Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Two


    <strong>Vnarl</strong>


    The troll reflects on the events of thest couple months, and not for the first time, has to admit getting captured by Thedeim was probably the best thing thats ever happened to him and his party. In the moment, it was painful and humiliating, but looking back, it really helped recenter them all.


    They started out so idealistic, wanting to help people. It didnt take long for the politics of arge guild to grind that notion away. It was all just for the money, and power was all that really mattered. Even Mlynda and Hark were growing colder, more callous. Much as hed like to throw the me at the feet of the old guild, he has to shoulder at least some of the me, as the leader.


    Going through the punitive gauntlet was a reforging,ing back to basics, gaining perspective, all of the things that make people take a step back and examine what theyve been doing, and realize how far theyve fallen.


    His party his <em>friends</em> are still cocky, confident, and rough, but theres a happiness and satisfaction in doing guild jobs now. And <em>right</em> now, all three of them are looking forward to this particr quest. Thedeim has been an amazing ce to delve, but he still doesnt have any areas really designed for the really strong to let loose. This fight with the Maw, though they can go nuts. Well, within reason.


    The dungeon is smart to not try to order the adventurers what to do, and instead give points of interest and set them free. Vnarls group is staying well away from the town, at least for the moment. Theyll need toe back to hit the templeplex, but that cane after they spring a couple of the ambush sites. He and his friends might not be as bad around civilians as they used to be, but none of them are stupid enough to think theyre good with PR. Better to leave the Crystal Shield to that, while he and hispanions have some fun getting messy.


    And oh, do they intend to make a mess. While most of the adventurers had to refit quickly to not be vulnerable to the metal affinity monsters and foes, Vnarls group doesnt use much in the way of metal. The most significant metal was his swords, but a pair of unique wooden clubs from Thedeims dwellers solved that easily. He heard the Voice call them cricket bats, though he doesnt see anything about crickets or bats about them. Just another one of the weird things about Thedeim.


    Whatever the reason for the names, they feel good in his hands, enough that he might keep them around as a backup.


    How close are we? whispers Hark, drawing Vnarl from his reflections.


    Close, answers Mlynda, her eyes on the map.


    Vnarl smiles and shifts his grip on the bats. Well go hard on this one. Thedeim wasnt sure just how tough things would be in here. Id rather have this first target be boring than have to test out those weird ant healers.


    Hark shrugs. Theyre probably really good.


    Mlynda nods and puts away the map. Probably, but time spent healing is time not spent fighting. If the clergy is as tough as theyre expecting, we wont want to miss any of that.


    Vnarl nods at that as they near what should be thest corner. Keep an eye out. Those least are supposed to be pretty nasty, and theres rumors of stronger versions. I bet if we can kill one without too much damage, the guild and the dungeon both will reward us for the body.


    Mlynda nods and acts casual, but uses hand signs to convey what she senses.


    *Danger in walls, ambush around corner. Hark focus on foes in open down the tunnel, Vnarl on the ones that burst out.*


    Vnarl grins again. Sounds like a n to me. Who doesnt love getting credit for a quest twice?


    Hark hefts a boomerang as they near the corner, and gets the ambush started in a way uniquely suited to himself: he arcs it around the bend. The trio hurries forward, rounding the corner as they hear the impact of the heavy throwing weapon. Their particr style ofbat should work best if they can get ahead of the enemies in the wall, letting Vnarl handle one side and Hark the other, with Mlynda providing support as needed.


    Around the corner, they see a group of five armored people, a mix of dwarf and elf, as well as a pair of thinlinks and a forgemaster. One of the elves looks to be out cold from the opening attack, and Hark seamlessly catches and throws the returning boomerang, before following up with a few more. Behind Vnarl, the des of the least stab through the wall, starting to tear it down as they try to salvage their ambush.


    The troll grins andys into the exposed des with the clubs, striking at the sides and the few joints he can see, working to make it difficult for the concealed enemies toe out to join the frey.


    Harks projectiles bounce off shields or are swatted out of the air by the thinlinks, but his skill and choice of weapon make it simple for him to guide them back to beunched again. Fighting Hark is like fighting a deranged juggling act, and thats without Mlynda interfering.


    Strangle grasp! she shouts, mming her staff into the cave floor, and rapidly enhancing the growth of the fungus all around. Vnarl would have thought shed have a harder time using fungi instead of normal nts, but from the tendrils of mycellia trying to tie up the thinlinks, it doesnt seem like shes having too much trouble.


    Vnarl isnt having too much trouble just yet either. He pulps the first disturbing head of a least that tries to get through the wall, but all that does it make it difficult for the thing to see. Hell probably have to crack legs to incapacitate the least, if he remembers the information about them right. Vitals mostly in the torso. Without a good stab, hes not going to get at them easily, but break all the limbs and the things cant do anything anyway. Mlyndas work with the fungus also seems to be holding the wall together, further slowing the leasts progress.


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    He smashes another de, and is pretty sure hes basically aplished that with at least one of the monsters. That sure looks like four legs from one in the wall, with a smashed head, too. Thats going to be a nice impediment or not. The least suddenly vanishes, before it bursts through the wall. He sidesteps and prepares to counter, but the thing looks like it was used as a ram to batter through, and now he has a breach in the wall to keep him upied.


    His batssh out, crippling and cracking limbs and crushing the disgusting heads of the least. Busy as he is, he doesnt miss when another stuck least is ripped from the wall, and his bats dont miss cracking its carapace as a tentacle hurls it through the opening. For a moment, hes worried theyve managed to get the Harbingers attention, but this tentacle seems to have pretty defined form, for a tentacle.


