Duke watched with his DUNGEON SIGHT as the trio appeared on the wall, exactly where he had aimed to place them. What he was not sure of was the directionality. He knew where the kobold sentries on the wall were but not the direction they were facing. His best guess was that the sentries were facing outwards since that was their job, but he couldn’t be sure. He really didn’t know what the habits of kobolds were, but he knew from the traps within traps he had seen in this dungeon that they were at least clever. When the trio of sentries died without an alarm, Duke relaxed his vigilance a bit and went back to watching the team’s progress.
He watched as they snuck down the ladder and made their way to the barracks. “Good choice. Take out their soldiers first. They are the biggest threat in the camp. Or at least they should be.”
Every careful step they took, Duke observed from afar. Finally, he decided to use his CLARIVOYANCE to try and get a better look at what was going on. His vision opened up as if he was watching over Aurelia’s shoulder. It was easier to focus on her since he had such an intimate connection with her. In his mind, it was like a movie screen had been created and he was watching what was going on. The only problem was that the audio track was turned down too low. He could see what was happening, but he could only hear the faintest of sound coming through. He resolved to practice the Ability more and level it up.
The first thing he heard clearly was the beating of the war drum. He was surprised to hear it so clearly through his Ability. It was only after he heard movement in the tunnel that he realized that he wasn’t hearing it through his Ability and that it had roused the rest of the kobolds to action. He saw Aurelia set herself to block the kobold barracks’ doorway and smiled at the tactical choice. He then had to drop the Ability as he had kobold problems of his own.
The reptilian creatures came pouring into the tunnel in numbers Duke had truly not anticipated. He had counted perhaps sixty or seventy in hiding when they had traversed the walkway. There were hundreds of them boiling out of the passages into the tunnel towards him. He decided that it was time to get some practice in with his other Abilities.
Summoning walls of FORCE, Duke created his own choke point with the glowing planes of energy just before the kobolds reached him. They slammed into the FORCE projections and the crush of bodies poured towards the choke point where Duke was waiting with glowing tonfa ready. He slammed the first few kobolds back with powerful strikes but the press of bodies was phenomenal. His estimate of hundreds of kobolds coming suddenly seemed to be woefully low.
He fought on, pushing them back as much as he could and holding his ground as dozens of attacks got through to him every second. His ARMOR SKIN and REGENERATION were easily handling the damage. What was becoming a problem was that the kobolds were pushing him further and further back from the choke point to the point they were now able to push through in significant numbers and were starting to surround him.
“Fuck it!” Duke changed tactics, mass TELEPORTING kobold body parts back into the cavern. In seconds, the pressure around him relieved as nearly a hundred kobold bodies filled the area around his FORCE walls. Yet they still came boiling out of the cavern, an implacable mass of reptilian flesh rushing towards him intent on burying him in their numbers.
This wave added spellcasters and Duke found himself having to take things very seriously. He quickly found his Initiate-ranked SPELL RESISTANCE coming into play as spell after spell was sent his way from the mass of kobolds as he continued to hold the chokepoint with his physical fighting Skill. His COMBAT SENSE had taken over, but the sheer volume of attacks and attackers was overwhelming that Ability as well.
In the presence of mind that COMBAT SENSE afforded him, Duke remembered his earlier commitment to pushing his TELEPORTATION Ability to the limit as it was on the verge of Master rank. He poured his Mana and focus into the Ability, TELEPORTING swaths of the massed attackers to the top of the cavern’s roof, allowing them to fall the four hundred meters to their death.
It took an unknowable amount of time, but finally the press of the kobolds abated with the last group TELEPORTED to their death. Duke stood still, allowing his COMBAT SENSE to fade as he assessed his status. Despite his massive REGENERATION Ability and his Mana regen of over 6,000 per second, his resources were low. He was also suffering from countless status conditions from curses to diseases to poison of unknown kinds. His movement was magically slowed, and he was suffering countless other condition-based penalties.
He took the time to CLEANSE and RESTORE himself but still had several conditions that were lingering. Thankfully, they all had countdown timers and would fade away over the next few minutes. The FORCE walls he had erected faded, and he began to head down the tunnel to catch up with the rest of the team, hoping they were not overwhelmed like he nearly was. At that thought, he launched himself into the air and flew at high speed down the tunnel, cresting the wall.
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***
While Duke was fighting the massive hordes of kobolds, the rest of the team was having kobold problems of their own. Aurelia was barely able to hold the barracks doorway which was crumbling and expanding. It would not be long before they would be able to come at her two or three at a time. He shield arm was broken, making her shield nearly useless – any blow that did land on her shield sent an excruciating jolt of pain up her arm and acted as a terrible distraction. The kobolds in the barracks had latched onto this and were throwing things at her around their comrades actively trying to kill her. How much longer can I hold them? My build is not good for this at all. I support the Legion, not these small groups. Despite the pain, I fight on for I will not fail. Never fail again!
