HTN Breanne Ch 2 Not worth it

The gloom of the cave was broken in places by magical torches placed in sconces on the wall. Elidia explained how they were part of the dungeon, paid for in points by the owner. A player could take one and carry it, but it would burn out after about an hour. Once it expired, the dungeon would respawn it back where the player picked it up according to the dungeon owner's settings.

“So it might respawn right away?” Breanne asked, earning a look from Gorthal, who was concerned she was too new.

“It depends on what the owner selected. They can set a timer, so it respawns immediately or up to twenty-four hours later. They can even set it, so they don't respawn until the owner manually chooses it,” Eladra explained.

Breanne nodded as they passed one of the magical lights, noting just how real it looked. Of course, the light was of little consequence to this group, as they were all elves and could see in the dark. Still, she was impressed that even a dancing flame looked so real she couldn't tell the difference.

“Head’s up,” Chevin said as he raised his shield and peered into a chamber opening ahead. “I hear something moving.”

Eladra gently drew her bowstring enough to make an arrow appear and told Breanne to be ready with a spell. Chevin led the way, walking boldly into the chamber to draw any fire. HeShe was rewarded by a shape rushing from the far wall with a crude club in its hand. It looked human but was barely a meter tall and gaunt as a withered corpse. It had thick oily black hair and a long pointed nose with pitiless white eyes. It wore what appeared to be rags, and its pale skin was blotched with filth.

Eladra loosed an arrow, sinking it in the creature's chest before Breanne could react. Chevin laughed as the monster fell from one hit, but suddenly there were more. Six of the beasts poured out of a nearby tunnel, charging at Chevin as if the others didn't exist.

“Filthy, Millocs,” Chevin cried as he cut one down. “I hate how bad they smell.”

Gorthal lifted a spiked hammer and ran in to help, the two armored boys standing back to back as the monsters circled them. Eladra fired another arrow, then looked at Breanne and demanded she do something.

Breanne had been stunned by the sudden attack and even more by the spilling of blood. She nodded in understanding and quickly fell into her simple spell. A single bolt of blackness raced from her hand, striking one of the monsters and causing it to wail. She realized that her attacks were not as effective as the others and quickly hurled more, desperate to avoid being scolded. As the creatures began to fall, Breanne discovered her heart was racing. The whole experience was exhilarating, and she couldn't believe how much she was enjoying it. When the last beast fell to Chevin's sword, he announced that he hadn't been scratched.

Gorthal admitted that he hadn't been either, then made a snide remark that scratching was all Breanne could do. Chevin brushed him off and suggested they search for treasure, but Breanne didn't miss the glare Gorthal gave her before moving on.

“Just ignore him,” Eladra whispered. “You did fine.”

“I hate to say it, but he's right. I have never done this before,” Breanne whispered back as they ventured into the room.

“You will figure it out soon enough,” Eladra said and kicked over one of the bodies. “We all started at level one and had to work our way up.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, what level are you?” Breanne questioned.

Eladra shook her head before leaning in close so the boys wouldn’t overhear.

“Just between you and me, people consider it rude to ask what level somebody is.”

“Why?” Breanne asked in surprise.

“Because players will kill another player if they are sure they can win,” Eladra replied. “You get a lot of experience killing players, so people jump at the chance. The problem is you can never be sure what level they are, so it's always a risk. Thus, asking somebody what level they are is like asking if you could kill them.”

“That sounds terrible,” Breanne sighed. “I had higher hopes for this place.”

“You will get used to it,” Eladra laughed as Chevin called out that he had found something. They hurried over to see a small hole dug in the floor, inside of which were maybe a dozen tarnished coins.

“Our first score of the adventure,” Chevin stated and knelt to pick up the coins.

“We're gonna need a lot more than that to make walking this far worth it,” Gorthal grumbled, then commented that the nearby rooms were probably full of Millocs and tiny loot piles like this one. Chevin was undaunted and assured him they had to get passed the low-level trash to find the good stuff.

With the treasure collected, they headed down the only other tunnel, and sure enough, Gorthal was right. The cave turned into a warren of interconnected chambers that made up lairs for small clumps of the filthy monsters. In every battle, the two boys rushed in and got the enemy's attention while the girls fired arrows and spells from a distance. They searched the various rooms and managed to triple their haul, but as Gorthal kept pointing out, it was still a pittance.

