Shadowcroft Year 3 - Chapter Twenty-Seven

Logan had been worried about Mariah being stationed on the Good Ship Smartie. However, the Lupine Fury still hadn’t realized that she wasn’t a statue. Nor did they discover Inga’ s Golden Centipede Spartan hiding away in a secret compartment on the boat.  A Kurrybooboo had healed him, but they were saving him for the final battle.

Inga had finally come up with an unofficial name for Roy Boy, her Golden Centipede Floor Boss—Roy the Receptionist. Logan didn’t like the name. But they had more important things to worry about.

Logan wondered whether they would realize that Mariah was the source of the narcotic spores before it was too late?

But no, as the ride progressed, the narcotic spores spread, taking a stranglehold on the various members of the Lupine Fury. They didn’t realize what was happening until the porcupine archer tumbled off the boat and into the chocolate river. That mocha stream was so hot, he was dead in an instant from the sheer heat. Then again, inhaling melted chocolate probably wasn’t good for you either.

That sobered up the surviving dungeoneers quickly, and they bailed off the boat before it went crashing down rapids beyond the Gummy Bear Docks, a complete pier made of the gummy material, right down to the lamps lighting the way. Not they needed to provide light, since the weird skunk girl could do that herself. She also provided their way off the boat. She literally lifted her leg, and they were able to walk off the boat across her odiferous cloud.

Logan was kind of amazed. <I can’t believe the most powerful person in that party is the one who farts the most.>

<That is not the source of her power,> Inga insisted.

Logan wasn’t going to argue the point, but he was right.

Logan and Inga had gotten rid of the archer, but there were still four very powerful dungeoneers they had to deal with. All of them had to be B-Class at least, and there was a good chance that the skunk shifter was actually A-Class. Her power set seemed nearly limitless.

The turtle guy—Inga insisted it was tortoise, since he was land-dwelling, but Logan argued that they’d need to take a closer look to confirm—wasn’t taking any chances.

He had Petula fill the Enchanted Candy Forest with her poisonous gas. That took care of Inga’s cool gummy-armored spiders, lying in wait on their cotton candy webs, even before she ignited the flammable gas, which seemed to be her signature move. A cloud of churning fire rolled through the cavern scorching anything it touched.

In a bubble of Shellex’s shield magic, the Lupine Fury made their way through the smoldering forest blaze, stepping around all the black husks of the dead spiders, curled in on themselves. As a last-ditch effort, Logan and Inga unleashed the jawbreaker boulder traps on either side of the forest. Perfectly round, boulders—each ten tons a piece—came crashing and smashing through the flames, but the raiders avoided them easily. It was very disappointing, especially when Dravena Molt started laughing at how bad the boulder traps were. Ouch.

Logan and Inga had learned the name of the dungeoneers as they talked, since Logan and Inga could feel every inch of the dungeon. They’d also learned that Petula Cloudsweat was the most dangerous raider, which is why they’d aimed Roy Boy the Receptionist at the sorceress of stench.

Logan could also inhabit the bodies of their minions. He’d been in the reception room as a centipede when they’d come out of the walls. He’d inhabited the form of one of his skullcap waddlers, riding on astride a moth monster, hurling spears at the dungeoneers wallowing in the cake below. And he’d watched from the many eyes of a forest spider as fire washed over his many-legged body. That had been a truly unfortunate experience, but Rockheart’s training had served him well.

Worse yet, both Mariah and Roy Boy the Receptionist were trapped on the other side of the forest fire. They’d gotten off the Good Ship Smartie at the secret dock and used the secret passageway to slip into the forest. However, they couldn’t make it through the forest fire. Petula’s fire was magical in nature and had started to eat through the rock.

She had some powerful Ignis Apothos all right.

Logan’s guardian form now waited with his three spore wargs in tow. Like the rest of the creature’s in the candy dungeon, his puppies been upgraded, but not in their usual way. Noodle, Booker, and Peach were all covered in the jawbreaker armor, spiked for maximum damage, but Logan hadn’t been able to augment them with Blister Wart. Now he thought about them as his Jawbreaker Juggernaut Wargs. They whined in anticipation, tongues hanging out, ready for battle.

The last of Inga’s spike flies buzzed around her. A few Tsuki ants crawled across her shoulders. She was frowning. <I don’t think the Wintermint Hallway is going to stop them. Petula is just going to burn it all down, and Dravena is very adept at discovering our traps.>

There were two rooms off the Wintermint Hallway. One led to a minion room, where more of Logan’s waddlers waited, all clad in candy armor, and carrying minty spears. They sat on top of Inga’s giant centipedes. There were six of them in total—not a lot, all things considered—but if Mariah could saddle up Roy Boy, then that would be seven mounted warriors that could come to their aid.

