Chapter 47
The band wound down for a break a few minutes before the Dungeon Room run was scheduled to begin. That gave people plenty of time to head over to the large competition room and find a seat.
Between the champagne and the twirling of swing dancing by the time they made it to the room M'redith was holding on to Jay's arm for balance. She wasn't drunk but she certainly was a little dizzy.
The two looked out over the Dungeon Run room and saw a crowd had gathered. The crowd wore expensive clothing and jewelry and were obviously well off. Jay felt a little out of place as he waved across the room to Aiden, who had saved them seats. Muttering 'excuse me' over and over again Jay led M'redith to the table. He pulled out a chair for M'redith before he sat down himself.
“Have a good time?” Aiden asked as he took a sip from his glass.
M'redith answered for Jay with an excited “Yes!” Her hair was a bit crazy but her eyes were wide with excitement and she waved at Aiden happily as she hugged Jay's arm with hers.
Aiden laughed. “Glad to hear it.”
Jay could hear others talking from the tables around him.
“So what's the deal with this run? I heard there were too many players?” a man wearing something akin to a tuxedo said to a finely dressed willowy woman wearing a low cut pink frilly dress.
“I wonder who they'll go with.” replied the woman, the man's date Jay assumed.
“I bet you they go with Kara's Kids.” the original speaker stated.
“Not going to happen. I bet you one gold they pick Killer Ned's group.” the man's date replied.
“You're on.” the woman said with a fierce grin.
They both looked up towards the stage as did Jay as well as the stage lights came up just as the audience lighting dropped to near darkness. The audience all clapped as a man in a tan suit walked out on to the stage. He had impeccably coiffed hair and was clean shaven. He waited until the applause had died down a bit before speaking.
“Good evening K'tharkle!” he began, “What a great run we have planned for you for tonight! Does anyone have any guesses who will be playing? Anyone?”
Various audience members shouted Dungeon Room group names as if they were popular sports teams. The man on stage occasionally pointed to people as they called out group names.
“Some of you were right!” yelled the man as he waved off stage and a person walked on stage beside him. Jay recognized her as the woman from the pair who approached him earlier.
“Kara!” screamed the woman in pink Jay had overheard earlier. Her date sighed in defeat – he'd just lost 1 gold.
“Team captain and all around great person - let me introduce you all to KARA from Kara's Kids!” the announcer up front yelled.
The crowd went wild, clapping, as a few people groaned in disappointment. Some people had really been looking forward to seeing the more mature and violent antics of Killer Ned's group.
“Kara is known for staffing her team with people other groups have turned away. She's a true captain who cares about her group members and believes everyone in the group is important. Everyone give her a warm K'tharkle welcome!” the announcer said as he walked about the stage.
The stage was set up with only the announcer and Kara being currently visible. Behind them was a number of curtains. One of which covered the left side of the stage from Jay's point of view. That curtain suddenly rose and Kara walked over to the seating area it uncovered.
There were five seats, and Kara sat down in one. The other four were already filled with her team mates and the crowd shouted out various bits of encouragement to their favorite players, if they had one. Kara's teammates all appeared to be younger but appeared confident.
The center stage where the Dungeon Room table and the main display screen were located was still hidden behind the curtain, as was the entire right hand side of the stage.
“Are you excited? Who here is excited to watch Kara's Kids take on a dungeon run?” the announcer demanded as the crowd became more animated.
The announcer walked back and forth across the stage before pointing one finger at the crowd. “Well I don't think it's enough! You're not excited enough!”
Some of the crowd clapped harder while others merely looked confused at the sudden turn.
“We can't have a disappointed crowd, no sir. So, please help me invite to the stage,” he began as he turned slightly to the right hand side of the stage and waved one arm as a spotlight lit up another man who walked on and joined him.
The man was the same one Jay had spoken to earlier. He wore leather armor and was short but powerfully built. The crowd began to clap enthusiastically once again but still seemed confused over what they would need him on stage for if they already had a group.
The man walked up to the announcer and waved to the crowd. “LETS DO THIS!” he screamed and the crowd again went nuts.
