The Land: Alliances (Chaos Seeds Book 3)

CHAPTER 17

For the next day, Richter walked down through the tunnels in relative solitude. At one point, he heard a loud roar followed by a shrill scream of pain. The tunnels played tricks with the echoes, and he couldn’t reliably say if the noises were closer than twenty feet or further than a mile. He sheltered in recessed section of the tunnel wall with his cloak over him for long moments, hoping whatever it was didn’t come any closer. When silence reigned for a long period, he resumed his journey.

Now that he was deeper in the earth, Richter’s progress was greatly slowed by all of the traps and blind ends. He had to backtrack over and over. The only good news was that his Pierce the Veil skill went up two levels, and his Traps and Trap Disarm skills both went up one level. Though he occasionally heard more skittering sounds, he didn’t see another soul for the entire first day. Richter knew that his luck couldn’t last forever though, and he was right. He was disabling a particularly difficult series of traps, all level fifteen and above, when he heard the barking language of the kobolds.

He immediately had Futen turn invisible. He couldn’t be sure that kobolds couldn’t see the light the remnant had been emitting, even though it was so faint. Of course, without the remnant’s ambient light, he was blind despite his Night Vision spell. At a quick order, Futen moved ahead to find the encroaching party and then report back. Richter found the wall of the tunnel and edged back into a small crevice. He maintained Stealth and his icon indicating his effectiveness remained a green, closed eye.

Richter waited. He wished that he could cast his buffs, but it would just draw too much attention in the pitch black tunnel. Alma shifted on his shoulders.

*We may have some trouble soon, love. If I light up the space, attack!* he told her.

*I am ready, master,* she thought back. There was a distinctly predatory tone to her thoughts.

Less than a minute later, Richter heard Futen’s voice directly in his left ear.

“There is a party of eight kobolds approaching, my Lord. I could not Analyze them without giving away my position. Four have spears or small swords, two have crossbows, and one is slightly larger and is wearing armor. The last is carrying a staff and I can sense magic emanating from her,” Futen’s whisper was almost inaudible.

Richter nodded, it sounded like a caster and a series of warriors. One of the warriors might have some extra training, but that might actually work in his favor. “Are they coming this way?”

“I believe so, my Lord. There is a small tunnel branching off between their position and here, but they are walking in this direction.”

“Do they know I am here?”

“I cannot understand their language, my Lord,” Futen replied, “but they do not seem to be expecting trouble.”

Hopefully it’s just a random patrol, he thought. “The larger warrior and the one with the staff, are they at the front of the group or in the back?”

“They are both in the back,” Futen answered.

“Good,” Richter said, “I want you to hover high above me and several yards away. Let the patrol pass me. When the mage and larger fighter pass my position, flare as brightly as you can. Keep the light in their eyes. Alma, you attack the smaller ones and be careful to avoid the ones with crossbows.”

*I am ready, master!* she thought gleefully.

Richter took his bow out of his Bag of Holding and placed it under his cloak. Next, he adjusted the position of his quiver so that he could swiftly draw and nock an arrow when needed. Between his Stealth skill and his Cloak of Concealment, he looked like nothing more than a shadow in the darkness. He banished Night Vision and then settled in to wait.

The voices grew louder, the kobolds’ barking echoing in the tunnels. Again, the tunnels made it hard for Richter to gauge how far away they were, but he didn’t have to wait long. After only a few minutes, the voice stopped echoing and he could tell that they were crossing his position. Their footsteps were characterized by a slight scratching as their talons scraped the floor. There was also a faint shush sound. It confused Richter for a moment, but then he remembered that the kobolds had long tails that dragged behind them.

Richter kept his eye screwed shut and his head pointed down. He didn’t dare move a muscle until Futen lit up the tunnel. His first encounter with kobolds kept playing through his mind while he waited. He had remained undetected while he stayed still, but they had seen him as soon as he shifted in the slightest bit. He could only guess that their vision was movement based. Richter kept his breaths shallow.

Suddenly there were screams of pain and howls of agony. The darkness Richter had lived in for the past several hours was banished by a bright white light. Richter opened his eyes, and the light nearly blinded him as well, despite not looking directly at it. The kobold patrol was almost completely incapacitated. The subterranean creatures could barely even tolerate bright light, but having a light the equivalent of the sun shine directly in their eyes after being in a completely dark tunnel had overwhelmed their senses! Three were down on the ground rolling around in agony and two others had fallen to their knees as they hissed in pain.

Richter wasted no time. He spat the word of power that triggered his spell Charm and overcame the will of the kobold mage. With no hesitation, he pointed his Ring of Spell Holding at the armored kobold and suddenly had another fighter on his side. He followed this up with a third enchantment. With a harsh word of power, his fingers contorted into a peculiar arrangement and he cast Troubled Sleep. Unlike Charm, Troubled Sleep took a whole three seconds to cast. It was why Richter seldom used it in battle. Only the pain and disorientation that Futen’s brilliance had caused the light sensitive kobolds let him take the time to cast the spell. Three seconds didn’t seem like a lot in normal times, but in battle it could be a lifetime.

The Dark magic writhed down Richter’s arm and then shot forward. It flew towards the kobolds and started to circle around some of them. It moved faster and faster, varying its height with each elevation. It was clear that it was running around the circumference of an unseen cylinder and those caught within it had to either resist the spell or fall into a nightmare plagued sleep. Of the five caught within, only one managed to maintain his feet.

Since Futen had flared, bringing light to the darkness, less than ten seconds had passed. Richter’s two charmed kobolds stood ready to accept orders, four were prone, trapped in a nightmare sleep. Of the two remaining, one was still staring at him in fear and disbelief over the sudden change in her fortune. The last was high tailing it towards a nearby side tunnel.

*Alma, drain him!* he shouted mentally.

The kobold was quite quick on his feet, but was no match for the dragonling once she had cast Haste. Before the runner had covered half the distance to his escape route, Alma silently caught him. Her wings flared to slow her momentarily as her four legs extended. With a deadly grace, she latched onto the kobold’s head. His arms started to come up to push off his attacker, but then he fell as seizures overtook his body. She remained attached as the body collapsed to the ground.

The kobold standing near Richter had make a quick assessment. She didn’t know exactly what had befallen her commander and the mage, but their slack expressions and vacant gaze told her that something was amiss. It clearly had something to do with this cloaked intruder that had arrived in their midst, though. She had seen him cast spells of multiple types, something only the chromatic kobolds could normally do. Though running was the default of the kobold race when faced with a new threat, she knew there was little chance of her escaping, and besides, the human was holding a bow. So she took the only option that was left to her. She attacked.

Her spear was extended in a lunge even before Alma had caught the kobold she was chasing. Richter jumped back and to the side in order to avoid the attack, but he needn’t have bothered. His charmed kobolds reacted to the threat to their new master. The armored kobold swung his own spear forward and caught the female kobold in its side. The spearhead punctured her scaled hide and blood, more black than red, sprayed from where he struck her. The charmed kobold’s attack was strong enough to knock his target to the ground.

The kobold mage had started casting a spell at the same time that the armored kobold attacked. The spell had a several second cast time and green energy began to surround both the mage and her staff. When she finished casting, she drove the butt of her staff into the ground. A crack appeared in the tunnel floor and zigzagged several feet away. When it finished, a small stone hand rose from the ground. Over the next second, a one-and-a-half-foot high figure rose from the ground. The ground it had arisen from looked unblemished. The small golem immediately wandered over to the injured kobold and drove a rocky hand into her ankle. The kobold screamed, but that didn’t stop the golem from ripping a bloody chunk from her leg.

