Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 242: First Dungeon Fight

The equipment Sieph had created allowing us to breathe underwater worked, but it soon became obvious that breathing was only one of the issues, that we would have to deal with. It took a bit of work to figure out a way to move in a water medium.

Swimming worked, and we could use it, but when it came to our ability to fight, we need something firm to ground ourselves. Thutmose and I both had abilities that required an ability to anchor ourselves. His need for a stable foundation to allow him to stand firm and take even more important than mine.

I could use duck in and out of the shadow, using our enemies' bodies as the point of stability, but Thutmose needed to be able to act as our shield. A shield that could be pushed aside was no shield at all.

Sieph's idea for metal poles helped to stabilize and ground us, but they were only a first step. She eventually modified a set of crampons, something along the lines of gear mountain climbers would use. Metal spikes that strapped on and could be released quickly.

For mountain climbers and those braving ice rifts it made it possible to trek, the metal spikes solid and strong enough to break the ice and find purchase when scaling sheer cliffs. Sieph managed to modify them to give traction and purchase against the shifting sand that had accumulated, burying the sunken city.

Other than the coral and schools of fish, we saw no signs of life, nothing that stood out as dangerous. Still, we decided to remain cautious, moving slowly as we learned to adapt to the crampons and how they affected our balance. We skirted the outer edges of the quadrant we had decided to investigate first.

The longer we spent moving, the easier it became. It wasn't long before Thutmose and I were able to move normally, even able to run without issue. I knew the need to use the poles and crampons would have some effect on my dexterity when I needed to fight, but I didn't think it would be anything I couldn't adapt to. Plus, the spikes that allowed the crampons to find purchase in the sand could be used just as effectively climbing the back of some monster, the spikes digging into flesh and dealing weapon damage. The poles could also be used as spears.

Our first encounter with a dungeon mob, a [Bell Spider], was more a comedy of errors than a well-choreographed dance. The spider had adapted, able to survive, hunt, and thrive underwater. It used the hair-like follicles on each of its front legs to stir the water, creating bubbles that could be trapped. The spider had spun webbing to create a dome-like construct that could collect and hold the oxygen within the bubbles.

Our first time fighting highlighted another problem about the medium we were forced to confront, something much more impactful. The effect of water had on our fighting mechanics, on our ability to be able to hit, or punch became apparent. It was like moving in slow motion, no matter how hard or fast we attempted to move.

We were forced to learn how to compensate. It didn't affect range attacks as badly. Both range and melee attacks had to account for the displacement of light and image that the water created, but the slowing effect as water acted as a kind of resistance meant that trusting and stabbing attacks were more effective.

We had blundered into the [Bell Spider]'s home, even being as cautious as we were. It wasn't until we had destroyed the webbing and the dome construct that it had created, that we realized our mistake. Normally that wouldn't have been much of an issue, bell spiders were normally easily squashed. But the arachnid, in any other place barely the size of a guppy, had expanded to be my size.

Even at that size, it wouldn't have been a problem, not against the four of us, but it had been protecting a clutch of recently hatched spiders. Barely the size of my fist, they swarmed us in the hundreds, making it impossible to react quickly to the adult spider's attack while warding off the swarming hatchlings.

As our first dungeon encounter, it was formidable.

We quickly realized that Sieph was the only one of us with an area attack. Her control of metal and magnetism making it a simple matter to create a net to capture and control as Thutmose, Bob, and I began the slow process of killing them.

Bob's solution was just to eat them, gulping them down like finger-food. His size allowed him to munch on them ten at a time. [Shadow Blend] and [Shadow Passage] were more hindrance than a help when I concentrated on the young spiders, I was forced to change tactics, Thutmose and I recognized the best use of our talents was to concentrate on the adult and leave the hatchlings to Sieph and Bob.

My talents were most suited and able to shine when I focused on single target opponents. And in the water, [Death's Icy Breath] shone. The extreme cold from the spell trapping the back two legs and part of the posterior of the adult [Bell Spider] in a block of ice. Once I saw how the spell reacted in the water, I changed tactics again. I tossed a few bolts at the dozens that Sieph had trapped, freezing them entirely, killing them instantly.

It was a simple matter from that point to mop up. So simple that we started kiting some of the young spiders around until Bob could get around to eating them. I think it was the first time he had gorged himself to full since we'd arrived on Ijal.

"Well, that was fun," I said as we watched Bob finish off the last spider.

"Did you want this one?" He asked when he noticed us watching him eat.

"Gross," Sieph exclaimed, turning her back, refusing to watch him finish his meal.

"You don't know what you're missing," he said, undeterred by her disgust, "they taste like lobster. A bit of butter and they would have been the best meal I'd eaten since I left my spawning pool."

"Did the adult drop anything?" Thutmose asked.

"Sieph?"

"Forget it," she said, "I'm not touching that thing."

It seemed Sieph had a fear of spiders, especially giant spiders. Not hard to believe when you consider that even the baby spiders had been a quarter her size. With hundreds of them swarming her, each with eight legs and dozens of eyes, I guess I could see why she might be traumatized.

"Sieph," I continued, knowing she wasn't going to like what I was about to say, "you wanted to learn the harvesting skill. I will loot it, but you are going to have to harvest it for resources."

The glare she directed my way gave me pause and had me making a mental note to make sure Beag kept guard the next time I slept. I pretended not to notice as I went to loot.

Loot, on the planet so far, had been nothing more than a few coins and body parts. We knew items could drop, but so far, we had had no luck. That changed with this encounter. Something we had expected now that we were in a dungeon proper.

[You have looted 1 x [Recall Stone]]

A quick [Inspect] informed me the stone was what I thought it was.

[Recall Stone: Teleport party members to the beginning of Sunken Temple Dungeon]

[Charges 10/10]