Chapter 97: Gerda - A Suitable Final Boss

  The first thing I saw when we arrived on level ten, was a colossal cavern. Ice stalactites larger than I was had fallen from the ceiling, splitting the floor in places.

  In the centre of the room, an icy wyvern only slightly smaller than Feliwyn the Dragon lay dead, curled up on the cavern floor. Guild Mistress Alice sat of the wyvern, looking down at them. Around her were three others; her dungeon delving party members.

  She looked like a suitable final boss.

  “At last you’re here.” Alice said, jumping down from the boss monster. Her white feather celestial wings spread out behind her, delicately controlling her fall.

  “Is that dungeon monster dead?” Pram asked from somewhere behind me. “And still here?”

  “Looks like it.” John replied.

  “It’s time to end this Gerda.” Alice took a fighting stance.

  One of the celestial’s party members, a lizardkin wearing wizard robes, turned to their seven foot tall giant tank holding a broadsword. “She never told us it would be four versus seven?”

  “Worth the money.” The giant said, holding up their sword and getting into a fighting stance. The lizardkin looked unconvinced, but started chanting.

  “Were you just sitting up there waiting for us all this whole time?” Sir Tully asked Alice, sounding confused.

  “You have to admit, it looked spectacular.” I told the paladin.

  He pulled out his extra [Mental Resistance] scroll. “Did you need this?”

  “I’m going to kill you.” Alice said, lifting one hand. “By the will of the eternal rest, [Void Arrow].”

  Her mage also cast, “By the great sun [Fire Spear].”

  Her tank swung his sword in an arch, “[Bludgeoning Cut].”

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  Both hits landed on Julian’s [Barrier] and it flickered. The other two members of Alice’s party didn’t attack because they were busy - John had dragged one into a shadow teleport by the ankles, dropping him from the ceiling, and the other dodged an [Ice Spear] from Pram.

  “The place is trapped!’ I told the group. While I hadn’t woken with a Keeper of Fate [Oracle], my Perception alone could pick up a good deal of what was laid down. “Stay clear of the left side of the platform, that rock face, that ground icicle— Antidotes now!”

  The adventurer that Pram had tried to skewer with his ice attack was a beastfolk in folk form. She jumped to her feet with eight bottles of poisons, one squished between each finger ninja-knuckle knife wielding style. She threw them at us.

  I’d handed everyone a bunch of potions for this very reason.

  Spies, assassins… I assumed this place was as dangerous as the Sanctuary before I got to it.

  There was a split second where every person in the room except Alice and John stopped to drink an Antidote.

  It was kinda silly, but it worked.

  In that time, John popped out of a shadow and cut the legs out from the lizardkin mage. While drinking the [Antidote], the mage surprised the rogue by pointing down with his free hand and silent casting [Fire Ball].

  He’d deliberately cast aloud earlier to catch us off guard now. John’s attack still landed, and then he escaped through [Shadow Walk], appearing at the back of our group on the platform.

  “I’ll clear an opening!” Their tank said, “[Charge].”

  Holding his broadsword, the giant barreled through the plumes of poison smoke. Before he reached the [Barrier], Julian jumped down from the platform and met the broadsword with his Royal Valarian Sword. The swords clashed, sliding down to the hand guard, and then Julian’s blade was swung wide until it hit the ground. At that point the half-elf silently activated [Crushing Blow] and hit the giant with his shield.

  The giant grunted under the blow.

  While John healed up, Pram was already firing more [Ice Spears] as the cool down came off. One hit a trap, and an explosion range out across the room.

  The ice stalactite still hanging from the ceiling shivered from the blast, but only one fell. It landed six feet from where Julian and the giant were engaged in battle.

  Visha decided that the quickest way to join the fray without risking setting off more traps was up and over. She crossed the cavern by jumping from the top of the ice stalactites that had fallen and pierced the ground. Her twin blades were drawn and she lashed out with one, shooting a water blade at the beastfolk poisoner.

  Jeffry stood beside me, his epic blade drawn and his wings activated so that he could leap into flight at any second.

  Alice smiled. Surprisingly, she stood back, waiting.

  I didn’t like that.

  Julian clashed swords with the giant three times in quick succession, and Pram attempted to hit the giant with a [Freeze] spell but it was repelled. Visha locked down the beastman. John, healed, vanished into shadow again.

  Sir Tully had earlier jumped off the right side of the platform and was walking very very carefully, almost on tiptoe, across the cavern floor and between the fallen ice.

  At this point in the battle, he activated his first trap. A blast of [Void] damage hit the column of ice behind him and it vanished.

  “I’m alright!” He reassured himself, taking another step and then falling into a pit trap.

  Julian had the upper hand on his opponent, and whittled down the giant’s hit points. Pram finally ran out of mana and retreated to stand beside me. Jeffry traded off and flew to go help Visha.

  The elf wasn’t faring well against the beastkin, who was agile enough to dodge her attacks and had range [Claw Blades] that had dealt a number of damage.

  “This is going well.” Pram told me with a smile, pulling out his Mana Potion.

  A soft voice whispered from across the cavern. “Now.”

  Julian was bringing up his shield to block another strike when the giant shifted mid swing, spun in place and threw his sword.

  It landed in the [Barrier] and shattered it.

  “[Sever Fate].” Alice appeared behind me, her palm on my back.

  [[You have been effected by [Sever Fate]. For twenty-four hours, you are immune to Raise, Resurrect, Revive or Respawn.]

  Pram stabbed the celestial with a pocket dagger before she managed to portal away again.

  I cursed.

  Across the cavern, the wyvern disintegrated into sparkling experience points.