It had been two hours since Thall had noticed it. A figure was raining arrows on the goblins from the walls of the fortress. At first, he had thought it to be a glitch. Perhaps one of the goblins was attacking their own. But when the hired archer did not show up in any of the other areas, Thall began to suspect it to be the mercenary. He was supposed to keep an eye on her, but it was hard to do that from down on the ground.
The past two hours of fighting had dimmed down the enemy forces, and everyone was tired. Thall was fighting one of the last remaining goblins in his area. He shoved the creature down onto the ground and planted his sword in its heart. The goblin dematerialized, with a short exp message popping up. Besil, Thall’s mentor, approached him, his greathammer resting on his shoulder.
“The others are cleaning up the rest of the stragglers.” Besil said. “We didn’t lose anyone, but the other guilds had a few casualties.”
“We haven’t even made it to the fortress yet.” Thall remarked. He sheathed his sword and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. “When we get inside, the fight will be tougher.” He paused to look at the wounded soldiers from the other guilds. “Are they ready for this? I don’t want to see a repeat of last floor.”
“We’ll make it.” Besil said. He sounded tired, but confident. He looked up at the fortress for a moment. “… I take it you noticed it, too.”
Thall looked up. The archer was gone now.
“Yeah, it has to be the merc.” Thall spoke with a hint of distaste in his voice.
“You know what we discussed.” Besil reminded.
The fields had been cleared of the last remaining goblins, and the guilds all voted on a 30 minute break. When it was done, they headed inside through the massive gates.
---
The players stepped into a dimly lit hallway. At the end of it was a large goblin, about five times the size of the ones they fought outside. It had a heavy club in one hand, and a spiked shield in the other. The armor it wore was made of mismatching pieces and he was covered in scars.
“I-Is that the boss?” One of the soldiers from a smaller guild asked with a shaken voice.
“We just came in here. It can’t be the goblin king yet.” Another soldier said. “It looks like a side boss.”
“That’s the side boss?!” Another one asked. Murmur began to spread.
Thall and the other members of Vanguard were silent. The side-boss hadn’t noticed the players yet, due to the sheer size of the hallway. Besil, who was the main tactician of Vanguard, was studying the creature from afar. Next to him was Darrus, Vanguard’s leader.
“Its legs don’t have much armor.” Besil pondered out loud. “It has no sidearm, so that club has got to be its main weapon. He’ll be swinging it around widely, so we can’t let him hit too many of us at once…” His voice trailed off in thought.
“The other guild leaders have notified me.” Darrus said. “They will begin the attack shortly. Their plan is to spread out and surround the enemy. Want me to ask for more time?”
“See if you can get them to focus fire on its legs.” Besil spoke. “The rest of its body is heavily armored.”
Darrus nodded and sent a voice message to the other leaders. Most of them said they would try to do as suggested, but were making no promises. It was good enough, so Darrus turned around to address his own men.
“Vanguard, Knights of the Blood Oath, and another guild will be leading the charge together!” He shouted. “We will spread out to minimize the area damage. Surround the creature, focus fire on its legs, but do not clump up. We can only have one or two of us close enough to attack it at any given time, so make use of the switch function.”
He stopped for a moment to let all of the soldiers process the plan. He then spoke again.
“Remember what you fight for. We’re here to pave the way towards safety, be it with it the enemy’s blood, or ours!”
The soldiers did a battlecry in unison.
“The other guilds are ready. Let’s go.” Darrus ended his short speech.
The past two hours of fighting had dimmed down the enemy forces, and everyone was tired. Thall was fighting one of the last remaining goblins in his area. He shoved the creature down onto the ground and planted his sword in its heart. The goblin dematerialized, with a short exp message popping up. Besil, Thall’s mentor, approached him, his greathammer resting on his shoulder.
“The others are cleaning up the rest of the stragglers.” Besil said. “We didn’t lose anyone, but the other guilds had a few casualties.”
“We haven’t even made it to the fortress yet.” Thall remarked. He sheathed his sword and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. “When we get inside, the fight will be tougher.” He paused to look at the wounded soldiers from the other guilds. “Are they ready for this? I don’t want to see a repeat of last floor.”
“We’ll make it.” Besil said. He sounded tired, but confident. He looked up at the fortress for a moment. “… I take it you noticed it, too.”
Thall looked up. The archer was gone now.
“Yeah, it has to be the merc.” Thall spoke with a hint of distaste in his voice.
“You know what we discussed.” Besil reminded.
The fields had been cleared of the last remaining goblins, and the guilds all voted on a 30 minute break. When it was done, they headed inside through the massive gates.
The players stepped into a dimly lit hallway. At the end of it was a large goblin, about five times the size of the ones they fought outside. It had a heavy club in one hand, and a spiked shield in the other. The armor it wore was made of mismatching pieces and he was covered in scars.
“I-Is that the boss?” One of the soldiers from a smaller guild asked with a shaken voice.
“We just came in here. It can’t be the goblin king yet.” Another soldier said. “It looks like a side boss.”
“That’s the side boss?!” Another one asked. Murmur began to spread.
Thall and the other members of Vanguard were silent. The side-boss hadn’t noticed the players yet, due to the sheer size of the hallway. Besil, who was the main tactician of Vanguard, was studying the creature from afar. Next to him was Darrus, Vanguard’s leader.
“Its legs don’t have much armor.” Besil pondered out loud. “It has no sidearm, so that club has got to be its main weapon. He’ll be swinging it around widely, so we can’t let him hit too many of us at once…” His voice trailed off in thought.
“The other guild leaders have notified me.” Darrus said. “They will begin the attack shortly. Their plan is to spread out and surround the enemy. Want me to ask for more time?”
“See if you can get them to focus fire on its legs.” Besil spoke. “The rest of its body is heavily armored.”
Darrus nodded and sent a voice message to the other leaders. Most of them said they would try to do as suggested, but were making no promises. It was good enough, so Darrus turned around to address his own men.
“Vanguard, Knights of the Blood Oath, and another guild will be leading the charge together!” He shouted. “We will spread out to minimize the area damage. Surround the creature, focus fire on its legs, but do not clump up. We can only have one or two of us close enough to attack it at any given time, so make use of the switch function.”
He stopped for a moment to let all of the soldiers process the plan. He then spoke again.
“Remember what you fight for. We’re here to pave the way towards safety, be it with it the enemy’s blood, or ours!”
The soldiers did a battlecry in unison.
“The other guilds are ready. Let’s go.” Darrus ended his short speech.