Stella and I moved forward and, as we had suspected, the tunnel curved around to connect with the wide cavern. Feeling a need to be careful and well-protected, I recast my shield spell, feeling more secure with the invisible barrier it conferred. We came out of the narrow passageway, the fire burning brightly as ever. Ahead of us, a dozen or so yards against the far wall was a closed door. We hadn’t seen it before our recent battle, given the angle with us twenty feet or so above. The large void we found ourselves in, reeked of burnt flesh, embers from the fire, and gnoll waste. Apparently, they had a communal privy in one of the corners. We stuck clear of that, not willing to venture close regardless of what else could be hiding there.
Exploring the rest of the natural room took little time. It was another haphazard mess of loose gear, furniture, crates, and barrels. There was no discernable pattern as to how the gnolls stored anything. It was as if they simply tossed it down from above, not bothering to carry it down any further or simply tossed it without care. Still, we ensured to look through everything, knowing that a boss fight was likely upon us soon.
Buried under several wine crates with countless shattered bottles, was a rectangular chest though it was locked with a sturdy-looking lock. Having no skill currently to pick it open, we continued to search the remains of the gnolls. A crate caught my eye, and I was pleasantly surprised to find an intact tent and a comfortable sleeping bag. Adding those to my bag of holding, we continued searching. In short order, one of the gnolls had some potion bottoms and a small pouch that contained a silver key. Hoping it was the one we needed, I returned to the chest and turned the key. With a click, the padlock opened. Pulling the lid upwards, we found a pair of dark blue gloves which looked to have wisps of frost clung to the leather and leather boots.
You received: Health Potion x2, Mana Potion x2, Gnoll Brew of Adrenaline x3, Silver Key.
You received: Frigid Gloves of the Predator.
You received: Yar’s Fleet Footed Boots.
{Frigid Gloves of the Predator}. Quality: Well-crafted. Rarity: Uncommon. Type: Cloth. Slot: Hands. Durability: 500/500. Armor: 4. Effect(s): The wearer of these gloves, upon command, is able to magically cloak all of their body heat, thus rendering them invisible to creatures relying on heat-based vision to find prey. Duration: 30 minutes. Cool down: 2 hours.
{Yar’s Fleet Footed Boots}. Quality: Above Average. Rarity: Uncommon. Type: Leather. Slot: Feet. Durability: 500/500. Armor: 12. Effect(s): +2 Dexterity. Movement Speed is increased by 10%. This effect is doubled when not in combat.
The gloves were made of a deep blue hide that was cool to the touch. Putting them on, a rush of cold shot through my hands. It wasn’t painful and my temperature quickly normalized. I was innately aware that I could call upon the gloves to cause that same magic to race through my body at a thought. Though useless in our current predicament, the gnolls appearing use regular eyesight to see, I could see the advantages in the future. If we ever fought a creature that relied solely on their ability to see the body heat of their target, these would make me essentially invisible to their eyes.
The boots were a dark-tanned leather that fit snuggly on my feet. Straps of leather crisscrossed my ankles, ensuring the boots wouldn’t slip free. The soles had a soft, yet sturdy sole that gave great grip when in contact with the ground. Admiring my new footwear, I moved in a tight circle. The boots gave great stability to my ankles and moved seamlessly as I tested them. Then I sprung towards the tunnel we came from, immediately noticing the small difference in my movement speed. Ten percent didn’t seem like a lot, but as we were not in combat the magic doubled that percentage. That was noticeable. “I like them,” I said after running up the tunnel and quickly back down, far faster than before. Both items were nice upgrades.
With the room fully searched and without a single far-away yelp of another gnoll, we sat down near the fire pit. My resources were nearly full, but I decided to take a small break. Taking out a ration and a waterskin, Stella and I took a moment to ourselves. Within moments my health, mana and stamina were topped off. Ready as I could be, I looked to Stella, “Alright, let’s go find the boss.” Stella had taken a now familiar perch on my shoulder, her weight comforting and reassuring. “So, just what exactly would be the leader of a cave of gnolls,” I asked rhetorically.