“NED from Ned's Killers! These are the people your mom warned you about! No quarter given, no mercy. Ned's group is made up of hand picked stone cold killers and their favorite tactic is rushing in to battle and letting Gaia sort out the rest!”
Some of the crowd who had given up on seeing Ned's Killers after Kara's Kids had been brought on stage were now standing and clapping. “NED!” yelled one woman before she caught her date shoot her a glare.
The right hand side of the stage was now visible as a curtain was raised and it showed another group of seats, this time filled with unsavory looking characters. Ned walked over to them and took the only empty seat.
“But what do we do with TWO TEAMS and one dungeon? Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you, who should fight?”
The crowd again erupted in to conversation as various people yelled out group names. Although the crowd was well off financially that did not mean they weren't emotionally invested in their favorite team. The announcer was good at what he did and he allowed the crowd to get almost but not quite out of control before once again speaking, this time almost too low to hear.
The crowd quieted without being told to – they wanted to hear what the announcer had to say.
“Well then there is only one thing to do I suppose.” the announcer said quietly, shaking his head back and forth as if imparting sad news.
The curtain behind him hiding the center of the stage suddenly rose – not gradually like the others but instead the curtain was whipped open. The crowd made an oooo noise as the table was revealed, its surface projected on to the massive display on the stage. The table had been divided in two and had six rooms, three on each side, all of which were covered in swirling darkness.
The crowd began to murmur excitedly as some audience members began to understand what was happening.
“Tonight Redgrass presents TWO teams competing AGAINST EACH OTHER while running THE SAME DUNGEON! It's Kara's Kids versus Ned's Killers in a race to the finish!”
The crowd went wild.
M'redith leaned over and whispered in Jay's ear, “This is so exciting! Thank you for bringing me!”
Jay laughed and she looked up at him. “There's no one else I'd rather bring.” he said.
The crowd all settled down a bit but not enough to make it silent in the room. Each team reached over and placed their figurines on the starting spots just outside of the dungeon.
Each player was introduced but Jay was too excited to pay attention as M'redith kept wiggling next to him trying to get comfortable. Finally she found a good spot and Jay was able to pay more attention to the stage but it was too late and they had already moved past introductions.
He got the general gist of the teams though. The captains were the tanks, and each team had three damage dealers and a healer. They appeared to both have a standard group setup.
“Kara, is your team ready?” asked the announcer. She looked at her team before looking back at the announcer and nodding.
“Ready!”
“Ned, is your team ready?” asked the announcer as he turned to Ned. He didn't look at his team or nod but just said, “Yes.”
“Teams get ready! GO!” he shouted as the screen came to life. One side of the screen showed Kara's Kids as their figurines walked in to the first dungeon room. The group kept close to the entrance with only Kara moving further in to the room.
Ned's team worked a little different and the entire group except for the healer rushed in to the middle of the room leaving the healer just inside the entrance.
The room was a familiar one to Jay and he had a hand in helping design it for the night's run. It held six sarcophagi, three each along the side walls with a red rug running down the center of the room from entrance to exit. At the base of each sarcophagus sat a fat iron banded chest.
The room was made out of stone and the lighting came from torches attached to the surrounding walls. The room was not very large and it would take some effort to not touch anything while fighting.
Kara's Kids were careful and she yelled at her group not to touch anything as she touched one sarcophagus. Immediately a lumbering form climbed out of it and attacked Kara. She walked back to her group before dancing around the mummy, forcing it to face away from the group. They began to attack the mummy and wear it down.
Ned's Killers worked a little differently. Ned touched a sarcophagus just as another of his members did as well with a separate sarcophagus. Ned's group wasn't as organized as Kara's but it was far more vicious and they didn't attack the mummies so much as they threw themselves bodily at it as they made constant attempts at ripping it to pieces.
The crowd clapped and shouted encouragement and advice, or in some cases, insults and non-constructive criticisms.
Kara's group had cleared one side of the room and was taking a short break to reset their positioning before moving on to the second side.
