Libriohexer ~ 18!

Sam broke into a sprint, his boots clacking on the stone pavers of the bridge as he closed the distance with the elemental golem. He was going to be at a significant disadvantage in this battle—his Shurikens dealt slashing damage, ineffective against heavy plate mail, and his Papier-Mache Armor suffered an additional point-seven-five damage from the elemental effects of fire and water. But his job wasn’t to solo this guy, it was just to distract him and draw him away from the bridge so the rest of his team could gain the platform. That he could do.

With a thought, Sam rotated his Ink Lance and Ice Orb Shuriken tome to his front two positions and began firing with reckless abandon. Fistfuls of goopy black ink splattered across the creature’s armor with wet splats, while faintly glowing paper stars slammed into metal, shattering on impact. Tendrils of frost crept across the armored body, but the frost quickly disappeared, evaporating under the immense heat generated by the fire elemental. The ink blobs fared no better, the creature’s armor glowed red hot; burning the inky splatters away before they could even think of pitting the metal with acid damage.

With a shout, Sam thrust his hand out and conjured his Quill Blade in a flash of silver magic. Sam was close now, far closer to the elemental than he had any desire to be, but this was all part of his plan. He darted in low and lashed out with his blade, scoring a direct hit along the creature’s belly.

“You’re a feisty little fellow, aren’t you!” the elemental boomed. “I like that. I think you’re overestimating your skills just a tad. Between the two of us, I think you could use a bit of practice on your footwork.”

“That’s what I’m always telling him,” Bill yelled in delight and fear.

The guardian raised its glowing hammer and swung for the fences. It was a powerhouse, but its attacks were rather slow and cumbersome. Sam ducked beneath the lumbering swing, feeling the monstrous heat of the weapon as it passed overhead. Then Sam did something no one was expecting.

He turned and leapt off the edge of the bridge.

Shocked cries echoed through the room from his teammates, but Sam put them all out of mind as he watched the magma rush up to meet him. He sure hoped this actually worked. If it didn’t, he was going to look like a complete moron when he respawned in eight hours or so. He thrust out his arms, muttered a silent prayer under his breath, then triggered his newest ability. Mana rushed out from his core, activating the powerful constructs built into the cloak fluttering from his back. The leather grew rigid, quills fluttered, and a timer appeared in the corner of Sam’s vision.

24:59… 24:58…

With a roar of triumph, Sam stretched out his newly formed wings and caught a hot draft of air. The cloak-turned-wings felt like an extension of himself, a new pair of limbs grafted into his back. He banked left, cruising just above the surface of the burbling magma, then pumped his wings on instinct and shot up into the air like a rocket. Sam zipped past the lip of the platform but kept right on going until he hung twenty feet above the elemental—well out of reach of its deadly hammer.

“Huh, haven’t seen that trick before,” the elemental sounded impressed.

“I’m glad you like surprises, because I’ve got a few more to show you,” Sam rotated the Fire Shuriken tome to the twelve o’clock position and unleashed a barrage of paper stars. The first few went wide—aiming while in the air was trickier than it looked—but the third landed squarely against the elemental’s chest, exploding with a burst of gold and orange light. Sam immediately triggered bookmark, then unleashed a barrage of conjured stars that ploughed into the guardian with unrelenting fury. A health bar appeared above the elemental, but each hit hardly seemed to even budge the needle.

The slashing damage just couldn’t penetrate the thick plate armor. Since the creature was made of living flame, the fire damage was about as effective as shooting a swimming pool with a squirt gun. The explosions themselves at least delivered a minute amount of additional blunt damage—though that wouldn’t be enough to kill the keeper. Not unless Sam managed to land ten thousand Shurikens concurrently. But a plume of smoke billowed up after each blow, making it nearly impossible for the elemental to see.

“Well, that is very annoying!” the creature grumbled from below. The elemental lifted one hand into the air, fingers splayed back. “But I have a few tricks of my own. Let’s see just how good you are with those fancy wings of yours.”

With a chuckle he unleashed a column of flame as thick as a telephone pole. Sam's eyes widened in shock and he immediately dove to the right, narrowly avoiding the javelin of flame. Sam shouted while furiously pumping his wings, “Bill! Try to keep the pressure on it with the Fire Shurikens!”

“On it, Wings,” Bill affirmed. “You just keep us from getting charbroiled alive. Flame doesn’t exactly agree with my sensitive skin.”

Sam swooped and dove, avoiding the slashing beams of fire while Bill continued their Shuriken onslaught. It was a losing battle in the long run—all it would take was one wrong move on Sam’s part and they were done for. This cloak was a powerful artifact, but it wasn’t fireproof. If the elemental managed to land so much as a glancing blow from that flame lance, the leather and quills would go up in a puff of smoke and Sam would tumble right into the churning magma below. Thankfully, it was a battle he wouldn’t have to fight much longer.