Approaching the door, I once more equipped my battle axe, ready for what would come next. The door was unlocked, swinging inwardly with a loud whine of rusted hinges. A shiver ran down my spine and I crouched low into stealth. Only darkness greeted us beyond the threshold. A breeze wafted into the room, smelling musty and stale to our noses. There was a hint of something like wet-dog, but I supposed that wasn’t to be unexpected. These truly were beasts with little intelligence.
This passageway, unlike all others, no longer descend deeper into the underground world around us. Jutting rocks attempted to grab at my clothes, but was wide enough that I remained unmolested. Each step forward brought with it a new smell I couldn’t quite place a finger on. It had an almost sweet smell, but was more akin to fruit that was soon to spoil. Stella sniffed at the air, her canine nose able to decipher it far better than my own, but with a shrug, she couldn’t share anything more.
Having long since passed from beyond any firelight, the tunnel was enveloped in darkness. My own Darkvision was starting to have difficulty in seeing ahead of us. In the complete absence of light, my ability wouldn’t be able to amply something that wasn’t there. I was about to risk lighting a torch when a nearly imperceptible green glow could be seen ahead. Approaching closer, a light coating of moss clung around in odd spots. The moss was the cause of the defused glow. It was enough for me to see by, so we continued in the darkness.
We traveled for another half dozen minutes before coming to yet another wooded door. Approaching as quietly as possible, I carefully inspected the area. The door was sturdy and had a bar of steel hanging horizontally across its middle. A dark chain on one end of the bar ran upwards into a hole above the door. Looking closer, I realized it was a locking bar of some type. Something on the other side of the door would pull the chain, causing the heavy bar upwards and thereby allowing the door to open. Why it was designed that way was a mystery to us both.
“Why would the locking mechanism be on our side?” I whispered to Stella. The door fit snuggly into the tunnel and great care had been taken to ensure it worked as desired. The chain had a sheen of grease along its length and the door's hinges were equally lubricated.
“I’m not sure,” Stella replied after hovering up to where the chain disappeared. “I can’t see anything past the chain.
Testing the locking bar by hand, I found it easily swung upwards without the slightest sound. One end was fixed to the stone wall meaning if the chain was pulled from the room beyond, the bar would move vertically and be held in place, allowing the door to be opened. The slack of the chain kept taut as if a weight on the other end allowed the chain to be balanced in whatever position it was in. I kept the locking bar upright and I got the sense that unless something applied enough pressure or a quick jerk, it wouldn’t fall back into the locked position.
“Here we go. Help keep an eye out and call out if you see anything,” I whispered in a cautious tone as I pulled the door open, it swung out without even a hint of sound. Stella nodded at my request, but my attention was fully on the door and what lay beyond it. The wood was a dense material and I had to put in effort to get it to move, even with how well-maintained and lubricated it was. It felt like the door could withstand the blow from a giant.
The tunnel expanded into a wide room, shaped roughly like a cube that was two hundred feet wide to a side. It was humid within and a light pitter patter of moisture dropping from the ceiling could be heard, though the sound was oddly muffled and muted. The moss that sparely covered the walls before was now thick, covering every inch wall to wall. The green glow caused the area to be as bright as daylight under the effects of my darkvision.
Our vision into the room was blocked by countless mounds of dirt piled as high as I was tall. The mounds were spaced out evenly, each several paces wide and made of a mixture of sediment and earth. How it got arranged this way was so far a mystery. My eyes taking everything in, I followed the chain from the top of the doorway. The single chain was guided along the ceiling with loops hammered into the moss and rocky surface above. My eyes followed it to see the chain split off into another, then another. It looked as if the main chain split off like a tree growing ever more branches to encompass the entire ceiling. The web of chains all linked, so that if one was pulled, it would cause the initial chain to the door to be pulled with it. Throughout the room, chains hung down from the ceiling like some great pully mystery. It was a puzzle we didn’t yet have time to solve.