The armored kobold was getting ready to deliver a coup de grace, but Richter said, “Stop!”

Immediately, both the mage and the fighter took a step back. With a wave of her hand, the mage had her summoned earth monster step back as well.

The injured kobold female looked up at Richter with pure hate in her eyes, “Just kill me human! I will die knowing that my people will soon feast on your flesh!”

Richter looked back at her dispassionately and said, “You got it.”

He walked over to where Alma was feeding and drew a dagger. He quickly stabbed the kobold in the heart, ending his life. The dragonling looked at him like the cat that got the cream, extremely satisfied with her meal.

*Want some more, love?* he asked her.

*Oh yes, master. Thank you!*

He sent her a mental image of the injured kobold and she launched into the air with an excited trill. The kobold saw death coming and screamed, but the sound was c off abruptly as Alma began to feed again.

Richter had Futen use his identification ability on all of the kobolds’ equipment, and then he ordered him to turn invisible and sent him to scout the nearby tunnels. It was clear that the glare had been causing his charmed kobolds pain, and he didn’t want to risk an adverse stimuli breaking his hold on them. He cast Far Light, and attached a small ball of light to the tunnel wall several yards away. The kobolds did not seem happy, but they no longer looked like they were in pain. The visibility issue taken care of, he walked over to his new allies.

Speaking in the barking language of the kobolds, he asked, “Are there any other kobolds nearby? Anyone that would have heard our fight, or is going to come look for you soon?”

“No, master,” the armored kobold said.

“Are we safe here?” he asked next.

“Nowhere is safe in the Depths master, but we most likely will not be attacked anytime soon.”

“Good enough for me,” Richter said. He pointed to the kobolds that had succumbed to his Troubled Sleep spell, “I need information. Do any of them have knowledge of the tunnels that the two of you don’t?”

Even while charmed, the derision could be clearly heard in the armored kobold’s voice, “They are simple soldiers, master. They could not possibly know anything that I do not.”

Elitism, alive and well, miles underground, Richter thought shaking his head. “Do you agree?” he asked the mage.

“Yes, master.”

The cosign was all Richter needed. He mentally told Alma to drain them as well. It was true that the sleeping kobolds could have had information the charmed two did not, but he had to be practical. There was no way he could control so many of them at once. And time was of the essence. Richter could not forget that he was deep behind enemy lines. He analyzed each and found that they all had the prefix ‘Kol’ in their names. The armored kobold explained that the Kol caste were born with the ability to use their tails as another prehensile appendage. Richter remembered that the fighter that had lunged at him had had a tail that switched back and forth like a cat’s. The Kol caste kobolds had tails that were longer than Richter’s charmed kobolds. Some of them had a forged spike that was attached to the tip. Richter saw how it could be used like a scorpion’s stinger.

After analyzing the third kobold, he was awarded with a prompt.

Congratulations! You have reached skill level 6 in Analyze.

Another prompt had been auto minimized since he was in combat conditions.

Congratulations! You have reached skill level 7 in Stealth.

He dismissed both notifications and left Alma to her feast. Richter turned his attention to the charmed kobolds. He analyzed the mage first.

Name: En’fota. Kobold Level 13. Health 190. Mana 330. Stamina 140. Disposition: Charmed (Enmity). Kobolds are small reptilian humanoids. Most adventurers can best a kobold in one on one combat, but you will seldom find such a fight. They highly favor traps and ambushes. Kobolds shy from bright light and make their homes underground. It should be a wary adventurer that enters a kobold warren. Kobolds get two points to distribute per level, and each level gives +1 to Intelligence, Dexterity, and Agility.

Next he analyzed the armored kobold.

Name: Dur’ghen. Kobold Level 12. Health 200. Mana 220. Stamina 170. Disposition: Charmed (Enmity)…

Richter started interrogating them. First he asked about the prefixes in their names. The mage told him that ‘En’ meant that she was in a caste of kobolds known for their long claws. She demonstrated that the claws on the tips of her fingers could extend another two inches. Each looked wickedly sharp. She demonstrated by dragging them down the wall. Shallow furrows could be seen in the stone afterwards. The ‘En’ caste were normally used as attackers. Apparently they were also gifted with increased health.

Dur’ghen supplied the information about his own caste. ‘Dur’ denoted a caste devoted to defending mages. These kobolds were born with heavier scales that significantly increased their natural armor. They were also larger, had more health than lower castes and had greater strength.

Next, they told him about their clan, the Sabre Claws. Their territory did indeed abut the Long Fangs Clan’s territory. Dur’ghen made it clear that there was no love lost between the two clans. The tunnels that joined the territories were all no man’s lands and were sites of continual skirmishes.

“I need to get to the Long Fang’s lands and then travel through them.”

The mage spoke up, “I do not know how that will be possible, master. Even for us, it is almost impossible to avoid their traps and patrols. We will of course help in any way that we can master. I just wanted you to know the risks.”

Richter nodded. The information was not anything he hadn’t been expecting. After all, he was trapped underground with possibly tens of thousands of monsters. He wasn’t going to give up though! He had them remove all of their gear. While he was at it, he had them help strip the other kobold’s as well. When everything was in a pile, Richter ordered them to get to work drawing maps of the tunnels in the surrounding area and specifically how to get to the Long Fang’s territory. As an aside, he asked them to jot down any other points of interest. He started going through their possessions.

The soldiers merely had an assortment of poorly made weaponry and no armor to speak of. Each had small pouches with a hodgepodge of copper coins, small ingots of copper and a smattering of low quality stones. Richter had better luck with Dur’ghen’s equipment.

You have found: Hide cuirass. Defense +3 (Max +5). Type: Light armor. Durability 11/16. Item class: Common. Quality: Poor. Weight: 1.3 kg.

You have found: Earth snake pants. Defense +5. Type: Light armor. Durability 15/17. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight: 0.7 kg. Traits: +3% Earth Resistance.

You have found: Iron spear. Damage 8-11 (Max 10-12). Durability 13/18. Item class: Common. Quality: Poor. Weight 1.6 kg.

You have found: Health Potion. Potion Level: Brew. Strength: Weak. Weight 0.1 kg. Heals 25 health over 7 seconds.

You have found: Pouch.

You have found: Box Trap. Triggering this trap will release the contents. Item Class: Common. Quality: Poor. Weight: 0.1 kg.

Richter asked the fighter what was in the box and was told that it was an orange mold. The mold released spores that got into the victim’s lungs and made their lungs spasm. It caused poison damage and there was also a chance that the spores could cause the victim’s diaphragm to completely lock up for a short time. They would be incapacitated until the effect passed. A small wire was attached to the release mechanism. The box was no more than 3x3x3 inches. The trap would most likely be best used to booby trap the inside of a chest.

When Richter heard about the deadly fungus in the box, he checked the quality again. Seeing ‘poor,’ he decided to handle it gently. He placed it in his Bag of Holding where it shouldn’t be able to harm him.

Next he went through the mage’s items. The most interesting thing was the staff. It was topped with the skull of what looked like a monkey of all things. It had a sloping brow, protruding nose and two long fangs in place of incisors. The skull was attached to a wooden staff of polished wood.

