Samira still slept in their bed. She was human, just like him. Well, more human, anyways. There were a few scales on his body, a trait he had inherited from his great-grandfather, a fire dragon. Rumor had it the old lizard was still alive, but they had never met.
He collected his change of clothes from the bag. This vest had a self-cleaning enchantment, courtesy of Kristal, but not the rest of his clothes. Still, he had a few pairs. Quickly, he got dressed, putting on his belt and affixing the whip, dagger, and bag to it. For now, he left off his leather gloves.
He walked over to Samira and placed his hand on her tan shoulder, gently shaking her. "Time to get up. We have to get ready."
Samira groaned slightly. "Already? Just give me another few. Still need to rest a bit from last night. Mmm… You were quite the beast~."
Dierk pulled his hand back. "Alright, you can have another 10 minutes. I'll go wake the others, but we have to have breakfast soon and check out."
"Fine." Samira rolled back into bed, pulling the covers over her naked body.
He left his girlfriend to sleep a bit longer as he exited into the hallway. He stopped at a door and knocked. "Louis, are you up? Get some pants on, it's time to get ready."
There was some rustling from the other side of the door. "Just a minute."
After a moment, a hastily dressed bunny girl emerged from the room. "Good morning, sir." She quickly darted past Dierk and ran to the stairs.
Dierk glanced at the woman as she disappeared around the corner. "The barmaid, nice." He glanced back at Louis, who had gotten his pants on, but was struggling with his shirt. "Sorry to cut your fun time short, but we have to get ready if we want to make it by nightfall."
"We’d already finished up last night, though I wouldn't mind going again." Louis smiled as his head poked out of his shirt. He then put on his necklace, a series of engraved metal plates strung together. He was the newest member of the team. They had already seen what he could do in a fight, but this was their first job together. "I'll be down in a few minutes. Save me a seat." He put on his bracelets.
"I'm going to wake up the others first." Dierk closed the door. He then walked over a few doors and knocked. "Girls, are you up?" After a quick moment without a reply, he used the spare key he got during check-in, just in case, and opened the door. Slowly, he walked inside.
Kristal was wearing her night gown. The half-elf slowly woke up in her bunk bed, grabbing her pillow and lazily throwing it at Dierk. "What are you doing in here?" She let out a yawn, still a bit sleepy.
The pillow had hit Dierk in the face before he could evade it, not that he needed to. "I came to wake everyone up. Where’s Rhann?" He glanced around, spotting only Jokribelle the dwarf on the other pair of bunk beds, a bit of drool running down her lip.
Last night, when they checked in, Dierk and Samira opted to get a room together, with only one bed. Louis, being the only other guy on the team now that Jerko was gone, got a room to himself. Andraxia had insisted on her own room and paid for it herself. However, given who just came out of Louis' room, her attempts at seducing the barmaid were unsuccessful. That just left Kristal, Rhann, and Jokribelle to share the room with two sets of bunk beds.
Dierk spotted an axe and shield on the table between the wand and crossbow. "If she doesn't turn up soon, we’ll have to go looking for her. Wake up Jokribelle and I'll get Andraxia."
"Fine." Kristal grabbed the pillow from the top bunk and threw it at the short woman as Dierk turned to leave, closing the door behind him.
He walked to the last private room their team booked for the night and knocked on the door. "Andraxia, are you in there? Time to get up." There was a muffled groan from behind the door, followed by a louder one. "Andraxia, are you okay in there?" He pressed his hand against the door. To his surprise, it pushed open slightly. He then opened it all the way.
Inside the room was a lone bed. Laying on top of it was the tiger neko Rhann, her arms and legs bound to the four corners by large webbing. Her mouth was glued shut by a bunch of webs as well. She was already awake and looked angry.
Sleeping on top of her nude body was the drow Andraxia, wearing only her brass bracer. Her arm was spread across the neko's mid size chest. The clothes of both women were scatted across the floor.
"Well, that explains what happened to Rhann. Hey, time to get up, you two.” Being met with silence from the still-asleep half, Dierk groaned and inhaled some, calling out at her in faux anger. “Andraxia, let her go!"
Andraxia slowly opened her eyes. "Nahhh, not so loud..." She started shifting around.
"Look, you need to get up and cut Rhann free. It’s time for us to go down and get breakfast.”
Andraxia slowly slid up, groaning and placing her hand on her head. "What are you even doing in here?" She glanced down at her naked form. Her dark cheeks blushed before grabbing the blanket, covering herself.
"The door wasn’t locked.”
"Well, you still shouldn't have come into a lady's room." Andraxia pulled the blanket around her body.
Rhann growled behind her gag and swung her body, knocking Andraxia off the bed.
"Ow!"
"Look, just dispel the webs and get dressed already. We’ll be downstairs." Dierk grabbed the door handle.
"Fine, fine, ugh, just GO already." Andraxia rubbed her head again. The brass spider on her bracer started to glow.
Dierk closed the door and headed back to Samira. What he left behind was quite a sight to behold; too bad he couldn't enjoy it longer.
"You stupid elf, how dare you leave me tied up like that!" Rhann's voice sounded from behind the door.
"No, wait! It's too early for this kind of rough stuff. Ow, stop it!"
After softly chuckling at the overheard banter, Dierk soon returned to his room. Samira was still sleeping in the bed. "I'm afraid that's all the time I can give you. You can rest on the wagon." He grabbed her arm and gently shook her again.
"Really? Can't I rest a little while longer?"
"No, I've already woken everyone else up."
Samira yawned. "Fine." Slowly, she got up and Dierk helped her find her clothes. Her vest also had a self cleaning enchantment, but she needed new pants and underwear from her bag. Once all that was put on, and her belt was tightened, she put her short sword and dagger at her hips. Taking his hand, the two of them walked down stairs.
Louis, Kristal, and Jokribelle were already waiting, while Andraxia and Rhann came down a few moments later, both looking hungover. They each took their seats at the table, with Rhann trying to sit away from Andraxia, but as they came late, there were only three empty seats, and they were all next to each other.
Rhann was already dressed in her armor. She wore reinforced leather over much of her body, covering a good portion of her chest and legs, without restricting her movement, while metal plating covered her breasts, shoulders, and forearms. She had yet to recover her axe from the room. Soon after sitting down, she groaned and covered her eyes.
Andraxia was dressed in her black gi, the brass bracer still on her arm. At her hip was her enchanted dagger, and around her neck was the scarf that normally covered her face. An unabashed lesbian, she frequently hit on the female members of the team, as well as any pretty girls who caught her eye, but was normally pretty good at keeping it in her pants while on missions. She was also into bondage, making use of the webbing from her enchanted bracer.
