Brandon again led the companions. He held the lantern before him as he carefully moved down the corridor. Twice, he stopped the party as he identified traps. One released an acid that, when triggered, shot down from the ceiling. The other was another set of spikes. They successfully cleared them without receiving any damage. The corridor eventually ended with a doorway after a few hundred feet. It was the longest starting corridor they had been in, and as they stood by the door, their nerves were on edge. "Let's hood the lantern before we open it," Kyto said.
Brandon obliged, reducing the lantern’s glare, then grabbed the handle, twisting it to lift the latch. The door swung inwards smoothly into another corridor. This corridor was only short, and they could see it opened into a room at the end, a very faint glow emanating from it. The walls and floor were smooth stone, showing no cracks in the new corridor area. Tiddles activated his stealth ability and crept down it. He suddenly stopped and turned back to the group as a groaning sound started to be heard from within the room ahead. He walked back towards them and whispered to Kyto.
"Skeletons," he said.
"What do you mean skeletons?" Kyto asked.
"The room is full of skeletal remains, and there is some other creature in there," Tiddles replied.
"Did you see it?"
"No, it is too dark to see clearly, but it looked Risen-sized," he replied.
"Skeletons and something else unknown." Kyto relayed.
The companions nodded in understanding, and Tiddles turned again, going back down the corridor. The room was one hundred feet square in size, open-planned and as Tiddles had stated, the chamber floor was scattered with skeletons of several types of creatures. Some may have been familiar or known Wild Ones, others he had no idea. The moaning sound was louder as they neared the opening of the room. A faint glow came from the centre of the room floor, but there was no way of reaching the centre without stepping on the remains. "They’re on the left." Tiddles hissed to Kyto. Kyto turned his gaze and saw a cloaked figure moving between the remains on the distant side of the chamber.
Whatever it was, it was unclear from this distance, and the room's light was poor.
"We need light to see, so be ready," Kyto whispered.
Sniffer and Lars were already ready, and Tiddles stood tense.
"Brandon, go," Kyto said.
Brandon freed the lantern light, casting its bright glow into the chamber. Compared to the stark gloom in the chamber, it shone like the beacon it was. A wail came from the end of the room, replacing the groaning and the hooded cloaked being turned towards them.
"Here goes," Kyto said as Lars and Tiddles took point. They felt it before they saw it, a frigid blast of air that suddenly filled the room. As they watched, the bones on the floor began to move, and as they did, they slowly rebuilt the skeletal remains of the creatures that they had once been giving them life once more. Looking at the remains now, Kyto could see Spylore's skeletons and another massive skeletal form beginning to rise. The cloaked figure stood in the middle of the chamber, shrieking and pointing at the remains. From under its hood, Kyto could see red glowing orbs of light where eyes should be.
"It is raising the dead." Brandon gasped.
"I like chewing on bones," Tiddles responded.
One of the Spylore remains finished forming, and as it did, it turned and ran towards the group.
"Wish I had a club now and not a bloody knife," Sniffer said as the skeletal beast bounded to them, its vast fangs visible in its mouth. Its foot fell and clacked on the floor as it moved, scraping and screeching like fingernails drawn on a metal surface. Tiddles met the beast head-on, swiping at it with his paw. It caught the lunging beast across the side of its skull, separating it from its body. The remaining bones fell to the ground, scattering at his feet.
"One down," Tiddles said as he stepped into the room, turning to face the next skeleton. This one was bipedal and ran at them carrying a club. It may have been a Geblex corpse, but Kyto was not sure.
More skeletons began to rise. "Let’s go," Kyto shouted over the sounds of their foes moving across the floor. The companions all moved into the room and pushed towards the next opponent. Lars lunged at the skeleton with his blades, and even though there was no flesh to penetrate, he managed to dislodge the club it held in its hand. Nearly twelve opponents now stood and approached them, beasts and humanoids, some carrying weapons, others nothing. The skeletons were no real threat to the group initially as they all arrived at separate times, giving them time to deal with them before the next. The problem that Kyto noticed was that although they were taking them down, as soon as they did, their bodies began to reform again and, within moments, re-join the fight against them.
