"Are you… really here to help me?", asked the Arachne carefully.
"Of course! Just tell us what we should do."
"I… will try."
The Arachne had to gather all his courage just to speak. He interrupted himself multiple times as his instincts screamed at him to get away.
"There is a tribe of dark elves not far away. A while ago I was out hunting and accidentally invaded their territory. I probably saw something I shouldn't have seen. I was immediately attacked from all sides. Luckily, I moved quick enough. I barely escaped but one of the mages hit me with a curse at the end. Now, I am terrified whenever I see any living beings. I can't even watch myself in a mirror. Only my cute plants don't scare me.
Please. If you want to help me, find that dark elven mage. He looked like their leader, wearing a strange, black crown. You need to destroy the crown to lift the curse."
After saying so much the Arachne had seemingly used up all his strength. With a shaking body he climbed up the wall and disappeared into a hole, not giving the players a chance to ask more questions.
The party received a quest notification and accepted it readily.
[>Story< Quest: A terrifying curse
Step 1: Find the tribe of dark elves Zeuerch was talking about]
"Well, now I feel quite bad for him…"
"Really sounds like a terrifying curse."
"Is the curse called social anxiety?"
"No. Because then it couldn't be stopped simply by breaking a crown."
"Sucks…"
The friends conversed lightly as they sent Silent Acacia ahead to scout. There was a second tunnel leading deeper underground. It was filled with traps as well. Obviously, the Arachne wanted to make sure that no one would be able to reach its place. Although Acacia didn't need to fear being eaten anymore, he still advanced carefully. Being covered in spider web was definitely a sensation he wanted to avoid.
Thus, the friends advanced somewhat slowly. As their steps echoed from the rocky walls they couldn't help but feel some anxiousness. Tomorrow was the territory challenge against Galaxy, and it was of vital importance that Dream Avenue emerged victorious. Liam felt the thoughts of his friends and reassured them. After recruiting Zeuerch, the Arachne, Dream Avenue would have another powerful trump card. He was confident that whatever Galaxy was planning could be countered by the Arachne.
Liam's friends felt better after listening to him. Most of their attention was soon diverted when Liam asked Silent Acacia to follow some smaller tunnels which led them to a few treasure chests. Although the loot wasn't great, the simple act of opening a chest was often joyous enough.
Thanks to opening treasures the friends were somewhat delayed. They also couldn't avoid fighting a few rat-like monsters on the way. The fights were pretty easy for the party. Just as they started to underestimate the enemies in this region, they finally arrived in front of a heavy, wide gate protected by two tall dark elves carrying sharp spears.
Keeping a safe distance, they swiftly checked the dark elves.
[Elite guard of the Tribe of the Dark Mother
Rank: Elite
Level: 52
HP: 48.500/48.500]
"Level 52? They are quite a bit stronger than those rats."
"Mhm. Be careful guys. Let's go!"
On Silver Blade's signal the two tanks slowly approached the gate. Suddenly the guards turned towards them, their stern voices echoing in the tunnel:
"Who goes there?!"
"Leave this instant!"
Of course, the players wouldn't listen to them. Radiant Shield made the first move, slamming his hammer against his shield. A wave of light spread, hitting the first guard right in the chest. The dark elf snorted and rushed towards Radiant Shield, aiming the sharp tip of his spear at the insolent holy nephilim. Although the guard was fast, he couldn't overwhelm Radiant Shield who expertly blocked the attack like an immovable rock.
[Stance -19]
Meanwhile Silver Blade had used her [Luring Barrier] to attract the second guard. A spear clashed with the light barrier, creating strong ripples.
[-4931!]
For a moment everyone was surprised by the high damage number. However, Silver Blade reassured the others, stating that her barrier could block almost four such hits. There was nothing to worry about. Still, everyone decided to first take out the guard attacking their magical tank before helping Radiant Shield deal with his enemy.
Swiftly, the first attacks shot through the air. As always it was the ranged attacks which reached the enemies the fastest. Silent Acacia followed his arrow with his eyes while already preparing his next attack. But suddenly he couldn't help but shout in surprise:
"Damn! That guy dodged!"