A sickly sweet smell assaulted our senses, both of us nearly gagging on the bitter scent. It was almost like something was decaying under gallons of honey that had dried for several weeks under a noon’s sun. Stella and I met eyes, each of us trying vainly to cover our noses. Disgust was plain on our faces, but we had bigger things to worry about.
I crouched up to a nearby mound and inspected it closely. It was wider than I was and towered over me as I crept closer. Reaching out, the earth was damp to the touch and was on the edge of being sludge-like. My fingers came away covered in a thick material and I had to fling my hand a few times to get the substance to fall away. Whatever it was, it was sticky and felt akin to caked mud. This close to the pile, heat radiated off of it and pressed into my skin. With how cool the room was otherwise, small wisps of steam rose to the ceiling.
Eyeing the room, every new mound looked nearly identical, though others were not nearly as tall. The place reminded me of many competing ant hills. Keeping stealth active, we worked our way into the middle of the room, sliding around mound after mound. I was hoping to find something else, but the organized rows of dirt didn’t waiver. Occasionally, we found a mound or two that had been busted open, almost as if something had torn its way out from the inside. It was a worrying thought.
We were eyeing up one particular broken mound when a haunting laugh filled the room. The laugh was guttural and sounded as if it was being forced through a mouth full of mucus and phlegm. It had the hoarsest voice I had ever heard.
Crouching low, my stealth was firmly engaged and I got no sense that I had been spotted. Uncertainty raced through me as I tried to look in all directions at once. With the mounds piled up, it was hard to determine the direction from where the throaty noise came from. Stella and I were hunkered between several mounds when a loud crack sounded, like metal on metal. The chains above crackled noisily; one line being pulled taut. A sharp pang of dread and realization coursed through my body, as the line was again yanked on violently. With a resounding boom, the door we had left open behind us slammed closed. Another thud sounded, signaling the locking bar falling into place right after effectively locking us in. Now the outer mechanism made sense, it was designed so that something could pull on one of the dangling chains throughout the room and cause the door to lock close.
One chain was hovering over us, so I stood tall and tugged on it. Nothing happened. Evidently, the pully system closed the door, but wouldn’t open it. There must be a different way to open it back up¸ I thought to myself. Lower back into a crouch, I looked to Stella.
“Shit,” I cursed under my breath. “Stella, can you see whatever the hell was laughing?”
“No, and I don’t like the sound of it,” Stella replied, revulsion spread across her tiny face. “It sounded like someone who regularly drinks battery acid. Disgusting.”
“Nice.”
Whoever laughed sounded big, the voice deep and gravely. I wasn’t looking forward to our introduction. We worked our way to a side wall, wanting it nearby so we couldn’t be attacked from all sides. “Stell, can you scout ahead a little? I’m hoping you can help us spot it before it spots us.”
“Sure, but I can’t go too far away from you,” Stella replied.
“I have an idea, can you fly up near the ceiling and take a look over these mounds,” I asked. “Don’t go too high though as the glow from the moss may give you away.” Stella nodded and glided upwards, stopping a foot away from the ceiling. She turned her head, this way and that. She must have spotted something as her gaze was locked on something towards the back of the room.
“You’re not going to like it,” she paused as she settled in the air next to me. Her head tilted towards the direction she had been looking. “It’s pretty… disgusting.”
“Were you able to get a description off of it?”
“No, only you can trigger Inspect. It… she isn’t moving. She’s just sitting back there against the wall,” Stella’s lips curled as if she bit into something too sour. “She’s looking back and forth. I don’t think she knows where we are, but obviously knows we’re stuck in here with her.”
“Anything else you can share about her?”
Stella made quick eye contact with me, saying only a single word, “Fat.”
