Vraxious- Whispering Grotto Dungeon
Vrax slid to the entrance of the rock formation while the jar was still making its lazy descent towards the urinating goblin. The daisy jar shattered against the ground just past the feet of the goblin, stopping the low chatter of the monsters milling about. All nine goblins looked up in alarmed surprise, especially the one in a rather compromising position. Come on, let’s see what my little prank gone wrong can do.
The daisy quickly righted itself with its tendrils and rose from the pile of refuse it had landed in like the ever-hungering horror it was. The nearby goblin quickly tried to put his loincloth back down in a panic; that was a mistake. The daisy slingshot itself with its thorny tendrils straight towards the nearest movement, right into the groin of the panicking goblin. The goblin screeched and began running in an aimless terror, trying to rip free the small predator.
Vrax took advantage of the very effective distraction, stepping slightly inside the entrance and ripping the life from the fungi around him. His garden bloomed before him once again in a rough triangle with the acidic lurker mushroom as the forward point. Torvald stepped up slightly inside the other entrance to his left and utterly brained a nearby goblin with a herculean toss of a stone. The stone carried through its skull and clipped another goblin near the fire in the arm with bone-breaking force.
Vrax skirted along some small scattered boulders deeper into the clearing to come up beside a hefty-looking goblin with an axe. He lunged, and the beast surprisingly caught the motion, just managing to deflect the spear aimed for its neck into the meat of its shoulder. Vrax went to pull back but instead jerked to a stop. The goblin had held his spear in place with one hand, the other whipping the axe down into his armored chest with the dull thud of splitting wood. Vrax grunted as the air was blasted from his lungs and he met the crazed eyes of the goblin berserker. Oh, shit, should have identified all of them a bit late now, but [Goblin Berzerker tier-1](lvl8).
Vrax didn’t wait for the creature to finish wrenching the axe from his chest, pouring a quarter of his mana into the still-lodged speartip and wrenching it sideways as his smite surged forth, melting muscle from bone all along the creature’s left side. He felt the deep bruising on his chest ease slightly, and the smite healed him. He leapt back with his weapon now free and looked in horror as the creature swayed for a moment on its feet and then refocused, activating some kind of skill. Vrax ran back towards his garden, the half-melted goblin with one arm chasing him with a frenzied scream. Vrax dived down just as the rightmost lurker mushroom triggered tendril lashing out and wrapping around the goblin, dragging it kicking and hacking back near the entrance. He watched for just a moment as the goblin managed a few solid cuts against the thorny tendril before it tightened brutally, stilling him with a sickening piercing sound.
On Torvald's side of the battlefield, the broken bodies of half the goblins littered the ground in various states of brokenness. Torvald held a goblin aloft by its scruff like a shield as the pixies harried him. Sending tiny bolts of magic swirling through the air, trailing dust that set whatever it touched ablaze in an eerie white flame. Torvald's shield was already half consumed by the white flames, and they were starting to lick against his hand.
The two other living goblins were squared off against the maneater daisy; one ineffectually stabbed at it with his spear, and it scurried up his spear like some monstrous rodent and wrapped its tendrils around the back of his head and into an eye socket. Its sharp appendages all shook with an uncomfortable circular motion as it began taking bites out of the goblin's nose. Vrax looked on a bit afraid of what he made. That thing is a fucking menace. It's far faster than I would have expected and just goes for the little shits until they stop moving. As if on cue, the goblin fell like a log, its brain scrambled by the probing tendril. The daisy paused for just a moment as its prey went still and then flung itself towards the other goblin, who was running the hell away. Vrax looked over to Torvad. “Hey, draw them to the garden!”
Torvald nodded and rushed past Vrax, still deflecting the burning spells he swept just wide enough to avoid one lasher mushroom, and thankfully the pixies cackled in evil glee and gave chase. The acidic Lurker triggered with a hissing snap as the pixies flew almost straight over it. It only caught one, but the splattering mist of acid that streamed out as it snapped taut caught the wing of the other, sending it to the ground in a tumbling smolder. The one it had caught didn’t even survive being reeled in. Between the thorns as long as its body and the acid, the pixie was a smoldering skeleton within moments. The lurker mushroom seemed almost annoyed, dropping the mostly nonexistent remains as soon as they were reeled back.
Vrax looked around the clearing. The remaining goblin was flailing face first near the dead tree. The daisy latched to its back was going nuts, raking at its exposed back. That handled, and Torvald busy patting out a small blaze that had spread onto his arm, Vrax rushed next to the pixie, making sure it stayed down with a stomp. He scanned for any threats but just saw Red sitting on top of one of the boulder walls with an approving-looking smirk on his face. Wait, he hasn’t followed us in yet….
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Vrax carefully re-added his plants to his garden, eyes peeled. There had to be something else dangerous here. That was a solid skirmish, but for such an obvious focal point of the dungeon, there had to be more to it. Torvald saw his almost worried expression and stayed at the ready slightly off to his side. Vrax went over their surroundings again now that it was calm other than the daisy still trying to eat the poor goblin bit by bit. Scattered campfire on the left, the long-dead tree dominating the back of the clearing, a small chest peeking out from behind it, and scattered boulders to the right.
