We followed the next tunnel until we saw some strange lighting up ahead. We continued until we saw the next boss area. A pool of blood was contained in ornate stones in a central location, and various odd statues were placed around it. There were pews like a church positioned behind the pool of blood. Directly behind the pool was a woman in a crimson dress. She turned to us, her lips curled into a smile. She reminded me of a vampire if it had been mixed with a demon.

She sported curled horns on either side of her head, and her skin was a light grey. Two fangs protruded from her upper lips, and she had a tail that ended in a barb. She was gorgeous, with a beautiful face and an absolutely stunning body. Her dress left almost nothing to the imagination.

"You didn't have to kill my favorite pet and most loyal guard just to gain an audience with me." she purred. Her voice was intoxicating. Her name and level appeared.

[Shiarra, Queen of Blood - Level 14 Boss]

I felt inexplicably drawn to her. As if my whole life had led to this very moment.

"Why not join me? We could be so... perfect together," she praised.

I had to agree, why resist this woman? Teos was snarling for some reason, and I mentally tried to calm him. Couldn't he see this perfect woman in front of us offering an alliance? I was slowly walking toward her.

Remember this feeling.

Someone had told me that, but why? I couldn't focus on anyone other than the beautiful queen. It didn't matter. I needed her. I kept walking, noticing Cass and Leo following me wordlessly.

Remember this feeling.

Nerzhyn had told me that, hadn't she? What was it about? It was irrelevant, and I desired Shiarra more than anything.

Remember this feeling.

The third repetition sparked a memory in me. How Nerzhyn had made me weak with a simple whisper. The Queen was charming us! I rebelled against the spell, pushing it away as my senses returned. I turned toward Cass and begged her to stop, but she didn't listen and just shoved me out of her way. I stopped in front of her, then smacked her across the face.

"Cass! It's another charm! Snap out of it!" I yelled into her face. That did the trick as Cass's eyes focused on me, a hint of embarrassment in them. "Get Leo! I'll handle the Queen!" I told her as I rushed toward the boss.

"How rude! I offered you everything, and you spit in my face?" So be it!" she said sternly. Demonic wings unfurled from her back, and she began casting a spell at me. Blood rose from the pool, crystallized into a spear, and then launched at me. I used Shield Charge, obliterating the projectile and slamming into Shiarra with enough force to knock her backward. She quickly stood as a curved dagger, and a mystical tome appeared in either hand. A lightning bolt then slammed into her stomach, and she yelped in pain. Cass had apparently broken the charm spell on Leo.

Shiarra uttered a quick chant, and more blood rose from the pool. It approached her and formed a red crystal barrier around her. A magic shield, if I had to guess. I activated Frenzied Strikes and lashed out at her, my spear bouncing off her shield repeatedly. I noticed tiny cracks appear wherever my weapon had hit. Cass joined the chaos and delivered two strong slashes right where the cracks were. The queen's shield now had holes in it but remained mostly intact. Leo launched a wind slash at her, but it bounced off her shield harmlessly. It appeared only physical attacks could demolish it.

[Augment Rune: Warlord has progressed to Level 6 - Expert Rank - An ability has been upgraded.]

"Leo, focus on healing. We'll take down the shield!" I declared.

The blood queen began another chant, and dozens of small blood-crystal arrows formed above the pool. They scattered around the room, Cass used her blur ability to reappear behind the queen, and I raised my shield to block. Leo's barrier was also up, and Teos hid behind me. A few arrows hit the four of us, but none did any significant damage. Our healer quickly dealt with the minor wounds. Teos stalked around behind the queen, pounced on her, and delivered a savage bite to her crystal barrier. He bit a huge chunk out, but the queen used an ability that repelled him and sent him flying backward across the floor.

I was back in an instant, still chipping away at her defenses while Frenzied Strikes was active. My spear became a blur as I drilled it into her shield repeatedly. Her barrier was full of holes and cracks now, and I knew it was nearly defeated. I used Shield Slam and bashed my shield into the barricade, shattering it completely. The queen howled in anger and pushed us all away with a spell.

"Your blood is mine!" she shouted.

She began channeling a spell, and four tendrils snaked out of her hands. One crept toward each of us. Teos leaped away, and I attempted to roll away from the one nearing me. I glanced at Cass and Leo, but the tendrils had reached them. I inspected the debuff on both of them.

[Royal Blood - Draining 2% health per second for 5 seconds. All health lost this way heals Shiarra, Queen of Blood.]

Teos and I were also caught in the spell, and the boss's health crept back up to 95%. This was most likely a repeatable attack, and a plan was forming in my head. The spell ended, and I dashed over to Cass and Leo. I quickly whispered my plan to them, then rushed back toward our enemy. She launched more blood spears at us, and I used Reflection to send one back at her. It impaled her through the thigh, and she let out a cry of pain. I was once again in melee range, and she slashed at me with her dagger. My shield met it and swept it away easily. I countered with a spear thrust aimed at her head. She dodged backward and began channeling another spell.