The seven of them were all members of the Storm Foxes treasure hunter guild. True to their name, they were a group that sought riches. Their guild was quite successful, and their team had gotten quite good at collecting on their target. While a kitsune led the guild as a whole, Dierk led this small team.
Dierk looked at the two of them, booth looked fatigued, but Andraxia had a swollen cheek. "Are you two okay?"
Rhann slumped over. "Not really. My head is killing me."
Andraxia leaned back and nodded. "Mine too."
Louis looked up from the menu. "I'm not surprised. You two got into a drinking contest last night after Andraxia struck out."
"Who won?" Samira asked.
"I'm not sure. They were still going at it when I left with one of the barmaids."
Andraxia shot him a look before covering her eyes again. Dierk remembered her hanging close by the bunny girl barmaid before he and Samira left for the night. The same bunny girl who came running out of Louis's room.
"I can't take this anymore. Kristal, do something." Rhann sat back up.
"I could use some healing too," added Andraxia.
"Fine, hold still." Kristal stood up and walked around the table. She closed her hand and pointed one of her rings at Rhann's head. A mystic light shined from it for a moment. Then she did the same for Andraxia. "There you go."
"Thank you. I was out of hangover potions." Rhann smiled. She was a part-time member of group, only sometimes joining the team for jobs, but it was well known among the guild hall about her love of mead.
"I always enjoy your touch." Andraxia winked and giggled. She then turned back to Rhann. "And yours."
"I barely even remember last night. How did you even get me into your room in the first place?"
"I'm not sure. I kind of blacked out here and there. How about next time, we have a night we both remember~?" Andraxia put her hand on Rhann's shoulder, now fully back to normal.
"I don't think so." Rhann pushed Andraxia back. It wasn't clear what her sexuality was, even among her guildmates, but this was far from the first time she had ended up in someone's bed after a night of drinking, or someone ending up in hers.
The barmaid on duty, another bunny girl, came up to take their orders. They each told her what they wanted, but Dierk put his foot down on any kind of alcohol this early in the morning. "Also, I need someone to feed the two worgs in the stables. Nothing fancy, just cook some meat for them. Also, get out of there quickly." In place of horses, Dierk had tamed a pair of worgs to pull their wagon.
"Yes, sir." The barmaid smiled before walking away, shaking her small tail for the group. Louis and Andraxia both took notice.
Dierk turned back to the group. "Okay, we still have a long trip ahead of us, but we should still make it before nightfall. Be on your guard. This road isn't as well traveled as the others, so there may be monsters lurking about."
Rhann asked "Isn't that what your feathered friends are for?"
As a beast tamer, Dierk had learned to talk to animals. He kept a few raptors as lookouts, having them fly above and spot various foes. "They can't see everything. It's best to stay alert."
"We can't let outsiders become to relaxed above ground. You never know what could find you," stated Jokribelle.
"I just hope we haven't come all this way for nothing, and that there’s, still something of value to find,” stated Louis. "You did say you had a map of the inside, after all. Someone had to draw it."
"A part of a map, but yes. It should still be in there. That man was brilliant, but very secretive. It will not be easy to find." Dierk was careful not to give too much away. The barmaids, plus a number of the other people in the tavern, had excellent hearing. You never knew who could be listening. The topic shifted to the weather after the food arrived. It had rained the other day, but it seemed like there would be clear skies for today.
***
The members of the Storm Foxes Guild arrived at the village of Caltamo late in the day, or what was left of it, anyway. The buildings mainly consisted of stone foundations and long-decayed wood. Moss and vines had grown over most of what was left of the village.
The team have been to many a ruined village, and sometimes there was loot to be found. It was rather common for a small village such as this one to be laid to waste by monsters, bandits, or simply a larger settlement. Even with those risks, that did not stop people from trying to claim these lands, and every now and then, one would build itself up strong enough to endure. Sadly, this wasn't one of them.
Dierk rode at the front of the covered wagon, with Samira by his side. Inside the wagon was the rest of the team. Andraxia rested in her web hammock strung close to the ceiling, while Jokribelle found a way to sleep on the floor. Kristal and Rhann seated themselves against the side of the wagon, while Louis sat in back, watching their rear.
Dierk pulled back on the reins of his worgs, the giant wolves stopping in their tracks in the middle of the main road. "Here we are. Caltamo Village, more or less."
Louis got out first, soon followed by Rhann. She looked around at the ruins. "If we search the houses, do you think we will find anything?"
Kristal stepped out and stretched her legs. "Not likely. This village was destroyed over 300 years ago. While it's kind of out of the way of the main road, plenty of people know it's here. By now, it has been picked clean."
Dierk got off the front seat and unhitched the worgs. A pot hawk landed on the building closest to him. As it was almost all brick and mortar, most of it was still standing. "If you want to check anyway, you can do it after we get back. Right now, we have to hide the wagon and get ready to go in."
"Right." Rhann held a piece of rusty metal, trying to figure out what it once was. After a moment, she tossed it and moved on.
"Kristal, cook some spare meat for the worgs. The rest of us will have rations before heading in. If you need to answer the call of nature, do it now." Dierk called over his pot hawk, having it land on his gloved forearm. He spoke with it, trying to find what kind of dangers lurked in the area. The hawk hadn't seen anything more threatening than a racoon in a few miles, other than the pack of worgs they had already passed. However, farther out were a few giant wasps. Still, it seemed they were far enough outside of their territory.
While Kristal used her magic to cook, avoiding sending out any smoke, Louis and Rhann moved the wagon into one of the old buildings and covered it with a tarp. They pressed the sigil Kristal had woven into it and the texture changed, making it take on the appearance of stone and moss. It blended in with the surroundings enough that one wouldn't notice it unless they looked close enough. With any luck, that wouldn't happen. The animals reported no one had been here recently and no one had followed them.
Andraxia stood behind Dierk. "I've located the house of Paora. Along the way, I discovered bones, possibly human. However, they were quite old and incomplete. There are claw marks in some of the walls, but the presence of moss and grime indicate they are also quite old. I believe whatever left them has moved on."
It always weirded Dierk out, the way Andraxia snuck up on him like that all the time. She always hid her scent and moved without making a sound, a pair of mystical skills she had mastered for her craft. More than once, she spooked him. This time, though, he remained rather calm.
"That's good. We are just finishing up here." The worgs were fed and left on their own. They were ordered to stay in the area, but otherwise, they could hunt small game on their own. The hawks were stationed away. Dierk's power over them could restrict their movements, keeping them in the area and preventing them from attacking each other. It was unfortunate they were of little use underground.
They entered the alchemist's manor. It was two stories tall, and in better condition then the other buildings in the village. It was relatively intact, still standing with only a few small chunks missing from the walls. However, the place was already ransacked. Chairs and tables were turned over, and all the cabinets' drawers were ripped out.