She didn’t share more than that, so I nodded my understanding and started working closer towards the boss. Stealth was keeping me well hidden, though every footfall near a pile of the sludge squelched ever so slightly with my passing. A pressure in my temples slowly starting filled my awareness, hinting that we were getting closer, though thankfully still hidden. Hearing labored breathing ahead, I used one of the tall mounds to hide my body as I peered around, trying to a glimpse. What greeted my eyes, was something out of a nightmare. A grossly overweight, hairless gnoll-like beast with four legs and a small pair of stubby arms was peering about.
It was akin to a gnoll as she had a long, angular snout taking in deep raspy breaths, but little else resembled the creatures we had fought earlier. While the creature’s four legs looked as strong as a bull, the body reminded me of the fat creature from a sci-fi movie. Her body giggled with mounds of fat that layered thickly along her centaur-shaped form. Her arms were wider than my thighs, and those were stubby-looking on her massive frame. Her pearly-white skin was stretched too much, trying to vainly keep her folds of flesh contained within.
To make matters worse, it was absolutely covered in sweat that was pouring profusely off her rolls of flesh. Even at this distance, I knew the sickly-sweet odor in the air was definitely coming from whatever that foul liquid was. It was almost overpowering even being a dozen paces away. My shoulders deflated at the grotesque sight of her. I had been expecting a glorious fight, much like the goblin boss, but the sight of her was quite revolting. I regretted the coming fight, not for fear of her killing me, but of her foul presence. Nearly gaging at the foul obscenity before me, I finally inspected the boss.
Risqué the Massive, Corpulent Gnoll Matriarch (Level 14 - Rare Boss)
A gnoll matriarch is an exceedingly rare sub-species of gnoll that hasn’t been seen in civilized lands in over two centuries. One of the species most loathed creatures is birthed only once every several hundred years and she is essential for a band of Twitching Gnolls to grow and survive.
The foul liquid that oozes out of its massive body is saturated with adrenaline that her male gnolls fight for the right to collect. Once imbibed by a twitching gnoll, they no longer need to eat or drink for weeks at a time as their bodies are magically sustained by the repulsive nectar. Unfortunately, for these gnolls, the liquid is highly addictive and they acquiesce to any request from their Matriarch. This gives the Matriarch complete control of the pack and she often sends them out to bring back unwilling victims to her den for ‘reasons.’ Trust us, you don’t want to know more on that subject!
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Dear god, I thought. The urge to flee flashed in my mind but was drowned by the realization we had been set up. My guess was that whatever opened that massively thick door, would be found only after defeating the boss. We were trapped with nothing to do about it. The boss was far above my level and looked to have far more times my health pool. There was no way to be certain right now, my heads-up display simply showed one hundred percent remaining health. Her gaze started turning towards our position, so I quickly ducked back behind the cover. Something had caught my attention as I ducked, so after allowing a moment for her gaze to hopefully move on, I peeked around once more.
A round level was jutting from the stone wall behind her. It likely opened the door I so desperately wished was still open. Yet, looking at her and the many chains that dotted the room, even if I managed to pull it with the intention of fleeing, she would simply close as we raced our way to safety. Our only option was to fight.
Thinking for a moment, the idea of trying to talk my way out of a fight seemed dim based on the Matriarch’s description. She probably thought I had been thrown in here by the gnolls and was simply waiting for the inevitable. Why though, was she not hunting me down? By the look of her massive body, I could guess why. She would need to lumber through the evenly spaced mud piles to move around. The immediate area around her was clear, so my mind tried to work out the reasoning.
“She probably doesn’t want to knock those mounds over,” I whispered aloud my thoughts. Something was within each; I now had no doubt. Each radiated a strong heat, almost like body heat. Dread fell over me again. Those damnable piles were her offspring, at least that was my guess with the information available to us. Stella caught my eyes and seemed to comprehend the same thing.