You have found: Summoning Staff of Earth. Attack 3-5 (Max 7-9). Durability 12/37. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Superb. Weight 1.3 kg. Traits: Summoned Earth creatures are 14% stronger.

The quality of the staff seemed much better than anything else the kobolds had possessed. When he asked about it, En’fota calmly explained that she had taken it from a gnome family that was caught in a trap. The entire family had fallen into a deep pit. Rather than risk direct confrontation with a potentially dangerous enemy, the kobolds had simply left the family in the trap for weeks. She explained that a kobold sentry was left to watch them from hiding. They slowly died of dehydration. The father had been holding the staff when her squad had come to search the remains. She remarked that he had also been holding the body of his small child.

As Richter heard her speak, he was shocked and horrified at the nonchalant way that she relayed her story. She didn’t even stop drawing the maps. She had seemed to take a small amount of joy in that the trap had worked well, but there was absolutely no inflection as she described the slow and painful death of a family of sentient beings, at least some of them children. Richter didn’t know if he could call the kobold mage evil, since the events didn’t seem to affect her one way or another. She seemed to exhibit a complete lack of morality one way or another. Either way, he no longer felt any reservation about what he had planned for these two. He kept going through her gear.

You have found: Bracelet of Mana. Durability 11/13. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight: 0.1 kg. Traits: Increase maximum mana by +3.

Well that’s utter crap, Richter thought. She also was wearing some basic clothes with no real statistics. In her pouch she did have one ruby, albeit of small size, and several small lumps of copper and silver. The only other thing that was of note was a weak mana potion. He placed everything in his Bag.

He watched the two charmed kobolds until they had almost run out of paper. Richter retrieved the parchment that the Long Fang kobold had written on and had them start using the clean backs. While he waited for them to continue, Richter reloaded his Ring of Spell Storage with another Charm spell. Futen checked back in periodically and assured Richter that no one was approaching their position. After a time, Richter took what they had and arranged it on the ground. It took several minutes to arrange, but then a large map could clearly be seen. A prompt appeared, offering to add this new information to his Traveler’s Map. After accepting ‘Yes’ the subterranean information Richter could access expanded massively.

As the kobolds continued to work, he explored the map. As instructed, the charmed creatures had focused first on showing him the way to the Long Fang’s territory. There were four large tunnels depicted on his Map that led between the two territories, and countless smaller passageways. Several underground rivers crisscrossed the map. Sometimes the waterways appeared for only small stretches before disappearing into bare rock again. Richter had considered using the rivers to get out of the Depths, but from what he could see, he would drown long before they made it outside.

Instead he focused on the tunnels. The problem was, every single one of them had either traps, contingents of guards, or usually, both. And it wasn’t just the Sabre Claw’s defenses that were shown. En’fota had at least some information about the Long Fang’s defenses. Apparently as a member of a higher caste, she had access to intelligence on nearby enemies.

Looking at the gauntlet he would have to make it through, Richter silently agreed that it would be near impossible to make it back to the ruined temple. He kept searching the maps for anything that might help though. As the kobolds finished new sections of the map he continued examining and adding them to his Traveler’s Map. Something started to catch his attention. A section of tunnel was climbing in elevation. He excitedly took the next parchment from En’fota and saw that it too showed tunnels leading upward.

“Do any of these lead to the surface?” he asked quickly.

“Yes, master,” the fighter replied. “there are many routes to the surface. This section of tunnel will lead you into the forest.”

Richter face palmed. Of COURSE there would be other routes to the surface! He had been so fixated on getting back to the village by the one route he knew was available that he hadn’t even considered other options! This was the kind of mistake that could literally get him killed. Richter shook his head and recriminated himself again. He had to do better!

Richter ordered her to detail the quickest route to the surface while Dur’ghen continued drawing any points of interest. As he waited for her to finish, Richter examined the various locations the fighter was jotting down. A small gold mine was far below their present position. It was guarded by what looked like a large contingent of kobolds. Another interesting location was a storage area. Dur’ghen said it was a space where his people stored the items they captured from enemies. At any time, it could be full of trash or treasure. It had a small number of guards according to Dur’ghen. More and more important sites filled the pages of the maps. One was relatively close by and the kobold depicted it with a series of spikes.

“What’s this?” Richter said pointing.

“That is a crystal garden, master.”

“What is that?”

“Crystals can be ground down and used to make higher level potions and items,” the kobold replied.

Richter remembered Sion saying that finding more crystals was a priority.

“So the crystals just naturally occur? Are there any other locations nearby?”

En’fota answered, “Crystals are grown, master. They can occur in small quantities randomly, but a crystal garden has a Focus Crystal at its heart. Given time and the right conditions, it will grow an unlimited amount of crystal.”

Richter’s eyes lit up with greed. He had been considering attacking if there was a stockpile of crystal. Basically just a snatch and grab, but if he could make his own garden… that would be phenomenal! Coupled with the bonus from his Life mastery, it would grow as much crystal as his people needed! Something bothered him though, “Why aren’t you marking down any guards? It doesn’t make sense that it would be left unprotected.”

The two kobold’s looked at each other before replying, “It is guarded, my Lord.”

“Then why didn’t you mark a guard post down like you did other places on the map.”

Dur’ghen answered, “There will be a number of workers that are mining the garden, master. Outside of that, there was only a small force guarding the garden. The contingent is normally larger, but fighters were pulled away for a raid on another clan.”

“Well how many can we expect?” Richter asked a bit impatiently. He felt like the kobold was being recalcitrant for some reason.

Dur’ghen face twitched, “There will be only three Kol caste guards left. You killed the rest.” The fighter pointed at the kobold bodies. There wasn’t any anger in the kobold’s voice as he spoke, but Richter wondered about the twitch that had preceded Dur’ghen’s answer. While Charm was amazingly useful, he wondered at the limitations of the spell. Could someone under its effects lie, even if it was only a lie of omission? Was the real Dur’ghen screaming from inside his own skull, trying to get free? Richter really had no way of knowing since he had never personally suffered the effects of the spell.

He pushed that question to the back of his mind. Focusing on the here and now, he was suddenly elated. There were only three guards left! It meant that a valuable resource was basically unprotected! “If I decide to attack, is there anything else I will need to be careful of?” He wanted that Focus Crystal!

“If any of the workers survive the initial attack, then they will run to collect reinforcements. Outside of that, the Focus Crystal protects itself. It will summon a guardian that must be defeated before it can be collected.”

Richter felt his enthusiasm wane slightly, “How much time before the reinforcements arrive?”

“If the workers have to run to the nearest guard post, perhaps thirty minutes. If they encounter a patrol, then much faster,” Dur’ghen replied.

“What type of guardian will the Focus Crystal summon,” he asked.

“A beast formed of crystal itself,” En’fota answered. “I have seen a small one once before. On a patrol, our people found a crystal garden in the wild. The garden was young though. The crystals only grew several paces across, and so the guardian it summoned was not much larger than a skitter.”

“So the guardian gets stronger the older the garden is?” Richter asked.

“Yes, master.”

“Well how old is the garden you were guarding?” Focus Crystals, and the gardens they create, gain power the older they are. This garden is more than fifty years old, master, and it fills several caves,” En’fota answered.

