A Game message flashed for attention as my mount alighted on the stygian Power.
A hostile entity has failed to detect you.
I bit back a sigh of relief. My blood-bound serpent’s landing had gone unremarked. Following the example of its fellows, my minion curled itself into a ball and furled its wings and was shortly indistinguishable from the rest of the flock—the only difference being its invisible passenger, of course.
Time to dismount.
Every movement slow and deliberate, I unwrapped myself from my minion. I had three choices for getting where I needed to—windborne, shadow blink, or walking.
I chose option three.
There was no indication that the overlord would sense my psicasting, but this close to mission completion, I was not about to risk it. My hands clenched tightly about the serpent, I lowered myself gently down the creature’s side until my feet made direct contact with the overlord.
There, I paused, poised for… anything.
A hostile entity has failed to detect you.
I exhaled slowly. So far so good. Releasing my hold on the serpent, I transferred all my weight to my legs.
I was down—fully and completely.
A hostile entity has failed to detect you.
Right, things were going well. A little too well for my nerves, perhaps. Rotating my head slowly from left to right, I searched for an appropriate spot, somewhere that was safe to work.
I almost snorted at the thought.
As if there was anything about my current situation that could be labeled safe. Alright, not a safe spot, then.
Somewhere—anywhere—I can set my traps undisturbed will do. I really didn’t want to have to worry about being stepped on by one of the flock. Speaking of… My gaze flitted to the nearest flying serpent.
Incredibly, it was already asleep. My eyes darted to the next creature. It, too, was dead to the world.
I smiled. That’ll make things easier, I thought and got moving.
? ? ?
Creeping through the sleeping stygians proved only slightly nerve-wracking. The creatures slumbered deeply, and with the scent crystal and vanish enhancing my already-potent stealth ability, the chances of detection were truly miniscule.
Nonetheless, I worked in silence, communicating with neither Ghost nor the rest of the party back in the cave. For the selfsame reason I forbore using psi, I didn’t want to risk any mindspeech. At the forefront of my mind was a singular thought: the overlord was a Power.
It would not do to underestimate it.
Multiple hostile entities have failed to detect you!
Multiple hostile entities have failed to detect you!
…
In any case, I emerged unscathed from the sleeping flock. A safe distance away, I unbent slowly and surveyed the hellish ‘landscape.’
The pockmarks riddling the overlord’s reddish hide were not of uniform size nor depth. Nor were they the creature’s only blemishes. From my new perspective, I noticed something else too: a spidery network of cracks and seams that connected the crater-like holes together.
Hmm… those could be useful.
Moving faster now, I padded toward the biggest seam. My fear of discovery had waned somewhat. If the overlord hadn’t detected me by this point, it likely wouldn’t—unless I did something foolish, of course.
The seam in question looked for all the world like a fault line along a solid block of rock. Reaching it, I lowered my head and peered in. The seam was only about three inches thick but drove downward at least two feet into the overlord’s hide. It was long, too, and from end to end measured at least ten yards.
This’ll do, I thought.
Stretching out flat on my stomach, I activated the blue rune on the band on my wrist and got to work.
? ? ?
You have removed a trap-making crystal from your scoundrel’s wristband. Remaining trap-making crystals: 299 of 300.
Deftly slipping my hand into the seam, I embedded a crystal as deep as I could.
You have concealed a funnel guide.
I’d not used the funnel trap guides before, and truthfully, I’d never expected to, since their effect was the opposite of what I usually aimed for—which was dealing damage to a large number of foes.
This time around, though, I needed to concentrate the raw damage of my traps on a single point—and hopefully in the process, I’d blow a hole in the overlord’s shell that reached all the way to its vulnerable innards.
For such a task, the funnel guides were perfect. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Drawing more trap crystals from my wristband, I emplaced them near the funnel.
You have concealed 1 remote control trigger.
You have concealed 2 poison cloud elements.
You have concealed 1 fire element.
Two clouds of poison for fuel, a fire to ignite them, a trigger to initiate the reaction, and a funnel to direct the resulting explosive energy downward and deeper into the crack.
Looks good, I thought, completing the spell-linkage between the five crystals.
A tier 4 trap has been successfully configured!
Imagining the cataclysmic impact of the trap, I couldn’t help but smile. It was hard to judge what the impact on the overlord would be, though. Would the explosion widen the seam? Probably. But would it be enough to split open the Power’s shell? I had no idea.
Still, I didn’t plan on placing just the one trap.
I intended on setting thirty.
Removing more trap crystals, I resumed work.
? ? ?
29 tier 4 traps have been successfully configured!