The elemental golem was so absorbed in swatting Sam from the air that it had moved solidly into the center of the platform and hadn’t even noticed that the rest of the Wolf Pack had managed to encircle it.

“Now!” Dizzy bellowed as she rose her maul and slammed it into the side of elemental’s knee. The rest of the Wolf Pack attacked as one. Finn, still on the bridge, lifted his hands skyward and threw his head back. Icy fingers of blue magic launched into the air. A churning white cloud formed about the Keeper of the Forge and hailstones as big as Sam’s head started pouring down on the guardian, smashing into its head and shoulders. The ice sizzled and melted as soon as it made contact, wisps of white steam wafting upward, but the blunt damage from hailstone’s themselves slowly chipped away at the creature’s health.

Dizzy and Kai fought the creature head on. Despite being weaponless, Kai’s lightning-fast fists and feet dealt a wicked amount of damage, leaving dents in the armor with every strike. Unfortunately, his health bar also dipped every time he landed a blow—burn damage from making contact with the scorching hot metal surface. It was probably like trying to fight a hot stove. Dizzy dealt less overall damage than the hard-hitting monk, but it didn’t cost her precious health with every hit.

Arrow, Sphinx and Velkan kept their distance, spreading out around the platform in a semi-circle. Arrow and Sphinx launched ranged attacks—acid tipped arrows from the Ranger and shadowy daggers from the Infiltrator. Velkan darted in and used his razor-sharp claws to score deep furrows into the surface of the metal armor, before ducking back out. The Wolfman fought smart, never overcommitting and always retreating to a safe distance before the elemental could ever focus its efforts on him.

With so many assailants coming at the elemental from every direction, the creature finally relented its attack on Sam. The torrent of flame died away as Dizzy taunted the creature and drew its attention. While Bill continued to launch Fire Shurikens, Sam opted for a different kind of attack. He reached into Bill’s Soul Space and fished out a number of thick book bombs, all brimming with wildly unstable magical energy. He folded in his wings and dove toward the Keeper of the Forge, the hot air stinging his face as he fell like a shooting star. At the last possible moment, he stretched his wings out, catching the air currents and swooped directly over the elemental.

He slammed the books onto the pointed tips of the Guardian’s curved horns.

The second he was clear, he screamed his trigger word, activating the pair of makeshift bombs. The elemental staggered and reeled from the dual explosions, its health bar dropping by a fifth. Sam swooped and turned mid-air; a wide grin stretched across his face. “Maybe we really can do this after all!”

Sure, this guy was tough, but they’d grown a lot as a team over the past couple of days.

“Not bad, not bad,” the elemental calmly stated, “but I’m afraid you all overcommitted. You see, I wanted you on the platform.”

He lifted one leg and slammed his foot against the stone, shaking the room. All around the platform, flames erupted from the floor. A circular wall of fire, three feet thick and seven feet high that blistered the air with its heat. Sam threw up a hand, shielding his face from the fury of the blaze, but Arrow wasn’t so lucky. He’d been standing too near to the edge of the platform, and the flames consumed him in an instant. His screams briefly rang through the cavern before cutting off as the Ranger’s health bar hit zero and his charred corpse toppled off the platform and plummeted into the magma moat below.

The elemental had played them all like a fiddle. He’d purposely let Sam draw him away from the bridge in order to lure the rest of the crew onto the platform so he could spring his trap. Since Finn was the only one who remained on the bridge, he was the only one not hemmed in by the ring of deadly flame; the only one who had a clear path of escape.

For everyone else it was kill or be killed, and the elemental wasn’t done yet.

The Keeper raised his hammer high into the air and let out a ferocious bellow. Streaks of yellow lighting flashed out and five geysers of magma erupted up from the moat. Glowing red-orange blobs of magma landed on the platform with a meaty *splat*, but they were more than they seemed. The blobs quivered and limbs of molten fire popped free. The creatures weren’t human in shape, but rather looked like squat toads made of liquid metal and living flame: Lesser Fire Elementals.

The fire toads wasted no time turning on the Wolf Pack. They weren’t nearly as large or formidable as the Keeper of the Forge, and they didn’t have its protective armor, but what they lacked in size they made up for with speed and numbers.

Two of the toads immediately tag-teamed Sphinx, flanking her from the sides. She launched into a flawless handspring then flipped into the air, hurling black-forged throwing blades from outstretched fingers. The daggers sank hilt-deep into the nearest toad—not that the toad seemed to care even in the slightest. It opened its elongated frog-like mouth and vomited a wave of magma which splashed over both her legs. She tumbled from the air with a shriek, while the rest of her throwing daggers clattered to the ground beside her. The second fire frog was already waiting to pounce.

