Chapter 8 - The Monument
Laera looked shocked as she came face to face with her look-alike, as well as with her former team.
"Hey there, little sis," the facsimile called out in a mocking tone. "I was wondering when I would run into you."
"Why are you here? With Frelich's team?"
"Well, when a certain little brat ditched him, he went tattling to his daddy."
"Fuck off," Frelich sneered at Elvira.
Elvira shrugged, ignoring Frelich's protest. "You remember his dad, right? Dreyfus, the Commissioner of the Anoran Parliament? The one our parents spend so much effort brown-nosing?"
"I wasn't trying to make things difficult back home," Laera protested. "I just needed to explore on my own."
"Oh, please," Elvira scoffed. "Spare me the excuses, Because 'Little Laera' finally decided that she wanted to try to be a rebellious teenager, I got pulled from the Wyvern Guild elections to fill your spot, all to appease the almighty Dreyfus and his entitled little boy."
Frelich swung around to face her. "Seriously? I'm right here."
"This is my older sister," Laera said to Lukas and the team. "She is obviously lousy at cordial conversation, which is ironic, as she's trying her luck in politics."
It was uncommon, but not rare, that siblings were both Adventurers. In fact, Lukas recalled a moment at the beginning of his journey when he'd met two redheaded sisters near the town of Tarot. After his engagement with the bandits, he'd gotten to know Fiona and her sister. While talking with them, he'd discovered that Fiona had been recently Scribed, and that Alanna was preparing to be Scribed the following year.
"Hate to leave this riveting conversation unfinished," Lukas interrupted, "but I think we need to get going." Lukas led his team towards the Anoran party, intending to go right through them.
"Not so fast," Elvira stepped in front of the group. "Where do you think you're going? I certainly hope that you are returning my sister to her team so that I can go back to my life."
"Down the hallway," Lukas replied. "Laera is with her team now, no 'returning' is necessary."
"Do you know what's down there?" Elvira asked rhetorically, knowing they didn't know. "Do you think we are just standing here enjoying each other's company? There is a Lich Boss up ahead. Even at our level, that means 'turn around.'"
Lukas hesitated, his team had faced a low-level lich before, but he knew that a boss-level lich could prove to be more than a handful for his team. He did have his Praise ability that was still unused. "Hey girls," Lukas said. "Are we ready for another lich fight?" He received four eager nods in response. The team continued past an enraged Elvira and the other Anorans.
"No!" Elvira exclaimed and stomped after him. "I'm not going to let my younger sister die because of the mindless arrogance of some hotshot."
Lukas was less upset than he would've been at her insults, because Elvira seemed genuinely concerned for her sister. "You're welcome to come 'babysit', just stay out our way."
Elvira huffed as she reluctantly accepted that she was not going to change his mind, and that Laera was intent on following him. She signaled for her team to follow her as she trailed Lukas' party.
They walked for several more paces, allowing Lukas to discuss a strategy with his team, until they reached the opening to a large room. Lukas' team entered the room with five extra Anorans in tow. In the middle of the room, stood their adversary. It was different from the last lich they had fought. It was taller, wore a long, white robe and a golden crown, and held a scepter in one of its bony hands. It looked like a haunted king or priest in an advanced state of decay.
Almost as intimidating, was the mass of the skeleton army behind it.
The Lich Boss surveyed its guests, almost with disinterest. Lukas heard Elvira muttering behind him. "This is a terrible idea."
The battle began as the undead mage raised its staff above its head and chanted its first incantation. An explosion of frost magic consumed the entire room. It was similar to Fiona's Ultimate, but at a much larger scale. Lukas triggered his Praise ability as the magic hit him, and then led his team forward. The swarm of skeletons charged to meet them.
Gemma, Fiona, and Laera fought through the bitter cold to take on the horde of skeletal minions while Lukas and Gwyn tackled the lich. The Anorans, for the most part, supported whatever Laera was doing. Elvira's priority was clear: protect her sister.
Focusing on reaching the lich, Lukas tanked several lightning spells, enduring the dulled pain and mitigated damage, until the ghostly sorcerer waved his scepter around, summoning a green cloud that produced numerous poison darts. Lukas dodged the volley, and the majority of the darts pelted Gwyn, who had been following close behind. Lukas felt the healing effect as the lich's potent poison worked in the Adventurers' favor. The path to the ghostly caster was still open, thanks to the skeleton-clearing efforts by the others. Lukas sprinted to close the gap. Magic energy sizzled off the scepter into Lukas' torso, knocking him back just a few inches. Chains emerged from the cavern floor and wrapped around the advancing Adventurer, halting his progress momentarily, but he broke through the weakened spell quickly.
