Accidental Reaver

Busy trying to turn a blind eye to the irritated Astralist and Guardian, Luke played with Sooty on his shoulder, Whispering Tome joined in semi-successfully.

Ludris scouted up ahead the cramped corridor, enough space for two hunters to stand side by side—no more than that. Kelly's astral barrier simplified most of the natural hazards the prism maze presented. The refracted light beams from the silver walls bounced off, breaking through when multiple attacks hit the same spot. Any falling stalagmite crystals crashed upon the barrier's ceiling, sliding off in fragments. 'Somehow' the barrier would open a crack, right where Luke stepped into, letting a light beam sneak in to singe him. The petty act was pointless, as ice covered him to deflect the light.

Rotating purple-pink cosmic clusters—edged by black stars hinted at within—soothed the party, Luke included. It healed over time, and a low hum spread from them as the epicenter. The Reaver found it also sucked out corruption at a snail's pace, his and Sooty's corruption meter down at zero.

Xera grumbled occasionally, mentioning a 'missed chance'. Kelly often rubbed her still-connected neck afterward. Juliana held a hand over her stomach, black and red blood coming up from her mouth in cycles. Most of the substantial black corruption crystals alongside her back and sternum stayed, the smallest being cleansed. Ludris also carried signs of corruption, mostly seared to his forearms and shoulders, a pale shadow compared to Juliana's state.

Luke's frost caused near irreparable damage to her organs. Turns out, toughening up those internals set a high bar most hunters fell completely short of. Green stars came out of Kelly's orb on cooldown to accelerate the healing process. The Guardian limped in the back of the group, keeping up due to the rest slowing down on purpose. She kept her spear out, her usual tower shield in her spatial storage from a lack of strength.

You'd think her health would be up to full by now. No, it definitely is. Many minutes later, how is she this impaired? Acting?

Using her staff as a walking stick, Halen accompanied Luke, pulling him from his thoughts. She leaned toward him, eyes on his feet, "That completely silent footwork, how do you manage it? Another technique or ability related to Spell Swords?"

Not about to reveal secrets to a group he came into conflict with less than half an hour ago, Luke said, "Shouldn't your tank be fine by now? Your healer not doing her job or..?"

"My name is Kelly, you frosty maniac."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment!"

A wry smile on her face, Halen said, "The corruption Juliana's dealing with makes persistent damage—like the elemental type you inflict—difficult to treat. Since you are not part of our group, you don't see it in the Interface, but over sixty percent of Juliana's health bar is grayed out." The elf trailed worried eyes to Juliana, "Are you sure you don't need a break, Julie? We can use the anti-corruption potion—if you'd let down that pride for a second."

Heaving, Juliana tried to downplay her symptoms, sweat streaming from her neck, "I'm perfectly fine, Halen. The Shimmering Expanse will stabilize me, and we can go from there."

"You're counting on a lot of things to go right for that to happen, Juliana. Any worse, and I'm shoving the potion down your gullet—no protests."

A low, piercing whisper came from ahead, Ludris' doing. Halen stopped her persuasion, summoning water around her injured party member, staff at the ready. Kelly took the forward center, three stars twisting in rotation near her. Ludris backtracked, stepping inside the barrier, and explained the situation.

"Good news, we found the exit. Bad news, a Prism Golem with ten Crystal Stalkers waiting in camouflage are guarding it."

An audible groan came from both Kelly and Juliana. The Guardian hefted her spear, trying to drag herself to the group's front. Halen clamped an iron grip on Juliana's better shoulder, "Don't even think about it, Julie. Another bad spray of blood and even an anti-corruption potion may not save you. Kelly's Cosmic Spirals can barely keep up as is."

Nocking three arrows—each tinted with wind—Ludris nodded in agreement while Kelly stood in Juliana's way, obviously in the same thought camp. The Astralist slowly shook her head from side to side, oddly quiet.

Coughing up blood, Juliana weakly struggled against the elf Mage's grip, "It takes all four of us to safely clear a group like that, Halen. Let me fight." She glared at Luke, "Why'd you have to go and turn my insides to mush, huh?"

The Reaver scratched his cheek, "All's fair in love and dungeons—something like that. This isn't a problem."

Raising an eyebrow, Halen said, "It's not?"

"Not at all. Sooty." Luke's cap furled out, frost left behind in each step, "Use your support tactics to make this go smoothly. I'll reinforce the line." He winked at Kelly, "Try not to keep causing 'accidents,' alright?"

Kelly blushed, her tactics seen through. Shamelessly, she said, "I'd never. Kelly Becket is the most upright hunter you've met in all of Sylen."

