“No!” the word threatened to tear something deep within my core as it hammered out of my chest in defiance. Tallos had no chance of surviving such a brutal attack if it hit him full-on. Ripley hadn’t been able to, my undead minion certainly didn’t. If such a furious assault struck me and my aegis, I’d likely be left broken on the floor with nothing in my mana tank.
There was nothing I could do. The idea of throwing Frostrend was wasted as it would accomplish little now with the boss’s massive weapon closing the distance with frightening speed. Time seemed to slow as I witnessed the colossal hammer fly through the air. The panic of soon seeing a mangled and unrecognizable friend was almost too much to bear.
The war maul connected with something moments before it slammed against the stone wall on the far side of the room. Stone splinters exploded outwards from the impact, gravel showering across a nearby table and the carpet below. The heavy maul crashed to the ground a second later with a stifled thud.
Then I saw what became of my friend. Tallos managed to leap away from the direct path of the projectile but had not been able to evade it entirely. The war maul slammed inches below his knee as he dove to the side. When it struck, his body was flung away as if he had been turned into a grotesque elf-sized helicopter seed. Crunching bone rang clear across the room as arrows from Tallos’ quivers were thrown in a chaotic shower around him. His limp body came to an awkward stop atop the room’s carpeting, bunching up underneath him from the violent collision.
My eyes shot up to my party interface. Tallos was alive, though barely. He had a string of debuffs, several of which looked like snapped and shattered bones. His health bar barely had a drop of red in it. Unless the ranger received immediate care, he could die in a matter of seconds. His legs had not been torn away by the incredible force of the blow, but he likely had some internal bleeding based on one of the debuffs I spied which looked like dripping blood. With time of the utmost importance, I dared not take a moment to determine precisely what the debuff meant.
My hands wove through the air as I quickly cast my minor regeneration, forcing the words out of my mouth as fast as humanly possible. The arcane language caught the attention of the dwarf boss, who was even then turning around to face me, a wicked grin plastered across his ugly mug. Something in his expression shouted that Tallos’ predicament was punishment for the fate of his priestly friend.
My spell completed, healing magic surging from me to the broken elf. I knew it had no chance of repairing shattered or splintered bone, but it should keep my friend alive. Tallos, when he woke, would likely be in incredible agony and have no way to contribute to this fight. It was better than the alternative.
“You’re going to pay for that!” I screamed at my grinning foe. Buram hardly seemed to care as he sent a malevolent wink in my direction. We stared daggers etched in hatred towards one another. Then, the elite dwarf turned around and moved toward the downed elf. He was going to snuff out Tallos’ life completely!
Oh, no you don’t! I thought as armored boots carried the boss further away from me. The moment Buram turned, I settled on my next spell and dual cast it while glaring at the retreating dwarf’s back. Eat this!
An arc of blazing electricity discharged from between my upraised palms. It snaked in the air as if alive before crashing between the dwarf’s shoulder blades. I hadn’t closed my eyes as the spell had completed, not wanting to take my eyes away from the battlelord’s murderous charge at my helpless friend. Though the light shot pain through my mind from the intense burst of light, my eyes had been growing accustomed to the blue glow of the numerous flaming torches lining the spacious room allowing me to power through it.
Thus, I was keenly aware when the chained lightning secondary effect happened, slicing another bolt of lightning from the boss toward an unseen target outside of my vision. It could only have leaped to the dwarven magus I had feared earlier. I didn’t have time to consider the implications as I witnessed Buram’s crash forward, bowled head over heels from the tremendous force imparted to his body by the spell when it connected with his gleaming breastplate.
A shrill cry of panic lanced through my chest as the boss’s flailing body crashed over my unmoving friend. There was no coordination or malice in his movements, though the impact no doubt caused further injury to the lithe elf. Like some lifeless doll, the Tallos was blown forcefully away. The boss, his momentum carrying him forward, brought him closer to where his weapon lay on the floor.