“Torvald, there is a treasure chest behind the tree,” he said slowly.
Torvald's eyes lit up. “Ha, of course there is! “The dungeon wants to reward us for a battle well fought,” he said, but trusting Vrax didn’t move from his ready position.
“I think that goddamn tree is going to try and eat us, this screams trap to me. That chest is the most halfheartedly hidden thing I have ever seen.” Vrax said, cautiously focusing in on the tree with Identify.
[Lesser Whispering Wood Tier-1](lvl14)
Red gave a disappointed sigh from the sidelines and mumbled almost inaudibly to himself, “Observant little druid.”
“Yeah thats whatever a whispering wood is?” Vrax stated
Torvald looked thoughtful for a moment. “I bet it wouldn’t love fire, being a tree and all…” He looked meaningfully at Vrax.
“Man, I only have one left, but you are right.” Vrax pulled his last jar of smelter moss out from his side pouch and cautiously got within five strides of the Whispering Wood. From here it still just looked like a tree, but there was an almost odd split to its grey-white bark going vertically up the middle of the trunk and a cluster of circular burls towards the top that he would bet money were about to snap open into eyes.
Before he could throw the moss, the chest snapped open of its own volition, the gleaming gold inside calling out to him. Vrax took half a step towards the unfathomable riches. I could buy anything I need with that much, any Mandragora I wanted. I could even afford some mana stones and make an unstoppable minion. Wait, why the fuck would the first level of the dungeon have a treasure hoard halfway through? Are you kidding me with more brainwashing bullshit!? Vrax angrily shook his head clear of the mental manipulation. Torvald had not fared as well, almost stumbling over himself towards the lure that was now rising from the ground, held aloft by a root, and slowly gliding towards the hulking warrior.
Vrax threw the smelter moss against the trunk with a vengeance. Cold blue eyes snapped open, hidden within the burls, and the trunk itself split vertically, a massive lolling tongue spilling out past wooden teeth. The lure lashed out towards Torvald; the illusion shattered, now nothing but a slavering maw attached to roots. The tree screamed in pain as the fire found purchase all along its bark, quickly catching the dry branches overhead ablaze.
Torvald activated his charge just in time, blasting sideways out of the reach of the lure. Vrax dropped the acidic mushroom as close to the tree as he could. It countered the lure's charge with one of its own, catching the slavering maw in its thorny embrace and pouring acid down into the open mouth. They stayed like that for a moment, the lure and lurker mushroom pulling against each other while the tree screamed, burning. The lurker mushroom melted through the lure, reducing it to a strange mix of melted flesh and wood.
Torvald used his multiple skill trick, launching himself into the air, bracing against nothing midair, and then exploding downward, hitting the tree right amidst its eyes as hard as he could. There was an explosion of bark and ichor as the blow blinded the beast. Vrax rushed to the side and helped the process along with a full-powered smite, tunneling a large hole into the side of the trunk. Vrax and Torvald both then stepped back and let the tree fall still as the fire continued to crackle against its bark and sizzle against its flesh.
A large list of notifications greeted them along with an equally impressive wave of essence.
[Goblin Berzerker Tier-1](lvl8) Slain
[Fungal cave goblin Tier-1](lvl 1) X5 Slain
[Fungal cave goblin Tier-1](lvl 2) X4 Slain
[Pixie scavenger Tier-1](lvl5) Slain
[Pixie scavenger Tier-1](lvl5) Slain
[Lesser Whispering Wood Tier-1](lvl14) Slain
The sound of slow clapping behind them drew their gazes back towards Red, still sitting on the edge of the wall, feet dangling loosely. “Well, that was actually pretty impressive; you have obviously had real training and combat experience. Fine, I'll bite. Newbies, what bumfuck town did you come from? Normally you guys are suffering from big fish in a tiny pond syndrome, but based on what I've seen so far, you have some potential. No one pissed themselves, and other than some burns and an axe to the chest, you aren't too fucked up. Also, maybe collect that...thing." He uncomfortably gestured towards the daisy that was currently savaging a small, mundane carnivorous plant that had dared reach towards it.
Vrax collected his little horror, stuffing it into another jar. He wouldn’t be able to pull that particular trick again; he was down to his last solid specimen jar. He could always just pull the little guy out and throw him. As an afterthought, he used Identify [Infant Maneater Daisy Tier-1] (lvl 2). Yep, the little monster got some essence from its kills. It's a little beat up but should be fine after some rest in its jar.
Torvald paced over closer to Red to answer him. “Oh, just a little town called Hopes End,” he proudly stated.
Red looked thoughtful for a moment. “Wait, why does that sound so familiar? Oh, goddammit, you are from that cesspit of broken dreams that's a stone's throw away from the forsaken lands!”
“Yeah, you can take a stroll and see a Voruk eat a man and be back in time for lunch if you feel like a brisk walk.” Vrax sarcastically said,
Red sighed, “Maybe I will be paying for your damn inn stay. We are only halfway through the first floor though lets get going. The pissy tree isn’t the worst thing on this floor.”
Vrax looked at him dubiously. “Hold up a second, first we have to loot!” He waved the limp pixie body to punctuate his point.