Chapter 40
It took longer than the group had thought it would to get everyone their 20 feet of mummy wrappings. Every time they killed a mummy it would disappear in to motes of light but would leave behind a neat stack of pristine mummy wrappings. Sometimes they would leave nothing behind at all, other times they would 'drop' a neat stack of five to ten wrappings.
After everyone had stored away their wrappings Jay checked their quest.
You have completed a quest! Padded for Comfort: retrieve 20/20 mummy wrappings! You have been awarded 100xp!
Congratulations! You have completed the first quest in the Midnight series and have been awarded the second quest in that series.
Quest: Wood Grain Finish
Task: Obtain one vial of Spirit Stain
Reward: 100xp
“Spirit stain?” C'nthia asked no one in particular but looking over at Jay.
Jay shrugged, “You got me. No idea what we might get that from.”
The group gathered back together and C'nthia led them in to the next room which turned out to be a set of hallways that wound back and forth until it finally led them back to the main entrance of the dungeon. Everyone seemed in good spirits.
C'nthia took a moment to stretch her back out as she talked. “Next up is another boss monster. This one is easy, just a tank and spank. That means I act like a tank and let it beat ineffectually on my armor while the rest of you spank it to death. Metaphorically speaking. Please do not attempt to actually spank the boss monster.”
Jon grinned but didn't reply. The group didn't have any questions and there were no special abilities for the group to worry about. They all trudged in to the next room passing by the stairs to the second floor they had previously taken. The room was more of a wide hallway and they followed it to the end where it let out in to what may have been a servant's dining quarters.
The room was narrow and filled with small tables and chairs and forced the party to fight in a line with only C'nthia and Jon able to attack the monster with their swords. M'tthew stayed back and fired off arrows.
The monster appeared to be entirely white with only black highlights for markings. Its appearance immediately reminded Jay of a ghost and he was more than a little surprised when C'nthia's first strike made contact instead of passing right through the creature.
It had the look of a man, a giant even, and was about the same height as some of the Librarians Jay had seen at The Guild. Their height was the only thing they had in common though and the creature's head was a mass of writhing tentacles in the place of a skull. It wore only a dirty stained loincloth.
“What the hell is that thing?!” Jay asked as he unconsciously took a step backwards and bumped in to Angelica who was still completely covered in white with the exception of the mask she had put on under her veil.
“Tentaclemen – they're a hybrid human/ghost creature. The body is alive and physically present - it can be struck. But the tentacle head is ephemeral, a ghost, and can pass right through you unless you have magical armor or a magical weapon to block them with.” said M'tthew calmly as he continued to fire arrows at the creature.
Jon spoke up after he connected with a heavy downward slash with one sword, “It hurts like hell if they pass through you just so you know. Stay clear of tentacles!”
Jay suppressed a laugh but continued to keep his distance. He always stayed clear of tentacles.
The monster still had abilities and powerful moves, they were just all directed at C'nthia. Angelica kept up with the damage and shot a few bars of white light at her and at one point even cast a blue circle on the floor around the group that provided some passive healing bonuses.
The boss was easy, especially after some of the other fights they'd already had that day. All they had to do was continually attack while C'nthia did the rest. The fight took longer than the others and Jay was more relieved than excited for it to be over. Jay received a small notification ping which he ignored and was happy to see that as the boss disappeared in to motes of light it left behind a bright pink chest.
It wasn't a big chest but size wasn't everything when it came to treasure chests. C'nthia stored it in her backpack and everyone gathered up and gave Angelica a chance to regenerate some of her mana.
Mana was like fuel. She used up mana when she cast spells – each cost mana. When she ran out of mana she could no longer cast spells. Rather than run out the group paused to give her time to regenerate those mana points.
“Ok, good to go!” Angelica said.. perhaps with a smile? Jay couldn't be sure with her veil on. Even with the veil off it wouldn't have helped much, everyone was wearing their mask for their Legends quest.
C'nthia noticed the group becoming a little tired, “Don't worry, we're getting close to being finished. We've got some easy monsters ahead then the final boss, Peril. Before we go let's search for traps and treasure.”