“We’re here for the loot those other two left behind,” Chevin reminded him. “They insisted they left a pack full of coins between them.”

“And did they say where this pack was?” Gorthal asked as they rounded a corner to peer into a cave full of stalactites.

“They said it was on the second floor, well beyond the stairs,” Chevin replied.

“That shouldn’t be too far,” Breanne suggested causing Chevin to laugh.

“I like your enthusiasm, but these cave levels might be rather expansive. It could take us hours to find the stairs and then several more to find our way to where they died,” he pointed out.

“And we have no idea if the warlock took the pack,” Gorthal commented. “All we might find is a bloodstain where they fell.”

“A good point,” Chevin laughed. “But did you have anything better to do today?”

They laughed and pressed on, moving deeper into the caves hunting for treasure. Breanne spent most of her time talking to Eladra as the woman shared stories about previous adventures. Breanne was amazed at how exciting and heroic it all sounded. She wondered if she would prefer to travel the world and adventure instead of haunting some isolated place.

They encountered their first trap about an hour in when Chevin fell into a shallow pit. Eladra laughed as Gorthal threw him a rope and she helped pull the clumsy man up. They both complained about his weight and suggested he leave his armor down there. Breanne decided to help, and together the three of them managed to get him back up.

Breanne then marveled at the beautiful magic that was healing when Gorthal wiped away any hint of the injuries. It was marvelous to see the scrapes on his face fade away under a golden light. To think of all the pains and ailments that plagued her friends at the retirement home and how easily they could be removed here. Nobody had to suffer any long-lasting injury or medical condition, and even serious wounds could be mended in seconds.

They pressed on and encountered something akin to a werewolf, but it was more of a blend of man and rat. It fought tenaciously, easily darting about the room to avoid spells and arrows. The boys finally managed to corner and bring it down, but only after a few heavy blows. It turned out to have slightly better treasure with an assortment of coins and a silver ring. A few rooms in, they encountered some giant rats and a hall full of skeletons after that.

Breanne was genuinely beginning to enjoy herself, and after what seemed like hours of fighting, they found a room made of stone bricks with a staircase going to a lower level.

“Finally,” Chevin cried and headed for the steps. “Let’s hope the treasure is still where they dropped it.”

“Let’s hope the warlock isn’t still guarding it,” Eladra added.

“I told you, they were a team of two. We are four with all our bases covered,” Chevin reminded.

“Except rogue,” Eladra pointed out, but Chevin waved her off and took the lead into a room made of old bricks.

“So now it’s a proper dungeon,” Gorthal said as they looked about the empty room.

“The caves must be meant to hide the lower halls,” Chevin guessed. “I bet a lot of people assume it's a world spawn cave and the trash in the front makes them think it's not worth the trouble.”

“Could be,” Eladra added as she looked into the only hall that led away. “Or our warlock friend might simply like to change things up?”

Chevin shrugged and took the lead, parading down the hall as Eladra leaned to Breanne and whispered.

“I bet he sets off a trap in the next twenty minutes,” she said.

“Why are you so sure?” Breanne asked.

“Because mechanical traps are easy to hide in dungeon corridors,” Eladra replied and gestured that they should start following.

Chevin walked ten paces ahead of Gorthal, who was ten paces ahead of the girls. The tunnels here were more frequently lit by torches and helped to illuminate the musty corridors. It was a fantastic place that reminded Breanne of an old castle with damp walls and moldy stone bricks. They crept along with the thump of armored feet, the only noise they could hear. After a few minutes, the tunnel opened into a rectangular room in the center of which was a single chest.

“I bet your life it’s trapped,” Gorthal said as Chevin eyed it. “Have the new girl open it so she can be of use for a change.”

“Will you stop picking on me,” Breanne shouted.

“As soon as you start being useful,” he replied without looking back.

“I will open it,” Chevin said to end the argument and walked to the center of the room. He tapped the chest with his sword to see if anything happened before daring to try and pry the lid open with the tip.

“Go on,” Gorthal teased. “I can heal you if it cuts off your hand.”

Chevin laughed and grabbed the edge, pulling it open as a hail of darts filled the room all around the chest but leaving the chest itself untouched.

“Of course!” Gorthal yelled as he was punctured a dozen times, leaving Chevin and the women untouched.