A feline roar from far across the room nearly caused me to flinch at its ferocity, but I could ill afford to turn my attention away. If the wizard had been woken, a likely event with the amount of direct damage my dual-cast chained lightning spell was capable of doing, Lowki would need to handle the spell casting dwarf on his own, at least for now. I had to bring down the elite boss, otherwise he would end my unconscious friend’s life as easily as stepping on a handful of grapes.
Buram was picking himself off the floor as more of my spells crashed into his body as quickly as I could cast them. In short order, every single DoT I knew was eating away at his body and life force. Hell, I even took a moment to cast my weakest spell, minor acidic bolt, just to edge out as much damage as I could lay upon the armored elite. Every single minuscule amount of damage inflicted would be necessary if I were to stand any chance against the impressive dwarf.
The boss threw his head side to side, clearing away any lingering cobwebs from his tumble caused by my lightning attack. He had a hand on a knee as my final spell entered his wilting body. Buram looked in front of him, to where his heavy weapon lay, before coming to his feet. He moved uncaring of the spells wracking his body as he moved to retrieve his dastardly war maul.
Buram had seven damage over time spells scything away large chunks of his health, though his body language showed none of the intense pain he must be experiencing. Synaptic toxin, wyvern sting, ignite bones, arrested affliction, soul leech, boil blood, and acidic bolt each scorched the boss’s innards. There was only a single DoT not affecting the warrior as the dwarf belt to retrieve his massive maul, my poisoned breath attack. An image from the end of my battle with the minotaur chief blazed through my mind and I knew what I needed to do.
I charged forward, needing to close the distance to less than fifteen feet if this was going to work. A cry of agony from Tallos threatened to stop me short, but I had to ignore my friend’s plight, or the boss would finish us both off. Close enough, I halted my momentum as the final word of power escaped my lips. Taking in a great breath of air, my chest expanding to its limits, I exhaled right as Buram turned around.
Green vapor blasted from my mouth as the spell’s energy crashed over the stocky dwarf, covering him completely. The gas hit the wall behind him, causing it to ripple outwards, some rebounding to encapsulate the dwarf with even more of the gas. Buram reflexively coughed as the poisonous fumes saturated his lungs. My plan was hardly finished though.
An explosion, like a grenade violently detonating, sounded from far behind me though I kept my focus locked on the hacking dwarf. The wizard was back into the fight, that was clear from whatever spell he had triggered, and if I didn’t handle the boss soon only Lowki would be there to stop him from creating another reign of fire over our heads once more.
First things, first, I thought as a malevolent grin spread across my face.
Before my poisonous fumes could begin to dissipate, I brought both palms up level to Buram’s face. His eyes squinted towards me through the vapor, a curious expression crinkling his bearded face as he failed to comprehend what was to come. When twin gouts of roaring flame burst towards him, his eyes went wide. An inferno bloomed towards the suddenly worried boss.
As the flames licked the outer edge of the emerald gas, it was as if a portal to hell had been torn open. Faster than either of our minds could register, the vapor ignited into a blazing conflagration of sweltering heat and gnawing flames. As if a miniature atomic bomb had detonated, a firestorm exploded with devastating power.
Though I was fortunate not to be in the gas as it ignited, I was nonetheless blasted backward to once more trail of fire and smoke as I was thrown away. Whatever damage my mana barrier had absorbed, I had only been on the edge of the mighty explosion, the elite boss was smack dab in the middle of it. With the wall at his back, a greater density of the green vapor clung close to his body thus increasing the concussive blast he experienced.
My ears were ringing. My nose was satiated with the stink of sulfur and acrid smoke, though it was thankfully fast dissipating as I regained my feet. I wasn’t finished. I couldn’t let up until I was certain the dwarf was defeated.
