Jeremy quietly cursed as he craned his neck to look at the alcove above the doorway that the skeleton had leapt from. He’d thought it would be simple: just listen to the report, follow Sarge’s lead and get some easy experience. Apparently the dungeon didn’t get the memo. Sarge’s orders quickly shook him from his reverie and he instinctively boomed out with the others, “Yes Sarge!” Putting in a little extra gusto in hopes his distraction would go unnoticed.
No sooner had the words left his lips than Sarge was beside him and there was a grinding of stone on steel that had his hair jumping to attention. A stalactite crumbled to the floor from Sarge’s shield that Jeremy realised with a shudder was raised over his head. He tried to will his shaking hands to stillness as Sarge ordered softly,
“Keep the volume down until we’re past the stalactites.”
A much softer chorus of affirmatives followed the order, and by the time had Jeremy pulled himself together, the other pits were located and the precious mana crystal was slipped into a pouch on Sarge’s waist. It was time to move out.
They reached the second room and began fanning out as much as the space allowed. The ranger they were escorting murmured, “I don’t like this; those walls weren’t here before,” gesturing to the far end of the chasm, barely visible on the edge of the light, where the stone was raised on either side with a small gap in the middle. It would make the leap from the bars to the far end much more difficult if you crossed on the sides of the room.
“We proceed with caution, James, Gerard you both have point.” Sarge replied with some sharp finger movements. “Stay close to the walls, only one on each bar at a time, check them carefully first. That drop probably won’t kill you, but it could definitely ruin your day, so stay sharp.”
A quiet chorus of, “Yes Sarge,”s echoed in the strange stillness of the dungeon as the soldiers spilt to cross, one on each side.
Jeremy felt a little useless as they progressed, swinging bar to bar across the chasm, the tension rising as they noticed that the third and fifth bars were thinned near the ends. James seemed able to swing past them with relative ease, while Gerard grunted with exertion. The stats from the levels of [Baker] the 30-year-old had chosen to retain weren't seeming to help him much. Wiping the sweat from his free hand on his breeches so it would be dry to use the bow if needed, Jeremy couldn’t help but worry how he’d get on when it was his turn to cross.
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Squinting he thought he saw movement in the darkness past the leftmost barrier…
“Skeleton!” The ranger pointed as a fist sized stone came flying out of the darkness towards James.
Jeremy reached for an arrow as his heart started pounding in his chest. He could see James twist so the blow only glanced him but another rock was already flying towards Gerrard. Jeremy cursed as he fumbled nocking the arrow. He was vaguely aware of movement around him as those not on the bars pulled back to bring shields up around him and the ranger, just like in the drills. Twin grunts of exertion and pain rang out from Gerrard as he heaved himself up so the stone hit his chest not his head. Frustrated Jeremy loosed the arrow between his hanging comrades into the darkness where he thought the stones originated. There was a clattering impact against something.
“Aim for the joints!” The half elf ranger ordered urgently from beside him.
No sooner had Jeremy thought he couldn't see the skeleton, much less its joints, than Sarge ordered a torch thrown to better illuminate the target. The soldiers on the bars pressed forward with renewed urgency as the shadows spun wildly from the thrown torch, revealing the skeleton rising behind the low wall with another stone in each hand. Jeremy made good use of the light as he activated his skills on the next few shots. Arrows connected with the shoulder and neck respectively before the light dimmed as the thrown torch was absorbed into the dungeon floor. Rocks still flew periodically, but with a cracked shoulder joint and its head clattering to the floor the skeleton’s aim became increasingly erratic.
“SHIT!”
A sickening thump was heard as James slipped from the bars followed by a low groan.
“Keep up fire." The order jolted Jeremy back to action. "James what’s your status?” Sarge asked holding back another soldier who’d been about to rush forward.
“There was somethin’ slippy on the damn bars, had no grip.” The frustrated voice from the pit responded weakly.
At a glance from Sarge, the ranger responded with a look of horrified comprehension, “Wax from the torch.”
“It’s on this side too Sarge,” Gerrard called, frantically wiping one hand on his breeches, seemingly having fared better with the forewarning but still swinging ponderously. “I think I can skip the ones it’s on but it’s hard to see.”
“Gerrard, go slow. Jeremy, keep giving that thing something else to think about. James, I said status.”
“I’ll live but gonna need some help gettin’ out of this. Think my leg’s busted.”
Jeremy tried to pull his focus back on his task and aimed the next shot where he thought the shoulder he’d hit previously should be. Wishing he had a longbow for the extra poundage, however much of a hassle it would have been to manoeuvre through the first corridor, he loosed it with a silent prayer to The Warrior. There was a loud crack as the arrow veered a little closer to centre mass, but luckily seemed to hit something vital as the clatter of bones rang out.
“You got it,” the ranger quietly confirmed. As he saw Jeremy start to relax, he swiftly added, “Keep a shot ready. First rule of undead: there’s always more than you’d think.”