M'tthew walked the room even though the group had already fought in it. He found nothing and went back to the group and sat down. C'nthia nodded over at Jay and he got up and walked the perimeter of the room. It took about ten minutes of searching for him to find two vials, each strapped to the bottom of one of the small tables scattered across the room.
“So we need 5 vials for everyone and we have two.” Jay said.
“We'll set those aside for now and see if we get any more before the final boss.” C'nthia offered. No one argued with that so the vials went in to C'nthia's pack along with the treasure chests.
The room led to a wide winding staircase that led down. And down. And down.
They had no idea how far underground they had gotten when the group was suddenly ambushed by five creatures. Each were about four feet tall with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a skeletal man that had halfway decomposed. Each carried a weapon.
The one at the front of the enemy formation carried a shield and a sword. Two others stood behind it carrying swords. Two more stood at the back of their group, each carrying a staff.
Even though it was an ambush it was C'nthia that landed the first blow. Muttering something under her breath she kicked the naga skeleton in front of her right as it brought its shield up to block. When the two connected the skeleton and shield were kicked violently through the air and struck one of the naga skeletons holding a staff in the back sending it to the floor as well.
Angelica said “Holy Spray” and a bright cone of mist flew from her hands like particles of dust in a ray of sunlight and stuck to the skeletons it struck causing them to shriek in pain. The spray also struck group members but appeared to help and not harm leaving a heal over time effect behind as the spray disappeared.
The holy spray appeared to do more damage than the other group member's damage combined and caused the creatures to fall to the ground writhing in pain. C'nthia and Jon didn't wait and began chopping heads off as soon as they could get close enough.
Killing the final monster the group paused to catch their breath. “Ok, what are those things?” asked Jay. He felt like he was constantly asking questions.
Jon answered him, “Undead naga. All the fun of a regular naga but with the abilities of an undead too. They're usually tough to kill but Angelica seems to know their weakness.”
The group turned to Angelica with words of thanks and praise which she quietly accepted. M'tthew checked for traps and actually found one this time. A thin trip wire had been strung across the hallway behind the enemies they had just fought. If they had walked forward there's no telling what would have happened. M'tthew checked for tension and then clipped the wire. He then rechecked the area to be sure he didn't miss anything.
Jay swallowed and was thankful for M'tthew's work. Jay's character was still mortal and one wrong step could make him lose everything he'd gained so far.
“Your turn.” C'nthia said encouragingly.
Jay walked the hallway. He found nothing on the bodies which quickly disappeared in to motes of light. “Over here guys,” he said as his skin bloomed in to small bumps as his goosebumps flared to life.
They poked and prodded at a candle sconce until they finally figured out how to pull the candle just the right way and a section of the wall swung open to reveal a cubby with two shelves inside. The shelves were filled with empty vials with only two exceptions. Taking the two full vials Jay handed them over to C'nthia.
“Four down, one to go,” C'nthia said as she stored the vials away with the others the group had already found.
They continued on down the candle-lit stairway until they finally came upon another room. The room had couches along the edges and a table with various party foods set out. The door to the next room was open and Jay could see that it was a ballroom.
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At the far end of the ballroom towards one corner was a throne upon which sat Peril. She wore a sheer pink robe that both hid and hinted at her lower half's snake form. Her face was serpent like with snake eyes and fangs but framed by a halo of blonde hair which hung across her shoulders.
On the dance floor couples danced with enthusiasm and Jay had to look closely to tell that they were all nagas as well. The females all wore robes while the males just left their bottom half bare. There was no music but everyone in the room moved to the same beat as the ghostly dance progressed.
In the center of the vast room stood a single 6' across pylon that rose from the floor up to the ceiling in one unbroken column. The dancers avoided it for the most part and only occasionally bumped in to it.
C'nthia walked in to the room, attacked a dancer, and then backed in to the sitting room where the rest of the group was waiting. The dancer and its partner would then chase C'nthia in to the adjoining room where Jon and the group would kill one while C'nthia kept the other busy. After finishing with one the group moved on to the skeleton C'nthia was fighting.
