Surrounded by the First One's darkness for only a moment, Fader felt scared but determined. The last time he'd been in the Dungeon, his charges had been useless. Now, he had experienced adventurers and his Knot had also increased dramatically thanks to The Father's instructions. Unless he was one of those cultivating monsters, he couldn't be better prepared.
Still, he was scared.
He didn't want to lose the Prince. Not like he'd already failed to protect the rest of his generation.
The moment passed and he stood in the Dungeon - the twenty fifth level. He used to just view this as a challenge to pass, but now, there was a weight and a mystery to this place that he'd never seen before.
The floor and walls were all made of the normal generic brown rock of the Dungeon. Stalactites and stalagmites dotted the floor and ceiling. With no drastic changes, it seemed hopeful that they wouldn't be fighting anything too otherworldly. There were always horror stories of Dungeon runs through caverns of fire or underwater. He could hear the sounds of running water, but that was within the parameters of a normal run.
Another moment passed and the Prince's party had materialized behind him. The Prince took a glance around the cavern before stepping up to him. "Your thoughts?"
Fader grunted. "Seems normal to me."
"Then we're luckier than last time."
Eitina also looked around, examining the cavern. The Cleric wore a tabard of Matar over a set of chainmail. A whip was belted at her waist and a buckler was attached to her arm. Her eyes fell on Fader and she glared. "You expect this godless heathen to lead us through here? Surely, we could do better without him."
“Peace, Eitina. He’s the only one of us that has been through the twenty-fifth before.”
“It’s not like it’s ever the same anyways…,” Eitina grumbled, clearly not wanting to argue with the Prince. Fader had hated that Cleric from the moment he met her. Before The Father had converted him, he’d always thought religious types were stupid as hell. Frankly, he felt The Father would agree with him. For Him, it was all about power.
The other three adventurers didn’t seem eager to get in Eitina’s way. Despite her attitude, she was high up in the church of Matar which in turn was a powerful force in the Thousand Islands. Prince Rellington hadn’t told Fader exactly what was at play, but he assumed that Matar was backing the Prince in his pursuit of the throne.
Gale, another noble swamp mage, was one of the Prince’s childhood friends despite being a younger generation than the one that had died under Fader’s care. Fader knew Ellen Swamp’s reputation, but to the younger nobles, she must have shit rainbows considering how many of them either followed in her footsteps or looked up to her in awe.
Fader wondered if Gale represented another alliance between the Prince and her house or if she was here on her own. She paid a little too much attention to the Prince which made him concerned about her. It could just be as simple as a crush or political marriage interest, but perhaps her family had convinced her to betray the Prince?
The last two of their party was Ry, a mercenary Rogue, and Trisphine, the Prince’s personal sword instructor. Like all Rogues and mercenaries, Ry’s intentions were quite suspicious. He himself was some kind of Dwarf, but his close cropped hair and lack of beard was an oddity that Fader couldn’t place.
Trisphine, on the other hand, he’d known for a year now. The woman had been kind to him when most wanted nothing to do with the the servant trainer who’d gotten a host of noble brats killed. Despite being of a level with him, she’d spent her entire life dedicated to the sword as a Duelist.
Fader must have been staring a little too hard at their group as Eitina was halfway through a complaint when the Prince clapped Fader on the back. “Let’s get on with this. Shall we?”
Fader grunted. Everyone there was someone trusted by the Prince, but he himself didn’t trust the lot of them. “Let’s see what monster type we’re working with.”
Ry gave an easy smile. “Guess I’m up then.” He faded from view as he activated some kind of advanced [Stealth] and the rest of them waited a good minute before he slowly materialized from thin air.
Ry scratched his head. “Strangest thing I’ve ever seen. It looks like three robed otters just standing in the middle of the room.”
Fader’s breath caught in his throat. If it was the same monster… He and the Prince shared a significant look and he noticed that the Prince’s hand shook as he gripped his wand. It was telling of how much the Prince had grown that his fear didn’t show on his face, but Fader knew. The otter had never been a danger to him personally, but he still had nightmares about it killing those brats no matter what he tried to do.
And if it was here, that meant it was even stronger now…
“Any more information on them?” Fader asked.
Ry shrugged. “There are two otters in the front that are wielding two handed maces. I didn’t think monsters other than goblins were typically armed, but these are. The one in back doesn’t appear to have any weapon at all. I’m not sure what that means.”
Fader didn’t consider himself a scholar, but he’d seen this level several times now with different monsters so he had an answer. “It all depends on the Boss. Some Bosses’ minions will be a lot more diverse. We may see casters and guardians or even multiple elemental aspects.”