“Huh, it's empty,” Chevin said as he looked back with a smile. “Guess the trap was to catch the party and not the chest opener.

“This is why we stand way back,” Eladra laughed to Breanne. “They should have brought a rogue to detect traps. Since they didn’t want to look for one, the meat shields can find all the traps.”

Gorthal was not amused as he pulled darts from his armor while cursing that he wasn’t going to heal anyone from now on.

“Oh, don't be a spoilsport,” Chevin laughed and looked around to see a hall going left and another going right. “Which way should we go?”

“Let me look,” Eladra said and stepped into the room. Breanne followed as the woman went to the right runnel and held out a hand while speaking the phrase reveal path.

“What does that do?” Breanne asked.

“It's a tracking ability,” Eladra replied as she knelt to look closely at the floor. “If those players came this way, I might be able to detect their passage.”

“And?” Chevin asked.

“Nothing here,” Eladra sighed and went to the other tunnel. She used her ability again and smiled as faint boot prints only she could see appeared. “Looks like two went this way not too long ago.”

“Then we go that way,” Chevin said. “You can lead us directly to where they died.”

“Again, you are assuming too much,” Eladra corrected. “The skill doesn't always work, and if anything passed over their tracks recently, they might override them.”

“Any guidance is better than none,” Chevin replied as he raised his shield and took the lead.

The tunnel went a short distance and then opened into a larger hall with an arched ceiling. Several corridors branched off on either side, and Chevin suggested Eladra check them all. She tested the first one and found nothing. She headed for the second hall when something wrapped around her stomach, and she was hoisted off her feet.

“Help!” she cried as a green tentacle pulled her away, lifting her toward a roughly round mass of similar limbs writing on the ceiling. There was a single bird-like beak in the center of the mass with a ring of eyes spaced around it.

“Dungeon stalker!" Chevin shouted as he charged across the room and leaped to try and cut the appendage. He landed a solid hit causing it to uncoil and drop Eladra, who landed with acrobatic grace rolling back to her feet with bow drawn.

“Thanks for the assist," she said to Chevin, who replied with a nod as he tried to figure out how to reach the monster.

“It’s too high up,” Gorthal complained as he stood below helplessly.

“Not for me," Eladra replied and fired a silver arrow that left a glittering trail. The beast screeched from the hit and began to flail with four rope-like arms that were long enough to reach across the room. Its attacks were precise, and Chevin was quickly battered aside, as was Eladra, who had to retreat into one of the side tunnels.

“Shoot the damn thing!" Gorthal barked at Breanne, who was once again frozen in surprise.

She nodded and fell into her spells, firing black darts that seemed to be doing very little damage. She did her best to keep a hail of the spells going as the two men tried to battle the long arms. It was obvious they were having trouble as the arms snapped like whips and tossed them aside like toys. Eladra tried to shoot it from the safety of her hall but was doing very little damage.

“There must be a better way to deal with this,” Chevin shouted as he blocked a flailing arm with his shield.

“Maybe there is," Breanne said as she thought of her only other shadow ability. With a raised hand, she focused on the mass near the ceiling and created a cloud of darkness, blinding the monster.

“What?” Chevin said as the beast withdrew its arms and began to flail at the darkness as if trying to wipe it away.

“It can’t see out of that cloud,” Breanne said and fired another shadow bolt into it. “But we know roughly where it is.”

“Good call,” Eladra replied and fired an arrow into the center of the blackness producing a wail. Breanne joined in, and after a dozen more arrows and bolts, the green mass fell from the darkness and crashed to the floor. It thrashed a few more times but went still as sticky blue blood poured from the dozens of wounds.

“Took you long enough to think of it, but good job,” Gorthal said as he healed Chevin of some of his bruises.

“See, you just needed to get your feet wet," Eladra said with a wink and inspected the tunnels until she found the one with the tracks.

They wandered through a dozen more rooms fighting all sorts of creatures while acquiring a small amount of treasure. Breanne had a chance to use her darkness again when a withered-looking mage attacked and began hurling spells from a distance. They briefly thought this might have been the warlock, but the lack of any useful gear convinced them it was an NPC.

Breanne found she was enjoying the thrill of danger as they pressed deeper and deeper into the twisting maze. Every moment felt tense, giving a sensation of being alive that she hadn't felt in years. She wished she could tell her friends back at the home and implore them to change their minds. This was something that had to be experienced to be believed, and she was loving every minute of it.

