Rune Seeker

“Seven minutes,” Vix said. “Plan?”

“That thing is huge,” Nivian said. “Can we even hurt something like that?”

“Hiral, can you do the same thing you did to the King of the Swamp?” Seena asked.

“Doubt it. You see the way those heads are moving? It’d bite me right off its own back.”

“So, we do it the old-fashioned way,” Yanily said, making a few thrust feints with his spear.

“I don’t think the old-fashioned way applies to something unlike anything we’ve ever fought,” Wule said.

“Lots of terrain down there we can use for cover,” Hiral said, pointing with one of his RHCs toward the ruins. “Nivian keeps its attention, and we wear it down.”

“Lucky me,” Nivian said quietly.

“Six forty-five,” Vix said. “We’re going to need every second we can get if that’s the plan.”

“It is,” Seena said. “Wule, this may be tougher on you, but we’re going to spread out. Hit it from all sides. I’m going for its belly with my Spearing Roots. Wule, I know you want to attack with your spheres, but keep an eye on how much attention you’re getting. And stay close to Nivian.

“Good luck, people. Stay alive. If things go bad, meet up back here, and we’ll find somewhere to ride out the two hours until the dungeon kicks us out. Go.”

“Right, Left, with me,” Hiral said, dashing down the slope and off to the side of the monstrous snake-lizard thing, while the rest of the party spread out to tackle it from other directions. One of the heads watched him until he broke line of sight by running behind a wall, then he reached out for his doubles. “Time for the plan,” he said, taking their hands, cancelling and activating Foundational Split quickly. “Got it?”

“You hate me, don’t you?” Right asked.

“Don’t be like that,” Hiral said.

He put his RHCs away and motioned for Left to go one way, then he and Right went the other. Without a lot of time until the countdown reached zero, he moved fast and low, occasionally catching a glimpse of the Prince as he went. Whether the monster saw him or not, it didn’t give any indication, though suddenly a low growl vibrated the buildings, and Hiral looked between the ruins at his next chance.

Yanily and Vix had made it to the monster—good luck, guys—and its attention was firmly on them. Perfect.

Spotting a set of stairs leading up to a long wall left mostly intact, Hiral rushed up then along the walkway to the end, leaving him only twenty or thirty feet from the side of the beast. “Ready?” he asked Right.

“Like I have a choice,” Right said.

“True,” Hiral said with a smirk, then cupped his hands and motioned for Right to come over. A second later, Right’s foot was in his hands, and they pushed off at the same time, though Hiral added a pulse of his Rune of Rejection at the last second.

Right soared up toward the Prince’s back while the other party members attacked from the front, a glimpse of a thorned whip here, or the flash of purple flame from a spear there.

“You know what to do!” Hiral called to Right as his double nimbly avoided impaling himself on a spine, then dropped to the monster’s back.

Right gave a thumbs-up, then vanished within the forest of black spikes. He would do his part as best he could, and now it was Hiral’s turn to get to work.

Out came his RHCs as he looked over the side of the wall at the back leg of the great beast. Easily as thick as a tree, the heavy scales covered the gargantuan leg like a set of impenetrable armor. And while he couldn’t do the same thing he’d done to the King, the same technique should still work to do some damage. Taking out the back legs would make it a lot easier to pound on it without it chasing them around—or give them an advantage if they had to run.

A quick check of the timer—already down to five minutes and thirty seconds—and Hiral aimed at the knee, then pulled both triggers. His first shots might as well have been him throwing pebbles for all the damage they did, but with the one-second cooldown on his weapons, he followed up pretty quickly. And again. And again… and again… and again.

On the far side of the Prince, Left would be going to work on the other rear leg with his Dagger of Sath. One of them would get through the plating sooner or later.

He kept firing, though he glanced at the three heads that rose into the air, their mouths opening wide like they were getting ready to lunge down and strike. He’d seen the Queenof the Swamp do the same thing, so Nivian and the others should be ready for it.

Except… the beast didn’t lunge. Instead, something seemed to rise from within its throats to fill its mouths. Electricity sparked across the teeth of one mouth, fire leaked out between the teeth of the second, and a strange combination of the two—burning lightning—sparked in the middle mouth.

Then it leaned its heads forward and breathed. Fire, lightning, and flaming lightning cut terrible swathes through the ruins in front of the beast.

“NO!” Hiral shouted, constantly firing at the rear leg, but the huge beast took a ground-shaking step forward.

The heads shifted and looked, then lunged down at something moving between the buildings. The others were still alive. They had to be. Another ground-shaking step. The beast gave chase even as a barrage of Spearing Rootserupted from the ground underneath to slam into its huge stomach.

They didn’t do any better than Hiral’s RHCs against the heavy plate, the tips of the spears shattering as they hit the Prince’s underbelly.

This isn’t going to work. At least, not in the five minutes we have left before this monster stops feeling groggy. How in the Fallen’s names are we expected to beat something like this?