“Goddammit,” Richter muttered under his breath. He still wasn’t deterred though, and Richter thought about the problem. His attack and capture of these two showed how much of a difference preparation could make in a battle. If he had attacked the kobold patrol head on, it was completely possible that the eight reptiles would have slaughtered him. He had been able to get close though and attack from surprise. That had made all the difference.

How could he sneak close to the garden though? He couldn’t see without Futen, and the kobolds would be alerted if the remnant put out any light! Richter looked at En’fota, “I need a way to see in the dark. Do you have a spell that can do that?”

“No master. All kobolds naturally have Darkvision. I do know a simple recipe to create such a potion however.”

“Great, what is it?”

The kobold mage started talking. She actually knew two recipes. The first just involved grinding a kobold’s eye into paste and then adding water. This would only make a ‘brew’ level potion. To make a ‘tincture’ level potion, another ingredient was required. Richter said he wanted the stronger potion so she explained the process. It required a specific number of clockwise turns of the pestle should be completed before pausing. Surprisingly, the process to make the tincture required him to add his own breath. She told him that he had to blow on it for several seconds, and then grind it, then blow on it again before continuing to grind. Coincidentally, that was the advice he had given his first girlfriend… and pretty much every other woman he had dated since.

En’fota cleared her throat seeing that Richter had stopped listening. When he gave her his attention again, she finished describing the recipe. When she was done speaking, two prompts appeared.

You have learned: Darkvision Brew Recipe. One kobold eye + one jot of water.

You have learned: Darkvision Tincture Recipe. One kobold eye + one jot of water + one measure of skitter blood.

“What’s a skitter?” he asked. “You mentioned that before.”

“A creature that is one of our primary sources of food master. They are common ubiquitous and easy to procure. You must have heard them since coming to the Depths.”

Richter remembered hearing a scraping and scratching when he first entered the tunnels. “So how do we get one?” he asked, impressed by her use of an SAT word.

“We shall take care of it, master,” En’fota said. She barked an order at Dur’ghen and he started moving towards one of the small side tunnels.

“Wait!” Richter called out. He couldn’t be sure just how much time he had left, but the one-hour duration of Charm must be nearing its completion.

He drew his longsword and ordered Dur’ghen to kneel before him. At his prompting, Alma latched onto the kobold, but didn’t start to feed. She was just in place as a security measure. Praying that his Life Mastery would overcome the kobold’s increased resistance to the second casting of the enchantment spell, he summoned his magic and cast Charm. Richter analyzed the kobold and smiled. The spell had worked. He repeated the process with the mage, and bought himself another hour of servitude with both. Interestingly, their dispositions towards him further degraded, from ‘Enmity’ to ‘Hatred.’

Dur’ghen entered the side tunnel to find the skitter. Richter made sure to command him to return within half an hour. He couldn’t risk the kobold getting away. Turning to En’fota, he asked what spells she could cast. The list was small, but potentially helpful. She could cast Summon Minor Earth Elemental, Stone Spear, Stinking Mud and Binding Roots. All of her magical skill focused around Earth magic. A quick question revealed that Stinking Mud created a morass that greatly decreased movement speed. The other spells were easy to figure out based on the names.

Richter also asked if she knew any other potion recipes, but she stated she only knew the first because she had previously been tasked with making it for non-kobold captives that her people had used as slaves. With nothing else to do, Richter took out the small mortar and pestle from his Bag as well as several empty vials. En’fota continued drawing maps and Richter set to his gristly work.

With his shadow dagger, he walked from body to body. He removed each eye and placed them all in his Bag. He still had two bodies left to harvest when Dur’ghen came back. The kobold was dragging a furry, squealing creature behind him. Richter got his first view of a skitter. This thing was fugly!

It was a rat the size of a Pomeranian, but instead of fur, it was covered in scales. Its pelt was a dingy black in the light and had six legs ending in clawed feet. Dur’ghen was pulling it by its tail, and as its body fully exited the side tunnel, it gnashed its teeth as it tried to escape. At one point, it contorted and bit the kobold fighter, but its teeth were unable to penetrate his heavy scales. For the first time since becoming charmed, En’fota smiled. She waved Dur’ghen over to a slight depression in the tunnel floor. Her claws extended and with no further pause she ripped into the creature. The thing squealed loudly as it was eviscerated. Dur’ghen did not stand idly by, but instead flipped it over and took a large bite of its underbelly, the one part of the animal not covered in scales.

Richter watched appalled as they consumed chunks of the creature while it screamed. After a few moments, he hacked and coughed, bile rising in his throat and burning the back of his mouth. He clapped a hand over his mouth to control the urge. En’fota looked up at the noise. She held up a severed leg she was chewing, “Would you like this master? They are best when they are fresh.” The skitter screamed again. Richter lost control and vomit sprayed over the bodies of two of the dead kobold fighters. Even Alma seemed bothered by the savagery. She flapped her way to the far end of the tunnel. En’fota shrugged and got back to her meal.

Once Richter stopped heaving, he rinsed his mouth out and spat. He quickly went back to his own disgusting act and finished collecting the eyes. Then he walked over to where the kobolds were feasting and ordered them back. He collected some of the red blood from where it had pooled on the floor. With the ingredients in hand, he walked over to his mortar and pestle. He placed one eye in the bowl, poured some of the blood atop it and poured some water as well. Then he started grinding. The eye popped with a faint sound and the white vitreous fluid mixed with the red blood. He kept grinding to the soundtrack of the two kobolds noisily resuming their meal.

After a few minutes of grinding, blowing, grinding and blowing, he finally got the result he was seeking. Lifting the pestle, he could see that the color of the potion had changed to a deep black.

You have created: Darkvision Potion. Potion Level: Tincture. Strength: Weak. Weight 0.1 kg. This will provide Darkvision for 15 yards for 15 minutes.

Richter smiled. His first real attempt at alchemy was a success! He carefully emptied the potion into a vial and then made eleven more with the remaining kobold eyes. After the seventh he leveled up in Alchemy, making the subsequent potions more powerful. The 1.5% bump only increased his range by a few more inches, but he would take it.

Trying not to think about what was actually in the potion, he closed his eyes and drank one down. The thick liquid seemed to coat his throat and he almost vomited again. The sensation was quickly replaced by a tingling in his eyes. When he opened them, the ball of light hanging in the tunnel caused immediate discomfort.

He summoned Alma. As his familiar settled across his shoulders, he dismissed the Light spell with a wave of his hand. Richter saw with Darkvision for the first time. It was a bit surreal. His natural vision operated by differentiating positive and negative space. Because of that, seeing edges and focusing on specific objects was easy. Darkvision was like seeing everything at once without focusing on anything. What you saw was a still picture. Because of that, any changes to the picture were easy to detect. Richter suddenly knew why the kobolds could pierce his stealth when he moved. Also, being cloaked in shadows couldn’t be expected to be super effective against beings that could see through pure darkness.

His Darkvision was also somewhat surreal in that it cut off abruptly at fifteen yards. After that, it was like there was a wall of pure black. He asked En’fota what the range of her vision was, and it turned out that both kobolds could see at least fifty yards.

Richter shook his head. It meant that even though he could see in the dark, he was still in a severe disadvantage against any other kobolds he might run into. A quick question informed him that higher level castes typically had better Darkvision and that the max distance also increased occasionally with level. Maybe the workers wouldn’t be able to see as far as his charmed kobolds, but En’fota told him they could still see at least thirty yards. It couldn’t be helped though. If he had any chance of getting close enough to kill the guards at the crystal garden, it had to be without light.

