Chapter 50
Punching Down
The Paladin stopped and raised their hand, slowly turning to the group behind. With the gesture of a metal-clad finger, they brought up their STAR Party Chat windows.
[Clive: Silence now.]
[Clive: Usual battle plan. Confirm roles.]
[Vanessa: I will cast [Nightvision] on us all. It is Concentration so I will assist with low-level spells until we know how things stand.]
[Lars: [Exploding Fist] the doors open. Then just punch stuff.]
[Claire: [Stealth] to [Assassinate] any open target or flank the enemy.]
[Roger: Buff with [Song of Valour] to start with, [Ode of Recovery] if things turn hairy.]
[Clive: Confirmed. I will lead the charge once Lars has destroyed the gate.]
[Clive: Move as quickly as possible while we have the element of surprise.]
The Party - Voice of Gaia - nodded their acknowledgements as they closed their Chats. Clive stretched out his shoulders and lowered the visor on his helm as he turned his gaze back to the bandit encampment. The low murmur of the Wizard casting [Nightvision] got his nerves up. It was always the preparation right before the battle that got him antsy.
They just had to kill this Boss Monster and whatever Elites were in the area of the camp, and then they could go see the Archduke in Poppybrook and gain both their Second Class advancements as well as entry to the second area - the Wastelands. Sure, they were behind the curve, but they were alive.
A flare lit his eyes as the spell was complete, and the bandit camp came into view. As bright as day but at a slightly off hue - almost without any saturation. The low light of a campfire was less apparent now, but the shadowed areas had melted away by the vision spell.
The watchtowers looked clear. Not surprising, really. Clive gave the nod to Lars and let the Monk take the lead. This first area of the camp was often farmed for experience - heck, the Voice of Gaia had cleared it twice about a week ago. The inner two camps were less frequented as you could easily draw aggro from way too many bandits. Too risky.
As they reached the gate, the Rogue went invisible in preparation. Roger held his fingers against the strings of his lute in tense anticipation. The Wizard began a familiar rhythmic breathing to prepare herself for the fight ahead. Clive gave Lars a nod.
[Exploding Fist]
The wooden gate shattered inwards, splitting into fragments that scattered into the camp. As the group stepped into the threshold - the Paladin paused.
Before them, a small ginger cat sat all on its own.
Clive opened his mouth to give an order - but the shadow of movement from above distracted him.
Sally leapt from the watchtower accompanied by Theo. Sword drawn, she cast [Summon Zombies] on the way down. With a flash of crimson, she cut a line down the surprised Bard. A full five zombies ruptured from the earth as the Novice landed next to the Monk - his attack was blocked, but the weight of his descent knocked back the young man with a shaved head.
The Paladin raised his sword into the air, and it burst into holy fire - even the look of it hurt Sally’s eyes. As he turned towards her to get her attention, Humphrey charged out from the side of one of the small huts. His greatsword burst into dark energy as he ran towards the throng.
A table flipped over, and Jackie hopped atop two chairs, the cylinder of her weapon rotating with an orange glow as she used [Hell Trigger].
It was at this moment full chaos bloomed.
In slow motion, as she cast [Hex: Slow] on the man she struck, Sally watched as the Paladin turned back to face the Death Knight. The injured Bard stumbled backwards to try and withdraw a knife, but their feet got caught up on one of the emerging zombies, sending them falling to the floor.
The Monk had recovered and began an assault on Theo, the Novice’s sword blazing with pink energy as he prepared his [Novice Strike], waiting to see if he needed to block before starting his wild attack. The Rogue was nowhere to be seen.
A change in temperature drew her attention to the back of the pack as the Wizard released a [Fire Bolt]. The glowing orb zipped across and struck Sally in the left shoulder - pain flaring up as her dead flesh burnt beneath the flame. She growled and pounced forward to attack the panicked woman before a shape emerged from the shadow beside her.
Learning from experience, she twisted away by instinct. The Rogue appeared with a long blade that only just missed piercing her side and instead gashed her back and shredded her shirt. Sally spun with her sword out, but the cloaked woman evaded, moving backwards into the shadows again.