“Hopefully none of them burst while we’re fighting,” Stella offered helpfully.
I nodded at her wish, “Let’s hope.” Delving back into my thoughts, I needed to come up with a plan. Our only advantage so far was a surprise attack. The boss knew we were in the room, but not where. The extra damage from my initial attack would help, but with her unknown health pool, I would have to hope it was enough.
I would need to start with my most damaging attack and, right now that was my specialized boil blood. The additional damage with stealth would boost it further. Glancing another risk at ‘Risqué,’ my thoughts raced trying to think of other options. “Question, Stell. If I drink the gnoll brew, do you think there is a chance I get addicted to it like the gnolls in her description said?
“I doubt it,” Stella said with a shake of her head. “Your biology is different from that of the gnolls and I’d guess the brew is system tailored to get them hooked on it.”
Alright, at least we had that going for us. A plan was formulated in my mind and I quietly shared it with Stella who nodded in agreement as I spoke. “Let’s do this,” I said, ready for battle as I could ever be. Taking a deep breath, I began. My fingers twinned through movements as I placed a dual-cast minor regeneration on myself, hoping it would also increase the duration of the spell, not just the amount healed. Then, without pause, I peered once more around the pile near us and targeted the boss. My fingers moved through delicate gestures while arcane words tumbled out of my lips, this time bringing forth the magic of my strongest spell. I did my best to keep it to a whisper so that I wouldn’t give away my position. Unfortunately, Risqué's interest was piqued and she stood taller, though made no indication she knew exactly where we were.
“Welcome, meat. I’m so glad my gnolls brought you to me…,” her deep voice cut off abruptly as my spell connected with her fleshy body, the blood in her massive body instantly boiling. Her words were replaced by a bellowing scream that pierced the air, “Argh!”
Her voice was repulsive like someone had broken her windpipe and had forced a mouthful of syrup down her throat. Her yell had gobs of phlegm rocketing outwards. Her initial response to realizing I was close, gave me a small modicum of hope. Risqué hadn’t considered I would be attacking from the shadows. Based on her words, she likely thought I had been dumped in here without armor or weapons by her pack of gnolls. Sadly, for her, she was about to suffer the consequences of her arrogance.
The initial damage notification flashed across my screen, to be quickly minimized based on my settings, but something felt… off. The damage was smaller than I had expected, and the impression I now got from the damage I caused feeling weaker. My eyes quickly summoned up the information to double-check it. Damage dealt, 136. The Matriarch’s blood begins to sear.
Stella locked eyes with mine. “She has magical resistances!” Stella shouted above the beast's gargled scream.
“Damn it,” I exclaimed knowing that this unwelcomed addition was going to extend our fight with the boss. Risqué had a significant health pool if the measly damage I had inflicted with the first tick of my spells damage was any indicator, and with whatever magical resistances she had it would make my job harder. “By how much,” I shouted out the question I readied a new spell. No other creature had magical resistance before so I could only hope it would be small; it wasn’t.
Before Stella could answer, Risqué's scream cut off abruptly, followed by a mucus-filled bellow, her massive body lumbering towards the mound I was hiding behind. “You’ll pay for that insult a thousand times over, meat bag. I am going to strip the meat off your bones and drink your marrow while you are writhing in agony.” Risqué continued to shout threats that I tuned out, not allowing them to distract me, her voice shrill with anger. She was moving slowly towards us, taking a moment to look down at her blubbery stomach, as if trying to see the damage from my spell. When Risqué looked back up to me, she was greeted with a fireball bearing down her still form. It detonated and blasted her back a few paces.
The damage once more felt far weaker than expected, but doubly so compared to boil blood. Pulling up the damage notification I swore as I read the limited damage inflicted. Damage dealt, 79. Gnoll Matriarch is afflicted with Burn. I was supposed to do closer to one hundred thirty so her resistances were significant, sure she had the burn debuff, but that number was likely lower too. I was about to question why the fireball was so much lower when Stella’s voice shot above the incessant yelling of the boss.
