Rune Seeker

“Huddle!” Seena demanded, and the entire party dashed in beside her as she activated her powerful defensive ability. Flames gushed out of the mantle hanging at her back at the same time she swept her arms across in front of herself.

Except, this time, instead of massive wings of flames curling around the party to shield them, it looked more like petals wrapping them in their fiery embrace.

Standing there in what seemed like a budding flower, Hiral didn’t spare the time to inspect it, instead adding the power of his runes and Edicts to their protection. Rejection, Increase, Sealing, and Dreamingmade the flames – and their defensive properties – more real, just as The Fourth Crusade unleashed its breath.

The world turned red; the dragon’s strafing run across the length of the plateau engulfing everything upon it. Even Hiral’s sensory domain got consumed by the strange energy, though he felt the combined domains attacking the Hidden Boss in the second before he lost his connection. For all the good they did, the lightning and fiery vines bouncing harmlessly off the plate-like scales covering its body.

Guess we can’t rely on the domains to do all the work for us this time.

But, while the domains didn’t seem to do any damage to the Boss, neither did the dragon’s attack manage to punch through the party’s powerful defensive abilities. Just a few seconds after the strange crimson energy had seemed to swallow everything in the dungeon, it faded.

A wide divot had been carved out of the ground ahead of and behind the group’s bubble of safety, while the rest of the plateau sported random scars in the stone. Even Hiral’s spectral amphitheatre had sustained damage, with cracks along the walls, and significantly less spectator’s filling the stands.

Still, a quick check showed the buffs remained at full power, and even in the two seconds he looked, more audience members filed out of tunnel entrances he’d never noticed before.

“You still live?” the dragon’s voice echoed through the dungeon. “Then I’ll need to handle things more… personally.”

“Good,” Seena said, uncrossing her arms to release her defensive ability. Peeling back like petals blooming, Hiral couldn’t help but look at the beauty of it – like they stood in the center of a flower – before a new notification popped up.

You have been buffed by Full Bloom.

Inflict 15% more damage for 30 seconds.

“Oh, ability evolution,” Seena whistled, explaining the new buff.

Hiral didn’t have a chance to ask the party leader any more about her new ability before The Fourth Crusade landed on one end of the plateau, the ground shaking beneath the behemoth’s weight. Almost as long as the wings were wide – though that included the tail and long neck – the dragon took up more than a third of the available space. From all sides, bolts of lightning and fiery vines assaulted it, but it didn’t even seem to notice them.

Those scales are something else. If this was a lost dungeon… I bet we could take some. Then again, we did find the Prince of the Swamp out in the real world, maybe this dragon is still alive somewhere?

Hiral’s eyes went to the familiar, distant crescent-shaped mountain peak for just a second, before turning his full attention to the monster before them – it didn’t deserve anything less.

“Plan, Boss?” Yanily asked.

“Is your sponsor going to be annoyed if we kill this thing?” Seena asked.

“Nah, doesn’t seem like they’re on the same team,” Yanily said.

“Good. Plan is – kill it.”

“Simple, I like that,” Yanily said, spear spinning in his hands and thunder beginning to roll off it.

“Romin, let’s see how much Wallop can make the dragon hate him,” Seena said with a tap on the tank’s shoulder.

“That’s the shoulder tap I was telling you about,” Hiral whispered.

“Come, trespassers,” The Fourth Crusade said, and took a rumbling step forward. “Show me your resolve in death.”

“You heard the dragon, Wallop,” Romin said, and the still-miniaturized Runeoceros charged forward. As if it was comical such a small animal would charge a beast as massive as the dragon, The Fourth Crusade’s head tilted to the side at the oncoming challenger. Except, with each step Wallop took, the Rune-o grew in size. Starting no bigger than an average dog, Wallop quickly ballooned to the size of a horse-drawn wagon, the earth shaking in time with his steps.

A pulse of solar energy, and a Rune of Rejection formed behind him, launching him ahead at more than triple the speed he’d been running. Like a huge, armored, and horned battering ram, Wallop slammed into the front-right claw of TheFourth Crusade. The impact sent a shockwave rolling out in all direction, while the Hidden Boss let out a surprised roar.

Surprised, but not pained.

As Wallop rebounded off, red glowing around his horn like he’d used an Infuriate ability, the dragon’s claw lifted into the air, the scales barely even scratched.

“Tough one,” Romin said.

“Let’s see how tough,” Hiral said right back, raising his buffed RHCs to take aim. Complete with Piercing Shot+ and a full Dual Power Attack+, he was – admittedly – expecting big things. A pull of both triggers at the same time kicked his weapons up and back, while a combined blast the size of his chest rocketed towards the dragon.

Like it sensed the power of the attack coming, the Boss’s eyes snapped to the incoming blast, and its raised claw to intercept. But, instead of trying to take the blast on its intimidating hide, a field of red energy seeped out the seams between the white scales, forming a solid wall just a few feet in front of the tips of the claws.

