Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 378

Chapter 378 – Ambush

They purchased a map of the floor from one of the local shops, and started to make plans. The question was in what order they would take attempt to take on the minibosses. There didn’t seem to be pre-set boss rooms for these minibosses, which meant that they would have to take time to search them out. That wasn’t a problem, really, but there was a question about timing, and logistics.

The ’efficient’ way to do it would be to hit all three minibosses on the same trip out from Khav-Szarol. If they were playing a game, that would absolutely be how they did it, starting with the Hunter, then the Patrol, and finally ending with the Caravan, before leading any captured slaves back to the outpost. However, unlike in games, they had no way of knowing the timing of when caravan was coming through, and none of them believed that the Demon of the Dungeon would simply just… keep the caravan from reaching Shatterchain, just so they could attack it.

However, if they went with the caravan first, then they would need to either return to the outpost to deliver any captured survivors, or haul them through the caves as they went to face the other minibosses, which would greatly increase the difficulty. There was also the fact that they had been going for almost twelve hours, now, if they included the time from when they had rested in the safe zone of the Pyramid on the fifteenth floor. And while a twelve-hour work day was nothing to a team of Tier 2s, even mage-types like herself, Gracie new better than to try and push her team too hard. Sure, they hadn’t been pushing themselves terribly hard, but exploring unknown caverns in the dark wore heavily on a person used to life above ground. Fatigue would eventually catch up with them, whether mentally or physically, and that would cause them to make mistakes.

Gracie sighed, and looked to her High Priest, “Ramon, we need an [Augury].”

Ramon nodded, and said, “As you know, Mistress, the skill allows me to ask three questions of Lord Kuronoth, but they must be in a form where they can be answered with ‘Yes’, ‘No’, or ‘Uncertain’. The answers will be the truth, but will have no details other than that. And I will not be able to use this skill again for twenty-four hours unless I prepare sufficient offerings.”

“That’s fine. The questions we need answered are simple. Do we have time to have a night’s rest before the escaped slave caravan arrives? Will the caravan make a straight line for Shatterchain? Will we encounter the Shatterchain patrol on the way back?”

Ramon took a breath, and then activated the skill. [Augury] was one of the skills that the Priest class got access to at Level 20 in Tier 1. Basically, it let them ask three questions of their chosen deity, and the deity would answer truthfully. However, gods were not omniscient, so something that was unknown to the god would come back either as ‘Uncertain’ or the truthful answer, as the god in question knew it.

Unfortunately, you also needed to be pretty specific in your questions. The more general your question was, the more likely you were to get an answer of ‘Uncertain’. That was especially true for any kind of combat-related question. Even if stats and levels meant that a single bullet to the head wasn’t immediately fatal (unless you had some obscene skills, or massively outleveled the target), there were too many variables when it came to combat for any deity to answer confidently on whether or not you would win a fight, unless the gap in power was so vast that you didn’t need to bother asking in the first place. Trying to get actual predictions of whether you would win or lose a fight was more a Diviner’s gig.

In other words, it was a skill that could be incredibly useful when you had specific questions, but outside of that niche it was problematic, at best. However, for the questions that Gracie had put forth, they should be fine. For some reason, creature movements were a lot different from combat results, at least as far as the [Augury] skill went. Probably just had fewer variables to mess things up.

Ramon’s eyes went pure white as the skill took effect. In a detached, otherworldly voice, he recited the questions as he’d been given them, along with the replies. Yes. Yes. Uncertain. And then, the white glow faded from his eyes, and the High Priest looked to his Mistress. “It is as you heard. We have time to rest, if you wish it, Mistress.”

“Excellent. Let us find an inn, so we can rest up, and head out early tomorrow morning. If there’s a chance we’ll run into the patrol on the way back, then I want us to be as rested as possible before we take on the caravan. Just in case.”

Fortunately, finding an inn wasn’t that difficult. In fact, there were a couple that just so happened to have rooms free. One was higher-end, aimed more at higher-leveled merchants and wealthier adventurers, while the other was more for ‘common folk’. However, the more expensive inn had a bath large enough for their entire group to share, and rooms large enough for a Slave Master and some of their choice pets. Or, in her case, a Battleslave Commander and her battle harem.

The next morning, they set out immediately, after having a simple breakfast of bread and cheese with some wine. Nothing spectacular, but all of it was quality material, and would see them to lunch, at least, without weighing too heavily on their stomachs while they went about finding the caravan. Nalaea surprised Gracie by having a [Mass Darkvision] spell, even though she was a Force Mage. However, it turned out that the Dedicated Scholar profession had a couple very useful skills in that regard. [Magical Learning] allowed the Dedicated Scholar to learn spells from other classes, so long as she spent at least ten hours studying the spell. Not terribly useful for most combat spells, since they only lasted an instant, but for spells with a longer duration, especially ones that reserved a portion of the caster’s MP pool? Very nice.

Of course, just knowing the spells without having any supporting skills wouldn’t help much. Most spellcasting classes had skills that would boost the potency of their spells, or lower the costs, or make them harder to counter. Even if they had those skills from their class, a Dedicated Scholar wouldn’t be able to apply them to spells learned through [Magical Learning].

To help with that, Dedicated Scholars had [Utility Magics]. The skill lowered the cost of any non-combat spell learned through [Magical Learning], allowing them to at least not hamper themselves too badly when using those spells. Wouldn’t help a Dedicated Scholar who managed to be around a Flame Sorceress long enough to learn [Fireball], but it was good for allowing the Dedicated Scholar to apply the knowledge they gained.

