The wise choice would have been for the Proven to retreat back through the Portal. They could have enlisted allies and returned. Or, they could have sought out the Guild officials and had them deal with the Legionnaires and the Empire. Another more rational option was that the Proven could have entered through the other Third Floor portal and found another Dungeon. It was rumored that there were plenty within the Spire.
But the Frostsworn loved to fight, and as Adventurers, they knew that the only way to get better was through the fire of adversity and facing hard challenges. So the team advanced further into the chamber and were surrounded by the spear tips of Legionnaires. Jeze counted twenty soldiers. Ten formed a spear wall in a semi-circle in front of them. Another five that were armed with crossbows moved to flank them on their left. The flank she was designated to protect. The final five stood guard by the entrance to the corridor that led further into the Dungeon. It was where the Proven wanted to go.
Luckily, the Legionnaires they bullied outside did not follow them through the Portal; otherwise, they would have been surrounded. But they could be getting reinforcements, and it would only be a matter of time. The Proven had no choice but to quickly make it into the Dungeon. Jeze noted that the five guarding the corridor were the Special Forces Legionnaires. They wore plate armor, and three carried tower shields that glowed with Runic magic. One was armed with a two-handed sword, and the fifth soldier wielded a staff etched with Runes. The rest of the Legionnaires were regular soldiers, most likely Prospect ranked at best. The Empire bringing the Legion into the Spire was a concern.
"Jeze, take care of the archers," Dunar ordered.
The command shook her out of her thoughts. "You got it," Jeze replied.
Dunar stood in front of her, and next to him was the giant Rolfe, who thumped his shield with his spear as they marched. It was like the beating sound of approaching doom. Beside Rolfe was Helga, who held a shield and readied her heavy Devil's Steel Mace. When the time was right, she could ditch the shield and wreak havoc with her two-handed weapon. Mikal stood behind her with his spear and Channeling tools at the ready. The Legionnaire Archers leveled their crossbows, but before they could fire, they were knocked over and scattered by Jeze's Boulder spell. The sound of the giant rock striking the ground thundered throughout the chamber. Two archers were knocked out cold, and the remaining three attempted to regroup.
"Stay down," Jeze warned them and launched another boulder that knocked the remaining archers away from their weapons.
A bright light appeared above the Legionnaires that blazed like the sun and blinded the Proven. A command was issued in a deep voice and the spearman charged. Jeze immediately Summoned an orb of Darkness to negate the light spell as Mikal completed a series of Glyphs in rapid succession and the charging spearmen slowed as they were encased in chilling frost.
“For Glory!” Dunar roared.
"Hurrah!" The Proven chanted back as they engaged the shocked Legionnaires.
The spearmen did not stand a chance as the Proven crashed through them like an avalanche. Helga's mighty swings sent groups of soldiers tumbling to the sides like scattered leaves in a windstorm. Rolfe and Dunar barreled and smashed with their shields that knocked soldiers aside. Jeze, armed with sword and axe, dashed in low to hook the remaining soldiers by the legs to trip them. She took down three Legionnaires in quick succession. In mere moments the ten spearmen were wounded, bleeding, or unconscious.
"Form up!" Dunar barked.
Helga retrieved her shield, and the Proven immediately moved into formation. They stood a few short yards away from the five Special Forces Legionnaires.
"Out of respect to the Guild, we spared the soldiers," Dunar stated.
"Hurrah!" The rest of the team deeply chanted back, Helga and Rolfe thumping their shields. It made for an intimidating sight.
"Move aside and allow us to pass," Dunar ordered.
Jeze knew the Special Forces soldiers would not stand down. She could see it in their eyes. The soldiers they just fought looked like scared deer before the pack of wolves. The five Legionnaires standing before them had a look that was familiar to Jeze. It was one that she and the Proven had. One of anticipation and excitement, and they wanted to be tested! Jeze was confident that she and the Proven were more skilled, and the concern for her was the magical gear the Legionnaires possessed. Plus, the Rune caster. He appeared to be in his thirties, and based on his previous spell, he was quite skilled. Jeze saw him tap his rod and perform gestures. The fight was starting!
