One by one the adventurers popped into existence in the tunnel. The cave itself was plenty tall and wide, giving the group plenty room to move around "comfortably". Luminous crystals lined the ceilings and walls, providing dim blue light for the denizens that inhabited the place. It was damp not only with the moisture of the earth but with a thin mucous that seemed to cover the stone around them. The group ignored it for the most part, the only real acknowledgement being a look of disgust as a particularly thick puddle of the stuff caught hold of Roy's boot.
The tunnel was cold too. The same cold that had greeted Rapide's Friends as they approached the entryway. The chill grew stronger the further they walked. Noah didn't hear anyone else make note of it so he too kept quiet. However, the distance between each of them decreased as they advanced down the tunnel.
"What we need is a Thief," Teague mumbled softly. "There's probably all sorts of troves in this place."
"And half of them'll be filled with more goblins," Rapide replied. "Not worth it if you ask me."
"I thought we were clearing this place out," Noah said, a bit confused why they would intentionally leave some of the monsters alone. Not that he was looking forward to barging into a small chamber filled with the little green beasts.
"Our target is their boss," Roy said.
"You get the leader and they'll just scatter out in wind," Lola explained further.
"Monsters are funny like that," Isdiel continued.
"Extra coin don't hurt, ya know?" Teague said, starting to poke the tunnel walls softly with his staff as they pressed onward. "This gay budget living shit is pissing me off." His comment was met with a swift bonk atop the head, a soft growl from Roy as he started moving to the head of the group.
"Bite your tongue next time," Isdiel said. It was the first time Noah had seen Isdiel frown. She gave Teague a slap across the face before she turned and stomped down the tunnel after Roy. Rapide, Teague, and Noah stopped beside each other, all with a similar look of confusion on their face. Lola passed by them, stifling her laughter.
"Women," Teague whispered.
"How mad do you think she is?" Noah asked.
"This is why I stick to men, fellows," Rapide stated proudly before making his way down the tunnel following the rest of them. It was a statement Noah should've put more thought into understanding, but he was too worried about falling behind the rest of the group.
The journey down the tunnel continued in an uneventful manner. The dripping of water and the slimy substance was the only sound echoing through the cave. The chill of Detect Foe continued, but Noah felt its intensity change as the cave began to curve and turn. The sharpest wave of the cold fell over them as they approached a downward slope. Roy (who had maintained point with Isdiel since bonking Teague) held up his hand, brining the entire party to a quick halt atop the slope.
"Who wants to go first?" Noah asked, figuring that if he brought it up Roy wouldn't grab him and throw him again.
"No pranks this time Noah," Rapide said, crouching at the slope's edge and peering down into the dim caverns.
"Finally helping out properly, Rapide?" Isdiel asked. Noah fought the urge to snicker at her comment. The thought that Isdiel, who had contributed nothing to their quest as far as Noah was concerned, was chastising Rapide was too funny not to laugh at. He awaited whatever snide retort Rapide had, not wanting Isdiel to feel bad but really desiring a laugh from everyone. It would have really helped to calm him down before diving into what was likely a full nest of monsters.
Rapide had no retort though. Instead he mumbled something incoherent while Roy and Isdiel took a few steps back. A white haze started to slowly pour out of Rapide's mouth. The smoke swirled its way to the ground. Once Rapide closed his mouth, the smoke began to shimmer and transform into a new shape. A small shape with long ears and a little poof of a tail.
Bunny Whistle. A Woodsman common skill. Summon a rabbit spirit and have it scout ahead for you.
"Go on, little guy," Rapide told the smoke rabbit. The strange being looked back at him before it started hopping quickly down the slope and out of sight.
"Does he have a name?" Lola asked, her eyes bright with wonder. Apparently, it was her first time seeing the smoke rabbit as well.
"He might," Rapide answered. "I can't remember it though."
Noah wasn't sure why Rapide's words there stuck in his mind. They sounded like just any normal response. Perhaps he was just really hung up over words like remember and memory, and rightfully so. It wasn't the time or place to question Rapide about semantics though, especially since the smoke rabbit had started bouncing its way back up the hill.
"What'd you find, little guy?" Rapide asked the rabbit, running his hand over the top of its head. "You find anything good?"
