Xavier led the two women through the warrens towards where he had last known the herbalists and healers to be working. Hoping they hadn’t moved yet he was relieved to find them in the same room near the vault. Lila Fairbrook looked up from the alembic she was currently working with. Her tanned face held deep hazel eyes was framed by long auburn hair that was currently held in braids. She smiled warmly seeing who had entered the room. “How can I help you, Lord Vael?”
Xavier inwardly winced at the title again, he knew he needed to get used to it, but it was a major change. “Lila, do you happen to have any herbs or potions to help with healing? We are going to follow Aelriva’s recommendation and head into the Deeps and from what she was saying we want to make sure we are as prepared as possible.”
The healer came from around her table and led them over to a small set of shelves near the back of the room. On it was several trays with a handful of potions. There were diminishing numbers as the vials got bigger and more ornate. Xavier breathed a momentary gasp as he had not yet seen actual healing potions in the world. He inspected a vial from each tray and was not disappointed with the work of the herbalists so far.
Xavier could really begin to appreciate the power of herbalism now. He had enjoyed the minor effects of chewing on herbs themselves, but it was a pale substitute for what a crafter could develop it seemed. He made note to speak with Lila when he got time to try and learn more about how to make the potions as well. “These are perfect Lila; can we take all of these or are they needed for the villagers?”
The woman had already moved back to where she was working and waved a hand towards where Xavier stood. “They are yours Lord Vael. I am working on more of the Greater and Simple ones right now. We have the right essence crystal powder to make them. The two Superior ones were left over from Bramblegate and I do not have the components to make more of them.” She fixed him with a steady gaze. “It would be helpful if we could establish trade or find another way to get essence crystal if you want to continue having potions and not just steeped tonics.”
A new quest prompt formed in Xaviers vision
"Magic is more than will and words, it is shaped, refined, and given form. Without the right materials, even the greatest of artisans are left grasping at shadows. Essence crystals are the key, yet they remain beyond our reach. Seek them, and the path to greater craft shall unfold."
Quest Offered: "Crystalline Dust"
The refinement of arcane craft in Rynthavael requires a steady source of raw essence crystals or essence crystal dust, rare materials vital for enchantment, alchemy, and other higher-level crafting. Whether through discovery or trade, securing these resources is the next step toward unlocking the settlement’s true potential.
Objective:
- Locate a source of raw essence crystal or essence crystal dust.
- Establish trade or acquire a means to gather and refine these materials.
- Deliver the first supply to Rynthavael to enable further craft development.
Rewards:
- Access to advanced crafting and enchantment opportunities.
- Strengthened magical infrastructure for Rynthavael.
- +1000 Experience.
"The spark of creation lies not just in power, but in the hands that shape it. Find what is needed, and the forge of magic shall burn brighter."
This quest offering was almost immediately followed by one marking it as complete, a fact that made Xavier grin in spite of the trials ahead.
Through careful exploration, a Crystal Garden has been discovered—an extremely rare ley line phenomenon where all eight elemental aspects have crystallized into a physical form. A significant quantity of these essence crystals has been successfully harvested, opening new paths for magical advancement within Rynthavael.
Completion Outcomes:
- Large Stockpile of Elemental Essence Crystals – Sunfire (Light), Pyrric (Fire), Terrastone (Earth), Umbral (Dark), Necrothite (Death), Aquaris (Water), Zephyrite (Air), and Vitalis (Life).
- Unlocks Enchantment & Infusion Potential – Enables essence-bound weaponry, ley line amplification, and artifact restoration.
- Increased Arcane Infrastructure – Strengthened settlement-wide magical stability due to the renewed connection to elemental ley lines.
Rewards:
- +2500 Experience. (Bonus experience due to going above and beyond basic requirements)
- Expanded crafting, alchemy, and enchantment capabilities within Rynthavael
He took a moment to quickly look through other notifications that had been minimized recently. It seemed that this was not the only quest he had received and completed at the same time. When Braegor mentioned needing access to more raw metal and he informed the smith of the mine he had found Xavier had received and completed one called “Veins of the Earth” it was almost identical to the crystalline dust quest, but he had only received the base 1000 experience for that one. However, that was not the end of the good news. The experience from the two quests took Xavier over another threshold and he heard the blessed sounds of gaining another level.
"Hark and Hear! You have ascended in power. You are now Level 13!
