Aliandra The ruireets were desote and quiet, with not even a single hint of their desperate flight from the Kobold horde yesterday remaining. They entered only a couple of patrols while retrag their steps – it seemed that the dungeon needed some time to respawhing, and they must have made enough of a dent in the Kobold popution that – at least in this area – there weren’t nearly as many as before.

  “It’s clear all the way to the explosion site,” said, his voice hushed as his lithe form slowly emerged from the shadows nearby.

  “Sounds good,” Malika said. “Let’s tinue.”

  Mato just grunted, not b to shapeshift in order to speak.

  Ali followed along, her eyes sc the darkened doorways and shattered buildings as they retraced their steps deeper into the heart of the dungeon, but as they arrived at the street where they had fought the Spitter Drone, she stopped and stared in surprise. All that remained of the battle site was a giant crater in the middle of the street. Several of the surrounding buildings had colpsed into piles of rubble, no doubt the result of the potent explosion of the bone elemental’s corpse. But besides that, the scorch marks on the walls, and the scurrying bone skitterers scrambling for cover, the entire se had been stripped .

  None of her Kobold minions’ corpses remained, nor any of the gear. Even the bone shards, blood stains, and ks of the drone had vanished as if they’d never been.

  “Where’s all the stuff?” she asked, not really expeg her friends to know. My Fire Mage bracelet is gone! Of all the things she had lost down here in the mad scramble to escape, that was the only item she couldn’t repce. She had been hoping to give it thest-level mage.

  “What did you expect? Year is nice, and it obviously fits the dungeon monsters,” Malika pointed out. “They probably just took it.”

  “But why the bodies? And all the pieces of the bone elemental?” While she would need many more, there was the possibility of learning the monstrous creatures eventually. Not that her stomach would enjoy that prospect, but without the corpse, she didn’t even have the option.

  “We saw that droing all sorts of bone, alive or dead, I bet another one came over and ed up,” Mato specuted.

  “It’s a dungeon,” said, sg his brow. “Dungeo everything you leave. It probably has some way to turn that stuff into more monsters.”

  “Well, that’s annoying, I wahat bracelet,” Ali pihere were already fresh yers of bone encrustations pstered over some of the scorch marks on the wall. A sure sign that another of those Spitter Drones had been by.

  “There are lots of Kobolds in here, let’s keep our eyes open for another,” Malika answered.

  Malika was obviously right, but it was still frustrating to lose something so perfect for her mages.

  Ali followed as their group pressed on, now at a much more cautious pace, with ranging ahead as their scout. She sent her rogues off to hide in the shadows and walked in a loose formation with her two Goblin Storm Shamans f a bulwark in front of her so that she could take advantage of their sturdy shields and armor if necessary. Her annoyance faded as they entered unexplored territory, repced with a caution and the expectation of a fight around every er. Healthy paranoia.

  A few minutes passed in silence while they tio creep forward. Ali stepped over a nearly invisible tripwire while trying to avoid getting closer to the creepy skitterers when the darkness shifted suddenly, startling her. But it was just dropping down from the rooftop to nd on sile.

  “Group of five high-level Kobolds ining, warriue, two archers, and a Fire Mage.”

  “Didn’t the Guildmaster suggest you learn some archers, Ali?” Malika asked.

  “Oh, yes!” she answered. She would need a few more thawo before she could inscribe the variant but, if there were archers in this patrol, there were certain to be more. Funny how she saw these high levels as learning opportuhese days.

  Mato immediately transformed and a few seds ter, the group of Kobolds rouhe er.

  Ali identified them the instant they burst into view.

  Warrior – Kobold – level 2ue – Kobold – level 19Archer – Kobold – level 18-19 x2Mage – Kobold – level 17 (Fire)

  Det levels! As soon as they caught sight of Mato, a cmor of raucous chirps and screeches rose from their throats as they broke into a scrambling charge with the warrior leading the way, while the rogue faded into the shadows. Mato rushed down the ter of the street toward them, with ’s orb bobbing along above him, shedding a harsh bright light otle that made fangs and cws gleam wickedly.

