Chapter 09

Activating Boera’s Flux was the first thing I did, refilling my mana to 686 of 846.

Since the screeching had come from behind us, we turned our formation one hundred and eighty degrees. Our mana bars were cast wide, and we prepared for the inevitable battle.

The sounds that shook the flora were hair-raising. If I didn’t know better, I would have assumed the boss was already in mid battle. When the sounds of screeching and growling grew sufficiently close, I could see jungle matter fall away before the path of the incoming boss.

Robern pulled out a scroll and tossed it up before him, sending a few points of mana to power it. The rune sheened a brilliant metallic grey before the scroll shredded apart in purple flames. Black smoke billowed from the flames and fell around the rogue’s feet. The smoke built and darkened to shadow until Robern was completely covered. Then he veered off toward the jungle edge.

Foli had mounted her Steed of Elwohire, and her Sphinx Wasp had just stepped from an inverted ball of mana. She brandished her staff while her horse of root and leaves neighed and shifted its footing.

Arris had cast Oak Beard, Elder Azure Mana Totem, and conjured his Orb Weaver spider. The spider hissed, lunged at nothing, then skittered back, raising its two fore legs in deimatic behavior.

Vynk, Pelle, and I were at the ready, but none of us were prepared for the horror that tore through the jungle. The abomination was a giant half cheetah. Its left side was all cheetah, though its tail was at least twenty meters long.

When it stopped and bared its teeth at us, that's when we saw the horror. The right side of the monster was split horizontally from cheek to hind leg. Instead of a single throat, and organs, and ribs, the split was filled with fangs, as though the monster were half vicious mouth, and half cheetah. Spread throughout the wide gaping mouth were a handful of throat openings with vibrating uvulas.

The legs on the same side as the extended mouth were twisted to face away instead of forward. It charged Vynk in a diagonal sprint. It leapt and opened its mouth as wide as it could go. It reminded me of a flying squirrel, but looked like a stretched open mouth wearing a cheetah hide.

I cast Zekaidean’s Anvil before the boss landed, and Pelle’s Danera’s Wisps flew out to find their targets. Foli, Arris, and their familiars rushed in, but the monster reached Vynk first.

The warrior’s greatsword swung with a wide arc before colliding with the cheetah’s paws and claws. Blood spurted from the massive paws of the boss, but its claws prevented Vynk from wrestling his greatsword free. The cheetah’s head struck from around the sword and extended far enough to latch onto Vynk’s shoulder. Then its mouth-body wrapped around the warrior and clamped down with half of its teeth.

“Twenty of Gryf!” I called out ten times in succession, tapping my flagstaff against the ground each time.

Vynk’s health had dropped below half, and we two healers were able to keep his health safely high while he struggled.

Lep’s Hand of Flames hovered uncertainly above the boss, searching for a safe strike. Robern came rushing in from behind, with conjured crossbow bolts in hand. He mounted the back of the cheetah and stabbed the boss repeatedly in a mad rush. The boss’s mouth opened to let out a screech that blew around Vynk like a violent wind. Its tail snapped around like a whip, wrapping itself around Robern. Then the tail split open from the flank of the boss to the very tip, revealing micro rows and gaping mouths of fangs. Robern grimaced in shock and pain when the coiling tail bit into him.

I alternated casting Twenty of Gryf between warrior and rogue. Pelle brought out her purple spellbook and began flipping through it while Danera’s Wisps healed their targets by proximity.

Foli’s Sphinx Wasp and Arris’s Orb Weaver were a flurry of activity. The wasp dashed in and angrily buzzed with vengeance. Its throbbing abdomen was a blur of thrusting and stinging.

“Give! Me! Klidd’s! Greatsword!” Vynk shouted, using all his might to dislodge his weapon from the boss’s clutches.

He was still crushed in the wide mouth of the beast, and he’d been able to dislodge his shoulder from the main fangs. The boss’s cheetah head turned away to battle against Foli and her staff and steed. This left Vynk free to drive his Greatsword clear through the monster. It howled in agony, only for a moment, before clamping down harder on Robern, Vynk, Foli’s steed, and catching the Orb weaver as well.

“Prismatic healing!” Pelle called out, sending a massive influx of mana into an open page of her spellbook.

A small wiry rainbow appeared over the boss and our companions. It flashed as though struck by a passing ray of sun, then broke into endlessly falling droplets. Our companions and their familiars were healed 1 point for every drop that landed upon them.

Arris wrestled with the kicking hind legs of the boss. His massive fists of Oak Beard bent and broke both legs of the boss.

“Arris!” Lep said. “Grab Robern and pull him as far from the body as you can!”

Arris ambled toward the rogue, his Oak Beard form, laughing without volume the entire time. Rust colored leaves fell from Oak Beard’s face and dissipated before going far. Puppetting the two great green fists, Arris pulled the wrapped rogue as far from the boss’s body as he could. The tail stretched taught, and Lep’s Hand of Flames descended and grasped the tail.

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The boss squealed with an ancestral hyenic voice. Its broken legs kicked out without effect. Vynk twisted his impaled greatsword.

Zekaidean’s anvil came to an end, so I cast it once more, sending out choral notes of healing to my trapped allies. I resumed casting Twenty of Gryf in succession, alternating healing whoever was lowest on health. Twice, I hurled potions for extra effect.

Foli’s steed ripped it’s foot free. What would be its hoof tore off in the boss’s main mouth and the monster vigorously shook its head, tearing at its prize. Roots and budding leaves grew back to from the hoof of Foli’s steed. Then the ancienne gave a cruel warcry before turning her horse and having it buck, delivering two punishing blows to the boss’s whole side.

Robern was still struggling in the burned off tail that still coiled around him.