“An aberrant,” Trisphine said, eyes glazed over.
“Yes.”
The six of them exchanged glances and it was Ry who spoke up first. “Should we just… leave then? There’s no need for us to risk our lives against something like that.”
Fader was unsurprised about the merc being the first one to want to turn tail and leave. He’d get paid regardless.
But was it the best idea?
No dissents came easily so they all turned to their leader, The Prince. It seemed to take a moment to steady himself, but when he did, his confidence had returned. “No, we don’t have that kind of time. Not with the First One's penalty.”
Both Ry and Trisphine looked confused at that, but those who were part of the political machinations understood the subtext. The Prince’s father could die at any time. If he didn’t push the next grade, a succession war would follow.
“All right. Let’s expect surprises then,” Fader said. He made sure the strap on his tower shield was secured and tapped at his chest plate. The Prince had upgraded his armor and shield to Demonsteel. It was better, but he had worn his old plate every day. The strange black metal felt too light for the strength he knew it had. “Ry, watch the sides for any surprises. There’s only supposed to be three or four per room, but we’ve got an aberrant.”
Ry nodded and Fader turned to the rest of them. “Gale, try to debuff them as soon as soon as you can and then stick behind me. Eitina, you’re serving as a backup guardian. Once we’ve seen what they can do. Prince Rellington and Trisphine can work to take them down.”
Eitina snorted. “There’s only three of them. Stop acting so scared.”
Fader couldn’t stop himself. He grabbed Eitina by the collar of her chainmail and pulled her in close so he could growl at her. “I don’t care if they shoot lollipops out of their ass. We’re dealing with an aberrant. Nothing is straight forward. So stop being a difficult asshole and do your fucking job.”
Eitina tried to pull back, but Fader’s strength was far beyond hers despite her guardian adjacent role. When she simply glared at him instead of speaking back, Fader shoved her off. “I’m in first.”
Fader hoisted his shield and felt more than saw everyone fall in behind him. He crept forward through the nondescript cavern until he came to an open room. It had a higher ceiling than the tunnel with dark crevices around stalactites. Would monsters ambush them from there again?
There was a channel carved around the middle of the room making it split between a top and a bottom half like a wooden yo-yo. Something about that had to be intentional, but he couldn’t see what that was for. He took a few more steps, glancing at the ceiling, but the only thing in the room was the three otters that Ry had described.
Two grey robed otters stood in the front that were about a head taller than Ry was, but shorter than himself. Each wielded a two handed mace where the handle was made of rough wood and the head was unworked rock. It was the crudest form of craftsmanship, but he’d expected that. The one behind was difficult to see as it appeared to shrink behind one of its guardians as they entered.
The pause as both groups stared at the other was pregnant.
He still didn’t know what their trick would be, but he had to make a move. “Gale, drop a debuff. Eitina, guard the damage dealers from anything unexpected. I’m charging.”
Fader activated his skill. To everyone else’s eyes, he disappeared. He could see the shocked look on the guardian otter’s faces, but they didn’t have to wonder where he’d gone long. As an invisible shadow, he crossed the distance between the two of them, appearing right in front of them. His new [Shadow Charge] worked similarly to what some of the monsters he’d fought in the past did, but this one had a bit more bite.
Shadows exploded out of him, causing the two guardians to stumble backwards as the shadow aspected Aether ate away at them. Gale hadn’t cast her debuff in time, but it didn’t matter. Fader slammed his shield into the one on the left and brought his sword down towards the one on his right. The rightmost otter tried to block, but Fader’s weapon had been upgraded to Demonsteel as well. It cut right through the haft of their makeshift warhammer and cut deeply into them.
“New targets!” Fader heard Ry yell just as beams of light shot across the space. Two of them slammed into him before he could get his shield up. The rest had been targeted at the back of their group. For the briefest moment, Fader felt like he was back on the fifth level of the Dungeon as the nobles died behind him.
However, that wasn’t the case here.
Eitina had blocked two, one on her buckler and one on her armor. Trisphine had used some Riposte ability that sent the light cascading back. The Prince had been quick with his Fire Shield which caught one of the beams of light and it exploded in strength as the light empowered his flames. This forced Gale to take a step back and get struck by one of the errant bolts of light, but Eitina was already moving to intercept and heal while the Prince had started firing back with bolts of fire.