  Ali summoned a barrier immediately.

  “Go help Mato,” she said, sending both Storm Shamans to aid the Bear. Searg the rushing Kobolds, she easily picked out the Fire Mage at the ba his crimss, fnked by two bow-toting Kobolds wearing worher armor.

  She thrust out her hand and fixed the Fire Mage as her target in her mind and unched her Are Bolts arg up and over her barrier to e crashing down on the mage at the far end of the street. “Attack my target,” she anded her trio of mages.

  The stone walls around her were suddenly bathed in flickering red light as a volley of Firebolts shot down the length of the street, sizzling as they zipped past Malika oher side.

  Out in the ter of the suddenly chaotic street, Mato rammed into the braced shield of the enemy warrior with a resounding crash that echoed back off the stone walls. He shed out with a powerful swipe of his left paw, sshing cws across the enemy rogue and rebounding off the warrior’s armor as it flickered with the dark glow of a defensive skill.

  “Get in there,” Ali anded, sending her i directly to both sprinting Storm Shamans. Her only aowledgment was a brilliant fre of harsh white light suddenly lighting up the shamans’ shields and maces with the telltale glow of lightning magic, shedding a trail of sparks as they moved. The female Storm Shaman arrived first, her mace blurring as she smmed it into the back of the Kobold warrihting Mato. Energy sparked betweerike and the Kobold, causing him to scree pain, muscles jerking in respoo the magical discharge that coursed through his body. The male shaman paused before attag the rogue and made a throwiure. In the distance, betweewo archers, a small steel totem suddenly appeared with the soft k of metal on stone.

  Ali watched the potent attacks in amazement, feeling the banced footwork she had traihrough her Martial Insight, nolied in a real fight. She instantly reized the plex struct of lightning magic that settled on the enemy warrior. That must be the Lightning Vulnerability curse. Nasty.

  Ali’s attention so the opposite end of the street at the sound of the crack of an arrow shattering against her barrier. Behind the two bow-wielding Kobolds and the enemy mage, there were now two shiny steel totems. The small, rune-covered steel poles jutted about the length of her forearm from the stone pavement, glowing intensely with potent mana. As if her gaze were the signal to begin, the totems began pulsing trigs of fulgurarical discharge. With sharp screeches and yelps, the Kobolds scrambled to get out of the ambit of the crag discharges of lightning, iently getting themselves corralled in a er.

  “Fireballs, please,” Ali requested quietly, earning wicked grins of toothy anticipation from the mages she had arrayed beside her. Immediately, her barrier glowed with the red light of intensifying fire magid a wave of heat engulfed her.

  Ali’s mundane eyesight was suddenly blinded by the simultaneous thundercp of twin Lightning Bolts that ripped through the enemy Kobolds. A couple of arrows pinged off her barrier as she tried to blink away the intense purple afterimages etched on her retinas. By her mana sight, she saw three dense balls of magic shoot out from beside her, roiling and glowing with seething fire mana. She didn’t even need her eyes to see the triple detonation ripping the Kobolds apart, flinging bits of them into walls, and sh burnt ks of flesh and scales across the street.

  In the queasy ing of her stomach, blind and deaf from the potent magic, she still clearly heard the three chimes of her notifications redundantly inf her that the pieces raining down on them were no longer alive – obviously.

  While she still couldn’t quite see clearly, her mana sight revealed the glowing green swipes of Mato’s nature-enharikes and the arg glow of her shamans’ hasted shields and maces. With her bearings set, she redirected her minions to ehe remaining two enemies, i on burning them down before they could flee.

  o self – don’t look directly at the Lightning Bolts ime.

  As her eyesight began to clear, she could easily tell the enemy rogue and warrior were almost dead under assault by her minions, Malika, and , all of which were doing great damage against the shredded and splintered bone armor.

  “That was a lot faster,” Ali said after the final Kobold dropped to the ground. The mage didn’t eveo cast his Fireball.