Jokribelle and Samira took point, inspecting the room for traps and signs of decay. Jokribelle wore a pair of enchanted goggles that highlighted small gaps between planks and bricks. Combined with her extensive knowledge of traps, her appraisal skill made her quite proficient at locating these kinds of hazards. Samira, on the other hand, was born with the psychic ability to foresee dangers, be they hidden traps, natural hazards, or even flesh and blood attackers. The drawbacks were that the danger had to be directed at her and she could only see so far into the future. There were flaws in both their methods, but they seemed to fill in each other's gaps.
Jokribelle stopped. "This place still seems intact. I have found a few enchantments engraved into the building, but they seem to be structural support spells, similar to what my people use. It's likely why this place is still in one piece after all this time. There are also no sign of traps."
Kristal looked at the door. "There appears to have been some kind of enchantment on the lock. I can see the engraved runes, but it's broken so I can't be completely sure of its use."
"Not surprising, given the state this place is in. Looters must have broken in ages ago. I don't see any bodies, so if there were any secrets to be held, he wasn't keeping them up here." Dierk walked over to the stairs, keeping Samira close. They made their way into the basement where they found several smashed crates.
Jokribelle walked to the back of the room and looked at the floor. "There is a trap door over here, but not a way to grip it."
Dierk then walked over to the north wall and felt the bricks. "It should be around here." One of the bricks moved, pressing in. Soon, he found another brick above it, and then a third below it. It was then the trap door started to rise up, revealing a staircase leading down to another, more conventional door. "Looks like my intel was right about this place. This must be the way to Paora's secret lab."
"While alchemists of Paora's skill were well known for having all kinds of expensive equipment and materials, even his books would be worth a lot, I'm still worried by how easy it was to come by this information. This place wasn't hard to get to. How do we know someone hasn't come here first?" Kristal put her hand on the trap door.
Rhann walked to the stairs. "That's a risk we have to take in this kind of work. Even if we found this place ourselves, there is always the chance someone got here first." She looked at the dust the door kicked up. "At least, it seems no one was here recently."
"The one who drew this map wasn't able to complete it." Dierk held up a roll of parchment. "While that means we don't know everything that's down there, it does point to people being unable to finish exploring this area. What's more, there could be other hidden passageways, but I'm sure Jokri could find them."
Jokribelle smiled widely. "Don't worry, we don't even need the map. I have extended spatial memory and can keep track of where we are. After all, I am quite at home underground."
"Fine, let's get this started. We can't spend too long down there." Kristal let Jokribelle and Samira go first, followed by Dierk and Rhann. She then followed as well. Andraxia walked behind her, with Louis taking the rear.
Dierk felt along the left wall at the base of the stairs until he found a rune and pressed it. Crystals embedded along the walls lit up, lightning their way. "Those still work, at least."
Just as the map had said, the first part was just a straight line, leading out of the village. After about 10 minutes, it opened up into a larger room. This had an overturned desk and fallen chair. A bookshelf had been smashed to pieces. While it was cleaner than the other rooms, there still was no sign of anything valuable.
"Tsk, tsk. This is clearly just a decoy room." Jokribelle walked over to the right wall. "Another hidden door. Let's see, the trigger should be this one." She pointed to a brick and Samira pressed it. Slowly, a section of the wall pulled back, exposing another tunnel.
They filed into the new passageway, Samira finding the rune to turn on the lights this time. Before long, they came to a crossroads. Two more tunnels connected with the first one.
Dierk held up the map. "According to this, the right leads to a well, and forward is just a dead end. Left leads to a few more splits. While I can't rule out our predecessors missing something, for now we should go left." He drew an arrow on the wall with a piece of chalk.
This passageway led to a locked door. It took a few minutes for Kristal to open it, which led to a number of turns. They seemed to be set up to confuse them on what direction they were going, but Dierk had a compass and Jokribelle insisted she didn't need one, so they were set.
After a few zigzag turns, Jokribelle held out her hand. "Wait, this wall is loose." She walked over to the wall and felt it. "Yes, there is another passageway here. One that's not on the map." Soon she found the trigger, a carving on the wall. "Someone spend a lot of time on this." The wall pulled back and led into another tunnel.
Louis scratched his cheek. "He seemed to be putting all his stock into hidden passageways and skimping on the traps."
Dierk shook his head. "No, the map says there are dark traps past the zigzagging tunnel. It must a shortcut or the real path he took to avoid his own traps."
"I hope so." Samira entered first, switching on the lights again. She glanced at the relief of a woman on the wall, alchemy symbols in her hands. Written in the stone above here were the words, ‘Turn back now or stay forever.’ However, they chose to continue anyway.
The party continued down the tunnel. It went to the left and right after the hidden passageway. They chose to go to the right, the same way they were going and the side with the relief. Air vents were the only thing new they saw as the path slowly curved to the left.
"How far must this man walk to his lab?" Kristal groaned.
"Who knows? We may have already taken a wrong turn back there," replied Dierk. "So far, we have had two forks with three options each, with more past the dart traps."
"I wonder how he build this-ahhh!" Louis cried out with a green flash of light as he dropped to his knees.
Behind him stood a woman in a tight black outfit. It was shiny as glowing green lines ran down it, making right angle turns here and there. In her hand was a metal bo staff. It was thicker for the last two inches, where green lightning danced off of it. She resembled the relief, only she was wearing a completely different outfit. "You guys shouldn't be here. Well, too late now."
The group turned to face the woman as soon as they heard Louis cry out. Being the closest, Andraxia drew her dagger and jumped at the woman.
Kristal leveled her wand, ready to attack. However, due to the narrow passageway, she had to be careful not to hit Andraxia.
Dierk likewise got ready to fight, but moved to the side to allow Rhann to pass. "Who are you? Are you another treasure hunter?" He looked her over. He didn't see any extra gear. "How did she get behind us? There was no sign of anyone topside. Was she already down here?"
The two fighters clashed. Andraxia parried the staff with her dagger, avoiding the green lightning.
"I am NV-A Type, but you can call me Nova. Now let's have some fun." At the parry, Nova spun her staff around, hitting Andraxia in the side with the other end and striking her with it's lightning, sparks flying off in a flash of green light.
However, Andraxia wasn't done yet. She shot her webbing at Nova's leg, binding her in place, as Kristal gave her a speed buff.
"Well, aren’t you a skilled one?" Nova only giggled, apparently unbothered by her new handicap. She blocked Andraxia's strikes with her staff before striking her foot. This time, she let out a cry.
Still, she persisted, kicking the strange woman's side with her good leg before striking her weaponed arm repeatedly. She got her to turn, and Kristal was able to let loose some shots, striking the woman's side.
There was the sound of breaking glass and Nova cried out. Another strike, and she dropped her weapon. Then Andraxia went in for the kill, attacking the woman's side until she pieced her body.