Hiral pulled his triggers as the monster took another step forward, entire walls ahead of it toppling just from it walking. Like before, his blasts didn’t even dent the thick plating around the leg. And if he couldn’t get through—even when he was focusing his shots on one spot—how were any of them going to hurt it?

No, there has to be a trick to it. They wouldn’t build this dungeon with a fight we can’t win. So, what is it?

Turning his attention away from the Prince, Hiral focused instead on the ruins all around. If they were in the heart of an old temple—if the Prince had been sealed there—it was for a reason. More than just the briar patch. Just… what was it?

The ground shook, another step taken, and Hiral’s eyes scoured the sides of the buildings: the broken pillars that’d once supported tall ceilings, and the Lizardman statues lying in shattered heaps. No, that would’ve all been there before the Prince had been sealed. He needed to look for something different. Something out of place. Something like…

His eyes landed on the skull of a bone totem, just barely visible inside an ancient archway.

Something like that!

Hiral sheathed his RHCs and leapt off the wall, slowing his fall with a pulse of Rejection, then sprinted over to the totem. Yes, it was the same as the ones the Scholar had been using. Small flickers of dark flames pulsed within the eye sockets, and… and its gaze was following the Prince’s movements.

Creepy. Totally creepy. But, how does it work?

A glance at the countdown—four and a half minutes left—and Hiral got closer to the totem, a shiver running across his skin as if the air around the bone artifact was getting pulled toward it. No, it wasn’t air; it was ambient solar energy. The totem needed a power source.

“This could be such a terrible idea,” Hiral mumbled, but he didn’t have time to hesitate.

He gingerly reached out to touch the totem’s skull with just one finger. The second his skin touched bone, a yellow notification popped up in front of his eyes.

The Totem of Sealing requires power.

Supply that power? Yes / No

Note: If you agree, you must remain within thirty feet of the totem, or the conduit will be broken.

Hiral slapped Yes, and a small stream of solar energy peeled off his skin like smoke, and then straight into the skull’s mouth.

What happens now?

Totems of Sealing Activated: 1/6

One of six? Five more… Of course. Just like the summoning ritual. This is teaching us how to work together. I need to tell the others.

As soon as Hiral closed the latest notification, beams of black, inky light shot out of the totem’s eyes to strike the side of the Prince. Tendrils of the darkness snaked up and over its body, then back around to connect like a noose.

Bellowing roars echoed from the Prince’sthree heads as its forward movement came to a sudden halt, and then those heads turned back around to glare at Hiral.

Uh oh.

Hiral dashed back behind a wall—the streamer of solar energy still connecting him to the totem—just in time as a wave of flames washed across the ground. The totem? Heat hung in the air like a physical thing even after the flames vanished, the ground just beyond the edge of the wall a scorched mess of melted stone, but he had to know. A pulse of Rejection with his mind on the heat, and Hiral risked a look around the corner.

The totem stood amidst the molten ground, a black corona of energy protecting it like a shield, and the eyebeams still wrapped around the monster’s waist. It was using his solar energy to not only hold the beast, but also protect itself. As long as he stayed within thirty feet, it would be safe. And the solar energy drain? Manageable for the four minutes they had left.

Now, how to tell the others what we need to do?

A pillar of purple flames burst upward from where the three necks met the Prince’s body, and Hiral had his answer. It was a shame to lose the solar energy he’d invested in them, but there was no other choice, and he cancelled his Foundational Split.

Wait—the totem’s energy?

His eyes went to the totem as he realized he couldn’t use any of his abilities with the tattoos on his skin, but he let out a sigh of relief when he saw the streamer still connecting him to the totem. Best not to risk it, though. He activated Foundational Split, and his doubles peeled off him, each with a third of his remaining energy. Eleven percent each—it’d have to be enough.

“You know what you need to do,” Hiral said, and the doubles nodded, then dashed off.

Left, with the highest Atn, would find the five totems. Right, meanwhile, would have to explain this to the others and get them to the totems Left found. Hiral would just have to survive that long.

With that in mind, he looked from the totem back to the Prince. One of its heads still glared in his direction, but it wasn’t breathing fire again. Did it realize that wouldn’t work?

A growl rumbled out of its throat, and one of its other heads turned to look at the first. Another growl, then a nip at the second head’s neck, and both heads turned in Hiral’s direction again. When the second head seemed to notice the black binding around its body, it reared up in surprise, then narrowed its eyes and shifted its attention to Hiral.

They don’t share thoughts. They’re like three separate people.

Sparks danced in the mouth of the second head, and a strange tingling ran along Hiral’s skin, the air itself charging. He dove for the cover of the wall a second before the air behind him popped and sizzled, electricity constricting his muscles just because he was close to the discharge, and he flopped to the ground like a fish out of water. His body twitched while he gasped for air, spikes of pain running up and down his limbs like they were asleep, but his eyes stayed locked on the streamer of solar energy. There was no way of telling if the totem would survive without it.

Another titanic roar shook the ruins, like all three heads shouted in fury at the same time, and Hiral forced his arms under himself, despite how little they wanted to cooperate.