He cast Night Vision, hoping it would boost the range of his Darkvision. There was no change though. Darkvision didn’t add any light, and without a bare amount of ambient illumination, the spell wouldn’t work. Richter sent a call for Futen and then thought through the upcoming attack.

According to the mage, it was about a twenty-minute hike to the crystal garden. After that the entrance to the surface was ten to fifteen miles away. If the information the kobolds had provided was correct, the way was littered with traps. None of them should be any more complicated than what Richter had already found though, according to En’fota. Apparently the REALLY dangerous and diabolical traps were only found closer to the key areas. Because he would be moving away from the center of the Sabre Claw’s seat of power, the resistance he found should be minimal she told him.

Richter mulled over his situation. On the one hand, he could make a run for it and have a high chance of getting out of the tunnels. On the other though, a potentially valuable resource was almost undefended. And he still had his Ring of Spell Storage, he thought with a smile. He reloaded the spell with Charm and waited for Futen to return.

He quickly accessed his prompts to see if there was anything else that required his attention. Richter was pleased to see that he had gotten a nice experience bump from Alma’s Brain Drain.

You have been awarded 1,944 (base 31,115 x 0.05 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 8 Kobold.

You have been awarded 3,115 (base 49,835 x 0.05 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 10 Kobold.

You have been awarded 942 (base 15,064 x 0.05 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 6 Kobold.

You have been awarded 858 (base 13,723 x 0.05 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 5 Kobold.

You have been awarded 1,830 (base 29,285 x 0.05 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 8 Kobold.

You have been awarded 2,326 (base 37,211 x 0.05 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 9 Kobold.

The experience wasn’t enough to get either him or Alma to the next level, but he was still happy with the bonus. Richter gave the mage and fighter their gear again. He needed them equipped now that a battle loomed. The one thing he held back on was giving back the summoning staff. He wouldn’t risk losing such an interesting object.

Richter leaned against the wall of the tunnel to wait for Futen. After a few minutes, the remnant spoke in Richter’s ear, “How can I help you, my Lord.”

Richter took out his physical Traveler’s Map. “We are going to attack a crystal garden. This is the route.” With a thought, the route became highlighted. “Go invisible. Report back once you have scouted the scene.” The remnant disappeared.

Richter cast Haste on himself and the two kobolds, “Stop when we are one hundred yards away from the garden. Let’s go.”

They all took off at a run. The distance was crossed quickly with their enhanced speed. Richter had to drink another Darkvision potion, but other than that, the trip was uneventful. They stopped near a bend in the tunnel. En’fota told him that the garden was only a hundred yards ahead. Richter could hear barking voices.

“Futen,” Richter whispered.

“Yes, my Lord,” came the response front right in front of his face. Not too long ago, the remnant’s voice appearing out of nowhere would have creeped the hell out of him. Now though, he just accepted it as business as usual.

“What did you find?”

“There are three guards at the entrance to the cave ahead. The entrance is twenty yards across. Twelve other kobolds are carrying crystals to a wagon that is hitched to some type of animal. The wagon is almost full.”

“Okay,” Richter said. He turned to his charmed kobolds, “Can you lure the three guards over here.”

“They will do as ordered,” En’fota answered.

Richter nodded, *Alma, I need you to drink a potion. It will let you see in the dark. I will need you in a moment.*

*Yes, master,* she thought back.

Richter gave her a potion and then confirmed that it gave her Darkvision. She answered happily that the tincture had worked. Though she hadn’t expressed it, being blind and dependent on Richter to get around had been very difficult for the winged creature.

Richter sent the two kobolds ahead, instructing them to bring the guards back and to be ready to attack if either resisted his spell. Alma hovered above. She was ready to unleash a Psi Blast as soon as the kobolds turned the corner. Richter cast Barkskin on himself. His fingers twitched unconsciously as he thought about unleashing his spells.

Scant minutes later, the three guards came around the corner. Alma unleashed her power and they all fell to their knees, two with screams and one with just a stunned look on his face. Richter unleased the Charm spell stored in his ring with one hand and with the other invoked Charm a second time. Both of the kobolds he targeted adopted the vacant expression of the newly enchanted. The third kobold was struggling to his feet, leaning on his spear to stand faster. Richter opened his mouth to command his charmed kobolds to attack when Alma let out a cry. Gold light surround her body as she cast Charm. Suddenly, there was another vacant expression.

Richter looked at his familiar in shock and wonder. “That’s my girl! You are so wonderful!” He had known she could use Life magic now, of course, but actually seeing how much more powerful his familiar now took his breath away! She trilled happily in response to his praise and alighted on top of her charmed kobold’s head. Then she promptly defecated before shooting back up into the air. Richter’s face wrinkled in disgust, then he just shrugged and laughed. She had just made the kobold her bitch and then shit on him. Maybe she wasn’t exactly wonderful, but she was definitely still his girl!

Richter’s Analyze skill confirmed that all of the enchantments had been successful. The three kobolds were all of the Kol caste. He immediately sent the five charmed creatures around the corner with instructions to force all the workers back into the cave.

The workers had heard the brief screams and were ready to bolt. When the five members of the higher castes came back with no apparent concern, however, the deeply ingrained obedience to follow the orders of their betters overwhelmed their instinct to flee. Richter followed thirty seconds later while stealthed. He was reasonably sure that he should be beyond the boundary of the workers’ Darkvision.

He smiled when he saw the five charmed kobolds blocking the mouth of the cave. Richter equipped his bow and nocked an arrow. More than thirty Tri caste kobolds were in the cavern. When he stepped into view of the workers, they all began to bark and whine in fear. He shouted, “Attack!”

The next few minutes were not so much a battle, as a slaughter. The charmed kobolds set into their kinsmen with vicious abandon. Richter continually nocked and fired arrows, each finding a home in the scaled bodies of the workers. He didn’t imbue any, wanting to avoid the large concussive booms. It didn’t matter though. In five minutes, all of the kobold workers were dead. Alma had had a field day, having drained four more workers. Each time she latched on, he immediately shot the kobold in the chest. After only one or two shots, it would expire. Alma garnered another 9,165 experience points for the both of them.

One of the guards had been injured and blood ran freely down his chest. Richter cast Slow Heal and the wound slowly closed. He looked at En’fota, “Where is the Focus crystal?”

“I will find it master.” The kobold mage ran deeper into the garden. Richter followed her with his eyes and then looked around the cave. It appeared normal to be made of stone, except for the clusters of crystal that blossomed randomly from the walls, floor and ceiling. Each looked like an oversized section of a fractured geode.

Richter ordered the others to gather the items from the dead workers. As they did his bidding, he moved over to the wagon holding the harvested crystal. The animal hitched to the wagon shuffled a bit uneasily at his approach. He tried to speak soothingly to it, but that only increased its agitation. Realizing his mistake, he tried again but in the language of the kobolds. The animal calmed. He analyzed it and discovered it was called a “prox.” It looked like any oxen he might find above ground except that the ears were overly large. Ignoring it, he started loading his Bag of Holding with the crystals as fast as he could.

Before long, En’fota ran back up to his side, “I have found it, master.”

