You wake up with a grumble, for the first time since you've become branded you find yourself a little unsatisfied with your rest. You glance up at your health and Sp display, those are both full, so it's not that. Something to do with how dry you feel?
You roll out of bed and stumble sleepily to the washroom. The usual bath of warm water is set up of course. That's part of the 'magic' of Inns. You yawn and strip down out of your sleeping things, before settling into the bath, Goddess that feels so much nicer, you sigh in relief as the niggling itch you've felt since waking goes away.
Then you blink and notice that you've slid entirely underwater without even noticing. For a second you panic, but the lack of any drowning sensation calms you down. After a moment you reach up to your neck in bemusement. Yup, your new gills fluttering, and oh boy does THAT feel weird. Ah whatever, this is comfortable. It's a little weird being able to just keep your eyes open underwater without them being bothered at all too, some kind of secondary eyelids… or, wow, this is the first time you've really looked at your feet, they seem a little longer and flatter, you wiggle your toes, and sure enough, there's webbing between them too. Race mods are strange.
Looks like the water has gone cold too, you muse, you aren't bad enough to freeze it yet, but you have to imagine if you weren't an Ice Elementalist this would be the worst bath ever. Heh, you wonder if Sera has to worry about steaming the water right out of her baths, she can get really warm, especially when she gets excited. You then blink and deliberately bang your head against the side of the tub. No, imagining Sera luxuriating in a steamy bathtub is not okay. Dammit brain.
Well, you can't stay in the bath forever, even if you doubt you have to worry about your fingers and toes going wrinkly anymore, you have other stuff to do. You sit up, bringing your head back above water. Switching from your gills to normal feels kinda weird. Climbing out of the tub you grab one of the towels and begin drying yourself off, best get on with the day.
Once you're done getting dressed you head downstairs, and waving to Sera when you see her already seated at your usual table. You settle in, trading good mornings and pleasantries, until the others join you. Shimah is next, followed by Anshelm and Maya coming down together as has become the usual. Is it just you or does Maya look a little disheveled?
Well once everyone is here and breakfast arrives, discussion turns to what you want to do today. "I want to try out one of the new dungeons," Anshelm is the first to put his opinion forward. "I want to get everything opened up to at least D before we out level it, plus new loot, right Maya?"
"Mm, new loot would indeed be good, there just hasn't been much hunter gear dropping," Maya replies with a sigh.
"Speaking of loot, did you guys pull anything interesting out of the goblin D rank yesterday?" you ask as you finish a mouthful of waffle.
"I got a new bag, Miss Maya got a bow, even if it's a low quality goblin one. Nothing else new," Sera speaks up.
"Hey, we got that Mogo's Cleaver thing, none of us use swords though," Anshelm grumbles.
"Oh? Merchant's Bag?" you ask, at Sera's nod you continue, "I pulled one of those too."
"Yes, it might just have been bad luck on our part, but the loot was pretty underwhelming," Maya says with a pout, "Even if I am glad to have a bow, now I can make full use of Ranger when I pick it up!"
"You gonna switch jobs soon then?" you ask Maya.
"Mm, yes, I'm just about C rank in my current Job, if we do well today I might even finish that. The starting jobs give new skills at C, which is why most people change over once they reach that. Besides, if I have a monster pet, that just gives us a greater advantage, right?" Maya states cheerfully.
"Pet Jobs are best for those with a focus on charisma," Shimah confirms, speaking up for the first time this morning.
"Yep! So if we don't make enough gilder today on dungeons, I'm probably going to do some easy missions to make the money tomorrow," Maya says cheerfully.
"Sounds fine to me," Anshelm replies through a mouthful of food.
"Anyway, we should figure out which dungeon we're gonna do… I'd say Drake's Nest, going by the level and number of rooms, should be about middle of the road difficulty wise."
"That sound's fine to me… um Anshelm should probably equip the hat and any other lightning resisting gear though…" Sera points out.
"Ugh, this one is gonna suck, huh?" Anshelm grumbles good-naturedly.
"I don't mind, but I think we should split up for the second dungeon… why don't we check Ashen grotto on the way to the Drake's nest to see it's party size, if it's three or less, some of us can do that while the others do Ogre Den E," Maya adds, "I'm probably going to level up soon, so I won't be able to join the ogre group though."
"We will have to see what our party condition is like after the first dungeon, but I have no issue with this proposal." Shimah adds.
"Yeah, we'll see," you say, finishing off the last of your meal, "So we shop and bless, then head to the gate? I figure we should all get fortune blessings if we're doubling up on dungeons. It uh… didn't work last time, but we're not doing anything dumb this time either."
"Mm, I suppose you have to spend money to make money," Maya sighs, "It will probably help though."
You all set out to do your shopping for the day and grab your blessings, The Archbishop still isn't around though. You also get the feeling that Dinah is pretty agitated for some reason. She doesn't voice it, but well, above average perception and all that. Nothing you can do about it though.
