Chapter 201
M'redith paused at the threshold of the next room and Jay cleared the area just inside of it to make sure there were no traps. “Looks clear,” he told his group leader before she led them all just barely in to the next room where she stopped them and motioned at Jay to continue his search.
“Why didn't you just send Jay in to the room ahead of us and then have him come back to get us once he had cleared the room of traps?” Sha'li wondered aloud.
Aiden spoke up to answer that one, “Well, if he triggered a trap and the door shut he'd be trapped and we'd be unable to help him. Things can change fast on an adventure so you try to never split the group if at all possible.”
Sha'li nodded as she mentally digested that.
Aiden's belly growled. He was hungry. Again. Unfortunately he had recently eaten a grilled cheese and another would not be ready for some time yet.
Aiden sighed.
While Jay inspected the room for triggers and traps the others took that time to get a good look at the layout. Across the room from them on the far wall were two doorways. As they had entered the room, across the room from them the doorway on the left had closed while the door to the right made an awful scraping sound as it slid open and the floor beyond it appeared to descend rather sharply.
The room was covered in dust which made it a bit more difficult for Jay to make out triggers. Eventually Jay took out an item and began to shoot off brightly colored streamers about the room, eight at a time. They hung in the air for a moment before they would then gently waft to the ground. After a brief pause they would then disappear.
None of the streamers became snagged on anything and after a few minutes Jay was forced to admit that he couldn't find anything.
“It looks clear even though I feel like there should be a trap in here,” Jay explained.
Sha'li had been watching Jay with a happy expression as he had repeatedly fired off streamers in to the room but had waited patiently until he had finished searching the room before calling out to him. “What IS that thing and can I try it?”
Jay looked at the orb in his hand. “What, this thing? Here, give it a try.” Jay threw the orb to her and she caught it out of the air and inspected it.
Streamer Ball – (Rare) - This item when squeezed will produce 8 light-as-air streamers which will cover the area in front of the item before gently descending to the ground. After touching the ground the streamers will disappear in to motes of light after a period of ten seconds. This item may be used at will, does not need to be refilled, and operates using ambient magic alone.
Sha'li grinned and gave the ball a gentle squeeze.
Norri was suddenly covered in 8 brightly colored streamers which she waved away at and picked off of her with a grin, “Hey!”
Sha'li smiled, “Sorry! I did a poor job of aiming.” She squeezed the ball again and more streamers shot across the room this time rather than towards Norri.
M'redith wanted to interrupt but didn't. It was easy to forget that they weren't there to focus on the ruins – they were there to focus on Sha'li and try and show her a good time. If Sha'li was having a good time then things were going exactly as they had hoped they would, streamers and all.
After a moment Sha'li realized that the others were all watching her play with the Streamer Ball and became self-conscious. “Um, sorry? I guess I got a little carried away,” she said with a sheepish smile.
Jay laughed, “They all did the exact same thing when they first saw the Streamer Ball so don't feel bad for playing with it!”
M'redith was about to argue before she realized that Jay was right – they had all taken turns playing with the ball when Jay had first shown it to them. Funny how that seemed like so long ago now, M'redith thought to herself.
Sha'li handed the Streamer Ball back to Jay with a thank you. Jay stuffed the ball back in to his backpack and walked over to the far wall.
“This is odd,” Jay said as he stopped ten or so feet short of the door. “The left one is closed, the right one is open – but look at the floor,” he said as he pointed.
On the ground in front of the closed door were scuff marks showing that the left doorway was frequently traveled through. There was very little to almost no dust. A pathway ran from the door they had entered to the door on the opposite wall – the left door. Everywhere else in the room the floor had a much thicker layer of dust as if it hadn't been disturbed in ages.
The right door? The floor in front of it had a thick layer of dust as if it had never seen use before. The right door was open and the floor beyond the door's threshold appeared completely clean, as if the door had been hermetically sealed and had only just recently been opened.
