Aries Constellation, The Emperor’s Ascent - 1:21 PM
“Alright, so let me get this straight,” Kayla said, her fingers massaging her temple. “Bethany completed the Sleepytime Tea Draught and you, our Monstersmith and noncombatant, decided to use it to barter with the Dragon because the quest screen mentioned it was sleepless?”
Ash had her arms crossed, but didn’t look chastised in the slightest. “Yeah, that sounds about right,” she confirmed. “But, listen. There’s no such thing as a Greek Dragon. They’re all puffed up snakes and this one was no different. I can handle a damn snake. Plus, from the sounds of it, we weren’t going to be getting anything off of it anyway. Materials, I mean. Put it to sleep, sneak around it and grab the fleece. That’s what it sounded like to me.”
“That’s because that was the plan,” Jamie said, her arms crossed for a completely different reason.
“Yeah, and that was a stupid fucking plan,” the Monstersmith argued. “Snake or not, it was still a boss. Look, sleepless things want to sleep. It’s not rocket surgery, okay? I said, ‘hey, I can put you to sleep.’ It said I couldn’t take the fleece, and I told it that the stupid material was locked up anyway. All I wanted was some scales and some venom. Talked it up a bit about how no one would be suicidal enough to take the fleece. We made a wager, and he’s sleeping pretty now wherever they put him.”
“Natural 20 to diplomacy,” Mercury muttered.
“Why’d the Greek Dragon even know English in the first place?” Jeff asked, scratching his head.
“Why’s there an oversized Greek snake in the Empire State Building?” Ash shot back. “Doesn’t have to make sense, it’s just gotta work.”
“And it worked,” I chuckled, clapping my hands. “Good work, Ash. I know you have some things to protect yourself with just in case, but try not to push it like that again just because you think we won’t bargain with a giant snake on your behalf. Because I’ll make Kayla do it since I’m apparently grounded from doing anything at all while I’m injured.”
She frowned like she was going to argue, but I was being supportive and I didn’t technically say anything wrong. “Yeah, sure,” she finally said. “I’ll bring it up next time.”
“Thank you,” I replied. “Good haul, though?”
“Fuck yeah. Got about ten scales, which are a lovely shade of green, and a good amount of venom,” she answered excitedly. “I really want to get back to the train so I can see what I can do with that and the reaper bone. Making something better than Killer Queen should be easy enough, but I think I’m going to use something from those eels you brought, or perhaps shave something off of that slab of giant robot. Haven’t decided yet. I’ll need to see my options. Whatever it is, I’m sure Jeff’ll squeal like a little girl.”
“Man, I sure hope so,” he joked, patting the hilt of his rapier gently. Despite his words, he was still attached to it.
“But to get there, we have to finish up this last room,” Kayla said, gesturing to the door beside us. “Are we all clear on the strategy?”
“Summers and Jeff are our frontline, Mercury attacks when he can. You’re playing support, and I’m playing defense. Ash and Bethany are staying as far back as possible with Corwin so they don’t get caught up in the fight,” I answered. “We’re ready. Just gotta hope whatever’s on the other side of that door is actually something fair.”
<<<>>>
[[Notice]]
The Patron [Aries] assures you that the Boss Room has not been tampered with in any way.
<<<>>>
“And Aries says it hasn’t been tampered with, so it’s probably fine,” I continued with a smile before wiping away the text box. “I’m inclined to believe him, at least.”
“If it’s not something altered, then let’s get going,” Kayla said, opening the final door.
The scene we teleported to was only superficially different from the one we had just been on. We were on a plateau with some farmland, a cliff on one side and a towering mountain on the other. A well built, rustic house was nearby, as well as the corpses of cows and goats with not a sheep to be seen. Snow fell gently but didn’t stick to the ground.
<<<>>>
[[Emperor’s Ascent: Aries Boss Room]]
Sol Ligatus Players: 7
A hunter lurks in the snow. Find it, and defeat it.
Objective: Defeat the boss of the Aries Constellation.
Reward: 2,000 points, Aries Emblem, Team MVP (First Clear Only).
<<<>>>
“House is safe,” I said after checking the area with my aura. “The rooms are empty, like they forgot to put furniture in it, but we can still fortify the basement.”