Richter had loaded half the contents of the wagon into his Bag. Luckily the crystal wasn’t too heavy. He looked at the rest of the unclaimed resource, but decided to stop while he was ahead. The Focus Crystal was the real prize. If the battle with the guardian went well, then he would gather the rest afterward.

Richter followed the mage further into the cave. He stopped by the pile of gear that the workers had. Richter ignored most of the random items, but placed all of the pouches into his Bag. He would go through them later. The one other thing he picked up was a pickaxe. He reasoned he would need it to dig out the Focus Crystal.

The cave extended back further than Richter had initially thought. The group walked for several minutes and Richter took the opportunity to load his Ring of Spell Storage once again. His mana dropped by 60 points but it had almost completely replenished anyway so it wasn’t a large hit. Richter drew one of his Heavy Cobalt Arrows and placed it on his bow string. He had a feeling he might need some extra stopping power soon.

The outcroppings of crystal became more regular the further in they went. It was no longer just random pockets. Now Richter could see entire sheets of crystal growing from the walls. The individual crystals also seemed bigger.

“How long did it take to grow all of this?” Richter asked.

“This garden has existed for decades, master. Its loss will be a large blow to our people,” En’fota responded. The charmed creature didn’t seem particularly bothered that she was helping to rob her own people of a clan treasure. The information made Richter acutely aware of passing time though. That was when he saw it.

Nestled into the wall was a glowing crystal. Richter couldn’t really make out colors in his Darkvision the same way he could if there was light, but he clearly saw it was slowly pulsing. Looking around, he didn’t see the guardian the kobolds had warned of. Placing his arrow back into his quiver, he shouldered his bow. Richter ordered the kobolds to keep watch and then he picked up the pickaxe.

Swinging with all of his might, he hammered at the wall of crystal. A few chips fell to the ground. He swung again and more chips fell to the tunnel floor. Richter secured his grip and started mining in earnest. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! His blows were a steady beat that echoed through the still cave. He hoped that he wasn’t drawing the attention of another patrol, but he wouldn’t be denied his prize now that he was so close!

Cracks appeared in the wall and Richter reversed the pickaxe so that the point was towards the wall. He swung again and again into the cracks, and each blow drove the heavy point into the crevices that now zigzagged all over the wall. He brought the blunt end back to bear and swung again! With a sound like the fracturing of a glacier, the wall fell as a whole and the Focus Crystal was exposed!

Richter threw the pickaxe down and away from him. Sweat flowed freely down his body and his hands tingled from the reverberations of his heavy blows. He reached towards the pulsing crystal and a prompt filled his vision.

You have unlocked the Quest: Crystal Garden I. To make your own Crystal Garden you must harvest the Focus Crystal. The Crystal is a powerful item and a living thing and so to harvest one is both a boon and a responsibility. You have found a Focus Crystal. Do you wish to retrieve it? Reward: A Focus Crystal. Yes or No?

He ignored the prompt for a second and drank another Darkvision potion and gave Alma one as well. He had En’fota prepare any spells or buffs that she had. Then he cast Haste on himself and two of the kobolds. He had Alma buff herself and hasten the other three. Richter called out for Futen to scout the area outside of the crystal garden to watch out for other kobolds. The remnant wouldn’t be of much use against a stone monster. Richter heard a disembodied, “Yes, my Lord.” A minor earth elemental rose from the ground as the kobold mage finished casting a spell. Richter figured they were as ready as they were going to be. He focused on the prompt and selected ‘Yes.’ Richter had a feeling that things were about to get FUBAR’d.

Everything got fucked up beyond all recognition.

As soon as the prompt disappeared the earth began to tremble violently. Richter realized he needn’t have been concerned about anyone hearing the blows of the pickaxe. It sounded like the entire mountain was being ripped in half! The upheaval knocked all of them to the ground. That turned out to be lucky because crystals from all about the cavern began to fly about. Razor sharp shards shot through the air faster than an arrow. First two shards slammed together, then a third. More and more crystals began to aggregate and the Focus Crystal rose into the air. Its slow pulse had been accelerated to a nearly constant flicker and it was added to the mass of crystals floating in the air.

Richter and the kobolds crab walked away from the maelstrom of shards raging above them. Alma crawled on the ground looking up at the deadly shooting alley above her. Standing would have been to willingly place their bodies in the middle of a cross fire, so they edged away, being careful to remain hugged to the floor.

The crystals continued to smash together faster and it became clear they were forming some type of crystal golem. Less than a minute after Richter had chosen ‘Yes’ on the prompt, a humanoid figure composed entirely of semi-clear iridescent shards stood ten feet tall in the middle of the crystal garden. Richter analyzed it.

Crystal Guardian. Level 41. Health 980. Mana 470. Stamina 760. Disposition: Enmity. You have sought to harvest a Focus Crystal. The Crystal is a form of life, and like any life form, it will protect itself. The guardian is a defensive mechanism formed from the crystals that grow in the garden.

The crystal monster raised its arms above its head as if in triumph or glory. The Focus Crystal pulsed with a slower beat again and was in the center of its chest. Richter watched the guardian stand there, seemingly oblivious to his presence. Then it turned its neck, and despite its featureless face, Richter was sure that it was staring right at him. Its gaze invoked a primal response in Richter.

Oh shit.

“Kill it!” he decided to shout instead, nocking an arrow and loosing.

The kobolds sprung into attack. The three Kol caste kobolds jumped forward, two wielding spears and the third a stone cudgel. Their tails whipped blades at the guardian as well. The Dur caste kobold ran forward and swung his heavy mace at the guardian’s knee. The kobold mage began her casting, and her summoned pet lumbered forward to do battle with its large cousin.

The initial results were less than impressive.

The guardian barely noticed the attacking spears, both of which slid harmlessly across its hard surface. The tail daggers had even less of an effect. Dur’ghen’s mace blow buckled its knee ever so slightly and left a few fine cracks, but did no serious damage. Richter’s arrow struck it in the head, but glanced off. The guardian’s counterstrike was not so easy to brush off.

It swung one arm studded with sharp crystals at Dur’ghen. The kobold dropped under the blow, but the guardian continued its swing. The arm connected with the unarmored bodies of two of the Kol warriors. One slumped to the ground, his body a ruined mess. The other kobold flew across the tunnel and struck the wall. It landed in a heap and a smear of black blood was left on the wall.

Richter nocked another heavy arrow and began to imbue it.

En’fota finished her casting and a stone spear, one inch in diameter, shot from her hand and hurtled towards the crystal man. The spear struck it in the shoulder and knocked it back a step. It immediately started attacking again. Dur’ghen swung his mace in both hands. The crystal guardian blocked the blow on one of its arms. All the kobold’s strike did was chip one of the shards at the end of its fist.

The guardian kicked forward, trying to punt Dur’ghen across the room. The kobold’s natural dexterity coupled with Richter’s Haste spell let him avoid the attack. The remaining Kol warrior struck with its spear again, but the second attack was as ineffectual as the first. With a barking shout, En’fota finished another spell.

Green light writhed around her right leg. She raised it up and then stomped down. The light flowed into the ground and disappeared for a split second, but then roots shot up from under the crystal guardian. The tendrils wrapped around its leg in an attempt to keep it in one place. Unfortunately, the roots were only pencil sized, and the guardian simply wrenched one foot free, then the other.

