Our group left the city for the dungeon just after dawn, hoping to reach it before the temperature rose too high. We were delayed slightly by a lecture from Telovir about coming back safely. I could feel the excitement radiating from Teos about today's event. The contracts that Nerzhyn had given us included a map on the back, and it was easy to follow as it updated our current location periodically. It was like having a magical GPS. Our journey led us through a thick jungle to a rocky outcropping with little vegetation. We continued along the path until we discovered a small cave. The cave contained a shimmering portal and writing to indicate that it was the entrance to The Bloodfall Burrows.
"Everybody ready?" Cass asked us. Leo and I nodded, and Teos let out a snarl. We entered the portal to the dungeon.
The portal itself was a new experience for me. I didn't feel anything change as we crossed, but our location was very different from where we entered. We were still inside a cave, but the rock was an entirely different color. A large tunnel was directly in front of us, and an acrid smell wafted through the air. The tunnel was our only option; once the whole group was inside, the portal we came through disappeared. A notification flashed before my eyes.
[Dungeon Interface - Active]
We entered the tunnel warily. I was in front of the formation with my shield and spear ready. Teos walked alongside me, and Cass and Leo walked behind us. I could hear various sounds echo through the tunnel, but nothing specific enough to identify the sources. My interface had changed upon entering the dungeon. I now had a small window indicating each team member's health and mana percentages. Under my buff and status bar, an objective appeared that stated the purpose of our incursion into the dungeon.
[Eliminate the threats inside The Bloodfall Burrows - 0/3]
As we rounded a long bend in the tunnel, we discovered two leech-like beings chewing a new passage into the rock. They were roughly the size of a large dog and looked like leeches with six legs. They turned as we approached, and I noticed they had giant circular mouths ringed with curved teeth under a set of twelve tiny eyes. I didn't have to examine them for their names and levels to flash briefly in my vision, which I guessed was also a feature of the dungeon interface.
[Bloodfall Leech Drone - Level 9]
Leo cast Stoneskin on the three of us, and I let out a War Cry to bolster the team. The drones were upon us seconds later. I readied my shield and let the first beast crash into it. The second one attempted to slip past me, but Teos intercepted it. Leo cast lightning bolts at my target while Cass hacked away at the drone battling my familiar. My spear left deep puncture wounds in the creature, and it wasn't long before both fell before our assault.
Leo informed us that his lightning bolt spell was upgraded into Chain Lightning, which would strike up to five targets. More area damage was always a good thing. We continued through the tunnel, and the smell continued to worsen. It smelled like a mix of rotten eggs and old blood. The tunnel eventually opened into a large cavern with a section encircled by glowing red mushrooms.
"If that's not a boss area, I don't know what is," I whispered.
My team approached silently, and I could see shapes dancing around the luminescent fungi, but the center was empty. We remained outside the ring, fearing that entering might trigger a trap. The floor was impossibly smooth stone, and the smell was overpowering this close to the circle. Teos let out a low snarl, and seconds later, I heard a sickening, squelching noise approaching us. I could only stare as a massive creature slowly moved toward the cavern's center. It was similar in appearance to the leeches we had just fought but much larger and sporting a set of tiny wings on its back. Its stomach was so engorged that it dragged it along the ground, generating squelching noises as it did. It reached the center of the cavern and reared up to face us.
[Bloodfall Hivemother Lydraxxa - Level 13 Boss]
The leech queen let out a high-pitched screech that forced us to cover our ears. Once it ended, we charged at the beast, our strategy being the usual let me get my ass kicked while Cass and Leo dealt damage. I had Teos attack once the creature was focused on me. I could hear him tearing into its leathery hide with claws and fangs. The leech stood on four of its legs and used the front two to swipe at me in between lunges with its vicious mouth. I blocked its claws with my shield to generate stacks of Titan's Favor and dodged every lunge. The creature's mouth was large enough to fit my whole shield inside, so I dared not block it. Unfortunately, the boss was immune to any stun or slow effects, so it would be a battle of attrition.
We battled for a minute or so, and I fell into a rhythm, finding the creature to be pretty predictable. Occasionally the boss would try to target one of the others, but I was fast enough to intervene. Once I entered her sight again, she focused on me for a short while. I was starting to think we had this fight figured out when I felt a sharp pain in my right calf. I looked back to see a leech the size of a football attached to it. I quickly cut it in half with my spear, killing it instantly, and turned back to the boss. A notification startled me.
[Your blood has been corrupted by 'Bloodfall Leechling'.]
"I could use a cleanse, Leo!" I shouted while stabbing at the Hivemother. I felt the magic flow over me, but the debuff icon remained. I reflexively inspected it.