Ned's Killers had destroyed three mummies as well but they hadn't been as careful as Kara's group had and ended up having to fight almost twice as many mummies as their group occasionally bumped in to a sarcophagus by accident and summoned an additional mummy.
Any time that happened the crowd rooting for Ned's Killers would groan and shout at Ned's team to pay better attention. Ned's team already was paying attention – it's just that they didn't care how many mummies they had to fight – they'd fight all of them if they had to.
Kara's team was more careful and so far had only had to fight three mummies. They only fought what they had to.
Servers moved throughout the crowd and brought out snacks, drinks, and food to the seated crowd. Jay had ordered battered and fried mozzarella sticks along with an alcoholic strawberry lemonade that M'redith said looked good. The food and drink was brought to the table quickly and without a wait. Magic, Jay thought to himself with a chuckle.
Jay shared his food with his friends as they watched the groups fight it out on the giant screen on stage.
“You know,” Jay said to his friends, “I fought this same room on my last dungeon run. That's where I got the idea.”
Aiden raised an eyebrow, “YOU fought in THAT?” he said with surprise.
Jay looked over at him with a hurt expression. Aiden shrugged, “I've seen you fight in class. How the hell did you survive that?” he asked while pointing up at the dungeon room on display.
“I stayed away from getting hit best I could.” Jay replied a little defensively.
M'redith sobered up a bit and looked thoughtful and worried at the same time.
“I made it out ok you know!” Jay said as he gave her shoulder a squeeze.
“Oh I know, it's not that. Don't worry about it, I'll tell you later.” M'redith said as she sighed. “You know it is tough not being able to see anyone's faces with all these masks on.”
“True.” Aiden said, “But it lets everyone just be themselves without worrying about what others will think.”
M'redith laughed at that, “What? No it doesn't! People still can tell who you are!”
Aiden shook his head, “How? They can't see anyone's faces!”
M'redith laughed, “I can't believe I have to tell you this but there is more to a person than just their face. Your face isn't your only identifiable feature.”
Their conversation was cut short as things on stage had gotten a little tense. Kara's Kids were done fighting mummies and had moved on to the treasure chests. The treasure chest mimics were tougher to fight because they launched themselves at their opponent. This was tough due to the small amount of space in the room. There just wasn't a lot of room to get out of the way of a charging homicidal treasure chest.
The crowd groaned as one of Kara's Kids was body checked by a mimic and landed on a sarcophagus. A spooky groan was heard as a mummy rose up and attacked the offending group member that had dared to awaken it.
Things had gotten confusing for Kara's Kids but they managed to begin killing mimics and slowly defeat the mimics one by one.
Ned's Killers were experiencing a very different fight. They were not coordinated or overly skilled. They killed things and that was it. That was exactly how they went about their dungeon run as well and their side of the display screen was a scrambled mess of mummies and mimics. The group had awakened almost everything in the room and was fighting for their lives at the moment.
The group's figurines were covered in injuries and their healer was working hard at keeping them all alive.
The two sides of the display screen couldn't be more different. On the left was Kara with clean and methodical kills, each carefully choreographed between the five members of her team. On the right was Ned's Killers in a chaotic scramble of what appeared to be a room of never ending enemies. No matter how many mummies they killed there were always still more as the group members kept touching things they shouldn't.
The jumping mimics were causing Ned's team a bit of trouble until finally they found a good system where their mage would blast it while the rest of them tried to attack it from behind while at the same time trying to not get killed by the seemingly limitless stream of mummies.
The crowd had settled down a bit as the fight dragged on and soon both groups had defeated five out of six of their mimics.
That was when the first surprise was sprung. The last mimic on both sides of the screen seemed to shiver as it grew, and grew. And grew. It was no longer the size of a chest but now was the size of a bear. As the chest lid raised Jay could make row after row of sharp teeth nestled in wet shiny gums. Anything that lid closed on would be mutilated.