"There are more than twenty foes," the rabbit stated. It didn't move its lips, but it was the only place the gentle voice could've come from. "Good luck Monsieur." Then the rabbit dissipated, all previous shape vanishing along with the smoke.
"Not much of a conversationalist, is it?" Teague noted, walking right past the rest of the group and making his way down the slope.
"Also not too helpful," Roy grumbled as he followed. Rapide too got up, drawing an arrow and nocking it as he moved down the path. Lola was the next, her eyes shining not with wonder at the cute rabbit but instead with her hunger for more battling.
"Lets go, Noah," Isdiel said, grabbing his hand and hurrying down the slope with him in tow.
As the two of them reached the end of the slope, they saw all the others lining up against the cave wall. Noah and Isdiel filed in alongside them. Roy was peeking into the large opening in front of them, doing some scouting of his own. The chamber before them appeared to be larger in all dimensions than the tunnel. The beginnings of a slope going up each side of the chamber were barely visible from the tunnel. The blue light of the crystals in the tunnels started to blend with the orange glow emanating from the bonfire of the chamber. Despite the raging flame that stretched out of Noah's sight, no comforting warmth came from it. A group of goblins, slightly larger in size than the ones before (now only a foot or so shorter than Noah), gathered alongside the fire. That couldn't have been all of them, though. There were maybe five or six of the creatures, snarling at each other and pushing each other around near the bonfire. Noah figured the rest of them were probably curled up in their own little groups out of sight.
"Is the leader in there?" Noah asked. The goblins may have been noticeably bigger than all the others he had faced outside, but none of them had any prominent features to stand out as the head of the pack.
"He'll probably be further in this place," Teague answered. He looked forward into the room with the rest of them. Three more larger goblins moved closer to the fire, each holding one a thick wooden club as they sniffed around the air. Noah was not the only one who noticed them either. Everyone else in the party watched them as they patrolled around the flames.
"They aren't leaders," Rapide whispered. "But they look like the top dogs."
"Should we take them first?" Isdiel suggested, surprising Noah for a moment. It was the first time he had heard anything out of the blonde woman pertaining to their battle strategies.
"I'll get them," Lola stated confidently. She stepped away from the wall, but before she could move closer to the opening, Rapide yanked her back by her braids before wrapping his hand around her mouth to stifle her cry. The goblins didn't seem to notice, continuing about their business glaring at the fire and chatting amongst themselves.
"You and I will rush them together," Rapide whispered. He looked back to the rest of them as he continued to order them. "Roy and Teague will cut along the sides. And Noah-"
"I'll stick with Isdiel," Noah finished for him. He had been doing a good job so far with his simple task. Nothing got far enough to even scratch the air around the woman.
"Smart boy," Isdiel said. Even in the dark Noah could still spot her smirk.
"And we stick to this plan," Rapide said, turning Lola's head so he could glare right into her eyes. "All the way through, this time."
Despite the fear of her leader in her eyes, Lola nodded before resuming her position against the wall. Rapide gestured to Roy and Teague. The two of them took position right along each side of the entrance, nodding back to Rapide. The leader took position center stage, getting down on one knee as he drew back an arrow, and Lola took her place standing behind him. Last was Noah and Isdiel, the fae boy standing at the back with his sword drawn and a lady by his side.
"Whistle sweetly, my love," Rapide whispered to no one in particular.
"At your call I shall return," Isdiel continued for him, her voice quiet and cheerful as she placed a hand on Noah's shoulder.
"My pockets lined with gold," Teague added, tapping his fingers along the pole.
"A belly full of beer," Roy chimed in as he tightened the straps of his shield on his arm.
"My body worn and weary," Lola said, twirling her axes slowly.
Noah heard Isdiel's soft whispers. The party may have just met him earlier that morning, and this sounded like a battle chant of sorts before they all would charge in. Noah felt something new from them, a brief warmth that soothed the chill of the tunnels. They trusted him, or at least it felt that way as he listened to their mantra. So he was confident as he echoed Isdiel's words, louder than everyone else in the tunnel.
"I am the Jaeger, and my hunt will end."