The touch of the divine lingers upon you, granting 6 attribute points to shape your destiny—an exceptional gift, elevated from the ordinary 4 points by the Blessings of the Gods (Danu). Choose wisely, for these points will define your path. You have 3 days to assign them, or they will fall to the whims of fate. Your growing prowess earns you a boon: 20% skill allocation to distribute among your known skills. This is your chance to sharpen the blade of a favored talent, forge new strength in an untapped domain, or balance your growth across disciplines. Let this moment be a cornerstone of your greatness.
Rise, Seeker of Glory. The world awaits your will. Seek adventure, seek wisdom, seek love—and let your legend be forged in your choices. LIVE!”
Xavier moved over to an empty table and began pulling large shards of crystal out of his satchel. As he did so he opened the interface for the settlement and gave Lila access to the vault as well. Lila’s eyes widened as more and more crystals of various colors came out of the bag at Xavier’s waist. She nearly knocked the alembic over as she rushed over to examine them.
Xavier smiled to her as he spoke, “I have given you access to the village vault. Please see that these get deposited there and use what you need. I need to finish securing the garden but as you can see it is a large one.” He paused as he looked over the village UI briefly. “Since you have sworn fealty, I have a request of you Lila. Would you become the village herbalist?”
It took several long moments before the question registered with the almost overwhelmed woman. When she turned her gaze from the crystals back to Xavier the realization registered in her eyes, and she quickly took a knee before him. “Yes Lord Vael! I would be honored to serve in this role.”
Xavier focused on the village interface and selected Lila as the herbalist from the dropdown menu. He had now found 2 of the 6 roles available to him at the settlements current level. He knew of several others he would like to fill roles but needed to find a chance to talk with them still. Dismissing the interface, he offered a hand to the kneeling woman and helped her to her feet. She was positively glowing with joy and the rest of the herbalists in the room all gathered around to congratulate her.
Using the distraction as a chance to leave the trio and pair of cats quickly made their way back through the warrens to the mosaic that made up the Syr’Vailen and the gateway that led to the Deeps. Xavier took a moment to pause and admire the mosaic and the changes that had happened when he last woke Ley Lines. The tiles that made up the Life and Death representations were still vivid and radiated with vibrant energy. He could not help but glance at the tiles representing earth and wonder at what it would look like and the abilities it would give him.
Ella coughed softly pulling Xavier from his momentary distraction. He looked at the two women sheepishly then turned his gaze on Lianna. “I know you were charged by the elders to accompany me to Arevalis, what I do now is for my people. I cannot leave them defenseless when I poke the beehive of that kingdom. You don’t have to accompany us into the deeps. Last time we traveled there and awoke a ley line it nearly killed Ella and nearly broke my mind. It would be unfair of me to expect you to just follow us blindly into such danger.”
Lianna studied the humans standing before her. Her emerald orbs shifting back and forth between a known outsider and the conundrum that was a sentient blade given human form. She couldn’t deny that even now part of her wanted to abandon the charge of the Elders. Xavier had given her an out back in the woods, she still had the collar tucked in her bag from where she had picked it up off the forest floor. Inwardly she recoiled at that remembrance and quickly shifted her thoughts away from the accursed object. The lordling intrigued her, she couldn’t deny that either. Something about him, his actions, and his presence however made her want to learn more. There was something magnetic to his aura and she was drawn to it a surely as a moth to a flame. Deep in the depths of her being she knew she could not abandon him, not until she knew more about this unique man from another world. She shook her head slowly and met Xavier’s steady gaze with her own unwavering resolve. “We are traveling companions Xavier, that means if I can then I will follow you wherever you go.”
Xavier smiled, relieved that the powerful ranger would accompany them into the dangers below before taking a deep breath and moving resolutely through the portal and down the stairs to the Deeps. It was a short while before they exited the stairs into the entry hall that Xavier remembered from before. The two paths leading off to the crypt and the garden were just as they had last been, as was the large Ouroboros on the back wall, what had changed however is one of the archways, near the ouroboros, was no longer just solid stone, it was now open and revealing a new pathway. Taking that as an indication of which way they needed to go Xavier led the way both swords in hand. Ella followed right behind him, her bow at the ready but with a torch in hand to illuminate the passages. Frostclaw and Valkra padded along beside one and other next the dichotomy of the large white snow leopard walking next to the small ebon shadowmane panther cub would have been funny in different setting, but both had an aura of danger about them as they prowled forward. Lianna brought up the rear of the group, like Ella she had a bow in hand, but she also was cataloging everything she saw, her loyalty was still to Verdantspire even if this young lordling and his village were potential allies.