[Uncontrolled Growth]
A large figure barrelled past her - a blur of orange fur that pounced at the Wizard, knocking the spellcaster to the floor. Sally blinked as Archie had now grown to the size of a lion, disrupting the second fire spell with his attack. The growled mews as his large jaws snapped at the prone woman were off-putting. Patches of red soaked through silver robes as the Wizard dropped her [Nightvision] buff to cast [Shield] on herself.
The clatter of a bolt hit the wall near where the Rogue had vanished to - followed by a second to the left, a third to the right - and then the fourth bolt fired from Betty stopped in the air as the cloaked woman became visible again, struck by the projectile. She cursed and leapt over a pair of barrels, withdrawing a red potion from her belt.
[Exploding Shot]
A burst of fire erupted from the hiding place as the barrels splintered to pieces, the Rogue rolling away injured, their black clothing smouldering and alight in places.
One of her zombies had been felled by the Bard - stabbed in the eye socket, as two more currently clawed and bit at the fallen man. Sally licked her lips and approached, ready to stab her sword into her trapped prey.
[Unstoppable Flurry]
A force knocked into her, waylaying her from the potential killing blow. Punches - striking her one after another. She turned to face the Monk while her arms raised to protect her head. The punches were strong but not massively powerful - not for someone with her Strength and Constitution. But they were unrelenting. They chipped away at her health and resolve as each fist powered into her whilst leaving her few chances to counter.
With blazing red eyes, she looked at her assailant. Theo was behind the Monk, his [Novice Strike] repeatedly flickering into the back of the Monk. Spurts of blood accompanied the flash of strikes, but the Monk remained persistent - either unwilling or unable to end their constant barrage of strikes.
The Paladin pushed back Humphrey from their clash and cast [Salvation]. Radiant energy flowed through the Voice of Gaia, healing them and providing them with some temporary resistance.
Archie howled as he took some form of magic damage, cowering away from the Wizard trying to stand.
The Bard was able to fend off the two zombies, his Lute finding its way back to his hands.
Fury painted the face of the Monk. Sally started to feel weak, her arms numb and thoroughly tenderized.
“Should do this t’Theo next, make ‘im easier to eat,” she growled out.
“You can talk?” Surprise and confusion filled the Monk’s face, relenting his assault enough to catch the [Hex: Slow].
[Will of the Dark Lord]
Humphrey had pushed through as he clashed with Paladin, taking some damage in the process but putting himself in range of everyone except the Rogue.
All of the Voice of Gaia Party members passed the Willpower check against the Stun.
Except one.
The fists of the Monk went lax as their expression slunk. Theo continued battering them from behind, his wooden sword starting to cut chunks from the exposed back of the man.
A strum of music emanated from behind her as the Bard began casting something to support the Stunned Party member. The Wizard was contending with Archie, who- Sally had to resist doing a double take as it looked like the cat had doubled in size again. The clash of metal past Theo signalled that the two heavily armoured members were still at odds. If there was one thing the Death Knight excelled at, it was keeping tanks occupied.
A bolt from Jackie struck the Lute, interrupting the intended magical song. The follow-up shot came slower than previously, with [Hellfire Trigger] now worn off, and the Bard was able to dodge out of the way.
“Ow, you fuckstick, yous gonna get it now!” Jackie seethed, a dagger sticking out from her thigh - thrown by the Rogue to stop her from harrying the Bard.
Sally slashed twice with her sword - her amateur swings still effective against an unresponsive foe. Blood dripped to the floor, causing her to salivate. She ached, both arms were sore, and her left shoulder still felt like it was burning. Perhaps this would be an opportune time to pop a [Healing Potion] to top up - the Monk might be close to death, but the rest of their party had lots of tricks left to pull.
Instead, she was enamoured by a text pop-up.
A new skill that had certain conditions to be used. Conditions that were currently fulfilled.
Her eyes widened as she dropped the sword to the floor, hands outstretched. They held the warm, bloodied face of the Monk. As the stun wore off, pain and confusion sank back into his features as his pale brown eyes met the blazing red ones of the zombie.