    Mlynda! I think I just found a lesser! In the wall!


    On it! Sporeburst! The glowing fungi in the tunnel release countless fluorescing spores, lighting the breach for Vnarl, but he also knows they give Mlynda a lot more information than just sight.


    You good, Hark? the troll shouts to his teammate, ncing over his shoulder. The enemy team is having trouble dealing with Harks barrage, especially with Mlyndas mycelium tendrils impeding them. The frontliners are kept at bay by theshing fungi, while the ranged attackers cant get a moments respite to actually aim at the moving forest elf. Even worse for the foes, their thinlinks are slowly but surely getting tangled by the strangling grasp of the halflings spell.


    Honestly, in Vnarls opinion, the only reason theyre still going is the forgemaster working to keep armors from deforming too far, keeping des straight and sharp, and even seeming to have some kind of fire attack to burn away some of the mycelia. Its not a very reliable attack, but its probably the biggest thing keeping the forces of the Maw from being overwhelmed.


    Vnarl focuses back on his own fight, ducking a tentacle as he brings both bats down on the back of a least. The carapace shatters and the thing goes limp as Mlynda finally gets a good look at the lesser.


    Its like a huge centipede! Sharp legs like the least, thicker carapace, segments look like they can break away. Each has a pair of legs and one tentacleing out of the top. No head! Eyes on each segment!


    Vnarl curses at the information. Those tentacles arent going to care much about his clubs, unless he can somehow catch it between them. He needs something sharp to deal with those, but he doesnt have any metal!


    He catches a stab from a least on the t side of the bat and twists, snapping the leg off at the joint before he follows up with a strike to the body. The least might be designed to take punishment, but theres only so much the things can do against blunt force trauma.


    Fungal Tendrils! deres Mlynda, and Vnarl suppresses a groan at whatsing. Spores dig into the flesh of his arms, and though painful, its not whats making him groan. The vine whips are easy to control, its like having longer limbs. Fungi are a bit moreplex, though. Mlynda tried to exin it to him once, but it went well over his head. All he knows is the tendrils act like an extra set of limbsing out of his elbows.


    No matter how weird it feels, hes not going to pretend like its not a very potent enhancement, especially right now. Disarm! he shouts, as the tendrils dart forward and wrap around the forelegs of the next least, his bats crashing down on edge to neatly sever the limbs. He wanted something sharp, and now he has it. He uses the bats more like shields as heys into the least with their own sharp limbs, and he even smiles in triumph as he severs a tentacle that tries to slip through in the chaos.


    Speaking of chaos, this battle is the epitome of it, just how Vnarl and his team like it. You keep an enemy guessing, and they wont know what to react to! Ricochet! shouts Hark, and Vnarl hardly has to think as he follows up.


    Guard Slip! His bats and des feint and slip past the raised weapons of the least, the bats smashing into carapace as the des fly towards the lesser behind them.


    Fluorescing Burst! finishes Mlynda, the glowing spores suddenly strobing brightly as the three easily flow into the team attack.


    Blink and Youll Miss It!


    Harks boomerangs swerve and bounce around the entire tunnel, striking the dwellers from impossible angles. The thinlinks are overwhelmed by a surge of fungal growth, immobilizing the tricky monsters. The forgemaster is pummeled to dented scrap under the assault, sounding like someone threw a suit of armor down a tall flight of stairs.


    Vnarls tendrils, armed with least scythes, strike where the segments meet on the lesser, slicing through repeatedly and spilling ichor in the ambush space. He would have expected more of a mess from dicing apart a monster like that, and he''d also expect the segments to simply copse. Instead, they stay upright, though the coordination is severelycking now. His bats crack the carapace of the least still nearby, the sheer force sending them barreling back into their hiding ce.


    Mlyndas spores settle on the foes, growing quickly and incapacitating them. Whatever makes the lesser somehow able to handle being severed like that, it doesn''t help it against the invasive spores. The strobing stops and the trio takes a few moments to take in the aftermath of the fight. Vnarl shakes off the tendrils, though he slips the least des into his belt for useter.


    Anyone hurt? asks Mlynda, with both of the other two shaking their heads.


    I got cut up a bit, but Ill be fine, says the troll.


    I dont think theyre used to throwers. They didnt manage tond a hit. Might have gone worse if I didnt get lucky and hit what Im pretty sure was their mage first.


    Survivors? follows up the halfling, going down the quick checklist for after every battle.


    None on my end, looks like. The least and lesser are hard to put down without outright killing them.


    Hard to say. Hits to the head can be a bit weird, admits Hark as he looks over the fallen dwellers. Looks like theyre all breathing, at least.


    Check for loot and leave them. We dont have room for prisoners. If Thedeim wants them, he can send the ant healers for them, says Vnarl, and gets no argument. Theyre not going to feel bad if any of the ambushers die before getting medical help, but they also dont want to go executing people after the fact. As long as theyre not getting back up any time soon, thats fine by them.


    Besides, they have more important things to do than worry about the health of people who attacked them. For example: hitting as many ambushes before its time to converge on the temple. Not only is this a chance to really let loose, but theyll also be helping out. It looks like Vnarls group can handle the ambushes without too much problem, so taking more of them means less danger for their guildmates. And removing more danger here and now means less things toe and try to get them at the temple.


    As fun as the ambush was, things will only get more difficult as they close in on the Maw.