The eldritch artisan fat.., p.17
The Eldritch Artisan: Father of Constructs: Book 3 (LitRPG), page 17
The room with the miniboss was cavernous. A river of turbulent, smoking lava filled the middle of the space. It was hot enough to bubble and pop, spewing hissing orange-red dollops onto the stone ten feet from the river. Above the lava, perched on a ledge halfway through the room, was a gray-skinned giant dragon. It had a wide head and large, yellow eyes that shone with malevolent cruelty.
I wonder why the monster has Felodin’s eyes? Harvey wondered.
A thrum of deep, foreboding music resonated up from the ground as the monster’s health bar melted out of the air above its head. The boss had at least three times the hit points of anything they’d fought thus far.
ROCK DRAGON MINIBOSS – LEVEL 15 (Experience reward: 150)
With a hiss, the dragon flung itself forward. Leathery wings spread from its back, allowing it to glide above the lava thermals. Soaring toward the group, the dragon’s maw opened to reveal rows of razor-sharp, jagged teeth. A ball of magma shot from its throat, shooting toward them with meteoric speed.
“Hzlet Kukhetah!” Felodin snapped the words and made a gesture. An aura of energy appeared above his body, like a halo of wind.
The magma ball stopped within ten feet of the party, its churning heat enough to blacken the stone ground. With a twisting motion, Felodin said, “Beldunath!” A net of brilliant lime green magic swirled out of his palm, corkscrewing around the ball of magma, and transforming it. Instead of fire, it became churning acid. He made a tossing motion, and the ball flew directly toward the dragon’s face.
With a screech of surprise, the dragon flapped its wings, sending itself above the returning ball. The acid veered to intercept. It skipped across the monster’s stomach, leaving a bubbling, liquefying mass of hardened scales, and revealing bloody flesh beneath.
Felodin had taken down a quarter of the boss’s hit points with that attack. At the same time, he’d staggered with a hand to his chest. Although he’d suffered no visible damage, his hit points were down by a quarter.
Arrows peppered the dragon’s wings as it flapped again, barely depleting its hit points. Esoteric tension filled the air as dozens of rock shards appeared out of nowhere. They flew toward the party, with the majority focused on Felodin.
Much to the mage’s surprise, Harvey darted ahead of Felodin. Lifting his shield and settling into his heels, he extended his arm as far from his body as he could. Behind him, Reacher adjusted to shield Tabitha, Milly, and Lucas with his body.
Stone darts pelted Harvey’s shield, punching through the metal. They lost momentum as they passed through, but three pierced the old man’s torso. He lost twenty hit points in that flurry.
Felodin and Lyssandra were both struck by a single missile. Each suffered five points of damage, enough to bring the mage dangerously low on health.
Even with Lucas on her shoulder, Milly darted forward to help with the defense. Moving as quickly as she could, Milly deflected one from hitting Reacher. The heroic act cost her. One of the missiles struck her high on the chest.
CRITICAL STRIKE! 150% DAMAGE! BLEEDING PROPERTY APPLIED!
Milly staggered back, blood fountaining from the wound to her neck.
Drawing one of the healing syringes from her Monroe’s Pocket, Tabitha moved to the woman, yanking the rock shard clear and injecting her. The throat wound closed, leaving Milly floored and stunned, but alive. Lucas, still unconscious, lay next to her.
With a shard of stone in one of her thighs, Lyssandra made a throwing motion. Light appeared above the soaring dragon as Okadin appeared. The great eagle flapped frantically, lowering its legs to claw at the dragon’s back.
The archer immediately drew and began sending arrow after arrow into the air. With the connection to her familiar aiding her aim, her shots peppered the dragon’s back and wings. Shallow wounds rapidly collected along the monster’s spine.
Felodin made a yanking gesture and the acid ball recoiled, rotating in its flight, and soaring toward the dragon. The dragon tried to dive away at the last second, but between the limited space to maneuver and the arrows in its wings, it didn’t evade entirely.
Acid exploded, coating the dragon’s wing, and taking it down to less than half of its hit points.
“That’s enough, I’ve got it. Defend yourself, Lyss!” Felodin called.
