Duelling Dungeons

“So, let me get this straight. We have to clear this floor as soon as possible, and if we don’t, we’ll have a black dragon rampaging through our dungeon in less than an hour,” Helen asked.

“That’s the gist of it,” Kass replied as she surveyed the area. Although the first two or three rooms in the laboratory had been relatively clear, the further her team travelled, the more signs of combat there were. There were scorched floors, broken equipment, and gouged walls everywhere; Either there had been one massive brawl in here, or the gremlins had been experimenting again. “And it’s an Umbral dragon, not a black one.”

“Whatever!” Helen replied. “All those dark colored dragons are the same! Large, loud, and greedy!”

“That’s a very narrow-minded and racist way of thinking,” Kass huffed. “You know not all dragons are that way.”

“I know, but the dark ones usually are,” Helen hissed. “The reason that most of the Naiads are at the Mansion is that a green dragon settled upriver from our settlement and polluted the waters. No matter how much we begged, she just wouldn’t leave, so we had to. I don’t care what you say, I’m not changing my mind on this; dark colours are trouble!”

Kass frowned at the diminutive river sprite. Even though she looked like a child, Helen was much older than her, and the rest of the Naiads looked up to her. Although she really didn’t like the Naiad’s attitude, this wasn’t the time or place to discuss it.

“Fine, we’ll talk about this later,” Kass conceded. “We really need to concentrate on the job at hand anyway. Jyssa.”

“Or Rogu, if they swapped out,” Rembrandt remarked.

“Right,” Kass groaned. “Either way, we have a hard time ahead of us, and we need to be prepared.”

“Why did you bring the girls and me anyway?” Helen asked. “You know we’re way better in the water. We would have been better off staying behind and defending the baths.”

“Because we’re running extremely low on combat-capable staff, and we need as many hands as possible if we’re going to punch through the Sanctum’s defences before our time runs out. That means you, and the other Naiads,” Kass explained.

“Then who’s going to defend the baths? The spider girl and her pet?” Helen asked.

“Talia is extremely competent,” Kass replied sharply. “If anyone can defend the baths, it’s her. Besides, she’s bringing in reinforcements to help her.”

“Well, you’re the boss,” Helen grumbled. “So what’s the plan?”

“If it’s Jyssa, we need to keep her occupied while Rembrandt and the Revenants close in with her guards. Those spell swords were able to take down the Anthophilans and Sullivan at the same time, so we can’t let them run loose. We harass her with ranged attacks and magic and try to stay out of her miasma as much as possible,” Kass explained.

“And if it’s Rogu?” Helen asked.

“We overwhelm him. He excels at one-on-one combat, so we throw everything at him at once. He may be extremely tough, but he’s not invincible,” Kass replied.

“That sounds way too easy,” Helen muttered.

“It is simple, not easy,” Rembrandt replied in his typically raspy voice. “No matter who we fight, this fight will be far from easy.”

“Rembrandt’s right. There’s no point in overplanning because if we try something complicated, Nor’Goth will just read someone’s mind and figure out a counter, so we’re going to go in for a straight-up brawl. Let the best team win,” Kass said. “Now, is everyone ready?”

Helen glanced back at the rest of her squad, then nodded slightly. “As we’re ever going to be.”

“Good,” Kass declared, as she slowly drew her knives and turned towards the door. “Then let’s go pick a fight.”

“Where do you think they’ll be?” Rembrandt asked as he jogged to catch up with her.

“Honestly? I expect them to be in the tower at the end. Jyssa can just sit at the top and let her Miasma seep down, while her guards defend the stairs,” Kass replied.

“Dangerous place to fight; you won’t be able to advance until we break the defensive line,” the Revenant said. “And during that time you’ll slowly be worn down by the miasma.”

“That’s one of the reasons I brought the Naiads. If worst comes to worst, we’ll let you advance, then seal the room's door with a wall of water. It’s not perfect, but it should minimize how much exposure the rest of the team gets to the Miasma,” Kass explained.

“So this entire assault depends on my team and me?” Rembrandt asked, the fire in his eyes glowing brighter.

“Nervous?” Kass asked.

“On the contrary, this will be a worthy challenge,” Rembrandt declared, unsheathing his great sword. “You can count on us.”

“Good,” Kass replied.

The walk through the next two rooms was quiet; the various operating and specimen rooms were littered with debris, but no enemies.

However, as the group crossed the final room before the tower, they found a thick, black, oily fog billowing out of the door.

“If that’s not confirmation, I don’t know what is,” Kass muttered. “That tower is probably full of Miasma now, from top to bottom. We’ll want to spend as little time in there as possible.”

“Then allow us to clear the way,” Rembrandt announced. “Be prepared, once we fell Jyssa’s defenders, you’ll want to get through the room as quickly as possible. If given enough time, she may retreat, and flood an even larger area with her miasma.”

“We’ll be ready,” Kass replied. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

“Of course,” Rembrandt said. “It’s battles like this that make me feel alive again!”

Holding his blade at the ready, he strode straight into the inky smoke, the rest of his squad only a step behind him.

“Seal the door with a curtain of water,” Kass ordered the rest of the team. “We need to preserve our strength until we can face Jyssa.”

“Are you sure it’s smart to let them go in there alone?” Helen asked. “I know they’re undead, and resistant to the miasma, but still…”

“They won’t let us down,” Kass replied solemnly. “Now seal it.”

—

Just beyond the door, Rembrandt and the other Revenants boldly approached the spiral staircase that wound its way around the inside of the tower. Although the Miasma was thick, they could just make out a couple of figures clustered around the bottom.

“How shall we handle this?” Carmine asked, his voice echoing through the heavy plate helmet he always wore. “Honourably, or…?”

“I’ve heard how they fought the Anthophilans. This group isn’t above ganging up on an opponent if they see an opening,” Rembrandt replied. “Do as you see fit.”

“Excellent,” his compatriot hissed, hefting his heavy mace and great shield.

“Oh, what’s this?” Vaughn asked as he wandered forward to meet them. “Is the Manor so short on troops that they could only afford to send a single group of skeletons at us? Disrespect…Ugh!”

He didn’t get to finish his little speech because Rembrandt brought his greatsword around so quickly that the ghoul barely had time to block. Even then, he was thrown back a few steps.

“I have a feeling you know exactly who we are,” Rembrandt replied coldly. “Your feeble taunts will get you nowhere.”

“Hey, a man’s got to try,” Vaughn laughed. “When you're facing the Manor’s lauded weapon masters, you need to take whatever advantage you can get. Whether by throwing them off their game, or distracting them long enough to allow your team to get into position.”

A barrage of fire and ice bolts shot out of the gloom, all aimed at Rembrandt. Just when they were about to hit, Carmine stepped forward and raised his massive shield to block them. He didn’t say a word; he just casually deflected the magic and then strode into the deeper miasma, towards the source of the bolts.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” Rembrandt said as the rest of his squad split up and disappeared into the gloom.

“Apparently,” Vaughn said, clicking his tongue. “That’s fine. I honestly didn’t think you’d fall for a simple ambush like that. It was worth a try, though.”

The ghoul stepped forward, slowly swinging his blades back and forth to loosen up his wrists. “I’ll warn you now, even though I use magic, I’m no slouch with the blade,” Vaughn said.

“Good,” Rembrandt replied, “I was worried that you wouldn’t pose much of a challenge, and this would be over too quickly.”

Vaughn paused. “A subtle taunt, or just confidence in your skills?” he asked.

Rembrandt fell back into his fighting stance, his heavy blade held high. “Let’s find out.”