Holding my hands close to my chest as if I were cradling a newborn sun, I put all my effort and will into another dual casting. Mystical words were forced as quickly as I dared as green smoke began to clear. Not wanting to be thrown backward again, I backpedaled a few extra feet to create more space between the imposing dwarf. Manifesting the final syllable of my spell, I thrust my hands forward as if tossing a meteor at my enemy. A burning ball of fire rocketed away at incredible speed. Before connecting with the kneeling dwarf, who raised his head right as the spell was about to connect, I spied ravaged dwarven flesh pot marked with angry blisters. Wherever Buram lacked armor, namely his neck, and face, scorch skin was visible.
Then my fireball detonated. A loud, sharp boom echoed throughout the room. The deafening roar threatened to steal my hearing as close as I was though I paid it little care. I wasn’t finished.
I needed to wait a pair of seconds for my next planned spell to become available once more. My mind screamed inside my head as I was forced to wait. Every single DoT was tearing away at the Buram’s insides so there was no sense to cast any upon him. I was also out of range for my flamethrower spell, so I had to wait. Finally, the cool down elapsed and I chanted the words to chained lightning. My fingers danced in the air in sharp, tightly focused gestures. After the one second cast time, the spell discharged. The boss was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall as a massive bolt of lightning streaked away from my hands. A brilliant flash of light showed that all the carpeting and furniture near where Buram rested had been completely destroyed.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
A thick bolt of lightning twisted unerringly through the air before slamming into Buram’s disorientated face. Like earlier, the magic of the spell caused a secondary bolt to leap off to the side going for the wizard once more. A red glow permeated that side of the room, though I dared not take my focus off the boss, even for a moment.
When the lingering afterimage of the dazzling light finally disappeared from my vision, a smoking, unmoving body could be seen lying on the cold floor. Buram, the magnificent dwarven battlelord, was dead. Every inch of his exposed skin was blackened and burnt; his face was no longer recognizable, and his beard had been completely burned away. Before turning my attention away, dwarven eye sockets looked up at me sightlessly. His eyes had been completely destroyed.
The sharp sound of a released bowstring captured my attention.
Turning around, I caught sight of Tallos. He was propped up on a stool, an elbow resting heavily upon it to stabilize himself. He had retrieved his enchanted bow and was committed to resuming his powerful attacks against the final remaining foe. Tallos’ calves were coated in blood and his boots were mangled with one foot twisted at an unnatural angle. He must have been in excruciating pain as he braced himself enough to draw back his bowstring to launch an empowered arrow at the wizard at the far end of the room. Tallos, severely injured, was determined to finish the fight.
As his latest arrow sped toward the magus, a shimmering globe of amber flame sprung into existence just before the attack could land. Since I had last laid eyes on the wizard, he must have been able to get at least one defensive spell up to protect himself. At our distance, I couldn’t tell if Tallos’ arrow had been halted by the protective barrier. It hardly seemed to matter to the wizard who was deep into spell casting of his own in response.
The thought of throwing a fireball at the mage entered my mind but was quickly dismissed. This enemy was a fire specialist and I suspected my spell would do little against him. He was clearly more skilled in that type of magic than I was. My chained lightning was on its long ten-second cool down once more, so I needed to try something else. The protective barrier summoned by Tallos’ attack sparked something in my memory. I had a weapon capable of blasting through such defenses.
Summoning my flintlock pistol to my hand, I sighted down the weapon’s barrel and pulled the trigger. It bucked in my hand as an empowered bullet capable of defeating magical and non-magical protections thundered at the distant mage.
Quickly returning the pistol to my inventory, I moved to my tried-and-true damage over time spells. The wizard had a few ticking away at his health, so I thought it a great idea to layer even more upon the fool. As the words to boiling blood raced from my lips, I finally caught sight of a smoking form crawling towards the wizard. It was Lowki. His back legs were hidden from my sight as he crawled over bunched mounds of carpeting, ever inching toward his target. Sadly, one tentacle was also completely missing. Whatever the wizard had done to him, it had nearly taken his life. Yet, the determined panther was single-minded and focused on felling his opponent. He kept on fighting.