[Corrupted Blood 1 - Losing 1% of maximum health every 10 seconds for 60 seconds. This ability may stack.]
That wasn't so bad. The whole duration would only cost me 6% health over a whole minute. I informed the team, and we kept up our assault. I felt another stinging pain in my neck. I ripped the leech off and stomped it to death.
[Corrupted Blood 2- Losing 2% of maximum health every 10 seconds for 60 seconds. This ability may stack.]
I was hardly taking damage from the actual boss. She was so slow and predictable that it wasn't a concern, but I'd be dead anyway if this debuff reached any significant amount of stacks. I searched to see where the hell the leeches were coming from. The floor was empty, and there was no sign of anything on the walls. Even the ceiling was barren, at least what I could see of it. I began to panic as I searched for the source while blocking and dodging the boss. We could be in real trouble if I didn't find out soon. I stabbed deep into Lydraxxa's hide and ripped my spear sideways as I yanked it out. Three of the tiny leeches wriggled out of the huge laceration.
I took a step back and considered for a moment what to do. I had become too reliant on my insane fortitude and the defense of my new armor. My plan to outlast the boss would be irrelevant after a few more leeches bit me.
I roared as I used Provoke, took a few more cautious steps backward, and waited. Eight tiny leeches were clumsily wriggling toward me. I smashed my foot into the ground as I cast War Stomp. I only intended to slow them down, but the small amount of damage caused by my ability actually killed them all.
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"New plan!" I shouted to make sure Cass and Leo heard me. "I'm going to use Provoke to round up the small leeches every 25 seconds and War Stomp to kill them. I'll need Leo to use Chain Lightning to take down any groups I miss. Leo, once I hit 15 stacks of corrupted blood, start conserving mana! The leeches are coming from the boss's wounds!" I added before stepping back into the fight.
I continued my dance with Lydraxxa, trying to keep an eye out for the leechlings in the process. I stopped quite a few before they reached me, but I missed three. I was now losing 5% of my health every 10 seconds, and I physically felt the drain when it occurred. The small leeches only came after me, which led me to believe they would only attack the same target as their Hivemother. I blocked another claw swipe as I watched lightning bounce between the hive mother and four small leeches, illuminating the dim cavern. The boss was suffering from a ton of different wounds and was now starting to visibly slow. Cass dealt a savage overhead strike with her sword, cutting a massive laceration into the giant leech. I used Provoke a second time and took three steps backward, waiting for the army of little leeches I knew would be coming.
[Augment Rune: Guardian has progressed to Level 3 - Intermediate - One of your abilities has been upgraded.]
My War Stomp killed at least twenty of the little bastards, but I still ended up with eleven stacks of Corrupted Blood. I told myself I wouldn't worry until over fifteen stacks, as that's the amount of health Leo could heal continuously. Cass used her stagger ability in between chain lightning and tornadoes from Leo. I was focusing on the ground when something crashed into my side and sent me flying through the air a few feet. Oh, right, there's a boss, too.
Its swipe had chunked away 23% of my health, and I was sure I had broken a rib or two. Leo quickly mended me, and I was back on my feet in seconds. The boss had turned its attention on Cass, who was dodging its attacks deftly while dealing tremendous damage with her counters. I used Intervene on the warrior and flew beside her with my shield raised. I could see from the interface that Cass's health would lose a few percent periodically, which meant she had picked up a few stacks while I was down. I wasn't worried about her specifically, but the added healing needed would stress Leo even further.
Less and less lightning and wind slashes came at the boss as our healer preserved his mana. I could finally use my execute ability, which meant the boss was below 30% health or so. I didn't have to tell Cass, who immediately used hers, dealing a vicious strike with her axe that cut the boss's right upper arm off. Leechlings poured from the wound as if they were blood. It was a race now. Kill the boss before I accumulated too many stacks of Corrupted Blood that even Leo couldn't heal through it.
[Corrupted Blood 21 - Losing 21% of maximum health every 10 seconds for 60 seconds. This ability may stack.]
It now felt like I was stabbed in the chest every 10 seconds. We had to keep going. The boss was nearly dead. I roared another Provoke and repeated the earlier process. I felt like hundreds of tiny leeches had poured out of Lydraxxa's wounds. War Stomp killed most, and Leo cast a Chain Lightning at some stragglers, but I could see that too many had lived. I rolled away from the Hivemother's lunging mouth, feeling tiny bites all along my body as I did so. I ignored it, and Shield Charged the boss. I tore into it with the serrated portion of my new shield, removed it, and used my execute ability. My spear stabbed upward and into a row of her eyes, carving her face and head apart. The boss slumped over after the attack, and Execution's cooldown reset. We had done it.
[You have reached Level 12.]
