Rune Seeker

“Good teamwork,” Seena said, eyeing the three lizard bodies. “Anybody hurt?”

“No, but I think I’m going to need new boots,” Yanily said, pointing at what had to be a gallon of lizard blood coating him from the knees down.

“How did you even manage that?” Seena asked.

“Skill,” Vix told them. “Path continues straight ahead, or we could go into the woods. What do you want to do, boss?”

“I think I see more of those totems in the woods ahead of us,” Hiral said. “Bigger ones. More complicated.”

“What kind of bones do you think they are?” Seena asked.

“Probably a question you don’t really want to know the answer to,” Nivian said.

Seena looked at the tank, then nodded. “Probably. Okay. Keep going, but be careful. Expect a Mid-Boss at any point now.”

“Right,” Nivian said, leading the party further down the path until they stopped at the lip of some kind of natural bowl in the ground. No, a bowl wasn’t right; it was more seashell-shaped, with a snake bigger than any they’d seen before coiled at the far, narrow end.

“It’s like some kind of theatre,” Hiral said, staring at the snake.

(Mid-Boss) Queen of the Swamp – Unknown Rank

“Or maybe an audience hall,” Hiral amended. “Queen of the Swamp, huh? There’s your Mid-Boss.”

“I don’t like this. What does unknown rank even mean?” Seena said, crouching down and motioning for the others to do the same. “The smokehouse and the summoning ritual had tricks to them. Even the Troblin Duke had that Enrage ability. And this snake is just sleeping in the middle there? No, there has to be more to it.”

“Only one way to find out,” Yanily said.

“Do you see any of those weak spots you were talking about?” Hiral asked. “What did you say they looked like?”

“Spots where the spikes had been broken off,” Vix said. “Usually a bit red, and you’ll know when you hit one.”

“Red, huh? Okay, I think I see a few of those.”

“Can you hit it from here?” Seena asked. “Maybe even kill it?”

“Maybe, but at this range, the shots wouldn’t do much damage, even if I hit those weak points. Need to be much closer,” Hiral said. “We’re going to have to fight it on its home turf.”

“Fine. Watch out for whatever tricks it might have,” Seena said. “Snake, so squeezing or venomous bite, I guess? And it’s going to be tougher than the others.”

“Yes, yes. Enough talking. Can we go kill it?” Yanily asked.

“Wule, let’s do buffs,” Seena said before quickly casting Lashing Vines on the party, while Wule did Nature’s Blade. “Left, can you drop your banner when we get down there?”

“Right where the snake is?” Left asked. “Keep its fifty-foot range in mind.”

“Yeah, let’s fight it where it is, for now,” Seena said, then gave Nivian his customary tap on the shoulder. “Take it to the Queen.”

Nivian’s body blurred then stretched as he activated his movement ability, rushing ahead while the rest of the group climbed over the lip of the audience hall and started after him. Crossing hundreds of feet in seconds, he arrived even as the Queen of the Swamp lifted her massive head, then activated his Swarm Tactics.

Yanily and Vix vanished from where they ran and appeared right next to Nivian, immediately moving to the sides to flank the huge snake. As soon as the two damage dealers began to spread out, Hiral and Seena did the same thing, arcing out wide to attack from range, while Right and Left escorted Wule into the melee.

The snake blinked as she watched them, her head lifting, lifting, lifting into the air. Then, in a burst of motion, she uncoiled, and a swarm of smaller snakes flooded out from where they’d hidden inside the coils of her body.

Even though each snake was only six or seven feet long, there were dozens and dozens of them, and the wriggling wave swarmed at the three closest targets.

Hiral skidded to a stop, his RHCs coming up, and he began to pull the triggers as fast as he could, bolts of Impact racing out to pick off the snakes rushing at Yanily. His first shot caught one snake in the face, blasting its lower jaw off as it lunged at Yanily, but his second only hit the snake in its body. Scales and blood flew off, and the body curled around the hit, but Hiral was still too far away for it to be an instant kill. Even the jawless one was still moving, and both were already heading toward Yanily again as Hiral pulled the trigger again.

Need to be closer!

Still firing as fast as the weapons’ cooldowns allowed, Hiral dashed forward, though he spared a quick look to see how the others were doing.

Seena pulsed with energy as she summoned Spearing Roots, the flaming pikes erupting out of the ground just in front of Vix to intercept the rush of snakes. But the lithe bodies of the serpents simply wound around the dangerous spikes, suffering little more than mild burns for the effort, and then they were at Vix.

Not that the pugilist was defenseless—the man whipped himself around like a dervish, the blades on his knuckles, heels, and joints carving through snake flesh with every motion. And, even when it seemed he’d missed a snake, the Lashing Vines struck out with deadly accuracy.

Nivian, meanwhile, constantly struck out with his whip to pull more attention toward him, then backhanded the closing snakes with his thorned shield or left them to the Lashing Vines. Even the snakes that did get through found the tank’s bark-like armor too tough to penetrate, and serpentine bodies were already piling up at his feet.

That just leaves us, Hiral thought, focusing his attention back on the swarm around Yanily.