Thanks to that, they were able to move quickly through the caverns, without carrying lights to give away their position. While only Liam and Ricardo had any real [Stealth] skills, the others could all at least avoid drawing too much attention as they moved. They’d had plenty of practice, in areas like the shadowed woods before you got to the Ranger’s Mansion, or when they were going on jobs elsewhere. Even Dhon and Nalaea were able to move somewhat stealthily.

It took them just over an hour to reach the locked gate to the teleport circle. The gate itself was cold steel, warded with a barrier of force to prevent anyone from slipping through or trying to shatter the gate. A circular socket in the gate glowed a pale silver. It was perhaps no brighter than an ember about to go out, but in the darkness, it was plenty visible. Clearly, this is where the keystone went, to open the gate and get to the teleport circle.

Liam shook his head. “No good, Mistress. We won’t be able to make a proper ambush, here. The tunnel may be wide enough for fighting, but there’s no cover. Anyone with the slightest darkvision or even a torch will see us immediately, probably before the gate even opens. They might try and return back from whence they came.”

“Lead the way, Liam, towards Shatterchain. Tell us when you find someplace that looks like a suitable ambush site. The caravan will be taking the straight road, so we can probably find someplace good.”

Another half-hour of travel, and we found what we needed. A largish natural cavern, with stalagmites and stalactites providing some cover, and a stone bridge over a swift-moving underground river. Where the river came from, and where it went, there was no clue, since it emerged from and disappeared into holes in the stone wall.

Liam put the skills he retained from being a Ranger back in Tier 1 to use, quickly arranging everyone where they would be able to stage an effective ambush. And just in time, too. Ricardo, who had lingered in the shadows closer to the gate, came slipping back just as we got into position. “They are coming. Two torches, front and back. Six guards, mix of races and classes. All high Tier 2. Thirty escapees, levels range from Tier 1, Level 5 to Tier 2, Level 10. Not obviously armed or armored, so minimal threat. Ten minutes at their current pace.”

Soon, the light from the first torch was in view, and the escapees not long after. Torches were held by a knelfi High Priest in the front, and a rodaini Soulshaker Bard in the back. Three fimaazro Weaponmasters up front, flanking the High Priest, and a dogik Frostflame Sorcerer back with the bard. All with the Escaped Slave title. Effective enough party, for most things. Too bad it wouldn’t help them now.

Gracie started things off with an [Azureflame Ray]. It was a single-target spell designed for piercing defenses and dealing high damage. She hit the bard square in the face. Critical hit, not enough to kill. Might have blinded them, though. Either way, having half your face burned off was sure to keep most performers from doing anything but performing, which meant that the bard’s buffs, and whatever other nastiness they got from being a Soulshaker Bard, weren’t going to be in play, at least until they got some healing.

Healing they weren’t going to get, as Liam put two arrows through the High Priest’s throat, silencing him. Probably also giving them some form of suffocation debuff, as well. Nothing pulling the arrows out and pouring a potion down the knelfi’s throat wouldn’t solve, but the knelfi had bigger problems, like Ricardo appearing out of their shadow and introducing them to the business ends of his daggers.

A howl from Dhon announced the Dire Hellhound’s presence as he leapt out of hiding, and bit down, hard, on the dogik sorcerer’s front leg, causing a crunching sound as fangs pierced chitin. The Frostflame Sorcerer tried to respond, but Logan expertly timed her [Counterspell] casts, forcibly shutting down the giant spider’s attempts at casting. That left the magic user to fight in melee with a warrior who was primarily a melee combatant. No worries about that one.

King and Ramon joined Liam and Ricardo in attacking the guards to the front of the crowd, keeping them from doing anything to rescue their priest. The escaped slaves screamed, and began looking for someplace to run, but walls of force appeared in front of the bridge, and on the cavern entrance behind the slaves, thanks to Nalaea. They were penned in, unless they wanted to try jumping over the river.

Gracie sent an [Azureflame Chain] through the defenders. A spell of her own invention based off the [Chain Lightning] spell, the blue flames struck the bard again, before bouncing to the sorcerer, and then arcing over the chaff to hit the priest, before striking all three of the fighters in turn. It was a complicated spell, one that required a good deal of control and a proper view of the battlefield, if one wished to use it like that, instead of simply branching to any of the nearest targets in turn.

The fight continued on for a bit after that, but everyone knew it was over after that ambush. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to capture most of the defenders. All three of the fighters fought to the end, rather than risk being recaptured. The bard even slit her own throat when no one was looking. However, the priest was still barely alive once Ramon stabilized him, and the dogik sorcerer was left with eight broken legs, effectively keeping them from casting or attempting to follow the bard.

The two defenders got a [Slave Brand], which would make it much harder for them to escape again. Gracie then moved through the Escaped Slaves, who were weeping, but otherwise didn’t resist. Some had been collared, and now knew the [Slave Brand] for the first time, but four had brands already. Their former masters must have been especially careless, or were dead. No matter, she reactivated their brands all the same.

“Excellent. Ramon, heal the two surviving fighters enough so that they can walk. Ricardo, you and the others arrange the dead so that they send a proper message.”

“Of course, Mistress. I know just what to do,” the Shadowblade smiled wickedly.