Dunar saw the same thing as Jeze and ordered, "Dire Wolf pattern, Charge!"
The Proven trained countless hours through dozens of formations. The Dire Wolf pattern was one of their more spread out tactics. It was geared to face Rune magic where they were more vulnerable if they were clustered together. Helga switched to a two-handed grip of her mace as Rolfe and Dunar crashed their shields against the armored Legionaries and exchanged weapon attacks. Jeze circled to the left and Summoned two mounds of dirt. One beside her, and the other behind the Legionnaires.
The Legionnaire caster completed the final Glyph, and a crack of Thunder resonated throughout the chamber as arcs of lightning zapped Rolfe and Dunar. The Storm aspect, Jeze recognized. If the team maintained their close formation, all of them would have been affected by the magic. The electrical attacks shocked the two Frostsworn warriors, and they gritted their teeth as their bodies spasmed and smoke trailed off their armor. All Rune magic can be resisted through Will, and the two warriors have strengthened their Will tremendously from battling through the Mist. But the Storm spell stunned them long enough to be attacked ruthlessly by the three Shield-bearing Legionnaires. Spear blades snuck past Rolfe and Dunar's shields to strike their armor plates with some that drew blood.
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Mikal Summoned his Life aspect and healed the two warriors as Helga launched forward with incredible speed. The powerful warrior maiden slammed her two-handed mace against the Legion's shields and forced the warriors back. She hammered into them and forced one soldier to fall to their knees. The Legionnaire armed with the two-handed sword saw an opportunity to attack the Proven's exposed flank. He prepared his large blade for a powerful swing that would have sliced through armor and bone like a hot knife through butter. Before he could attack, he was struck in the chest by a Boulder and knocked off his feet. The two-handed sword Legionnaire rose quickly to his feet with a snarl. Jeze was impressed.
Rolfe and Dunar recovered from the Storm aspect spell and began to overpower the two shield Legionnaires. The Legion Rune caster began to shape more Glyphs in the air. The third shield warrior was still on their knees and Helga had a clear line to attack the caster! She charged, but the Legionnaire's shield flashed with silver energy, and a pulse of force emanated outwards to knock Helga backward. The caster completed his spell, and a half dozen copies of the two-handed fighter sprang forth from the large Legionnaire.
"Illusions!" Jeze cried out. This came from the Light aspect.
Multiple sword-welding Legionnaires swarmed Dunar and Jeze. The teenager Shaped the mound of dirt that was across the chamber into Stone fists. The Illusions engaged Dunar first, and the Leader blocked several attacks that passed through him. He couldn't tell which one was real! The Empire Rune caster began to form another spell but was struck in the back of the head by Jeze's Stone fist. The caster fell face-first to the floor. Dunar hissed in pain as the real sword fighter stabbed him in the side. Dunar swung his axe, but the Legionnaire faded back into the group of illusions and was lost.
Rolfe barreled into the two shield fighters and protected Dunar's right flank. The large Protector was taking hits to his armored sides, but he also delivered blows of his own. For the moment, he occupied the two Legionnaires. Mikal healed Dunar, and Helga hammered away at the third Shield warrior. Jeze gritted her teeth as she aimed her attacks at the Illusions. It was challenging to launch attacks from across the room, and she hoped that she wouldn't strike her teammates. The missiles flew through the air and caused several illusions to shimmer and fade away to reveal the real sword fighter.
The two Legionnaires activated the force enchantments on their shields, and the combined force nearly knocked the giant Rolfe off his feet. But the Protector maintained his balance and slid backward. The Legionnaire that faced Helga activated his shield, but the warrior maiden barreled through the Force enchantment and knocked the soldier out with a heavy bash of her mace. Helga howled like a Dire wolf and joined Rolfe to face.
Despite Mikal's healing, Dunar was still wounded and was restricted in his movements. He faced the sword fighter with a serious handicap. The large Legionnaire activated an enchantment that caused his blade to be laced with electrical energy. When Dunar batted an attack aside with his axe, an arc of lightning sparked up the Leader's arm, which caused him to drop his weapon. Dunar dodged a second blow and stumbled back with only his shield.