Similar to when they had sought out the Life Ley Line the passage was initially the stone worked passage which gave way to rough stone caverns. As they traversed these passages though they started noticing slight tremors, the ground would shake underfoot, and small rivulets of dust and gravel would fall from the ceiling and clatter across the ground. This coupled with the tons of rock and earth overhead grated on the nerves and poise of the group as they traveled. Sweat slicked clothing and gave purchase to falling dust leaving them all feeling grimy and gritty. Even the two beasts were starting to growl at each other in the narrow confines.
They all took an audible sigh of relief when the passageway walls suddenly disappeared, and a large cavern opened up before them. Coming to the end of the passage they looked out over the new terrain noting how it appeared partially collapsed. Rock formations littered the floor intermixed with small crystalline growths. Stalactites and stalagmites covered the floor and ceiling however it was obvious that numerous ones had broken off and collapsed accounting for at least some of the piles of broken stone. The light was not enough to see across the chamber fully, but they noticed a number of tunnel entrances at different heights and angles in the walls that they could see. Xavier sheathed his emberstone shortsword and lit another torch off the one held by Ella. This cast additional lights and shadows in the cavern. With the additional light he took a step down the incline before him into the chamber. The floor roughly evened out after a short decent and the party slowly moved deeper in, about twenty feet into the chamber the ground trembled ominously, the ground vibrating beneath their feet and they heard crashing sounds of several stalactites collapsing in the dark recesses of the cavern. They stopped walking spreading out to maintain balance and not run into one and other. As the tremors ceased, they looked at one and other then up to the dangerous daggers of stone hanging overhead and shuddered at the potential for sudden death from above if another tremor struck.
They waited for nearly a minute to ensure no more tremors struck before the started moving again, Xavier had only taken two steps when the ground just to his left erupted in an explosion of stone and dirt. Yelling he covered his face with his arms managing to prevent the larger stones from striking him senseless. Ella had not been so lucky however and fragment of a stalagmite had knocked her to the ground sending her torch spluttering across the ground. Both cats had the wherewithal to avoid the clattering stone without injury and moved around whatever was causing the disturbance. Lianna was able to hop back out of the debris as well her bow instantly coming up to the ready, an arrow nocked and pulled until she could see what was lurking within the dust cloud.
The dust settled as a screech of stone on stone filled the cave, and the very ground beneath the party’s feet rumbling as what was hidden within came into view. An enormous serpentine body was slowly revealed by the settling cloud, it was covered in stone-like scales that glistened with embedded mineral veins. As the beast’s head oriented on the group its four ember-like eyes burned with a predatory intensity. Powerful clawed limbs pulled its body free from the ground and it coiled hungrily before them. A guttural roar, sounding more like stones grinding together that something coming from a living throat, reverberated through the cavern once again shaking the dangerous poniard like protrusions hanging above and the beast reared back as if a snake preparing to strike. Xavier quickly spent the mana to trigger insight.
The thing was a horror! Xavier only had time to quickly note the creatures’ stats before it lashed out. Its head lunging forward, wicked teeth flashing towards him as he tried to backpedal out of its way. Only luck, if one could actually call it that, kept the monstrosities teeth from closing over Xaviers entire upper body as he tripped backwards over one of the broken piles of stone. That did not prevent one of the clawed limbs from scraping over his new leather armor and leaving deep furrows in the toughened material.
That sudden movement shook the rest of the party out of their momentary stupor and all of them surged to motion. Ella scrambled along the stone floor to recover her bow and rose to a knee smoothly drawing and loosing several arrows, each one shattered on the stone scales of the serpentine beast leaving nothing but scratches and small stone chips.
With yowls of anger both Frostclaw and Valkra lunged at the monster darting nimbly through lashing legs and Frostclaw narrowly ducking the lashing tail. Sadly, their attacks only had the minimal effect of drawing the creatures attention away from Xavier who was rolling to his feet, glad to not have the snapping jaws in his face any longer.