After each fight the group would check over the remains but found nothing.
There were quite a few dancers on the dance floor and they fought for roughly an hour before the room was emptied of dancing naga. All that remained was the final boss, Peril.
“Something's not right.” Jay said. “We should have found another vial by now. I'd bet anything that the next quest step is to kill Peril.”
C'nthia shrugged, “I'm not the one here with Treasure Sense.”
Jon slapped Jay on the arm and grinned.
Jay began to check the sitting room and immediately got a hit. Jay moved back and forth until he zeroed in on the source. It was coming from one of the party snacks on the table. Picking up what looked like a thick stuffed mushroom Jay carefully pulled it apart until he found the treasure – the final vial. Jay didn't hand this one to C'nthia.
C'nthia handed out the vials and everyone took one. Finally Jay felt a ding as everyone received the same notification.
You have completed a quest! Wood Grain Finish: retrieve vial 1/1! You have been awarded 100xp!
Congratulations! You have completed the second quest in the Midnight series and have been awarded the third quest in that series.
Quest: Assemble the Mask
Task: Use the mask, mummy wrappings, and spirit stain to create a new object
Reward: 100xp
The group all looked at each other. “Use how?” M'tthew complained.
Jay set his items on the table in front of him. Taking off his mask he set it face down on the table. Picking up the wrappings he placed the stack on the inside of the mask. The two sizzled as they melded together. The mask now had a padded interior. Jay turned the mask over and emptied the vial's contents on to the mask's front while rubbing the fluid in to the wood. Jay continued this way until the liquid was entirely gone and the front of the mask was fully covered.
Seeing Jay's success the rest of the group followed his example and combined their items and then worked the spirit vial's contents in to the wood in the front of the mask. After everyone had finished they were rewarded with a new quest.
You have completed a quest! Assemble the Mask: mask assembled 1/1! You have been awarded 100xp!
Congratulations! You have completed the third quest in the Midnight series and have been awarded the final quest in that series.
Quest: Give Baby a Bath
Task: The mask is almost complete and needs only to be bathed, but in what? Discover what the mask is missing and complete its transformation.
WARNING: This step requires the final boss be defeated on Hard Mode. This quest may not be completed on Normal Mode. You will only be allowed one attempt to defeat the boss. Should you fail to defeat the final boss the quest will fail as well and may not be reattempted!
Rewards: ?
C'nthia sighed, “Well that is worrying.” She took out the Mode Token and handed it to Jay. “See if you can find what to do with this.”
Jay took the triangular token. It had an exclamation mark printed on each side. Jay looked around the room but didn't see anything that matched. The group got in to the search as well and they finally found a spot for it.
It was underneath the table holding all the food and snacks. Jay lay on his back and shimmied under it to look at the triangular socket set in to the underside of the table. “Well it definitely fits. Should I put it in?”
“In a moment. First I want to talk about the fight.” C'nthia said.
Jay sighed, “About that.. don't be surprised if Peril doesn't act the way she normally does. Hard Mode usually means the boss has some new tricks.”
C'nthia nodded, “Great. Well, we've run dungeons without a map before and fought monsters without a guide so I'm sure we can handle Super-Peril or whatever we're about to fight once you use that thing. Normally however she has three attacks. Tail whip. Poison Bolt, and Poison Cloud.”
“The tail whip can hit anyone, not just the tank, so be ready to dodge out of the way even if you're standing in the back of the group. Poison Bolt is similar, it targets whoever is second on the boss' mental list of hated enemies.”
“The last one is the worst and when she casts it there will appear a six foot in diameter poison cloud that will wander across the room. If it hits you then you will be poisoned and die rather quickly unless Angelica cures you. So if you get poisoned just yell it out so she'll know to cure you.” C'nthia said while eyeing some of the food but refusing to eat any of it. Who knew where it had been?
“Anything else?” Jay asked.
“About the poison bolt – you can avoid it by breaking line of sight with Peril – just stand behind the giant pillar in the center of the room.” C'nthia finished.