"One day at least," everyone else said in unison. Noah saw Teague look back at him, his eyes beaming with joy and a smile on his face that the others mimicked. Roy let out a deep roar that echoed through the cave tunnel and the chamber before them. The goblins turned just in time for an arrow to drill through one of their eyes.
The adventures left their hiding spot in waves. The first was Lola, screaming in what one would call a mixture of rage and joy. A conic barrier of white light had formed around her front as she dashed forward with her axes held out beside her. The cone sharpened as her speed increased and grew brighter and thicker. Lola was making a beeline straight for the three large goblins. They were barking, snarling, and brandishing their clubs at the smaller guys. A couple of them ran to meet Lola head on with teeth gnashing and broken blades drawn. When they leaped forward at her, they collided headfirst with the barrier. The creatures screamed and comically bounced hard off the barrier, flying back through the air and colliding hard with the nearby rocks. Lola came to a sliding stop, the barrier in front of her disappearing as she slowed. Another pair of the little goblins leapt at her. The first she cut down with her axes, catching the little creature in the chest with one blade and delivering a blow that turned it to dust with the other.
Charge. A skill that allows you to charge forward into battle. Enemies take damage as the cone hits them, with smaller enemies flying off.
The second goblin fell to an arrow. Rapide, Roy, and Teague were the next wave. Rapide fired arrow after arrow down the center of the room, mixing in a Double Stroke every once in a while. Roy immediately took off along the side of the chamber, up the rocky slope that lined the wall, his own cone of light forming as he charged shield first at the small group of goblins running down at him. Teague was firing his Ice Thorn as more goblins seemed to pour out from their hiding places into the middle of the room. He shot three in quick succession as one of the big goblin trio charged at Lola. The first two missed entirely, but the third hit the larger monster in its club wielding arm and shattered.
"Teague, go!" Rapide barked, firing a regular arrow and a Double Stroke at the same goblin. "I'll cover her! Izzy, Noah, go with Teague!"
Teague had a grim look on his face, but he nodded as he looked back at Noah and Isdiel who were just emerging from the tunnel. "Try and keep up, seri," he told Noah with a smile. Noah could see past it though. Teague was fighting to keep up that grin.
"Hold out your weapons, boys," Isdiel said, stepping between the two boys. There was an incoherent mumbling from Rapide, making Noah look to the top of the slope on his side. Goblins were starting to rush out of the tunnel at the top and move down the slopes. An even worse problem emerged though. Noah's eyes widened as a monster with blue skin and sharp spikes along its arms. For a moment he thought Utuk the Kobold had come back to life, but Noah noticed this one was a little smaller, especially in the spike length department. The larger monster stayed atop the slope as his green underlings ran towards the adventurers, roaring orders in whatever harsh language the creatures spoke.
"Noah!" Isdiel said, breaking his trance. "Sword!" Noah nodded before holding his weapon out in front of him. Teague was doing the same with his head still turned towards the hill, watching nervously as the monsters scrambled down.
Isdiel hovered a hand over each of their weapons, saying some unknown words under her breath. She moved her hand along the length of the sword and staff. Noah watched in curiosity as dim blue lights sprinkled from Isdiel's hand onto his sword and Teague's staff. The Brawler continued looking up to the top of the hill, not concerned with what she might've been doing to his staff. Isdiel withdrew her hands when they neared the boys' own, leaving their weapons littered with the sparkling blue lights.
Gransgur's Blessing. A prayer that enchants a weapon to do extra light magic damage and restore MP on hit.
"Let's go bust some heads," Teague said before pulling his weapon forward and charging upward. Noah watched him dash along the slope for a moment before Isdiel gave him a shove forward, spurning him to take off after Teague with her a step behind him.
The two boys met the swarm of monsters halfway up the slope. The first one to take a swing was Noah, slashing his sword at the first goblin that got close to him. As the blade tore flesh, white fire sprouted from the wound. The goblin clutched at it's chest before toppling off the slope, turning to dust on the way down. Noah had no time to enjoy his victory however, as another goblin jumped toward him brandishing a broken longsword of its own.