The laughing Yanily.

The man hooted with joy as he pivoted in place, his feet never leaving a small circle about three feet wide, and he struck out with his Reed Spear Style. Unlike Seena’s Spearing Roots, Yanily’s spear seemed to know where the snakes were going to try to slither to avoid his strikes. Stab, stab, stab. His weapon cut the attacking snakes to ribbons, and then his tenth hit exploded in a sphere of flames to char a whole group of his enemies.

Dying by the drove, the snakes still pressed on, heedless of their own wellbeing, and Yanily kept up his onslaught, another ball of purple flame hurling small snake bodies aside. Hiral blasted at the few who looked like they might get through, but all in all, the swarm of snakes wasn’t nearly as dangerous as it had first looked.

That’s it? That’s the trick?

But, no, that couldn’t be it. Could it?

Still absently firing at the horde of small snakes, Hiral looked up at the Queen of the Swamp. Her head Lorded above the party like the royalty in her name.

Wait, why isn’t she attacking with the others? The little ones aren’t a distraction? Trying to weaken us or tire us out? That’s not working, though. Could it be something else?

Hiral watched as the Queen’s head swivelled left and right, alternating focus on Vix, then Yanily, then back to Vix. Over and over her attention changed, slowing for a second as it passed over Nivian—Wule, Left, and Right joining him—then continuing on to the damage dealers.

Why? What’s she looking for?

Another purple ball of flame from Yanily, and the Queen’s head snapped toward the spear wielder, her eyes narrowing.

She’s watching who is killing the most of her children. That look in her eyes… it’s the same as when Nivian hits something with his whip!

“The Queen of the Swamp,” Hiral shouted to the others. “She’s going to attack whoever kills the most little snakes! She’s going to go after Yanily!”

That warning was all the party had. The Queen’s eyes narrowed as she sprang at the spearman, dozens upon dozens of feet uncoiling in an instant. Mouth opening wide with fangs like swords, she twisted her head to the side and slammed her jaw closed on Yanily like a giant mousetrap. The snap of it sent a shockwave out that lifted the smaller snakes off the ground. The Queen’s body tore a divot in the dirt as her momentum carried her forward—straight toward Hiral—and he looked at her mouth in horror, expecting to find Yanily hanging broken and bloody between her teeth.

Except… he wasn’t there.

Where?

A glance to his left—all he had time for—showed Yanily and Vix beside Nivian, the trio carving up smaller snakes and looking past them to the Queen.

Nivian used Swarm Tactics!Smart man.

But that left Hiral alone and in front of the charging Mid-Boss.

Hiral pulled the triggers on his RHCs, bolts slapping into the Queen’s forehead to shear off a couple of scales—it wasn’t nearly enough to slow her down—and then, suddenly, her huge body twisted around as she changed course. Dirt flung in Hiral’s direction like a wave from her sudden maneuver, and he threw his arms around his head—only to get barreled over by the sheer amount of earth.

Letting go of the RHC in his right hand, a quick pulse of Rejection pushed the dirt off of him, and he sat up just in time to see the Queen crash into the party. Nivian tried to intercept her wild charge, but she twisted again at the last second, body-blocking the tank’s shield and sending him flying into the air. Then she swept around and shot straight toward Yanily, mouth wide.

Yanily, to his credit, spread his hands wide along the spear’s shaft. He brought the weapon up and then down in front of him just as the snake crashed into him. Driving the spear right through the Queen’s lower jaw, the tip burst out of the bottom, gouging a line in the dirt, while Yanily shoved the shaft lengthwise into the giant snake’s mouth, propping it open.

That didn’t stop the Queen’s momentum from tearing him off his feet. The spear shaft crunched into Yanily with a crack, and the other party members leapt out of the way to avoid the same fate.

Furious at the wedge in her mouth, the Queen of the Swamp reared up, her thick body stretching thirty feet in the air, then began to thrash her head back and forth. Yanily swung side to side as he held on for dear life, the spear blade tearing further through the Queen’s mouth with every jerk. Then, all of a sudden, purple flames erupted out of her mouth, and the Queen jerked her head back in pain and surprise. Yanily somehow held on.

The spear counted the thrashing as attacks?

Hiral grabbed his dropped RHC from the dirt as the rest of the party rushed at the snake’s lower half, taking advantage of her distraction due to the spearman in her mouth. He blasted shot after shot right into the spot where the Queen’s body turned to lift her head into the air, while Vix and Left went to work on her coiled length.

“Seena, she’s not moving much!” Hiral shouted, another pair of his blasts finally penetrating the Queen’s thick skin enough to do some noticeable damage.

“I know,” Seena said, solar energy gathering inside of her and building, building, building. “There!”

Energy flooded out of her, huge Spearing Roots erupting from the ground in a semicircle in front of the Queen’s extended neck. Trailing lines of purple flame, the razor-sharp tips slammed into the serpentine body and jerked it back. Thin lines of blood dribbled down from the impact points.

But it wasn’t enough. The tips barely penetrated more than an inch, the Queen’s thick scales protecting her from the worst of the attack, and the damage looked like nothing more than a ruby necklace.