[Eat Brains]
Chapter 50
Punching Down
The Paladin stopped and raised their hand, slowly turning to the group behind. With the gesture of a metal-clad finger, they brought up their STAR Party Chat windows.
[Clive: Silence now.]
[Clive: Usual battle plan. Confirm roles.]
[Vanessa: I will cast [Nightvision] on us all. It is Concentration so I will assist with low-level spells until we know how things stand.]
[Lars: [Exploding Fist] the doors open. Then just punch stuff.]
[Claire: [Stealth] to [Assassinate] any open target or flank the enemy.]
[Roger: Buff with [Song of Valour] to start with, [Ode of Recovery] if things turn hairy.]
[Clive: Confirmed. I will lead the charge once Lars has destroyed the gate.]
[Clive: Move as quickly as possible while we have the element of surprise.]
The Party - Voice of Gaia - nodded their acknowledgements as they closed their Chats. Clive stretched out his shoulders and lowered the visor on his helm as he turned his gaze back to the bandit encampment. The low murmur of the Wizard casting [Nightvision] got his nerves up. It was always the preparation right before the battle that got him antsy.
They just had to kill this Boss Monster and whatever Elites were in the area of the camp, and then they could go see the Archduke in Poppybrook and gain both their Second Class advancements as well as entry to the second area - the Wastelands. Sure, they were behind the curve, but they were alive.
A flare lit his eyes as the spell was complete, and the bandit camp came into view. As bright as day but at a slightly off hue - almost without any saturation. The low light of a campfire was less apparent now, but the shadowed areas had melted away by the vision spell.
The watchtowers looked clear. Not surprising, really. Clive gave the nod to Lars and let the Monk take the lead. This first area of the camp was often farmed for experience - heck, the Voice of Gaia had cleared it twice about a week ago. The inner two camps were less frequented as you could easily draw aggro from way too many bandits. Too risky.
As they reached the gate, the Rogue went invisible in preparation. Roger held his fingers against the strings of his lute in tense anticipation. The Wizard began a familiar rhythmic breathing to prepare herself for the fight ahead. Clive gave Lars a nod.
[Exploding Fist]
The wooden gate shattered inwards, splitting into fragments that scattered into the camp. As the group stepped into the threshold - the Paladin paused.
Before them, a small ginger cat sat all on its own.
Clive opened his mouth to give an order - but the shadow of movement from above distracted him.
Sally leapt from the watchtower accompanied by Theo. Sword drawn, she cast [Summon Zombies] on the way down. With a flash of crimson, she cut a line down the surprised Bard. A full five zombies ruptured from the earth as the Novice landed next to the Monk - his attack was blocked, but the weight of his descent knocked back the young man with a shaved head.
The Paladin raised his sword into the air, and it burst into holy fire - even the look of it hurt Sally’s eyes. As he turned towards her to get her attention, Humphrey charged out from the side of one of the small huts. His greatsword burst into dark energy as he ran towards the throng.
A table flipped over, and Jackie hopped atop two chairs, the cylinder of her weapon rotating with an orange glow as she used [Hell Trigger].
It was at this moment full chaos bloomed.
In slow motion, as she cast [Hex: Slow] on the man she struck, Sally watched as the Paladin turned back to face the Death Knight. The injured Bard stumbled backwards to try and withdraw a knife, but their feet got caught up on one of the emerging zombies, sending them falling to the floor.
The Monk had recovered and began an assault on Theo, the Novice’s sword blazing with pink energy as he prepared his [Novice Strike], waiting to see if he needed to block before starting his wild attack. The Rogue was nowhere to be seen.
A change in temperature drew her attention to the back of the pack as the Wizard released a [Fire Bolt]. The glowing orb zipped across and struck Sally in the left shoulder - pain flaring up as her dead flesh burnt beneath the flame. She growled and pounced forward to attack the panicked woman before a shape emerged from the shadow beside her.
Learning from experience, she twisted away by instinct. The Rogue appeared with a long blade that only just missed piercing her side and instead gashed her back and shredded her shirt. Sally spun with her sword out, but the cloaked woman evaded, moving backwards into the shadows again.