"Well, I guess this one is my loss. I thought I could get at least one of you." Nova gritted her teeth as she started to fall apart. Her body started to break apart into little squares, peeling off and floating away before dissipating. Her body seemed to be a hollow shell and once the destruction spread, she was split in two, her top half falling to the ground. Once all the squares had peeled away, the bo staff turned to smoke and vanished.
Andraxia slumped back and sat down. "What's the deal with her? What was she?" She looked over at the others.
Kristal scratched her head. "I'm not sure. I know of a few demihumans who disappear when you kill them, conjured entities as well, but I've never seen them break apart like that. Jokribelle, did you get anything?"
"No. I’m too far back. I wasn't able to appraise her. I could barely see her."
"A shame." Kristal walked over to Louis, who was groaning. She pointed her ring at him and bathed him in it's light.
"Thanks." He slowly pulled himself up.
"You're welcome."
Andraxia looked at her gi and spotted a few small holes in it in various places. "She really did a number on me. Could I get a quick mending before we move on?"
"Already? How could you let her damage your raiment so badly?" Kristal held her wand out, the orb at the top glowing, as her mana flowed into the gi. Soon, the holes closed up and there wasn't even a trace of them left. She pulled her wand back. "You need to learn to fix these on your own. You have the mana for it."
"It's not my fault. Hell, she took down Louis in one shot."
"Don't remind me." Louis looked to the side.
"From now on, we have to keep our guard up and stick together. If there was one down here, there could be others." Dierk folded his arms.
"Oh, sorry, Boss." Louis grunted. When they started moving again he kept looking back behind him.
"It's not unheard of for places like this to have some kind of protector. There are even monsters that can survive centuries without any contact," Kristal explained. "Take the mimic, for example. Rather than hunt their food, they simply turn into inanimate objects and wait for their prey to come to them. While waiting, they can go into a deep sleep. It's believed their metabolism stops completely during hibernation, or comes close."
"Thank you for the monster lesson, professor," said Louis facetiously.
The passage eventually led to a chamber with a lot of smaller passageways that didn't go anywhere, like long alcoves. Between each one were more reliefs of the same woman from before. Jokribelle, Kristal, and Samira inspected them.
Jokribelle slid her fingers across a strange pattern on the wall. "This is strange. There seems to be long thin strips of metal embedded in the wall."
Dierk walked over. "Is it some kind of trap?"
"I don't think so. They are pretty stuck in there, so I don't think they can be removed without digging out the stone."
Kristal looked at the different patterns. "They all seem to be connected to each other, but I never seen this pattern before, yet it is somehow familiar."
"What do you think it means?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe something in my studies from long ago. If only I could remember..." Kristal stopped and turned around at the mysterious voice. She spotted Nova standing next to Andraxia, who jumped back when she noticed. "What the hell are you doing here!?"
"I live here." Nova respond like it was perfectly natural.
"But, I killed you..." Andraxia held her blade in front of her. "And sneaking up is MY thing!"
"I've heard that before." Nova giggled and swung her staff around, barely missing Andraxia.
"You aren't getting me this time!" Louis shouted as his necklace, bracelets, belt, and anklets started to grow. Plate armor started to cover his body and soon every inch of him was protected. He then charged at the strange woman.
Nova jumped to the side and struck his hip with her staff. Green lightning burst from it, but Louis was barely phased by it this time. His gauntlet grew bigger as he swung his fist, trying to strike her.
Rhann wore boots of haste, enabling her to charge at high speeds. She ran at Nova and swung her axe. This blow was able to land, knocking her over, but she seemed uninjured.
Nova rolled on the floor, before bouncing back and thrusting her staff into Andraxia’s gut. She then struck Rhann's shield as she moved in for another attack.
Rhann cried out and dropped the shield. Her left arm went limp. However, she wasn't out yet and readied her axe for another strike.
Nova tried to fight off Andraxia, knocking the blade from her hand. At that moment Louis saw his opening and grabbed her, pulling her down onto the floor. He held her with one hand and punched her with the other. There was the sound of breaking glass again and Nova cried out with the next strike. Soon, her chest collapsed, and once again she started to break off into little squares of light as she dissolved. "Easy, big guy. You can stop hitting me now."
Louis held onto her until there was nothing left to hang onto. He then stood up. "Is anyone else bothered by the fact this was the second time we’ve killed her?"
"Yes." Rhann rubbed her left arm, moving it slightly. "Also, by the lack of feeling in my arm. How did she do that?"
Louis slowly released his magical armor. He had six talismans that, when combined with his own mana, would turn into a suit of powerful armor. He could fire bolts of magic, and even transform parts of it. His mana was level 3.8, giving him the highest mana pool on the team, but his proficiency with the magical arts was poor, so he instead relied on props to give shape to his power. He walked over to Rhann and held out an amulet, shining it's light on her left arm.
Kristal picked up Rhann's shield. "Her weapon must have a lightning element to it, though it is an odd color for it. The metal in your shield conducts it, allowing it to bypass your raiment. Well, part of it anyway." She held her wand at Rhann's upper arm, mending the light burns and small holes that had appeared in the leather. "Still, it looked like it still mitigated the damage. Louis' armor is insulated, so it was able to protect him. I will have to ward your shield against lightning." She took her rune pen out of her bag.
"Fine. I want to give her some payback when she shows up again. I'm sure she will." Rhann flexed her arm, looking down at her bracers. "Do you need to do these too?"
Kristal nodded. "Yes, and likely your breast plate as well. Your axe has a wooden handle, so that should help on it's own." She got to work writing runes into the back side of the shield. Then she worked on the bracers, and finally the chest piece. "There, all set. I'm afraid it's a bit of a rush job, so it won't last forever. Try to avoid the ends of her staff. The wards will fail once they run out of mana."
Rhann strapped her chest plate back on over her leather armor. "Thanks a lot."
Andraxia walked over to them. "Tell me, will we all be getting those wards?"
Kristal shook her head. "No. Your dagger is already enchanted, and more importantly, I don't think we have the time for me to get to everyone. It took too long just to enchant Rhann's gear. That woman could be here at any moment." She looked around the chamber just in case, but there was no sign of her.
"Then we can't waste any more time. We have to find the treasure and get out." Dierk looked at the other doors in the chamber.
Kristal stood up and looked at their leader. "You still want to continue?"
"Yes, don't you? If she is the caretaker of this place, then she might be the reason no solo treasure hunter has ever cleared this dungeon, at least as far as I can tell, and why smaller teams give up. That means there could still be treasure waiting here for us."
Rhann grabbed her axe and shield. "I'm staying. We already came to far to go home empty handed after a little skirmish like this. Besides, I want another shot at her."
"So do I," said Andraxia.
