RD: Chapter Eight - New Alliances, Old Enemies

Dolli cast Gravity Sink on the stupidly clustered heroes and watched her Spark bar drop to 25%. She’d only get two more good spells in for this fight, but she would make them count somehow.

Three of the heroes resisted her spell, but the others were held firmly in the effects. Golems and Bronzites charged forward, creating a barrier to the more delicate Wispelle in the back. The Wispelle healing team had worked out a cycle to keep everyone alive, and it was still holding, for now.

The female wyvern shrieked in terror, then beat her wings with a heavy gust of air. “Stay back! You cannot have them!”

When the wyvern clapped her wings again, Dolli could see what she was guarding: her nest. Three shiny eggs the size of a melon sat behind her nestled in pumpkin guts. Well, at least they’d put her hard work to good use.

“I have to help the wyvern!” Dolli yelled but didn’t know if anyone could hear her over the battle.

She broke off from the group, circling around the chaos and through the open window in her house to get to the female. Dolli crept up to the hole made by the male yesterday and eyed the three eggs tucked lovingly into the orange goop.

“I can help you if you’ll fight for us!” Dolli yelled to the wyvern.

The winged beast thrashed her tail through the air, uncaring that Dolli’s home was in it’s path. She darted above the swipe and pushed out into the garden. The brutal attack landed with a solid thunk against the last remaining hero tank, sending her cartwheeling through the air. Golden light twinkled across the tank’s body and her health bar went from nearly empty, to half full.

“I can help, but you must agree to join our dungeon!” Dolli screamed at the wyvern, who tilted her head toward Dolli.

“How?” the serpentine monster snarled angrily.

“Join us, save your children!” Dolli shouted, there wasn’t time to explain the whole plan.

The wyvern growled as a fiery blast exploded against her chest. She was down to just 20% health and couldn’t last.

A popup appeared in Dolli’s vision.

[New Recruit]

Nubiri the level [34] wyvern has requested to join the dungeon. Because her level far surpasses the average level in the Dungeon, she will be brought down to level [18] upon acceptance.

Accept? [Yes] [No]

-----

The instant she accepted the join request, Nubiri’s health bar dropped to 10%. Dolli cast Zeal on the wyvern, instantly improving all her stats and healing her by two hundred hit points, but that wasn’t going to be enough.

Dolli opened her Overlord menu in a panic and typed a furious message: Wispelle, heal the wyvern!

Nubiri’s health dropped to 5%, but then, white sparkles glistened around the massive wyvern. Her health climbed, little by little, despite the onslaught of heroes. Dolli had fifty Spark left, and knew just how to use it.

She cast Leech on the four remaining caster heroes, and cackled in delight as her own Spark bar skyrocketed. She was taking 1% of their total Spark, not what she could hold. When she had enough to start the cast, Dolli activated Starfire on the biggest cluster of heroes attacking her dungeonfolk.

With the heroes’ last tank finally down, the wyvern rampaged through the remaining casters stunned by Dolli’s Starfire. When all the killing was done, and only ten dungeonfolk remained, they collapsed to the ground, all but Nubiri. She stalked back to her nest and looked at Dolli menacingly.

“Why have you done this?” Nubiri asked.

“We need each other. We mourn the loss of your mate with you—”

“You would’ve killed him yourssself! You brought a war party to do just that.” Nubiri snarled and looked over the bodies littering the ground outside Dolli’s little forest home.

Dolli took a deep breath. “We mourn his loss nonetheless.”

“Liar!” Nubiri reared up, claws poised to attack Dolli.

Rufus rose on shaky legs but Dolli put a hand out to stop him. “I didn’t want to hurt you, if you recall. I wanted you to move on.”

Nubiri hesitated, her claws retracting a hair.

Dolli took a step closer. “I am a witch of the wilds, of life, growth, and harmony. I wish no ill will on any creature of Hafheim.”

“And the heroesss?” Nubiri asked, her tongue hissing behind clenched teeth.

Dolli smirked. “Death to every last one of the bastards.”

Heat, righteous and determined, swelled in Dolli’s chest. Though weak and hurting, her dungeonfolk cheered. Nubiri lowered back on her haunches, still guarding the eggs.

“Then perhaps I will keep you as pets,” Nubiri said, setting her deadly gaze on Dolli.

Dolli made herself a little taller. “These dungeonfolk won’t be your pets, nor will I. We are a community of equals.”

“Equal!” The wyvern barked a laugh. “There’s no such thing. But I will let you believe you are equal, witch.”

Dolli didn’t have time to argue with the wyvern, there was too much to do, so this tentative agreement would serve them. The wyvern would soon come to see things her way, when Dolli was higher level than Nubiri.

Dolli activated her Vapor Conversion and made herself a stocky body, good for hauling equipment. “We need to get this loot down to the village for distribution and reclamation.”

“And you, Overlord”—Rufus stressed the word as he glared up at the wyvern—“need to sit on your throne and start reviving our people.”

“Right. You know how to run this. Nubiri, we need you stay and defend the seat of power. Can you patrol?” Dolli asked and simultaneously sent the job request to her. She wanted to let the wyvern know that though they were equals, Dolli still ran the show.