“What are you thinking?” Aiden asked after he had inspected the dust and doors. So a bit of floor was dusty and another bit wasn't – who cared about dust?
“I think, if I'm right, that we are going to have to be extremely careful after we leave this room,” Jay said as he took a step back. “When we first entered the left door was open and the right door closed. There were no triggers that I could see. There is nothing else in this room that could be a clue which most likely means this room must have something to do with our last room.”
Norri shook her head, “It doesn't have to mean that...”
Aiden agreed. “It could just be closing doors to mess with us.”
Jay shrugged, “Ok. Agreed – we don't know for certain but hear me out. The left door looks like it has gotten a lot of use over the years, can we all agree on that?”
Everyone nodded, even Sha'li who looked confused still.
“So that door has gotten a lot of use in the past. Just look at how little dust has formed on the ground. Then think about the right hand door – it was shut when we entered,” Jay pointed out. “It cracked open as if it hadn't been opened in ages. There is a huge layer of dust in front of it as if it is seldom used, and most importantly, the inside past the door that was sealed shut – there is no dust on the floor there, which means it only opened just now. With me so far?”
M'redith nodded, “So you're saying that everyone who explored this ruins before us ended up having to take the left door – but we're going to be going through the right door instead. A direction that appears to have not been opened in ages.”
“Why are we different? Why do we get the right door and not the left?” Norri asked as if the entire thing was a bit silly.
Jay shrugged, “I think it has to do with us having chosen the correct box in the last room. We picked the correct box with the treasure inside – so now we get to go through the correct door. Everyone else before us picked the wrong little metal door in the last room – so when they got to this room the correct door didn't open – they instead were forced to leave the ruins early through the left door.”
“Wait. So you're saying we're about to explore a ruins that no one else has gotten to see since it fell in to ruins in the first place?” Sha'li asked incredulously.
Jay nodded with a grin, “Ya, that's basically what I'm saying.”
M'redith smiled, “These ruins have been explored before by others but none of them mentioned the doors in this room changing like that. None of them found the right box though in the last room either though. Looks like we might be the first to go past that door.”
Sha'li clapped her hands once in excitement before she rocked back and forth up on to her toes. “This is so exciting!”
M'redith gave the room another once over. It had nothing else in it – it was just a featureless empty room, the door they had come from, and the two doors across from it – the left one closed, the right one open. “Right. Let's form back up. Jay, you're taking front position – I don't trust this place enough to not have traps in-between rooms.”
The group gathered back up and proceeded through the only open doorway across from them – the door to the right. They found themselves in a spiral staircase that wound about deeper and deeper in to the ground a few times until it was facing back in the direction from which they came, only now they were deeper in to the ground. They followed the corridor deeper and deeper as it continued its descent.
It was slow going. Jay used his Streamer Ball constantly while they walked. At the same time he was constantly on the look out for traps that didn't use trip lines – like pitfalls and buried triggers.
A trap could be hidden well enough that no matter how carefully one searched for it they still wouldn't find it. As a rule though dungeon and ruins traps always provided a chance at disarming them. Just a chance, but still, better than no chance at all, yes?
Jay had only had the basic course for trap finding and disarming at the Adventurer's Guild. Thankfully the course was robust and had taught Jay the basics of what he would need to survive. The more Jay searched for traps the more he looked forward to his next traps class – the more he learned about traps the safer he would be around them.
Thankfully Jay didn't find any traps and after ten minutes or so M'redith called for a break.
“Everyone take a drink and five minutes to rest,” she said as the others all complied and thirstily drank from their canteens and water bottles.
Norri looked about at the entirely nondescript corridor they were in. It was easy to tell which way they had come from because that way sloped upwards. The way they were headed sloped downwards. The floor was polished as if constructed with tiles. The walls were made out of smooth polished stone and vaguely reflected the light from the torches they each carried.
M'redith got them back in to line a few minutes later and continued their descent – the group following along behind Jay as he went – slowly.