"They are getting up again," Kyto called as the initial Spylore pounced towards Brandon. Brandon threw his knife at the beast as it did, and it scored a direct hit entering its eye socket. The issue was that there was no eye to damage, so the beast kept coming.
"Shit," Brandon said as he grabbed another knife from his belt.
Tiddles was now dealing with a giant skeletal form, and Kyto thought it must be a Grylack or similar, looking at its size. There was Geblex and Risen in the mix. The cloaked figure was still standing in the middle of the room, wailing at them. "I think we need to take the cloak out," Kyto shouted as he deflected the blow from a Geblex skeleton. The club swing jarred his arm as his blade blocked its haft. Lars began making his way towards it, every step being hampered by the regrowing remains. Lars took a club to his side from a Geblex that rose behind him, and Kyto healed him as he turned and removed the skeletal head from its body again. The giant Grylack skeleton collapsed as Tiddles bit through its unprotecting bone neck, only having taken minor damage currently. Brandon screamed in agony. Kyto, seeing his health drop rapidly, turned to see the Spylore that had attacked him had grabbed him by his arm. Its huge incisors tear through his clothing and penetrate through his flesh and bone easily.
"Shit." Kyto cried as he stepped forward to assist and heal Brandon.
Tiddles arrived first, ploughing into the skeletal beast's side and hurling it across the room to crash to the floor again, breaking apart. Brandon was spun by the strike from Tiddles as his body was thrown with the skeleton, its fangs still through his arm. He was carried sprawling onto the floor, and Kyto ran over to him, pulling the fangs out from the Spylore skull. He pushed strands into Brandon as there was sound close behind him. He had been so focused on Brandon that he had not seen or heard the Risen that had approached him. As he turned, he took a sweeping knife strike to the side of his face. His shield triggered with its defensive self-awareness, but it did not stop the strike's momentum, forcing Kyto's head to snap sideways violently. He let out an audible groan as he pushed strands into his own body, repairing the tear he could feel in his neck muscle.
Sniffer had picked up one of the fallen Geblex clubs and had started to use it rather than his knife, and it was having a much better impact on the remains. The bones were being broken much easier with the blunt weapon and its concussive blows over that of using a blade. He brought it down violently on the top of a Geblex skull, and it cracked with the impact, falling to the floor. Nothing seemed to stop the skeletons, but at least if the bones were fragmented, it took the remains longer to regrow back into their original forms. "Use the clubs," Sniffer shouted as he blocked a swing from a Risen.
Kyto had jumped, rushing towards the Risen, who had swung at him. Brandon assisted as his arm recovered from Kyto's healing. They pushed it back, Kyto grabbing the wrist of the skeleton, preventing it from swinging its blade at either of them. His brawling skill and associated strength through levelling was evident to him now, and he knew that just several days ago, he would not have been able to do what he was doing now. He forced its arm backwards, twisting the wrist and snapping the arm at its elbow joint. He hurled the bone away as far from the skeleton as he could as Brandon grabbed its skull, trying to pull its skull from its spine. With a straining grunt, it popped up and off, and he hurled the skull across the room. Its remaining bones fell to the floor.
Lars was slowly closing in on the hooded figure. He was taking the occasional hit as his health was slowly drained. They all were taking minor damage. Looking at their health bars on his display, Kyto realised, not massively, enough for it to be noticeable and for him to worry that maintaining their health was challenging. He wished he had the tier 4 skill he had read about and could cast a healing pulse to heal all party members. Tiddles took a vicious slash to his side, and his health dipped. The Grylack skeleton had reformed behind him and attacked him from the rear while engaged with a Risen. He turned to refocus on it, then opened his other flank and received a spear from the Risen. Sniffer was combating two skeletons, pushing them away and trying to break them with the club.
As the companions beat one and they reformed, the skeletal remains were surrounding all they were doing, making it more difficult for them. Lars fell back as a Spylore lunged towards him, rolling across beneath the feet of the Grylack that Tiddles was combatting again. Kyto was frantically looking around at what he could do to help. Brandon took a nasty blow to his leg from a club and cursed loudly, falling to his knee. Kyto instinctively pushed his healing strands between the companions and himself as their health bars dipped.
"This is not working," he called out.
Sniffer glanced at him briefly between defensive blocks as two Geblex swung at him. "What do you suggest?" he shouted back.