Rolling his eyes, Luke thought, Sure, sure. And I'm just a daisy flower that randomly breaks barriers and attracts annoying light beams.

"Alright Xera, here's your appetizer. You can make up for the 'missed chance' you keep rattling on about."

Kelly suddenly guarded her neck again, her orb hovering against its left side.

As he briefed himself on the enemy's position through observation, Ludris asked, "Shouldn't we devise a detailed plan, Ninth? None of us know any details about your abilities—beyond your frost technique."

"Prefer to keep it that way, Ludris. Opening my arms wide to my would-be killers isn't high on the checklist."

Flustered, Ludris said, "Nonsense, even if we prevailed, killing you is out of the question. No matter Kelly's machinations, she's more like a vile fairy than a needless hunter-slayer."

"Hey! I'm a pretty fairy. Where is all this vile stuff coming from? Aren't my healing stars and Cosmic Swirls doing a fantastic job keeping everyone alive and healthy? This barrier doesn't feed itself, you know."

"Not denying the hunter-slayer bit? Interesting," Luke said.

That shattered any slowly building pride Kelly tried to salvage. Ludris stifled a laugh, and Halen shook her head aimlessly.

Holding up a hand to any oncoming retort, Luke continued, "You're on point with your arrows, Ludris. Halen, you have ranged water attacks, and I'm sure this hunter-killer can stave off most of what the Crystal Stalkers dish out." Luke thumbed back to where Juliana leaned against a silver wall, "Keep that one out harm's way. Sooty and I are about to be busy."

Breathing out slowly, frosted expiration trailed against Luke's cheeks. Fifty feet out—or thereabouts, ten poorly camouflaged Crystal Stalkers covered the tunnel section before the portcullis exit, sun-lit crystals humming at its bottom and top. The Prism Golem stood in the back center, absorbing large quantities of light from the refraction the silver corridor produced automatically.

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Tugging on their spiritual link, Luke sent Sooty ahead. This playground of light and dark suited her element perfectly. She hopped along, eventually positioned behind the Crystal Stalker pack, them being none the wiser.

"Ha…" Mist flowed behind the elemental Reaver. The substance enveloped the remaining corridor, lowering visibility for the monsters. While the Prism Golem acted as if all was well with the world, the Crystal Stalkers shifted uneasily, low hisses reaming from their guttural throats. Water streams rotated a safe distance away from the walking frozen reactor, Halen learning her lesson from their battle. A faint wind rustle stirred the mist, pushing and twisting it, Ludris at the ready, three arrows attached to his quality short bow.

The Prism Golem, a glowing light ball, continued to try and feed the brands all around its body. By Luke's observation, about half of its brands were already sated. Remembering the nasty light cannon ability, the Reaver stepped forward with Xera tilted to the right in a one handed grip. His left arm rose to his chest, encased in a blue-and-white, clawed ice glove covering his arm and triceps.

"Enough of your light."

Thick frost ice slithered over the silver corridor, sealing off the light production, with the exception of a faint amount in the ceiling above. The crystal hazards present there cracked apart at the disturbance, threatening to skewer the Crystal Stalkers in the lower half of the wall. Suddenly, on the near-frictionless surface, the Crystal Stalkers lost their grip, tumbling from the corridor walls—many flipping over, briefly exposed.

Ludris struck at the opportunity. Three wind arrows stabbed into a prime Crystal Stalker target, two to the eyes, one to the neck. Coming right along were Halen's water jets and a flowing whirlpool, the jets struck into the same Crystal Stalker Ludris attacked, killing it. The whirlpool acted as suction force, wetted the ice, and pulled the still off balance Crystal Stalker's closer together.

A star rush battered into the Prism Golem, denting into its brands. A glowing barrier stopped them, cracking like a spider web. Four light spears arose from the golem's left smaller arm, dispersed the star-lit attack, and pinpointed Luke's position despite his mist concealment. Going toward the Reaver like a tracer, Luke felt…off.

Plenty of action overlapped in close to a blink of an eye, but it's like his senses were bored—unstimulated. The speed and potency coming from the obstacle before him foundationally unable to challenge the enhanced time perception gifted by his capped agility attribute. Twisting to the side, three light spears skewered into the frost beneath him a tenth of a second ago. Xera, already enchanted with Infusion and Essence Bond, deflected the fourth with a skillful tap at the spear's head, the trajectory stabbing into the iced over walls.