Eventually, they came to another wide hall, and Eladra said she found more tracks leading straight down the hall. Chevin took the lead as always, bravely acting as bait and trap finder to protect the others.

“I see something,” he said from his position well ahead. “I think it’s a couple of bodies.”

Sure enough, two corpses came into view, and Breanne nearly laughed to see it was the couple that respawned in the graveyard while she was there. Chevin crept up on the bodies as the others looked around, wary of what had killed them.

“I don’t see anything,” Eladra said as she held an arrow at the ready.

“Maybe whatever it was moved on?” Gorthal suggested as he nervously watched distant shadows.

“I see the packs," Chevin said with an optimistic tone and knelt at the closest body. No sooner did he reach to turn the body over than a slamming sound echoed down the hall, followed by a strange light.

“I knew it wouldn’t be that easy,” Gorthal grumbled as Chevin raised his shield and stepped back.

At the farthest end of the hall was a flickering green light that suddenly faded, leaving that end in darkness. Even their elven sight couldn't pierce the gloom, but two forms stepped out a moment later. Both were humanoid but distinctly different. One wore a black robe with a heavy hood and glowing purple symbols circling his head. The other looked more like a fish with scaly skin and bulbous eyes. It had an unnaturally largemouth and webbed hands whose fingers ended in hooked black claws.

“And would be the warlock,” Chevin said as he backed up.

“How do you know it’s the warlock?” Breanne asked as she grew tense.

“Warlocks summon things to fight for them,” Eladra replied as she raised her bow. “They come in two varieties, infernal or chaos.”

“And this one is?” Breanne asked.

“Chaos,” Gorthal replied and pointed his weapon at the approaching fish creature. “That’s a silistu demon.”

“Can we handle this?" Eladra asked as the pair approached at a walking pace.

“Silistu are pretty low level for demons, but it will still hit hard,” Gorthal said.

“There are four of us," Chevin reminded as he drew his sword and set his feet. "I will tank the monster. Put as many arrows as you can into the warlock."

“And what do I do?” Breanne asked as she turned to Eladra.

“Don't die," the woman said and fired an arrow that struck a magical barrier around the warlock and bounced aside.

“Kill them," the hooded man said, causing the fish demon to rush forward with claws raised. Chevin charged directly into the beast, but one blow from its clawed hand caused a shower of sparks and pushed him back. The warlock ignored the battle and focused his effort on Eladra, firing a twisting bolt of purple and red. Eladra dived out of the way as the spell hissed through the air, a strange illumination following it down the hall. Gorthal cast something called stone shield on Chevin then charged the warlock to draw his fire away from Eladra.

The warlock laughed with a strange echo, dancing his hands as they started to trail fire. A moment later, flames raced out in all directions searing across Gorthal and causing him to cry out. Breanne reacted to the attack with a shadow bolt, striking the warlock and causing him to look at her curiously.

“You call that shadow magic?" he asked as she caught a glimpse of glowing red eyes under his cowl. He stretched a hand her way, and out came a beam of pure midnight. She was struck directly in the chest and hurled back as her body filled with pain.

“Breanne!" Eladra cried, then raised her bow as she chanted a spell to augment her next shot. An arrow of spiraling blue light formed then raced out, striking the warlocks barrier with a shattering sound. Cracks of light appeared in the air, but the barrier held, and the warlock turned on Gorthal, who had recovered and was closing in.

Eladra fired another blue bolt to keep the warlock busy, then put two normal arrows in the fish creature that was pushing Chevin back with ease. With every shot, she moved closer to Breanne, who was curled in a ball along the wall.

“Get up,” Eladra urged as Breanne gasped for air.

“I think my ribs are broken,” Breanne wheezed. “Everything hurts.”

“Gorthal can heal it after the battle, but we need you if we are going to win," Eladra urged while firing another arrow at the warlock, who ignored it.

“His shadow magic is much higher than mine,” Breanne gasped as she tried to get to her hands and knees.

“Just do what you can and use the tunnel for cover," Eladra pleaded, then dived out of the way of a hail of black darts cast from the warlock who now had Gorthal wrapped in magical chains.

