“I’m okay with the idea,” Fluff added.
“Well, seems unanimous,” Alburet chuckled. “Let’s do the three kill quests here first, since we’re already here. Spend today farming Langistors, then depending on my quest tomorrow we can decide where to go from there.”
“What quest?” Karen, Fluffball, Gerald and Marysue asked in unison.
“Oh, yeah, about that,” Alburet coughed. As they drew closer to the lake he explained the quest from his armor set bonus. He was interrupted near the end by a Langistor Runner approaching them along the shore.
Alburet’s head tilted sideways slightly as he took in the appearance of the creature. Gerald and Tiny both closed with it with no hesitation. The creature looked like a giant langoustine that had been bent just behind the head so the front part of its body was upright. The tail splayed out behind, steadying the creature as it scuttled along on six legs. The front claws were held aloft before it, long narrow pincers lined with saw teeth along the inside edges. The eyes were perched on short stalks at the very top of its head, and two long antennae sprouted from between them. It was covered pinkish-orange segmented chitinous plates.
“Not human looking at all,” Alburet muttered.
“It does look mostly like a giant prawn,” Marysue sighed. “I don’t feel bad about people saying we can eat them now.”
Laughing, Alburet shook his head and trotted forward to get into melee while Bob began to cast his Fire Blasts. Gerald and Tiny were already engaged with it. Karen and Fluff joined in a moment before Alburet got there. Fluff growled as her claws skidded off the outer shell on her first swing. Karen saw that, and took a moment longer to line up her blades, sinking them in between the small gaps between the plates of the shell.
“Take aim,” Karen told her as she withdrew her blades for another attack.
The two tanks mostly huddled behind their shields as the creature’s two main claws bounced off the blocking metal surfaces. The claws rebounding off the shields made a noise like a steel drum. Gerald and Tiny attacked as best they could, hacking at the head of the monster when it pulled its claws back for another go at them.
Alburet had to slide around to find a free spot where he could get in on the melee. As he moved in, Fluff dug her claws into a joint between the shells and pulled. Alburet watched the shell flex up before it slipped off her claws and slapped into the Langistor’s back. “I think your strength is just a touch low,” he told her. “Looked like you almost had it there.”
“Fine,” Fluff’s voice was a rough growl as her body began to glow red. She slammed her hands back into the same spot and with a roar ripped upwards. A six inch piece of shell went spinning away from each hand, leaving a foot wide gap exposed on its back.
“Woohoo!” Karen yelled, sinking her blades into the exposed flesh. “Free shots, way to go Fluff.”
Alburet focused further back on the monster and hammered his axe into the Langistor’s tail. The damage was minimal since he hadn’t taken the time to aim between the plates, but a piece of the shell flaked away where he’d hit it, and there was a network of cracks visible. “Pure damage can strip the shell off as well,” he called out.
They were in no real danger from the creature, so Karen focused on a new spot to see how much cumulative damage the shell could absorb. Fluff tore more armor away before her rage buff wore off. Karen laughed, “You can just wear a section down. Slow, but it works.”
“Are you guys done playing yet?” Gerald called out.
Fluff plunged both hands into the gap she had made and started pulling chunks out of the mob. Alburet and Karen attacked their spots in earnest, and soon the mob succumbed to the combined damage. As the mob collapsed Gerald sighed, “Thank you. I felt like a bloody punching bag.”
“You were only taking minor damage with each hit to your shield,” Marysue told him.
“What did you guys learn during the fight?” Gerald asked.
“Shells are tough, but breakable.” Karen looked over at Stacia, who had been standing back with Marysue. “You didn’t join in?”
“I did nay want to daze or try and friend it since ya was all in battle. Me blades would nay have added much, and ya were all surrounding it.”
“Okay,” Marysue nodded. “We can grab a single again and let her check before we hurry off to a camp.”
“Good plan,” Gerald agreed.
As they moved on Alburet finished telling the story of his quest. “So, I might be up for a race change here,” he finished.
“That is so fucking neat,” Karen looked thoughtful. “I want to pick up vampire or shadow or something similar to help with sneaking.”
“I’ll stay human, thanks,” Gerald laughed.
“I like being a Lunari,” Fluffed added.
“I’m fine with being a basic elf, really,” Marysue said.
“Looks like we’re the odd ones out, Karen,” Alburet laughed.
“Such a shocker, right?” Karen joined him laughing.
It didn’t take them long to find another Langistor Runner. Stacia was able to use both Daze and Ally, which was happy news. Since her Ally ability had a ten minute cooldown they killed a few more solo Runners to add them to their quest total. The camps turned out to be easy for them with all the control Stacia brought to the fight. The group cut down the Brute first, followed by the Clackers, before finally turning on the Water Weavers as they came out of the Ally ability’s control. Stacia would Daze one, letting them focus on just one at a time. They took their time, waiting for the cooldown on Ally to wear off before tackling the next camp.
Shortly after noon they returned to the fort. They stopped at the inn for lunch, a bisque soup made from Langistor meat and served with a cheddar biscuit. To go with it was a light wine whose flavor hinted at some berry Alburet couldn’t place. They were all stuffed by the time they finished. Alburet handed the innkeeper a gold, telling him to keep the change as the group got up to leave.
“What do you think the Waterweed is for?” Karen asked as they walked towards the keep.
“Water breathing and increased swimming speed elixirs,” Fluff told her. “They’re useful in a number of zones in Lunari territory. They would also be useful if we wanted to get to the island out on the lake on our own.”
“Why would we want to?” Alburet asked, “Besides the boss mob, that is.”
“Treasure,” Karen replied quickly. “All the ruins in the game have a chance to spawn treasure chests. They’re always unlocked but usually trapped, plus more traps in the ruins surrounding the chests. It’s one of the things meant to make Trapsmith more appealing.”
“Ironhand will love to hear that. Since we don’t have a Trapsmith with us now, I don’t feel the need to check,” Alburet replied.
“Let’s get what we have turned in,” Gerald said as they entered the fort proper. “Then we can decide whether to stay here for the rest of the day or to move on.”
“Sergeant Granite, sir, we have finished the basic quests for you,” Alburet said, coming to attention before the man’s desk.
The sergeant returned the salute as he looked up, “Very good, Alpha Company. Was it easier than the spiders?”
“My succubus was able to control them, sir, which made it much easier,” Alburet replied.
“Very good. Did you wish to get rid of any of the meat from them or any of the weeds they carry?”
“We would be more than happy to, sir,” Alburet told the sergeant.
“The Quartermaster runs the shop next to the blacksmith. Take all your stuff to him along with this chit. He’ll give you a bonus on everything he buys from you. Also, here are your rewards for completing my quests.” He stacked a bag for each of them on the desk, “Dismissed Alpha Company, but I hope you’ll be back for the Queen when you’re able to take her.”