The mage’s Binding Roots spell at least served to give Richter a clear shot. His arrow had developed the gold aura and black streaks that occurred when he imbued his attack. He released. The shot arced across the small space and connected with the creature’s chest in a large concussive boom! Richter’s earlier concern about not drawing attention were moot after the loud noises of the guardian’s creation. The kobolds all dropped low, startled and pained by the unexpected noise. Thankfully, the pain passed quickly and wasn’t enough to break the enchantment.

The crystal guardian fell back into the wall of the cave. It connected with an impressive thud and fell down to a seated position. More crystals fell from the ceiling because of the impact. One large crystal stalactite almost crushed En’fota but she was able to dive out of the way. The monster wasn’t done though.

It grabbed a spike of crystal from the wall. Rather than using it as a handhold, the guardian tore the crystal free to the sound of crunching glass. Still seated, it threw the spike at Dur’ghen. The crystal shard was two feet long and at least six inches thick. The projectile hit the kobold in a glancing blow. He hissed in pain. The blow spun the kobold around and made him fall to the ground.

Richter ran forward a few steps and cast Grease. The guardian had been in the process of regaining its feet, but fell back down when its legs slipped from beneath it.

Richter smiled and said, “Is it hot in here?” Might be a little cheesy, he realized, but what was the use of being a badass monster fighter, if you couldn’t say badass one liners? He extended his arm and cast Flame.

Power flowed from him and his entire arm tingled and glowed red for the split second before a gout of flame shot from his fingertips. It touched the edge of the grease circle the crystal guardian was still trying to escape and suddenly the guardian was sitting in a round hell of its very own. Whereas before it had moved awkwardly trying to regain its balance, now it flailed frantically to escape the ongoing damage it was taking.

“Alma! Blast it to keep it in the fire!”

The dragonling flew above the guardian and unleashed a Psi Blast. The monster’s limbs stilled and it just lay there, half of its body still in the fire. It would have been a great idea for Alma to keep blasting it silly, but the cool down on her ability precluded it. She asked Richter if she should attack it with Brain Drain, but he couldn’t risk it. The damn thing had too much health and its level was too high for her to stun. Besides, the flames might hurt her. She flew back and hovered above his head.

While it was incapacitated he tried his stored Charm spell. He didn’t really think it would work on a creature like this, but he had to give it a shot. The spell found no purchase. Richter was disappointed but not surprised. He moved back by the kobolds. Dur’ghen and the Kol caste kobold stood ready to attack it again. En’fota was in the process of ordering her earth elemental to attack the guardian while it was down, when Richter snapped a command.

“Cast Stinking Mud!” he ordered her.

“We would need to back up first master. We are within the radius of the spell.”

They all backed away while the elemental scurried forward to do its mistress’s bidding. Once they were at a safe distance, En’fota began the spell’s four second cast time. While she did that, Richter began imbuing another heavy arrow. He looked at his target and saw that the guardian had gotten up and had grabbed the earth elemental in one hand. The mage’s pet struggled to still fight, but the size disparity just could not be overcome. With a mallet like fist, the guardian was bringing sledge hammer blows against the hapless creature. Dirt and pebbles fell from the elemental with each blow and it quickly lost cohesion.

The elemental served its purpose though. The gold aura over Richter’s arrow had developed black streaks that flowed across it. He waited until after En’fota finished her spell. With a guttural noise, that sounded painful to make, she finished her casting.

A ripple passed over the ground in front of the party and its wake the ground began to slowly bubble. The entire stone floor converted to a plain of thick mud. The spell effect extended back 10 yards! As amazing as the effect, was what was really spectacular was the smell! Each bubble that rose from the mud released a smell like rotten eggs.

The sudden olfactory assault almost made Richter lose his focus, but he maintained his concentration and released successfully. The arrow shot towards the guardian and struck it in the chest again. His aim was perfect. The short distance coupled with use of his Focus skill meant that accuracy was not a problem. The shot staggered the guardian, but this time it didn’t fall. That was only because its legs had sunk two feet into the ground however, thanks to the kobold’s Earth magic!

Richter tasted victory. He analyzed the monster and saw that it had lost hundreds of health points already! Cracks spider webbed across the iridescent body, worst in the chest. He thought he should be able to wear it down to nothing before it could cross the thirty feet through the sucking mud. Smiling, he nocked another arrow and was about to activate Drill Shot when the Focus Crystal in its chest flared.

The guardian swung one massive hand into the wall, crushing some of the crystal growing there. The ruined shards didn’t fall to the ground though. In fact, all of the crystal near its hand lost definition. Small rivers of crystal began to flow towards the monster. The fluid flowed up its arm and over its body. It settled wherever there was a crack. In just a few seconds all of the obvious damage had disappeared and its surface was as unblemished as when the battle had started.

Richter’s lip curled and he analyzed it again.

Crystal Guardian. Level 41. Health 920. Mana 270/470. Stamina 300/320…

Richter cursed. The damn thing had completely regenerated! At least it had to use a good amount of mana to do it, but this was NOT good! The crumbled remains of the earth elemental fell from its hand and it started pulled one leg free of the mud to start lumbering toward them.

Richter started imbuing an arrow. “How long is the cooldown for the spell you just cast!” he shouted.

“Thirty minutes, master!”

Dammit, he thought. He watched the guardian lumber closer and closer. When it had crossed half the distance, he shot at its heart again. He had timed its shot for when one foot was in the air and free of the muck. Its torso swayed back from the hard hit, but it didn’t fall like Richter had hoped. It was able to swing its foot back and plant it in the mud. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to kill it before it got to the end of the mud if it kept healing itself.

He had to do something! Brute force alone wasn’t working and Richter was the only one with a ranged attack except for En’fota’s Stone Spear. There had to be a way to outsmart this thing! What he really needed was a way to delay it… Richter looked at the three kobolds near him.

“You,” he said to the Kol caste. “Run around the guardian and start attacking from behind. Don’t let it catch you!” Richter turned back to the guardian nocked a wood sprite arrow. He activated Drill Shot. Two seconds later, the arrow left the string and started spinning as it flew through the air. It struck the guardian’s chest just to the left of the Focus Crystal. The sprite arrow bored into the crystal for a second before stopping. The arrow remained there, sticking straight out of its chest.

The kobold fighter had crossed the distance to the guardian. His smaller size and weight made him sink less into the mud than the guardian did. Both of their movement speeds were reduced but the fighter was still a touch faster. Richter almost wanted to cheer when the crystal monster started lumbering towards the Kol.

He took the respite to reach into his Bag. He pulled out two crossbows he had taken from dead kobolds and handed them to En’fota and Dur’ghen. He doled out the bolts between them and the three of them started firing at guardian. He also drank a restore mana potion. Now that it was trying to kill the Richter’s charmed kobold, he didn’t have a clear shot at it chest. Drill Shot wouldn’t reach its heart; the only vulnerable spot Richter could see. He started imbuing.

The two other kobolds started firing as quickly as they could. With the shoddily made crossbows, that wasn’t very fast at all. The weapons had some stopping power, but at best they merely chipped away at the guardian’s body. Still, it was better than nothing.

The Kol caste dodged and jabbed. His attacks barely did any appreciable damage, but of course, that wasn’t the point. Richter, En’fota and Dur’ghen were able to keep firing with impunity as their comrade conducted a deadly dance with a construct almost three times his height. If it wasn’t for the mud, then the Kol might have had a real shot at continuing to avoid the monster’s attacks, but it was not meant to be. The distraction he provided came to a sudden and tragic end.