"Retreating and thinking how to combat them. Maybe grab clubs and come back?" he replied.
Tiddles lunged at the Grylack, biting its foreleg ferociously and shattering the bone. His bite was so violent that it collapsed again to the ground, replaced by more skeletons. "If we cannot reach the guy in the cloak, we will never stop them," Tiddles growled as he pawed at his next foe, the skull of a Risen flying from its shoulders.
Lars's health dipped suddenly, and Kyto noticed the Spylore he had dodged had now managed to bring him down, standing over his prone form with its mouth lowering its huge fangs visible. "Fuck." he swore as he threw strands at Lars, trying to reach him through the mass of bodies. His strands missed Lars and struck the Spylore. As they did, the bone started to glow. He was about to change his aim again to Lars when the bone began to dissolve from the Spylore foreleg standing on Lars's chest, pinning him. As it did, the Spylore lost its form, and the remaining bones fell to the ground on top of Lars. Lars kicked out, moving the bones away so he could climb to his feet again.
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Brandon was struggling with a Risen just off to the side, and Kyto again aimed his strands at the Risen and not Brandon. Furthermore, as his strands connected with the Risen's skeletal skull, it began to glow and disintegrate. The wail from the hooded figure in the centre of the room reached a new level as Kyto realised his healing mana was damaging the dead. The Spylore, whose leg he had dissolved, had started trying to reform but had been unable to due to its missing bone, and every time it went to stand, it collapsed again, breaking apart. He started throwing his strands at other attackers, trying to pick specific bones that he thought would impair them from reforming. The spine of a Geblex, the leg of a Risen or Spylore, the bone of the Grylack that Tiddles had shattered was taking much longer to repair and reform, and it was apparent now that the more severe the damage, the longer they were taking to reform.
"Smash their bones; they take longer to reform," Kyto shouted above the clash of bone vs metal and teeth continued. He continued to focus his strands on other skeletons. He still had no idea how many there were altogether in the room, the mass of bones making it virtually impossible to comprehend the actual number as they were scattered or collapsed again.
"Get behind me," Tiddles shouted.
"Everyone behind Tiddles." Kyto relayed. The companions had been slowly moving backwards towards the side of the room now, and as Tiddles stood in front of them attacking the skeletons that lunged for them and with Kyto disintegrating bones, the others began to smash those on the floor. "I need mana," Kyto called.
"Take what you need," Brandon replied, grunting as he stomped down hard onto a skull lying nearby, breaking it into pieces.
Kyto scanned the companions; they were all still relatively strong in mana, and he began to tap into them, refilling his pool as he threw his strands at the following skeleton. The wailing hooded form shrieked an ear-piercing cry as it realised what they were doing. Its eyes suddenly glowed a bright red, and it swung its arms in front of itself violently. The attacking forms suddenly began to withdraw, and a violent wind picked up in the enclosed room as the skeletal remains were picked up and began to create a vortex around the hooded being.
"This doesn't look good," Sniffer said as the companions took a fleeting breather from the fight. The barrier of bones spun, growing larger as all the remaining skeletons were drawn into its swirling chaos.
"Something is forming." Brandon cried, pointing at the mass, and they watched in awe as a creature began to form from the spinning debris. The bones began to knit together as the beast appeared. To describe its appearance would not give it the genuinely horrific appearance that was formed. Three heads constructed from two Spylore and a Grylack skull were knitted to a skeletal spine made from the skulls of Risen and Geblex. The bones created a thick bone-plated ribcage, and multiple bone-layered limbs formed. It stood larger than a Grylack once the vortex subsided, and there was a red glow from its blank skeletal eyes. The hooded figure had vanished.
"I think it is inside that thing," Kyto said.
Tiddles stood licking his giant lips. "Those bones look tasty," he said, grinning.
The horror stood in the centre of the chamber bellowed from all three of its mouths. It was deafening in the confines of the room. "Grab the clubs," Sniffer said.
Lars and Brandon moved to grab clubs and replace their blades. The beast began to move. Its footsteps were like nails on a slate, scratching the stone surface with its huge, clawed feet. The only good thing that Kyto could see from the appearance was that it was slow. "Tiddles centre, Lars right, Sniffer and Brandon left. I will stay behind you all," Kyto said.