Lianna on the other hand, had noticed the limited impact of Ella’s arrows and took a slightly different approach. Aiming her bow towards the ceiling she sighted on one of the stalactites over the beast’s body and loosed her arrow. With a sharp crack it struck the stone projectile and caused it to snap and plunge down towards the ground. Its length, compounded by the weight of its stony composition caused the point to slam into one of the scales, cracking it and driving into the soft flesh beneath. This drew another roar from the wyrm, one that not only shook the earth but released a shockwave of energy that momentarily stunned Xavier and the two cats as they were within its 10’ range. More of the sharp protrusions overhead shook free and careened to the ground narrowly missing the two women as they darted out from under them. Frostclaw was not so lucky, in his stunned state one of the plummeting stalactites struck the great cat a glancing blow to the shoulder digging a deep furrow through his fur and knocking him to the ground.
The wyrm lunged at the prone feline, its jaws closing fiercely over Frostclaws torso leaving bloody wounds in the pale fur. Yowling in pain as the attack shook the stunned debuff from it the cat immediately began to writhe and claw at the monster’s head. Long claws dug furrows through one set of the beast eyes causing it to recoil in pain and release the cat who dashed back out of range limping slightly from the shoulder wound but still growling aggressively.
Lianna, seeing her longtime companion in the wyrm’s jaws uttered a string of profanity in Avara, the Animari language, so fast and intense that Xavier’s ability to understand couldn’t keep up. He didn’t need to know the exact words to understand the meaning behind them though. Her bow snapped again and again in quick motion. Several more stone daggers plunging from the top of the cavern towards the wyrm. Unfortunately, in its movements the projectiles missed and only crashed to the stone floor creating more debris to clutter the battleground.
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Xavier, now having shook off his own stunned effect, lunged forward with Vaeltheris. The softly glowing blade’s edge shimmered slightly as it struck the scales of the beast and cut clean through them and deep into the wyrm’s flank drawing a geyser of greyish blue blood and a whiplike crack of the monster’s tail. The appendage slammed into Xavier once again knocking him from his feet as he was left sprawled on the ground.
Ella ground her teeth in frustration, she knew her bow was not strong enough to shatter stalactites like Lianna’s was. The fact her arrows had done nothing to the scales of the beast was not lost on her either. Still, she strung and drew another arrow to her cheek as she searched the beast for some sort of weak point. When she spotted the shattered scale on the creatures back from Lianna’s earlier attack she knew she had found her target. Waiting until the monster paused a moment in its gyrations, she released the string, and the arrow flew true sinking nearly to the fletching, due to the close proximity, into the soft muscle that was now fully exposed. They wyrm roared again in pain, something it hadn’t felt in decades due to its almost impossibly strong armor and dove beneath the stone floor a moment later.
Several long moments passed as the companions and their beasts recovered their footing but otherwise remained still, searching for some sort of indication where the wyrm might erupt from next. After nothing happened for a short while Ella took a step towards Xavier to check on him and was launched into the air as the wyrm burst forth beneath her. The strike caused her not only to be launched from the ground but knocked the bow from her hands once again. She twisted and just barely missed being trapped between the beast’s jaws like Frostclaw had been but took several long gashes down her ribs, eliciting a scream of pain as she did so.
Xavier rushed forward, Vaeltheris once again darting into the wyrm’s body and sinking to the very hilt at the base of its head. The enchanted blade missing the spine of the beast but still striking a critical hit. The monstrous creature recoiled and drug Xavier along with it as it moved. His body dangling from where he clung to the hilt of his weapon, along the beasts neck. More of the grey blue blood poured down his arm and into his eyes momentarily blinding him as the viscous fluid stuck to his face.
Planting his feet on the side of the beast’s neck, Xavier ripped the blade free and took a large part of flesh and stone scales with it. As the wyrm succumbed to its wounds, its massive body trembled, sending deep, shuddering vibrations through the ground as it slowly collapsed to the earth, Xavier riding the wild undulations down. A low, guttural rumble built from within its core, like the grinding of boulders deep within the earth, resonating through the cavern walls. Its ember-like eyes flickered, their glow fading as its strength waned. Then, with a final, haunting bellow, a sound like distant thunder mixed with the crumbling of collapsing stone erupted from its maw and echoed through the tunnels. The sound fractured into a harsh, rasping exhale, a slow, drawn-out groan of shifting rock and deep, guttural cracks, before ending in a final, sharp crack, as if the earth itself had split apart. The silence that followed was heavy, filled only with the settling dust and the faint echoes of its last, seismic breath.
