A surge of defiance rose up in Chance, coming not from him, but from the Craghand part of him buried deep inside. The words sounded elvish, that memory coming from the Craghand, and it had aroused his hidden self, stirring it up with an anger he could not suppress.
“Ach, ye be jesting if’n ye be thinkin’ that, ye pointy-eared git.”
Now wasn’t the time to be losing control, to have the other try and wrestle control. Chance fought to push the Craghand aside, to take back control. His body almost shook with the effort, but gradually the Craghand was subsumed once more, out of the way.
Zhuri. Chance hardened his skin, readying to face down the corrupted soul. Shags was snarling away at it, fangs bared and Yrip tightly gripped his dagger, though he lurked slightly back behind Chance.
“Sur yian alava! Insolence. You shall suffer, dirt-eater.”
Chance grinned mirthlessly, looking braver than he felt. He didn’t want this but was left with no other option. “Come and try it.” The defiance still held him in its grasp; there was something personal to it that he couldn’t dislodge. He could feel a mix of emotions all wrapped up, of contempt, of distaste verging on loathing, of anger, and more, all clouding his judgment, forcing him on.
Vasqut! Now that it was no longer a ghostly figure, Chance set a stone ripping through the air at it, to smack into the corrupted soul; even as he was unleashing it, distracting it, he was dashing forward, as fast as his short legs would carry him. He had learned from the previous fight, learned the key was to disrupt them should they attempt any magic, and with the reach of the spear he could ward off any physical attacks.
Shags came padding forward, howling as he did. The sound was amplified by the tight confines of the chamber and the noise of it echoed and reverberated loud around them.
As he had expected, the stone had no impact upon the foe, shield from its minor damage as he was, but it hadn’t been the point of the attack. He was already stabbing upwards as he arrived, driving the spear at the body of the corrupted soul. Shags leaped and snapped at its legs, tearing at them.
“Sia alun varitia!” The sound of rattling bones came to them, and the bones that had been scattered around the chamber began to rise up into the air, to swirl about, slow at first but picking up speed until they were enclosed by a swirling ring of them.
“Er, master,” Yrip called out.
“I see them, Yrip.” He saw them but could not do much about them, busy as he was trying to deal with the corrupted soul before him, stabbing upwards to try and bring it down. Most of his strikes failed to connect as the creature dodged and twisted out of the way, flowing upwards or downwards as needed.
A bone came flying out of the swirling circle of them at a gesture from the corrupted soul, and Shags yelped as it slammed into him. Another crashed into Chance and he felt his Iron Skin deplete, though it soaked up all the damage from the strike. He ducked and a second one went over his head; it didn’t fall though, instead rejoining the swirl of bones, to be reused again. There were too many bones waiting to be launched; eventually, they would be buried beneath them, battered to pieces, if they could not defeat the corrupted soul quick enough.
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Chance dropped his spear. It would only get in the way of what he had planned. Leaping upwards, he grabbed tight to the legs of the corrupted soul, using his weight to drag it down.
“Unhand me! Shia val asur!” The corrupted soul struggled, trying to kick out with his legs but Chance held on grimly. A flying skull came crashing into his head, bouncing off and for a moment his head spun from the impact, his grip beginning to slip.
Then with a snarl, Shags leaped as well, fastening his maw around a leg and adding his weight in helping drag it down. Yrip clambered up onto the stone chair and from there jumped onto the back of the corrupted soul, one arm wrapped around its neck, the other stabbing down with his dagger.
Bones came flying in around them, bouncing off them as the corrupted soul cursed and struggled, but to no avail. Beneath the weight of the three bodies, it was dragged to the ground, pulled down, snarling fangs and slashing blades plunging into it, tearing at it.
It succumbed under the relentless assault, torn apart, and the bones that swirled fell to the ground, rattling and bouncing. There was a last wail and the spirit of the corrupted soul escaped from the body of the revenant, dissipating away into nothing. The runes upon the wall began to fade away until the only source of light that was available to them was from the flames in the brazier, casting flickering shadows around.
Quest Succeded: The Dead Zone
The Corrupted Soul that was at the heart of the blight has been defeated and once more life will be able to flourish upon the Hills of the Apple Blossom.
Reward: The Blessing of Qasari
A sense of warmth descended upon Chance, a comforting presence, almost like an embrace. It was a strange feeling, yet not an unwelcome one for he felt all the better for it. There was not just a warmth either but smells accompanied it, the hints of spices and apple blossoms, of warm bread and fresh soil. It invigorated and refreshed despite the dank, dark chamber they were in and the death it contained.
Chance found himself humming a tune from one of his band’s songs as he consulted the parchment - he had to see what exactly the blessing provided for him.
The Blessing of Qasari
Those who receive the Blessing of the Dwarven Goddess of the Earth Qasari are favoured in the use of skills that are traditionally associated with her; cooking, brewing, farming, and gardening.
Bonus: Associated skills are treated as being one level higher.
A quick view at his list of skills showed that it was indeed the case, for his cooking ability was no longer listed as being basic, but now as trained. And he now had brewing, farming, and gardening as well, all at a basic level. At some point he would have to find out just how to use them, as apart from some experiments at school he had never planted anything in his life, let alone done any gardening. The brewing though, that he was more than happy to find out about.
“Have a look around before we leave,” Chance told the others. “There might be some useful items that we can take, just like with the goblin camp.”
“Yes, yes, master,” Yrip replied eagerly and bounded off, scrambling around the chamber, poking and prodding and inspecting as he went. Shags was a bit more circumspect in his reaction, though he too joined in, sniffing around as he searched. The whole search turned out to be fruitless though, for the chamber proved to be empty. A fight - and a boss fight at that - and there was no loot? Chance found it rather disappointing. If there was someone to complain to, he would have. The Blessing had been a nice reward, but he had hoped for - expected - more. He was entitled to loot. He had certainly suffered enough for it.
There was something though, he realised. The brazier. He hadn’t considered it at first as it was providing them with a source of light and thus was so obvious that he had overlooked it. He headed over to where it stood and inspected it.
Item: Brazier (Dwarf Make)
Quality: High
Value: High
With a great deal of care, lest he burn himself, Chance tilted the brazier over and spilled the burning coals upon the floor. It was rather light, despite its appearance, and cunningly wrought. He hefted it up and started towards the exit from the chamber.
“I am thinking fish tonight,” he told the other two, “And I have some special plans in store for them.”