After another ten minutes or so the group finally reached the bottom. The corridor expanded a bit at the bottom in to a wider more roomy area dominated by a large 9 foot metal door with thick looking metal bolts that fit in to the wall, securing it in place. A metal pull handle, the handle itself wrapped in bright red tape, sat flush against the door at a height that was halfway between the floor and ceiling.
“How is your mana Sha'li?” M'redith asked as she turned to face her while Jay inspected the huge metal door for traps.
“How do I check?” Sha'li asked in embarrassment. She could have guessed but admitting her ignorance was faster and more productive.
“Go in to your status screen – there you go, there's a section for mana. You can display just mana by thinking about your mana too,” M'redith suggested.
Sha'li concentrated and smiled. “110/110 – is that good?”
M'redith nodded, “Sounds about right. 100 as a base then 10 per level – I've no idea if that will hold true as you level up though – I've no idea how advanced classes advance.”
Sha'li shrugged, “That's ok. I'm full on mana!”
“Ok, listen up everyone. Can anyone think of what you might keep on the other side of a huge metal locked door?” M'redith asked with a mischievous smile.
Sha'li looked hesitant at first but finally answered, “A...monster?”
M'redith grinned, “Got it in one!”
Sha'li grinned and looked pleased with herself.
“So when we go in there be ready to fight. Sha'li, you ready to fight a bit?” M'redith asked with a grin.
Sha'li looked a bit flush with excitement and nodded, “I am!” she said as the area around them filled with the scent of dry grass, old wood, and livestock.
Norri made a hrmmm sound, “That one was interesting,” she said and grinned at Sha'li who laughed.
“They can't all be wonderful smelling I guess,” Sha'li said with a wink at Norri. Sha'li's 'scents' were often emotionally charged but she had managed to keep that mostly under control so far during their ruins exploration.
“Try and focus on what I focus on,” M'redith said to Sha'li, “watch your mana – don't go below 10 if you can help it, and be ready to switch targets if I call that out.”
Sha'li was looking more and more nervous the more M'redith talked and she was relieved when M'redith finished and turned to face the door.
“We good?” M'redith asked Jay who gave her a nod – he still hadn't found any traps.
“Ok, here we go!” M'redith said as the others lined up in their correct spots behind her. She reached out and grasped the red handle. It felt firm but with a bit of give to it as she wrapped her hand around it and pulled it downward. The handled folded down away from the door until it was perpendicular to it.
With a crashing metallic sound bolts began to open and slam home in to their new housings. Each bolt thundered loudly as they were slammed violently out of their locking brackets and recessed in to the door itself. The floor shook as each bolt unlocked and it was with some surprise that silence finally returned and the door slowly swung open. Towards them.
They all had to jump back out of the way and retreated a bit up the sloping corridor they had initially descended. The purpose for the more open area at the base of the sloping corridor was now clear as the door swung across the open area 180 degrees, until it finally came to rest flush up against the wall next to the doorway. The handle had reset to its original position.
The group returned to the doorway and Jay didn't need to be asked but turned to inspect the floor, walls, and ceiling as he proceeded in to the room. He turned and waved the rest of the group forwards and they joined him just over the threshold.
It was dark but they had enough light with them to see that there was an open area in front of them – with a bit more light they would be able to see more but until then the rest of the room was swathed in darkness.
Before anyone could speak the door behind them began to swing slowly closed. Any one of them could have stepped out of the room and avoided the door – it was moving quite slow – but no one made any move to do so. With a click the door shut firmly and thunderous crashes could be heard as the door's bolts slammed back in to their locking brackets.
Then there was silence. Silence and darkness and quiet. They stayed like that for seconds, then a minute, waiting for what would come next – they could all feel it, a sense of impending... not doom but something.
