I poured the half-liquid, half-glutinous solid soap onto the stain on Balan’s chest, he flinched away from the heat for a moment, but gritted his teeth as I applied the remainder. Then Lysander recast the blessing on the waterskin he’d attempted to use before and poured it on the soap. I picked up a rag and began scrubbing at the catakhanas vomit, after a couple minutes of hard scrubbing I lifted it and saw that the stain was gone and had left behind a large patch of bare pale skin.
“Tank yuh,” the dwarf said. “Yuh saved muh life.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied. I began to put the limited cleaning supplies, such as they were, back in the pack.
“We’ll have to remember to buy some soap and more water for the next dungeon.” Senet pulled out a scroll and started scratching on it with a charcoal stick. “How many supplies have we used up now?”
A glance over his shoulder told me that the scroll was a running inventory of the party’s supplies. I tried not to seem disappointed that it wasn’t some magic item. I told him what little I’d used up, he burned the rag I’d used for scrubbing with a fire spell and scratched it off on the inventory.
“While you were washing the dirty dwarf off,” I turned to see Ruculus standing on the other side of the blackened pile of ash and soot where the puddle of alchemist’s fire had been. “I went ahead and disabled the rest of the traps in this hall.” He held up a crossbow with a tall wooden box on top of the stock, “got myself a new crossbow too.”
“That’s good,” Lysander commented. “See what happens when you scout ahead yourself instead of sending the henchman ahead?”
“Now I’m a henchman?” I asked incredulously, hefting the bag over my shoulder.
“Yuh earned yur freedom wen yuh saved meh,” Balan explained.
“Really?” I exclaimed, shocked at my abrupt turn of fortune. “It’s that simple?”
“A life for a life,” Lysander added. “You can leave now or stay with us and earn some gold.”
I paused and thought about it, in the short time I’d been with these people I had been kidnapped by kobolds, nearly eaten by zombies, and incinerated. But on the other hand I knew next to nothing about this world and what was outside this dungeon. “How far is the nearest city?” I asked. “Kabri you said?”
“Kabri is twenty leagues through the Shadowood,” Senet volunteered. “We ran into a few monsters on the way here.”
I considered the distance and the monsters. I couldn’t exactly fight much with the skills I had. If I stayed with this group they’d protect me. I’d even be paid. “I think I’ll hang around a bit longer.”
“Glad to have you with us Craig,” Lysander nodded. Ruculus looked less happy, though I couldn’t say why.
“Let’s just head on over to the next room,” the raccoon grumbled. He turned and walked off down the hall.
We followed, me taking up the rear as usual. Around the bend there were several open hatches in the walls, exposing various broken machines, and a large hole in the floor over a pit of spikes. I could see an alcove where Ruculus had probably taken his crossbow, next to the spike pit. There was barely enough room to shuffle along the other wall to the far side of the pit, but we managed.
At the end of the trap-filled hallway was another giant pair of doors, almost identical to the ones at the opening of the hall. Ruculus examined the door and pulled out his set of lock picks. “This will take a while,” he informed us. “I haven’t leveled up my Open Locks skill just yet.”
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Regardless, Lysander and Balan drew and readied their weapons, while Senet tilted his staff towards the door. I considered what to do, I was still next to useless in combat. At most maybe I could hand out potions. Would it be better for me to hang back or stay in the middle of the party? In the middle I’d be well-positioned to give them potions and protected from behind, but vulnerable to area-of-effect attacks. While if I hung back I’d be exposed to enemies coming up behind the party and they’d have to run back to grab potions. I decided to wait and see what was in store for us on the other side of the door.
The warriors’ weapons were starting to droop towards the floor by the time the thief finally let out a cry of triumph. “Yes! Level up!” Ruculus began to pull the door open as Lysander and Balan slowly advanced forwards.
Beyond lay a massive cavern filled with many strange things. Tunnels branched off in two different directions, as I watched a catakhanas staggered out of one tunnel pushing a cart filled with rocks. In the middle of the chamber stood a bizarre industrial array. A conveyor belt led to a pair of crushing rollers over another conveyor that entered a giant forge studded with pipes and valves and glowing runes. At the other end a few coins tumbled out of a narrow chute, while liquid concrete filled a vat.
