines charged at the voidlings. Claws flashed and in barely a few heartbeats all that was left was cooling broken corpses.
The cats returned and Kayete urged them to continue. Soon they were assaulted by more of the Voidlings. The second assault ended similarly to the first, but the second required the Arterial Shieldbearer to bathe the area in front of them in corrosive blood. They reached the valley between the first two mountains and began ascending the second mountain.
The Voidlings continued spawning from the endless void below, and they continued killing them. Sometimes over a dozen of the snarling centipedes charged them, but Cedric couldn’t help but feel that this was easy mode. Sometimes the battles were tough, but at no point did he or any of the gnolls need to raise a hand to help their minions.
At the top of the second mountain, the group settled in for a short break while Kayete scoured the ridge and returned a quarter hour later with the first Augment. Before Cedric could even identify it, the gemstone melted into the pack leader’s palm and the system popped up a notification.
Augments found: (1/6)
Cedric narrowed his eyes, annoyed despite himself that he wouldn’t be able to get any of the loot. He’d agreed to it though, and food and shelter was well worth losing a few augments.
Suddenly, a shadow rocketed up the side of the mountain thrusting them into darkness for a second as the monstrous presence flew above their heads.
“Skyshade!” Micah screamed as everyone erupted to their feet. The Voidborne Skyshade had a kite-like outline, with a disturbingly empty darkness making up its center. At the very top of the kite hundreds of tiny red eyes pulsed like infected pustules as the monster glared down at them.
Voidborne Skyshade
Stats Invested: ?
Talents Invested: ?
Hinder
20m:0s
Nearby enemies are cursed for 15 minutes and lose ability haste equal to 25% of ability power
Curse
25m:0s
Nearby enemies are cursed for 15 minutes and lose armor and magic resistance equal to 25% of ability power
Wither
45m:0s
Nearby enemies are cursed for 1 hour and take 400% of ability power as magic damage over the hour
Mordath
-passive-
Recover health equal to 20% of ability power when a nearby enemy with three or more curses dies.
“It’s not the one,” Kayete growled. “Kill it quick before—”
Three distinct waves of purple miasma erupted from the Skyshade’s dark core and washed over the party.
You have been afflicted by: Hinder: -52 ability haste for 15m
You have been afflicted by: Curse: -52 armor and magic resistance for 15m
You have been afflicted by: Wither: -832 magic damage per hour for 1 hour
Cedric coughed, falling to his knees as a horrible pain erupted in his chest. His status sheet flashed red in his vision.
Character Sheet and Skills
Cedric O'Connor
Stats Invested: 50
Talents Invested: 50
Health[3]: 203
Regeneration[2]: 13/hr
Attack Damage[3]: 8
Armor[3]: -36 (Damage reduction: -26%)
Ability Power[2]: 6
Magic Resistance[3]: -42 (Damage reduction: -30%)
Ability Haste[1]: -34%
His health ticked down, one point every three seconds. That seemed high. Cedric did some mental maths and realized 832 damage per hour should be about 1 point of damage every 4 seconds, not three. Then he froze, realizing that with -42 magic resistance he would take closer to 1,000 damage over the course of Wither.
That was enough damage to kill him 5 times over.