Duelling Dungeons

With the lizards crushed, it only took a few minutes for the corrosive ooze to dissolve and dissipate. Once it had, Voss wasted no time striding over to the far side of the pool and stepping back onto dry land.

The cemetery on the other side of the pond looked drastically different from what came before. While the early part of the plague barrens looked abandoned, this area looked infested. Suspended between the various crypts, graves, and tombs were something that looked like gigantic insect nests, more than large enough for an average-sized humanoid to crawl inside.

With one eye locked on the muddy constructs, Voss slowly knelt and let the dryads off. “Don’t wander too far,” he said. “There should still be another three squads wandering around the floor somewhere. Who knows where they might be?”

“I kind of expected someone to be waiting for us here, on the other side of the pond,” Alia said as she slowly climbed off his shoulder.

“That is what Talia expected; however, it seems that our enemy has decided to change up their strategy,” Voss replied, climbing to his feet. He stepped over to the nearest nest and grabbed it with both hands, casually pulling the paper-thin walls apart, and looked inside.

“The plague bearers aren’t here,” he announced. “Looks like Archibald is up to something.”

“Don’t you mean ‘Archibald the mad alchemist?’” Alia asked sarcastically. “I knew he was full of himself; Talia’s notes were clear about that, but what we saw back before we engaged those lizards was ridiculous. It was like we were watching an amateur actor trying to play an evil villain, but only ended up looking over dramatic.”

“That’s because that’s probably how he started. A lot of prospective floor bosses are exceptional fighters, but terrible actors. They get nervous about finding a gimmick that works for them, or about looking good during the broadcasts, so they adopt a persona to compensate. I suspect that Archibald is that kind of person,” Voss explained. “At least, I hope that’s the case. I imagine he’d be insufferable if he were like that all the time.”

The dryads all had a chuckle at that.

“So, if he hasn’t set up his ambush here, where his staff would have the terrain advantage, where do you think he is?” Miya asked.

“It’ll be somewhere we don’t expect,” Voss replied thoughtfully. “Somewhere that Talia’s plans didn’t account for.”

“You think they might have outplanned Talia?” Alia asked.

“No, when I respawned, Talia warned me that Nor’Goth may try to eavesdrop on our thoughts and do his best to direct his teammates and counter our strategies,” Voss explained.

“How are we supposed to deal with that?” Miya asked in distress. “We’ve been relying upon Talia’s plans to get ahead of our opponents until this point. Besides, if the enemy can read our minds, how are we ever going to gain an edge?”

“Oh, that’s the trick. We don’t rely upon our plan or try to outmaneuver our opponents,” Voss explained. He slowly crouched down and grabbed a stone sarcophagus at his feet. As soon as he was back on his feet, he pivoted, launching the impromptu projectile through the low wall on the other side of the small courtyard, causing it to collapse.

Both the Dryads and the Mycellium people stared as the group on the other side of the wall scrambled about, trying to recover from the surprise of a massive stone projectile being thrown directly through their cover.

“You don’t think; you just go on instinct,” Voss laughed as he strode forward.

“I don’t know how you did that,” Archibald shouted, as he stumbled around, obviously flustered by the sudden assault, “but ruining our ambush won’t be enough to save you. My people will stop you here!”

“You’re welcome to try,” Voss replied with a wicked grin. As he passed a crumbling mausoleum sitting off to the side, he paused for a second to grab one of the long marble pillars holding the structure and yanked it out. Without the support, the structure crumbled, collapsing in on itself, but Voss didn’t pay it any mind as he returned to his advance, wielding the massive pillar as a club.

“Very well, you asked for this,” Archibald hissed, standing up straight. “Attack! Strike at Voss if you see an opening, but pick apart his support first. We need to wear down the Manor’s numbers!”

At his command, several groups came pouring out from behind the wall. The first into battle was a group of Vespoids, hornet people, wielding long, two-handed blades dripping with ichor. They were concerning, but not as much as the six-eyed, dog-sized lizards that came bounding around the farside of the wall.

Lesser baskilisks.

The saliva of these little frilled lizards contained a variety of toxins and diseases that cause their targets' muscles to lock up, leaving them frozen in place—an easy target for their allies.

Lastly came the Harpies, dressed as plague bearers. They had long, tattered black dresses, cloaks, and oversized vulture masks. Every time they flapped their wings, they spread a sickly green fog beneath them.

Despite the shock of finding all their opponents just sitting on the other side of the area, the Mycillum people were quick to react, rushing forward and forming up around Voss just before the first wave struck. They formed an impromptu spear wall around the Treent’s feet, preparing to receive the charge.

The first ones to arrive were the lesser baskilisks. They rushed forward like attack dogs, eager to clamp their jaws around whatever they could. Three of the creatures impaled themselves upon the mushroom’s spears, but the last two pushed through and clamped down upon the fungal warriors.

Although they fed upon dark magic and disease, Mycelium people weren’t immune to poisons. The affected mushroom’s muscles locked up, allowing the small lizards to pull them down and rip out their throats before the last two members of the squad could react and save them.

“Get back!” Alia yelled as she and her sisters channelled their powers. Vines sprang up all around Voss’s feet, grappling the little monsters, strangling them before they could get away.

Meanwhile, Voss swung his impromptu club at the myriad of aerial threats, trying to keep them away from the rest of his team. The Vespoids were extremely fast, and most adventuring teams probably would have had a serious problem dealing with their long blades. That was not the case for Voss. With his pillar, he was easily able to reach the flying menaces.

They tried to bypass him, to strike at the rest of the squad, only to find precisely how spry the old tree could be. The first pair that tried ended up meeting the business side of his pillar, getting hit so hard that they were thrown straight through the same gap in the wall Voss had opened up by throwing the sarcophagus earlier. Once the rest of the squad saw that, they immediately started taking him seriously.

While he was occupied with the Vespoids, the harpies carefully made their way around the skirmish to harass the Dryads. The two groups started exchanging spells. Walls of thorny vines erupted, grasping at the fliers while the harpies rained down literal pestilence upon their foes.

While the two sides skirmished, Archibald looked on, silently taking different vials from the pouch at his side, uncorking and mixing them in a flask. It took him a minute, and when he was done, he corked it, shook it vigorously, then threw it into the middle of the conflict. Within seconds,s a vile mumistmisama had filled the entire area.

“What are you playing, Archibald?” Voss growled.

“Playing? I’m not playing anything,” the alchemist exclaimed. “I’m simply removing some pieces from the board and making it harder for the Manor to win this match. I’ve just unleashed the most virulent concoction I have. Within minutes, everyone here will be eliminated.”

Voss smashed the last Vespoid with his club and turned on the bandaged man. “Everyone?”

“Everyone with a standard immune system,” Archibald replied, reaching into his pouch and pulling out a few more vials. “There’s always a small chance that either you or I may survive long enough to get help, but I can’t take that chance. Only one of us can leave this room alive.”

Voss gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the impromptu club. “This won’t take that long. I’ll finish this fast enough to get my people help.”

Archibald smirked. “I’d like to see you try.”