Another thrash of the Queen’s head, then one more, and finally, Yanily lost his hold. The spearman sailed up through the air to thump down on the ground with a pained grunt fifty feet away.

“Wule!” Seena shouted, the healer already moving in the spearman’s direction.

But, as Yanily forced himself to sit up, the snake’s head snapped in his direction again.

“She won’t give up until he’s dead!” Hiral shouted, realizing the extent of her fury.

“Or, until this!” Nivian shouted, wading into a group of the smaller snakes that had grown oddly still since the Queen had attacked. Back and forth his whip lashed, thorns tearing open serpentine bodies as the Lashing Vines on his back also went to work. Then, noting how the snakes weren’t even fighting back, Nivian expanded his shield to the size of a tower shield and slammed it down on the mass of thrashing snakes. “Seena!”

“Got it!” she said, channeling a Spearing Roots into Nivian’s shield at the same time the Queen rushed toward Yanily and Wule.

She hadn’t even gone ten feet when the roots burst out of Nivian’s shield and instantly killed dozens of smaller snakes. Her head snapped around with the familiar fury in her eyes.

“That got her attention,” Hiral shouted, firing off more blasts as the Queen focused on her new target.

Nivian got to his feet and readied himself. Left, meanwhile, dashed in beside the tank and put his right hand to his left bicep. Solar energy stretched from his arm to his fingers until a flapping banner appeared in his hands, the insignia of a glorious sun practically glowing with power. Thrusting the base of the banner into the ground, a dome of energy burst out to encompass a fifty-foot radius around the Banner of Courage, and both Nivian and Left’s skin seemed to shine.

Not in the least dissuaded by the new buff, the Queen of the Swamp lowered her head and bull-rushed ahead—straight for Nivian and his lowered shield.

“Right,” Hiral shouted, sheathing the RHC in his left hand, “she’s coming your way.”

“You sure about that?” Right asked as he ran into the shimmering dome, then set his feet as glowing energy began to gather in his right hand.

“Yes!” Hiral answered, reaching out his left hand and focusing his Rune of Attraction on Yanily’s spear in the Queen’s mouth.

While the serpent herself was far too large for Hiral to ever pull, the way the spear dug into the Queen’s mouth turned her to the side as she instinctively moved to ease the pain. One eye flashed angrily in Hiral’s direction, like she knew he was the cause of the tug, but then her body whooshed past Right.

Glowing like a purple sun, and buffed by the Banner of Courage, Right’s fist hit the side of the speeding Queen like a wrecking ball. Scales and then blood gushed out of the side of the Queen’s mass as she raced by, her own momentum dragging the growing wound the length of her body. Then, as her mouth widened in shock at the new and sudden pain, Hiral’s pull on the spear in her jaw yanked the weapon free.

End over end, it sailed to slap into the palm of his hand, and he immediately spun it around and drove it into the ground. Then he drew his second RHC and raced ahead.

This is it. Our chance.

Blood and gore gushed out of the Queen’s side. She writhed on the ground, tossing up chunks of dirt with every movement, and then let out a pained cry that echoed through the forest. Her head whipped around at the party closing in on her from all sides, the focus from earlier lost to the haze of pain.

Left arrived first, his Dagger of Sath trailing a purple river of flaming liquid. He ducked under a tail swipe aimed for his head, then spun and drove the dagger into the Queen’s long flank. All at once, the hanging stream in the air from the dagger raced ahead and then caught up to the blade, exploding out the other side of the Queen’s frame and nearly cutting her in half.

Another roar of pain as Right and Vix arrived, their fists hammering her from opposite sides. Nivian’s whip lashed across her face, one of the thorns catching an eye. Back snapped her head, and that was it—all fight left the Queen of the Swamp, and she flexed her muscles and sprang over the party. More blood showered the ground as the desperate maneuver taxed her already severely injured body, and she let out a pained whine when she hit.

For a second, it looked like she wasn’t going to move again, but one last burst of strength dragged her ragged body to the narrow end of the audience hall. Beaten and battered, the Queen weakly lifted her head into the air and let out one last cry, then toppled over sideways, her one good eye slowly blinking.

“Is that it? Did we win?” Nivian asked.

“Is that it?” Yanily asked, limping over and leaning on his spear. “Try getting tossed across the dungeon next time and see if you still feel the same way.”

“Yeah, well, at least we…” Nivian started, but a massive CROAAAAAAAK echoed through the sky, followed by the violent cracking of wood. It wasn’t the cracking of branches, though; it was the cracking of trees.

“And there’s your trick, Seena,” Hiral said as a gigantic lizard leapt out of the woods to land beside the Queen, the ground shaking with its arrival.

The monster had to be as big as the four-story inn they’d stayed in, and a name appeared above its head as Hiral stared at it.

(Mid-Boss) King of the Swamp – Unknown Rank

“Uh, I don’t even want to know what their children look like…” Yanily said, but he managed to heft his spear up into a ready position.

The Mid-Boss fight wasn’t over yet.