"Besides, she can't take all of us. If we work together we can take her down every time." Louis smiled.
"Fine. Let's get going." Kristal put her pen away.
"This first area might already be picked clean. There could have been stuff on those alcoves." Samira walked to the door. It was made of mahogany and was engraved with simple preservation enchantment. It had already been given the all clear. However, when she reached for the handle, she yanked her hand back and jumped away.
Seeing this, Dierk grabbed his whip. "Is it her?"
Samira nodded and the others drew close.
Andraxia was the first to reach the door. She opened it and just barely missed being struck by the staff as Nova dropped from the ceiling. A thundering sound shot out as it hit the ground.
Andraxia then kicked the staff, forcing Nova back. "I'm going to have some fun with you."
"You're welcome to try." Nova recovered and retreated, luring Andraxia deeper into the passageway as Rhann tried to follow. Swinging her staff, she struck the drow in the shoulder.
She rolled with the hit, only taking a bit of damage to her gi. She then shot a line of web at the staff, pulling it back.
Rhann moved forward, swinging her axe. She struck Nova before blocking a kick.
Nova jumped forward at Andraxia, striking Rhann's leg with the bottom of the staff when she had some slack. She then yanked down the drow's scarf-mask and kissed her on the lips.
"What is she doing at a time like this?" Kristal shouted as she leveled her wand. She let loose a shot, but struck Andraxia in the back as Nova rotated them mid-shot.
Rhann attacked Nova's back, hitting her repeatedly until she heard the sound of glass breaking.
Nova then peeled herself away and parried the next strike as Andraxia stumbled. Breaking the web, she struck the shield again.
While the end made contact, Rhann powered through and charged, striking the staff.
Nova held the staff level as she pressed it against Rhann's axe and shield, and kissed her on the lips.
Louis grabbed Nova and pulled her off of Rhann. He slammed her into the ground and struck her chest, causing it to collapse again.
"Oh rude, grabbing a woman's chest like that." Nova pouted as her body felt apart.
"What is up with this chick?" Louis released his armor once she had fully disintegrated. "I'm not talking about how she keeps coming back, or even the weird way she seems to die. She just acts strangely."
Andraxia leaned against the wall as she held herself up. "I'll say this, she is quite the kisser." She licked her lips before pulling her mask back on.
"Maybe you can take her to bed in that case." Rhann's feet were wobbly as she tried to stand. She took a deep breath as she tried to recover.
"She seems to have a mana overshield. I heard it break shortly before each time we defeated her." Kristal walked up and shined her ring's light on Rhann.
"She does," Jokribelle explained, "I was able to get a partial appraisal this time. Species unknown, mana level 3, lightning affinity, and mana overshield. I didn't get any kind of read on her clothes, but her staff is a summon weapon."
Rhann said "It seems it was stronger this time. She took a lot more hits before making that sound."
"While I was appraising her, the mana level was going up somehow."
"If that's the case, we might be in trouble. If it keeps getting stronger each time, then sooner or later we could start losing people." Samira sighed.
Kristal lowered her hand. "Maybe. I do find this odd. Rhann doesn't seem injured or suffering form a statue effect. Just lightheadedness. As for her weapon, while you could kill with a metal staff, it seems the lightning element is meant only to stun its targets. Which is why Louis had very little damage, mainly suffering from paralysis. She may be trying to drive us off."
"I'm still feeling a little odd." Andraxia felt the fried spots of her gi. "And I need another quick patch."
Kristal mended Rhann's leather armor before tending to Andraxia. "Now let's get going. She only seems to give us maybe 10 minutes or so before attacking again."
Dierk walked forward. "Right, let's get moving. Samira, Jokribelle, we still need you to take point on this. Rhann, keep ready."
The group was soon on their way again. They kept their eyes peeled for any sign of Nova. The next section had a group of doors. None of them seemed to be booby trapped.
Dierk looked around for a moment. "Hmmm, while the doors themselves might not be rigged, I get the feeling the sheer number of them is the real trap, given the protector of this dungeon, the goal here might be to try and split us up."
"Then we will just have to search them one by one." Samira opened a door, finding a bunch of empty metal shelves. Four of them inspected the room, only to find nothing.
One by one, they checked each room. The third room led to a tied bathroom. A porcelain toilet was against the side wall, next to the sink, and a large tub was against the back wall. The titles had a wave pattern. "Well this is fancy for a dungeon." Jokribelle closed the door.
"There is a zen garden in this one. Are we in his living area?" Andraxia closed another door.
"If that's the case, maybe we are close to his lab." Samira opened a door. She found Nova standing on the other side, and quickly closed it. "She’s here!" She held the door shut.
Dierk pulled out his whip. "How did she slip by?"
"I don't know."
"Doesn't matter, let's get her. That door won't hold her for long." Rhann drew her axe as Louis armored up. The two of them ran to the door as Kristal readied the buffs. As soon as the Samira opened the door, they charged in, striking down Nova. She hit the floor and her head popped off, rolling away. "What the?"
Andraxia let out a scream. Another Nova had knocked her off her feet by striking her from behind. No, the real Nova. The one in the room literally did nothing.
"A decoy!" Dierk cracked his whip as he charged it with his mana, striking at Nova but getting her staff.
Andraxia got onto all fours and gave Nova a sweeping kick, knocking her off her feet, only to get a body slam as she landed on her. "Okay, that hurt..." She struggled to reclaim her dagger.
Nova rolled to the side in order to dodge the whip. "You could just lay back and enjoy yourself. Seems like you are into me." She jumped up as she struck Andraxia in the belly with her staff, shocking her again. She then ran to the side to avoid some magic missiles.
"Out of my way rookie!" Rhann and Louis had gotten caught in the door, trying to exit at the same time. Samira ran over to Dierk’s side, but wouldn't go farther then that.
Andraxia sprung to her feet and fired her webbing. She bound Nova's arms to her chest, but she was still able to move her staff somewhat, and struck her in the chest. More holes opened up in her gi and half her body was exposed. She returned the favor with a strong kick to the side.
In a last ditch effort, Nova leaped at Andraxia as Rhann charged, getting her between them, and locked their lips together. The two moan as small sparks of light went between them. The normally dark drow was starting to look pale.
The kiss was broken when Rhann struck Nova with her axe, knocking her away. With her arms still bound, and her staff awkwardly placed, Nova switched to kicks as Rhann hacked away at her.
"Oh no, Andraxia!" Samira gasped. In the hallway stood a stone elf in tattered black clothes. Her arms were lifted at her sides, angled outward.
"What?" Rhann turned to look at her stone teammate.
Nova rammed into Rhann and locked lips with her. Her body stiffened, the color draining from her body. Soon she turned to a light gray stone. Then Nova broke the kiss. "Barely anything."
Louis punched Nova in the face. "My turn."
