57 The Snail Shuffle
{New Quest Recieved! Vengeance of the Fae- Fae Prince Henwick has pledged his spirit and all it contains to you in exchange for hunting his mortal enemies. You may do this personally or send agents from your dungeon to hunt in your stead, but you will not gain full access to Henwick's soul and spirit until the last member of the enemy has fallen. Reward-access to all memories, skills, abilities, racial talents, and the wraith of Henwick, Prince of the Unseelie Fae. After obtaining this reward you may bestow any of the pieces onto current dungeon creatures or allow them to remain with the wraith and turn it into a non combat helper. Note: All non combat helpers under dungeon rule retain their combat skills but can only use them for self defense or in case of emergency!}
'Tilly the bow user just gave us a quest and it has a good reward. Pretty much we get the bow user but as a wraith so I'm accepting it.' I say excitedly as we watch Henwick flitter around the room while peppering Spanks with arrows.
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"Damnit Henwick! Stop with the damn flashing around and heal Chena! Poor things bathing in crimson!" Yells Sage as he swipes his blade across the rust lords shell, a thin scratch and sparks the only sign of the attack.
"Chena's always been a blight, arrogant and mean spirited. Let the bloody monk finally embrace his namesake." Henwick yells back with a sneer as his bow darts to the side and several arrows pierce through Shank, the goblin falling with a screech as the rust lord roars in anger.
As Shanks body hits the ground the goblin smiles, its body turning to black smoke and dissipating before the boss appears behind the barely standing Chena and lunges forward with his daggers, each piercing the monks back and coming out his chest as the goblin drags the blade downwards with viscous wrenches as the snap of bones fills the area near his victim.
"Fucking elf! Chena's gone, he's grayed out in party. You either kill that fucking gob or I swear I'll end you myself!" Screams Sage in anger as his body begins to glow a smoky black as wisps of steam curl from his body, the faces of various beasts showing through the steam before dissipating.
Lunging forward, Sage thrusts forward with his weapon, the picture of a strange beast with twisted tusks overlaying the head before fading away as the tip pierces through the rust lords shell, a shrieking gurgle coming from the beasts before its body gains speed and it begin shaking in a rhythmic fashion.
"Careful Sage! That's called the Snail Shuffle, you let it go until its finished and it'll summon a bunch of lesser versions of itself. They're weak by themselves but as a group they can buff and heal the lord." Henwick yells out with a laugh as he fires into the corner of the room and nods before Shanks lets out a snarl as the arrow skims across his cheek.
"Shuffle! Shuffle! Bring your siblings to this joyous celebration my pet!" Snickers Shank as he dashes towards Henwick with his blade thrusted out, his other hand darting to the side quickly as Sage grunts. Looking down the leader can see several rusted needles embedded in his dress as he clicks his tongue in frustration.
"I assume you don't realize that this material is very much higher tier than you goblin. But the rust venom is a clever trick so brava." Sage mutters as he attempts a swing of his weapon, this time a spiked ball with a snakes head appearing to overlay it as the warrior tries to topple the shuffling rust lord.
A horrendous gurgle fills the room as an arrow finally lands in Shank's throat in a bid of luck, Henwick smiling before turning towards the rust lord and instantly frowning before firing towards the ceiling. As the arrow flies off a small thump rings out before the corpse of a rust snail falls from the ceiling, its shell semi metallic and both eyes in the beginning stages of evolution.
"Ah now you mortals can see the folly of your ways! The great demon queen has blessed this lowly servant and his pet with a delicious ability! If I am slain before my pet then he will become enraged at seeing his poor, loving master dispatched! If he is slain before I am then I am blessed by the great demon queen with more powerful magics! I would rain vengeance upon you for the abuse you've put upon my poor Spanks! Rejoice for your ends are near!" Screams the voice of Shank throughout the room as his body slowly melts into the floor and several more snails drop from the ceiling.
"I'm assuming this is bad Henny. Can you be a doll and take care of the tiny things. I'm gonna feed the big one to my special toy and add it to my collection." Sage says viscously as he pulls a rusted mace covered in blood from his hip, the weapons spikes ending in hooked barbs as the cries of various creatures rings from the weapon.
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"That man is a spirit warden!!!! We have to kill him at all costs Kyle!!!" Shouts Tilly as the room goes deathly silent.
'But why? He's weird and that mace is nasty looking but he can't do to much against Spanks. And now the big guy is actually buffed with back up, we got this.' I say confidently before Emi slaps me gently.
"Dear its good your confident but thats not what she means. Spirit Wardens are vile beings that are usually sentenced to death upon obtaining the class because to get it you must kill and then enslave several hundred souls, each of a different race, gender, age, and origin. Once done those souls are forcibly melded into a unique weapon for the warden to wield that enslaves and absorbs the very essence of any creature it kills regardless of that creatures origin. Each of those flashing sights as he attacked was once a living being he murdered using his weapon and is now trapped within it being subjected to eternal torment and having its own abilities stolen by the warden." Emi Explains gently as I nod in shock at the horrific idea of Spanks being put into such a thing.
"What she forgot to mention though is Spirit Wardens are hunted not because of that disgusting practice but because of a worse one. They only grow stronger as their weapon grows stronger and the only way to strengthen the weapon is for it to feed upon things with extremly dense magic. Like dungeon cores..." Tilly says coldly as fear grips my core and I watch the fight unfold, praying the new rust lord has what it takes to keep me safe.