Arantrud Warcoat, a brimstone magus, lived up to his class name as another galaxy of burning pitch was summoned over our heads. The wizard raised his hands over his head in large sweeping gestures as if summoning a tornado. The swirling flames covered our half of the room as large droplets of flame began forming, many looking to be moments away from streaking towards us. Unfortunately, my pistol shot hadn’t interrupted the obviously talent magician as he summoned his hellfire.
As globes of burning liquid started falling from the ceiling, I layered spell after spell upon the mage. Some spells were resisted, though most bypassed his magical defenses courtesy of my scent of decay that was still affecting the powerful spell caster. As soon as I could recast a failed spell, I did.
We were in a race to see whose attacks would finish off the other. Unfortunately for Tallos and me, the balls of flame seemed to have a homing feature, adjusting mid-fall to land on each of us where we stood. Attempting to dodge did little to avoid the liquid fire. It was as if we were large magnets, calling the tiny globes towards our bodies. Each drop that landed left a scorching hot substance in its wake. When the first crashed over my shoulder, intense heat tore at my own potent defenses. No pain filtered through my body, though each new globe brought with it an ever-increasing damage over time effect as well. My eyes flicked to a burning debuff icon that was steadily ticking higher, marking how many stacks of the DoT I accrued.
Tallos was in a similar predicament, but he was not as fortunate as I to have a protective enchantment to shield him from the pain. His health bar had been partially restored by my earlier regeneration spell but was now in a swift descent as more balls of pitch landed on his now crumpled body. He screamed in agony as the flames through armor, flesh, and into his muscles beneath. No longer capable of holding himself up, he collapsed to the floor. The stool he had been using to prompt himself up had burst into flames, intercepting one of the balls of fire trying to strike his vulnerable body.
If I didn’t get to him fast, the stacked damaging effect from the wizard’s spell would quickly crease his ineffectual struggles to shelter his body from the rain of fire.
I had no way of knowing how much health the damnable wizard still had. My mind threatened to devolve into panic as Tallos’ screams grew louder in my ears, to only begin to dim as his consciousness, perhaps his life, was burned away. Hoping it would be enough to end the threat, I put all my effort into rushing a final enhanced chained lightning. In less than a second, the magnificent bolt rocketed away to crash into the wizard’s robed figure.
Not confirming the kill, I turned my attention to Tallos lest he be devoured by the flames tearing through his body.
All the while, Lowki never took his eyes off his target. He hadn’t paused his slow advance. Finally, the great cat was close enough, just a foot away from his prey’s booted feet. Arantrud must have thought the great cat had been finished off earlier, or he simply didn’t care. The magus’ attention was completely locked in on continuing his channeled blazing galaxy spell.
Mustering what remaining strength he had within the stubs of his ruined legs, Lowki pounced at the wizard’s knees. He simply couldn’t jump any higher. Serrated claws extended to shred robes and the vulnerable flesh beneath into ribbons. His remaining barbed tentacle slammed hard against the side of Arantrud’s face. The fierce wizard had his wits and his spell stolen as he was buried beneath tearing talons and piercing quills.
My heart ached deep inside my chest as I stumbled closer to my friend’s unmoving body. My eyes caught Stella’s tiny canine form lying gently atop Tallos’ chest. She was so small I hadn’t noticed her until now.
Stella was resting her forehead against Tallos’ chest as sobs wracked her small body.
No, no, no!
Crossing the remaining distance in an instant, I crashed beside Tallos. Whole sections of his leather armor were burnt away showing bright red and blistered skin underneath. His typical joyful expression was still… motionless. He wasn’t breathing! Tears formed in the corner of my eyes as the realization of the unthinkable played out in front of me. I had to do something, anything! This couldn’t happen!