You end up splurging a little, and pick up five Amritas as well as an Ether, the extra space the bags give you is really awesome, though you are nearing the cap of how many Amritas you can carry period.
The trek to the Drake Nest takes you west, into one of the more hilly, verging on mountainous zones, It makes the hike a bit of a pain, but hey at least the Ashen Grotto is on the way. You only stop by the ash spewing hole in the ground long enough to check the recommended party, which is only three, so that's cool.
Drake's nest is one of those oddly occurring stand alone mountain peaks, its cap shrouded in what seems to be a permanent thunderstorm. Luckily the dungeon entrance is at the base of the mountain. The party it recommends is four as well. So, all should be well on that front.
Anshelm, readjusts his 'Purty Hat' and gives a confident nod to the rest of you, and activates the dungeon.
When the vertigo of dungeon activation fades you find yourself on a sheer Cliffside halfway up the mountain. You look down at the easy hundred foot drop below, goody. "I have a feeling we want to stay well clear of the ledges, the monsters might try to sweep us off of them."
Sera nods fervently, looking a little nauseous as she looks down, "Y-yes, Please be careful everyone."
Anshelm takes point even as Maya fades entirely from view, the first room, when it comes is heralded by wingbeats and reptilian shrieks. Four blue scaled drakes, their backs bristling with scaly spines swoop in from over a higher ledge, already bearing down on Anshelm. You lash out with an Aqua prison that traps one in mid air, but the rest spew great clouds of electric sparks down, centered on Anshelm. Unfortunately the rest of you are close enough to take some damage as well.
"Spread out," Shimah's voice rises over the din as she casts her group heal, restoring all of you. Anshelm pulls ahead of the group, shouting a challenge as the drakes swoop in. A wave of cold slows them, and Sera's fireball sends them shrieking off course. Maya strikes, having apparently run directly up the side of the cliff and used it as a springboard to land on a struggling drake's back and drive her knives into its spine. It doesn't die immediately, but the poison from her daggers makes sure it dies soon after.
The others manage to savage Anshelm with tooth and claw, though he weathers it well. At least these little ones can only breath once, well you assume so, going by their empty SP bars. They die quickly enough under your acid darts and Sera's fire. The one in your prison only breaking free after its nest mates are dead. It drops pretty fast.
"Mm, reasonably tough, but as long as we're careful it shouldn't be a problem," you muse.
"I imagine it's much worse on the higher ranks when they fight more intelligently," Maya points out.
"Ugh, yeah, I mean they're not going to be pushing me anywhere, but if one of them peels off and tackles one of you guys…" Anshelm says, glancing meaningfully at the cliff edge.
You all consider that for a moment. Yeah, you have a feeling that Branded constitution or not, that would be a lethal fall.
With that little nugget in the back of your mind you continue on to the next room, a continuation of the cliff side path you are already on. The next group of enemies is the same as the first, except that they have a larger drake backing them up, to your eyes the little ones are 'young lightning drakes' the big one is an adult. They begin with the same tactics. Glancing at the adult, its body alone is the size of a big horse, you settle for imprisoning one of the little ones, and throwing a frost spray in their faces to slow them down. Shimah casts an attack debuff on the big one too for good measure, and then the lightning rains down.
You all knew to stay well back from Anshelm this time though, so in the end the tiny warrior is the only one hit, he practically disappears under sparking electricity, but his health never drops into the yellow with Shimah on healing duty. You and Sera blast away until at least a couple of the little drakes are down, and then you join Maya in ripping the big one apart with blade and spell. You pop an Amrita afterword to make sure you're staying in good condition, but this isn't too bad so far. The enemies are level five. You're starting to notice a pattern. The standard enemies in a dungeon seem to usually be two to three levels under its cap, with stronger enemies being one higher, the boss being at the level cap, and the bonus boss being one or two beyond it.
No time to theorize now though, as the last of the drakes drop, you move on. The next room is thankfully larger, the 'landing' the Cliffside switchback path. It's also overgrown with weirdly glowing green crystals. Anshelm flinches back as he inches forward past one, and is immediately poisoned. Shimah heals him, but as she does, the nearest crystal rumbles and rises up. Oh… well thanks for that NOW divine eye, Greenstone elementals are indeed as you thought level six, they also have a ridiculous amount of health. At least there are only two of them.
Anshelm's challenge pulls both of their attention, and he brings his shield up in time to block a crushing fist. Unfortunately the poison goes off again, "They've got an aura or something, Shimah, don't waste SP curing the poison, just keep me topped off!" he yells back.
You and Sera forgo the area spells, save for a single frost spray from you just to slow them, but your spells… don't do as much damage as you would like. Indeed, until Shimah is able to get a moment to debuff their defense, only Maya is able to get any decent damage in. They're tough, and Shimah has to take an Ether as she endeavors to keep Anshelm healthy, but they do drop in good time.
The next room is almost a breather in comparison, you pop another couple of Amrita as you enter though, the elementals took a lot out of you. The… nest you come upon is littered with bones, and occupied with the usual complement of young drakes, a pair of adults and a… den guardian, a big wingless drake. You figure out pretty quickly that it's a heal/buff type, and focus it down quickly, the rest is pretty easy.