The skirmish on the slopes continued with no real ground gained on either side. Teague and Noah would push back the goblins for a moment, then a group or four or five would break out to the front of the pack, so Noah and Teague would move back, firing their Ice Thorns. The next step in their dance was using their skills to push back the goblins again, Noah swinging twice in a row with his Double Stroke and Teague with Autumn Shower. For a brief moment, Noah noticed his headache barely bothered him as he used skills with impunity, but he didn't dwell on it any longer after barely stopping a jagged claw from digging into his side. Back and forth the exchange went as the minutes passed, but for the inexperienced fae fighting for his life it felt like hours.
Autumn Shower. A skill where the user thrust his weapon in a flurry of weaker blows. Each guy applies reduced on hit effects.
"They don't seem to be stopping!" Teague noted as he landed a clean blow with his staff atop a goblin.
"What do you want me to do?" Noah asked, holding a teeth gnashing blight back with his blade.
"Got any extra strong skills up your sleeve?"
Noah shook his head, pushing the goblin off. It fell to the ground and Noah quickly skewered his chest. The monster gurgled softly before becoming dust.
"You can do Finisher?" Isdiel asked, her hands out towards the boys' backs. It wasn't immediately obvious what she was doing, but a keen observer would spot the thin white dust that floated from her palms onto the boys.
Hands of Care. A prayer that slowly and constantly restores HP for the target.
"I guess so," Noah answered. "But it's not gonna do any good against a whole lot of them."
"He's right," Teague continued.
Another pack clawed their way to the front, this one containing at least ten large, club wielding goblins. The three adventurers continued the same pattern as before, stepping back and firing their ice magic at the creatures. Unlike the ones before, these larger goblins continued moving forward as the Ice Thorns just shattered against them.
"My turn, gentleman," Isdiel said. Noah glanced back to see her roll up the sleeves of her dress. Along each arm were mysterious runic symbols painted in black. Teague quickly grabbed hold of Noah and pulled him up against the wall. The symbols on Isdiel's arms started letting off a black glow, and Teague's arm pinned Noah tighter to the wall. There was a thunderous crack that echoed throughout the large chamber as a beam of pure black light erupted from Isdiel's outstretched hands.
"Holy-," Noah started.
"Shit." Teague finished for him.
The beam was thick as a normal tree trunk and radiated a lot of heat. So much so that Noah was sweating as it continued blasting past him. It hummed deeply as it barreled into the mob of goblins. The first of the monsters confidently stood in front of the beam, a grin of jagged teeth as it planned to take the full force of Isdiel's attack. Then the beam pierced directly through his entire chest, turning it to dust without a sound. The next pair of goblins held their hands up to block the blow, and they met a similar fate as it cleared through their top halves. The beam continued up the slope, tearing through more of the monsters as they tried to flee. The kobold at the very top snarled and barked at the beam before diving to the ground, narrowly avoiding its death as the beam crashed into the ceiling above.
The attack ended as the beam slowly slimmed down and faded out. Isdiel collapsed to her knees once it gone, panting and rubbing her temples. Noah saw that all the symbols on her arm had gone. Isdiel slowly got back onto her feet, grinning at the path she had carved for them as well as the small dent she made in the chamber's ceiling.
Purging. A penance that charges up marks at fixed intervals. On command, all marks can be expended for a large magic attack.
"Did you know she could do that?" Noah whispered to Teague.
"No," Teague answered just as quietly. "I'm glad she only slapped me earlier, though."
"When you two are done gossiping we still have some work to do," Isdiel reminded them, pointing to the top of the slope. The kobold had gotten back on its feet, and it looked more than a little pissed off. The only other survivor of the blast, a child sized goblin, was trying to crawl away back to the entrance they had poured out of. The kobold reached down and took hold of its minion by the neck. The kobold growled at the little goblin , but Noah was thought he had heard a real world beneath the snarls.
He thought the kobold had called the little goblin "coward" before turning and pitching its fellow creature into the bonfire.
"They really are monsters, aren't they?" Isdiel mentioned. Noah could only nod in agreement. Merciless, bloodthirsty, and ready to toss their lives away. That's all Noah really knew about monsters. That's all he thought he needed to know.
The kobold looked down at them, let out another bellowing roar, and started charging down at the trio who had been murdering his troops. Noah took point, rushing forward head on at the creature. If he could get in safely, he could out maneuver the monster just like he had with Utuk. Noah didn't have Long Range Cut this time, though. The risk was higher, but he'd have to take the chance.