The group remained tense, Xavier still standing atop the monster’s body, wary of any others that might burst forth. Carefully they relaxed their stances not hearing or feeling anymore tremors in the ground. They took careful stock of their situation, Lianna and surprisingly Valkra, were the only two completely uninjured. Xavier slid of the corpse and made his way over to Ella while Frostclaw did the same towards Lianna. Three of their limited supply of potions were unstopped and consumed slowly restoring vitality to the injured and leaving them anxiously wary of what else the floor might contain.
Ding!
You have slain a level 15 Stone Scale Wyrm +7200 Experience.
The experience for just one creature was massive, it was not enough to help Xavier into the next level, but he was only 2735 points away from level 14. Before moving on they took time to examine the beast’s corpse. And while it took time, effort, and the magical nature of Vaeltheris to cut away the scales and hide they were not disappointed in the haul.
Xavier had never been so glad that he dedicated more time to his lore reading. Where before when he would pick up items of higher quality or rarer nature, he would be left to wonder what they were used for unless Aelriva was nearby to help identify them. Now, however, he was able to make out each of these items. It left him wondering if there was more that he could gleen if he knew more lore and history however, something he would be seeing to changing nightly if possible.
As the trio rose from the grisly task of dismembering the dead beast, covered in the viscous grey blue blood and other viscera they all grimaced looking at one and other. After a slight debate they agreed to head to the garden and its pools of water to clean at least the worst of the grime off before continuing deeper into the tunnels.
A short trip back and return later, the trio along with the two cats were much cleaner and happier, also aware they needed to come explore the gardens more fully as there were some significant changes that had happened since the Life Core had been awakened. Standing in the cavern with the corpse of the wyrm once again they looked at the various tunnel entrances in consideration. Most of them were roughly the size of the beast and it made sense that they were likely its doing and not the way deeper, at the back of the cavern though was another larger passageway that led roughly down and towards the left, its interior soon obscured as it turned further around the bend. Roughly certain that this was the passage they were looking for they started to descend it as well using the same formation they had to begin with. Xavier only held Vaeltheris and a torch this time instead of both blades. He would not be caught off guard as with the wyrm.
The floor of the tunnel maintained a slow descent, it twisted back and forth and sometimes seemed to loop around itself as they went, soon they had lost all sense of direction in the twisting tunnel and were only thankful that it had not had branches off to lead them astray. That soon changed however, as the passageway leveled out it started to branch and fork. A single tunnel leading off into the gloom on the right, a forked division splitting the path in front, several openings to the left, and so forth. The place had become a damn labyrinth in their descent. In an effort to make sure they could make their way back every time they chose a passageway to follow, they etched a sigil, something that would not be confused as random markings, into the stone next to the entrance or division that they followed. Hours passed as they found dead ends, loop backs and collapsed tunnels. Xavier could see from his interface that, counting the fight with the wyrm, they had been underground exploring for the better part of eight hours. They were footsore and exhausted by the time they found another semicircular chamber.
The chamber was vast and crumbling, once grand seemingly dwarven architecture was now marred by time and destruction. The air was thick with dust and the acrid scent of decay, while flickering crystalline sconces still cast uneven light across the cavernous space. Massive stone pillars, some still standing but cracked, others reduced to rubble, hinted at the room’s former majesty. The walls, where still intact, were adorned with ancient reliefs of miners and craftsmen, though they bore deep scars, some from seismic shifts, others from corrosive forces that have melted through the stone. Jagged fissures snaked along the ceiling, occasionally releasing loose pebbles and dust, while fractured archways lead into unknown depths. Pools of stagnant water glistened in the dim light, their surfaces marred by a faint, iridescent sheen, and sections of the floor had crumbled into uneven pits, revealing buried pathways and forgotten tunnels beneath. The entire sanctum felt heavy with the weight of history, a place where the echoes of the past still linger, whispering of both triumph and catastrophe.
The numerous tunnels immediately left the group wary of another wyrm attack. They gripped their weapons tighter and moved slowly into the chamber, heading towards a larger collection of intact pillars and what appeared to be stone benches gathered around them. The chamber reminded Xavier of some of the smaller chambers he had found in the mine, rooms for miners to rest and relax when not returning home between work shifts. It also gave Xavier hope that they might have found a mine closer to Rynthavael.
