We made steady progress along the third floor and even went on to challenge the newly spawned monster guarding the passage to the room where our LEPRCON guide claimed our quest's target would be found. It was an ogre. And not just any ogre either, but a cigar-smoking twelve-foot horned giant with body hair covering it from head to toe and deep-set emerald eyes full of murderous intent flashing underneath a green bowler hat that sat upon the monster's brow like a crown—a symbolic feature of an Irish ogre.
"Watch out for its area-of-effect ability!" Mistress Lorelai warned. "Tanks upfront!"
During this battle, even I had my hands full providing potions and first-aid for burn wounds.
"I need more bandages!" I yelled to the rear.
"Wisdom!" Liara called. "Duck!"
I was treating a burn victim with some spider silk gauze and heavy-duty burn ointment when a cloud of billowing ash and fiery sparks descended on me and my charge.
"Frigid Hel," I cursed.
Almost out of reflex, I sent my mana into my foot and then stomped hard at the ground. An explosion of volcanic ash and lava erupted from underneath me and rose to counteract the powerful ash cloud that the Irish ogre had blown to life with the aid of the thick cigar in his mouth.
"Yeah, that's right. My fire's bigger than yours, you veslingr dragon wannabee!" I taunted.
Couldn't help myself. Sue me.
"Why didn't you tell me you could wield magic like that?" Mistress Lorelai asked as she arrived at my side with her spear glowing with fierce golden light. "Can you do it again?"
"Um," I didn't want to tip my hand before we got to the main event, but how could I say no to that glare, "I can do it twice more without resting."
"Wait for that monstrosity to blow from its cigar once again, and then cast your flashy fire magic to cancel out its wide-area attack and stomp on its bloody pride," she instructed before turning her gaze on the warriors, mages, and rogues gathered around her. "Well, are you idiots going to let this apprentice who hasn't been in the Academy a full week show you up?"
An outcry of curses aimed at me rang out, forcing me to sigh out loud and goad them all back in return. "If you guys were better at ducking out of its way, my fellow support team members wouldn't be running out of supplies at this juncture of the raid. You wouldn't need me helping you kill it either."
This earned me more insults. Although Mistress Lorelai laughed out loud enough to silence them all.
"You're just like her, your arrogant master." The dökkálfar instructor grabbed me by the scruff of my collar and drew me closer to within inches of her face. "All right, brat… I'll give you free rein. Show me what you've got and go wild."
It was just what I wanted, although the honor of killing the Irish ogre wouldn't be mine. Liara's hand would deal the final blow.
See, I took Mistress Lorelai's plan a little too literally. While Helm and Koby Grimm stole back the Irish ogre's aggro—all that flyting made the brothers excellent at taunting—I snuck alongside the ogre, waited for its telegraphed actions of blowing on its cigar, and then targeted the ground between the monster's legs so I could literally stomp on its pride. Then, as my Volcanic Step burned the ogre's crown jewels, Liara jumped over my flames and sliced the monster's neck from ear to ear with her spell saber.
As for her killing move, I guessed that she'd cast a variant of 'Elemental Weapon' on her sword because its blade had been glowing like a lightsaber when she sliced the ogre's neck.
Moreover, Liara wasn't the only one to take advantage of my awesome distraction. Several thick red-feathered bolts were embedded on the ogre's chest that I belatedly noticed—after I glanced over my shoulder—had come from the redheaded dwarf from my apprentice class. I think her name was Delphine.
I watched the dwarf lovingly pat the heavy-looking crossbow in her hands like it was a favorite pet and wondered where I could get my hands on a custom-made ranged weapon with a sniper scope like hers did.
"Victory!" Someone yelled, to which many others replied, "Victory! Victory! Victory~~y"
After that mini-boss fell, Mistress Lorelai ordered everyone to check their gear and prepare for the next fight. And, once our preparations were completed, she led the way into the passage the ogre had been guarding and into the room beyond it.
"Stay frosty," Liara whispered into my ear as she passed me by, to which I replied, "Kill stealing's illegal, you know!"
"Not when it's a team effort," she called back.
A quick inspection of the wide space revealed that we'd stumbled into an indoor garden, which according to our LEPRCON guide, was exactly the kind of environment the monsters responsible for Aine's suffering preferred.
"These wee bastards are somewhere in here. I'm sure of it," Lieutenant Doyle declared.
We were in a wide, circular chamber lit by torch sconces hanging at intervals around moss-covered walls. The ground was overgrown with grass. Grape vines hung down from a ceiling so high its rafters were lost in the gloom. The space was glaringly empty of monsters though. You couldn't even sense their presence nearby.
"Smells like home," Zen joked.
I thought he was right, though. The garden did smell simultaneously of alcohol and barf, which was how the tower's hearth smelled after one of our nightly revelries.
Another one of my master's notes on dungeon exploration surfaced in my mind; 'Never judge things at face value. Trust your nose. Evil things can look fair but will always smell foul.'
Mistress Lorelai ordered everyone to spread out into the garden and begin setting up traps while she walked cautiously toward its center. Once there, her hand reached into the grass. When it came up, she was holding onto a short staff wrapped in vines with a pine cone shoved up its tip.
I should have stayed back with the other mages who were planting the lures that would bring trouble our way, but I couldn't help walking to Mistress Lorelai's side after I recognized the item in her hand.
"That's a thyrsus, isn't it, ma'am?" I confirmed.
"Yes..." Mistress Lorelai glanced upward. "We're in the right place, Mr. Wisdom."
"The targets aren't here though..." I frowned at the thyrsus. There was something about it that didn't sit well with me. "You think we scared them away?"
"No." Mistress Lorelai knew how to dole out goosebumps with just a single word. "Mr. Wisdom, get—"
A chorus of wild, high-pitched shrieks erupted from the shadows above, and then all Hel broke loose.