  “Your shamans are incredible, Ali!” Malika excimed, hopping up and down with barely suppressed excitement. “The lightning damage stantly tears at the bone armor, and I go all ht from the start.”

  “They were using the curse, right?” asked.

  “Yes,” she answered. “I see them using it.”

  I guess it makes sense, she thought. Ali had expected her Fire Mages to have the biggest impact, given that she had three of them and they had their Fireball skill. But she hadn’t ted on how effective the Lightning Vulnerability Curse would prove to be, bined with the stant lightning damage of the ented mad shield, or even the lightning nova totems.

  I should have guessed, she thought wryly. After all, she had been on the receiving end of that bination before.

  Ali walked around the battlefield destrug the corpses and colleg gear – ieces of it were still salvageable. She had to destruct several uifiable bits here and there, which set her stomach to ing again, but her Grimoire still appeared, inscribing various updated runes and spell sequences, so she hoped she would have access to the higher levels of the variants they had just fought.

  The enemy Fire Mage was in the worst shape, its body a sm k of bur. It had been hit by two Lightning Bolts while cursed with vulnerability, followed immediately after by three Fireballs. It probably didn’t stand a ce. I didn’t even need my rogues.

  She destructed all the bits she could find, including the ruined and still smoking robes, and when the body vanished, a small circlet of bone dropped to the ground with a sharp k. She stooped down and snatched it up, examining it excitedly. If it was a different bracelet, she couldn’t tell – it looked identical. Even the entments were indistinguishable from the one she had lost. Calling one of her Kobolds over to her, she handed him the bracelet. He hunched over it, equipping it with wicked cag ughter.

  Oh, you’d make a great vilin.

  She stored the archers’ bows – which had somehow survived the fgration – and destructed their armor before pig up two quivers of arrows. She was about to store them when the dark reddish-bck gleam caught her eye. Carefully, she extracted a single arrow to exami.

  It’s so light, she thought, turning it over in her hands and studying the tiny runic markings along the shaft. The entire arrow was fashioned out of Eimuuran steel, but it felt so light it had to be hollow.

  Arrow of Accuracy – level 15An arrow crafted from Eimuuran steel and ented to find the target.+5% AccuracyRequirements: Dexterity 30Arrow

  Oh, is going to love these! She stored the arrows and sauntered over to where her friends were discussing the battle while rec their mana and stamina.

  “I found my fire bracelet!”

  “Cool!” Malika said, grinning.

  “I also found these,” she said, pulling out the bows. They were level fifteen and seemed to be reasonably well structed. “ you use them, ?”

  “Unfortunately, they’re too small for me,” he said, with a rather sad look on his face. “Maybe Weldin will want them?”

  “I’m sure he will,” Malika said, st the bows with an acquisitive smile. “I also ask him to keep a for a det bow in your size if you like, .”

  “That might be for the best,” he said, glumly. “Everything down here is sized for Kobolds.”

  Ali gri him and produced her trump card. “What do you think of this?” She handed him a single Arrow of Accuracy, and, remembering he could not identify items, she shared the details with him.

  ’s eyes went round with surprise. “Tell me you found more of these!”

  Ali gri his excitement arieved the two quivers, handing him the rest of the arrows she had looted from the Kobolds.

  He looks so happy! She watched his beaming face as he examihe ented arrows like a mother reunited with a lost baby.

  “Would you… mind learning how to make these?” he asked. “I think they’re worth it. How many would you need?”

  “I already have the general arrow imprint, so probably just three or four. It seems to depend on how difficult they are – or how different.”

  With the delicacy of a man who couldn’t quite believe he was up treasures for casual destru, extracted four arrows and hahem to her, which she promptly destructed.

  Variant: Arrow of Accuracy added to Imprint: Arrow.

  “Got it.”

  “Awesome,” grinned, and mimed mopping his forehead.