Tremendous amounts of blood raised out of the pool and into the air, forming crystal stalactites. They hovered above each of us. I shouted a warning and knelt, raising my shield above my head. I could only hope the others could dodge them on their own. I felt impact after impact crash into my shield, but none made it through my defense. Teos appeared untouched, but Cass and Leo had taken several impacts. Both their health was around 60%, so I rushed back toward the boss, hoping to buy Leo time to heal them both.

Teos joined me in a pincer maneuver, and we savagely attacked the queen, never giving her a chance to cast a spell at our teammates. For a mage, she could dodge and parry exceptionally well. Shield Slam was available again, and I used it, slamming my Ebonsteel Shield right into her chest. She flew backward and crashed into the wall behind her. That single attack had lowered her health to 50%. She began her drain attack again, but we were too spaced out for my plan to work. I used Reflection, sending one of the tendrils back at her. She drained 10% of all my teammates' health but lost 10% of her own from the tendril I reflected. She was at 53% now.

I made a guess that each drain would occur at every 25% of health she lost. So the next one should occur at 25%. That would be just enough for my plan to work.

"Guys, once I call out she has dropped to 35% health, stay close!" I ordered.

Cass closed in and began unleashing her abilities on the boss. She could deal much more damage than me, so I focused on distracting the queen with quick strikes and shield bashes. Leo launched more spells at her, and her health was dropping quickly. She once again called her blood shield to her, and we had to destroy it again. Cass, Teos, and I hacked, clawed, and slashed at it relentlessly. The queen used the respite to launch blood spears, blood arrows, and another stalactite attack at us. I used Intercede on Leo right before the bloody stalactites fell, then knelt and resumed my previous stance with my shield raised. Teos and Cass took a couple of hits each, but Leo remained unharmed and quickly healed them.

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The boss's shield was nearly down, and I rushed back into melee range. Our assault destroyed her barrier seconds later, and she cast a new spell. She repelled the three of us, lifted Leo with an invisible force, and snatched him toward her. We watched in horror as the queen lifted Leo's head and bit into his neck with her fangs. His health didn't drop at all, so I inspected the debuff on him.

[Blood Queen's Venom - Incapacitated for 5 minutes. If Shiarra, Queen of Blood is still alive when this debuff expires, the afflicted individual will be reborn as a vampire servant of the Queen.]

Oh, fuck. Not only had we lost our healer, but if we didn't kill this bitch within 5 minutes, he'd be turned into a minion of our enemy. Anger welled up inside me, but I shoved it down. We had to stick to the plan if we had any hope of saving Leo. The boss cackled like a crazed witch at our expressions. I told Cass what we had to do, and she grunted in understanding.

We charged the boss, not holding anything back. We had to be aggressive, but without our healer, it was risky. Teos launched a fireball at her back as Cass unleashed her abilities one after the other. The queen dropped to 32% health. We were suffering from wounds as well. Cass was under 50% health, and I was at 66%. I once again activated Frenzied Strikes, then unleashed a barrage of stabs at her. Teos clawed at her back, and Cass delivered a mighty overhead swing that cut deep into the boss's shoulder. Shiarra was at 27%. I risked a glance toward Leo. We had 2 minutes left. I yelled for Cass to be ready any moment now.

The boss once again repelled us and unleashed her stalactite spell. I used Intercede on Cass, then braced my shield overhead. A few hit each of us, lowering me to 47% and Cass to 33% health. Teos was over 60% health still. We made it through that one.

I checked the debuff on Leo. 1 minute left.

I charged the boss and used Shield Slam again, smashing into her and sending her flying once more.

"Your blood is mine!" she snarled as she stood.

"Now!" I shouted in response.

Teos and Cass stacked directly behind me. I raised my shield and activated Reflection right before all three tendrils reached me. All three bounced back and began draining health from the Boss. I kept an eye on Leo. 15 seconds remained. The boss's health was slowly counting down. I said a silent prayer that it would work.

Shiarra's health hit 1% with 8 seconds remaining on Leo's debuff. Apparently, she couldn't kill herself with her own spell. I cursed as panic began to fill me. I hurled my spear with all my might at her, praying it found its mark. She blocked the spear with her dagger and tome. It fell away from her harmlessly. No! No! No!

Cass appeared behind the queen in a blur and lopped off Shiarra's head with a single swing of her sword. I let out a sigh of relief as Leo stood unsteadily. He faced me and smiled. We did it. We cleared the dungeon.

[You have reached level 14.]

We all celebrated more that Leo was still with us than anything else. I walked over to the headless queen and looted her, receiving three more items.

