The monster’s roar reverberated through the cavern, a raspy grinding sound reminiscent of sandpaper stuck in a trash disposal.
Ike ducked behind a stalactite, a blade in one hand and sand in the other. Looking down at both of them, then again at the monster threatening them, he sighed and dropped his sand. “Knowing my luck, a bit of grit in its eyes would make it stronger,” he sighed.
Kevinar nodded. “It is a galebur, a native of the Earthen Hollows, a creature not of this world. They sometimes still dwell in this lower reaches, but one this high in the dark belows is very irregular. I suggest that the dwarves hide him here as a guard.”
“And we’re going to wreck him and then ask for their help?” I asked. Jeldorain bellowed laughter within.
Kevinar had his blade drawn, one of them still glowing with magic, the other dead metal, and he sighed. “They are powerful beings. We might well be out of our level range here.”
Let me in, Jeldorain roared. I could feel all of his focus on the galebur, and a sense that he was giddy about the challenge.
“Jeldorain is going to take over for this fight,” I said. “It’s part of our deal — I keep control most of the time so he doesn’t destroy all life as we know it. And occasionally he gets to indulge in his demonic wants and needs.”
Kevinar stared, his mouth agape. Ike shrugged. “Seems fair to me.”
I stepped back within myself, feeling the Titan-Ax-icearigama slip away from my hand and I recessed within, becoming grasped firmly by Jeldorain. A surge of adrenaline blazed through our shared body. But it was more than that. I felt familiar energy tearing through me, the stuff of legends. Watching through his eyes, I saw Jeldorain lock gazes with Ike and Kevinar, then turn to once again put the galebur in sight.
It was time for Size of a Tempest.
He roared, our shared muscles tensed, fibers knotting and expanding as our body began to grow. It was a maelstrom of sensation, every cell in my body expanding, stretching, becoming more than it was, our bones lengthening and sinew stretching. Our armor and the Titan-Ax-icearigama grew with us, morphing and adapting to our new form.
We now towered over the earth elemental, our head just one Kevinar shy of the ceiling. Jeldorain laughed and stomped in for the quick kill, ignoring the stabby pain of stalactites as he mashed them into rubble, taking tiny pricks of damage on the way.
So much for stealth, I groused. His spirit self gave me a knowing look and I chuckled like he often did. He could feel my excitement for this battle, the infernal lust rolling through us both.
Beneath us, Ike and Kevinar stepped back, giving us space as we charged the enemy . . .
Only to get knocked hard and painfully in the shin as the galebur struck first, deftly launching itself through the air to strike with the force of a fastball, the impact reverberating up our leg.
“Gah! Oh all the hells that stings!” Jeldorain cried out, a new debuff appearing in our sideview.
Shintastically Disabled
Effect: Reduces mobility and agility significantly due to severe pain in the shin area.
Duration: 10 minutes
Additional Impact: Minor decrease in attack speed and evasion ability.
Jeldorain swung the icearigama with all his might, dead center on the galebur, but at the last second it spun out of the way, shooting towards where Kevinar and Ike watched the battle. The icearigama cratered the ground where it impacted, and I felt Jeldorain’s humiliated fury swarm through us. Kicking out against the ground, a swarm of pebbles and a layer of sand pocked against the granite hide of the monster, and it spun around, glaring balefully.
A moment later, those eyes blasted light, and waves of force poured through Jeldorain’s soul, battering it senseless with the power of a hundred ninja warriors. He staggered, and I could see his vision was blurred and disoriented, his soul full of debuffs.
And I wasn’t. Shoving his reeling spirit aside, I took back control over our infernal body and swung the icearigama sideways, batting the galebur through the cavern and pitting it against a wall. Looking down at my companions, I saw that Kevinar and Ike were both reeling like Jeldorain had been and realized this fight was totally on me.
Stolen story; please report.
His psionics, Jeldorain moaned. They attack the soul, but only the one in possession it would seem. I’ll recover as much as I can, so if you get hit I can take over. The hells-damnated monster won’t have experienced that before!
The galebur rolled out of a hole in the wall, pieces of itself cracking and sloughing off to join the floor beneath it. The absurd idea that the floor was just made of ground galebur’s made me chuckle, and the elemental narrowed its eyes again. But instead of releasing light, it shot across the cavern, making way for my other shin.
“Oh no you don’t,” I yelled.