Emberclaw was fighting a trio of kobolds with short spears that were a great counter to her claws. The reach of the spears kept her from getting into range of one kobold without the other two being in position to stab her exposed sides or back. She was stuck in a defensive struggle that was wearing her down. She even tried striking the spears themselves with her burning claws, but a fourth kobold had shown up, using some Spell of Ability to give their spears resistance to her strikes. She was suffering from numerous small wounds that were adding up and becoming concerning. Wasn’t Duke supposed to back us up and make sure we didn’t get in over our heads? Where is he?
Snarlheart spun under the spearthrust meant for his eye and tore into the kobold that attacked him. Its partner managed to strike him with its spear, but it was a glancing blow, the stab not deep enough to cause any real harm as it hit at the wrong angle, but it did trace a line of fire across his side. He growled as he tore into the kobold before him, ending it in seconds. The two remaining around him redoubled their efforts but Snarlheart knew it was only a matter of time before he finished them as well.
Snarlheart ignored the small wounds he received as he grabbed the spear of the kobold to his left and pulled the creature towards him. His BLOODFRENZY Ability allowed him to ignore these minor wounds, but he was broken out of it as he received a deeply-penetrating spear stab to his left hamstring even as he ripped the throat out of the kobold he had turned towards. He finally had the presence of mind to cast his most powerful healing Spell, Mend the Pack. His wounds healed under the force of the Spell, and he grinned, growling at the kobold before him. Its spear trembled in its hands, but it bravely stood its ground – for a few more seconds before dying.
A feeling of warmth and a glow of healing infused Aurelia’s body, and everything changed. Her shield arm was once again whole and the myriad small injuries she was suffering from vanished. She re-engaged her shield and her sword glowed brighter as her blows sped up, striking kobolds down one after another. The haze of pain had fled her and now she moved with renewed vigor and power. Sizing up the remaining kobolds, she pushed her way into the room with a shield bash that sent four kobolds stumbling backwards in a tangle of limbs. Aurelia’s warhorse formed underneath her as she prepared a deadly charge.
It had taken a tremendous amount of maneuvering, feints, and dodges, but Emberclaw finally was able to sink her claws into one of her three attackers. It went down in a gurgling mess, but she did not stop with the one small victory. She leapt past the remaining two kobolds she had finally maneuvered out of position and engaged the surprised spellcaster. Her burning claws easily carved through flesh, ending its threat. When she turned on the pair behind her, she smiled as she saw Snarlheart tear into them from behind.
Duke crested the wall as the back of one of the buildings exploded outwards. He saw Emberclaw and Snarlheart in front of the building slightly stunned by the explosion but shielded from its effects by the now collapsing building. Aurelia rode around to the front of the building with a self-satisfied grin on her face, coming to a halt near the pair of exhausted beastkin. Duke flew over and landed near the trio.
“It seems you had this well in hand. I’m glad I wasn’t needed.” The trio looked from one to the other, some silent decision being made between them.
Aurelia responded. “We had it well in hand. These kobolds are clever ambushers though. We will need to be careful as we continue.”
Duke could easily read the strain in all their countenances with his Abilities but decided to not say anything. Instead, he activated a CLEANSE and RESTORE for them. “Let’s rest up a few minutes here and let the heat of battle fade a bit before we press on.”
“Sounds like a good idea. What happened in the tunnel when the alarm drums went off? Emberclaw asked.
Duke looked at all three for a moment. “How many kobolds did you count in the chamber as we made our way through?”
Snarlheart quickly answered, “More than two hundred.” The others nodded in agreement.
Duke smiled before responding. “They came out of the woodwork, not by the hundred, but by the thousand. This is only a Practiced-ranked dungeon. There is something at work here that I don’t quite understand yet. This dungeon seems far harder than it should be.”
“Could we have read the dungeon’s level wrong at the start?” Aurelia asked.
“I don’t think so but I’m not sure. I’m pretty sure we all saw it as Practiced, right?” Nods of agreement confirmed it. “So that’s probably not it. I wonder if it’s the undisclosed dungeon style that is coming into play here. None of us have enough experience with dungeons to answer that question yet, I think.”
“So, do we press on or head back out?” Emberclaw asked.
“We must be close to the end. I say we press on.” Snarlheart answered.
“I agree.” Aurelia stood back to her feet, ready to continue.
“Then we don’t hold back on our capabilities.” Emberclaw added.
“Who’s holding back?” Aurelia asked, surprised.
Emberclaw pointed at Duke. “Him.” He nodded in acknowledgment.
The four set out once again, searching the three buildings for loot and clues before moving to the closed gate.