Capítulo 50: Behind the wall
"Woah, finally done!", exclaimed Silver Blade tiredly. She had done her best in this fight, coordinating attacks with high focus. But the result was commendable as they ended the battle without losses.
Silent Acacia was close to the door, getting a good look at the room.
"A kitchen? Could there really be some mechanism hidden here?"
Meanwhile Cyclone already rubbed her hands, happily looting. The common skeletons dropped nothing special, leaving only the elites.
Cyclone sent a prayer in her heart as she reached out quickly.
"Haha! It's uncommon!"
Everyone looked at the blue sparkle in Cyclone's hand, gradually growing numb to her luck.
"Come on, show us!"
Cyclone grinned as she posted the item's information in the party chat.
[Assassin's ring of dark magic
Category: Uncommon
Level requirement: 7
Agility +5
Critical Chance +4%
Effect: Critical attacks have a 30% chance to deal an additional 10% (PDMG) dark damage.
A ring commonly worn by the members of Black Bone.]
Bloody Edge and Silent Acacia looked at each other, glints in their eyes.
"A game of dice, gentleman?"
"Sure."
The loot distribution in the party was set to leader's decision, thus the two thieves had to ask C to roll the dice for them.
[Bloody Edge: 76]
[Silent Acacia: 45]
"Haha, mine!"
Bloody Edge grinned as he received the ring. He looked at it happily, eager to put it on soon.
"Let's continue, guys! I need to reach level seven."
The others rolled their eyes. They realized that when Radiant Shield or Bloody Edge forgot their roleplay, it was better not to answer at all.
With her next attempt Cyclone drew a green-magic wand which was quickly given to Balm, allowing the young mage to heal even better.
During this time the rest of the party was already busily searching the room, looking for any method to turn off the trap outside.
Liam stayed quiet for a few minutes, noticing how the party appeared eager to figure out the solution by themselves.
He tried to strike a delicate balance between clearing the dungeon quickly and not taking away the fun for the others.
But even so he didn't expect Watchful Eye to suddenly state calmly:
"I found it."
The taciturn man was kneeling next to a stove made from stone, his hand rummaging through the old firewood.
Suddenly a click could be heard. The floor next to the stove sank, turning into stairs.
"Hmm?"
"This doesn't seem to have anything to do with the fire outside."
"Who would've expected a secret pathway to be hidden in this humble kitchen? What might we find after entering?"
Fortune spoke as if telling a story, suppressing her excitement. She knew that secrets equaled clicks!
The others looked eager to explore as well, looking at Silver Blade.
"Acacia, you go scouting."
"Sure."
The thief entered stealth and sneaked downwards. A moment later a shout could be heard.
"You can come down. There is no danger!"
The party trusted their scout, descending the stairs quickly. At the bottom a small dark room awaited them, containing only a single skeleton in long white robes.
Balm skeptically stared at the skeleton.
"Are you sure it won't wake up suddenly, Acacia?"
"Of course, look."
Silent Acacia took out one of his arrows, poking the skeleton unceremoniously.
"As dead as it gets."
Suddenly he pushed too strongly, causing the skeleton to tilt.
"Ah!"
Balm flinched, expecting it to stand up, but only a low clang could be heard.
A ring slipped from the skeleton's finger, rolling on the smooth stone floor towards Quickstep's feet.
"Let us not disturb the dead in their eternal rest.", said Radiant Shield solemnly.
But Silent Acacia only rolled his eyes and leaned down as he took a letter from the skeleton's hand.
He scanned it quickly.
"Something something, Reylar is crazy, this ring is the key, know what to do with it…"
Silent Acacia wasn't one to dive deeply into lore. It was enough to open the letter once to trigger a quest for everyone.
[<Story> Quest: Reylar's pact]
[Step one: Bring Raylar's cursed ring to Svapharel in Duabalis City.]
[Hint: Don't let the holy nephilim see you.]
Silver Blade quietly reached out with her hand, taking the letter from Acacia.
"Looks like that's it.", announced Cyclone unhappily.
"Somewhat lacking for a secret room."
Everybody agreed with Quickstep but there was nothing they could do. The party returned upstairs, still with no clue on how to pass the flame wall outside.