[Shiarra's Tome of Blood]

Rare Off-hand - Tome

+25 Intelligence

+25 Regeneration

+15 Vigor

+100 Mana

+10% Healing and Spell Damage

[The Blood Queen's Severer]

Rare Weapon - Two-Handed Sword

350 Attack

+25 Strength

+20 Dexterity

+15 Endurance

+10 Vigor

[Vampiric Touch]

Rare Extra Heavy Armor - Hands

120 Armor

+18 Strength

+20 Vigor

+15 Endurance

+3% Lifesteal

-20 Dexterity (Negated)

I handed the sword to Cass and the Tome to Leo, who were both overjoyed when I stated the stats of their new gear. I equipped my new gauntlets. I only needed a few more pieces of extra heavy armor to complete my set. The dungeon had proven a fast way to level. I had reached 14, Cass hit 15, Leo was 12, and Teos was also Level 12.

A portal opened over the pool of blood, and I assumed it was our exit. As we approached, however, a man in hooded crimson robes stepped out of it. A cursory glance revealed his name.

[Lorx, Herald of the Blood God - Level ??]

We all stiffened and prepared for another battle, but the man held out his hands in a gesture of peace. I felt immense power radiating from the being.

"Well done, you four! My master will be thrilled with the skill and ingenuity you displayed here today. As is customary, I present you with the cache of rewards for completing this dungeon!" he said cheerily.

An ornate chest rose from the pool and floated over to our feet.

"Who.. are you?" we asked in unison.

"Forgive me! I am Lorx, Herald of Odarrus, the God of Blood," he said casually.

"Why would a herald of Odarrus greet us after clearing a dungeon?" I questioned.

"Because this dungeon belongs to my Lord. He is the one who sponsors it. Now, do you have your booklets? I will mark that you successfully completed The Bloodfall Burrows," he answered.

The others fished out their books, and I removed mine from the Cache. We passed all three to Lorx. He opened each to a blank page, leaving an official-looking mark with a wave of his hand.

"You are all set. This portal will now lead you back to the entrance," he said, then hopped back through the portal.

We exchanged confused glances, then shifted our gazes to the chest.

Cass opened it and took out three items.

The first was a leather hood with bones ornamenting the brim. I inspected it.

[Sanguine Ritual Hood]

Epic Medium Armor - Head

150 Armor

+30 Strength

+30 Dexterity

+30 Vigor

+20 Endurance

[Shiarra's Bloodblade]

Epic Weapon - Dagger

100 Attack

+30 Intelligence

+25 Regeneration

+15 Vigor

+100 Mana

+15% Spell Damage and Healing

[Blood Guard's Bonespear]

Epic Weapon - Spear

250 Attack

+25 Strength

+25 Vigor

+25 Endurance

+15 Regeneration

+10 Dexterity

Unique Effect: Summon the spear back to your hand. Cost: 3% Health. Cooldown: None

I nearly shouted for joy. I picked up the spear as if it was a holy relic. Cass took the hood, and Leo snatched up the dagger. This was our first epic gear, and we were ecstatic. I had to test the spear's ability.

I hurled it at one of the statues in the room. It shattered the stone statue. I focused on the spear, and it returned to my hand instantly. It caused a small cut as it did so, which I guessed was the health cost of using the effect.

"Oh, hell yeah!" I cheered.

We gathered our gear and hopped through the portal, which took us back to the cave we had first entered. It was nearly dusk, and we figured we should hurry back to Fayne before nightfall.

In the excitement, I had nearly forgotten about the upgrade to one of my Warlord abilities. I quickly pulled up my interface to see what had changed.

Augment Rune 1: Warlord (Intermediate Level 6 - 12%):

* War Cry - Shout a mighty war cry that increases your strength and speed by 15%. This bonus also applies to nearby allies. The effect lasts for one hour. Cooldown: None. Cost: 40 Mana.

* War Stomp - Stomp the ground damaging and slowing nearby enemies for 6 seconds. In addition, you take 50% less damage from enemies slowed by this ability. Cooldown: 20 Seconds. Cost: 20 Mana. (Upgrades: 1)

* Warlord's Cache - (Passive) Grants you a personal dimensional space to store armor, weapons, and other items. Using mental commands, you may immediately equip or remove armor and weapons.

* Blademaster - (Passive) Increases the rate at which weapon-related talents progress by 125%. Also grants you a bonus depending on what type of weapon you are currently wielding. (Upgrades: 1)

* Swords: Chance for attacks to be critical strikes that cause massive damage.

* Axes: Increases attack speed by 10%.

* Spears: Chance for successful attacks to cause an instant second attack.

* Maces: Increases strength by 10%.

The upgrade further increased the rate at which my weapon talents would improve by an additional 25%. I told myself I would purchase some different weapons to keep in my Cache. I felt like I was underutilizing both the Blademaster and Warlord's Cache skills.

"Our commander has some explaining to do once we get back," Cass declared.

Leo and I agreed as we began the short trek back to the city.