A moment after the coins clinked against the floor, a long scaly tail swept them over to a golden pile laid out beneath a half-asleep monster. It was a horrific patchwork of golden scales and tawny fur separated by lines of mangy skin. One paw was like that of a big cat, the other a great raptor’s talon. The head was a misshapen blend of lion and reptile traits, bordered by the scraggly remnants of a mane. Mismatched green and yellow eyes blearily blinked open, slowly focusing on us. With a low rumble rising in its throat, the monster rose to its feet, displaying crooked fangs.
“Chimaera!” Senet shouted, readying his staff and beginning to cast a spell. Lysander and Balan hefted their weapons again, Ruculus faded into shadow. The dwarf charged to the left while the shadowed raccoon took the right. Lysander advanced slowly up the center, staying between the monster and the mage.
Myself, I ducked back to the doorway and tried to hide behind the giant doors. There was no way I was going to be able to fight that thing. Moments after I ducked behind the door I heard a deafening roar and felt intense heat through the wood. Cautiously, I peeked around the corner and saw that the floor had been blackened in a rough cone shape stemming from the chimaera, with a sort of inverse shadow centered around Lysander, Senet standing on the edge of the shadow with the tips of his ears smoking. As I watched the rabbit let loose a brilliant blue bolt of energy at the monster. Where it struck frost radiated out over the chimaera’s mismatched fur and scales. But no sooner did the ray cease than did the beast rear back and begin to glow, melting the frost.
Balan swung at the chimaera’s leg, burying the blade of his axe into the scaly flesh and loosing a trickle of blood. The monster turned its head towards the dwarf and attempted to bite him with a maw as wide as his entire head, fangs clashing against armor. While it was distracted Ruculus leapt out of his shadows and buried a pair of daggers into its back. Then Lysander stabbed his sword into the beast’s shoulder from below as it reared up to try and throw the raccoon off.
Senet began to cast another spell, but the chimaera saw him and turned its head in his direction. As it opened its jaws I saw flames crackle in the back of its throat and I ducked back behind the door just in time to avoid getting caught in the next burst of fire breath.
As soon as the flames died down I took another look at the scene. A blackened rabbit clutching a staff with a flame at the tip that did not look particularly magical collapsed, lying on his back on the floor. Lysander was busy ducking around the chimaera’s claws while trying to strike back with his blade, the others similarly caught in battle with the monster. I stared at Senet, trying to figure out if he was still alive, after a moment’s focus a display appeared above him.
Senet: Ally
Health: 0, Status: Dying 10,
9,
Realizing that Lysander couldn’t get to him in time I yanked a flask of healing potion out of the sack and raced towards him.
4,
3,
I slipped on the sooty floor, time slowed down, and as I realized I couldn’t get back up and run to him soon enough I pulled my arm back and chucked it in Senet’s direction.
2,
1,
Stabilized, 1 Health restored.
The potion landed next to the rabbit mage and a splash of green liquid landed on him, skin regrowing where the drops touched him. He rose slowly to his feet and started carefully making spell gestures and muttering under his breath. The chimaera paid him no mind as it tried to fend off the other three adventurers.
Balan slashed at the monster’s head, but it ducked, and as its head swung back its eye caught sight of the rabbit casting a spell. Ignoring the combatants hacking at it the chimaera opened its mouth again, flames crackled in the back of its throat…
Lysander’s sword glowed with holy light and he plunged the tip of the blade downwards through the beast’s claw and into the floor. The chimaera roared in pain, its fire breath streaming high over Senet’s head as it tried to rear back. But the sword in its claw held it in place as Senet’s ice spell caught it square in the chest.
The misshapen hybrid of lion and dragon coughed, sputtered, and then slumped to the ground, claw still pinned to the floor.
I got up and carefully walked up to Senet, handing him a full healing potion. He chugged it down and his remaining third-degree burns healed over.
Chimaera defeated.
Alchemist XP: 100
Level 1 → 2
Wait? I thought they said Alchemist was a non-combat class?