“Alright, you heard him,” Kayla said, snapping her fingers and pointing towards the house. “Jeff, you’re up front. Mercury, check the perimeter.”
“As her majesty commands,” they said at the same time, throwing each other an amused grin before they did as they were told.
<<<>>>
[[Patron Message]]
Patron Quest: Only One!
This is where I’d put a Patron Quest if I could give you more than three a day. It seems like I jumped the gun sending you one for the Rust Wolf Father. This would have been much better.
Anyway, I want you to let them handle things and show off. The ratings for the guild have gone down to 24% for the finale, which really isn’t bad considering there’s 14 factions competing for attention. There’s already Patrons going crazy for the chance to make someone from Sol Ligatus their avatar, having discussions and making bets. Make sure everyone knows to consult you first before selecting, because not all of them will have your best interests at heart.
Either way, play defense and stay safe. Here’s a challenge for you: you can only make one attack. I’m not going to sit here and think you won’t injure it so your items will level up—your pants are ready to be upgraded, by the way—so just make sure you make it count.
And, look at that, Mercury’s already found it. Good luck.
<<<>>>
I sent off a quick message in Guild Chat about accepting Patrons and discussing it with me before turning to look in the direction Mercury had gone off in. He was running back, a shadow inside the powdered snow.
“It found me!” he yelled. “It found me!”
“Corwin, run!” Jeff ordered, and the dog surged forward with Bethany on his back. He lifted the hand with the white and gold gauntlet on it, Crusader’s Wrath, and blasted the door with a small bolt of fire. It caved in, and the two ran in with Ash right behind them.
I stopped with Kayla as Jamie and Jeff passed us. If I was going to be on defense, then I could at least do it in front of the support. The Double Agent grimaced as she lost hit points, enhancing both of our frontline fighters with Noble Sacrifice before a magic circle appeared at her feet. She was going all in.
Jeff had Killer Queen, his rapier, out while Jamie was rocking her new harpoon gun. She was aiming for Mercury, but there was no visual on the monster just yet. Based on the heavy footsteps chasing the ninja’s silent ones, it would only be a matter of time.
It hit my awareness aura before I laid eyes on it, which was strange considering my enhanced eyesight meant I wasn’t hindered by weather effects like snow. I tried to focus on the boss, and my perception slid off of the space where it was. The second time I forced myself to, literally holding my head in place until the monster appeared.
The damned thing was at least eight feet tall, humanoid, and covered in black wool. It had a hunch to it, and its long, thin arms dragged along the ground, its fingers nothing more than jointed claws. The beast had a ram’s head with red and orange eyes, though one of its horns was broken and the other twisted out nearly a foot before coming to a deadly point. Even if I couldn’t see it easily, I could hear the hooves stomping on the frozen ground.
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“I don’t have eyes on it!” Jamie yelled.
“Putting helmets on you, focus where I direct you!” I called out. “Let me know when you can see them.”
Three Constructed helmets appeared on Kayla, Jamie, and Jeff, and I used my Warmind abilities to move their heads. They didn’t put up any resistance and I made them track the beast.
“I see it!” Jeff called out first.
“Got it!” Kayla said.
Jamie pulled the helmet off of her head. “Seen.”
“I don’t see it!” Mercury yelled. “What is it!?”
I let the Constructs disappear as Kayla pulled a log roughly the ninja’s size from her inventory. Mercury quickly switched places, getting out of the way of the rampaging monster’s path. Grabbing the top of his head, I turned his eyes to focus on the beast. He recoiled
“That thing’s ugly!” he exclaimed. “What is it?”
“Soon to be dead,” Jamie answered as she fired.
The harpoon shot out of her gun with a loud pop, striking the creature in its chest. A wave of satisfaction rippled through her aura before it tore the projectile out of its wool, revealing little blood, and snapped it in half with a single hand. She made the motion to recall it, and the harpoon appeared in the gun again. It was fully intact, but she switched its mode as Jeff advanced.
“Devil Ram,” I announced. “Not quite a Demon, but still something altogether unholy. Once its perception filter has been pierced it’s a big beatstick with nigh impenetrable wool armor.”
