“Aaron and Gabrielle support us as much as you can,” Gary said as we watched the last four fire elementals head towards us. “I, Eli, and Zack will just have to work our way through them. Barkskin has enough time on it to get us through the rest of the fight, we just have to push through it. I know everyone’s low on Essence, but we can handle these.”
“Damn right!” Zack slammed his mace into his beaten steel-banded wooden shield. “Stick to my sides, we’re finishing this room today!” Zack charged forwards as the first elemental started sending the burning-hot rocks at us. I jogged forwards just behind as all four of the elementals started sending a barrage of the rocks towards us. I dodged all of the ones heading towards me, not wanting to rely on my shield for these spells. Zack and Gary were far ahead of me as my dodging had slowed me down considerably and I sprinted forwards to try and catch up.
“Snaring Roots,” I cast as soon as I was in range and the closest elemental was rooted in place. Gary got sent to the ground from two of the elemental spells and I got to his side a moment later to cover him with my shield.
“I’m good!” Gary shouted before he pushed himself up and at the rooted elemental a few feet away. Zack was smashing at the core of the elemental but without skills, it would take a few hits to break through the hard rock.
“Impale,” Gary cast as he reached the elemental and they both stepped back to join me as the monster died. Gabrielle cast a tall Wall of Flames and left only one elemental on our side.
“Quick!” Gabrielle shouted and I rushed towards the lone elemental. I could only scratch the elemental's thick natural armor, but I could distract it if I was careful. I sprinted towards the monster and cursed as a pulse went through the ground and I had to focus on dodging the splashing liquid. I had to block a rock the monster sent at me with my shield and I fell to my back a couple of feet away from the elemental.
“Vigor,” Zack cast from beside me before he smashed the elemental's chest and sent it stumbling back. My arm and chest would be bruised but I wasn’t injured. I quickly got back to my feet and circled towards the elementals side to stab towards its side. Zack and Gary were both wearing down the monster's core, but clearly, neither of them had enough Essence for a skill. The fire came down as I stabbed at the monster's leg and the other two elementals quickly began sending more of the missiles towards us.
“Move back!” Aaron shouted and all three of us backed up with our shields up. We moved at an angle to keep the back two elementals behind the one we were fighting. Aaron sent a Drill Shot into the damaged rock defending the core of the elemental and it slumped down with a crack. I sighed heavily and felt at my emptied core of Essence to see I had enough for a Thornbolt but nothing else.
“Two more,” Gary said heavily from beside me. I nodded slowly and moved to support Zack as he advanced towards the last two elementals. We rushed them together and I focused on dodging every shard that came towards me and I got to the elementals last. I stood in front of Zack once I got there, grit my teeth, and blocked a rock heading towards him. I skidded back and groaned lightly, but Zack continued to slam his mace into the elemental. Burning-hot liquid splashed all over my legs and I tried to ignore the pain in my arm and legs while I got back in front of Zack.
“Empowered Strike,” Zack cast a moment later and I sighed in relief as I turned to the last elemental. No one spoke as we all charged towards the last elemental. Gabrielle sent a fireball towards the monster and I didn’t have to dodge any of the monster's spells. The rocks were easier to dodge as they formed up close, but dodging the liquid the monster created was impossible as we all smashed at the elemental. Zack smashed through the core what felt like hours later, but was probably only a painful minute or two.
“Good…” Gary trailed off as he tried to catch his breath. “Work,” I let my body pull itself to the ground and lay there tiredly as I tried not to think about how much I hurt, everywhere.
“Just let me sit here and pretend I don’t exist until my Essence recovers,” I said painfully. I had barely closed my eyes when I heard Aaron shout.
“Elemental!” Aaron shouted and I opened my eyes in disbelief. In the center of the chamber, a massive elemental was forming at a rapid pace. Based on the size of the elemental while it was forming it would likely be a massive creature when it was fully grown.
“To the tunnels, get moving, everyone!” Gary yelled and I levered myself on my spear to get up. Even with the adrenaline from seeing the new elemental, I could barely get myself to stand.
“Eli, you need help?” Zack jogged to my side and asked me as he held onto his bloody side. I glanced up at his face and saw his nose was broken and it had drenched his face in blood.