Roaring in defiance and agony, the dragon adjusted its flight at the last second, banking to land near the party. It stumbled as it came down, yet as it did, Harvey got a better idea of just how huge the beast was.
It was easily twice Reacher’s size in every dimension, not including its wings.
For his part, the injured construct remained back, perched protectively over their fallen and injured companions, although he had his machetes ready.
“SUFFARTHEA!” An aura of bleakness engulfed Felodin. Both previous spells he’d cast had contributed to an aura wreathing his body, but this new one overtook them both. With another clawing gesture, he snarled, “I summon thee, Staff of Inevitable Death!”
A wedge of icy cold light appeared above the dragon’s back and slammed directly into its spine. Such was the force that the dragon collapsed to the ground with a whimper. It tried to open its jaws to send another ball of magma at the mage, but shuddered abruptly.
The wounds Okadin and Lyssandra had sliced along the dragon’s back abruptly surged and warped, becoming vast caverns into the armored flesh. In a wrenching, awful motion, the monster’s spine, including its massive skull, wrenched free to hover in the air above the corpse.
With a forlorn, almost sad, sigh, Felodin waved the flying remains toward him. The spine and skull shrank as they floated over, taking on the shape of an intricately carved staff made of spinal disks. At the top, around the dragon’s much smaller head, a crystalline ball appeared to cover it. Cold light radiated from the orb, filling the area with a chilling, otherworldly presence.
Felodin collapsed, jerking as if in seizure, but he didn’t release the new staff. As foam exploded from his lips, the staff twitched in his hand. The cold light caressed his face, and bits of bone flaked off the spine. After a few seconds, his seizing stopped and a look of clarity, weighed down by vast sadness, replaced pain.
Tabitha hadn’t stopped applying her healing aid during the fight. By the time Felodin and Lyssandra dealt with the dragon, she’d moved on to applying her skills to Harvey. She moved on to the others, applying ointments, bandages, and esoteric patterns to rapidly heal their wounds. Her powers also accelerated their healing.
TOTAL ROOM EXPERIENCE: 150
Lucas Crow Time to Recovery: 2.5 Hours.
Milly Westbrook Time to Recovery: 2 Hours.
Felodin Havoc Time to Recovery: 6 Hours.
Lyssandra Aolin Time to Recovery: 3 Hours.
Harvey Laetus Time to Recovery: 18 Minutes.
Reacher Laetus Time to Recovery: N/A – Health Currently Reduced by 50%
Dropping his shield back into his Pocket, Harvey accepted tending only for a few seconds. “Reacher, I need bits of that monster. Are you okay?”
The construct hadn’t suffered many direct attacks, yet those he had opened gaping wounds in the sheaths around his arms. Bundles of corded copper, gold, titanium, and other wire gleamed inside the huge furrows the attacks had left. Two of his arms trembled uncontrollably, as if he were in pain.
Thumbs-up.
Heart heavy, Harvey left his injured friend and walked to the corpse. He was just in time. It was beginning to waver, as if about to vanish. As soon as he grabbed one of the scales, it stabilized.
“What are you doing?” Tabitha asked.
“Esoteric energy,” Harvey replied, yanking scale after scale free. He used brutal, efficient motions to do so. “I’m going to use these as batteries to help Reacher recover. Reckon there’s a chance there’s some sort of rock-aligned energy in them, too. Maybe Felodin and I can talk about it. If so, maybe I can rejigger my symbols to help my boy.”
Felodin made a sad little laugh. “Help. Yeah. Me? Never. I’m not useful to anyone.” He’d walked away to sag against the wall. Not only had his demeanor changed, but so had his appearance. Dark marks circled his eyes, and his lips had taken on a black hue. He looked defeated and sad, as if the mere act of being alive hurt him. A cloak of darkness seemed to hover over his back, as if poised to settle onto his shoulders.
“I hate when he’s Death Bent,” Milly murmured. “All he wants to do is listen to sad music and mope.”
“Agreed,” Lyssandra said, moving to check on Lucas. He didn’t respond to her touch, but miraculously, none of the shrapnel had struck him. “The construct blocked all the attacks,” she said, awe in her voice as she looked at Reacher. “And you said it’s not bonded to Harvey? Just what sort of thing is this?”