The crowd went wild as the mega-mimic attacked. It was no secret that people were making bets on the fight but the fight changed so much sometimes that new betting would break out. Which group will beat the mega-mimic first? Who will lose a team mate to the mega-mimic first? Who will the mega-mimic bite first? The bets were many and varied and added a further layer of enjoyment atop an already enjoyable activity.
Jay was a bit shocked at the amounts however. No one was betting anything less than a gold with each other and Jay felt a bit out of place before remembering that he owned a part of this entire establishment.
Jay felt M'redith wince and curl in to him a bit and Jay looked up to see that the mega-mimic had taken a chunk out of one of Ned's group members. Ned's healer was working overtime to fix them up but needed to touch them for the extra-effective healing ability to work. This took the member out of the fight and left only Ned and two others to fight the Mimic.
It wasn't enough and the massive treasure chest swung about as the group all tried to not get hit while not touching a sarcophagus.
Kara's team was doing far better. Although their killer instinct wasn't as intense as Ned's team they were still able to put out some serious damage. Their careful approach to the fight had worked in their favor and no one on Kara's team had yet been injured by the mega-mimic.
Ned's team was back at full strength and it appeared that Ned was keeping the mega-mimic busy while the rest of his team killed the remaining mummies.
One of Ned's team's figurines tripped and put out a hand to catch himself. Of course he grabbed on to a sarcophagus and the entire crowd groaned as another mummy appeared.
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“OH COME ON!” shouted one of the women in the crowd.
Someone booed the group member on Ned's team that had screwed up.
Jay laughed, “Fickle crowd huh?” as he turned to look at M'redith.
M'redith took a breath and shouted, “JUST KILL THE THING ALREADY!”
Jay and Aiden both laughed at that as they split that last mozzarella stick. Jay rolled it lightly in a small dish of sea salt and took a bite out of it. He had to lift his mask a bit to get it in to his mouth. He reset the mask and chewed happily. It was still warm. Delicious.
A waitress appeared from off to the side and took the empty plate before Jay could even say thank you.
The crowd gave out a shout as people became more excited. Jay looked up to the stage to see if he had missed anything. He had. Kara's team had finally beaten their mega-mimic and Kara took a moment to pose with one foot on the mega-mimic's corpse with a heroic expression on her blond hair framed face before gathering her group.
As she did so the door at the end of their dungeon room opened up and revealed the next room.
The group ordered themselves in to a line as if they each already knew where their spot was. Kara carefully led them in to the next room.
Meanwhile on Ned's side of things their fight wasn't going quite as well. Ned's team had made a name for themselves as a brutal no nonsense Dungeon Room group that just tore through whatever you threw at them. The sarcophagi spread across the room however were a never ending source of enemies. No matter how strong you were if you fought enough enemies eventually one of them would get you.
Ned's group was strong but not smart. They didn't avoid touching the sarcophagi because they didn't care. They LIKED having more enemies to fight. That was their main appeal to their fans. It had started out well. Now that the fight had progressed however things were becoming too difficult for the team, no matter how badass, simply from the overwhelming number of mummies.
Ned had to make a decision but his group lacked the focus of Kara's. Ned's group were made up of members who knew how to fight on their own. Kara's group was made up of members who could follow orders during a fight. The difference was made manifest for the entire crowd to see on the main screen.
The crowd watched Ned's team fight for their lives and clapped and hollered as their figurines fought off the mummies with brutal efficiency. Ned's team wasn't great at taking orders but they were great at beating the hell out of things.
Ned's group took a while to finally agree to not touch the sarcophagi. They all knew what happened when you touched one but each of them had assumed their group could handle it. As they each came to realize that they could NOT handle it they became more aware and more careful about what they touched.
The difference was immediately apparent as they were able to focus on the mega-mimic more as each mummy was defeated. The mummies stopped popping up as the team became more adept at not touching the sarcophagi. Finally the mega-mimic went down and the entire crowd applauded.
Meanwhile in the second room Kara's team had approached a humanoid creature with a featureless orb for a head. It was smooth and fleshy with strands of hair scattered across its surface. It was gross and M'redith made a eww sound when the display screen showed a close up.