Sooty swooped from the shadows, merciless talons raking across two Crystal Stalker necks, Vorpal Touch spreading deadly ruinous rot, shadow tendrils licked at the newly found wounds. The bird activated her item abilities, Gigantification and Wings of Reaver. Enlarging to twice her size, she placed a Reaver Beak into the Prism Golem's core, staggering it back while creating a deep fissure.

A ring of frosting constrictive runes—Essence Bond—appeared along the golem's body. Sooty spread the weakening spell with Essence Screech to seven of the remaining nine Crystal Stalkers. The other two positioned away from the bird.

Clicking her beak, Sooty summoned her Shadow Wing, the shade facing the other end of the golem. It, too, screeched, finishing the infection job for Sooty. Vorpal Touch now ate away at all monsters. The Shade tried to steal the golem's attention to enable Sooty's havoc-causing bird guerrilla tactics.

True to their instinct, most of the Crystal Stalkers attempted to meld into the mirror surface, but all of them failed. Luke's ice acted as a preventative barrier, sealing them off. They snapped at Sooty, trying to chomp the bird from mid-air. She vanished, showing true invisibility to practitioners of camouflage. Dumb luck came on the side of one Crystal Stalker. Its jaw clamped onto one of Sooty's legs; the corvid screeched in pain.

Her shade activated Reaver's Beak and Talon Strike into the offending jaw, ripping the bottom clean off. Sooty jerked free, only to face a swinging arm from the Prism Golem.

One iced hand stopped it dead in its tracks. The golem heaved, used to its overwhelming strength, yet Luke barely flexed to keep the attack away from his companion. With Xera in wand form, he summoned an oscillating Essence Lance, consuming the three smaller shards to turn it into an instant meteor, the penetrative ability tore out half of the Golem's waist. Ruinous Echo spread upon the beast and construct group, lowering their magic resistance.

Blasting out black essence from Xera's wand tip, the bolt further cracked apart the crippled waist, threatening to topple the Prism Golem into two parts. A monster's instinct activated within the golem, and its active brands dimmed. Expecting the worst, Luke braced for impact, a shadowed Iron Feather materialized to protect him, while the Shade covered its master, Sooty.

Flowing light blasted out from the golem, blinding Luke, who covered his eyes with his left arm and released the golem. A star barrier shut Luke off, trying to protect him. Water drakes flooded the sides of the corridor, washing away the Crystal Stalkers nearby, leaving two behind the Reaver.

Explosive wind arrows knocked back the other two Crystal Stalkers, plastering them to the ice and cracking it from the forceful embedment. A white demon spirit overlaid the Prism Golem, fighting against Vorpal Touch and other harmful effects slung around the battle. The previously crippled waist renewed itself, sewn up and reconstructed, white streaks flowed along the golem, and the Reaver sensed its aura rising.

Clutching a hand in the air to act as a command motion, the frost and ice he created moved like a living being, trying to smother the golem, crushing it apart with explosive force. The white demon spirit vengefully roared, heavily resisting the elemental attack.

"No more of that—Silence."

Convening together with static, a gray domain enlarged from Whispering Tome, cutting off the roar and stilling three nearby Crystal Stalkers, while inhibiting the rest. Swirling frost coalesced further, putting the Prism Golem into an ice tomb. Fighting white light died to the Reaver's glacial abyss, forever dark. The white glow along the golem's eyes started to sputter. Surpassing Xera's form switch cooldown, Luke shifted her to a sword, plunging the blade into the golem's core, killing it.

Sooty, her Shadow Wing shade clone, and the three able-bodied members from Halen's party slaughtered the barely functioning Crystal Stalkers. Since Luke's ice often negated their mirror hopping abilities, their displayed strength placed below that of a normal creature. Before Luke could see to Sooty's bleeding legs, green stars rotated around them, making them good as new once their duration ended. In a companion meter below the one displayed for Luke, the Reaver saw Sooty's corruption count go from zero to seven. A minor amount of her health grey out—persistent damage—unable to be recovered until cured.

Mouth tightened down, Luke thought, I brushed off the corruption mechanic too easily. These mirror echoes, any damage from the stalkers, or blood spread upon you without protection, it adds up quick.

He'd looked down upon Halen's party, confused as to how they allowed their tank and, to a lesser extent—their Archer scout—to be so severely affected by corruption, but he could understand it now. Without smooth prevention or superb dodging abilities, the Crystal Stalker's most dangerous mechanic, heinous corruption incubators, revealed itself. The scalely mirror-hopping bastards. Luke often iced the silver refracting corridors, more to suppress the annoying light beams, but it had the unintended side effect of neutering any corrupting reflections or echoes from rearing their head.