  “Three or four, huh?” Malika said from where she was sitting. “Here, why don’t you learn these, too?” She handed Ali the two daggers the rogue had been wielding and therieved two more from her ring that looked virtually identical.

  “These are the Eimuuran Steel Daggers, are you sure? You said they were valuable.”

  “It’s smarter for you to learhat way you always make more once you know the pattern,” she said.

  “Ok.” Malika was right, if she was able to learn them, and they were valuable, then they might bee another resource she could make and sell, just like the arrows she had made for the garrison during the Goblin siege.

  Variant: Eimuuran Steel Dagger added to Imprint: Dagger.

  As always, Ali was delighted to see her Grimrow, but it seemed the Eimuuran steel was really something. It had taken all fgers for her to learn the variant, and the amount of new rune-work added trimoire seemed quite substantial, at least ting by the number of added pages. More for me to study ter. Lore snack time!

  While the others tinued discussing gear and regeing their mana and stamina, Ali created daggers. It took a while before she made two sets of her dagger variant, but she persisted, knowing it would improve her rogues substantially. As soon as she had a full set of four, she called her rogues to her from their hiding spots in the shadows.

  “Upgrades for you,” she told them in draid hahem each a set.

  “Thank you, A Mistress.” Bues bowed and examiheir reasures excitedly.

  “How about your shamans, they use this shield?” Malika asked, Ali a beautifully crafted Eimuuran steel shield bearing the embossed crest of Dal’mohra – the ohat the warrior had been wielding to block Mato’s powerful strikes.

  “ you use this?” Ali asked, switg to Goblin.

  “No, it’s …” the shaman said something ugly in the Goblin nguage which Ali struggled to transte.

  “She said it’s a ‘stupid warrior shield, not a wise shaman shield’,” Ali expio Malika. It had been a single word that somehow derided warriors for being stupid while at the same time asserting shaman superiority. It was also a curse word – which seemed to be about a third of their entire nguage.

  “Oh, I bet the strength requirement is too high,” Malika interpreted, examining the shield. “I think your shaman is using a hybrid shield with evasion and armor. Meaning it has a lower strength requirement, but it requires some dexterity.”

  Ali looked curiously, identifying her shaman’s shield.

  Iron Buckler – level 15Armor: 49Evasion: 49Block ce: +20% (Blocked attacks ot cause critical damage.)Requirements: Strength 30, Dexterity 30Off Hand – Shield

  A shield is a shield, isn’t it? She hadn’t paid much attention to it when the shaman had selected it from the pile, but it looked like Malika had deduced the truth correctly. Presumably, her shaman had some dexterity instead of pure strength.

  ***

  Ali watched hop off the rooftop, admiring how he was able to nd effortlessly from so high up, and without making a sound. He had been luring small groups of Kobolds and the occasional undead skeletons to their ambush spot for most of the afternoon, but this time he didn’t call ining.

  The battles were still challenging, but with Ali’s new minions, they were able to overe the dungeon’s dense bone armor quickly enough. As brought a steady stream of monsters, Ali got ample opportunity to practice her bat tactics with Martial Insight. She always reserved her mages to bst the most dangerous enemy from a distance, but it was her shamans that provided the most iing bat experiehey had hybrid melee caster csses and learning to use them effectively required her to learn quite a few rategies.

  For ohing, they could be fighting one monster and bst a pletely different monster, clear oher side of the battle, with their Lightning Bolts and totems. Of course, they hit everything along a straight liweewo.

  However, Ali was already entirely vinced of their value in her little army. With their tinuous lightning damage, eveab-happy rogues became effective, provided she simply waited a few moments with them before engaging. And I probably get use out of my Bugbears again.

  “There’s one of those Spitter Drones up ahead,” said, walking up to join them. “I should be able to get it all the way down here. What do you guys think of setting up in this house over here?” He poi a ruined open doorway into a sizeable stone building.

  “Works for me,” Mato answered, poking his head ihere’s a fair bit of spa here.”

  “No Kobolds nearby to hear it go off?” Malika asked, her forehead furrowed with a worried frown.