Satisfied, the trap had been sprung and that the Prince would be fine with his fire shield. He yelled out new orders. “Tris to me! Flank around them! Prince Rellington on the left. Ry handle the right! Gale, fire off a damn debuff for the sake of Hyshtel’s left nut.”
Fader returned his attention to the warriors in front of him. Both of them had recovered with the wounds of the right otter having completely disappeared. The damage to its weapon hadn’t been fixed and it still lay in two halves on the ground, but it had pulled a rock from somewhere that was big enough to palm so it wasn’t unarmed by any means.
With companions that could handle themselves, this wasn’t anything like the last time he’d been in the Dungeon and it meant that he could finally let loose. His [Charge] had upgraded with his newly shadow aspected Consitution, but he’d upgraded his Heart as well. A burst of Aether activated [Burning Descent], the upgraded version of [Defiant Leap]. At this close of a distance, their ability to dodge was basically nil.
Fader crashed into the center of the initial three otters as a nova of fire burst around him. It didn’t do much damage, but it did have a strong blow back. All three of them rocketed away from him. Another round of light shot out from that carved section of wall, but Fader ignored it and raced towards the guardian without the warhammer.
It was more agile than Fader would have expected for a monster, rolling back to its feet, but Fader activated [Sure Strike]. It might have been fast for a guardian, but it was still a slow moving monster. Fader’s sword ripped into its throat and no amount of healing was going to keep it up after that.
“Have at thee!” Trisphine yelled out, some strange cry that was a part of the culture of duels, and then a lunging attack sped her several meters towards the healer that had been with the guardians. An albino otter popped into existence in front of it and was instantly skewered by the attack, disappearing into Aether.
The healer shrieked something and started to run away on all fours, faster than any of the guardians were. Fader’s movement abilities were all on cooldown so he let it go. Hopefully, Trisphine could stop it. He turned his attention back towards the remaining guardian.
This one was backing up towards the cave and Fader got the impression that it was looking for an opportunity to run. Fader rushed towards it, but its eyes drifted towards his companions. Wondering what new trick they might have, Fader hesitated, giving the guardian enough time to hurl its two handed mace directly towards the Prince.
On instinct, Fader activated [Intercept] and skidded across the cavern, shield first, into the path of the thrown weapon. It clanged harmlessly against his shield, but the guardian dove through the crevice around the cavern and disappeared into it. Fader stopped and noticed that the rest of the fighting had died down as well.
Gale had been healed up by Eitin. From the mud on the ground, he assumed she’d had time to cast some abilities, but none had helped him out personally. That was fine he supposed, but it was still an error. The Prince seemed to be feeling much more confident after successfully defending themselves, but Fader felt uneasy as he gave a headcount and Ry was missing.
Eitin started cursing in an entirely un-divine like manner. “They’re breaking the Squad rules somehow. They’re not supposed to be able to field more than the Leadership score of someone present just like us. We all follow the same rules. How the hell did they attack us with nine monsters? They aren’t a swarm type, right?”
Ry appeared out of thin air, his entire body covered in water, but no visible wounds were present. He did answer Eitin’s mostly rhetorical question. “They aren’t technically breaking the rules. There are three rooms right beside each other which allowed the other otters to fire in, but not enter.”
“They’re cheating?” Gale said incredulously. “…but they're monsters? How…?”
“Like I said, the boss is an aberrant,” Fader said. The lot of them grew more serious and despite Fader’s firm tone, he hadn’t expected this either. This was beyond what he would have expected even for an aberrant. The otter they’d fought before was more cunning than any goblin. “Did you go into the side room?”
Fader nodded. “I did. It was a small room that had a river running through it. I expect they’ve got that on both sides for them to escape, rest up and hit us later.” Ry laughed at that.
Eitin wasn’t happy about his amusement though. “Why the hell are you laughing?”
“They clearly didn’t expect a Sea Dwarf. I caught up to those caster types and dispatched them easily on my side. They’re rubbish in a straight up fight.”
Fader appraised the merc in a new light. The Mountain Dwarves were more common with their nobility even being part of the Thousand Islands kingdom, but the Sea Dwarves had long been residents here as well. Their abilities underwater were only rivaled by fish themselves. That was a lucky break for them.
“That’s good, but still be careful. If they can plan this kind of ambush, they might find some way to take you out on your own.”
Ry shrugged, not seeming to believe that he was in danger in his home element, but Fader didn’t push it. He glanced around at the others. No one seemed to be willing to back down now. Most of them understood what was at stake or weren't intimidated enough to lose out on their gold.
“Then we keep going."