The room you were warned about is next, at least you don't have to worry about falling off here, the plateau is huge and littered with haphazard nests of bones and straw, several dozen eggs, a pair of adults, and a pair of nest guardians await. The very first thing that happens is a pair of the eggs hatching into young drakes as the adults roar and take to the air. How about no. Anshelm keeps their attention with shouted challenges while Maya helps him actually kill things. You and Sera? You're on scrambled egg duty. Your frost spray leaves the eggs cracked and broken, and Sera's fireball leaves nary a trace at all, save an outline of ash. Still despite your efforts some hatch, not nearly enough to overwhelm… just enough to be difficult. So only a half dozen young drakes or so on top of the first two. Both you and Sera need another Amrita by the end, and Anshelm's starting to look a little twitchy from all the lightning he's been eating. Both him and Maya need a couple of Potions and Amrita's after that as well.
Once you're all in tip top shape… you move to the boss room. The 'Bull Lightning Drake' is huge, easily the largest enemy you've yet faced, its teeth are the size of Maya's knives, and when it roars, you can feel it in your bones. Sera is bowled over by the wind as it flaps its wings and takes off, already spewing lightning onto Anshelm as he shouts and shakes his spear at the massive thing. Unfortunately, it taking off reveals four Nest guardians, wonderful. You imprison one, and Maya takes off without a word, already knowing what her job is. You help Sera back to her feet and turn your spells on the boss as it wings overhead, the lightning it lazily breaths barely chipping at its SP. Shimah at least manages to debuff its magic power, weakening its breath, but then a pair of adult drakes swoop out of the sky and engulf you and Sera in lightning, you scream as the feeling of electricity sizzling through your nerves flares for a bare instant before being superseded by the brand, and respond back with a blast of frost that sends one tumbling off the cliff, frozen in midair. Shimah drops a group heal immediately, and a good thing too, both you and Sera were put in the yellow after that.
You and Sera spread out as the boss slams down hard enough to rock the ground and nearly eats Anshelm alive with a bite. He screams at it and stabs it right in the nostril, so you suppose that's what he thinks of that. Maya is finishing with the nest guardians, you can see that she blew through her MP killing them quickly, she's drinking an Amrita right now. You launch an Icicle spear at the big scaly beast, and Sera does likewise with her scorching rays. You hurt it well enough, but it soon takes back to the sky, and more drakes pour out of cracks in the stone of the mountain, forcing you to kill them before you can pay it mind. Twice more this repeats, and you go through another Ether before it ends at last, the big thing finally crashing down to the ground, dead and broken.
Congratulations!
You have earned
75 Experience
8 Job points
75 Gilder
The party has looted
4 Potions
2 Hi Potions
4 Amrita
1 Ether
[Drakescale Cloak] Snazzy and stylish, this cloak of drake scales adds to defense and lightning resistance. Value 100
[Drakeskin Bag] Adds five slots, grants a small boost to Lightning resistance. Value 100
[Drakeslayer's Bow] A bow made of drakebone, made to kill draconic foes. Chance of stun on hit and bonus damage against Dragon type foes. Cannot Equip
[Drakeslayer's Spear] Crackles with the power of storms, A single piece of drake bone carved to great effect. Deals Lightning damage in addition to normal damage, additional damage against dragons. Cannot Equip
[Greenstone Daggers] Magically sealed to only inflict their terrible poison on foes, will always inflict poison on foes who do not resist it's toxic touch. Cannot Equip
[Stormscale Armor] Wondrously light, this armor crafted of the pliable hide on a Bull Drake's belly greatly resists Lightning and increases the health of those who wear it. Cannot Equip
[Storm Staff] carved from an ancient tree struck by countless bolts of lightning. Boosts the power of all spells, but Lightning spells especially. Increases threat.
"Oh my, that is a nice haul. I would like the daggers and armor, the bow as well, but I understand if that's a bit too much for just me," Maya says, sounding pleased, looks like she leveled up.
"I want the spear obviously, anything else is just a bonus," Anshelm says tiredly, still twitching as sparks jump from his hair.
"Nothing of particular interest to me sadly enough. I had hoped those elementals might drop a talisman… Perhaps the bag?" Shimah sighs.
"U-um, the staff would be very nice, I should be able to afford Lightning Elementalist soon," Sera speaks up as well.
Hmm, anything you want?
[] Loot
What do you wanna do in the afternoon?
[]Plan?
-4 Amrita, -1 Ether
Al Lv4
Ice Elementalist D
Health 48/56
SP 45/74
Maya Lv5
Dual Blade Hunter D
Health 55/64
Sp 28/36
Anshelm Lv4
Spear Warrior D
Health 108/146
SP 21/34
Shimah Lv4
Hexer Cleric D
Health 72/79
SP 50/86
Seraphine Lv4
Fire Elementalist D
Health 39/53
Sp 42/67