The companions began to spread out, Tiddles letting out a howl as he moved towards the creation. Its glowing red eyes watched its heads turn as the companions split one head following each direction. Kyto focussed his strands and pushed them at the Grylack skull in the centre of the beast's mass. His strands met resistance as a red glow formed around its head. "Shit. It can block my strands." Kyto shouted.
"Well, then, let’s just go back to old-fashioned violence," Sniffer said as he hefted the club.
Kyto's mana pool was just over half, and looking at the companions, they all had minor wounds but nothing severe currently. He hoped his strands could work on some part of the beast and focus on one of its forelegs. Again, a red glow appeared as he tried to push his strands at the appendage. Tiddles was now busy dodging strikes and bites from the Grylack. The Spylore heads snarling at the companions moving to its sides. Sniffer and Brandon moved to strike, and as they did, the creation turned, swiping at them both with its foreleg. They managed to dodge back from the clawed feet that struck at them. Lars took advantage as it moved right and hit the left side of the skeletal frame. The club struck solidly with a crunch, and a crack appeared in its ribcage. Its movement then swung left to attack Lars.
Tiddles kept the large Grylack head at bay as it dove for him, his paws defending its lunges but not seeming to damage the skull. Sniffer, Brandon, and Lars were having more luck as they attacked. It drew the creation towards them, leaving the other side open for a strike, and they were now taking turns attacking and smashing into the creation's ribcage. The deathly wails the creation was making were horrific this close and made Kyto wince each time. Lars struck the left again and withdrew as he expected it to turn and attack as Sniffer and Brandon moved in. The creation did not follow its previous pattern, though, and as Sniffer and Brandon stepped in, it again swung its massive paw towards them.
Brandon received the brunt of the strike and was thrown sideways into Sniffer as the blunt force of its foreleg smashed into them. Luckily, they were too close for their paws or claws to strike them, but it still sent them spilling onto the floor from the impact. Brandon's health took a massive dip from the initial impact, and his health steadied at about 30%. Sniffer's health was not as bad, but still dropped from Brandon being smashed into him, reducing his down to 60%. Kyto immediately threw strands at Brandon until he was back level with Sniffer. He was trying to be reserved in his use now.
Lars took the opportunity to attack again, and he smashed the side of the creation twice before back-peddling. Even though they were damaging the creation, Kyto had no idea how much or what status it was and decided to look at the logs. As he opened the combat log, his display was flooded with information as the party undertook each action, the speed of change in details making his head spin. He staggered backwards from the rush until he managed to make sense of how to control the messages. It was the first time he had monitored combat logs during a fight.
Oscalack's creation takes 3% damage from blunt strike.
Oscalack's creation takes 2% damage from blunt strike.
Oscalack's creation takes 3% damage from blunt strike.
Kyto frowned, looking at the details. Considering the damage, it was already well over 100% and should have been destroyed. It must be healing itself as the skeletons had. Kyto had to find out how to damage it. The clubs were effective but not enough alone. He moved back and around to where Lars was attacking. Tiddles was not really doing any damage, just keeping the Grylack head at bay. As Lars struck the creation again, Kyto threw his strands at the crack he made, and the strands penetrated. The creation wailed in pain, spinning in his direction and making towards him with its lumbering form. He was back from the fight, though, and not in range of a strike, and the others took advantage of its distraction again, hitting it. It turned to attack its new foe, and as it did, Lars struck again, followed by Kyto throwing his strands at the cracked bones.
As he did, the bones began to disintegrate slowly, not as fast as the original skeletal bones had, but they were slowly disappearing as the creation continued attacking them. Every time Kyto hit it with his strands, it wailed and turned for him, and every time, it left itself open. The pattern continued, and eventually, a gap appeared on the left side of the creation where Lars had been striking it with his strands following.
"Go for its leg," Kyto shouted at Lars.
He nodded in understanding, and his next strike was on the rear leg of its multiple-layered thigh bone. The top bone cracked from the impact, and Kyto removed the bone again. His mana was dropping again, and he had to pull from the companions to maintain it. The battle continued until, eventually, only one bone held the creation's rear thigh together. The next strike cracked the bone, and Kyto removed it. The creation suddenly toppled the massive form, staggering and falling towards Lars. Lars was not fast enough to get out of its way as its rear haunches collapsed onto him. Lars was knocked to the floor and received crush damage from the weight of the mass of the creation, his health plummeting, and he lay coughing up blood from what Kyto assumed was a punctured lung or similar.