Nova fell back, but stayed on her feet. "Oh, do you want some sugar?" She giggled. "That's not the way to ask."
"Enough of your games." Louis's left gauntlet shifted, a gem appearing. Blasts of magic shot from it, a few of them hiding her. His left shifted next, a large blade extending from it. He then rammed it at her. It bounded off as they heard her shield shatter once more.
Nova fell to her feet and struck Louis's leg with the bottom of her staff. Her final assault was short lived as the sword rammed through her chest. "Show that handsome face next time, lover boy." She giggled as her head disintegrated.
Louis looked back at the stone forms of Andraxia and Rhann. "Can you help them?"
Kristal was already inspecting them. She pulled out a small box from her bag, removing a golden needle. She pricked Andraxia's shoulder with it, and the item burst.
Andraxia's shoulder started to ripple, becoming darker as the wave washed over her. She gasped as she was able to move again, falling to her knees. "What... what just happened?"
"You were just turned to stone." Kristal pricked Rhann with another needle. She too returned to the flesh.
Rhann collapsed as well. "What is this strange feeling?"
"Mana depletion. It's what happens... when we use to many spells. I haven't felt this way in a long time." Andraxia gasped. She pulled a bottle from her belt and drank the blue liquid inside. "Oh, that's better. I'm normally better at gauging my mana reserves."
"But, I don't even know... how to use magic. I don't have... any mana."
Kristal put her hand on Rhann's shoulder. "Not enough to cast spells, but you do have mana. Normally, the flow of mana for a non-user is so restrictive that you don't spend much of what little you do, not even on minor magical items. However, it seems she has the ability to drain even that from you."
Andraxia held out the bottle, which still had a little bit left in it. "Drink this. It's a mana potion. Should be enough to get you on your feet again."
Rhann panted as she took the bottle. She quickly drank it, following it up with a bottle from the bag on her hip, drinking the yellow liquid inside too. "I think she took my stamina too when... I ran out of mana."
"Can I have a taste of that?" Andraxia held out her hand, taking the bottle once it was given to her. She drank the small amount leftover. "Thanks. Does this count as an indirect kiss?"
"You are such a perv." Rhann slowly stood up.
Dierk couldn't help but stare at Andraxia and her barely-there gi. Many holes had opened up in their last fight.
After a moment, Andraxia noticed this. "Kristal, honey, could I get another patch job? I really need it." She batted her eye lashes.
"I can't keep doing this." Kristal pointed her wand at Andraxia's chest and it glowed. Slowly, the gi started to repair itself, but took longer than before.
"Oh, but I still have a few mana potions left, and I'm sure so do you."
"Not my point." Kristal looked over at Rhann and Louis. "What happened in there?"
"Not sure. She went down at the first hit, then we heard a scream." Louis scratched his head.
"That's because this Nova was made of wax, as opposed to light or whatever the real one is made of." Dierk held up the wax head of Nova. "That is likely why it didn't set off Samira's danger sense. It was never a threat."
Samira looked down. "Sorry guys, it was my fault. I didn't sense anything from her, but I panicked and sounded the alarm."
Dierk patted Samira's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. This is a well-made fake. From a distance, we wouldn't notice the difference. You simply didn't have enough time to get a good look at her, that's all."
"Thanks."
Dierk looked at the others. "Well, we have to get going before she comes back. There is always a delay between her attacks. From the looks of things, we might be getting close."
They checked the remaining rooms. Many of them were empty, likely having been cleared out already. Some still had large things such as a grandfather clock and bunk beds, too heavy to loot with Nova around. There was also another relief that resembled Nova. This one seemed to have some kind of shrine built around it and remains of wax candles littered the ground. They also found an actual dungeon, made up mainly of jail cells.
There were some small things: a few random gears, a broken chair, and a couple of other things even looters wouldn't take. There was also a strange item. It was a plank less then two feet long with a pair of large wheels on the ends. In the middle was a hollow pole held to it's other half with a few rubber strings. At the end of the second half was a pair of handles with small moving parts attached. However, they weren't sure what that was for.
Moving on, they came across a door that had 'Laboratory V' engraved in it. "That looks promising." Jokribelle started to pick the lock.
"I hope I could find some research documents. I would like to build a reusable talisman that can restore petrification. Given what Nova can do, there just might be some down here." As an enchanter, Kristal made many of the magical items the team used, such as their Damocles raiments, Rhann's boots, and her own rings. Louis was still using his own stuff for this mission.
Jokribelle opened the door and they walked inside. There was a lot more metal mixed with the stone here. Larger patterns on the walls, a long metal plate running down the hallway, and metal circles in the walls.
"This is troubling. I found a moving wall, but I can't seem to find the trigger for it. There is also a small gap around these metal circles. They might be bars, but I don't know how they slide out. They don't seem to want to go in." Jokribelle fiddled with the walls a bit.
Kristal ran her hand against the metal symbols. "If not for the lack of mana, I would think these were some kind of enchantments." She looked at a few small alcoves in the walls. "Looks like something was kept here, but it's gone now."
Rhann slammed her fist against the wall. "There must still be something here! We’ve gone through too much to go back empty-handed now."
"There’s another door at the end of this hallway. Let's try there." Samira led the way, Jokribelle soon following. They filed into the hallway.
"You know she likes to attack while we are pressed together like this. It makes it harder to gang up on her," Rhann pointed out.
"We don't have much choice in the matter. If there is treasure to be found, we have to move forward to find it," replied Dierk.
Louis shouted "Behind us!" And started armoring up.
Nova was standing in the back of the hallway. She raised her staff into the air.
"Against the wall now!" Samira shouted as she pressed herself against the wall.
"What?" Andraxia looked back as she drew her dagger.
Nova slammed her staff down on the metal plate in the middle of the hallway. Green light traveled across it, striking several members of the team.
Louis' transformation was incomplete and reversed as he fell to the ground. Green veins appeared on Andraxia's tights and gi until they shattered, stripping her down to her underwear, shoes, and mask. She was able to avoid further damage by pressing against the wall. Kristal only lost her pants. Jokribelle only got a small taste, reacting to Samira's warning in time to avoid most of it. Dierk and Rhann pressed against opposite sides of the wall in time.
"Crap. I should have seen that coming." Kristal pressed herself against the wall.
Nova leaped down on Louis. "Now for your goodnight kiss." She locked onto his lips, small particles of light coming off of him.
Despite her nudity, Andraxia still attacked. She fired her webbing at the staff and yanked it off the floor. She then followed up with a dropkick to Nova.
Nova pulled back and got a tight grip on the staff. She held it level as she prepared her counterattack, thrusting it back and hitting the wall behind her. This made the metal embedded in the wall light up green for a moment. It was at that time the door shut and a stone slab raised from the ground, blocking the entrance. She then thrust her weapon at Andraxia.