  “We got the st group, there’s nothi for several blocks in all dires.”

  They discussed the finer details of their pn and then sprinted off into the darko fetch a giant bug monster with vile spit that could turn your flesh to bone. No big deal. I’m sure everyone has to deal with two or three of these before breakfast.

  Ali sent her shamans and rogues scurrying into the house with Mato and Malika. She decided she wouldn’t have a great vantage point to see what was going on inside when it all went down, so she just directed her minions to help, following Malika and Mato’s lead, and to be ready to retreat promptly when she called.

  Ali set up outside, across the street, hiding in the wreckage of a colpsed building with her three mages. None of them were particurly robust, herself included, and she didn’t want to risk taking even a si when returned with the bone monster. She had a great line of sight across the street and directly through the doorway of the house they had chosen, and she could evehe mana p Mato’s aura through the stone walls. The piles of rubble offered some measure of security – at least to her mind. Empowered Summoner’s range had grown to just a little over seventeeers now, and it didn’t take too much shifting to ensure her minions would be from her extra nature damage while fighting within the fines of the house.

  She heard a distant screech, followed by a grinding, g hat grew progressively louder until she could even feel vibrations through the stoh her feet. Suddenly, an orb of brilliant light rouhe er at the far end of the street, followed quickly by , sprinting hard. Right behind him, the enormous bone monster careened around the er, crashing into the wall with a solid thump that set the ground to trembling again. Liquid bone sprayed everywhere, striking the walls, and hardening while spikes stabbed outward. How had avoided it this far was anybody’s guess.

  Ali had no idea how su enormous creature was able to move with such agility. Its myriad legs ed the ground, sending a spray of tiny rod stone splinters flying into the air as it ran part the wall, bleeding momentum until it returo the street, pursuing relentlessly.

  Archer – Half-Elf – level 16 (Light)

  Spitter Drone – Elemental – level 26 (Bone)

  When he was right in front of Ali, leapt into the air, twisting to face backward, and released a magically enhanced arrht into the monster’s face, strikiween the g i-like mandibles. It released a furious, high-pitched screech. darted sideways, rushing through the darkened doorway of their chosen building, bringing his floating light magic with him.

  Trust the pn, Ali. It was hard to reassure herself when several tons of angry bone monster were rapidly bearing down on her hiding spot, but it had eyes for nothing but . It veered sideways and dove in after him. The fact that the doorway wasn’t nearly wide enough to fit its bony carapace didn’t bother it at all – with its momentum and dense armor ptes it simply smashed through the stone doorway without even slowing down, sending ks of stone masonry flying. A loud roar sounded from within as Mato ehe Spitter Drone. Suddenly, the house was filled with a chaotic array of magid a cacophony as they tackled the furious monster in the enclosed space.

  Ali was extremely grateful to be outside, and not in the violehat had just erupted from within the room.

  “Begin,” she instructed in draic, stepping out from her hiding spot and summoning a precautionary barrier before she unleashed her Are Bolts. Her first salvo smmed into the stone wall of the building, but she quickly angled her release until their curving path took them right through a window to sm against the monstrous carapace. Seari peed her robes as the Kobold Fire Mages beside her took their cue, shooting volleys of Firebolts into the darkness, aiming for where Ali’s magic was striking the dense bone armor.

  Backlit by the fshing and crag of various overly bright offensive magics, a figure appeared, diving through a small window and rolling on the ground befaining his feet. sprinted across the street to stand beside her, nog his bow with one of the ented Eimuuran steel arrows.

  “Wele back,” Ali said.

  “Walk in the park,” he answered, his deadpan delivery marred by his heavy breathing and the sweat dripping from his brow.

  Ali could only hope that the battle roceeding well within the house. Chaotic screaming, shouting, and monstrous r filled her ears while liquid bone sprayed everywhere. The tinuous fshing of lightning magigled with the flickers of Malika and Mato’s attacks, all seen through the solid stone wall, visible entirely by the mana used to power them. Of her rogues, she could see absolutely nothing. A twin thundercp shook the ground and lightning filled the room, sending shards of bone sh out through the doorway and the windows.

