“You three ready for a wild ride?” Alburet asked.
He got three affirmatives all laced with doubt. “Tiny, grab that last goblin in the way and then we’re going in.”
Chapter Six
As they stepped into the dungeon Alburet received a pop-up. He chuckled at it, “Be right back guys, don’t do anything for a minute.” He ducked back out, leaving the trio a little puzzled.
A few minutes later another person joined their group. Alburet and Diesel joined them inside the dungeon. “This is Diesel, he’s a Defender and our tank for the run.”
“But we are going to get shitty XP already because of your level,” Greenbeard pointed out.
Alburet tapped at his interface, and his level was reduced to fifteen, the maximum for the dungeon. “Not anymore, turns out dungeons let you scale your level to them. Means you’ll get decent XP for the mobs after all, as well as getting the quests.”
“Wow, that’s cool,” Leggylass exclaimed. “We can group with anyone then for dungeons.”
“It doesn’t scale up, only down. So you still can’t bring someone too low a level in.”
Diesel nodded, “So you guys know this dungeon? Because I haven’t run it yet.”
“I’ve cleared it a few times,” Alburet told him. “Just follow along and I’ll walk you all through it.”
“Does it scale your abilities back as well, or just your stats?” Ironhand asked.
Alburet looked at Stacia and her double, “Going to say stats because she’s still here and I didn’t get a Succubus until level sixteen.”
“I still have access to me ability as well,” Stacia added.
“This is going to be so funny,” Greenbeard laughed.
“So, first off there’s the trash,” Alburet said, explaining the dungeon.
As they exited the dungeon, Diesel shook his head. “Wow, so if we can get a higher level to go through dungeons with us, it’s just stupid easy.”
“Could be,” Alburet agreed, “I happen to have a set of gear that boosts my stats though, which along with my melee damage makes me a little OP at that level.”
“Yeah, about that. Where can I get a set of gloves like that?” Diesel asked.
“Not sure anyone else can get them anymore, they’re part of the armor sets that were removed.”
“Balls,” Diesel sighed. “Well, thanks for the run. I guess I can head off to the Orc area now.”
“Wait, why not run it with us again?” Ironhand piped up. “Alburet said he was going, but the rest of us would be up for another round once we turn in quests. With a healer and tank we can pick up another DPS and go again.”
Diesel considered it then nodded, “Sure, sounds good to me.”
“You all have fun,” Alburet told them before he dropped group. “Have fun with the celebration later.”
Alburet loafed at the entrance to the dungeon and waited for the other group to show. He let Tiny and Bob kill off any goblin that got close as he sipped some tea and nibbled some jerky. Almost half an hour later Jaxton’s group came out of the dungeon. Jaxton heaved a deep sigh.
“Sorry guys, that last boss is just a bitch,” Jaxton was saying.
“Issues?” Alburet asked.
“We couldn’t handle the last boss,” Brightlight said, looking around for the people Alburet had been with earlier. “Where did the others go?”
“We cleared. I was hanging out for you guys and they decided to go again,” Alburet told them. “If one of your DPS doesn’t mind dropping and hooking up with Ironhand’s group I can get you guys through.”
“But the XP loss,” Reviler said, his zombie moaning softly.
“Turns out I can scale my level down to the max for the dungeon. The other group got decent XP. So, are you guys up for it?”
“I’ll switch to the other group,” Reviler said. “I’ll just toss Ironhand a guild message.”
“Sounds good. Jaxton, hit me. I’ll teach you guys the tricks to beat this place.” Alburet said as he accepted the group invite. “Reset the dungeon and then we can go.”
A minute later they entered the dungeon, the group a little skeptical that his plan would work. When they came out again after clearing it, they were shaking their heads and laughing. Alburet smiled at the achievement pop-up.
Guild Achievement: Clear the Goblin Fort
“Good gods, I thought Summoners were supposed to be weak as fuck,” Jaxton said.
“He has extra minions and those overpowered gloves,” Brightlight pointed out. “But the most useful thing was having the control.”
“Glad you all had a good time,” Alburet chuckled. “I’m off to check in with more guildies. Pick up another and give it another go now that you know how to handle the bosses.”
“Sure thing,” Jaxton said, sending out a call for another DPS as Alburet dropped from the group.
Alburet said goodbye and dismissed his minions, then he and Stacia used their Homestones to return to Stormguard. As he appeared before his home with Stacia next to him a cloud of black smoke enveloped them. He and Stacia were reduced to coughing helplessly, doubled over and blinded by the thick smoke. Alburet’s coughing was cut abruptly short as a knife sank into his back, severing his spine again and killing him instantly.
Two minutes later he was in the graveyard outside the Dead Man Inn, his face red as he swore. He yanked his Homestone out and used it again, appearing next to Stacia who was leaning against the wall gasping as the smoke dissipated.
“Asthore?” Stacia managed to say, hugging him as she got her breathing back under control.
“Assassin, killed me inside the smoke cloud,” Alburet said through gritted teeth. “Fucking Skippy, I’m so going to kill that fucker until he stays dead.”
“We do nay have the coin to hire an assassin ourselves,” Stacia told him, holding him close.
“Then I should just gut him,” Alburet hissed.
“Ya would be taken prisoner an’ made to serve in the Stockades,” she pleaded with him, pulling his head down so their eyes could meet. “Please, do nay do tha’, Asthore.”
Alburet’s hands clenched tightly on her and he looked away as he tried to curb his anger. It took a minute or two, but he was finally able to get himself under control. “I’ll pay him back eventually.”
“Aye,” Stacia said softly, “I will help iffin I can.”
They held each other for another few minutes before Alburet finally stepped back from her. “We were going to head out to the Orcs for a bit to check in with our new recruits. After that we’ll be back here an hour or so before sundown to get things ready for your sister’s celebration.”
“As ya wish it, Asthore,” Stacia said, breathing easier now that he was calm again.
Once they made it out to the grasslands that the Orcs inhabited, they could see a lot of people scattered off in the distance. “Well, this is going to take some time,” Alburet muttered, summoning Tiny and Bob again.
“More killing?” Tiny rumbled.
“We’re going to find other Alpha Company members and see how they’re doing, much like we did earlier” Alburet replied.
“So boring,” Bob whined.
“Karen and Fluff are out here somewhere,” Alburet told the Imp.
“Well, that’s different. Let’s get moving, what’s the hold up?” Bob bounced from foot to foot.
Alburet copied Stacia and set off into the grasslands. They had to range pretty far before they found the first clump of Alpha Company recruits. The other groups were nearby though, with Karen and Fluff roving between them.
Alburet and his minions greeted the new guildies as they moved from group to group, finally catching up to Fluff and Karen. “Karen, Fluff, how’s it going out here?”
Karen spun at his words, “A little boring, but the groups are doing well. We got the tanks and healers teamed up with DPS, they’re grinding up so they can do the dungeon tonight or tomorrow. We have two groups of just DPS, though.”