“She must have forty-percent total magical resistances. Luckily, your necromancer class is bypassing a good portion of that. Remember, you have an innate ability to bypass twenty-five percent of a mob’s resistances.” Stella was flying around the battlefield, doing her best to fill me in with what was happening or important information I needed to know.
“So, damage over time spells more than others,” I said in response. The boss was moving once more for my position, doing her best to ignore both my DoT and the burn debuff slowly draining her health. Not thinking long, and seeing she was within range, I held out a hand and channeled my flamethrower spell. The damage would be weaker because of her resistances, but I hoped to keep her back with the biting flames. I also aimed for her face, just to shut her the hell up.
The cascading flame washed over her flabby chest, reaching hungrily to her face. Whether that shut her up or simply that I couldn’t hear her over the roar of the spell, mattered little to me. It also stopped her in her tracks. Risqué was flailing her arms before her face trying vainly to protect herself as the flames worked to blacken her flesh. My confidence crashed completely when she lowered her head and her whole body flashed a brilliant white. Before I could react, the boss sped forward at incredible speed, closing the distance between us in an instant. The mound in front of me did little to protect me from the colossal impact. I had been able to shift aside enough that I didn’t take the full brunt of her attack, but the result was devastating regardless.
The mound of dirt and earth burst as if a grenade had detonated within. Parts of flesh and gore flew along with the sediment which affirmed my suspicion that new gnolls were being incubated within. Destroying an offspring seemed to matter little to the boss, as she crashed straight through and into me. Instead of taking the charge directly on my chest, she hit the side of my torso sending me spinning in the air like a rag doll. Some of the ooze that covered her entire body transferred in the impact, bringing bile to my throat with only a whiff of the rancid odor.
A damage notification flashed across my screen, followed by a debuff message in bright red letters, it bold enough to catch my attention even as I slammed to the floor several feet away.
You have suffered 132 damage from Gnoll Matriarch’s ‘Bulling Charge’. You are STUNNED for 2 seconds.
My head was spinning and I couldn’t focus. Stella was trying to tell me something, but my wits were addled so it sounded like gibberish to my ears. After the two seconds that had passed, my sense came flooding back in. I was flat on my back and could make out the boss’s feet only a few paces away. Not waiting to see the gnoll's next move, I rolled away trying to get distance from her pounding hooves. Finding my feet, I whirled back to the boss, ready for anything. Luck had been with me, the mound of clinging mud had covered her entire torso and face, enough so that she was having trouble getting it off and reorienting back on me.
Had she not hit the gnoll incubator and not become disorientated, that two-second stun could have been disastrous for me. Whatever ability she triggered was lightning fast, though it did give a split second to react with the burst of light it gave off before the charge. I would have to be ready if it happened again. That single attack alone nearly took out nearly half of my total health pool, and it wasn’t a direct impact at that! I could ill afford to take another one. Catching my breath for a moment, my regeneration spell was working diligently to undo the damage the boss had caused.
The boss freed herself of most of the sticky tar-like substance, and orientated at me. She charged once more, but thankfully without any special ability. Perhaps, it had a cooldown. I was about to cast a spell when the boss gargled out several arcane words, all the while pointing a meaty hand in my direction.
“Oh shit, she’s a caster,” I yelled in warning. A cast bar appeared above her nameplate and was rapidly reaching completion. Many hours from my previous life had taught me, it had been bore into me, that you never wanted an enemy to finish their casting. The cast bar above her hinted that it was a spell that could likely be interrupted, but one had to act fast. My axe had never left my grip, so I charged forward matching her movement with my own. The distance rapidly closed between us, faster than Risqué initially anticipated, so my axe came slashing across towards her undefended body. Still, she was no easy foe and reared right before impact, causing my attack to only glance across her front hooves.