Jay could see Sha'li's hair flicker yellow, purple, then red before the red throbbed slowly just as burning embers would when air flowed over them. A hint of strawberries, ocean air, and a bubbling excitement paired with the two flowed over the group as Sha'li's scents filled the room.
Slowly the room brightened thanks to numerous white magical light sources located along the edges of a thirty foot circle set in to poles that stood straight up ten or so feet.
With a sudden lurch the room shook and the roof above them began to retract in to the wall. Above them the group could make out multiple other levels and far above them – gray foggy daylight.
“Ring event?” Jay asked M'redith.
“Maybe? I think so! Everyone in to the center, backs to each other, Sha'li in the middle!” M'redith called out and the group raced to reconfigure their formation. They had just reached the center when the floor under them moved.
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Sha'li fell to the floor just shy of the center and Aiden stepped out from the center and helped her to her feet while he half dragged her to the center of the group. She pulled herself to her feet as Aiden turned to watch for enemies.
The white light along the edges of the room brightened and now they could see that they stood on a circular platform that was rising slowly. That wouldn't have been that big of a deal if it weren't for the enemies on the levels above them who all appeared to be waiting for the group's platform to get closer.
There would be a fight. At least one, probably more.
“Ring event!” M'redith said definitively as she looked up above her. “Careful with your mana, they'll come in waves, cast when you have to!”
“Stay away from the edges!” Jay said as he noticed that there were no railings on their platform. Fights became a lot more complicated with the danger of falling to one's death.
The platform was roughly halfway to the next 'level,' and Jay could now make out their enemies. They were humanoid in shape and low to the ground. They were lithe in build and had pointed ears. They were difficult to see due to their black and brown mottled skin which blended in well with shadows and darkness alike. They wore no clothing but carried rocks and spears with the occasional rusty blade thrown in for variety.
“What the hell are those things?” Sha'li said with no small amount of worry as she set her eyes on the creatures along the first level that were waiting for the group.
Even though the creatures could have jumped down to fight the group they did not do so. It seemed that the creatures preferred to wait for the platform to come to a complete stop before they would fight.
Their platform came to a sudden stop on the first level and the group all stumbled about before they regained their balance. The three foot creatures on the first level scampered in to motion and ran on to the platform with tiny screams.
Their mouths were full of sharp needle like teeth and they had disturbingly long bright red tongues that lolled out and to the side as they rushed Jay's group.
M'redith took a step forward and drew her sword in a wide swinging motion. She continued her swing and drew her sword across a monster that had gotten too close. The little creature dodged under her sword and M'redith followed her swing up with a kick that lifted the creature off the ground and tossed it across the room through the air.
The other creatures all stopped and stared at M'redith. Their tongues retreated in to their mouths and their eyes grew wide.
Aiden stepped forward while they were distracted and connected with an overhand swing of his staff. The creature he struck collapsed to the ground and Aiden quickly followed up with a strike to the head and then throat. The creature stopped moving after that.
“Kobolds!” Norri shouted as threw a flurry of strikes at one of them with her staff. The kobold she was fighting had no chance and was quickly defeated by Norri's overwhelming combat ability.
“Is that bad?!” Sha'li asked worriedly as she watched the others all fight off the kobolds. Sha'li suddenly really wished that she had a staff with her – anything would have been better than standing empty handed in the middle of the group. Sure, she had mana and could cast her Frost Bolt, but she had been told to hold back on that unless needed.
“Only if there are a lot of them – they're pretty harmless by themselves so long as you pay attention,” Aiden stated as he swung at another three foot tall kobold with a twig like body. Aiden's strike folded the monster in half and it went down and did not move.
What had seemed like a wave ended up only being four kobolds – a very easy fight. Of course, it was only the first wave.
Nothing happened for a minute and the room grew almost quiet but not quite thanks to the sounds of the kobolds above them who were waiting for the platform to reach their level. They occasionally screamed but also sometimes chittered, which was somehow worse.
The platform lurched again and began to rise.