It sprang into the air, its jaws extending as it latched onto her face, muffling her screams. Sphinx thrashed and bucked, but it was a losing battle and her futile resistance ceased a few seconds later; as her health bottomed out and she was unceremoniously sent for respawn. They were already down by two teammates, and although Dizzy and Kai had made a little progress on the Keeper, knocking him down to two-thirds health, Sam couldn’t see any way for them to win this battle.

Two more of the toads were closing in on Velkan. Unlike Sphinx and Arrow, if he died… there would be no respawn. Finn was doing his best to help the Wolfman, launching waves of Ice Orbs at the encroaching flame toads. His attacks were surprisingly effective, taking decent bites out of their health while simultaneously cooling their magma—hardening the surface of their skin to ashy black rock.

Unfortunately, Velkan had nowhere to go. His back was already up against the flame wall and his leather armor wouldn’t offer much more protection against their attacks than Sam’s own Papier-Mache Armor would.

“Bill,” Sam bellowed, “we need to help Velkan. Switch over to Ice Orb Shurikens and target the toads. I’m going to try to get him clear of the flame ring!”

“On it!” Bill growled as the tomes circling around Sam shifted. Shurikens slammed into the two Flame Toads closing in on Velkan.

Damage dealt: 95. Target slowed 15%!

Without bulky metal plate armor to protect the flame toads, the paper stars cut deeply before shattering. Tendrils of blue ice rippled out after each hit, crawling along the surface of the magma, slowly transforming patches of fiery orange skin into blackened rock. This was Sam’s best chance to save the Wolfman. He wheeled in a circle overhead, conjured his Quill Blade, then threw himself into a sharp dive, pulling his wings in close as he hurtled toward Velkan like a cannonball. One of the Fire Toads spun and leapt toward him, but Sam was ready.

With a shout he drove his blade through the creature’s throat, scoring a critical hit and knocking the creature away. He let go of the blade, leaving it planted in the toad, and reached out for Velkan; hooking his hands beneath the Wolfman’s armpits. With a grunt and a heave, Sam pumped his wings, lifting the Wolfman into the air. Sweat rolled down Sam’s face and his muscles strained from the effort of holding the Wolfman aloft. He was a mage, not a monk or a fighter, and most of his characteristic points were rightfully sunk into intelligence and wisdom, not into strength or constitution.

His stamina bar was dropping fast from the exertion, but he didn’t give up. His arms quivered under Velkan’s weight and his wings felt like they were liable to tear away from his shoulders at any moment. Finally, he cleared the ring of flames - and not a moment too soon. His hands slipped, unable to hold onto Velkan for another second.

Sam felt the breath catch in his throat as Velkan dropped like a stone. Unfortunately, Sam hadn’t quite managed to make it over the bridge. The Wolfman’s chest slammed into the stone walkway while his legs swung over the edge. Wide-eyed, Velkan clawed at the stonework, scrambling to find purchase but unable to do so. He was slipping over the edge and there was nothing Sam could do about it.

Finn was already on the move. The scrawny mage dove onto his belly, catching the Wolfman by one wrist, then pulled with every ounce of strength he could muster. That wasn’t much, since Finn was even weaker than Sam, but it was just enough to stop Velkan’s slow slide over the edge. Velkan grunted, lips pulling back in a snarl as he reared back with his free hand and drove his claws into a crack between two stones.

Finn braced himself and pulled while the Wolfman wriggled his legs up and onto the bridge. Sam felt a wave of relief wash over him. They were alive.

“Sam! Watch out!” Bill hollered, jarring Sam back into the moment.

He spun midair, eyes widening in shock and horror as a stream of burning magma flew toward him—hurled by one of the summoned Flame Toads. He frantically flapped his wings, but it was too late. Liquid fire splashed over one of his wings, eating through the leather and quills keeping him aloft.

“Celestial feces,” Bill spat as the glue and thread holding the cloak together literally came apart at the seams. Sam’s stomach lurched up into his throat as he tumbled backward, head over heels. He caught a brief glimpse of Velkan and Finn making a break for the exit, and then the only thing he saw was burbling magma rushing up to greet him like an old friend. A tsunami of heat and pain hit him full on as he belly flopped against the lava and then the world went black.

You have died! It was really only a matter of time. Honestly, I’m surprised it took you this long to perish in the Irondown Burrows. You fought hard, but trying to skip straight to the Dungeon Boss probably wasn’t the wisest move. You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take, I suppose. Still, a little patience will go a long way. You have lost 20,000 Experience. Time till respawn: 8 hours. You will spawn at your current bind point, the Irondown Burrow Barracks. Maybe use the time to think about making better life choices…!