Arlie and the others left the room a few hours later, after an unsatisfying breakfast. None of them were a fan of the dried goods available in the safe room. They all agreed that their own trail rations were better. Arlie was hoping that any safe rooms on the floors above would have better amenities, and offer better food. She was glad for the safe room though, as it had taken a while to explore the floor the first time they went through.

They stepped into the switch room and were greeted with that creepy mural again. Then someone Arlie was too distracted to register who said, “Hey, Arlie what do you think the boss will be?”

Arlie’s expression changed and she said, “The hints have been rather blatant on this floor. The only thing that fits would be a Lesser Abyssal.”

Rose frowned and said “are you sure it is a Lesser Abyssal?

Arlie shook her head, and replied, “No I'm not, but it is the only thing I know of that fits with the Murals and the line on the plaque would be a Lesser Abyssal. Well actually any Abyssal would fit, and even the Fallen but I doubt the Gods would place anything stronger than a Lesser Abyssal on the first floor of a dungeon. The murals seem to imply this particular Abyssal has minions and a penchant for torturing women, which are great hints for identifying who. Unfortunately I’m not versed well enough on Abyssal to identify the one we will face.”

Lily, her gaze locked on the Mural and clearly a bit uncomfortable asked, “Can we take a moment to discuss what we know about them?”

Arlie smiled and agreed. She wasn’t looking forward to the run, and this was a good reason to delay. At least for a few more minutes, and let her mentally prepare for it.

They spent a good half-turn or so discussing Abyssals. Not that any of them remembered much of anything useful. Abyssals were never a popular topic of discussion, and there weren’t many books on them in even a large village like Voros. What the did remember was what the temples had warned them about with these creatures. Abyssals and the Fallen that created them were enemies of the gods and legend has it that they were cast down and imprisoned in the layers of the abyss. However occasionally an Abyssal would escape their bonds and manifest on the material plane. This was often the result of mortals playing with forbidden magics, and the results were often disastrous.

From what they could remember, a Lesser Abyssal was stronger than the average human, and had magic comparable to a mid mage. Like all Abyssals, they couldn’t use the normal magical elements but instead used an element unique to them. The lesser variety were very good with barriers, and had a few minor offensive spells. However, none of them could remember what those spells were. While Arlie was wishing she had learned a few defensive spells of her own, but she hadn’t. Unfortunately her highest affinity elements Fire, Lightning and Shadow weren’t known for defense. Fire especially was lacking in barriers, but the other two did have a few barriers, but she was very far from mastering them. She was still working on learning Lightning Shield the easiest Lightning Element barrier. She had not yet reached the point where she could cast it reliably, and now she was wishing she had spent more time on it.

At least they wouldn’t need it against the minions. Abyssal Minions were the weakest of all Abyssals and were only slightly stronger than a human. They had no magic, but their natural weapons could be tricky to deal with. Especially given their multiple limbs. Using what little they could remember and the hints they made a basic battle plan. They had an idea where the boss room was, and the Plaque implied that the minions would regularly appear until they defeated the boss.

When they were ready they activated the switch, and immediately two nightmarish creatures with tentacles spawned in the room. Thron hit one with a hammer, and Horon thrust his spear through the eye of the other before they could even start moving. As the creatures collapsed they rushed out of the room, to find the previous room had a dozen of the minion creatures. The two closest moved to engage, but a bolt to the eye proved sufficient to kill them. They rushed through the room not bothering to engage more of them. The boys were forced to kill two more of them, but fortunately they were fragile creatures and couldn’t take much damage. Arlie did, however, notice the sharp spines on their tentacles and didn’t relish the idea of being hit by those.

As they rushed down the corridor, a pair of them spawned in their path. Their tentacles rushed out to attack Thron who was the closest, but Arlie already had a spell ready, and a bolt of fire struck the nearest one to her. It burst into flame revealing that its skin was highly combustible. A few sparks jumped to the next one, and like a lit match dropped into a vat of oil it burst into flames. Terrible screams were uttered by the creatures, for a few moments and then they vanished in a flash of light, and a dozen bolts were left behind. They barely had time to grab them and give them to the twins before another pair appeared behind them.

They cursed, but since they were behind they ran. The creatures were actually fairly fast, but they were fit from a life in the woods. Allowing them to easily outpace the creatures, and reach the next room where four of the things were waiting to ambush them. Arlie was still chanting another spell, so the boys attacked the nearest pair. They had to dodge a few tentacle attacks. Thron cried out a bit, when one of them scored a glancing blow, but in return he scored a solid hit to its central mass. The creature slumped to the ground, and Horon used the spears reach to kill the other without injury.

They didn’t stop, and used the opening to reach the next door, and rushed down the corridor. Arlie noticed a pair spawning in as they left the room. She was beginning to understand the no rest part of that plaque. These things were going to just keep spawning until they killed the boss, but she was pretty sure they had to reach that grate that they couldn’t pass earlier. Not that it mattered to her. She wasn’t tired yet, but she had a lot of stamina from her regular hunting trips with the twins. She felt she could keep up the pace for a while longer.

The next few rooms were the same. Each room had a number of the creatures waiting for them. They would strike at the nearest and rush through. Often taking minor injuries in the process, but they had no time to stop long enough for Arlie to use a healing spell. Instead, they had to use those low-grade healing potions they had gotten from chests in the dungeon so far. They had started with four per person, but everyone had to use at least one by the time they reached the gate. They found it was gone, and they rushed through.