Reacher stumbled on torn limbs as he moved over to help Harvey with the work of dressing the dragon. He did so without prompting.
“He,” Tabitha corrected from nearby. “Reacher is a ‘he.’ You might as well call him Harvey’s adopted son.”
Lyssandra gave her a troubled, uncertain smile. “But it’s just a construct.”
“He’s the Father of Constructs, Lyss,” Tabitha replied. “He takes the title pretty literally.” She paused, considering, then added, “To be fair, so do I.” It was clear in the way she said it. She wasn’t talking about the old man’s relationship with Reacher.
Overhearing the conversation, Harvey’s eyes brightened. Looking up as Reacher approached, he said, “I’m proud of you. And her. You both did good back there.”
Thumbs-Up. Shoulder Squeeze.
“As soon as I can, I’m going to fix you up. Reckon there’s something in all this magic for me to learn. Maybe, once I know enough, I can…” He stopped himself before he could finish the sentence.
Allow me to point out that this thing that you treat like an ally, or perhaps a faithful dog, is nothing but a soulless automaton. It’s a construct, not a person.
A doorway appeared next to them, right next to where the entrance had been. It was made of arched green stone. Through it was a comfortable-looking room, complete with a table covered in food, multiple beds, and several secondary rooms, labeled, “Bathroom,” and “Shower.”
“It would seem we get a reprieve before we get to the DM. Oh, goody.” Felodin sagged, dragging his new staff behind as he trudged through the opening, leaving them behind without an offer to help.
“I hate when he’s Death Bent,” Lyssandra said, echoing Milly’s earlier statement.
“At least having this lets me shunt the Consequences away,” he muttered morosely, flicking a finger to reveal the magical item’s effects to the group.
Staff of Inevitable Death
Description: This Staff is created as a byproduct of casting a high-level death spell. It is a semi-permanent object, until the wielder deliberately releases it, or it is taken from him. While within 30-feet, the wielder may summon it to his hand at will.
Benefits and Powers: A Staff of Inevitable Death enhances any death-based magic the wielder uses by 2 levels. In addition, upon creation the staff forms a bond with the wielder. As long as it remains in his possession, any Consequences he would suffer from spellcasting are shunted to the staff.
The staff absorbs Consequences as damage. Each time the caster kills an opponent, including monsters, the staff heals a small amount. Thus, the Staff acts as potentially permanent protection against Consequences.
Drawback: While the Staff is active, the negative effects of being Bent are enhanced, and the amount of Bending the wielder suffers per spell is increased by an amount proportional to the level of spell.
Interlude: Not Good
Wren stood above the yawning chasm, spanned only by a tortured metal railing. In the distance, she saw the remnants of a fresh cave in.
“Not good,” she said, fighting a stab of concern. Reaching inside her handbag, she retrieved a statue that resembled a little red heron. Squeezing the statue to activate the expensive item, she said, “I need to know if the train is down there. If so, I need to know if there are two corpses in the area. Scout the remains to the best of your ability.”
The bird shuddered in her grip, stone cracking as it came to life. Jerking free of her hand, the spell-construct zipped away on blurring wings.
“That man,” Wren muttered, trying to use frustration to keep rising concern at bay. “He better not have died in a train crash. He loved trains. If one killed him, that would be the worst irony I’ve ever heard of.”
Oh Harvey. Oh Tabitha. Please be okay. Yes, fine. And Reacher, too. She didn’t dare voice the thoughts out loud. Wren had been alone with herself for a long time. It wasn’t her nature to form tight bonds with people, not like she had with that trio.
Suddenly, the idea of them being hurt or dead was the worst thing she could imagine. In a blink, she found herself sitting next to the wall, legs drawn up to her chest. She wasn’t crying, but it was a close thing.
“I don’t cry,” she said out loud. “That’s not who I am.”
The bird fluttered back from the depths. Landing in front of her, it opened its beak and Felodin’s voice emerged. “There is a train, and there are no corpses, Miss Wren. We found evidence of two interesting things, however.”
“And?”
