[Quest] The Training Dungeon - Volcanic Vents

The pile of surging lava barely glanced at Rajani. But it was a glance, a pause, one that may well have saved someone else a punch with a boiling stone fist.

The assault on its shackles sealed its fate--for better, or for worse. They could, perhaps, have battered it into submission, or used magic to freeze it entirely, or they could have torn it asunder with strong enough weaponry. But they did not. First came Hargrave's Iceblade--shooting into the metal with a resounding clang. On its own, the impact wasn't nearly enough to shatter it--but it did frost it over, the metal growing brittle and cold. It set the stage for Bauxite's axe to crack the thing, a split down the metal's center. Stones flung for it, and Tourmaline's ice frosted the entire beast over as it made a final attempt to surge into the battling Gembound... Its lava began to darken, it slowed, and then--the bracer fell away.

The metal clinked to the floor in the sudden quiet. The lava golem eyed them all for a moment--and then suddenly sank away, its cooling substance flowing into the cracks and vents across the floor.

Silence stretched. It was not coming back. It had not been defeated, but freed; and it had no intention of prolonging a losing battle.

The bones of the dead--and all their long-lost treasure--awaited.

Battle Won!

Characters can roll for loot; it is mostly adventurers' gear left behind by previous attempts on this boss. It should be clarified what they are searching for, in general terms (i.e. a weapon, armor, trinket etc.). Those who wish to can double-post to roll for Recover or similar spells too.

The next post will take place on July 21st in the afternoon/evening GMT.

Well fuck. He was glad this shit was done.

His shoulder fucking hurt and he wanted nothing more than to just walk out and never look back. But he wasn't going to walk away without loot, not after everything he just went through.

He grumbled softly to himself as he walked over to a corner where no one else really was and began to search through that stuff, really not wanting to deal with anyone.

The golem fled. Had it been imprisoned here, forced to play warden and challenge? How long had it sat here, shackled?

Tourmaline feels bad about it all.

But it's over, said and done. They weren't the ones who left it here. They'd actually ended up freeing it. And to the victor go the spoils.

She takes a moment to take a deep breath, first, but in time she follows the others, picking at the pile of the belongings of the dead. Might as well make sure some of it gets put to good use.

The fighting stopped so suddenly, enough that Surgis held her breath. She listened, waited, and strained, slowly peeking out from her hiding spot. It was safe, cooler, and empty.

She couldn't help but sigh a breath of relief. She hadn't done anything against it, but she didn't care, darting out to mooch spoils from those who properly did fight.

Every attack had flowed into each other, the previous always benefitting that which came after. In the rush of battle, this combined assault lasted a matter of seconds, yet the results persisted long past those actions. Maybe it wasn't a resounding success, the golem simply melting out of sight. In these vents and against such an opponent whose being defied more conventional methods of banishment such as strangleholds and body slams, though, a retreat was vastly preferable to further antagonism. Were he in possession of an unweakened voice, Fahl would've been inclined to flung a few choice jeers at it for shrinking away, high on the ego boost of knowing his magic had accomplished the equivalent of a group's effort in shattering that first shackle. Thankfully, Wyrm's yelp seized his attention prior to adopting this unwise attitude; soon as the danger faded, he rushed himself to where she rolled over ice.

"How bad is it," he rasped, closely peering at her hide for any telltale marks. "Any burns?"

Sporting the rough scutes of her father, an amount of trust could be laid in an armored heritage saving Wyrm from debilitating harm. Nevertheless, as the current adult representative of the Children of Rot here, it'd have been callous not to allocate an appropriate dosage of worry toward her condition. Others could have their pick from the littered belongings of failed delvers first. He'd wander off for a piece of the plunder once his ward seemed in suitable enough condition to not require a supervising eye.

With the wind as you fly away
Give a smile from your lips and say
"I am free! Yes, I'm free!"

Finally, even without September inputting too much to the end of the fight, the golem was defeated (from what he could understand or cared about). He breathed heavily, cringing at the burns, and looked at the other gathered gembound. "Good job, everyone. Well-fought." The spark had left his eye at his poor performance, but he didn't, at least, seem bitter. Only disappointed in himself that he had put others in danger.

Rolling a shoulder back, he stepped along some of the previous fallen for a last loot check, before getting the hell out of here.

september