“Foolish…” The Fourth Crusade began, until Hiral’s shot shattered the hastily-created shield, then slammed into the claw behind. Though it’d lost more than three-quarters of its power busting down the wall, a sharp crack echoed across the plateau at the impact. This time, the dragon let out a pained roar.

Honestly, considering how much oomph that shot had, a cracked scale was a lot less than what Hiral had expected. He’d just hit the dragon with more than thirty combined RHC shots.

“A really tough one,” Hiral added to Romin’s earlier comment, then sheathed the RHCs on his thighs – they weren’t going to be enough for this particular enemy. Instead, reaching up over his shoulder, Hiral drew the Greatsword of Amin Thett and ignited its fallen-star form. Six feet long and more than a foot wide, gravity around Hiral pulsed as he threaded energy into the sword. Small rocks lifted off the ground to float beside him, and again the dragon’s eyes turned to him. “I’m not the one you should be watching.”

It was at that point, The Fourth Crusade seemed to notice there were only four party members where they’d previously been six.

A bamf on its back, and Seeyela appeared out of a burst of purple fire, feet quickstepping as she dashed across the Boss’s spine until she reached where its wings sprouted. Daggers out and in so fast they were a blur, she struck the joint with a needling barrage of stabs. One, two, ten times she knifed, though not a single one managed to punch through.

“Delicate Balance,” Seena said into the party chat. “Ten percent.”

Just like that, everybody who had the ability, activated it, their health all dropping by the aforementioned amount in the Party Interface. The next second, Seena clawed her hand across in front of herself, a Cinder scarring across the Hidden Boss’s massive chest, though it didn’t seem to do any damage.

“Yan, you’re up!” the party leader said, and thunder boomed above them all.

Seeyela slashed twice more with the dagger in her left hand, while she dropped to a knee and then leapt straight up to vanish with a Bamf. Not a second too soon, either, with the massive bolt of Skyfall+ slamming into the dragon’s back.

Lightning almost twenty feet wide cascaded across the red-and-white scales then arced up along the wings, while the ground beneath the monster’s claws cracked outward from the impact. Another roar of pain and outrage – of disbelief – resounded from the dragon’s maw, and it staggered to the side.

On its back, lightning clearing, Yanily resolved, his spear driven directly through a single scale, but only by about six inches. Even with all that, it wasn’t enough to overwhelm the natural defenses they were up again. Not that Yanily was finished, though.

Another boom of thunder, and the man leapt into the air, wings of storm and lightning spreading from his back to give him some extra lift. Forty feet up in a second – The Fourth Crusade still stumbling – and he flipped in the air to dive straight back down. Lightning pooled around his hand, while high above, Seeyela Bamf’d a second, a third time, even higher.

Wham! Yanily’s charged palm slammed into the butt of the spear, driving it another few inches into the thick armor like a nail.

“ENOUGH!” The Fourth Crusade roared, whirling on the spot far faster than anything its size had a right to.

Without a grip on his spear, Yanily was thrown from the monster’s back, though he controlled his momentum with his own extended wings. A twist at the waist, and he hit the ground like a cat, sliding backward while his feet and hands churned up the loose dirt to slow him down.

“You’ve angered me,” the dragon seethed. “Know your place and…” it trailed off when it seemed to notice Seeyela standing amidst the party. She even gave it a little wave. Then, realizing something was not right, The Fourth Crusade’s head snapped up high above where she’d been fleeing from it, only to find a star falling directly towards it.

Not just any star, either.

After using the Rune of Exchange to swap places with Seeyela, Gravity and Rejectionwere rocketing Hiral back towards the ground. Small booms and horizontal shockwaves followed in his wake as he brought his sword around to aim at one specific target.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Rejection and Impact pooled around his blade mid-swing, dulling the edge just a split second before he smashed it into the end of Yanily’s spear. Carrying what felt like the weight of a mountain in the blow, the force combined with the placement of the spear – and the already weakened scale – blasted past what remained of the dragon’s defenses.

The spear finally punched through the dragon’s armor at the same time a sheet of black opened across its back. The portal swallowed Hiral and spit him out to the side – to land skidding beside the rest of the party – while Yanily’s spear exited The Fourth Crusade’s gut in a shower of bloody gore that soaked the stone beneath its feet, even as the weapon cratered the ground.

Still, despite the brutality of the wound, it was little more than a large needle compared to the size of the dragon’s body. Roaring and spinning, the Boss lashed its bladed tail in the party’s direction. Glowing fiercely with white energy, it seemed to promise a quick death to whoever got in its way.

Wallop took on that challenge, Impact glowing around his own horn to intercept the attack. The two nearly unstoppable forces met with a tremendous crash, creating a concussive shockwave that sent both the Rune-o and tail flying in opposite directions.

The Fourth Crusade growled as the recoil spun his body right back around to face the party, then slammed his four foreclaws into the ground and arched his back down, head up. Like he was taking a massively deep breath, his plated chest expanded outward.