[Corrupted Blood 48 - Losing 48% of maximum health every 10 seconds for 60 seconds. This ability may stack.]
My cheer turned into a scream as my vision dimmed and my hearing faded. Shouldn't the debuff end after the boss dies? This isn't a game. I reminded myself as Leo brought me back to 78% health before the next wave of pain hit. It was so severe I could hardly think, and if I had accumulated this many stacks during the actual fight, I would be long dead. 38 seconds remained. That was four more times I would have to suffer through this. Leo quickly got me back to 95%, but I could see he was suffering for it. His mana was at 15% after the long fight—more pain. I screamed again. It felt like I was being ripped apart from the inside out. Like my blood was poison in my veins. I snatched a red potion from my Cache, tore the stopper off, and chugged it. My health shot up from 47% to 80% before dropping to 32% a few seconds later. Two more. Just two more. I heard Cass yelling at me to use my defensive cooldown, and I considered it. I was about to use it just to keep the pain away.
"Don't! I got this!" I heard Leo yell through gritted teeth.
I lay motionless on my back after the affliction ended, breathing heavily. I needed a few moments to gather my senses after the intense agony passed.
"Is it too late to become a baker?" I asked as I sat up.
Leo laughed and gave me a weary smile as Cass clutched my hand. Once she was certain I was okay, she stood and turned on Leo.
"What were you thinking? He could have died!" she roared.
"I didn't want him to waste that ability. If the first boss is this difficult... What's in store for us going forward? Besides, the math-" Leo began before Cass interrupted him.
"The math?! Fuck the math! Look at him!" she shouted while pointing at me.
"Cass, it's alright. Leo made the right call. We will need any advantage we can get for the next two fights," I said as I pulled another health potion from the Cache.
Cass dashed over and grabbed my wrist before I could drink it.
"You'll get sick this soon after taking the first one, idiot," she said softly.
"What would I do without you?" I asked with a weak smile.
"Die, obviously," she retorted but returned the smile.
I looked at the disgusting scene the battle left in its wake. There were hundreds of dead leechlings scattered around the cavern, and the boss lay in a heap of blood and viscera at the center. I groaned as I stood and approached the dead Hivemother.
[Loot - Bloodfall Hivemother Lydraxxa]?
I confirmed the prompt and received three items:
[Claws of Lydraxxa]
Rare Medium Armor - Hands
90 Armor
+15 Strength
+10 Vigor
+8 Dexterity
+8 Endurance
+2% Lifesteal
[Bloodfallen Signet]
Rare Ring
+20 Intelligence
+20 Regeneration
+10 Vigor
+10% Spell Damage and Healing
[Hivemother's Helm]
Rare Heavy Armor - Head
120 Armor
+20 Strength
+15 Vigor
+15 Endurance
Equip: 5% Chance on melee hit to inflict your target with Corrupted Blood.
I handed the ring to Leo and offered the gloves to Cass. She refused at first, not wanting to give up the Ogre's Grip Gauntlets that let her wield two-handed weapons with one hand. I insisted that the lifesteal effect would be much more helpful, and eventually, she relented, sliding her axe into her belt loop with a frown. I equipped my new helm, a spartan black helmet that seemed to be made from a type of flexible carapace or bone. The stacking debuff would be incredibly useful against the following two bosses.
Each of us had gained a level from the battle, and Leo was even close to Level 11. He'd be assigned a class sooner or later, and I was excited to see what it would be. I also had an ability upgrade during the fight. I pulled up my interface to check it out.
Augment Rune 3: Guardian (Intermediate Level 3 - (41%):
* Provoke - Let out a challenging roar that causes all enemies within 6 yards to attack you for 8 seconds. Has diminished effectiveness against sapient beings. Cooldown: 15 Seconds. Cost: None. (Upgrades: 1)
* Intercede - Charge to an ally's position; any damage they receive for the next 3 seconds is negated. Cooldown: 60 Seconds. Cost: 30 Mana.
* Freya's Blessing - (Passive) Your Vigor Attribute is increased by 100%. Your natural Physical Resistance is increased by 25%.
* Titan's Favor - (Passive) Every time you block or parry an attack, you gain an instance of Titan's Favor. This ability may stack up to 12 times. - [Titan's Favor: Increases your strength by 2% for 2 minutes.]
Provoke's cooldown had been lowered by 10 seconds, which was immensely helpful, but I wish the upgrade had been Freya's Blessing or Titan's Favor. They were objectively the two most potent abilities I had, at least from the Guardian Rune.
We all agreed to take a short rest before leaving the cavern to let our health and mana recover naturally. I removed some water and dried jerky from my Cache for us to eat. We rested for a short while after eating before we all stood.
"One down, two to go," I said confidently as we exited the cavern.