The kobold took the first strike, however. Its arm stretched out further and spun around before it swung the arm's spiked side right at Noah's midsection. The fae panicked. He had forgot all about Utuk's stretching arm.
"Leave the dumbass charging to me," Teague said, standing alongside Noah and blocking the arm with his staff stuck between two of the spikes.
"Sorry," Noah said. "I forgot they could do that."
There was no time to waste on the idle chatter. Teague pushed the kobold's stretched arm back, freeing his staff before dashing up the slope alongside Noah. The kobold howled as it swung its stretched arm downward towards Noah. The fae held his sword above him, stopping the blow and sending a sharp pain down his arms as he did. Teague didn't miss a beat, jabbing his staff hard into the monster's arm. It growled in pain before stretching out its other arm straight out at him, going for a straight punch. Teague barely sidestepped the blow only to be greeted with a quick second blow that he had to parry with his staff.
"Anytime you wanna pitch in, Izzy, feel free to do so!" Teague hollered as he finally freed Noah from his block. Noah saw Isdiel was still several paces back, rubbing her forehead as she watched them. He could imagine golden text right in her eyes ranting about low MP.
"It's just us for now," Noah said, pointing his sword at the kobold. The creature was snarling as it retracted its arms, just waiting for the best chance to tear the adventurers in half.
"We ain't doing nothing scratching his arms," Teague stated. Noah had to agree. The two boys were starting to breath hard, and Noah was feeling his arms and legs growing sore. All the goblins before may not have scratched him, but they had still managed to take a toll on his body. Teague didn't seem to be in much better shape. His brown hair was sticking to his head with sweat. Of course there was also Isdiel who was really in no shape to fight.
"If either of us can get to the body, he's done," Noah replied. "They're slow up close. At least Utuk was."
Teague nodded. The kobold was still watching them, snarling softly as it wavered side to side on the slope. It knew it could take its time. Sooner or later they would have to approach, and it held the higher ground.
"I'll block for you," Teague said, twirling his staff slowly at his side. "You get in and take its head."
"But you're faster," Noah said. He wasn't trying to worm his way out of doing it. If anything, blocking the kobold's swings was the more dangerous of the two jobs.
"You hit a lot harder."
If it weren't for the situation, Noah might've blushed.
Teague charged up the slope, and Noah followed. Again the kobold roared, this time swiping down at them with both arms. Noah continued dashing ahead, putting all of his faith in Teague. Sure enough the Brawler caught both arms with his staff, and he shouted in pain as he did. Noah glanced back just for a moment. Not only was the force of the blow great, but one of the sharp spikes had sneaked past Teague's guard and buried into his shoulder.
Noah rushed forward. Just a few more paces and he could help Teague by cutting down the kobold. He pushed out the sounds of his comrade's pain, doing all he could to run just a bit faster.
The kobold was in reach. Noah held his blade out, treating it like a spear as he ran the length into the kobold's exposed stomach. The creature roared in pain as Noah drew blood.
Then there was a hard blow to the back of Noah's head. His vision fluttered between blurry and darkness, with things happening in still images. Blink. He saw Teague be freed from the force of one of the monster arms. Blink. Teague was in the air with the kobolds arm swung out. His staff was floating away from his hand, and a trail of blood followed him. Blink. Teague was gone and the kobold's arm was stretched out towards a terrified looking Isdiel. Blink. All Noah could see was dirt and stone. All Noah could feel was the weight of the kobold's talon like foot as it stepped on his back.
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
"Noah!" Isdiel cried. Noah slowly turned his head, watching in horror as the kobold brought the girl closer, its claw wrapped around her neck.
"Isdiel!" Noah yelled, trying to push himself up. The kobold let out a low growl, pushing its foot down harder. There was an audible crack, and Noah cried out as the kobold snapped one of his ribs.
"Help me," Isdiel whimpered. The claw around her neck began to squeeze. The kobold could've effortlessly snapped her neck. It was just torturing them now.
"Let her go!" Noah spat out, the pain in his back and ribs getting worse by the second. His vision was growing darker. "Let her go, you fuck!"
The kobold growled, though like it had once before. It growled like it did when it threw the goblin into the bonfire. Beneath the sounds of guttural murmuring, there were real words leaving its horrible mouth.