  Ali mustered her focus. I have a job to do. While she maintained her e to her minions, aream of Are Bolts, she carefully sorted through the riotous mana, making sure she could easily pick out the specific signature and color of the Spitter Drone’s bone affinity mana every time it used one of its abilities.

  “Think that crack is big enough?” ’s voice drew her attention back to the physical aspect of the battle.

  She stared, and he moved his floating orb of light so she could get a better view.

  “Yes, I think so,” she answered, pressing her lips together.

  “Drop your Fireballs through that cra the armor,” she instructed her Kobolds. Immediately, the Firebolt volleys ceased and the ambie on her face skyrocketed as the three mages simultaneously summoheir most potent magic. She maintained her stream of Are Bolts, trying to hold the regeion at bay so the crack didn’t close before her minions were ready. She ted the seds.

  “Ining Fireball!” she yelled, hoping that they could hear her ihe building, over the din of the fight.

  Three Fireballs sizzled in the air as they shot across the street, impag with the Spitter Drone and burying themselves ihe cra its boe carapace. The detonation, muffled as it was by the body of the enormous creature and the stone walls of the house, still lit the eerior with angry red fmes. Gouts of fire and splinters of boed from the doorway and spewed out of the windows as the shockwave smmed into her barrier, knog one of her Kobolds off his paws. Off-white shards rained down everywhere, some gobs of fme sptting up against her barrier, and pieces of boering to the ground all around.

  To Ali’s relief, the telltale green sweeps and aura of Mato’s nature magid the cool blue-white flickers of Malika’s soul magitinued unabated.

  It took a few minutes of tinuous assault against the promised armor before Ali saw spirals and swirls of dark mana beginning to coalesewhere within the room.

  “Get out! It’s going to explode!” she yelled as loudly as she could. She couldn’t tell if she had been heard until she saw Malika’s athleti sprinting out of the smoke-filled red-glowing ruined house and onto the street. Ali’s minions followed close behind, and then finally, the huge, scorched figure of Mato’s Bear lumbered through the shattered doorway, shedding ks of bone as parts of his heavily ossified hide and flesh cracked and splintered.

  Ali ignored her queasy stomach’s pints and smmed the rgest barrier she could muster in the doorway.

  There was an enormous, muffled thump and the ereet bucked, tossing Ali to the ground. ks of bone whistled past, burying themselves into the stone walls, shattering the rod encrustations of bone as easily as gss. The barrier she had created in the doorway burst in a sparkling spray of magic shards, while her ears rang from the explosion.

  Yroup has defeated Spitter Drone – Elemental – level 26 (Bone)

  Ali stared in amazement at the building, somehow still standing, even though it was clearly much worse for wear. Those Dwarves were really something.

  “That went a lot better,” Malika announced, her voice getting progressively clearer as Mato’s aura helped regee the damage to her ears.

  “Yeah, that was a great pn!” Mato’s huge grin told her that he had enjoyed himself. However, how he could have fun when his body was tinually being turo bone was beyond her. I wonder just how mudurance he has?

  “Nice call on the explosion,” Malika plimented her. “That erfect amount of time to get out, and the barrier in the doorway was a great idea – we should keep doing that.”

  Ali was most surprised to realize her fear of the giant monster had evaporated somewhere during the fight. Admittedly, she had been much safer outside, but she still had a critical role – ohat her friends had depended on her getting right.

  “No adds,” said, hopping down from the roof. “I think we’re clear.”

  It took Ali a moment to remember that sometimes adventurers referred to ‘additional monsters’ as ‘adds’ and that had just verified that the explosion hadn’t attracted the horde of Kobolds like st time.

  “Shall we get another one?” Ali asked, getting to her feet and heading to the doorway so that she could destruct the huge monster.

  She didn’t miss Mato’s broad grin at her question.

  timewalk