Breanne got to her feet and wondered if she would die on her first adventure. With the situation looking hopeless, she joined Eladra in pelting their enemies with long-range fire, but it did no good. The warlock had Gorthal immobilized and could now return the attacks with superior spells. Unfortunately, Chevin was in no position to help and, judging by the tears in his armor, was in need of a few heals. Breanne realized that they needed Gorthal back in the fight and, in a burst of inspiration, had an idea. It would be a considerable risk, but if they had any hope of making it out alive, she had to take it. Bravely Breanne staggered out, her ribs hurting too badly to run but wisely used her darkness spell to create pockets of blackness to block the warlock's view.

“Darkness?" the warlock laughed as Breanne tried to stay out of his sight. He used a spell to dispel one of the pockets, but Breanne was already inside another, using them to hide as she moved closer to Gorthal. The warlock filled another patch of darkness with fire, hoping to cook Breanne inside, but she kept moving. To confuse things, she created three pockets of darkness then dropped one directly on Gorthal as she ran to him.

Though the darkness could blind even elven sight, Breanne was something more. Despite her living appearance, she was still a banshee, and they could see through a darkness spell. There was nothing she could do to break the chains at her level, but there was a trick she could try. Thankfully Gorthal was blinded by the darkness and couldn't see Breanne as her skin became withered and gaunt as it faded to a translucent white. Her hair flew out in wild tangles as a red light replaced her once beautiful eyes. The lovely gown of elven design she once wore became a covering of tatters and frays as if it had rotted over a hundred years.

Quickly she grabbed Gorthal and, with her racial ability to become spectral, took him with her. He cried out at the sudden touch of ice as he faded into the world of ghosts, and she pulled him out of the chains. He stumbled out of the cloud of darkness with a chill running down his spine as Breanne quickly let her banshee form go. She followed out a moment later, looking alive and normal for the others to see.

“We need heals," Breanne urged as Gorthal tried to work out what happened. He turned to see Chevin was faltering and quickly raised his weapon and pronounced a healing gift. Chevin was immediately surrounded by a cloud of glittering sparkles as his smile returned. He quickly cast one on Eladra then put another on himself.

“How did you escape my chains?” the warlock hissed and pointed a finger Gorthal’s way. Gorthal shouted the words bulwark of protection, and a golden bubble formed around him. A second beam of shadows raced from the warlock and stuck the bubble, but Gorthal was completely protected.

“We’re leaving here, now!” he shouted and took off with his bubble to protect him.

Chevin called on something called mighty slam and caused a burst of light as he struck the fish monster with his shield. The beast reeled as if dazed and Chevin too turned to run, joining Eladra as the three-headed for the exit.

“Wait!” Breanne cried as she struggled to run after them, her wounds slowing her down.

“We can't leave Breanne!" Eladra cried, but Gorthal didn't even look back. Instead, he kept running until he reached the far door, then stood in it so his bubble would block the warlock's spells.

“Out or we all die!” he shouted as Chevin ran passed him.

Eladra stopped short and turned to fire arrows to help cover Breanne, who was staggering as fast as she could.

“It's too late," Gorthal cried and grabbed Eladra by the shoulder. He yanked her into the tunnel as the warlock raised his hands and loudly clapped. Doors descended from the ceiling, blocking every passage and cutting  Breanne off from the others. She realized she would never make it to the far side, so she ducked into a side passage and slumped against the door.

“Your friends have abandoned you,” she heard the warlock say as her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. “I suppose I will let my pet deal with you. He so likes to eat elven maidens.”

His words sent a wave of fear down her spine like she had never experienced in her life. With legs trembling, she stood and turned to the stone barrier that sealed the tunnel. Her skin withered once again, and she floated into the air more ghost than woman. Just as the warlock turned the corner, Breanne passed through the barrier into the tunnel on the other side.

“Gone?" she heard his muffled voice say. "She must have had a recall stone." Something gurgled a response, and the warlock laughed and told his pet that more food would come soon.

Breanne slumped against the wall with a dazed groan as her heart raced. She was trapped and alone in a dungeon with only two choices. Try to find a way out by exploring the hall before her, or risk going back to the room she just fled. She began to wish she had never accepted their invitation and had stayed at the inn. Unfortunately, it was too late for regrets, and her wounds ached despite the spectral form. One way or another, she was going to leave this dungeon, but would it be through her first death?