Frozen Soul, and other works: Chapter 98

FWOOSH!

A bolt of hellfire in the shape of an arrow nested itself in the eye of one of the Slime Zombie Dwarves, dropping it to the ground with its friends. It had been a long time since I’d last played with the bow I got from Merkath back before the liberation of Duskhaven, and truthfully the bow wasn’t up to my current level on just the raw damage side of things.

Wrath of Demons
Type	Bow	Rank	Rare
Damage	80 – 100	Damage Type	Hellfire
This bow was made from the bones of demons, and strung with the hair of a Greater Succubus. It exists solely to inflict the tortures of the lower planes upon the living. These bows are often carried by mid-level demons or their allies. Requires: Evil Alignment +20 Attack +40 DEX All damage dealt by this weapon is Hellfire damage. Hell’s Quiver – Spend 1 MP to generate 1 arrow. Arrow is made of hellfire and disappears after use. Applied when bow is drawn with no arrow on the string. Inferno Arrow – Spend 1 MP to coat normal or magical arrow with hellfire, allowing it to be fired from the bow. Applied when bow is drawn with arrow on the string. Imbued: Lifeseeker – Will only hit living creatures. Ignores shields and armor. Cannot attack Undead or Constructs. Passes through nonliving material as though it were not there. Enchanted: Demoncaller – When delivering the killing blow, there is a 5% chance of the soul of the victim being sacrificed to summon a demon of the target’s level. Demons called in this way serve the wielder of this bow for 48 hours, after which time they are released, but remain on this plane. The wielder, or any other creature, must use normal methods to persuade or coerce the demon into serving past that time.

However, these Slime Zombies had a particular weakness to Hellfire, so that more than made up for the lackluster damage. My MP regen had progressed to the point where I could fire an arrow a second from the bow, and my MP would regenerate faster than I was using it.

Unlike other times when we were venturing into the unknown, Yukiko and Nithroel were in the lead now. Together, they formed a shield wall, relying on Kylana’s conjurations to keep the enemy from flanking us when we couldn’t find natural choke points, while the rest of us used whatever ranged attacks we had on the Slime Zombies. It was a far more cautious approach than I liked, but seeing how the Minotaur’s tentacle had tried to ‘convert’ Yukiko, we were taking no chances.

We used our magic as sparingly as possible, not wanting to run out if we were caught by a large group of the zombies. Lord Necron’s trial was still too fresh in our minds, and none of us wished to push our luck with these not-quite-undead. There was too much we didn’t know. Even the Travelers were nervous. Would getting ‘converted’ send us for respawn? Or would we be trapped until we were killed? Would that conversion last even after respawn? We just didn’t know. As far as I knew, we were the first to discover this particular brand of nasty.

I don’t know how long these things had been here, but clearly it was long enough to collect a sizeable army of minions. So far, in addition to that minotaur, we’d killed Slime Zombie versions of Dwarves, Gnomes, and Giant Spiders. LOTS of giant spiders. But as we pressed forward, our numbers grew. Fifty enemies lay dead in our wake, and I’d been fortunate to have the kill shot on three which had spawned a trio of Imps. The addition of extra Hellfire only made the killing go quicker, and the imps appreciated the chance to cackle madly and throw flames at any enemy they saw without restraint.

This natural dungeon (and I was calling it a dungeon, even though we hadn’t seen any indication saying we were entering one) was a fairly simple one, so we made fairly good time getting to the end of the first floor. Which was good, because there was crap all in terms of loot, and the zombies didn’t grant much XP, since many of them were lower-level creatures. The only thing that could be said for it is that I was building my long-neglected Archery skills.

Finally, we came to a subterranean lake. Oh, and almost a hundred of the fucking slime zombies. Most were kobolds, but at the core there were four Drow. And they were armed! These were the first slime zombies we had seen that still possessed arms and armor, so either they were new additions, or they were the elites. I was betting on the second option.

Slime Zombie Kobold

Monstrous Humanoid (Altered) Male

Level 65 Zombie

Slime Zombie Drow

Drow Elf (Altered) Male

Level 90 Zombie

Slime Mistress Onceh

Drow Elf (Altered) Female

Level 90 Zombie / Lightning Sorceress

Titles: Thunderchild

Seeing how we’d made ourselves very noticeable, the slime zombies were already moving to attack us. Quickly, I called out orders. “Kylana, I want flame walls to channel them into the entrance. Yukiko and Nithroel, form the shield wall. You imps, go wild! Burn all the enemies you see before you. Della, ready healing for when that sorceress unleashes magic. Everyone else, ranged attacks. This doesn’t look like the final boss, so make sure you conserve your mana.” Even as I spoke, the group was already springing into action. This is why I liked working with the same crew, rather than pick up groups. Even when dealing with other members of the guild, it was hard to get this level of cohesion until you started on the really high-level raids.

Oh sure, in older games you could just teleport home and then go on a quick dungeon with your guildies, but that wasn’t possible when dealing with games like AAO or WoD. Sure, there were spells to teleport to major cities or certain landmarks, and spells to summon guild members to help in the dungeon, but what happened when the dungeon was done? There was no ‘fast travel’. You might have days of travel from the nearest teleport spot you’d unlocked to where you were before, which is why raid planning took so much more effort. You had to think of logistics.

But I didn’t have time to think about such things right now. I bit back a curse as I saw the Slime Mistress throw a lightning bolt towards the front. But… it exploded into a ball of lightning, but didn’t touch us, instead focusing on shocking as many of the slime zombie kobolds as possible. When I saw the slime zombies suddenly get larger and faster, I understood.