The gnoll matriarch’s spell completed and a glowing ethereal longsword appeared in her upraised fist. In a motion her bulky form belied it was capable of doing, she crashed all her weight down with her front hooves, using the momentum to strike down toward me with incredible force. The magical blade slammed down on my shoulder, sinking in deep. An instant later, the blade vanished into motes of energy. Still, the impact and resulting pain was excruciating. It felt like I had nearly been split in two. In reality, my troll hide tunic helped the otherworldly blade from doing just that.
Finding myself on one knee, my vision was blurred from the agony of the attack. You have suffered 150 damage! Thankfully, my regen spell ticked and helped stabilize my dwindling health pool somewhat. I grimaced as my muscles and tendons quickly knit themselves back together.
“Look out!” Stella shouted from my left.
Her warning prompted me to dodge. I rolled backwards and barely avoided twin fists trying to slam down upon my unprotected head. Coming back to my feet again, I eyed the boss wearily, both of her attacks causing significant damage. Had I not started the battle with that regeneration spell, I would likely be dead.
The boss glowed brilliantly again, my eyes going wide at the implication.
As I dove to the side, Stella yelled out at the same instant, “That’s her charge ability!” Thankfully, I was quick enough and the gnoll's blazingly fast charge missed me by centimeters. The blast of wind swept by me as she once again crashed into one of the towers of mud.
Spring back to my feet, I orientated on the boss who was once again having difficulty extracting herself. Recognizing the boss mechanic for what it was, and the weakness it imparted which left her momentarily defenseless as she franticly tried to remove the sludge, I leaped with my axe held high. My axe crashed heavily into her enormous hind quarter, scoring a deep blow that none of her magical resistance could protect her from.
Unfortunately, my greed got the better of me. As I tried to land another blow, the gnoll’s hind legs kicked out. Her lightning-fast double-back kick connected solidly in my chest as I reached the apex of my axe swing, high over my head. The blow was devastating and I was thrown back painfully once more. I momentarily crumpled into a fetal position from the pain of the attack. You suffered 198 damage!
“Xaz, you can’t keep allowing her to hit you, she’s too strong,” Stella said, trying to help. Didn’t I know it, though. I had to play this smarter. I was getting my ass kicked, literally.
Knowing I couldn’t remain in my vulnerable position, I forced myself to get up and ignore the pain. The wind had been blown out of my lungs, but thankfully my regeneration spell allowed me to take in a deep breath a moment later. My lifesaving spell couldn’t be lasting much longer, so I recast it once more, refreshing the duration. My breathing was ragged for several minutes, the boss having broken several ribs with her recent attack. The strength the boss could bring to bear was awe-inspiring, in the worst kind of way. I was lucky she hadn’t punctured a lung with that hit.
Another round of DoTs ticked away and Stella updated me on her remaining health. “Boss at 39% health!”
The state of the boss's health came somewhat of a surprise as it felt like I hadn’t done much recently, other than be thrown around like a rag doll. Still, my boil blood spell was incredibly powerful for its level. Plus, the boss also had the burn debuff that was slowly ticking away at her health. Returning to the ball of my feet once more, swearing to myself it was the last of this battle, I took a calming breath.
Knowing now that I would only be able to get in a single attack or spell with the matriarch’s charge mechanic, I would have to be ready. My mistakes had cost me, but I also learned something valuable.
My health had been dangerously low from the powerful kick, nearly bottoming out, yet, I was feeling some confidence in how to proceed. It was important to not focus too much on your mistakes. Instead, you needed to learn from them and, in this Game, you either learned fast or died apparently.
Knowing what the boss could do next, I brought my axe defensively in front of me. The boss turned and ran at me, a new glowing sword held high for another attack. She must have cast her spell again while I was distracted. As it descended, I first thought to parry the attack, but from the blows the boss had landed thus far, she was far too strong to attempt it. I couldn’t match her strength, likely even if I tried to use my minor deflection spell. So, instead, I backpedaled, the sword missing by a hairsbreadth before vanishing into motes. Quickly lunging forward, my axe slashed across her mid-section scoring another hit and tearing a large gash. quickly brought my back slashing at her mid-section. As the blow landed, a flash of azure light lashed outwards from the axe, flash freezing the impact sight.