“Sssilly witch.” The wyvern hummed a laugh deep in its throat and accepted the quest. Nubiri marched with thudding footfalls around the clearing surrounding the home in the woods. That would do, Dolli supposed. She knew she couldn’t get Nubiri to leave eye-shot of her eggs and wasn’t going to try.

Dolli looked back at her ruined hut. The rocking chair beside the fireplace sat on its side, the fluffy blankets sprawled across the floor. She walked through glass shards and splintered boards without feeling a twinge of pain on her vaporous feet. It was nice being made of pure Spark sometimes.

Dolli tugged on the arm of the rocking chair and righted it, then climbed up into the cushioned seat. She opened the Lifewell menu and looked at all the poor dead dungeonfolk waiting to be revived. She prioritized the lowest level folk, as they would respawn faster, and then selected the “auto-fill” option on the menu so she wouldn’t have to allocate someone to a Lifestream slot every time one became available.

After that, she moved over to the Overlord Abilities. There on the side sat the two locked options for Warmonger and Defender. She smiled as she thought of her dungeon raid roving across the land, picking off heroes and hero kingdoms. They would have their revenge. They would take down the heroes’ oppressive system and set the people of Hafheim free.

She looked back to the skills and found what she was looking for: Lifewell Enhancement.

[Lifewell Enhancement]

Spell Type: Permanent Enhancement

Description: Whether on the offensive, defensive, or just building your dungeon up, the Lifewell is critical to keeping your monsters healthy and debuff free.

Effects:

- Increase Monster Healing by 10%

- Decrease daily required Monster Rejuvenation time by [5] minutes per Dungeon Level

- For every additional [10] minutes spent in the Lifewell past full Monster Rejuvenation, that Monster will receive a Rested Experience Bonus of +5% XP for one hour. Stacks three times.

-----

Dolli knew it would eventually be an integral part to their plan to storm the world. By Dungeon Level 12, they would’ve reduced their Rejuvenation time by an hour, and that hour could certainly mean the difference. Not to mention, keeping the dungeonfolk in the Lifewell for just an extra thirty minutes would increase their leveling significantly. It was a good option all around.

When Dolli closed that menu, she noticed she’d leveled up as well. She’d unlocked two new spells she could put points in, and while she knew she would be putting that point in Gravity Sink, or Starfire, she couldn’t help but look at the new ones.

[Wispelle Ability: Dust Devil]

Spell type: Active

Cost: 100 Spark

Cast time: 5 seconds

Cooldown: 5 minutes

Duration: 20 seconds

Range: 100 feet

Radius: 50 feet

Target: Area of Effect

Spark Alignment: Nature

Description: Conjure the winds and sands, whipping them into a fury.

Effects:

- Drain 2% Spark per second from anyone within the Dust Devil. This Spark is not added to your own.

- Deal [4] + 5% of your Mental Prowess of damage per second for anyone

Disclaimer: Beware of Friendly Fire!

AOE Spark drain, weapon accuracy decrease, damage to those not in plate.

-----

[Wispelle Ability: BURST OF SPEED]

Spell type: Active

Cost: 25 Spark

Cast time: Instant

Cooldown: 3 minutes

Duration: 30 seconds

Target: Self

Spark Alignment: Divine

Description: Conjure the winds and sands, whipping them into a fury.

Effects:

- Increase Movement Speed by 50% in vapor form, or by 30% in corporeal form.

- Increase Agility by two times your level.

-----

Well, those were nice but Dolli needed to improve on the weapons she already had. She dropped the point into Gravity Sink, increasing its duration and potency by 15%, and adding a bonus of speeding allies in the area by 10%. It wasn’t a big boost, but little improvements made a difference.

With that done, she walked toward the battlefield to see what remained. She stopped when her foot nudged a bit of wood that sounded eerily familiar clattering against the floor of her hut.

Her staff!

Dolli scooped the well-loved walking stick up and inspected the damage. It had been snapped in half, but the orb of channeling sat safely in the notch on the side. She rubbed a thumb over the garnet stone, and it hummed with energy.

She equipped the weapon, getting a little heavier, but not so that she couldn’t carry it in her vaporous form. Happy to have her old companion back, she continued out to the work ahead. There was a pile of casters things amid the bloody grass that looked light enough, so Dolli decided she would carry them to town—and look at them along the way, of course!

There were boots, robes, gloves, and mantles, all too high level for her dungeonfolk to wear yet, but she would stash it safely at the inn for later use. They still needed to declare a proper treasury, but the inn was working for now.

She was just looking over the last item when she arrived at the edge of town to quiet. She closed the popup description of the item and looked through the narrow alley. It shouldn’t be so quiet. There should be dungeonfolk making repairs, or at least a few people patrolling.

Dolli hurried into town, her worry spiking when fear, not hers, but one of her dungeonfolk, pierced into her chest like a knife. The soft sobs of a child echoed through the alley and Dolli dropped the gear, hiding it under a few crates before hurrying on in vapor form.

She emerged at X Marks the Spot to find a child Wendigo kneeling at a slain Belgrus side, tears in his eyes.

“What happened?” Dolli asked as she charged forward.

“Dollitrice Grandmeir,” the cocky voice of a hero she knew too well stopped her in her tracks.

She turned to see the Dusk Knight, his black armor glowing with the reflected light of his crimson broadsword. Blood dripped from the blade, and he held Rufus’ severed head by the crown of antlers.

The knight smirked. “So, you’re a dungeon now.”