The Lich Boss's skull contorted, the decaying flesh forming a look of surprise, as the sturdy young man closed in on its position. As a last resort, it threw up an ice wall to cover its retreat. A meteor strike smashed through the obstacle with concussive power. Lukas glanced over at the spellcaster; Elvira was watching his progress with great fascination. Lukas used his own Ultimate on the retreating boss. Magical ropes -- not wholly dissimilar to the chains the creature had just attempted to use on Lukas -- wrapped around the lich, holding the enemy in place. Gwyn's recently summoned Dire Wolf lunged forward and sunk its jaws into the lich, bringing it to the ground just as the restraints expired.
Lukas seized the opportunity and laid into the lich with his twin blades. Point-blank lightning spells lashed out at him, but Lukas had been efficient in reaching the Lich Boss and still had a few seconds of enhanced magical resistance remaining. More angry magical energy surged towards Lukas from the sorcerer, forcing him to respect the Lich Boss' raw power. Even while only taking twenty percent of the magical damage, Lukas still relied heavily on Gwyn's healing powers.
Unsure of why the Adventurer was, not only still alive, but seemingly unaffected by its magic, the undead sorcerer fought off the Adventurer and the Dire Wolf, managing to rise up and engage Lukas in melee combat with its scepter. Lukas' expert melee training combined with more assistance from Gwyn's lupine familiar overwhelmed the lich. The enemy's health was impressive, but Lukas' rapid, dual-weapon combinations of attacks was slashing away at it. Laera's planned silence spell hit the Lich Boss as Lukas' protection wore off; her timing impeccable as always.
He had forty more seconds to hack away at the boss -- and he needed it. Even with the close-combat weakness of the enemy, it was a brutal grind to whittle the Lich Boss down. As the silence approached the final seconds, Fiona teleported behind the lich to help Lukas deliver the final blows. The undead sorcerer collapsed under the relentless assault. The remaining skeletal army fell quickly to the team, no longer boosted by the undead king's aura.
The elven guests were shocked at how easily the boss had fallen. Elvira was especially stunned, and begrudgingly impressed. "How was that possible? You almost single-handedly defeated one of the toughest bosses I've ever seen."
"It was definitely a team effort," Lukas replied, though it still came out as a boast. He was proud of his girls, and they did provide a lot of support that enabled him to tackle the boss. "It was a lot closer than it looked, we had some lucky breaks." The other Anorans looked grumpy, uncomfortable basking in the glory of Lukas' victory.
The Adventurers collected and distributed the loot. The Anorans wanted half of it, but Fiona pushed back, using Lukas' excellent performance against the Lich Boss as her key bargaining chip. Elvira finally consented to a smaller share for the Anorans, despite protests from Frelich and the others. The disagreement hinted at a power struggle within the elven team. Elvira's support was bought with a single favor; she wanted to speak with Lukas privately.
Eight Adventurers filed back through the opening towards the stair landing as Elvira and Lukas hung back.
"I still think you're cocky," Elvira said, "but I owe you an apology. You won't get that from most Anorans. I'm sorry."
"I appreciate it," Lukas said with a smile. "Under that bratty exterior, you really just care for your sister."
"Yeah, well, she's living my dream right now," Elvira remarked. "I never broke free -- not even for a little while. I wanted to, but never worked up the courage. She not only took the leap, but found quite the handsome hunk to take it with."
"Thank you," Lukas grinned. "Just to let you know, I think the world of Laera."
"As the older sister," Elvira replied with a grin of her own, "it's my responsibility to embarrass her. She's enamored with you -- blushes every time you smile at her. She's probably hoping you take her virginity at some point."
Lukas willed every single muscle in his face to bury the sly smile that was begging to surface on his face. It was a noble effort, but Elvira caught on. "No way! You've already done it? My little sister lost her virginity before me?"
"Are we good to rejoin the others?" Lukas asked. "That curious face you have makes me worried, and I don't like to kiss and tell."
"Damn," the blonde elf feigned disappointment. "I was hoping for details. We can head out; I just wanted to get a feel for who you were. Also, I want to warn you, for Laera's sake -- my parents are not happy."
Lukas shrugged as they headed out of the cavern, unsure about what he could do about that.