A smile spread my lips as the gnoll leader’s movements slowed. It has seemed like ages since the weapon’s special ability had triggered and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Ice-like tendrils coursed through the matriarch’s flesh, reaching her front hoovers and all the way to her thick neck.
I could have attacked her again with my axe, but my greed had nearly ruined me earlier. Instead, I intoned the words to minor heat blood. The extra damage from the DoT would hopefully push me over the edge into victory. I backpedaled further and moved myself behind another chest-high mound of dirt.
Another round of damage from my spells chewed into her health pool, bringing her down to twenty-seven percent. At that moment, her face turned bright red and she howled into the air. A new “enraged” notification appeared on her nameplate and I was glad I had acted defensively moments before. This time, she flashed a brilliant crimson color, her bulk moving sooner than before. My weapon’s slow effect helped me here, I think. It gave me plenty of time to dodge aside as the boss blew through the mound I was behind and through the next one beyond that!
There would have been no way I could have survived that absurd attack. Having been waiting patiently and with my foresight, I now found myself more than a dozen yards away from the boss, my health reaching higher thanks to my regeneration spell. Having two piles of gunk to scrap off herself, I had my opening. Charing towards my prey, I refreshed the lesser boil blood in her system, effectively guaranteeing a victory due to the massive damage it inflicted over the course of a minute. I wasn’t satisfied in simply waiting for her to die from my spell as it wrecked into her health pool. I had eyed up the enraged status and found a noteworthy piece of information after inspecting it. Damage received multiplied by an additional 50% due to Enraged status.
Something else could happen in the battle, some other final ability the boss had for me to simply sit on the sideline. I needed to act.
“Boss at 18%. health” Stella informed me as I charged.
My axe again landed a strong blow against her hind quarter, dropping her health by a healthy amount. I had learned my lesson though and backpaddled, expecting a kick to lance out in response to my attack. Sure enough, twin hooves hammered out but found only empty air. Another of my attacks landed in short order before I again moved back. This time though, the boss turned after finally removing most of the gunk from her body.
Balancing on the balls of my feet, I waited for the next charge. With the space I created between us I felt confident in my ability to dodge her once more. However, instead of the expected crimson charge, the towering gnoll’s eyes flashed red and she vanished! The hair on the back of my head stood on end and a sense of dread screamed a warning from behind, so I dove directly forward, my instincts saving me. As I dove headlong, a blade of red energy crashed into the ground just where I had been standing a moment before.
The boss had teleported!
After turning my dive into a roll, I swung around, my momentum pulling my axe with me. It connected hard into the matriarch’s body, bringing her health bar to nearly non-existent as another round of my DoTs ticked away at her weakening body.
“Boss at 6%,” Stella shouted with enthusiasm this time, hope evident in her voice.
I knew I only needed to last one more round of my damage overtime spells and the boss would fall. Both my and Stella’s enthusiasm faltered as we gasped in unison. The boss had one final trick up her sleeve. Risqué uttered a single arcane syllable, twin blades blazing to life in her hands. One burning crimson and the other a saintly white, she grinned evilly my way. The boss flashed both white and red, the colors looking to try to mix but failing to do so. Another charge was incoming and the battle had brought us close to the edge of the room. In horror, I realized I was trapped with nowhere to go. There was no way to dodge it and if the matriarch’s final attack landed, there was no way I would survive it.
As the boss blazed forward with ungodly speed, I acted out of desperation, diving aside even as I cast the only spell I could think of. I devolved into pain as my body was crashed into by a mountain slide. A void of blackness descended over me and I knew no more.