Karen groaned, “Not funny.”
Alburet laughed, “I thought it was.”
Once everyone was focused on the Blighted Golem, it soon fell over. “Last floor is next, that should be the Necromancer,” Gerald told them as they looted the bodies and regained their health and mana. “We have no idea what it’s going to do, so everyone stay on their toes.”
Guild Achievement: Kill the Orc Warlord
Alburet grinned, “Looks like the other groups are getting into the spirit of the dungeon clearing.”
“Oh, that’s the dungeon in the Orc Village zone,” Fluff told them. “He rides a giant boar into battle.”
“No one has hit the other continents yet. Maybe we should jump over after the next fight.” Marysue mused as they looked at the stairs. “I would like to see the Elf Lands.” No one else had a specific continent they wanted to see, so Marysue’s idea passed without dissent.
“First we have to kill this guy,” Gerald said as he approached the stairs.
The others all followed him up the final set of stairs. There was a closed door at the top landing. Gerald opened the door and entered, with the rest of the party close behind him. As soon as the entire group had entered the room, the door boomed shut behind them and mocking laughter rang out from above. Looking up, they saw that the roof of the tower was missing, leaving the bell hanging at the top outlined against the sky. A rope dangled from the bell in the middle of the room.
A black clad man jumped lightly down into the room from a broken timber. His smile was manic as he laughed again, “You took apart my helpers did you? No matter, for the end is nigh! The Master has taught me the right ways of Necromancy and the end has come!” He broke out into more wild laughter.
Alburet frowned as he read the name of the boss, Death’s Apprentice. “Ugh, how cliché,” he said with a sigh. “Gerald, I think that was enough of a monologue.”
Gerald nodded, “Okay, everyone, let’s do this.” As Gerald took a step toward Death’s Apprentice, two Blighted Golems jumped down into the room next to the boss. “Tiny, take the one on the right.”
Tiny did as he was asked and engaged the one on the right while Gerald took the one on the left. As the rest of them started in on their normal tactics, the Necromancer cast a spell and touched the Golem that Gerald was fighting. A glowing black bubble sprang up around the Golem.
“Damage reduction,” Gerald noted.
The Necromancer cast the spell again, bringing a second bubble up around the other Golem. Alburet turned for the Necromancer, realizing that they had to stop him from casting. He got there just as a third glowing black bubble sprang up around the Necromancer.
“You are annoying,” Alburet grumped, bringing his axe down on the spell bubble.
Cackling, the Necromancer started to cast another spell. Alburet swung again, his axe once again stopped by the barrier surrounding the Necromancer. A bolt of dark energy lashed out from the boss, striking the Golem facing Tiny and healing it of the damage it had taken before the shield had been cast on it. “The Master has taught me the truth, and he will unleash his army upon Stormguard.”
Alburet swung again, still not getting through the bubble, “What the fuck are we missing here?”
Marysue threw a blast of Light magic at the Golem Tiny was fighting. The spell hit the bubble, causing it to burst in a shower of sparks. “I can counter it,” she called out.
“No!” the Necromancer yelled. “Faithful of the Light, I will pull you back from the dead as my plaything. I’ll torment your body and your soul.”
“Like hell,” Gerald snarled.
The Necromancer replaced the shield Marysue had destroyed, but Marysue was casting again and destroyed the shield protecting the other Golem. “Ring around the rosy,” Marysue half sang.
“You will rue the day you crossed me, priestess,” the Necromancer spat as he put a new damage bubble up on the Golem facing Gerald.
Alburet swung his axe into the bubble surrounding the Necromancer again, still to no effect, “This isn’t working. Without a priest, this dungeon would be broken.” As he stepped back, he felt something tickle his neck. He spun, ready to attack whatever it was. The only thing there was the rope dangling down from the bell. Frowning, he grabbed it and yanked hard once, just to see if anything would happen.
A clear, pure note rang out from the bell, washing through the room like a breath of fresh air. The shields protecting the mobs all winked out of existence. “NO! The bell must be destroyed,” the Necromancer raged as he leapt at Alburet with a club. Alburet tried to duck away, but the dark wood grazed his head, and darkness descended on him.
“I’m blind,” Alburet told the darkness as he backed away, hoping he wouldn’t be attacked.
“It wears off in ten seconds,” Marysue informed him.
The necromancer grabbed the rope, stopping the bell from ringing again and turned to his minions. “Just a moment, my pretties,” he rasped, casting the mitigation bubble on each of them again. Fluff lunged at him, her fur glowing red as she triggered Rage. Her claws blurred as she viciously slashed at the boss.
“Die,” she roared at him.
Karen left off fighting the Golem and joined her, “Kill the Necromancer first.”
Stacia and both Bobs had shifted to target the Necromancer by the time Alburet regained his sight. “Tiny needs some help,” Bob let him know.
Alburet applied Demonic Vitality, Demonic Haze and Demonic Retribution to Tiny before joining the others in attacking the boss. The DPS, led by Fluff, had forced the Necromancer away from the rope with their attacks. Alburet intercepted him from behind, his axe making a satisfying thud as it cut into the Necromancer’s back.
Screaming, the Necromancer began frothing at the mouth, “No, no, no! I will not be denied! I must break the bell, the Master demands it.” A hard pulse of black energy raced out of the necromancer, knocking everyone in the room back to the walls. The Necromancer floated into the air, a ball of black energy gathering beneath him. Tendrils shot out of the sphere, wrapping around the Golems and dragging them back. “Yes, I hear your will, Master! I will kill them all.” He then broke into another round of crazed laughter while the Golems were being fused together below him. He descended to join the two Blighted Golems in the middle of the room. Another pulse of black energy rushed through the room, momentarily blinding everyone. When their eyes cleared, a ten-foot-tall monstrosity stood in the center of the room. The creature had the head and upper torso of the Necromancer while the Golems formed the lower body, flesh fused together so that the composite creature sported four arms sprouting from a bloated, muscle-bound torso. It towered over them, two thick legs supporting its mass. “Mwhahaha! I will kill you all, then I shall break the cursed bell.”
“Tiny, cover the left side,” Gerald called out as they were suddenly free of the wall. Gerald went to engage the right side, calling out more orders as he went. “Alburet and Stacia, to the side with Tiny. Karen and Fluff with me. Marysue and Bob stay back, in case he has area effect abilities.”
Alburet looked at the name of the new boss and winced, “Mutated Apprentice of Death?”
“We already know Mindblown doesn’t come up with the best names,” Gerald grunted as he blocked attacks from the two arms on his side of the boss. His knees bent under the attack, “Fuck, he hits harder.”
Tiny went to one knee under the first attack at him. With a roar, he surged back to his feet. Alburet cast his buffs on Tiny again and dismissed Bob’s Copy, then Copied Tiny, “Tiny Jr., stay back until you’re really hurt then swap to heal up.”
“Good call,” Gerald said as they laid into the boss, who was still laughing manically.