“You're asking me if I need help?” I laughed, painfully, as I got to my feet. “You look terrible. Let’s get out of here,” I jogged slowly towards the tunnel and my teammates ahead of me.
“Wow, thanks Eli,” Zack chuckled and I saw a wince on his face as I glanced at him beside me. I turned further to see the elemental behind us and saw it looked to be about twenty feet tall and still growing, although we made it to the tunnel soon after.
“Into the tunnel, fast walk,” Gary said as soon as we reached them. I nodded and we continued down the tunnel until it was clear that the elemental wasn’t following us.
“Ok,” Gary said quietly. “Let’s rest.” I gratefully slumped down against the wall and took a look at the rest of my team. Everyone looked so beat up that I couldn’t tell who was more injured after a quick look.
“Who needs the first cast?” I asked after I caught my breath. I spent the next few hours healing each of us with Rejuvenation as my Essence recovered. After everyone was completely healed just past midday we gathered to discuss our plan.
“Nice work, everyone,” Gary nodded seriously towards us. “We all pushed ourselves past our levels during that fight. I’m proud to be a part of this team.” I grinned and joined the rest of my team in congratulating each other for finally making it past the last four elementals.
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“Well, we knew there was a chance that there would be another wave after the fire elementals. Looks like one it’s just going to be one monster for the boss of the room, although we’ll have to watch for more spawning elementals while we fight,” Aaron said as he studied the chamber from deep in the tunnel.
“All right, it seems like this is going to be a boss fight,” Gary crossed his arms and looked around at our gathered team. “We’re going to move forward with a similar strategy, Gabrielle and Aaron, I want you two to unload your entire cores on the monster while we approach,” he pointed at Zack and himself. “We’ll hit it from both sides while Eli layers as many roots as he can. If we can’t finish it in our engagement we’ll retreat into the tunnel.”
“You don’t want us to fight it carefully at first, to see what skills it will cast?” Gabrielle asked worriedly.
“What could be more careful than overwhelming it?” Zack replied with a smile.
“Honestly, I doubt that elemental will be able to handle Meteor, Drill Shots, and Snaring Roots while attacking back. We have some powerful spells to handle single targets. Trust me,” Gary said as he nodded and led us towards the open chamber in the distance. As we got close to the chamber I could see the massive elemental a few meters in front of the tunnel entrance. It looked similar to the larger rock elementals that spawned in the first wave of this room, although it was more than double the size. I cast Barkskin on all five of us as we approached.
“Focus on the left leg until it collapses, then destroy the core,” Gary said as we got closer to the towering elemental. It was obvious at this distance that we wouldn’t be able to reach the core of the elemental without pushing the monster off its feet.
“Meteor,” I stopped beside Gabrielle as she began casting her spell. The spell hit the elemental in the center of its leg and the monster loudly crashed to its knee.
“Snaring Roots, Snaring Roots, Snaring Roots,” I cast three times, sending roots that grabbed the elemental all around its body in a rush as Aaron sent a barrage of Drill Shots into the monster's leg. Gary and Zack were sprinting towards the monster and I watched as hundreds of rocks lifted from around the room and began to shoot towards them. Zack cast a Fortress behind them as they reached the elemental and I was blocked from view, along with Gabrielle and Aaron beside me.
“Should I-” I cut off as Zack's shield and the field of rocks fell to the ground a couple of seconds after they began. I sighed in relief and exchanged a grin with Gabrielle and Aaron as we jogged towards the dead elemental.
“Gary!” Aaron yelled and I jerked in surprise at his tone. I glanced over and saw him staring wide-eyed at the dungeon portal a few hundred meters past us as we approached Gary and Zack. I looked back to the entrance of the dungeon and saw a group of five large hobgoblins standing casually together as they watched us. They seemed to be talking to each other and I could see three of them laughing while one of them rolled on the floor with laughter. I slowed to a stop besides Gary and all five bunched of warily as we studied them.