She was able to evade the blow, striking the side with her dagger, and knocking it to the side. She then landed several blows across her chest before the other end of the staff swung around and stuck her side. She let out a scream and fell to the floor.
However, before Nova could collect her reward, Rhann charged at her. She blocked the first blow with her shield, hitting it to the side to avoid touching the end any longer then she had to, and struck Nova's shoulder.
When Nova moved to strike with the other end, Dierk swung his whip and wrapped it around the staff, gripping it thanks to the mana he had flowing through it. While she was off balance from another strike, he yanked the staff out of her hand and caught it. "Let's see how well you do without your toy."
Nova kicked Rhann and bounced off her shield to get some space. "Of course a thief would take things from a woman."
"Treasure hunter!" Dierk corrected her angrily. He hated being called a thief.
Nova held out her hand. "Return." The staff burst into smoke, then reappeared in her hand. She had just enough time to block Rhann's axe with it.
"Rhann, fall back." As soon as the tiger neko was clear, Kristal lobbed a white bomb at Nova. A wave of blue light struck her, and her shield shattered as mist came off of her. As she slid on the ice that was now at her feet, Kristal throw another bomb at her, this time freezing her in a shell of ice.
Rhann then bashed Nova with her shield and cleaved her with her axe. "Take that." She continued her attack on the pieces as they fell.
"What! Why did you do that?" Kristal walked forward, stopping when the cold air hit her bare legs.
"I wanted to vent a little. Payback for turning me to stone." Rhann took a deep breath. "It's not like that will kill her anyway."
"Exactly. Those were my only two Yuki-onna grenades. I wanted to see if she would stop coming after us if we froze her instead of killing her."
Rhann scratched her head. "Sorry about that. A bit of warning would of helped"
Kristal sighed. "I guess I should have come up with that sooner, or saved it until next time after I got a chance to tell you guys." She pointed her ring at Louis and shined her light on him. "How are you feeling?"
"A little depleted, but otherwise fine. I think I've got over half my mana left." Slowly, Louis got up. He glanced over at Andraxia and blushed a little. She had on panties, but no bra. She normally kept her breasts bound in bandages, but they had snapped at some point, likely during a past fight. When Kristal made no sign of moment, he walked over to her and pointed his amulet at the fallen and annoyed-looking drow, shining its light on her. Once finished, he downed a mana potion.
Andraxia got up. "Kristal, I need a change of clothes." She covered her breast with her arm. She then made a makeshift bra with her webbing.
Kristal was pulling a pair of pants out of her bag of holding. "Give me a moment." She got her pants on first before pulling out a black pair of tights and gi and tossing them at the irritated drow. "Don't let these ones break."
"I didn't let the last ones break. How was I supposed to know the floor would attack me, or that they would fail just like that?" Andraxia slid her tights on.
Louis looked back at Kristal. "I'm starting to see the value in those Damocles raiments. You wouldn't happen to have another one I could use?"
Kristal shook her head. "No, not in your size. Sorry. Making them requires time and materials, neither of which we have at the moment."
A Damocles raiment was an enchanted garment that took damage on behalf of its wearer. It was particularly good at spells, and could deal with swords to an extent. Its only downsides were that it had to cover the part of the body it was shielding, and that there was a limit to how much damage it could soak up. Once it hit its limit, it would completely disappear. A warning sign was the holes and pieces that would go missing once it got close, but those could be repaired with a mending spell, or if there was time, simply wearing it and letting it feed off your mana. They recovered faster for magic users like Kristal and Andraxia, but did so slowly for non-users like Samira and Rhann. Kristal had personally made the raiments for most of the team, with a few extras, and it was her job to maintain them if they were still in dungeons like this one. Only Louis, who just joined, and Jokribelle, who preferred dwarven chain-mail, lacked them.
Andraxia poked her head out of her gi. "What are we going to do about the door? She blocked it off." She pointed to the large slab, which now camouflaged the door, making look just like the rest of the wall thanks to the small alcove it was in.
"Let me try something." Kristal pointed one of her rings at the spot Nova struck. A bolt of lightning shot out and struck the spot. The metal glowed yellow for a moment and there was the sound of shifting gears, but nothing happened. "Worth a shot. There might be another target to act as the release. However, if I just start blasting around, I can't say what would happen. I can't see were these conduits go."
"The section of the map I have showed that much of the tunnels loop around and connect with each other. With any luck, this section is the same, and we can get out another way." Dierk looked at the other door.
"It seems we have little other choice." Jokribelle started walking. "Don't touch anything metal."
Samira started walking. "Do you think she will have to open the door to pursue us?"
"Good question. That depends how she is getting around and where she ends up when we defeat her. She doesn't reappear in the same spot she fell in, otherwise she would have done so while I was enchanting Rhann's gear." Kristal followed in the middle of the group, watching her step. "There is the possibility there is some hidden path we don't know about, like that door we can't get open. She more than likely had the complete layout of the dungeon memorized."
"Oh, then we should grab her and force her to tell her were the treasure is." Rhann punched her palm with an evil smile.
Louis covered himself fully with armor as he walked in back. Even having the armor active passively drained some mama, which is why he normally shut it down out of combat. "Something tells me she would rather die then give up the secrets of this place."
Rhann sighed. "That's true. She doesn't seem to care about her own life, not when she keeps coming back. Still, I could find other ways of making her talk."
They walked into the next room. It organized more chaotically then the last room. There were a number of alcoves, adjoining rooms, and strange devices scattered throughout the room.
"Well, this is new." Dierk looked around. "What is this place?"
"I think it's his workshop. Looks like he was experimenting with his metal contraptions in here." Kristal started looking around, excitement in her eyes.
"Everything seems bolted down." Rhann pushed some contraption. It refused to budge.
"Anything smaller could have been taken." Kristal sighed.
"Not everything. There is something under-yahow! I should have seen that coming." Jokribelle pulled out from under a table. She moved a dark box out and a small metal, cage like ball rolled out of it. In the middle was a glowing green gem, similarly colored bolts coming off of it.
Kristal stopped it with her foot. "Well, this is interesting. Let's see what we have here." She slipped on a pair of rubber gloves from her bag and picked it up. "It looks kind of like that staff she uses. Same symbols, same green lightning. Maybe a stepping stone to building it."
"Is it worth anything?" asked Rhann.
"Maybe. I would have to take it back and examine it. Hold on, let me get a box for it." Kristal set the bauble down on the table. However, as soon as she set it on a small dish, the metal path between it and a nearby block lit up. The block shifted, smaller sections of it rising up to form a miniature set of stairs. "Oh, that's what it's for."
"Making stairs?" Rhann scratched her head.