The kobold jabbed at the face of the guardian and then attempted to jump back. One foot came free of the mud, but the other stayed mired. The monster’s fist came across the kobold’s face with crushing force. Blood sprayed across the mud and the kobold fell limp to the ground. The monster reached down and grabbed the body in both hands and started pulling. The damage was enough to rouse the kobold, but all he could do was scream.

Richter sent Alma in. The cooldown on Psi Blast had elapsed and she swept towards the monster, unleashing her power. The guardian released the kobold who fell to the mud. Crossbow bolts continued to plink off of its body, while it staggered. Richter continued to imbue his arrow. The dragonling flew clear.

After two seconds, it recovered from Alma’s attack and reached down again. The Kol caste kobold hadn’t been able to escape. Blood seeped through the kobold’s skin in places mixing with the mud. Even worse than the superficial injuries, the guardian had crushed one of the fighter’s legs before it released its hold. It grabbed him again. Holding the kobold above its head, it began to pull for a second time. The Kol screamed and screamed and blood began to speckle the guardian’s head and chest. With a horrible wet sound, the kobold was wrenched apart. The crystal monster dropped both halves and turned towards Richter and the other kobolds again.

Richter’s arrow had shifted from a pure gold to scant black lines to the black streaks now appearing solid in a barbershop pattern. As soon as he saw it face him head on again, he released. The arrow struck it square in the chest and the shockwave flattened the mud and the boom even hurt Richter’s ears. It also finally knocked the monster down.

Richter looked at the bloody severed halves of the kobold laying in the mud. He felt like a monster himself, but he looked at Dur’ghen and said, “Go attack it.” The thick scaled kobold didn’t hesitate. It started to stride towards the fallen monster, mace in hand.

Richter downed another mana potion. When the guardian got up, he could clearly see cracks in its chest again. Still none of them reached to the Focus Crystal though. Richter cursed. Just what did he have to do to kill this thing?! Once again, the Focus Crystal flared and the guardian slapped its hand against a wall. The crystal flowed away from the wall and up its arm. Just like last time, the clear liquid stone flowed over the guardian’s body and healed all of the damage it had taken. Richter noted that a portion of the now bare cave wall glowed blue. He shut that from his mind though, and got back into the fight.

Richter checked its status again.

Crystal Guardian. Level 41. Health 920. Mana 91/470. Stamina 283/320…

With gritted teeth Richter drew a sprite arrow. At least the bastard wouldn’t be healing again! He triggered Drill Shot again. He just had to wear it down! All he had to do was kill it before it reached him. Of course that was when things got screwy again!

The monster took one step towards Dur’ghen who set himself to meet it at the edge of the mud. The guardian didn’t try to close anymore of the distance, though. Instead, it pointed a crystal arm at the kobold and the Focus Crystal flashed. In a heartbeat, the arm halved in diameter but doubled in length. Before Dur’ghen could move, the spear like appendage shot through his chest. The kobold screamed in pain and swung its mace weakly at the crystal arm. He swung twice more, each attempt weaker than the last, and then his head slumped forward in death.

The crystal guardian’s arm resumed its normal size. It took a step towards Richter and En’fota, finally free of the mud. Richter shouted at the mage to run, and the two remaining party members both dashed away to make space between themselves and the blood spattered monster.

“Can you summon another elemental?” Richter shouted.

“I don’t have enough mana, master!”

Cursing, he gave her his last restore mana potion and tossed it to her on the run. En’fota drank it. After another few seconds, he asked if she had enough now.

“Yes, master!”

“Then fucking summon it!”

They both turned left around a corner and then turned back to face their enemy. En’fota started chanting. Richter drew a heavy arrow and extended his aura around it. He then began pouring in his mana as quickly as possible. The steps of the guardian grew louder and it came around the corner. Richter released!

He hadn’t had enough time to invest much in the imbuement, but the ‘heavy’ quality of the arrow coupled with the extra power were enough to make it fall to one knee. En’fota finished her summoning just in time! The elemental rose from the tunnel floor and jumped on the guardian.

The small elemental and the guardian looked like mini me fighting Austin Powers, but Enfota’s pet still had powerful hands. As proof, crystal fell to the ground as it attacked. The kobold had just enough mana to cast Stone Spear again. The stone projectile hit the monster in its chest. Richter shot it in the same place, but did not have much mana left. The blow only created a few cracks in the crystal.

The guardian had been twisting at the waist as it tried to grab the slightly faster earth elemental. It finally caught the summoned creature though. The garden’s protector threw the small rock man at En’fota and she went down with a large thud. With no other distractions, the monster turned its full attention to Richter. It extended one hand and the Focus Crystal began to pulse again. Knowing what was coming he mentally called out.

*Alma. Blast it!*

The dragonling swooped from above and hit it with another blast. The guardian’s arm dropped as it struggled to overcome the two second stun. Richter reached into his Bag and pulled out a specific arrow. The entire fight he had been hoping he could knock the Focus Crystal free of the guardian’s chest. He had reasoned that without its heart, the crystal monster would simply fall apart. Now though, Richter just wanted to survive.

He placed the Arrow of Piercing on his bow string and triggered Drill Shot. The guardian recovered a half second before Richter finished the two second activation of his subskill, but the distance was so small it had no hope of evasion. The arrow left his bow spinning and struck the guardian dead center. The arrow as a whole stopped spinning after a second just as his previous drill shots had. The special property of the Arrow of Piercing was to ignore 66% of its target’s armor though. The arrowhead continued to spin and it drove deep into the monster’s chest. For the first time in the fight, the Focus Crystal itself was damaged. The guardian fell to its back.

The Focus Crystal pulsed wildly. It was a form of life that was barely self-aware, but it still struggled to survive. It needed to heal itself, but it lacked the mana to use the crystal in the garden. So the Focus Crystal used the only thing available to it, the body of the guardian.

Before Richter’s eyes, the monster began to shrink in size. As it did, Richter noticed that the cracks his arrow had made in the Focus Crystal began to disappear. He knew that he didn’t have much time. Dropping his bow, he drew his shadow dagger and ran over to the guardian’s prone body. Raising his dagger high, he drove it down into the hole that the piercing arrow had made. Now, both his dagger and arrow pierced the central crystal.

The guardian swung one arm up to strike Richter, but the loss of its mass showed in its decreased strength and speed. Richter released his dagger and jumped back out of the way.

*Alma! Drain it!*

His familiar flew in and wrapped herself around the monster’s head. The guardian was only five feet in height now and its limbs moved randomly as if it had lost the ability for concerted action. It shrunk faster now that Richter’s dagger was sunk into its heart. The Focus Crystal drew upon the guardian more and more, but it couldn’t heal with weapons still penetrating it. Richter drew his high steel longsword. He placed both hands on the hilt and raised it up prepared to drive the blade down into its body, when he realized he was wasting an opportunity.

He freed one hand from the hilt and twisted his fingers into an odd configuration. A word of power left his mouth like a caress and he cast Soul Trap. Then he raised his sword again and drove the blade down into the guardian’s neck. The high steel sword shot straight through the crystal and only stopped when it hit the tunnel floor. With a twist and a wrench, the head came loose and the guardian’s health dropped to zero. A ribbon of light twisted through the air and disappeared into Richter’s Bag.

The monster was finally dead.