“What the hell is that thing?” M'redith asked.
“Dunno. I told him to surprise me with the second fight.” Jay replied as he swallowed the last of his mozzarella stick. “God I'm hungry. Can we get something to eat after this you think?” he asked Aiden.
Aiden nodded, “There's a room that serves food. I saw a guy eating a burger that looked incredible.”
“Ok. After this let's give that a go.” Jay said trying not to salivate at the thought of a juicy burger topped with crispy bacon and sharp cheddar cheese.
M'redith poked him, “You're missing it!” she said.
Jay paid better attention and looked up just in time to see the boss raise its hands on Kara's side of the screen. Kara's group appeared uncertain but jumped back out of arm's reach. The boss began to glow white and a transparent dome rose up from the floor on the opposite end of the room.
The dome was small and was maybe six feet high and six feet across. “RUN!” shouted Kara as her entire group turned away from the boss monster and ran across the room to the dome. The entire group squeezed in under the transparent dome just as the boss began to glow. Suddenly a massive wave of white energy expanded out from the boss and shot out across the room in a wave. The dome protected the group from being hurt by the passing energy. After the wave had passed the dome disappeared.
Kara's group ran for the boss and renewed their attack. Kara turned the boss so it faced away from the group. Moments later her forethought paid off as the boss pointed at Kara with one arm and a beam of energy shot out across the room. Kara dodged to the side barely in time and took a glancing wound on her hip.
Her healer was working hard to repair the damage when another dome appeared on the other end of the room. Not needing anyone to say run this time the entire group bolted for the safety of the dome. The time it took before the wave of energy shot out across the room was shorter this time however.
Someone in the crowd shouted out, “Careful! You'll get less time to run every time she does that!”
Jay wondered how they'd know that but it was a pretty good assumption as the dome disappeared before another one appeared nearby. The group ran to the dome just as another wave of energy passed over them.
“That was close!” yelled Aiden. He had to yell to be heard over the sudden shouting and clapping as the battle grew more intense.
Ned's team had just entered the second room but in no special order. They just ran in to the room and up to the boss and began hitting it. When their first dome appeared they waited too long, only the healer running for it immediately. The rest of the group tried to get in one last hit, or tried to finish a move that took a few seconds to cast. Regardless, they failed the fight mechanic and when the sudden wave of energy flowed across the room in a wave they were tossed in to the walls, taking serious damage.
Ned's healer ran to Ned right as the dome disappeared and lay hands on him, healing him. They then went to the other group members and did the same. It had cost them time however and the boss began to once again glow white as a dome appeared on the opposite side of the room from Ned's group.
“RUN!” he shouted as his group's figurines charged across the open space and collapsed in a heap under the dome that had appeared. This time his entire team made it and waited for the dome to drop before running back to attack the boss. They'd work hard from now on to make sure they wouldn't miss a dome again.
The two groups fought side by side and although Ned's group was absolutely the stronger of the two combat wise Kara's group had the clear edge due to their adaptability and communication.
Kara's group once again defeated their boss as one of the damage dealers on her team managed to take it down with a stab to the back during an opportune moment.
The crowd applauded, at least the ones rooting for Kara's Kids. Kara again put a foot on the boss's prone body and posed before the group reassembled their stack, the line they would get in to whenever they traveled from one place to another.
Ned's group was still fighting. Well not at that exact moment. At that moment they were running from short lived dome to short lived dome as the boss shot out waves of deadly energy.
Kara's group walked in to the final room. It was large and had a single thin pylon in the middle of the room. The pylon was three feet across and ran from floor to ceiling uninterrupted. On the far side of the room sat a naga on a throne.
Jay and his friends immediately recognized Peril. Jay recognized her from his dungeon run, his friends recognized her from his dungeon completion patch as well as his Fancy Footwork Class Ability toy.
“Hey, that's Peril!” said Aiden in surprise.
“Ya, I helped set this up. I figured it would make a brutal final room. I mean, it was brutal when I did it in pitch darkness. At least these guys have some light.” Jay remarked.