“Everyone ok so far?” M'redith asked as she regained her balance and kept an eye on the enemies above her.
Her group made various sounds indicating that they were ok and M'redith nodded to herself.
Her entire group watched as the next level grew closer and closer as their platform continued to rise. Above them they could make out the foggy daylight – there were quite a few levels between them and the surface still however.
This time the kobolds weren't waiting on the edge of the platform. They had hung back in the shadows, only their eyes showing which glowed pale yellow in the darkness. As the platform shuddered to a stop the group stumbled once again.
That was when the kobolds struck. These were different than the first ones and shot towards the group at great speed.
M'redith shoved Norri aside and stepped in front of her just as the kobold was about to run in to her. Instead, the kobold struck M'redith and learned an important lesson.
M'redith's first Class Ability was called Giant Frame, and it let her behave as if she were one size larger than she was – giant. Thankfully the ability only triggered when she wanted it to, and when she was in combat. Both of those requirements were met, and so it was that the kobold smashed up flat against M'redith's body and then bounced off of her as the little monster was thrown violently to the ground.
The kobold's tiny frame was not built to withstand that kind of force and it sustained multiple injuries that prevented it from attacking M'redith again.
Just to be sure though, M'redith finished the monster off before it could do anything else.
As if that had been a signal the others began to rush across the room and attack the group.
There were five of them and M'redith had taken care of one already. The second launched itself at Jay who merely stepped aside and swatted it on its back as it sailed past him, which in turn tossed it in to a nearby wall. Jay did not step forward to follow and finish off the creature however as it would have pulled him out of the group's position. Once out of position he would have been vulnerable to attack from multiple directions.
Norri's monster was stopped cold just as well as M'redith's had been but without the use of a Class Ability. Instead, Norri used her natural ability with a staff and struck the creature so hard that it came to a stop as her staff vibrated wildly from the impact.
With a twirl, her hands still stinging from the previous strike, she swept the creature off of its feet and delivered a double tap to the head and neck before she tucked the length of polished wood under one arm and turned to locate her next opponent.
Sha'li's kobold had found a gap in their formation and managed to approach within a few feet of her. Sha'li's eyes grew panicked as the mottled brown and black kobold rushed towards her and she might have been seriously injured had Aiden not shouted at her.
“FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!” Aiden shouted at her from off to the side as he saw Sha'li freeze up.
Sha'li's was momentarily shaken out of her shocked state. Instantaneously three jagged six inch bolts appeared over Sha'li's extended hand and they flew with tremendous speed and force towards the kobold that was just about to knock her to the ground.
Her first bolt struck low and cut straight through the meaty section of the kobold's left leg. The leg was sheared almost entirely off and the kobold began to crumple to the ground. Before the bolt could even melt the second two bolts struck the kobold as well.
The second bolt struck the creature's chest and knocked it back away from Sha'li as if a giant had kicked a soccer ball. The third bolt struck with such enormous force that most of the body was blown clear off of the platform.
All that remained was a messy streak along the floor.
“Sweet Gaia!” Aiden yelled with a chuckle as he fought off his Kobold. Norri joined him and helped him finish it off.
Jay's injured kobold had picked itself up and rushed towards him at great speed but M'redith calmly intercepted the creature and chopped at it with her sword until it stopped moving.
Sha'li was standing open mouthed with her hands by her sides.
“Are you ok?” M'redith asked her but received no response. M'redith grabbed Sha'li by the shoulders and shook her, “HEY – are you ok!”
Sha'li was physically shaken out of her stupor and shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. “That was horrific!”
M'redith nodded, “Death sucks but these are monsters – they attack and kill, nothing else. We don't kill them then they'll kill us. There's nothing more to it in here, ok?”
Sha'li nodded her head but still had wide eyes as if she were in shock. Her mind rapidly churned through the various implications of her new ability.
The platform they were on shuddered and they all lost their balance again as it began to once again rise. Numerous yellow eyes peered down at them from the levels above them.