A few minions spawned to delay them, but they were able to dispatch them with a couple of well-placed bolts. Arlie held a spell at the ready just in case, and then they reached a pair of doors. The doors, however, wouldn’t open when they tried them, and four minions spawned in behind them. Arlie unleashed a firebolt at the nearest, and it burst into flames that quickly spread to a second. Then she turned to regard the door, while the others shifted in position to protect her. While another group spawned in to replace their fallen comrades.

“We will try to keep them off you, but try to figure it out quickly,” said Horon as he readied his spear. Arlie acknowledged his statement and turned to regard the door. She was aware of the fighting in the background, but she focused on the door. It was a large set of double doors. Made of reinforced wood, and inlaid with bands of metal, it looked to be fairly sturdy. She didn’t bother trying to burn through it, as she could sense the magic imbued into the wood. It was likely enchanted to make it even stronger, and like city gates that enchantment likely provided resistance to fire. The enchantment was also quite strong. The doors themselves were covered with elaborate carvings.

She spent a good few minutes studying the elaborate carvings looking for a hint. Behind her, she could hear the screams of the minions. Along with the sounds of her friends fighting them. After a while, she noticed a few indentations in the door. Tracing them she noticed one of them looked to be quite familiar. She reached into her pouch and compared it to the pendant she had collected earlier. The indent seemed to be oddly similar. Having a hunch she pushed the pendent into the indentation, and was rewarded with an instant reaction. First, the Abyssals stopped spawning allowing her friends to kill the others, and then the doors flashed before swinging inward at a sedate pace. 

As they opened, Arlie took a moment to prepare one of her favorite spells. While the others took up formation, and caught their breath. The twins double-checked their supply of bolts. Despite picking up a few on the run they still only had about a dozen shots left. Arlie knew they still preferred longbows, as they had better range and could fire faster. Not to mention their own bows were more powerful than these crossbows they had been given. Sure the crossbow was a fine weapon, but the longbow was superior in the hands of a trained archer. They had a lot of experience with bows, and she knew what they would be more comfortable with.

When the doors fully opened it revealed a large circular room with pillars on the edges. A single large nightmarish creature dominated the center of the room. It had eight smaller subordinates around it, but Arlie had expected that. She had chosen one of her favorite fire spells, and as soon as the doors were released she unleashed it upon the room. A jet of flame erupted from her palm, and sprayed fire on the nearest. The flames quickly spread to the others, but the big one protected itself with a barrier.

The others rushed in to attack, but were forced to dodge a barrage of sickly purple and green bolts. The stone simply melted on contact with the magic. Arlie shuddered glad she wasn’t in the line of fire, and began to chant another spell. She doubted fire would help against that barrier. Especially given that these creatures were weak to fire. Its barrier was likely designed to compensate for that weakness.

The twins each unleashed a pair of bolts at the creature, as it readied another attack. The bolts bounced off its barrier harmlessly. Then two new minions appeared in a flash of light. The boys were nearest and moved to engage them. The proved a little tougher than the ones in the halls and the boys were quickly in a stalemate.

Arlie finished her chant as the twins finished reloading their crossbows. Before she could even unleash it, a barrage was launched her way. She jumped and danced out of the way of the bolts. A couple coming dangerously close to hitting her, and then she released her spell. A powerful barrage of lightning bolts arced from her open palms. Each bolt slammed into the creature’s barrier one after the other. A bright flash of light marked each impact. Along with a powerful crackle. The glowing barrier grew dimmer with each strike, but held against her spell.

Then another flash of light marked the arrival of two new minions. Who were instantly greeted with a pair of bolts sprouting from their eyeballs. Unlike the lesser ones outside they didn’t die, and instead screamed in pain while lashing out with their tentacles. Which gave the twins the time they needed to reload and finish them off. During this time, the boys finally gained the upper hand and finished off the pair they were fighting. A wave of mana shoot out from the main creature and the party was forced to duck. The wave passed over their heads, and scarred the walls of the room.

As soon as the wave passed, the boys charged at the creature and attacked. It lashed out at the boys. One of the tentacles caught Thron full in the chest and he went flying into the far wall. He slumped to the ground, but they barely had time to give him a second thought.  Horon slammed his spear into the barrier and it shatters. The tip scoring a shallow wound in the creature's flesh. Arlie finished herself and another barrage of lightning slammed into the creature. Each one was rewarded with a terrible scream of pain, and the smell of sizzling flesh. When the last bolt impacted the creature stood there unmoving.

The twins fired a pair of bolts into it, and they embedded themselves deeply into the side of the thing. While Horon stabbed it repeatedly with his spear. Each strike being rewarded with deep bleeding wounds, and a scream. The creature, however, remained paralyzed unable to fight back or restore its barrier. Which gave Arlie the time she needed to cast a firebolt. The ball of flame scored a perfect hit, and the creature bursts into flames. Its form collapsed a pile of charred flesh remained slumped on the floor. Then with a flash of light, a pile of weapons appeared on the floor, as the corpses vanished. The weapons were identical to the ones they already had, but of better quality and construction.

JCountry

Hey guys, I hope enjoyed the chapter. I write mainly to improve my writing. As such any feedback you have will be greatly appreciated. So please do comment if you can. Was the dungeon run so far okay? Does anything in the run feel lacking? Is there anything you feel I can work on?