Indeed, seeing the dangerous arrow coming for his face the elite guard proved his fast reflexes and moved his head out of the way.
[Stance -41]
Although Liam had already warned his friends that enemies would start to dodge attacks, Silent Acacia didn't expect a simple elite guard to do so. And the worst of it all was that Cyclone's magic attack which simply aimed for the enemy's chest hit perfectly and now the blond mage was grinning tauntingly in Silent Acacia's direction.
Both mages, Cyclone and Fortune, managed to land a hit, each dealing more than one thousand points of damage. However, Fortune noticed that her damage was considerably weaker than Cyclone's. She was somewhat annoyed, eager to equip the powerful staff slumbering in her inventory. Unfortunately, her level was still too low.
After the three ranged fighters had fired their first attacks, the melee fighters also reached the enemy. They surrounded the elite guard, unleashing their skills form all sides, stealing thousands of HP. The strength of their upgraded equipment was at full display.
Watchful Eye swung his staff skilfully. He didn't use any fancy moves like one might see in movies. Instead, each strike was precise, limiting the room the opponent had to dodge. Well, admittedly the elite guard couldn't really dodge anyways as he was surrounded from all sides. But Watchful Eye still wouldn't be careless, taking it as training for stronger enemies. One end of his staff slammed into the guard's shoulder. Suddenly the staff hissed and ignited with purple flames and its other end struck the guard's legs.
[-950!]
[-1272!]
Suffering strong attacks from multiple players the dark elven guard was brought down to 30.000 HP in no time at all. His face suddenly hardened as he raised his spear high.
"Dark Mother! Let me vanquish these invaders in thy name!"
Liam recognized the move, alerting his friends. Everyone swiftly retreated, staying away from the elite guard. They watched as the dark elf swirled his spear and fiercely stabbed it into the ground. Immediately a wave of dark magic spread in all directions, charging along the ground.
Silver Blade was the first who was caught up by the indiscriminate attack. She frowned faintly as her [Luring Barrier] was still active. There was no way to prevent the two skills from clashing. Light and darkness entwined as a heavy impact shook Silver Blade's body. As the dark magic washed over her, what remained from her barrier was covered in cracks, clearly at the end of its strength.
[-4029!]
Seeing the high damage despite Silver Blade's considerable magical resistance the rest of the party was even more careful. Everyone stared closely at the spell. Watchful Eye bent his knees anticipating the arrival of the dark magic. Suddenly he jumped like a spring and the wave of dark magic passed below his feet.
After Watchful Eye, everyone else came in quick succession. They followed his example and skilfully avoided the damage. However, when the magic reached Cyclone and Fortune the two mages were annoyed. To be extra careful they both interrupted the cast of their skills and used flash step to dodge the dark magic.
"Tsk. Stupid elite…"
Cyclone scoffed. Annoyed, she used [Lightning Strike], which had no cast time. A bolt of lightning magically appeared below the ceiling and precisely struck the dark elf's helmet. Instantly her gorgeous purple-blue robe flashed with a few sparks. Another bolt of lightning chased after the first one and also slammed into the same target. Cyclone grinned haughtily. She threw a normal attack before restarting the cast which had been interrupted.
Suddenly a mysterious force gathered in Cyclone's wand. The new weapon showed its might as it effect triggered, and the skill was instantly completed. Crackling lightning turned in a rope, wrapping around the elite's waist and connecting him to Cyclone.
[-1936!]
[-764!]
[-152!]
[-1290!]
[-1337!]
Everyone was surprised as the enemy was struck by so much lightning in mere moments, suffering terrible damage. Fortune stood not far from Cyclone, turning towards her.
"Amazing, Cy. Your equipment is really doing work! So many effects triggered despite their low chance. I wish I had your luck."
"Haha, you're overpraising me. See, my passive didn't even react. That guard is still running around."
Fortune couldn't help but roll her eyes. Cyclone attempted to sound humble, but her smug smile gave her away. Obviously, the blonde mage was more than happy with her series of attacks just now.