The platform rose slowly and the group could make out five more sets of eyes on the approaching level. They were all set back in the darkness and they made no move to approach the group once the platform ground to a stop.
The party was expecting to stumble a bit this time and so was better prepared for it. The kobolds didn't rush them however but remained where they were. One sent an arrow towards the group but missed. Another arrow shot at them from the opposite direction.
“Are we supposed to go after them?” Norri asked with a look towards M'redith. She noticed that Sha'li still looked a bit flustered.
Sha'li's hair had turned a burnt brown color and the group could smell dirt, pine, and the kind of spicy smell that indicates a food is going to burn if eaten.
“We'll have to clear them out using ranged abilities. Aiden?” M'redith asked and Aiden shot off a few Physician's Bolts towards the ones closest to him.
The glassy green bolts sizzled through the air and both of his casts struck with two bolts each, one bolt from each cast going awry and striking the walls harmlessly. The ones that struck the kobolds however made them scream before they stopped moving entirely.
“Sha'li? Can you get the other three? If you can't that's ok – this is just a ring event. If we fail it we'll be fine. I don't want to push you to...” M'redith started before Sha'li seemed to come to her senses, furrowed her brow, and began to blast away at kobolds as if she had trained for nothing else in her life.
Sha'li's ability Frost Bolt tracked its targets – unless the target could successfully dodge it for 5 whole seconds then it was a guaranteed hit. This meant she could fire fast and often without worrying about her aim. She fired off a total of three blasts before she sent one last one off towards a kobold that hadn't gone down with the first blast.
Each bolt struck with incredible force and destroyed the tiny kobold enemies they had been aimed at.
The platform lurched once again in to motion and everyone tried to keep their balance.
“What was that?” M'redith asked Sha'li.
Sha'li shrugged. “I've always wanted teeth. Now I have them. Why should I feel guilty for using them!” she said forcefully.
M'redith nodded in understanding. It was an intoxicating sensation to suddenly be given the ability to attack one's enemies with overwhelming force. Anyone that tried to put a hand on Sha'li without her consent from that day forward would be gambling with their lives.
Sha'li grinned and her eyes shone with excitement. “I can see why you all enjoy this!” Her earlier trepidation over the use of her abilities had quickly fled in the face of enemies who wanted nothing more than to harm her.
The platform continued to rise. They were closer to ground level now that they'd risen a few levels but they weren't there yet.
The platform came to a stop and the group managed to not fall over that time. They watched as two kobolds stepped on to the platform. They both held shields that were almost as large as the kobolds themselves were. They also held swords that they used to push the group back.
“Hang back, I'll get their attention and turn them. Once I do hit their backs!” M'redith called out to her group as she struck out with her sword at the enemy shields over and over. Each strike hammered in to the monster's shields and drove them lower in to their fighting stances from the force of the blows.
M'redith began to step sideways which forced the kobolds to either ignore her and allow her to strike at their unprotected sides or, to turn and face her, which would draw them away from her group.
They turned and faced her – she was the greatest threat to them at the moment, no one else was attacking them yet.
M'redith continued to attack and side step until the kobolds were caught between M'redith and her group. Now that the kobold's unprotected backs were facing the group M'redith nodded once and they attacked.
Sha'li smiled and was about to cast when she stopped short. This wasn't an emergency and the others would easily handle the two enemies. She should reserve her strength for tougher enemies.
The others didn't have any such problem as they were all armed with weapons that did not rely on mana. They could swing as much as they wanted to until they got tired.
They swung, hard and often, and managed to make quick work of the two kobolds who weren't even facing in the direction of the attacks. The creature's shields would have been a difficult barrier to bypass if M'redith hadn't turned them away from her friends. A group less familiar with basic tactics would have attempted to fight the creatures head on – a poor choice considering the options.
