Dungeon POV
Watching their progress it's easy to see just how much they've improved since they last attempted the second floor. Then again it could just be that they've gotten good at fighting wolves. I silently promise myself to add more variety to the encounters on the fourth floor. Either way the next floor only trips them up for a second when Cole falls into one of the traps bringing his face within easy biting distance.
In her defense Chandra was disarming another trap while trying to keep one of the wolfs at bay. As much as he wants to yell at her for not disarming this trap, especially while trying to keep his face from being bitten. He understands that Chandra can't be everywhere, and it was his decision to run to the center of the room. Fortunately for the groups healer the alpha prefers to sit back and lead his troops.
I wonder if that has to do with the intent I had when making them. I'm no expert but I don't think that's normal wolf behavior. Then again, I'm pretty sure neither is fighting to the death. If that's the case I need to pay attention to my frame of mind and the intent with which mobs are made.
The next floor is a lot more interesting. Due to the traps on the last floor, they are more cautious now. Also, I think they were expecting more of the same as far as strength. It doesn't take long for them to figure out that the wolves in this room are of a higher level. Add to that the fact that they're already starting to feel the effects of fight after fight, and this room was even tougher than it otherwise would have been. I'm excited though because this is the last room before the chest room, and I get a lot of mana when a chest is looted.
Clyde and Cole are doing their best to go one on one against two of the wolves. Darrel has another wolf pinned down, but his mana is dangerously low. Chandra is barely able to stay out of striking range of yet another wolf. Being level 7 facing a level 9 wolf alone she is completely out classed by the wolf's agility and speed leaving her no time to do anything but dodge and prey. Thankfully it still has the intelligence of a wolf, so Chandra is able to use her wits to outmaneuver it for now. It looks like Lily wants to help but as a healer there is nothing she can do.
Then it happens. The wolf finally lands a blow on Chandra. Thankfully the lite leather armor was enough to keep the wound from being too serious. Unfortunately, the hit caused her to stumble landing face down on the ground. A position the wolf attacking her was not shy about taking advantage of. Pinning her down with its considerable weight it moved to take a bite out of the back of her skull. Only to receive two ice spears in the head and shoulder.
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Those ice spears came at a cost though. In order to deliver them Darrel had to release the wolf he had pinned down. That wolf in turn wasn't about to just sit there. Almost before Darrel could turn back around it had closed the gap. He barely had time to get his staff up to protect his throat before the wolf pounced on him. He managed to keep from being insta killed, if only just barely, but that doesn't mean he was completely unharmed.
The wolf began to claw at his mid-section while trying to bite through the staff giving me a weird sense of deja vu. Fortunately, his robes are made of a thicker material. Still though he does receive several nasty gashes. As if to add insult to injury the wolf also managed to bite through the staff. The magic potential in the staff although low is still enough to momentarily stun both the wolf and Darrel.
A moment later the wolf receives two throwing knives in the head. With Lily's help Chandra finally regained consciousness. Though neither her nor Darrel are in any condition to continue. The gashes on Darrel chest while not as deep as they would have been without the robes are still pretty substantial. Lily immediately runs over to begin checking on Darrel. Giving him the last of the groups healing potions I watch as she begins to work her healing magic. It's different than I would have thought. Instead of continuous healing she is constantly recasting it every few seconds. Occasionally stopping to clean of the blood enough to see what she is doing. It's a good thing she did to because the sheer amount of blood was able to completely hide some of the smaller gashes.
At the same time while faring much better Clyde and Cole haven't exactly been having it easy. Cole manages to kill his opponent only to then be confronted by the alpha. Clyde is soon able to finish off his opponent as well. This allows them to team up against the alpha. Even so the fight is tough at first. Eventually though they are able to get the wolf in between them. From there the ending was inevitable although the alpha still didn't go down without a fight.
After the fight they rather predictably decide to call it a day. Not that I blame them. Chandra and Darrel both need serious healing. Though Chandras's injuries are more internal leading me to wonder if she'll get the healing she needs. I am rather disappointed they didn't make it to the chest but there is always next time. Thinking about it I can't help but chuckle to myself thinking of the looks on their faces when they realize how close they were to a chest. Still, it's not like they had any hope of claiming the chest if they had continued.
As they make their way back to the entrance, I can see that there is another party ready to tackle the second floor. Surprisingly they seem to understand that not being able to pass through the portal meant there was already a party on the second floor. Makes sense that that would be a common dungeon rule among all dungeons.
I don't have much hope for them making it very far. One is level 6 while the other five are level 5. This party apparently consists of one of each type of adventurer including the first archer I've ever seen that wasn't one of my skeleton archers.