Jay sighed, “Does anyone else have a bad feeling about this fight?”
Jon shrugged, “Just nerves. We'll be fine.” he insisted.
Everyone put their masks back on and got in to the correct order in line for battle. Jay still felt mildly worried but couldn't say why.
“Do it.” C'nthia said with a nod. The rest of the group held their weapons a little tighter as Jay lay under the table and pushed the triangular Mode Token in to the socket with a satisfying click. The socket rotated and the token disappeared as if melting in to the socket.
HARD MODE ACTIVATED
Everyone blinked at the notification. “You know Jay dungeon runs usually aren't this exciting. Why is it every time I run a dungeon with you something crazy happens?”
Jay shrugged while picking himself up from under the snack table. “Must be a Traveler thing. Or an Adventurer Class thing. Can't be a me thing because this kind of stuff never happened to me on Earth.”
Angelica perked up at that, “What's Earth?”
Jon shook his head, “Long story. Focus on the..” he began but faded off in to silence as the adjoining ballroom began to change.
Peril got bigger. A lot bigger. She now topped ten feet and her tail had gotten even longer and dwarfed the throne she had been seated upon moments earlier. The column in the middle of the room became jelly like before it shrank to half its prior width. Now it was a mere three feet in diameter and it would be far more difficult to attempt to hide behind it. Especially while being chased.
The room began to fill with a light fog. The fog continued to gather in the room until Peril was almost entirely hidden by the gray mist. C'nthia grabbed a torch off a wall and moved it closer to the adjoining room. It lit up the surrounding fog but the light made it more difficult to see through, not less.
“Looks like poor visibility conditions. We should try to stay together.” M'tthew said seriously.
Jay looked around the room unable to make out anything. “Anyone see any pools we could bathe our masks in?”
The group all shook their heads in the negative and they all finally gave up trying to see through the fog.
“Hard mode huh? Guess they weren't kidding. Everyone good to go? Full on mana? Ok everyone get back in to line. We'll stay in our stack until we reach the pylon. You guys stay there and I'll pull Peril over to you. If she attacks you just step behind the pylon.” C'nthia said calmly.
Everyone got in line, their bodies tense in anticipation of the upcoming fight. C'nthia led the group in to the ballroom and the double doors slammed shut behind them with a heavy thump. As they ran across the spacious room a crash was heard off to the left as a lit chandelier crashed in to the ground. Another crash was heard as another struck the marbled floor. Soon they were running through a hail of shattered glass and hot wax and lit candles as the floor became littered with broken chandeliers.
It made moving about the room hard. Jay laughed. Hard mode. Of course things would become harder.
The crashing and scattered debris had a secondary effect though that the group hadn't paid enough attention to as they ran to Peril. As the group finally arrived at the pylon C'nthia kept running to fetch Peril and Jay realized what he had been missing during the run through the ballroom.
It was getting dark. As the chandeliers crashed each one took with it a little more of the room's illumination. By the time C'nthia had dragged Peril back over to the group spitting and hissing the bright light in the room had faded to a murky gray, the fog making it hard to see a person standing six feet away.
“No one said it would be easy!” C'nthia yelled in excitement as she delivered a blisteringly fast slice across the front of Peril's body. The naga's robe absorbed most of the blow and appeared to move on its own to meet the strike. “That's a little harder than I had hoped for,” she commented as her strike did zero damage to the boss monster.
Without waiting another moment Peril turned to the group and opened her mouth. Out shot 8 poison bolts, each the size of a loaf of bread and sickly green in color. Each left green streaks of light behind them as they shot towards the group and everyone scrambled to get behind the pylon and break the line of sight to the boss.
As each person stepped behind the pylon the bolts would stop tracking that person and try to find a new target. Reaching the time limit of the spell the bolts all fizzled in to nothingness in the air and M'tthew yelled out, “I thought she only shot one bolt at a time! What the hell was that!”
“HARD mode.” Jay yelled back with a grin.
“Focus people. Eyes up!” C'nthia barked and everyone focused on Peril.
It was time to kill a naga.