The fight was easy Jay thought and he wondered when they'd get something difficult. Ring events seemed to be designed to give a good challenge but not necessarily kill those running them. This ring event in particular seemed to be especially easy though. That worked out for the best, Jay thought, considering that they had Sha'li with them.
That had been his thought at first anyway, but that was before he had seen her really fight with her new ability. Her frost bolts hit with the force of an anti-material round when they struck the small kobolds. They would be especially useful against larger monsters.
Her Frost Bolts were the kind of thing one might use to destroy an enemy's siege weapons, they could be that powerful at times. Instead they were using them against lithe 3' tall creatures.
Massive overkill.
Sha'li wasn't someone that needed protecting anymore. Now she needed guidance, training, and practice.
All things that a ring event were perfect for providing.
“You're doing great Sha'li, thanks for the help!” Jay said to her encouragingly and she looked over at him with a wide perfectly white smile in appreciation.
Her hair fluttered yellows and oranges, like the base of a bonfire. Jay could smell jasmine, honeysuckle, and... horse? He didn't comment on it even though he really wanted to. Not the right time for it, he decided.
“Am I really helping? I feel like I'm in the middle hiding and you all are doing all the fighting,” Sha'li said meekly.
M'redith shook her head as she kept scanning the edges of the platform for enemies, “You're a beast with those Frost Bolts and are quite possibly our hardest hitting member right now damage wise. Trust me, you're a great help.”
Sha'li grinned happily at the compliment and the room filled with the scent of sharp cheese, salt, and a field of flowers.
Daisies.
The platform rose again – but this time when it stopped the room looked different. The sides of the room were painted a robin's egg blue with white stars dotted across its surface. On one side of the room sat a low throne upon which sat a fat looking creature that looked like a swollen kobold.
The creature wore brass colored armor that was certainly not brass but no helmet. Instead he wore a thin crown made out of silver. In his hand he held a thick staff made up of two lengths of wood twisted around each other. The staff was only four feet tall but was topped with a glowing light blue gem – smooth as it was transparent.
The creature also wore a wide leather belt with a wand tucked in to it along his right side.
Jay had been staring at the creature since the platform had stopped moving and was finally rewarded for his efforts.
Kobold Snake Charmer (5)
“Hey guys?” Jay called out as the fat little kobold glared at the group with pale glowing yellow eyes.
The others all turned to look in the same direction which he was and all muttered in surprise.
“A boss?” M'redith asked and Jay nodded.
“Level 5. Snake Charmer. Does that mean he attacks us with snakes? Or his abilities are snake themed? Or is it a play on words somehow?” Aiden wondered aloud.
Sha'li grinned excitedly. The monster looked strong, far stronger than the others.
The Kobold Snake Charmer was level 5 – a higher level than the group. Sha'li was level 1, M'redith, Aiden, and Norri were level 2, and Jay was level 4. They should be able to handle the boss as long as they were extremely careful.
“So we're going to fight it?” Sha'li asked as the scent of clean sheets left out on the clothesline surrounded them.
M'redith nodded, “As long as you're comfortable. This isn't going to be easy.”
Sha'li nodded and M'redith turned to the others, “Everyone agree with fighting this guy?”
Norri and Aiden both nodded.
“Let's do it!” Jay said as he almost dropped his staff but caught it at the last moment.
M'redith laughed at him for a moment before she apologized while still giggling, which made Norri start to giggle, so Aiden of course started chuckling. Sha'li watched them in confusion. They didn't seem at all worried, which made Sha'li feel a bit more confident.
The Kobold Snake Charmer watched and grew frustrated as the group ignored it. It let out a howling scream and stood up off of the throne, its metal armor clanking loudly as it shifted.
The group immediately responded by rearranging themselves for combat – M'redith in front, Norri behind and beside her, then Jay, Aiden, and behind everyone, Sha'li. Play time was over.
The Snake Charmer grinned. Perhaps this group would provide a good challenge after all, it thought to itself as it prepared for battle.