"Powering these devices, like when Nova blocked the door." Kristal picked up the glowing ball and placed it in another dish. The new box it was attached to started playing music. "Lovely. This could be useful in exploring the dungeon. If not, it could be worth a fair amount of gold." She started pressing it against different things. "I'll know more once I get it back to my lab."
"Let me have another look." Jokribelle head out her hand and used her appraisal skill. "The crystal core is infused with powerful thunder magic. It's output is very limited, but it seems to have a long lifespan. It was crafted well over 300 years ago, but it doesn't seem like it will deplete anytime soon."
"We don't have time to play around with it. Bag it and let's go. There isn't anything else in this room, and by now Nova is back." Dierk grabbed his whip, getting ready to fight.
"Good point. I can still use my lightning ring, anyway." Kristal pulled out small box from her back and placed the ball inside before putting it back in. "From what I can tell, this was the testing ground for his contraptions. Not all of them seem to work."
Jokribelle and Samira walked over to the side door and walked into the next room as rest lined up behind them. However, no sooner did Jokribelle step through the door that she was attacked by Nova.
She jumped down and struck the dwarf with her staff and green lightning shot forth. Next, Nova trust her staff at Samira's shoulder, only for her to side step.
Samira drew her sword and dagger. She quickly evaded Nova's repeated strikes. Knocking away the staff with her dagger, avoiding the end, she swung her sword, landing a hit against the chest.
Rhann then rammed Nova, pushing her back. She grabbed onto the staff so she couldn't move it and swung her sword.
Nova released her weapon and kicked back against Rhann. A bolt then flew past her head, barely missing her. She glanced at Jokribelle, who was shakily readying another shot in her crossbow. "You can still move? Well, aren't you a trough little cookie."
"I'll get you for this." Jokribelle let loose another bolt. It was enchanted with the wind element and flew at high speeds. Although it bounced off Nova's shoulder, it was met with the sound of breaking glass.
"Hold her down." Rhann dropped the staff and tackled Nova.
"You sure like to play it rough." Nova leaned forward to try and kiss her, but Rhann put her hand on her lips.
"Not this time."
Nova mumbled something. She then tried to push Rhann off of her. Failing that, she undid the straps on Rhann's armor.
"What are you doing?" Rhann grabbed Nova's free arm. She held herself up to keep away from her lips.
"Well, if we are going to do this kinky stuff, I though I should at least see the goods."
"You are starting to remind me of a certain drow, and I don't like it." Rhann looked cross.
"Hey." Andraxia walked over to them.
"Return." Once the staff appeared in Nova's hand she stuck Rhann's leg with it in a desperate bit to escape.
Andraxia stepped on the staff to hold it down. "Not so fast. We have a lot of questions for you."
"Bust 36, waist 26, hips 34," responded Nova.
"That's good to know," Andraxia giggled, "but not what we are asking."
"Flirt on your own time." Rhann grunted. "For now, just tie her up."
"Right." Andraxia aimed her bracer at Nova.
Nova looked worried for once. She slipped her wrists out of Rhann's grip and reached for her head, trying to move in for the kiss.
Rhann moved back, but her breast plate swung lose. She then lost control and Nova slipped out from under her.
Andraxia fired her webbing, but missed with the first shot. She was able to get her leg with the next one and pulled on it.
Rhann tried to fix her strap as she stood up, but she stumbled when putting her weight on her right foot.
Nova fell down and yanked on the webbing, pulling Andraxia closer. While the drow was off balance she kissed Rhann for a few seconds and her body became stiff, slowly turning gray as particles of light came off of her.
Andraxia pulled her off of her, but it was too late. Rhann had already turned to stone. "Time to finish the job." She fired another web, gluing Nova's hand to her side.
"What's the matter, are you jealous?" asked Nova.
"A little." Andraxia pulled Nova's strings.
Nova leaped at Andraxia, kissing her for a quick moment before falling to the side. "Return." With her free hand she struck the brass bracer with the staff once it reappeared in her hand.
Dierk wrapped his whip around Nova and the mana shield broke again.
Nova turned her head around to look at him. "Do you want to dance next time?" Trying to get free, she feel onto Rhann's axe and split open, once against breaking off into little squares as they peeled away.
Kristal was already healing Jokribelle with her ring. Then she walked over to Rhann and pricked her with a golden needle.
Rhann grabbed her head as she returned to the flesh. "Not again…" She let out a groan.
"Take only a sip of this. It's dangerous for a non-magic user to drink mana potions. We need you in your right mind." Kristal held out a potion bottle.
"Right." Rhann took only a small sip before corking the bottle and returning it to Kristal. "How did she slip away? I thought I had her." He grabbed her leg for a moment and Kristal healed it.
"She sure seems to be a slippery one." Andraxia rubbed her arm.
Kristal walked over to a large machine with a glass tube and lots of pipes sticking out of it. She looked at the runes engraved on it, tracing them with her fingers.
Dierk looked over at her. "We can't take something that big and don't have time to study it here. Not unless we can catch that woman."
"Do you have any idea what this device is built for? I have only read about some of these symbols and formulas." Kristal looked back at him.
"No. Does it matter?"
"Yes. More to the point, what it means for us. From what I can tell, this device is used to imbue magic into an object. I use something with a similar principle back at my work shop, only smaller and not as complex. This, however, looks like this was built to specifically for extracting power from a wellspring of magic."
Dierk's jaw dropped.
Rhann ran over to Kristal. "Are you sure about that? Wellsprings are high level treasures. One of them could buy us all the mead we could drink."
"Yes, and pay for all the items we used, and still have left. From the looks of it, this was the lightning wellspring. Which would make sense given that staff Nova had and the ball we found." Kristal smiled widely. "Oh, could you just imagine the stuff I could enchant with this?"
"Where is it?" Rhann started opening the hatches to the device.
"I don't know. It could be locked away in a vault. I'm sure it is well protected. This room seems to be just for making the batteries. There could be a safe nearby, or it could be farther in the dungeon."
"Then we can't leave without it." Rhann slammed the hatch shut. "It will be worth getting turned to stone a few times if we could get our hands on it."
Jokribelle looked up. "Don't touch the wellspring, not directly anyway. Only its chosen keeper can do that. Anyone else can get a powerful backlash."
"My gloves should be able to handle it, I also have some tongs. Or I could just levitate it into a box." Kristal couldn't stop smiling. No doubt the gears were already turning in her head for her new creations.
"Noted. Now would its keeper have been Paora?" asked Dierk.
"Possibly. You don't need to be the keeper of the wellspring in order to enchant items with it. But if that's the case, you would have to be vary careful with it. I think that's why the chamber is insulated. Either way, he has been dead for centuries, so it will need a new one." Kristal put her tools away. "Let's get going. The longer we stay here, the sooner Nova comes back."
Contiunues in Part 2