Logan sighed. <We have the moonsand quicksand trap in that room off to the left, but I agree. Dravena is going to figure that out quickly. Look at how she avoided your centipedes in the office rooms, and she still got the Chrysalis Jewels there.>

Inga adjusted her fedora nervously. <These raiders are rather fearsome, aren’t they?>

<What if we let the Lupin Fury get to the Conveyor Belt Hell?> he asked, a devious thought flashing through his head. <If we did that, we could send the last of our minions to use the wintermint magic to extinguish the forest fire. Then, if it all works out, Mariah and Roy would be able to lead a charge into the raiders right when we need them the most.>

<It’s a gamble,> Inga sent after a second. <But it might be the only way. Should one of us stay near the pedestal? Just in case?>

Logan hated that this was all coming down to them protecting the inner sanctum. They wanted to survive, yes, but they also wanted to win a spot in the Finals. He was pretty sure that Wintersylver would be just fine. Just like in the Crucible, she’d wipe out the dungeoneers way outside her inner sanctum.

He couldn’t think about that right now.

<No, Inga,> he finally sent. <We go out to meet them head on. We’ve seen what they can do, and we know who’s the toughest. We take out Petula first, then the werebear. I mean, Hellmutt is kind of odd. All of the other shifters haven’t transformed into actual animals, but the bear has been a bear the entire time. Might not matter. That helm is a really powerful magic item, without a doubt. You know, ‘Oso’ means ‘bear’ in Spanish. Hellmutt Oso. Hmm.>

<Are you musing, Logan? My goodness, we do not have time for your musings. We need to get out there.> Inga calmed herself. <I am sorry you won’t get your moment on your throne. I know you would’ve liked that.>

Logan shrugged. <I had my moment in the Crucible. I’m okay.>

With the new plan formed, they headed into action, Logan muttering a silent prayer that they were making the right choice.

Like they thought, Petula burned away the wintermint rocks in the hallway, which made the whole dungeon smell really good. Like a candy shop the week before Christmas. And Dravena, in her travels, easily spotted the quicksand trap and killed a few Tsuki ants with her daggers. How she saw the nearly invisible bugs, Logan had no idea, but the war for Wally Wanko’s Murder Factory was going to be fought to death in the Conveyor Belt Hell.

He and Inga quickly got into place, positioning themselves on different sides of the room.

Logan had crafted himself a little endogenous Apothos outfit—a tattered purple suit to match the statue in the reception room. He had the signature top hat, even though it didn’t work with his mushroom cap head. He also included the cane, but made it a flimsy rod of rotten wood. Then he rose up to his full height, nearly seven feet tall, a truly massive black mushroom monster, and instead of using his ruby shield, he opted for one of his silver short swords, thanks to his Ring of Blades. At the last second, he also opted to give himself some jawbreaker armor, just to keep with the theme.

His guardian form waited next to a conveyor belt, clanking and creaking as it wound around the room. Logan’s core gem still floated above the Game of Lollipops throne, so he could see the raiders as they stood on the platform overlooking the Conveyor Belt Hell. From their vantage, Logan knew the raiding party would be able to see through all the machinery and into the inner sanctum, where the Gemstone Butterflies lazily flew over the Chrysalis Jewels gleaming on the floor, surrounded by candy mushrooms.

With a thought, Logan sent his Jawbreaker Juggernaut Wargs sneaking under the conveyor belts. The puppies moved in the shadows as they approached the viewing platform where the four dungeoneers waited, surveying the room.

The remaining members of the Lupine Fury were so engrossed in the whizzing Conveyor Belt Hell and enormous clanking machinery that they didn’t even notice the encroaching wargs.

Logan could only smile. If the raiders survived what was about to happen, he knew that he and Inga had a very good chance at making into the Finals.

Logan piloted his guardian form onto the massive conveyor system. He rode the belt right out into the middle of the room like a, old western gunslinger making his grand entrance into the town square at high noon. Except, instead of a gunslinger, he was a walking, talking mushroom in a purple suit, piecemeal jawbreaker armor, and a top hat. So, really not the same at all. Didn’t matter—he felt like a gunslinger despite the optics.

His entrance was also the signal for his Kurrybooboos. The small, adorable fungaloid creatures were hidden tucked away in nooks and crannies all throughout the room. They stole forward on silent feet, quickly adding explosive candy to the conveyor belts. The little mushroom healers all wore outfits that matched Logan’s and of course, instead of white, he’d made them orange, which went well with all the purple.

Logan road the moving walkway until he could hop off on to the side, in the middle of the machinery. He made sure his voice boomed across the room. “Who dares to dare to pay me a visit? We have lawyers and lawsuits and contracts against such a thing! You’ve come to point and laugh! You’ve come to gossip and gripe! You’ve come for my sweet, sweet treasures, but you won’t get them! I’m Wally Wanko, and this is my Murder Factory! Where I make murder!”

“You’re being so redundant, Liebling!” Hellmutt Oso roared from the platform.

“I am being redundant!” Logan called out. “I’m also being a distraction.”

Inga had been waiting on the side, lost in a dark little alcove below the platform where the raiders stood. Inga hadn’t looked like Inga, no, because she’d been in a cocoon, growing into her ultimate form.