[Uncontrolled Growth]
A large figure barrelled past her - a blur of orange fur that pounced at the Wizard, knocking the spellcaster to the floor. Sally blinked as Archie had now grown to the size of a lion, disrupting the second fire spell with his attack. The growled mews as his large jaws snapped at the prone woman were off-putting. Patches of red soaked through silver robes as the Wizard dropped her [Nightvision] buff to cast [Shield] on herself.
The clatter of a bolt hit the wall near where the Rogue had vanished to - followed by a second to the left, a third to the right - and then the fourth bolt fired from Betty stopped in the air as the cloaked woman became visible again, struck by the projectile. She cursed and leapt over a pair of barrels, withdrawing a red potion from her belt.
[Exploding Shot]
A burst of fire erupted from the hiding place as the barrels splintered to pieces, the Rogue rolling away injured, their black clothing smouldering and alight in places.
One of her zombies had been felled by the Bard - stabbed in the eye socket, as two more currently clawed and bit at the fallen man. Sally licked her lips and approached, ready to stab her sword into her trapped prey.
[Unstoppable Flurry]
A force knocked into her, waylaying her from the potential killing blow. Punches - striking her one after another. She turned to face the Monk while her arms raised to protect her head. The punches were strong but not massively powerful - not for someone with her Strength and Constitution. But they were unrelenting. They chipped away at her health and resolve as each fist powered into her whilst leaving her few chances to counter.
With blazing red eyes, she looked at her assailant. Theo was behind the Monk, his [Novice Strike] repeatedly flickering into the back of the Monk. Spurts of blood accompanied the flash of strikes, but the Monk remained persistent - either unwilling or unable to end their constant barrage of strikes.
The Paladin pushed back Humphrey from their clash and cast [Salvation]. Radiant energy flowed through the Voice of Gaia, healing them and providing them with some temporary resistance.
Archie howled as he took some form of magic damage, cowering away from the Wizard trying to stand.
The Bard was able to fend off the two zombies, his Lute finding its way back to his hands.
Fury painted the face of the Monk. Sally started to feel weak, her arms numb and thoroughly tenderized.
“Should do this t’Theo next, make ‘im easier to eat,” she growled out.
“You can talk?” Surprise and confusion filled the Monk’s face, relenting his assault enough to catch the [Hex: Slow].
[Will of the Dark Lord]
Humphrey had pushed through as he clashed with Paladin, taking some damage in the process but putting himself in range of everyone except the Rogue.
All of the Voice of Gaia Party members passed the Willpower check against the Stun.
Except one.
The fists of the Monk went lax as their expression slunk. Theo continued battering them from behind, his wooden sword starting to cut chunks from the exposed back of the man.
A strum of music emanated from behind her as the Bard began casting something to support the Stunned Party member. The Wizard was contending with Archie, who- Sally had to resist doing a double take as it looked like the cat had doubled in size again. The clash of metal past Theo signalled that the two heavily armoured members were still at odds. If there was one thing the Death Knight excelled at, it was keeping tanks occupied.
A bolt from Jackie struck the Lute, interrupting the intended magical song. The follow-up shot came slower than previously, with [Hellfire Trigger] now worn off, and the Bard was able to dodge out of the way.
“Ow, you fuckstick, yous gonna get it now!” Jackie seethed, a dagger sticking out from her thigh - thrown by the Rogue to stop her from harrying the Bard.
Sally slashed twice with her sword - her amateur swings still effective against an unresponsive foe. Blood dripped to the floor, causing her to salivate. She ached, both arms were sore, and her left shoulder still felt like it was burning. Perhaps this would be an opportune time to pop a [Healing Potion] to top up - the Monk might be close to death, but the rest of their party had lots of tricks left to pull.
Instead, she was enamoured by a text pop-up.
A new skill that had certain conditions to be used. Conditions that were currently fulfilled.
Her eyes widened as she dropped the sword to the floor, hands outstretched. They held the warm, bloodied face of the Monk. As the stun wore off, pain and confusion sank back into his features as his pale brown eyes met the blazing red ones of the zombie.
[Eat Brains]