Without another thought, other than to heal my friend, my fingers moved in the air as I dual cast two restorative spells simultaneously. The possibility of Tallos never rising again threatening to collapse my universe in upon itself, rational thought frantically devolving into chaos. Like casting off a burning cloak, I tossed that fear into the darkest recesses of my mind. I was not about to entertain such a grim thought, even if a part of me knew he was already gone.
I would do anything to help my friend breathe again. My hands worked in a blur, each moving separately from the other. Words to two different spells were breathed forth in a seemingly chaotic mix, every other word sounding wholly unlike the previous. Minor regeneration flared life giving energy in my left hand. Cure poison, corruption, and disease gathered motes of power in my right. Though his body wasn’t moving, the flames from the wicked wizard’s spell were still tearing ghastly holes in Tallos’ body.
The devastating spell cast by the dwarven mage had left Tallos in a terrifying state. Burned and blackened clothes clung to his body, whole sections missing from his chest, shoulder, and mid-section. Horrible blisters cracked and oozed bright blood. His wounds seemed to stare at me accusingly as if passing blame upon me for not stopping the wizard sooner. My tear-filled eyes were wide with dread as my two spells completed. Two different types of healing magic formed around my glowing hands. It crackled with tightly compact energy as I placed one hand above Tallos’ heart, and the other over his burned stomach. I closed my eyes and willed my spells to restore my friend, even if it meant calling him back from the land of the dead. A tidal wave rushed from my chest, down my arms, before blasting into Tallos’ body in a torrent of power through my outstretched hands.
“No,” the word was uttered past my quivering lips, panic warring a fierce battle in my chest. It felt like a thousand tornados raced across the core of my being, leaving in their wake only destruction. I focused my power, willing it to come ever on. I pushed, more. More power, everything I could into my dying friend. “You won't take him!”
Power flowed out, my mana dropping like a lake before a burst dam. Energy crashed into Tallos, diving deep into his scorched flesh. Without consciously realizing it, both of my spells were being channeled, pulling at the deepest regions of my core for every mote of power. My eyes were tightly shut against the onrush. Thus, I wasn’t able to see what effect, if any, my magic had on my friend.
I compelled my core to do more, to do the impossible, as the torrent rushed passed my trembling hands.
Only Stella could witness my efforts, her wet eyes wide as I continued feeding mana into my spells. A slight color of jade rushed between my fingers to encapsulate Tallos’ entire body. There it met resistance, an unseeable barrier dividing the living from the dead. It was blocking my healing magic from passing into Tallos’ body. With each passing second, as I relentlessly called forth more healing magic, the glow grew brighter until his body was no longer visible as a green cocoon was called into being.
The magic swirled across his body as it vibrated and hummed with potential energy, far more than his body could hope to contain even if he had been alive. The magic brought forth contracted, attempting to pass through the invisible barrier. Death would not allow such restorative magic to take hold.
My merciless will commanded it to do otherwise. I would not yield. I would give my very life if necessary. Finally, something relented. Death surrendered as new magic, never before seen in this world, was shaped by my focused will.
“Xaz…” a soft canine voice tinged with amazement sounded near me, though I barely heard it such was my focus. Everything I had was narrowed to a single point in space and time.
An eternity passed in an instant. Unending tranquility breached my consciousness, encompassing every ounce of my existence.
Then the floodgate truly opened as my core unlocked. My sphere of power, twisting lightning and frosted vapor dancing with energy across its glossy surface, released everything it had remaining. My power responded to inundate my veins, my muscles, every fiber of my body standing between me and the body my hands clutched in despair.
My consciousness dimmed as my core emptied the last vestiges of energy. Before my consciousness faded, a notification flared brightly in the center of my vision. White, bold letters stood against an unending blackness of unconsciousness. The message was the most welcome words I had ever seen.
Brilliant white letters told me the only thing I needed to know at that moment. Before I graciously passed into oblivion, the notification brought a smile to my exhausted lips.
Congratulations! New Spell Unlocked: [Revivification]!