Still stumbling from the Shintastically Disabled debuff, I knew I had to rely on my remaining agility to keep just enough distance between us that I could react to its flying charges. Eyeing the galebur as it streaked towards me had shown me that it moved in straight lines when in flight.
And that was something that could be taken advantage of.
As it swung at me again, I dropped and rolled, taking a handful of stalactite damage as I reached up and tried to seize it in flight. The galebur slapped off of one hand and spiraled out into the distance, smashing into the city wall. Sighting it in, I realized that we had an audience watching.
It must have as well, because the galebur advanced more slowly this time, rolling at a tactical speed and closing in. I swung the icearigama in circles to my side, watching for its inevitable charge. The monster instead stopped entirely, blasting me with foul psionic light.
The psionic light from the galebur hit me hard, knocking me backward. It was one thing to see it happen to Jeldorain, and another to actually feel it. It was like being pummeled by a thousand tsunamis, each wave coming stronger and harder than the last. I could dimly sense Jeldorain pushing me aside and taking back control. Shivering in the corner of our shared mind, I tried to focus, watching Jeldorain continue to lie on the ground moaning in a way that told me he was feeling the damage as well.
Confused, I stumbled forward to take back the position of control, stopping when he gave me a ghostly wink. The galebur leaped from the ground then shot forward on a collision course with our head, and all at once Jeldorain was rolling to the side and bounding to his feet. The earth elemental smashed into the ground and he pounced on it, his powerful hands find cracks and crevices, from which to tear off large sections of body.
It sighed, the sound of sand whispering through an hour glass. The creature crumbled, its form collapsing into a heap of stone and dust. Silence fell over the cavern, broken only by our heavy breathing. Jeldorain pumped his fists in victory and bellowed hard into the cavern ceiling.
That, he told me, his spirit gloating, is how infernals dispatch worthy opponents.
A bright light enveloped me, energy coursing through my veins and rejuvenating me. When the light faded, I felt stronger and more powerful.
LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! Welcome to Level 13!
Great, I said, looking at the evil number with cocked eyes. He turned just in time to glimpsed the fading sparkles of Kevinar and Ike, their weapons up and at the ready.
“You alright?” Ike asked, his kobold canines bared in a cautious grin.
Jeldorain grunted, then shoved a hand down into the dirt just as his body began to shrink down. Warping and snapping, he came back to his normal large self just in time to lift a small chest from the broken debris of the galebur.
Kevinar placed it on the ground, checking it for traps. “It’s clean. Shall I open it?”
“Bust that,” Ike grinned, scampering forward and throwing it open. Inside a hard nugget of mud glowed amber. Next to it were a set of gauntlets, flexible despite their stone-crafted origins.
Care to take a look, champion? Jeldorain asked. I didn’t have to ask him why; our shared soul gave us the ability to see each other’s skills and abilities, and his INSIGHT was nowhere near as good as mine was. I took charge of the body, picking up and then the other before telling the party what I’d divined.
Elemental Earth Core (Medium):
Type: Rare Magical Artifact
Effect: Enhances elemental spells and abilities by 15%. Can be used to infuse weapons or armor with elemental properties.
Special Ability: Once per day, allows the user to absorb an elemental attack, converting it into mana.
Usage Limitation: Can only be used by characters with a minimum Intelligence of 16.
Description: A shimmering core pulsating with raw elemental energy. It glows with a spectrum of colors, each hue representing a different elemental force. This core is a condensed essence of the elemental planes, coveted by mages and alchemists alike.
Runed Stone Gauntlets:
Type: Enchanted Armor (Gauntlets)
Effect: Increases physical attack damage by 10%. Grants a 5% chance to reflect magical attacks back to the caster.
Special Ability: Empowers the wearer with 'Runic Resilience' - a passive ability that reduces incoming magical damage by 10%.
Usage Limitation: Requires a Strength of at least 18 to wield effectively due to their enchanted weight.
Description: These gauntlets are etched with ancient runes, glowing faintly with an arcane light. Crafted from a mysterious metal that is as durable as it is heavy, they are the perfect blend of offense and defense for a warrior who faces both physical and magical threats.
“The gauntlets might as well go to Ryan since he’s got the strength for it,” Ike said.
“And if no one objects, I would like Ryan to fuse the Earth core with my blade. I expect it might come up with something magical to replace the loss of its previous abilities,” Kevinar added.
“And we might want to level up now,” I added, pointing my finger towards the city walls. My companions’ eyes followed, watching as a before unseen gate swung open, and regiments of black-armored dwarves marched out to meet us.