Having a Wondrous Legendary Artifact certainly made things more appealing.
Thirty some minutes after we had started clearing the third floor, we had arrived at the mini-boss in all of its miniature glory. Along the way, we actually had a rare find off one of the [Outcast Goblins] when it dropped a [Rusty Iron Xiphos].
The sword was basically the Greek version of what became the Roman Gladius, and was a poor quality but common grade weapon. It was actually fairly good for the level and worth at least a hundred and twenty copper.
The dwarf took that up pretty quick though, and no one really complained.
Taking a look at the boss, I found myself pleasantly surprised as a smile crept up my face. There was a level 42 [Goblin Guard] which was expected, but there were also three [Goblins] and one [Outcast Goblin Priest]… who just so happened to have a very peculiar weapon on hand.
I wasn't really sure what weapon a priest should be equipped with, but I usually imagined a mace or staff. Curiously this goblin priest had a hand-axe, one that looked awfully interesting. Seeing as I had recently lost my axe in the last fight, my replacement weapon was staring right at me, teasing and tempting me to go and grab it from the clutches of the soon-to-be dead goblin.
Even so, I didn't have a current melee weapon outside of my dagger that doubled as my skinning knife. It really wasn't that great for combat… assassinations and last line of defense sure, but not an offensive weapon in the least. I mean, at least not for me seeing as I had no skill proficiency with daggers or knives in general.
"We good to give it a go?" asked the dwarf with little emotion showing.
"I don't have a melee weapon, so it might be risky," I replied cautiously.
To my surprise the dwarf disagreed with me completely.
He looked down at his gear before stating his position, "I improved my armor considerably from that last boss and that Rusty Iron Xiphos is an upgrade as well. I think, if ye can cc that healer and kill them in order, I think, I can hold out."
Well, I was interested.
It's hard to turn down loot and experience when it stares you in the face.
I was a little regretful for not turning in the second quest and picking up the third, but it wasn't like I had a chance to do so, seeing as we never left the dungeon. Eh, it didn't really matter anyways, if you can do it once, you can do it again.
"I'm in, I think we can blow the priest up before it gets a chance to heal, long as you can tank the guard and two goblins for a bit," I said while thinking over the best strategy. "Actually, I think we should focus one of the normal goblins first, then swap to the priest second, I'll cc it before it can cast anything."
The two of us looked at the rest of the party members that were standing idly by and the archer and mage didn't bother to say anything. They were basically along for the ride, so we took their silence as a verifiable yes.
"It's risky, I don't like it," said the priest after everyone else had already agreed to go forward. Well, despite his protest, his buddy was the tank so he was dragged along kicking, figuratively of course.
Without much room to kite or maneuver we decided to stay put in the single room with the boss and his entourage, since a two second run through the narrow passageway wouldn't really do us a lot of good. Plus, we needed to make sure we killed the first goblin immediately, and then transition to the priest before any healing could happen.
I decided to go with a little dramatic flair this time around, taking a stance with my legs spread a bit past shoulder width and with my knees bent.
Bending both elbows and bringing my palms close to my chest, tucked in on the right side, I began to chant my three verses as electricity started to arc between my fingertips. As three seconds passed in the blink of an eye, four small lightning bolts could be seen circling around each other as if stuck in a current.
Aiming at the nearest goblin that was sitting on the floor, I held my breath for a split-second as I thrust my arms forward and touched the base of my wrists together, opening my hands outwards as I directed the flow of electricity towards its target. Two seconds later, the blinding flash and loud crack of thunder that followed dazzled, as it always did. The four entwined bolts of lightning split the air and entered into the body of the goblin and then immediately arced out onto the four unsuspecting goblins nearby.
As raw power passed through their veins and they all started to momentarily convulse in place, a bolt of ice smashed into the very same sitting goblin as a cloud of white frost exploded into the air. Then as the electric current discharged into the dark ground below and the goblins regained their mobility, a small shard of ice was shot through the air.
Afraid to blink, as I might miss it, the shard of ice pierced right through the sitting goblin's neck and went out the other side, as the goblin fell back and grasped its throat. I immediately retracted my arms while holding my bent stance and began to gather a surge of balled up electricity, all the while watching as the first goblin clutched at its throat as it began to bleed out.
The goblin priest's hands had begun to immediately glow a golden-yellow as it prepared a holy spell in order to heal its comrade, but I was faster.
My cast time was the same, but I started sooner.
All the while, the dwarf had already charged into the fray and shouted his taunt at the remaining goblins as three of them began to pound their weapons furiously into his already cracked shield. His stalwart defense held without much issue at the moment, but time was a negative and limiting factor.
I needed to hurry.
"Lightning Bolt!" I shouted quickly as I thrust my arms back out with open hands as a ball of lightning crossed through the air, leaving a trail of lingering electricity between my hands and the head of the bolt.
In an instant, the goblin priest's hands that had been raised above its head stopped glowing as its body shook violently from the spell rebound of a failed cast combined with the paralyzing effect my lightning. As it struggled to voice its screams, its eye bulged out as if they were ready to explode as I created a tether of lightning between us.
Channeling my arc lightning, the pulsating beam of waxing and waning electricity connected the two of us in a gross mismatch of power. Watching its health rapidly decrease while stuck in place, a well-aimed arrow landed in the right eye-socket of the priest as its head snapped back and it fell limp to the floor.
Immediately turning to the next goblin, I waved my right arm over and kept it extended as another [Arc Lightning] was thrown out. The third goblin was instantly locked up as the dwarf took advantage and slit its throat in barely a second as I almost lost my concentration.
The mage to my side was trying to cast a frost bolt at the goblins but switched to the guard as they were falling too fast. The archer did the same while I tethered the last of the normal goblins and watched as it slowly died in place.
With only the guard left, the dwarf had no issue defending himself as I quickly ran over to the priest and looted the hand-axe mid-fight, then ran behind the guard and began to hack away. Out of mana, I could only use what items I had left, and decided to wield an axe in my right and a dagger in the left as I hacked and slashed, and slashed and stabbed as furiously as I could.
Blood was splattering everywhere as the goblin guard shrieked in pain and threw its shield wildly about while thrusting and swinging its spear in a loose circle. I nimbly dodged the shield this time around, wiser to the mechanics of the fight, and simply rolled to the side and resumed my attack on its flank.