“So we’re supposed to use the Divine Shears on it?” Kayla asked, furrowing her brow. “In a combat situation against a boss?”
“Supposed to? Yes,” I answered. “Going to? No. I’ve got something that’ll work, if you don’t mind.”
She didn’t answer right away, watching as Jeff attempted to stop the Devil Ram by using Triple Thrust with Killer Queen extended. His feet, which had been planted for a moment, slid across the ground as he accelerated faster than he could run. His rapier was aimed straight for the monster’s heart, but the sword went into the black wool and bent in a way it wasn’t supposed to.
The Devil Ram brought both arms around Jeff, its claw fingers touching his back, and I activated Force Field over his Stinging Yellow Jacket. They tore through my defensive ability, but it held up long enough to prevent most of the damage from affecting the leather mad. The Queen’s Knight backed away the moment he could, giving his rapier a lamenting glance before moving to flank it with Jamie, whose weapon was now a hammer.
“Hammer’s not going to work, either, unless she aims for the head,” I explained loud enough for the frontliners to hear. “The wool’s just going to absorb the impact.”
“Fine,” Kayla sighed. “Do what you can.”
With a grin, I retrieved an eight inch tube from my inventory. One side had a nozzle with a button on the lip, while the bulk of it was made out of glass and looked like it was full of water. I sent the description to Kayla before Lifting it out of my hand.
<<<>>>
[[Item]]
Holy Aquacutter
This purified cutter slowly converts any liquid placed inside into holy water, and can hold up to 25 gallons in an extradimensional space. When used, almost anything within 3 inches of the nozzle can be cut given enough time. This item does not work on living tissue, except that of unholy creatures.
<<<>>>
“You just happened to have that laying around?” she asked incredulously.
“Surprisingly, yeah,” I answered with a laugh before Pushing it away.
Jeff shot a bolt of fire at the Devil Ram from his gauntlet, but it seemed to get absorbed by the black wool without damaging it. The act did get its attention, however, which allowed Jamie to try and knock it over with a big hit to its knee. That only somewhat worked; the boss buckled, but didn’t fall over. Instead, it let loose a bellowing call and swung its arms together like a club.
Mercury was suddenly there in her place, dodging backwards before slashing the monster with the Princess. The blade slid against the wool, pushing it in but only cutting it slightly. His might have been the weapon we’d need to rely on to cut through its defenses if I hadn’t lucked into the Holy Aquacutter.
With Mercury backflipping to safety, I Constructed shackles around the boss’ wrists. It tried to break free as it rampaged and lashed out with its legs, but found that the mental projection was stronger than it first thought. The Devil Ram was distracted and didn’t notice the Holy Aquacutter flying towards its back.
Pressing the button, it started spewing water out of the nozzle. The holy liquid disappeared after streaming for three inches, seeming to evaporate the moment it was out of range. In the short space where it did exist, however, madness ensued.
The Holy Aquacutter started trimming off the wool as I alternated between Lift and Drop, and the results were immediately horrifying. The fibers still attached to the Devil Ram’s body bled as if there were blood pumping through each one. An overwhelming metallic stench filled the air around the boss as it bleated in pain and rage, lurching forward to escape my tool.
I didn’t let it, and Constructed another set of shackles around its legs. These ones broke quickly, but not before the Devil Ram fell to the ground. I continued to shear as it destroyed the restraints around its wrists and stood back up. Its movements were easily used against it, and I simply had the Holy Aquacutter hover as it raised its body off of the ground.
“Is… is that actually hurting it?” Kayla asked.
“Big time,” I answered as I started Pulling the harvested wool towards me to put it in my inventory. “Devil Rams reinforce their coats with blood magic, so each fiber is like a little vein. It’s actually a really interesting creature and a tough fight, normally. I’m sure my presence here is really putting a damper on Aries’ day.”
The Double Agent scoffed. “Because you’re cutting through its armor like it’s nothing?”