“LIGHTNING BUFFS THESE THINGS! I’M ON THE MAGE!” After all, if fire was their bane, it made sense that another element would be a boon to them. Following up on my pronouncement, I began focusing fire on the Slime Mistress. Unfortunately, her Lightning Shield was strong enough that my Hellfire arrows couldn’t pierce it in a single strike. But Quantity has a Quality all its own.

Three shots from the magic bow, and her shield was down. The fourth shot got to her just before she finished recasting her Lightning Shield, setting her on fire. Kylana and the imps laid down hellfire as the boosted slime zombies redoubled their attacks, while Della made sure to keep laying healing on the tanks and removing the Paralysis whenever they got hit by slime.

The three unnamed drow tried to form a protective barrier between the Slime Mistress and us, but without the lightning shield, they were vulnerable, especially as the burning hellfire began jumping from slime zombie to slime zombie in the press of bodies. Finally, (FINALLY!) the Slime Mistress fell, her corpse burning under the ‘tender graces’ of the hellfire.

And from the ashes of her corpse rose a creature with a body that seemed to be made wholly of smoke and flame. A huge, muscled creature it was, and with great horns upon its head, obscured and highlighted by the flames. Its eyes were like red coals, and in one hand it held a mighty sword wreathed in hellfire, and in the other it wielded a four-thronged whip of the fires of hell. I knew what this creature was, but it was Kylana that spoke first, almost in reverence, as the imps knelt at the sight of the creature.

“A Ba’alor! You summoned a Ba’alor to this plane!”

At that sound, the ba’alor moved, turning to view us for the first time. When I stepped forward, bow in hand, a deep, chuckling sound that seemed to come from the very walls around us greated me. “So, you are the one who has brought me forth? Very well, mortal. For two days time, I shall serve, in accordance with the magic that brought me here. But do not think you will escape unscathed when that time is up for thinking to order one of the eternal legion as though he were a mere imp.”

I sighed, and said, “Yeah, that’s what normally happens when you accidentally summon things way bigger than yourself. But we’ll just see what happens when we get to that point, won’t we?”

Turning my attention away from the pissed off demon, I checked the corpses. For the first time since we’d started fighting Slime Zombies, there was actual loot!

Stormfury’s Spellstaff
Type	Staff	Rank	Rare
Damage	200 – 235	Damage Type	Lightning
This staff, made of iron inlaid with silver, has been infused with runes of power granting the wielder great control over the Lightning element. It can also be used in melee, where the electricity it holds will shock those who come in contact with it, save the wielder. Durability: 150/150 Requires: Level 85 +100 Attack +200 INT +50% to all Lightning effects. -50% to MP cost of all Lightning effects. +50% to range and area of all Lightning Effects. Enchanted: Shocking – All damage dealt by this staff is Lightning damage.

Curse of Mercy
Type	Ring	Rank	Rare – Cursed
Mercy is a virtue to some, but a terrible weakness to others. One who wears this ring is prohibited from harming their foes. They may increase the power of their allies or shield them from harm, but they may not inflict damage on an enemy. This ring cannot be removed once worn unless the curse is suppressed temporarily. +400 to all stats All healing spells 40% more effective. All healing spells cost 40% less. Cursed: Merciful – Cannot damage foes by any means. Even area effects will do no damage to enemies caught in the area.

Stormcaller’s Spider Sigil
Type	Tool	Rank	Unique – Quest
This holy symbol is clearly dedicated to Lolth, the Spider Queen. However, there are some unique features to this badge, as it has the image of a lightning bolt behind the spider, and it is made of corrupted Mithril. Cannot be destroyed. +20 to all stats when worn. (Increases to +200 if wearer follows Lolth.) Spidervenom – If wearer does not follow Lolth, this holy symbol may inflict Demon Spider Venom on him at random. Deals 20 HP per second damage for 10 minutes. Poison cannot happen more than once in an hour. Lightningforged - +30% to Lightning Resistance

New Quest Added! The Stormcaller’s Fate It is rare for a drow to have talent with the primal weather magics, and yet the drow you met as Slime Mistress Onceh was one of them. Taking her holy symbol to the temple of Lolth in Have Dorei may allow you to find out more about her.
Rank	D
Success	Take the Stormcaller’s Spider Sigil to the Temple of Lolth in Have Dorei.
Failure	Keep the Sigil for yourself.
Reward	Unknown

There was some gold as well, which was nice, but really, the items weren’t things I could use. Though I could see putting the cursed ring on someone for kicks. The quest item, though, was pretty interesting. Drow tended to be more shadow/darkness focused than something like lightning, and that Slime Mistress had a title and subclass, even after being zombified. That meant she probably used to be someone important.

I was about to tell the ba’alor that we’d be searching for the source of all these slime zombies, when suddenly the room shook, and it felt like someone was shouting in my head.

IMPUDENT FOOL! YOU DARE COME TO MY LAIR AND DESTROY MY PLAYTHINGS? YOU WILL BE THE FIRST OF MY NEW ARMY TO CONQUER THIS WORLD!

“Oh, looks like that fight woke someone up.”

Previous Chapter Table of Contents Next Chapter

Be sure to read my published works!

Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):

Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT

Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy LitRPG):

Volume 1 - Tutorial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB

Volume 2 - Beginning the Journey https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VR7M41/

Volume 3 - Wyrmwood https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072QKVBYV

Volume 4 - To the Deeps https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073QSD9S4