“C’mon,” he told his stiff limbs, but he finally got them where he wanted them, and reached his hands and knees.

A quick check on the countdown told him they only had three minutes left, so he reached out to the wall beside him. Fingers hooking on a ledge, he hauled himself to his feet, breathing deeply from the exertion, and took a glance back at where he’d been standing.

At the five-foot-wide crater in the stone flooring.

Right. Don’t get hit by lightning. Noted.

Left hand still on the wall, he shakily drew his RHC in his right hand, then stumbled to the other end of the wall, careful to make sure he didn’t get too far from the totem. Pausing at the corner, he took a deep breath, then peeked around the edge.

Black nooses wrapped two of the three heads in energy, and a third held the tail. Hiral looked at the minimized notification.

Totems of Sealing Activated: 4/6

Just two more!

Still free, though, the middle head reared back, then spat flaming lightning at a building on the other side of the monster from Hiral. Fire and debris exploded into the air, the tremor from the blast knocking Hiral from his feet. Another roar, and then the head snapped down at one of the black lines of energy. The jaws closed with enough force to send a shockwave blowing outward, but the stream of black didn’t waver.

The head roared again, turning to the two other heads and snapping its jaws in their direction, but those heads hung limply, as if they were sleeping. Up and down, the front leg thrashed in frustration—then the monster flexed its legs. Claws dug deep divots through the stone as it tried to haul its weight forward, but the thin black streamers somehow held it back.

Two minutes left on the timer, and the monster turned its attention again to the buildings near where it had breathed its devastating attack.

One of the others must be over there!

Limbs under better control, Hiral pulled himself back to his feet, though he still needed the wall for balance, and aimed his RHC at the Prince’shead.

Pull. The blast crossed the distance and slapped into the side of the behemoth’s jaw as it spread its mouth wide, more fiery lightning forming inside. Whether through pain or surprise, the attack discharged from the Prince’smouth, searing the afterimage of red lightning into Hiral’s eyes, then blew the top off one side of the briar patch.

Whipping its head around in his direction, the lizard’s eyes narrowed as they found Hiral, so he pulled the trigger again. Whap. It hit the beast right between the eyes, causing the head to recoil and shake like somebody had just finger-flicked it in the forehead. No real damage done, though. The eyes focused again on Hiral, a snarl rippling across the monster’s lips and promising a painful death to him.

Flaming lightning crackled along its teeth, smoke fumed out of its nose, and even its eyes seemed to take on an amber light. The legs shifted, tearing stones bigger than Hiral out of the ground as the beast tried to turn its body in his direction. Pull. He pinged another shot off the Prince’s face to keep its attention, then it leaned in and opened its mouth.

Time seemed to slow as Hiral stared into the monster’s maw, like looking down a vast tunnel. Fire and lightning coiled up its throat in a massive torrent, then combined when they met at the back of its teeth. The sheer energy of it was like looking at the sun, and there was no way the flimsy wall he leaned against could ever hope to blunt the blast.

It was over… unless… A fifth streamer of black energy shot out from the far side of the Prince, wrapping around its neck and hauling its whole head backwards. Time returned to normal speed as the powerful discharge of energy shot straight into the sky, blowing the clouds outward in an expanding circle of clear blue. The final head bucked and pulled, trying to get free of the insidious energy, but the eyelids blinked slowly, and it turned its attention once more in Hiral’s direction.

A notification sprang up in his face.

Dynamic Quest: Update.

The Prince of the Swamp has promised terrible vengeance on you (yes, you) should it fully awaken.

Time Remaining – 1:00

Time Remaining – 0:59

Time Remaining – 0:58

Hiral slapped the notification to the side and shouted, “Less than a minute! Find that totem!”

Time Remaining – 0:55

Time Remaining – 0:54

A black leash of energy sprang out and over the Prince’s body from the other side, finally looping around, and Hiral pulled up his notification window.

Totems of Sealing Activated: 6/6

Yes! They’d done it. Now all they needed was the quest complete window, and they could go find the dungeon interface.

Time Remaining – 0:50

Time Remaining – 0:49

Time Remaining – 0:48

The timer hadn’t stopped. Why hadn’t the timer stopped!?

Hiral looked at the great beast, the countdown continuing in his peripheral vision. What else did they have to do? The Princewas sealed.

Sealed. Not defeated.

Hiral lifted both RHCs and started pulling the triggers. The thick scales, seemingly indestructible before, exploded into shards as his blasts hit. Two more shots, and green blood flowed like a river. But the Prince was much bigger than the King had been. It would take far too long for him to dig through to something vulnerable.

If he was alone.

“Attack it! We have to kill it before the timer hits zero!” he shouted, pulling his triggers again and again. “Hurry!” The memory of the promised vengeance was a little too clear in his mind.

Purple flames leapt into the air up near the front, then orbs of cold lobbed in from the side.

Time Remaining – 0:30

Time Remaining – 0:29

Time Remaining – 0:28

Hiral charged energy into both pistols, then pulled the triggers. He hit it with everything he could, and silently prayed it was enough as the rest of the party did the same.

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