I grinned as I started working on the boss’ chest, ignoring how bloody my gloves had gotten as I retrieved more wool. “A Devil Ram is strong, smart, and a good fighter, sure. I’ll give it that. But its biggest advantages are its perception filter where you can’t look directly at it until you’re forced to, which would happen in the middle of the fight and not the beginning, and its armor. Then I stroll in, and I’ve got Absolute Awareness and an item that cuts through unholy beings like a hot knife through butter.”
“So, you’re brutalizing the thing that would probably have been a scenario boss anywhere else because you’re its direct counter.”
“Yeah, it’s a bit unfortunate, isn’t it?” I lamented, my grin not faltering in the slightest before I looked up at the sky. “This is dealing continuous damage so it counts as one attack, by the way.”
The Devil Ram tried to attack the Holy Aquacutter, but I took evasive maneuvers. When that didn’t work, it tried to flee, only to be blocked by Mercury. This time, he slashed across the creature’s unprotected chest before it could attack him, and the strike was successful. The blade left a large gash in its wake, and the boss bellowed again.
By the time the tool ran out of water, I had removed over two thirds of the wool on its body. What I hadn’t grabbed yet was clumped up on the ground, and I continued to Pull it in along with the Holy Aquacutter. I’d have to make sure I refilled it once we were back on the Angel Express.
Kayla’s big buff went off, coating the trio in a heavy glow that quickly disappeared. Their movement speed increased dramatically, and the Devil Ram was put on the back foot. With every slash of the Princess, it bled more. Every hammer swing broke bones. Its body was deteriorating as Jeff landed thrust after thrust, seemingly unperturbed by Killer Queen’s slight bend.
Even with an underpowered weapon, his debuffs were still scary.
And then, almost unceremoniously, the fight ended with a Tenfold Strike to the Devil Ram’s neck that cut all the way through. Everyone seemed to stop as they stared at the fallen creature, waiting for some trick that never came.
Jamie crossed her arms, letting her hammer dangle from her fingers. “Is that it?”
“Didn’t you say something about blood magic?” Kayla asked, turning slightly towards me but not taking her eyes off of the corpse.
“Yeah, but no one gave it any room to cast, so, it didn’t,” I answered with an approving nod. “Good work, everyone!”
<<<>>>
[[Victory!]]
You have contributed in defeating the Scenario Boss [Devil Ram]; +600 (2,000) points.
[[Emperor’s Ascent Aries Quest 7 Complete]]
The Devil Ram, a fearsome beast considered just as dangerous as the famed Wendigo, has terrorized many homesteads in its time. With nothing most farmers can do but placate it and hope it doesn’t develop a taste for human flesh, this apex predator does as it wills and nothing more.
Until it has reached the Sol Ligatus guild. This creature, one of the strongest cryptids in the land, has fallen due to a divine trinket. To the victors go the spoils, and the door out of the Aries Constellation shall appear.
MVPs: Sol Ligatus.
Rewards: 2,000 points, Aries Emblem.
[[Patron Message]]
Hmm. I suppose that could be considered one attack, considering you never stopped injuring it once you started. That’s tricky, though, and not really in the spirit of things.
Still, I’ll allow it because you’re kind of cute when you’re trivializing encounters like that. Or something. I suppose.
Go through the door when it appears ASAP. I haven’t been able to see Ross’ feed since he went into the boss room and he was only minutes behind you.
<<<>>>
“Sorry, Sara,” I said with a sheepish smile.
Glancing at the rewards, I took a breath. I knew that it wouldn’t say if we got the MVP or not, but the fact that it wasn’t there still caused me a small amount of anxiety. Either way, I wasn’t going to pull my token out now for everyone to see. Instead, I pointed at the monster.
“Can you guys grab the corpse?” I asked, and Jamie nodded. “Once we’ve got it, then we’ll head out. I’m sure there might be something here worth using, but we have to be the first to the safe zone.”
Beside me, a glowing rectangle appeared in mid-air. It quickly dimmed and solidified into a dark wooden door with golden stars forming the Aries constellation on it. I placed my hand on the handle and watched as it took both Jamie and Jeff to heave the Devil Ram’s corpse into her inventory. It disappeared without a trace, blood smeared all over the two warriors.
“And here we go, to victory!” I yelled, turning the knob and opening the door, hoping that the Magical Girl didn’t also trivialize his encounter like we did.