M'redith looked up at Jay and then back at the stage with a thoughtful expression on her face. All she had to go on were Jay's stories of his dungeon runs. Getting to see it on a screen, even if it were a poor reproduction, was something she was very interested in.
Kara paused with her group at the entrance and had a quick conversation with them while giving out commands. After they had finished the group moved decisively forward.
Pylons were a dead giveaway in any dungeon boss room that you would need to break line of sight at some point during the coming battle. That was what pylons were usually used for. Kara sent her healer and ranged damage dealers to stand by the pylon in case they needed to break line of sight with the boss.
Breaking line of sight is basically a fancy way of saying, “If the boss can't see me they can't attack me.”
Kara took one other group member with her as she ran towards Peril. The healer and two ranged dps ran towards the pylon.
The crowd roared as chandeliers began crashing to the ground all around the running group. Each would go off like a small grenade when it hit sending glass and hot candle wax shrapnel across the room. The group was injured by the time they reached the pylon and had to pause for healing before Kara and her melee damage dealer ran onward towards Peril.
As they ran towards her the lighting in the room dimmed a little making it harder for Kara and her group to make out Peril.
The crowd had no such problems and could clearly make out everyone. In place of darkness their view was merely dimmed to suggest the presence of poor lighting conditions.
Peril opened her mouth and moments later shot out a stream of 8 poison bolts. They locked on to various group members.
The healer attracted a whopping four of those bolts which flew towards her rapidly before she dodged behind the pylon. As she did so the bolts went careening off in to the darkness before being snuffed out completely.
Two more bolts went for one of the ranged damage dealers who likewise attempted to dodge but instead tripped over their own feet and landed in a heap. Still, that heap happened to be on the far side of the pylon and both bolts lost track of her and fizzled out.
Kara however was targeted by two bolts and was standing almost right in front of Peril. She took both bolts straight on and fell to one knee. Peril hissed and prepared another attack just as the healer used a powerful one time per day ability.
Kara was lifted off the ground and sheathed in a white brilliance. As she was lowered and her feet touched the ground she was completely healed.
Kara knew that she was fighting Peril too far away from the Pylon. It made it impossible for Kara to dodge using line of sight. Normally the tank would just take the damage and the healer would heal the tank through the damage but the two poison bolts were just too powerful. Kara would need to dodge future attacks.
Kara slowly walked the naga back towards the pylon. The naga hissed and a moment later shot out a thick muscled tail which she blocked with her shield, cutting a thick line across the tip with her sword as she did so. Her group members that held ranged weapons dealt damage from just next to the pylon showering the naga with bolts of fire and poison arrows.
The arrows didn't seem to be having much effect and the archer quickly switched to ones that exploded on impact.
By this time Ned's team had finally managed to defeat the second boss and the crowd cheered as their figurines blindly charged in to the last room. They knew they were behind the other team and wanted to catch up if they could. Ned's team's figurines ran across the third room among a hail of shattered chandeliers and were covered in wounds, cuts, and burns by the time they arrived at Peril.
The entire group attacked her and managed to do some serious damage before she opened her mouth and shot out a stream of 8 poison bolts. Every member save Ned was targeted with two bolts a piece. Their only ranged damage dealer dropped as he took two bolts straight to the face. The others had managed to run back and hide behind the pylon.
Their healer tried to bring up their downed member's figurine but it appeared it was too late.
Ned's team was down one member, leaving only 4 of them to fight Peril.
Peril chased Ned's team behind a Pylon before Ned managed to get its attention and lead it ten or twenty feet off to the side. Finally catching their breath a bit Ned's team reorganized themselves as their healer fixed them up a bit.
Back on Kara's side of things the fight had taken a strange turn as Peril had summoned what looked like a glowing poison cloud. As she did so the lights began to dim in the dungeon room.
The crowd cheered as the visibility in the dungeon room dropped further. Members in the crowd shouted out various bits of advice, none of it helpful.
Kara's group avoided the poison cloud but it continued to chase them before settling on their healer as its main target. Kara's group focused on attacking Peril as their healer was chased around the pylon by the green glowing poison cloud.