"Jeze, I need to see to Dunar in order to treat him properly. Please occupy the big sword fighter," Mikal commanded.
"I'll do one better. I'll beat him," Jeze growled as she unhitched one of her hand axes and drew her sword.
"Yeah, whatever. Now go!" Mikal responded.
The Legionnaire twirled his electrical sword in the air with masterful grace, and Dunar barely dodged the deadly attacks. The Leader was off balanced and when it looked like had no choice but to block the shocking attack with his shield, Jeze struck the sword fighter in the chest with a hand axe. The weapon bounced off the armor but it was enough to cause a distraction.
"Be careful of that blade," Dunar cautioned as he stumbled toward Mikal.
Jeze nodded and readied her battle axe and sword. The Legionnaire chuckled at the sight of a young teenage girl standing before him. He was nearly as big as Dunar and towered over Jeze.
"You got to be kidding," he stated.
Jeze charged with a growl, and the Legionnaire quickly brought up his electrical blade. He fought well with the sword, Jeze reflected, but the only reason he was able to beat Dunar was because of the sword's enchantment and the fact that Dunar was wounded. The illusion tactic the Legion used was effective, but that was negated when their caster was taken out of the fight. Jeze deftly stopped her charge as her opponent lashed out with his blade. The Legionnaire flicked the longsword with ease and skill. Jeze circled to find an opening.
The Legionnaire had a significant size and reach advantage, and Jeze needed to get past the magically enchanted blade in order to score a hit. Getting close had its own problems, as the Legionnaire was powerfully built and much stronger. If he grabbed her, she could be in trouble. If Jeze was a normal person, she would not take this fight. But she was not normal. She was Adventurer ranked and highly skilled.
Jeze also had her Rune magic to call upon, but she wanted to test her weapon skills, and she knew that she didn't need much time because Rolfe and Helga would make short work of the remaining two shield warriors. The Legionnaire was fast and quick with his sword, but Jeze was faster. She danced around him, just staying within range, and she eluded all of his attacks. Then it happened. Jeze saw the shock enchantment wear off. That was the drawback of enchanted weapons. They didn't last long. But, more importantly, they created a dependency within the wielder. The Legionnaire lunged, and he was not prepared for his blade to be deflected. Jeze redirected the attack with her sword and chopped with her axe at the less protected wrist joints. The Frostsworn blade bit through the mail and cut flesh. The Legionnaire howled in pain but continued his momentum with the hope of tackling his smaller opponent.
The two collided, and Jeze was prepared. Countless hours were spent wrestling with the enormous Frostsworn, and she knew how to use her speed to redirect and throw off balance a larger opponent. Jeze ducked into the man's waist and shifted her weight to cause the Legionnaire to stumble past her. He grabbed her, but she twisted and placed her full weight on his chest as he landed on his back. The Legionnaire bucked and tried to throw her off, but Jeze moved too quickly and repositioned herself back on top with her sword gripped in two hands, ready to plunge into the Legionnaire's throat.
"I yield," he gasped.
"Good work, Jezie!" Helga exclaimed.
Her team had already defeated the remaining Legionnaires and they formed a semi circle to watch Jeze fight. She did not know how long they were watching.
"Took you long enough. You need to work on your technique," Mikal admonished.
Jeze scowled at the Healer, and Ziplocke cackled with mischievous joy. The Portal flashed as more soldiers entered. These were not the Special Forces units but regular soldiers in hardened leather armor. The sight of twenty defeated soldiers, including a Special Forces Team, caused the arriving Legionnaires to remain where they stood.
The armored officer that Helga tossed earlier arrived through the Portal. "Don't just stand there! Seize them!" He cried.
None of the soldiers made a move. Rolfe and Helga chuckled at that.
Dunar was fully recovered with the aid of Mikal's Life aspect. The Leader glanced at the growing number of Legionnaires that were entering the chamber.
"Lets go," he ordered and led the Proven out of the chamber and deeper into the Dungeon that rested beneath the bones of a Dragon.