Two black-grey pink tinged galaxy formations peacefully spun, trying to suck away corruption, while mending the damage the six deep temporary unit underwent. The initial light blast did a heavy number on Halen, who guarded Juliana with her body, and the water vaporized. Ludris also appeared more corrupted than before, with newly minted black crystals all over his collarbone and upper chest. Bits of black crystal decorated Kelly's dorsal side of her hands. Sooty glided around, sweeping up all the loot.

Kelly seemed to want to say something at the sight, in spite of that, she just blew air up, lifting her hair. Luke extinguished the newly born light beams by renewing thin ice along the silver corridor, blanketing the tunnel in dim darkness. Faint light pervaded from the portcullis exit, each humming white crystal blissful in their luminous blessing.

The scent of murky water mixed with the omnipresent ice, creating cool winds rushing from the exit. Stepping upon the frosted ground, Luke strode with uncanny posture, the lack of friction a non-factor to him.

Unfortunately, the four behind the Reaver struggled to do the same. Halen awkwardly coughed, "Ninth, could you cease the ice on the ground? Juliana's struggling to move, and the rest of us are little better. I'd be very appreciative on my team's behalf."

Blue wisping eyes stared back at the Water Mage—a hint of annoyance within them. Luke shed the ice on the tunnel grounds and sucked out the cold radiating out the frost on the walls, returning the environment to the natural cool the corridor usually maintained. A tar black bird settled upon the Reaver's shoulders, releasing a loud caw at the party behind them. Halen sent a cognizant gesture, foisting Juliana onto her back, much to the Guardian's dismay.

Astral streams pinged between the four hunter gaggle, trying to reverse corruption and soothe recent fatigue. Kelly cheerfully moved her wand in a circular motion, passing by Luke, and finally reaching the exit, she ran a finger over one of the white crystals. Smiling to herself, she said, "We're free, Halen. We did it, the Shifting Corridor—conquered! Juliana, just a bit longer, girlfriend. The Shimmering Expanse will balance the corruption, and my astrals will do the rest."

Coughing, black blood dripped from Juliana's mouth and left eye. She said, "Glad to hear it, my insides feel like a mess. Uncomfortable is an understatement."

Raising an eyebrow at the portcullis that remained shut, Luke said, "And how are we opening this thing up?"

Ludris came beside Kelly, looking back at Luke, who remained stationary a few paces away, "Easy enough, Defier, reach out to one of the crystals, and the Interface will do the rest. Like so."

The Archer clasped a hand around one of the peacefully humming white crystals on the bottom of the shimmering portcullis and vanished in a burst of light. Kelly stamped her feet, "I'll go when Julie's on the other side. Halen, hurry on over."

Dragging along Juliana in a piggy-back position, Halen gracefully pushed by Luke, offering some words, "Thank you."

Lowering an eyebrow while raising the other, Luke said, "For what?"

"You stepped up to help, that's what. My group might've been able to take out the Prism Golem and the ten Crystal Stalkers without you, but the price would've been far steeper. I'd love it if we could put our mistake behind us, Defier." She paced to the portcullis, shifting Juliana to make the Guardian more comfortable, "My party is the weakest out of the four. I knew that the moment we stood outside the central crystal pillar. We're not ready for the Demon's Crucible—I see that now, and hopefully, my two fresh members do too."

Kelly frowned, about to speak, but Halen put her forehead against the Astralist's, "Kelly, that stubborn fire is important, especially as a healer. You'll reverse the odds often with that attitude. All the same, chance has to exist in the first place for that to be an important quality. I know you blame the Ninth; you are forgetting Vathen and Garic. Neither would be as merciful."

Reaching out to another humming bright white crystal with a gentle smile, Halen vanished in an enveloping light with Juliana coming along. Clutching her two hands and shivering from apparent frustration, biting her lower lip, Kelly murmured, "Thanks for sparing my life, Luke."

Before the Reaver could respond, Kelly pressed a hand upon the nearest crystal, transferring light taking her away.

Turning his head slightly to peer at Sooty, Luke said, "That was unexpected, wasn't it?"

Sooty agreed with a low coo. Xera's crystal dimmed, "My missed chance…gone forever."

"Cheer up, Xera. I have a feeling you'll be plenty entertained before we leave this place for good," Luke sauntered to the portcullis, connecting an outstretched palm to one singing crystal. An Interface message appeared.

[Enter the Shimmering Expanse? Y/N?]

Mentally accepting, the Reaver vanished in a horizontal beam of light alongside his companion.