Ned's team had figured out that they needed to stick close to the Pylon and were finally starting to deal out some serious damage.
Kara's team however were running scared as their room dimmed even further. It was now difficult for Kara's team members to make out anything in the room except for the glowing green poison cloud.
Ned's copy of the dungeon was growing dim as well following right behind Kara's. Ned's copy of Peril spat out a poison cloud as well which began to chase Ned. This made tanking even more difficult as he had to avoid all attacks while dealing damage but staying close to the pylon but not too close while avoiding the poison cloud. It was a lot.
Kara's healer tripped over a shattered chandelier shard and went down hard. Before she could get back up the poison cloud was on her. The cloud passed over her before it moved on past her leaving her to stand up on shaky feet. As the cloud had touched her however the lights had brightened. Kara's healer cast a self heal until she was topped off health wise.
Kara's side no longer had a problem with the dark. Every time the room grew dim one of the group members would 'dip' in to the poison cloud just long enough for the lights in the room to brighten before moving away from it as their healer fixed them up. They still took damage but as long as they didn't stay in the cloud it didn't do more damage than their healer could cope with.
Ned's side was not doing quite as well. They were avoiding the poison field at all costs and their copy of the dungeon was now in almost total darkness. While the audience could make out what was going on it was readily apparent that Ned's group could not.
Peril picked off Ned's team one by one in the darkness, each kill more brutal than the last. It was terrifying to watch. A tail through the heart, a burst of 8 poison bolts all directed at one person, bites & claw rips, each figurine fell to a different attack. All that was left was Ned and the group groaned as Peril grabbed on to his figurine and chewed on his head.
He tried to fight her off but she was too strong and soon his figurine was also defeated.
The crowd booed and groaned. It seemed that quite a few people had bet on Ned and his group. Still, that didn't mean Kara's Kids won – they still would have to defeat the dungeon in order for it to count as a win. This triggered a fresh wave of betting as those who lost their bet for Ned made new bets over whether or not Kara's Kids would succeed where Ned had failed. Others made bets over how Peril would kill Kara's group mates.
Jay grinned as he felt M'redith's body tense as the fight came to its last few moments.
Kara's Kids were doing an amazing job and it reminded Jay of his fight in a similar dungeon. Once he had figured out the poison cloud trick things had all come together for him.
It was no different for Kara and her group. As soon as they figured out how to handle the poison clouds it was as if it made the fight trivial. Peril's attacks could be blocked or avoided as long as you weren't tripping over chandelier parts. She even telegraphed her moves. It was the darkness and unsure footing that were the real enemies, and with the discovery of the poison clouds they no longer feared the darkness.
As the fight drew on Jay gradually became aware that he and M'redith were drawing the occasional stare and furtive glance. Some looked at them boldly, most others as if they feared being caught.
M'redith he could understand. She was a stunning mix of innocent girl next door and playful vixen and Jay had gotten used to her attracting stares. Jay was less used to attracting stares himself. His mask and title made him stand out in the crowd and even though he felt like he blended in, it was easy to forget that he most certainly did not.
Peril drew a breath and Jay couldn't stop himself, “INTERRUPT HER!” he shouted towards the stage while drawing stares from those seated around him as well as those further away who had been watching him out of the corner of their eyes.
Kara's Kids must have heard him because before Jay had finished shouting one of their group members produced a knife which they slung using an underhanded swing towards the boss monster with blisteringly fast speed.
Jay knew from watching thousands of hours of combat related television programming that underhand knife throws were a no spin throw that primarily used heavier knives at close range. No-spin meant exactly that, the knife did not spin at all with this type of throw. Heavier knife just meant that it weighed more than the average knife. Close range meant between 5 and 15 feet. As they were only six or so feet away they were plenty close enough for the toss to potentially work.
And work it did. The crowd went absolutely bat-shit insane with cheering as the almost casual looking throw landed point first in Peril's left eye.
