[You have gained 850 experience! EXP until next level 430/3,960]
[You have gained a level! You have 35 free stat points to distribute!]
[Your carefully laid steps become more natural. You have gained a rank in Stealthy!]
“We’ll need to head down that path next,” said Mina as she pointed in the direction the last trest was headed. “If that guy was sent to check on the lookout, his not returning would probably cause a problem for us. The sooner we head that way, the better.”
“Ok,” Dakkon said, obliging. “Follow me.”
The corridor they would now be traveling down was directly opposite of the last one they had explored, and it was similar in design. It did not curve left or right, but it inclined upwards at a slight angle.
“If we’re really lucky,” said Dakkon, “this will be another sleeping chamber.” As the group moved forwards, Dakkon in the lead, he realized that indeed they were not so fortunate. The end of the path was brightly lit and inside goatmen were standing alert. “From what I can see,” Dakkon said after he retreated back to relay intel to his party, “there are only three goatmen in there. One looks short and fat by comparison to the ones we’ve seen, though, and he’s sitting on what I can only assume is a holy throne for the God of Luck.”
“That’s gotta be the boss,” Cline and Melee said in unison. No one suspected any differently.
“You going to be able to take any of them out with a sneak attack?” Roth asked Dakkon.
“I’m not so sure this time,” replied Dakkon. “Maybe we could let loose some animals around here and the two guards might get distracted or chase them out?”
“That’s got to be one of the worst ideas I’ve ever heard, Dakkon,” said Mina. “I doubt any of us have enough time to count the number of ways that could backfire.”
Dakkon looked thoughtful. “Well, barring any other ideas, I guess our best option is to wait for the guards to become distracted then maybe I can run up and stab one of them. The rest of the battle would have to be a fair fight—but we’re stronger now. As long as we don’t suffer any critical hits I think we can make something happen.” Dakkon was less confident about the encounter than he tried to let on.
Mina voiced Dakkon’s concerns, “We have no idea how strong that boss is. We don’t even know if the two under him are normal guards.” Mina closed her eyes for a moment and bit her upper lip. When she opened her eyes, they were determined. “But, I think we can do it. We’ve taken out 12 of them so far, so we know at most three strikes from Dakkon’s dagger should take them down. We don’t have a whole lot of time to come up with a reasonable decision, so I say we go for it.”
“Mina,” Melee said with an approving tone in her voice, “Is that really you?”
“I’m game. We’ll distract them and you stick ‘em,” Roth said with a single nod towards Dakkon.
“I’m less inclined, but I need money for a bow,” said Cline. Overcoming hopeless, death-defying fight after fight may have started to erode his sense of self-preservation. “Fine. Let’s all die together,” he added with exasperated sarcasm.
“Deal,” said Dakkon. “Actually, I’d like to make it clear that I did not just agree to a suicide pact.”
“Too late,” said Mina with a smile. “We all heard it.”
“Wow, you really are crazy.” Roth grinned.
Everyone had relaxed considerably from the exchange, save for Cline who even then looked ready to flee when the time came. Dakkon bowed his head and said, “It’s been a pleasure.” He turned and snuck to the end of the tunnel.
The room was round. Either side had its own staircase that hugged the wall leading to a raised dais where the impish boss trest sat, bored and… reading? Dakkon hadn’t noticed that on his first look. The two goatmen guards stood down and in front of the stairs, roughly 12 meters from the entrance. Having the guards turn around, and being able to cover that much ground in a few seconds… it was asking for a lot. An idea struck him, and he went back to the party after finding a small stone in the passageway. “Cline,” Dakkon asked him, “what is your dexterity? Could you hit the boss with this stone from the doorway?”
“It’s 50 right now, Dakkon,” Cline paused and thought for a moment, “I don’t know. Is that the best option we’ve got, then?”
“I think it is. Throw a stone at him. With any luck, he’ll make a noise and the guards will turn to him. That might just give me enough time to run at one,” said Dakkon. “Agility has been very good to me today. I’ll match your 50 and hope that gives us the edge we need.” He opened his character window and distributed 20 of his 35 free stat points into agility, raising it to 50. He stepped back and forth. He felt limber and incredibly comfortable, but he didn’t know exactly how fast he could move. Dakkon nodded towards Cline. “Peek, and when the two guards have their eyes anywhere other than the doorway, lean out and peg the little bastard. Wait one second after I charge in then come in to back me up.”
They played the waiting game once again. Cline crouched, patiently watching for any opening to act. The goatmen stretched, they yawned, they shifted their weight with discomfort. The beasts proved to be sentries of unexpected discipline. They waited five minutes before one turned towards the other and drew its attention. Cline leaned out of the doorway and hurled the little stone with all of his might.
Like a racer waiting for the crack of a pistol to start his sprint, Dakkon gripped the ground with anticipation. A loud *whuck* noise could be heard followed by a shrill cry, “Ahhhch!” Dakkon took off without a thought for his safety. The speed at which he sprang forward from a standstill surprised him so much that he nearly slammed into the wall. He ran with steps that sounded like a skilled chef at the chopping block, and within two seconds Dakkon had stabbed the back of the left-most guard twice.
[You have sneak attacked a trest for 550 damage.]
[You have stabbed a trest for 247 damage. Trest has been slain.]
[You have gained 1100 experience! EXP until next level 1,530/3,960]
This time the trest did not succumb from his initial sneak attack. The second stab had paid off, but Dakkon didn’t like what this meant for the party. The other guard turned and swung at him with a hatchet. To Dakkon’s surprise, he dodged the attack by the breadth of a hair and struck the beast’s arm.
[You have slashed a trest for 220 damage.]
Behind him, Dakkon could hear the approaching footsteps of his allies. From above he heard angry, imp-like chanting. The trest guard swiped at Dakkon from the side and he knew he could dodge the attack, but halfway through the beast’s motion, it grew.
[You have been slashed for 184 damage. Remaining HP 241/425]
Dakkon was tossed backwards, but despite the biting pain he felt, he landed nimbly on his feet. At that instant, Melee arrived with a mighty cleave from her side, throwing all the momentum of the run behind her large sword. The impact jarred the beast, and it reeled backwards. As Cline and Roth began their own assaults on the bearded fiend, blue light surged over Dakkon’s body as well as the body of the goatman.
[You have been healed for 75 hit points. Remaining HP 316/425]
The goat let out a booming, bleat of a laugh, “Bahahaha.” Larger in size than when it began the fight, and now healed, the beast was menacing. “Die,” the trest howled as it swung its axe downward at Cline but stumbled thanks to a shoulder ram from Roth.
Dakkon knew that so long as the goat was being healed from above, his party would lose the battle of attrition. He turned and ran up the rounded staircase. At the top, he was met by the short, round, and impish leader of the trest who held ready a bearded axe in one hand and a gladius in the other. Dakkon felt another surge of vitality as he lunged towards the boss.