With the raiders gazing on Logan cosplaying a very strange Willy Wonka, all rights reserved, the Lunar Mothress burst out of her cocoon. She was twenty-four-feet of metal, legs, and mandibles. As C-Class, she’d been half as long. As B-Class, her Metamorphosis monster shape had doubled in size and tripled in might. What wasn’t gleaming chrome was jawbreaker candy armor. She reared up, letting out a monstrous kaiju-like bellow while at the same time shedding spike flies and Tsuki ants, which rained down onto the surprised adventurers.

That wasn’t all. Inga opened her mouth and barfed out a storm of black wasps that swept into the raiders and immediately tried to burrow into their skin. This was her Insect Infection in action. The raiders were caught completely off guard. They’d come expecting and prepared to fight off one dungeon guardian but were now face-to-face with two. They batted at the stinging black wasps, and tried to cover their eyes and noses and mouths to prevent the insects from digging in.

Which is exactly when the Jawbreaker Juggernaut Wargs struck, leaping from conveyor belt to conveyor belt until they could jump onto the viewing platform.

Dravena was the first to see the danger and tried to fly away, but Inga lurched forward and chomped down on the crow woman, slicing her in two with sharpened, sword like mandibles.

They were down to three of the raiders, but those three were the worst of the worst.

Hellmutt used his golden breath energy attack and melted candy armor off Inga and pushed her back, leaving her shriek in pain. Noodle lunged for Hellmutt, but the bear turned, lightning-quick, and lashed out with a meaty paw, decapitating the warg with his magic claws.

Shellex roared—very un-tortoise like—and sank his ax into the back of Booker, ending the warg’s life. The tortoise shifter then dropped his ax and turned, showing Logan his shell. A wave of shield energy emanated from Shellex, instantly repelling the mass of swarming insects, pushing them outside the protective bubble he’d conjured. That included Princess Peach. The warg yelped as invisible hands shoved her away.

Then Petula farted out a death cloud of fire and poison, clearing the air of insects, but also turning Peach into doggy charcoal.

The inferno bast of fire also wrecked a section of the conveyor belt. Sprockets sproinged, the conveyor belts buckled, and explosive candy went flying. Random explosions filled the air.

Well, that didn’t go as planned. And all of Logan’s Jawbreaker Juggernaut Wargs were dead without taking even a single dungeoneer down with them.

Worse yet, Shellex dropped his ax and took three steps, running, and transformed in mid-air, changing from huge turtle man into gigantic tortoise, as big as Inga, but wider and much heavier. The ultimate tortoise seized the ultimate metallic uber worm by the throat and began to toss her around like a rottweiler with a sock.

Logan hadn’t seen that coming. Some of the conveyor belt was still working, and he raced down a section, picking up a couple Kurrybooboos as he went. They clambered onto his shoulder.

He smelled vileness, and he knew that Petula was trying to kill him with poison, but he was mostly Morta, and he loved poison like he liked shriveled apples, green lunchmeat, and Penicillium molds, principally P. chrysogenum and P. rubens.

His Kurrybooboos didn’t have that same immunity, and the little guys started coughing. Before the poison gas could get them, Logan hurled two of the mushroom healers across the room, right onto Inga, where they started to cure her wounds while she fought the giant turtle.

Explosions continued pop off here and there, shaking the walls of the candy-covered dungeon.

Logan flew through them, propelled ever onward by his advanced Pneumacity power. He reached the platform and hacked into the werebear with his silver sword. Hellmutt hacked back, his strikes oddly graceful considering his size.

Logan lost his left arm in a vicious swipe of the bear’s magical golden claws, glowing brightly. A second later, Logan felt the heat, and he turned.

There was Petula, with her back to him, tail raised to deliver a killing blow. She’d lifted up her black and white robes, and suddenly he was staring down a flaming sphincter.

He dropped his silver sword and summoned the ruby shield from his Ring of Pockets, just in time to catch the javelin of fire that exploded from the skunk’s backside. Still, the blast hit like a wrecking ball and threw him off the platform and onto the floor. He was hurt. His head was spinning from the agony of his burns.

He hoped that his Replicate ability would turn the severed arm into a spore warg, but that didn’t seem to be happening. That was one bit of disappointment.

Another? For a second, Inga seemed to be doing well against the giant tortoise, healed by the Kurrybooboos, and nimbly avoiding the giant shelled beast’s snapping head with her Dust Dodge ability. Around her swirled a glowing cloud, which made Shellex blink and miss his attack. But then he was so much bigger, he merely jumped on her, and her Lepidoteral Reflexes had failed her. Explosive candy went off her in face, and a good chunk of her body was entangled in the flapping conveyor belt.

With her Crescent Moon Mayhem, she had resistance against certain Apothos attacks, but nothing was going to stop that sharp tortoise beak from chomping down on her head, legs, and shoulders. And yet, every time Shellex latched on with his beak, he would glow from the damage he was inflicting. Cuts and bruises appeared on his scales, and his shell cracked, but it still held. He was getting hurt attacking her, thanks to her Lunar Phase Augmentations, but even that fancy bit of Lunarmancy wasn’t going to be enough to save her.

How in the world were they going to get out of this one?