“First, I believe the people in that dreadful crash escaped. The magical residue of the tunnel suggests a Delve has them. Second, we believe that another magical presence has swept the area before ours. It feels quite foreign.”
The Continuum.
“Thank you,” she said to the bird. It didn’t respond. The one-time use magical item cracked, turning to dust at her feet.
Standing, Wren looked back the way she’d come, considering her options. “I need to infiltrate the Continuum. We know they use regular people as spies. That shouldn’t be too hard.”
She held up three fingers. “Best-case scenario, I get to them, muck up their plans and rescue Harvey, Tabitha, and Reacher along with the rest of our friends.”
One finger folded. “Mid-case scenario, we get some portion of that. Either way, we punish the Continuum.”
The last finger stood alone. “Worst case, I am captured or die. But isn’t that every mission I go on?”
Her plans clearly defined, Wren dismissed her bag and walked back up the tunnel. If things worked out the way she hoped, she’d be at the Continuum base in a day.
Chapter 14: Harvey Loves Being Educated
Harvey refused to go through the door until he’d collected as many useful parts of the dragon as he could. Most of the scales and an entire wing went inside. He explained the wing as, “Useful for Concierge, once I have time to work on him again.”
They piled into the safe room looking like they’d gone through a meat grinder. Only Tabitha was uninjured, out of them all. Lucas, Harvey, Reacher, and Milly had taken the brunt of it. The old man was practically healthy again by the time they’d gotten Lucas settled and started shower rotations.
The safe space was bigger than the last one, though still small enough for cross-room conversation to be easy. It included comforts Harvey and Tabitha hadn’t encountered in the last one. There were sinks, cabinets for storing clothes, and a box Lyssandra explained would repair and clean their clothes. An hourglass sat in the center of the room, the screen above it displaying sixteen hours. A closed door at the far side was labeled “DM ENCOUNTER – PREPARE YOURSELVES!”
Borrowing a pair of magic swords to study, Harvey sequestered himself on one side of the room with Reacher. He began what repairs he could in the time they had, taking brief breaks to study the symbols on the weapons. Felodin lurked nearby, folded up and unwilling to engage in conversation.
***
Sitting with Milly and Lyssandra at the dining table, Tabitha pointed at the arched doorway. “What is a ‘DM ENCOUNTER’?”
Taking a bite from an apple, Lyssandra said, “It’ll be something custom built for this team. There will be some sort of risk-reward element, so the Delve Monitor can try to tempt us into choosing the hardest possible challenge. It’s where most adventurers die.”
“DMS are really good at tempting people into risky choices,” Milly added.
The trio spoke for several minutes before Tabitha excused herself. Crossing the room, she let her hand trail comfortingly across Harvey’s back and one of Reacher’s limbs before she approached Felodin.
“What?” the mage asked in a petulant voice.
“I’m going to heal you,” she replied, looking up into his darkened face. Her eyes were wide and soulful, gleaming with a mixture of admiration and empathy. “May I?”
He barked a laugh. “You can’t heal what’s wrong with me. No one can. It’s in my blood.”
“I can help with the Bends.”
“You can?” Felodin’s yellow eyes hardened suspiciously. “That’s not an ability the Screws like to give out.”
By way of reply, she pushed a hand against his arm and activated Cleansing Touch.
His screen flashed as the effects of his Bends were reduced to thirty percent. The mage’s eyes widened in hope and surprise. “This is…amazing.”
She studied his face searchingly. “I’m glad it helped you.”
At the exchange, Harvey paused the repairs on Reacher to look over. His shades gleamed mirror bright as he studied both of their expressions.
Felodin’s dour expression relaxed, and his shoulders straightened. His closed, hurt expression took on the pall of absolute exhaustion rather than overwhelming depression. Eventually, the dark charcoal circles around his eyes and the smoky cloak hovering above his shoulders faded.
“She just eased his Bends,” Lyssandra said, pleasant surprise in her voice. “That’s incredible.”
Milly, who was tucking into a rack of ribs, chimed in. “Tactically useful, too.”
“I can do it ten times a day.” Tabitha flashed a shy smile at Felodin before turning to walk over to Lucas. The unconscious man didn’t need tending, but she made a show of checking his bandages, anyway.