"No mercy."
We can't die here, Noah thought. The monster squeezed tighter on Isdiel's throat, and she let out another sharp cry. We won't die here.
"Noah," she whispered. Her head fell to the side. Her eyes had closed.
We won't-
"MORI!"
Noah's shout echoed throughout the chamber. For a moment, all in the room went silent. Then everyone, monster and adventurer alike, looked to the top of the slope where Noah, Isdiel, and the kobold were.
The kobold had dropped Isdiel to the ground as Noah's limp body starting rising in the air. Arcs of purple electricity started to appear all over his body. The air around him began to shimmer, almost like the air of a Gate, but nothing distorted direct sight of his body. His mouth opened, and a steady flow of dark purple colored gas began leaking from the opening. Noah's body turned upright and descended, putting his feet down on the ground and standing up straight. The purple electricity that hopped wildly around his body before started to all move towards his sword arm. Each arc went into the palm of his hand and disappeared until they were all gone.
When Noah opened his eyes, the dull silver they were before was replaced with a vibrant, literally glowing indigo. His hair turned a pale white rather than its normal gray. The points of his ears had grown even longer as well as coming to a sharper point. He had even grown taller, now the same height as the kobold and maybe even equal to Roy. With thicker arms and broader shoulders, it had practically looked like Noah just instantly aged a few years.
"Par el drolo de mo pedar," Noah said. He didn't know where the words came from. He didn't care. He knew what they meant. Noah knew the meaning of the words as a sword made of solid purple lightning had formed in his hand.
For the pain of my father.
The kobold howled and leapt forward, swinging both arms with spikes aimed at Noah's head. The fae didn't blink, nor did he hesitate as he swung his magical blade faster than all those watching could follow. The monster cried out in pain, its arms dropping lifeless to the ground before it knelt down with a pair of bloody stumps.
"Par las lagris de mo medar."
For the tears of my mother.
Noah placed a hand over the whimpering face of the kobold. Again, arcs of the violet lightning started bouncing down Noah's arm. The monster started to cry out loudly.
"No mise."
The kobold made no more noise as Noah put all of the power he had into his attack. No one besides the monster could see what exactly shot out of Noah's palm, but all could see the side effects as bolts of electricity shot wildly from where face met hand. The violent magic shot out everywhere around them, hitting the walls and floor near them. The kobold went still in moments, having died mere moments after the attack began. It didn't turn to dust though. Nature had allowed Noah to continue being as merciless as he so desired.
The ground rumbled beneath all of them. It couldn't take any more of the onslaught from Noah, especially since his spell began piercing through the monster's body and burning into the stone. It started to crackle and break beneath his feet, and Isdiel's pleas of "Stop" could not be heard over the terrible hum of Noah's new attack.
Rapide was making his way up the slope, screaming at the fae to let up. He shouted something about the rocks not being able to take any more. Then the loudest cracking of all happened. The entire chamber began to shake as the spell only continued to grow in intensity.
The ground beneath Noah and Isdiel was the first to break. Beneath the surface was not more earth but instead hollow darkness. The others could not reach them in time, and all Noah saw as he fell was the light of the chamber slowly fade away.
Faeblood race skill added.
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From the Adventurer's Guide's Stat Explanation Section:
HP, MP, and You!
Hello, adventurer! I'm Gaston, one of your friendly Divines. And today I'm here to explain to you the most valuable two stats, without which everything in Tera de Fantastique wouldn't work very well. These are Health Points and Mental Points.
Health Points (better known as HP) are a measure of your overall physical well being. As such, if they ever reach zero, you'll die! Be careful and take care of yourself out there! Taking damage reduces HP, but so does performing any of the Basic Actions (see p. 47).
Mental points (or MP, though some people call it mana and some weirdos call it chi) is likewise a measure of your mental capabilities. Using skills cost you MP, and using too much MP can leave you feeling worn down and weary.
HP and MP regenerate over time, by using potions, and with various passive effects. The max amount of each these is increased as you level, though Lord High Jeanne still won't explain to me how that works.
AN: I've updated the foreword, basically explaining the next really, really fucking stupid experiment I'll be enacting.