"Heal or finish," he yelled at Lars.
Lars turned, grinning with a blood-covered face, and moved his hand across his throat.
The creation had staggered to its lopsided three-legged form, and Kyto moved around the rear towards Sniffer and Brandon.
"Legs," Kyto yelled.
The two men were now striking at its rear leg. It took time, but eventually, its other leg became crippled, and it now could only drag its skeletal form and raise one front leg to strike out or try and bite with its head. Tiddles was pounding at the three heads between their attempts to bite him, and Sniffer and Brandon moved forward, supporting and beating the remains of the creation, cracking more bones. Kyto was nearly dry of mana again, and looking at the companions, none had much left. Lars was slowly fading as he continued to bleed out with the internal damage he had suffered. "I need more mana to finish this," Kyto called.
"Go. We will keep it busy." Tiddles answered as he continued to bat at the creation's heads.
Kyto ran across the room and back up the corridor. He almost forgot about the traps, suddenly remembering and slowing his pace as he remembered where they had been. It took him several minutes to return to the safe room and reach the barrier. He touched the barrier to leave.
Would you like to leave the infestation dungeon? Yes/No
Kyto accepted yes.
Unfortunately, you are currently engaged in combat and may not leave the dungeon at this time.
"FUCK." he screamed at the top of his lungs. Lars was on his last health, and it looked like Brandon must have received a strike as he had dropped to 20% now. He turned, running back to the safe room. The room contained their belongings, and they did have a very weak mana remaining in them, so he drew what he could from the inanimate objects. He wished he could find a source inside the dungeon. It was so frustrating having to leave to refill. He ran back down to the others again.
Brandon had been caught by a slashing paw by the looks of his body and the stripe of tears that were present on his side where he lay. He was still alive but unable to fight in his condition. Tiddles kept the heads busy as Sniffer tried his hardest to smash its foreleg to pieces. He was doing damage, cracking the bones, but still not significant enough. Kyto picked up one of the abandoned clubs and joined Sniffer. He was furious, anger boiling inside him alongside the frustration of the whole situation. 'Why,' he thought as he smashed at the foreleg. Repeatedly, he swung the club, breaking, cracking, crushing bones. He screamed in fury and beat at the creation with all his might. His increased levels recently had made quite a difference to his physical strength, and the strikes he hit the creation with were not far from the damage that Lars could do.
It took time. Kyto was in an all-encompassing rage. He had never before in his life been as anger-fueled as he was now. The foreleg cracked and fell free from the shoulder joint. Kyto, not even noticing as he continued his possessed assault. The creation dropped to the ground, its heads now unable to lift from the floor more than a few inches and with only one leg unable to push itself up to strike. Sniffer and Kyto took turns smashing the creation's heads. Tiddles is doing his part on one of the others.
As the Grylack skull fractured under a final vicious strike from Kyto, a red pulse emitted from the head, the blast exploding outwards, throwing the companions across the chamber away from the remains. Kyto, having sense knocked back into him, coming out of his rage-infused state, sat up, his sweat drenching his face, staring in disbelief at the scene before him. He had no idea what he had just been doing, having no actual recollection, only an insane level of rage like nothing he had felt before. He sat dazed as the red pulse carried across the room, disappearing into the walls, and three red wisps appeared travelling towards the chamber's ceiling.
He looked around at his friends. Sniffer had been thrown backwards like himself and sat upright, panting and tired from the physical exertion. Lars was clinging on to life. He only had about 2% health remaining, and Brandon was slowly bleeding out from his wounds, now having his body thrown across the room by the blast. Even Tiddles had been thrown away by the blast and stood shaking his head, clearing the ringing from his ears.
Kyto moved to Lars's side, bending down by his friend, and pushed his final mana strands into him, bringing his health up to 10%. Lars smiled weakly at him as he did. Brandon was being seen by Sniffer, wrapping his jacket around his wounds tightly, stemming the blood flow.
"I am going for mana." Kyto said as he ran from the room again, not waiting for a response from the others.