But after a few seconds Watchful Eye finally found something.
"There is a button here."
"Where?"
"Within the fire bowl."
"Oh, in this one as well.", announced Balm, pointing at another flame.
"Careful, friends, do not act rashly."
"Do we have to press all of them? Maybe in a certain order?"
Liam watched as the party was brainstorming, but he knew that only trial and error would allow them to figure out the solution. Thus, he decided to shorten the process.
"We need to press all the buttons at the same time."
"But isn't this flame dangerous? How can six of us sacrifice so much HP?", asked Cyclone with a frown.
"It's alright. It's time to bring out our secret weapon."
Liam grinned as he distributed stalks of red herbs to everyone. Bloody Edge wasn't part of the party when they gathered the herbs, checking them curiously.
[Fiery Tacaria
Category: Common
Effect: Negate one stack of burn.
Take this if you have no water nearby.]
Liam calmly explained his plan:
"Ok guys, six of you stand nearby one bowl each. On my signal, press the button quickly, don't keep your hands within the flame.
If you are too slow, the burn effect will stack, and you will waste resources."
Cyclone and Balm shifted their bodies, staying at the back of the group, whistling innocently. The rest of the group didn't care, complying with Liam's orders.
Everyone sharpened their ears, ready to move swiftly.
"Ready? 3, 2, 1, go!"
Six hands plunged into the fires. Ignoring the heat, they pressed the buttons and quickly retreated. With Liam's reminder no one accumulated more than one stack of burn, nothing a single herb couldn't heal.
A moment later the black flames flickered. A breeze seemingly blew through the dining area as the fire extinguished.
"Good job. Let's go!"
The party jokingly congratulated each other as they continued.
Meanwhile, in the first room of the dungeon ten grumpy figures gathered.
"Damn, how can you be so useless?", hollered Glorious Sunshine at his subordinates.
"Boss, how is this our fault?"
"Of course it's your fault!"
Fat Tiger frowned as he looked at his alley.
"Don't get agitated. We never expected to clear the dungeon on the first try."
"But it sure would help if we were the only ones in here!"
"You're not wrong, but we already got a head start. Others still need to figure out the traps and mechanics. It's only a matter of time until we get the first clear.
But we got hasty after knowing that someone came in, leading to failure."
Glorious Sunshine took a deep breath, gradually calming down.
"You're right. However, that Mirage has duped me twice now. I won't let this slide.
"We can think about revenge later. Let's focus on the dungeon now."
***
Liam didn't know that he had been targeted. Right now, he followed the party upstairs, walking briskly through a corridor, black flames running along the walls.
No monsters attacked them until they reached a vast empty hall, a single chandelier spending a bit of light. Right below it stood a statue, its back towards the group.
"Hmm? Who put this thing here? How ugly.", commented Cyclone as she circled the statue.
"Such big wings and a white robe, it looks like the nephilim outside."
Silver Blade frowned, turning towards Bleary Mirage:
"Didn't you say the holy nephilim sent someone to take down Reylar? Could it be this guy?"
"Good guess. You're correct."
"Oh, so this Reylar guy turned his attacker into stone?"
While the party studied the statue, Silent Acacia was already looking around, ignoring the lore.
He noticed three large doors leading towards three directions, the statue's palm pointing at the one upfront.
"Guys, look. The statue might be pointing out the way."
"Hmm makes sense."
With Silent Acacia's words, Cyclone looked at the statue's open palm, suddenly shivering.
"Ewh, this guy is missing two fingers."
Bleary Mirage nodded towards Acacia.
"You're not wrong. But the door is blocked. We can only pass after the statue opens it for us. And to do so, we need to retrieve its two missing fingers."
"Got it. Those are behind the other doors, aren't they?"
"Yeah."
"Friends, let us rescue this fallen priest and bring an end to this dark curse."
"My blade is ready."
Radiant Shield and Bloody Edge spoke up, ready to go, each of them approaching a different door, causing the others to chuckle faintly.
Liam shook his head as he retrieved more of the Fiery Tacaria, distributing them among the party.
Silver Blade watched his actions with an ominous feeling.
"Why would we need so many herbs?"
"You'll see…"
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