Peril joined the crowd's cacophony with a half hiss half scream that was all rage. Her attacks began to fire off with more frequency leaving less time in between for the group to attack. Her attacks gained a renewed fury as the room shook some every time she struck out with her tail. Peril chased the group around the pylon as they traded attacks.
Ned's team would have found that frustrating and would have tried to find ways to fit in extra attacks where they could. They were all about doing the most damage possible at once, no matter the cost. They were also all defeated so maybe that wasn't the best tactic, Jay thought to himself.
Kara's team however seemed almost bored and skillfully blocked and avoided each of Peril's attacks. Being able to see the attacks coming instead of being blinded in inky darkness made the attacks almost laughable in comparison.
Finally their ranged damage dealer's figurine used a special attack to finish the fight. Firing towards the ceiling his arrow went straight up and disappeared. The crowd booed him while others shouted advice on what arrows to use. The crowd quieted as a high pitched whistling was heard. It got louder and louder as it's tone dropped further and further.
Jay instinctively crouched down in his seat knowing full well what that sound meant thanks to television and the internet. M'redith looked over at him in concern and he shook his head while giving her arm a reassuring squeeze. “Incoming.” he whispered to her.
The room was lit with a blinding radiance as the crowd's vision briefly whited out from the sudden explosion shown on the screen. An object that was only momentarily viewable shot out of the ceiling before striking the ground next to Peril. The sound of the resulting explosion overrode the room's many conversations and as it faded the room was almost silent.
Fires raged in small piles strewn about the spot where Peril had once stood. It took a moment for Jay to understand that those small piles were Peril, or what was left of her. The group had stood behind the pylon as the attack had triggered and they came out from behind it to stand next to Peril's resting places. Kara's Kids stood victorious and Kara's figurine on the screen turned to the crowd and raised one fist over her head.
The crowd erupted in applause and screaming. Many in the audience had been drinking before they even arrived at the event and were well on their way to being quite drunk. This only enhanced their excitement and everyone hooted and hollered regardless of who they had bet on.
“I LOVE YOU KARA!” yelled one drunk older man dressed in a very formal looking tuxedo as he raised his half empty glass in a salute to her. The crowd laughed but not unkindly as he did so.
“What an amazing fight ladies and gentlemen! How about a big round of applause for the winner of the first Dungeon Room Face Off, KARA'S KIDS!” shouted the announcer.
The audience continued to applaud as Kara's Kids, the actual human members and not their figurines, were brought to the center of the stage and bowed to the crowd. After which they welcomed Ned's group as well.
“And what a great go of it by Ned's Killers! Did you SEE the damage they put out ladies and gentlemen! Astounding! Give them some applause as well for the amazing show they put on. Outstanding attempt!”
Ned's team bowed as well, unhappy at losing but thrilled at the attention. Normally the winner would be the only one shown after a run – no one had done a face off like this before and Ned was just glad he could be the first, even if they didn't win. He had been upset at first having to share the spotlight but was glad he had went along with it anyway.
Two teams running a dungeon at the same time next to each other just wasn't done. First of all no team wanted to give up the limelight. Second of all Dungeon Room tables were outrageously expensive and usually lacked the ability to run 10 players at once. The average Dungeon Room table could handle a single room and five players.
The players would fight the room until they defeated it and then there would be a pause while the room was reorganized in to the dungeon's next intended room. It was a pain and wouldn't have worked on stage. Larger Dungeon Room tables existed but were beyond the buying power of anything but larger groups who pooled their finances together. Such as an entertainment venue that catered to the well-off and bored. Not the well off OR bored mind you – the well off AND bored.
The crowd continued to clap for a few minutes before everyone calmed down and sat to finish their drinks or conversations. No one was in a hurry to leave, it was only 11 which was considered early by the crowd's standards.
The curtains came down as the room's lights came up and the sound of the crowd speaking with each other rose in volume. Jay and his group got up and wandered over to the exit where a masked C'nthia was waiting for him.
“How'd I do? Fixed enough?” Jay asked.
“That. Was. Awesome!” C'nthia replied.