Ashes of the Fallen

"Maybe Sigurd, unlikely though," replied Barik. "Yer getting spoiled here Ethan, lucked out that yer second trip takes ye to the fourth boss, this ain't going to be as easy as yer thinkin'."

"Ey it's just a goblin, nothing we haven't fought before," countered Ethan.

"We could AoE and then split-tank them," I suggested after some thought.

Two guards would be difficult for one person, even if he was a good tank. We didn't have the gear or level or proficiency yet to take on multiple guards. I was certain we could at least hold our own against one guard each though, so as long as the little guys fell quickly there wouldn't be an issue.

"I'm still pissed ye 'ave a better shield than me," said Barik with clear displeasure on his face. "How did ye luck out to get that, and I'm stuck with this 'ere cracked board."

"Well, that guard on the right looks like he has the same shield, you won't have to wait too long now," I replied, with a wink for good measure.

"Meh," he said somewhat laughably.

"So, want to give the same strategy a try?" I asked, as I looked around at the faces of the four other party members. "Start it with AoE, lead into freezing rain, and we'll tank them inside of it for as long as we can?"

"Give it a go," stated Barik without any hesitation. "We'll adjust if need be."

"She'll be right," repeated Ethan the fire mage.

"Oi, if you two take too much damage, I won't be able to split heal," said the healer after he had been silent for some time. "Take two big hits each and one of you is dying."

"It'll be fine Alan," said Barik with a nod, seemingly having recovered his confidence. "Let's give 'er a go then?"

"Yeah, start it up Ethan," I said as I stepped out and got into position.

Taking a deep breath, I exhaled slowly to relieve some of the tension that had been building. Barik and I were front and center with the two mages to the right, while the healer sat safely behind. The room we were in was much smaller than the third floor's boss room, and only a quarter of the size of the first floor's boss room... I didn't even want to think about the fifth floor. Everything had shrunk, downsized to the point where it was beginning to feel claustrophobic.

The smoke was thick and clouded our vision while the floor remained slippery from the abundance of moss; the air itself, was damp and overly humid considering the scenery.

Well, maybe it was appropriate after all.

We were four floors underground in a mining complex after all.

There was obviously some underground stream that was contributing to the excessive moisture in the air, and on top of that the torches and campfires that were constantly burning had thinned the air to the point where I felt starved of oxygen.

It was a weird mixture of dry ash combined with stagnant, humid air that was hard to get used to. But ash and smoke were the least of my worries now and the dim-lighting was decent enough.

It was the lack of oxygen that had started to get to me.

We were all breathing a little heavier than before, and being short of breath wasn't exactly conducive towards our victory conditions. This whole dungeon was rather unpleasant really, and I was of the opinion that once I finished farming it, I would never return.

The goblins still looked the same though.

They didn't care, oblivious to their surroundings, enjoying the warmth of the campfire and their rodent snacks. They were still disgusting to look at, creatures that shouldn't be witnessed in the light… but finding them lurking in the shadows was a whole new horror.

The goat-like eyes, the slit-like noses, the fangs, odd spade-like ears… that unimaginably wrinkly skin that was excessively oily and greasy looking. Even after I had slaughtered well over a hundred of them, I still wasn't used to being around them.

Plainly put, I didn't enjoy being in their presence.

They were revolting.

Ah, but this sound was comforting.

The sound of conjured fire swirling about as the man known as Ethan began a chanted verse of his most powerful explosive spell, [Flame Wave]. He worked the fire between his hands as if he were kneading dough, constraining then expanding, repeating, then finally, raising his arms and holding steady at chest-level.

He was a second away from releasing.

The other mage had begun his own process a blink after, as his hands glowed with a pale white hue, arms held above his head. The action wasn't where the hands were though. One look at the goblins in front of me and a small cloud of gray and white mist had formed above their heads, hardly noticeable unless you squinted and knew what to look for. He was a second away from releasing, as well.

Now, it was my turn.

I was already ready to go though, and just like that it started.