“Healer!” Arris called, before getting a good grip on the tail.

Pelle and I put our attention wholly on Robern. Arris pulled the tail apart with all his Oak Beard might. Robern screamed in agony as teeth pulled at his flesh. Arris gave a mighty yank and ripped the tail in pieces, freeing Robern from the msticating, pulsing tail. With a few potions, and several fast castings of Twenty of Gryf, we kept Robern alive and well.

Vynk gave another twist of his greatsword which put the boss’s health at halfway. The monster clamped down even harder on warrior and Orb Weaver. It stilled, as though frozen. Then its long extended lips curled from a deep and low growl.

“Second phase!” Foli said, guiding her steed in another twirl, then having it buck two kicks to the boss’s whole side.

The boss slowly began to lean onto one side, flipping Vynk and the Orb Weaver on top. Robern and Arris both arrived simultaneously, dealing stabs and blows.

With a wild growl, the boss barrel rolled. Arris jumped atop the rolling boss, holding on with Oak Beard with all his might. The boss’s momentum and power proved too much, and Arris was caught in the neverending death roll.

It was then that I understood the purpose of the corpse covered ground. Bits of broken bone stuck up that were sure to slice both the boss and my companions as they tumbled one over the other.

Pelle and I carefully monitored everyone’s health. She paused to break mana potions at her feet while I cast Zekaidean’s Anvil a third time, and Twenty of Gryf over and over.

Foli’s attempts to block the death roll were unsuccessful. She was thrown from her mount, and her steed was crushed beneath the monster. Robern leapt in from time to time to stab with conjured crossbow bolts, but he was quickly thrown off every time.

Arris’s efforts did manage to slow the death roll enough that Lep was able to land searing slaps across the boss’s face from time to time. Foli’s Sphinx Wasp was enraged. Its stinger was stuck in the back of the boss’s mouth that clamped around the insect's thorax. Vynk continued to twist his greatsword, dealing the most damage. As they rolled in circle after circle, his greatsword ended up being wrenched from his hand and wrenched away, escaping from a carved hole in the boss’s body.

“Healing!” Vynk said.

Potions were quite hard to aim since the death roll moved the boss in random turns. I cast Twenty of Gryf in succession, solely focusing on Vynk.

His health bar appeared as a wreath of open blood vessels above him, spinning circles with him. His health plummeted. Suddenly a loud pop sounded. Vynk disappeared. In his place appeared his Kildd’s Greatsword. The warrior then appeared where the greatsword had been and he tumbled to a halt on the ground of corpses and shredded bones.

His Replace Blade Power Technique had instantly killed Foli’s Sphinx Wasp and Arris’s Orb Weaver. The boss’s health had drained to near empty, but still it kept its death roll, masticating Vynk’s greatsword, self inflicting damage as it tumbled about.

“Wait! Wait!” I called out to Arris who had been flung out and prepared to rush back in. “It’s killing itself! Just wait! Everyone, wait!”

We all heaved breathlessly, moving to stand clear of the boss as it tumbled near. Its health continued to drop until it slowed and finally stopped once its health hit zero. The monster’s cheetah head lolled to the side, and its body relaxed around Vynk’s greatsword. It collapsed, with its open mouth facing the canopy of the jungle.

In the persistent drizzle, we watched the boss fade away in shreds of flesh and red vapor. The chest was still caged in ribcage bones. After recouping our health we tried to access it. No matter how much strength we struck each bone with, none would break. No matter how many spells we used to break the bones, they stayed undamaged.

“Remember those monolith’s with levers?” Arris said, unrolling his map. “There are bones guarding the chest, and 6 levers on the map.”

“Guess we should have pulled them earlier,” Vynk said.

“I’m not sure about that,” I said. “The chest was uncovered when we first got here. It could have been a trap or a waste of time. It might not have mattered.”

“Still might be a trap,” Robern said.

“Tosin, you mind if you dry me off?” Vynk said. “Then I’ll go back to cutting a path through the jungle until we hit each elver one by one.”

“Oh—me too!” Foli said.

After everyone was dry, and my mana down to near 100, we followed Vynk back through the jungle. It was slow going, and at times we had to stop to dry off, to rest, and to regenerate mana with the ancienne’s Elder Azure Mana Totems.

We’d pulled two levers by the time I was certain we were entering our second day in the dungeon. It was hard to tell, so I tried to activate Boera’s Flux. the banner waved gently in a soft wind. The hands switched positions and the entire banner glowed blue. My mana regenerated 250 points.

“Good news is I’ve got enough mana to keep us all dry for a while,” I said. “Bad news is we’ve been in this dungeon for more than 24 hours now, and we’ve still got 4 more levers to reach.”

Vynk gave a frustrated snarl and ran a hand over his weary face. He was tired. His eyes were bloodshot. His arms shaking from cutting our way through the jungle nonstop.

“I’ve got an idea,” Arris said, conjuring his Orb Weaver from a ball of mana. “If we can teach this little guy to flip these levers, he’ll be able to navigate the jungle rather quickly I imagine.”

“Why didn’t we do this to begin with?” Lep said.

“I’m not sure it would have helped,” Arris said. “We didn’t know where we were, and we still needed to cut our way through to get to the boss right?”

“Your spider could have just told us where we were at least, relative to the entrance and the boss, instead of us having to find a wall and corners.”

“Yea,” Arris drawled, “my spider could have read a map and said, ““Hey guys! Yup! You’re right here on the map. Just go one hundred paces north, forty paces east, and you should be just dandy.””

“C’mon guys,” I said. “It’s all good. Remember that Garmar said we would bicker. Let’s let things go before we really start arguing. Let’s see if we can teach our Orb Weaver to locate and pull levers. It’s worth a shot. Then we’ll move on from there.”