The pools that littered the floor drew their attention due to the sheen, but the soft hiss when Xavier stepped in one made revealed their acidic nature further explaining some of the damage to the walls. They deliberately skirted the remaining pools as they finally made it to the benches. They settled upon the hard stone grateful for a chance to rest, leaning back against the intact pillars they remained wary but tried to rest for the time being. As they rested the torches slowly sputtered out leaving the chamber lit by the dim sconces, this worked out well as it allowed their eyes to adjust to the soft light and extended the range they could see beyond the pool of flickering torchlight. Taking turns, they set a guard rotation and gave way to wary sleep.
The semi-regular sound of stone and earth shifting and falling in the tunnels left whoever was awake and on guard tense and jumping at shadows. The rest was not fulfilling, though it did allow them to recover somewhat. However, during the third watch, Lianna’s watch, that the tenuous peace was broken.
It started with a slowly increasing scraping noise, that sounded like something being drug across the stone, coming from several of the tunnels. Startled, Lianna sat up from where she had been trying to relax during her watch and strained her ears. The scraping noise soon was accompanied by a soft odd clicking noise that seemed to call and reply from first one passageway then another. Lianna shook her head in confusion as she tried to piece together what was happening. It was not long before a pungent, stomach-churning stench wafted out of several of the tunnels, specifically those where the clicking noises were louder. The smell was a sickly combination of rotting flesh, scorched minerals, and acrid bile. The air of the chamber grew thick with the burning tang of acid, sharp enough to sting the nostrils and leave an unpleasant metallic taste on the tongue. Beneath the acidic bite, there was a cloying, fungal musk, as if something was decaying from within, and exuding a damp, moldy scent that clung to everything it touches.
Lianna’s ears, just like the two felines, flattened to the side of her head as her own growl added to theirs. She moved carefully, eyes shifting from one tunnel to another as she nudged Xavier and Ella awake. Both recoiled as they came to consciousness and caught the smell as well, though their senses being less than Lianna’s they were luckily less impacted by it. They all gathered closer together, backs to one another as they moved to prevent any surprise.
Thus, they were not caught flatfooted when from the jagged tunnels, twisted forms burst forth in a frenzy of snapping mandibles and clattering limbs, their grotesque bodies writhing unnaturally as they forced their way into the open. What seemed to be once-smooth chitin now appeared cracked and ruptured, all the while leaking sickly, luminescent bile that hissed and smoked upon contact with stone. The acidic puddles now made more sense. Multi-faceted eyes pulsed with an eerie, spectral glow, each flickered as though something unnatural was festering behind them. Each movement was accompanied by the brittle grinding of fractured exoskeletons, their warped frames pulsing with an unnatural hunger. Jagged mandibles, slick with bubbling acid, snaped wildly at the air, strands of venom stretching between them as they prepared to strike. Their mangled legs, half-melted and malformed, twitched and spasmed, propelling them forward with an unsettling, erratic gait, as though their bodies are no longer fully able to obey the laws of nature.
Xavier triggered insight and suddenly knew what the creatures were and his stomach flipped in apprehension.
Two were initially visible, one bursting out of the tunnel near Lianna, its pincers spreading as a hissing green spray of fluid shot from its head causing her to twist away trying to avoid being struck by what was obviously an acidic spray this motion was almost mirrored by the second one emerging near Xavier and unleashing its own spray. Xavier was not as nimble as the Iskari, however, and the fluid coated his shoulder and empty hand immediately causing the flesh and leather to burn and hiss, open wounds forming from the sudden damage and eliciting a yelp of pain as he tried to scrub the fluid from his flesh on the rock of the closest pillar.
The brutal suddenness of these two pulled the attention of Ella who moved to assist Xavier only to have the ground crumble beneath her as another exploded upwards out of the ground, its jagged mandibles closing around her ankle in a brutal bite, acid already starting to eat away at the leather of the woman’s boot as she screamed and tried to drive the arrow in her hand into the head of the creature to make it release her.
Frostclaw was the best prepared of the group for the suddenness of the attack. He had crouched in anticipation of the noise closest to him and pounced on the ankheg that surged out of the floor tunnel as soon as it came into view. Yowling at the pain of the acid the large cat did not release its hold on the monstrous bug, instead his great jaws closed over the cracked carapace of its shoulder causing further crunching as the pieces continued to shatter beneath the bite.