“Ok, start walking back to the tunnel. Buy as much time as we can to recover Essence,” Gary said. “It’s just five Hobgoblins, but they’re not charging us like usual. They shouldn’t be dangerous, but let’s be careful.” I nodded slowly and took a step back to the tunnel. One of the hobgoblins appeared twenty meters away from us a moment later and all five of us froze in shock at the skill.
“It’s just five Hobgoblins, but they’re not charging us like usual!” the hobgoblin shouted back over its shoulder as it stood with its hands on its hips looking at us. “Did you hear that, Dorv?”
All five turned to face the hobgoblin fully as it shouted over its shoulder and I watched one of the hobgoblins push off the ledge by the dungeon entrance so hard he shattered the rock he was standing on. I gripped my spear tightly and crouched as I watched him fly across the room in a blur until he landed a few meters away to our side in an explosion of rock. I gulped my completely dry mouth and looked at the rest of my team to see all four of them frozen in fear, although we all looked ready to fight when they attacked.
“They shouldn’t be dangerous, but let’s be careful!” The newest hobgoblin shouted as it slammed its two hammers together with a booming laugh. I looked at the hobgoblins as my breathing quickened in panic. Everything both of the monsters wore was enchanted, from their high-quality boots to their engraved weapons, belts, and rings. Both of them looked like what I expected the King to look like if he went to battle. I felt an aura of Essence coming from both of the Awakened monsters that gave a measure of immense strength and I took a shuddering breath as I looked at Gary and the rest of my team.
“I’m sorry for any disrespect I caused,” Gary began to speak as the three hobgoblins in the back began walking towards the two standing casually in front of us.
“And where are you little human children from?” The hobgoblin with the two hammers asked over Gary’s quiet voice. All five of us stood side by side in a half-circle as we faced the two hobgoblins. Gary didn’t answer and I stood there nervously while I waited for someone to answer.
“Why?” Gabrielle asked with a frown towards the hobgoblin.
“Gabrielle!” I whispered as loudly as I could and glared at her as I tried to communicate without speaking that a word could get us killed. I saw Aaron looking sick as he watched the three hobgoblins in the back getting closer.
“Why?” The hobgoblin pushed off the rock he was standing on and I cast Barkskin on myself in a panic as he landed a couple of feet in front of us. Zack stepped in front of us and raised his shield as he cast Vigor. The hobgoblin just stood there casually as it eyed the five of us and I studied its expression that seemed oddly similar to humans. “Well, it’s obvious you're not from the Scarlet Horns territory, or the Towering Kings territory,” the monster mused as it rubbed its two shining hammers together casually. At this close of a distance, I could feel a presence behind each of the weapons and it made me feel extremely uncomfortable to watch and feel them move as he talked.
“Look at them!” The teleporting hobgoblin stopped beside the other and pointed at Zack’s shield. It looked at the shield incredulously before it turned to the other hobgoblin and roared in laughter. I shifted uncomfortably and tried to take a deep breath and look at my team. I didn’t know what to do and everyone was just standing there, even Gary was staying quiet.
“I’m sorry for bothering your team,” I said carefully. “We’ll just leave the dungeon and get out of your way as quickly as possible.” I was drenched in sweat by the time I finished the short sentence and I watched the last three hobgoblins come to a stop beside their companions as I finished.
“Ha!” One of the newly arrived hobgoblins shouted after I finished talking and I looked at it warily. The hobgoblin was holding an extremely pale staff with a dark orb placed at the tip and with a gesture an ornate-looking chair appeared behind him and he took a seat. I cursed under my breath and shook my head as I tried to understand that we were dead and there was nothing we could do to change it. This was so far beyond us that nothing we did mattered anymore.
“Well, they might be children, but they cleared the first room of a Bronze dungeon with rags and sticks,” the hobgoblin sitting on the chair said musingly. “They’ll earn us a few contribution points before our first deployment, I suppose.” I listened to the monster and exchanged a confused and panicked look with Gabrielle as she stood stepped close enough for us to touch shoulders. I felt her shaking and I glanced back up as another hobgoblin cleared its throat.
“Well, humans? I don’t know where you're from, but I suppose it doesn’t matter. You have two choices, here. Join the Ascended Skorv's Warband,” the hobgoblin with the two hammers spoke cheerfully, “or die.”