Remaining trap-making crystals: 150 of 300.
A little later, I was done.
Fully half of my trap-making crystals had been spent mining the seam. Moving stealthily, I crept away until I was a safe distance from the crack—not that I could pretend my estimate was anything but a guess.
What mattered, though, was that I was finally ready to begin the battle-proper.
“It’s done,” I whispered over the farspeaker link.
The overlord did not stir beneath me as I half-feared it would as I broke communication silence.
“We move?” Safyre asked crisply.
“Yes,” I replied just as curtly. Now was not the time for explanations nor unnecessary questions. Safyre knew that as well as I did.
“Moving,” she reported.
Crouching down small, I set myself to wait. It wouldn’t be long now.
? ? ?
The first inkling I got of the party’s arrival was from the overlord itself. It vibrated, nearly imperceptibly so, and if I had not been on the thing, the motion would’ve gone unnoticed.
My second warning came from the serpent flock. In one motion, all remaining forty-three creatures took flight—the only exception being my blood-bound slave. For a moment, I contemplated sending it after its fellows to avoid notice, then decided against it. Soon, it wouldn’t matter, and if things went horribly wrong, I might need the creature to escape.
The overlord trembled again. This time more violently.
“We’ve begun our assault,” Safyre reported, as right on cue, the notes of Shael’s song cut through the air.
Shael has begun playing the Epic of Ganesh. You have been windswept (speed increased by +25%).
From where I sat, I could not see the party, but I knew that they would have teleported in closer than last time—just outside the overlord’s plume of thickened nether in fact. The Power itself would be invisible to them through the mist, but even unseen, as big as the creature was, it would be hard to miss.
Their attacks were only a decoy though, and purely a means to distract the overlord and draw the attention of its escorts.
“The nagas?” I prompted.
“Engaged,” Anriq replied. “You can begin.”
Not responding, I rose to my feet and flexed my hands. My buffs were all cast, and I’d no more preparations to make.
“Should I manifest?” Ghost asked.
“Not yet,” I murmured. “We don’t know how the overlord is going to react, and until we do, I want to hold you in reserve.”
The pyre wolf sighed but made no protest.
Removing the remote trigger from my pocket, I inhaled deeply—here goes, I thought—and pressed down hard.
A trap has triggered!
Light, so bright it hurt, flashed before my eyes. I squeezed my eyelids shut. It helped—but only a little. A hair’s breadth later a roar of noise washed over, forcing me to slap my hands over my ears.
It was only the beginning, though, and I couldn’t afford to stop now. Ignoring my discomfort, I pressed down on the remote again.
A trap has triggered!
More bright light followed. And more noise.
Somewhat dazed and deafened, I huddled small and rocked back and forth. “Keep going,” I muttered. “Got to keep damn going!” Squeezing the remote in my hand, I pumped it over.
And over.
And over.
A trap has triggered!
A trap has triggered!
…
…
A staccato of explosions rocked the smog-filled world as the remaining twenty-eight traps detonated in quick succession. Most of the lightshow passed by without me noticing, the repeated assault on my senses leaving me half-catatonic.
But my stupor faded as quickly as it set in, and when I opened my eyes again it was to the sight of flames and thick black smoke mushrooming out of the seam, while beneath me, the overlord shook with ever-increasing violence. My elation remained tempered, though.
Because, while there was no question that the overlord had felt the explosions, something was missing, something crucial.
Damage messages from the Game.
I had received none.
My brows furrowed in consternation. What did it mean? Had the traps failed? Despite the explosion of light and sounds, had I not succeeded?
“Yikes!” Anriq exclaimed over the farspeaker link. “Was that you? We felt it even down here!”
“It was,” I rasped, my mental voice unaccountably hoarse.
“Are you alright?” Safyre asked worriedly.
“Well, I’m still in one piece if that’s what you mean,” I replied, in what was admittedly a feeble attempt at humor.
“Of course you are!” Shael declared, the tune he was playing on his flute not faltering one iota despite his split focus. “You’re our fearless leader. Nothing can stop you!” A pregnant pause. “But on a more serious note, Michael, did it work?”
Despite the situation, a half-smile slipped onto my face. The bard sounded more relaxed than he’d been only a little while ago. His confidence in both the party and his own abilities were growing, I suspected.
“We’re about to find out,” I replied. Regaining my feet, I padded toward the crack. It was still belching smoke and fire, which gave me pause for a moment. How am I going to see through all that muck?
I didn’t have long to ponder the question though, because just then the ‘ground’ beneath me stirred. This time, it was not from any random shaking.
This time, the overlord was moving—rising to be precise.
And rotating.