Valkra, even as a cub moved with the inherent grace and stealth of her kind, crept up and pounced on the back of the one biting Ella, the shadowmane’s teeth found purchase on the back of the creature’s neck though her jaws were not strong enough to break the carapace like Frostclaw could. Instead, her bifurcated tail with its long stingers whipped forward and sunk into the cracks injecting the paralyzing venom into the creature causing it to freeze up and allowing Ella to wriggle her ankle out of the pincers that had been holding her.
The melee devolved into a chaotic scrum as each ankheg was a significant threat to be dealt with. Lianna pulled her sword and circled the hissing creature who had targeted her initially. Frostclaw continued savaging the bug beneath his great weight, each bite and rake of claws eliciting a renewed spay of acid that slowly was dissolving the cat’s fur and flesh though not deterring its resolve. Xavier, gritting his teeth in the pain of the flesh of his hand melting struggled to pull his second sword and return the attack to his foe. Ella and Valkra worked in tandem, now that Ella was free, though her boot was slowly dissolving still from the remaining acid. The duo was still able to keep the creature off kilter though it still attacked with near mindless abandon.
Xavier was having the most trouble, the pain from his hand distracted him and decreased his capability to fight. Still, he was able to mostly avoid further acid splashing across his body as he struck out cracking chitin and cutting the creature. Back and forth the two flowed, the mindless aggression of the ankheg matched by the relentless resolve of Xavier’s goal to survive. This continued until mostly through luck Xavier was able to drive the point of Vaeltheris into the creature’s multifaceted eye and brought his emberstone shortsword hard against the spindly neck severing the head from the body. The heat of the blade cauterized the neck though, preventing the sudden spout of acid that would have showered over the exhausted human.
Heaving a gasping breath, he turned intending to aid his companions only to find that each of them, though burned and injured as well, had been able to deal with their own rivals. The cavern grew silent once more, only the gasping breaths and hissing of slowly dissolving stone. Xavier collapsed to the stone roughly his legs going out from underneath him in painful collapse. Ella and Lianna mirrored his motion as Frostclaw nearly crawled to Lianna. Valkra padded silently over to Xavier nuzzling into his side, her sleek, midnight-black fur warping the light around her, making her presence almost imperceptible as she moved. Xavier could only marvel at the dangerous little feline and imagine how much more deadly she would be as she grew. He gently ran his hand over her soft coat searching for critical injuries.
Ding!
Your party has slain 4 Corrupted Ankhegs +6300 Experience.
That notification was immediately followed by the celebration sounds of another level as the voice sounded in his mind accompanying the usual prompt.
"Hark and Hear! You have ascended in power. You are now Level 14!
The touch of the divine lingers upon you, granting 6 attribute points to shape your destiny—an exceptional gift, elevated from the ordinary 4 points by the Blessings of the Gods (Danu). (Total of 12 points remaining to distriubute) Choose wisely, for these points will define your path. You have 3 days to assign them, or they will fall to the whims of fate. Your growing prowess earns you a boon: 20% skill allocation (Total of 40% remaining) to distribute among your known skills. This is your chance to sharpen the blade of a favored talent, forge new strength in an untapped domain, or balance your growth across disciplines. Let this moment be a cornerstone of your greatness.
Rise, Seeker of Glory. The world awaits your will. Seek adventure, seek wisdom, seek love—and let your legend be forged in your choices. LIVE!”
Further potions were imbibed as they sought to recover from the perils of the insectoid attack. Xavier laid a hand gently on Frostclaw and focused on the one life spell he knew. Words of power filled his mind and slipped from his lips, his free hand contorted through several somatic gestures before golden light suffused his other hand and poured into the cat’s body, closing wounds and restoring his hit points. He repeated the action several times, mostly restoring Frostclaw to full health.
“Do we try and rest again or continue deeper?” Xavier posed the question to the other two.
Lianna shook her head, and Ella pursed her lips in consideration before answering. “I do not think we should stay here, there is no way to know how many more of those,” she shuddered, “things remain in these passages. I say we loot them and press on; the sooner we clear this floor the sooner it is safe to traverse once again.”
Xavier, finding no reason to argue, moved towards the bodies and began carefully moving them carefully to avoid any acid that poured forth with the motion. Ella and Lianna joined him and soon they had another collection of parts carved from the beasts.
The items joined those of the wyrm in Xavier’s satchel. The deliberate care they took ensured they stayed much less coated in detritus than previously. After a short deliberation they decided to move towards the most downward tunnel, knowing that their ultimate destination was a supposed stairway that would lead down to the next actual level of the Deeps.