I’ve seen this before… the Dracolich!

“Breath attack coming!” Hiral warned.

“My skill’s still on cooldown,” Seena said. “Scatter.”

“No,” Yanily quickly interrupted, leaping in front of the party. “He’ll just strafe us again. I’ve got this.” At those words, it was Yanily’s turn to lean back like he was inhaling. Energy pooled in a sphere directly in front of his mouth as colors bled from the dungeon around him.

His own breath attack, but… will it be enough? Against a true dragon like this? He’s going to need help. What if I…?

Hiral slammed energy into his time runes as he felt Resonance of Heroes activating behind the spearman. At the chance activating. This wasn’t one of the Building ResonanceEchoes that would charge up before attacking. No, the blast would come in tandem with Yanily’s attack, but since it was coming from Hiral’s ability, he could feel the shape of it.

What’s more, he could hear his Primal Chord running in tune with the spearman’s Primal Chord of the Storm. Maybe it was because of the chance meeting between the Chords, or the addition of his domain that absorbed other abilities, but none of that mattered – he had an idea.

One that would even the field.

Reaching out with Enduring Mind+, Hiral took hold of the Resonance Echo forming, then extended streamers of solar energy to his Edicts and into his Interspatial Ring. He wasn’t trying to alter Yanily’s PIM or anything nearly as complicated as that, and threads of Connection quickly formed between his targets. Increase, Dreaming, Breaking, and Unsealing each played their own roles, and just like that, he was ready.

“Let’s go, buddy,” Hiral whispered as he let his time runes fade, and a bone-white fog billowed out of his Interspatial Ring.

Within the blink of an eye, a second dragon appeared on the plateau, Drake’s massive body even larger than normal. The party stood just under the Dracolich’s head as it melded with the Resonance Echo – further empowered and made real by Hiral’s runes – its own breath attack charging in front of its spread jaws.

All four eyes on The Fourth Crusade’s head widened in surprise, but they’d all committed to what was to come, and the six-legged dragon released its crimson breath. The corrosive energy tore towards the party like a jet of pressurize blood, the ground beneath it eroding as it passed.

At the same time, Yanily and Drake launched their own attacks, the condensed energy of Yanily’s Dragon’s Breath mixing with the cold-blue of death found in Drake’s. Like the second breath ignited the first, the two streams combined, exploding in power and light, and raced ahead to meet The Fourth Crusade’s challenge.

And meet they did.

Another tremendous collision shook the dungeon – though it dwarfed the impact between Wallop and the tail – and sent walls of destruction shooting perpendicular across the middle of the plateau. The ground fractured and cracked at the energy’s passing, and even Hiral’s Domain of the Sun+ couldn’t completely stand up to the assault, the spectral amphitheatre parting.

While the buffs remained, it was clear the energy construct wouldn’t be able to repair itself from this, and the same could be said for the plateau in front of them. Where the two forces had met, a crater dominated the space, fifty feet wide and just as deep. On each side, canyons carved through the stone until they exited the sides of the mountain. Beyond that, the Hidden Boss stood shocked the party had not only survived its onslaught, but also countered it.

“Good job,” Hiral told Drake as the Dracolich’s time passed, its body turning back to white solar smoke and retreating into his ring.

“Now it’s our turn,” Seena said, solar energy billowing off her as she thrust her hands for the sky. Flaming Spearing Roots followed her motion underneath The Fourth Crusade. And, while most of them shattered against its powerful scales, one found its way in through the hole Yanily’s spear had opened. “Spread out. Hit it from all sides. Don’t let it breathe again.”

Hiral, Yanily, and Right shot ahead at the command – a thread of Attraction and Connection from Hiral returning Yanily’s spear to him – and he reached the crater first. Rejection launched him up and over, while the other two dashed to the sides to pincer the dragon.

The dragon growled, its eyes on the coming attacks, and it took a step forward. A pillar of toxic green shot up as soon as its claw came down, washing across its entire front leg, forcing it to rear back. Venom leaked from where the scales met, but it was impossible to tell if it’d penetrated. That second of distraction was all the party needed.

A portal opened above The Fourth Crusade, Left swooping out on his Wings of Anella, and then The Pack shaped at his side. Dropping down from above, the six, spined wolves lashed out with claws and powerful jaws, latching on to anything they could. Wings, joints, and spikes, the new summons took hold and refused to let go as they snarled and scratched. For the double’s part, another shape appeared behind Left, this one of a man in a flowing robe, his four arms pressed together in front of him in prayer, and with all three eyes closed– the Herald of Peace.

A buff notification quickly followed in Hiral’s eyes.

You have been buffed by Aura of Peace.

Standing within the Aura of Peace grants you a 25% chance to resist hostile debuffs, while reducing solar energy consumption used on abilities or items by 15%.

Note: Leaving the radius of Aura of Peace removes all associated buffs until re-entry.

Left wasn’t finished there, though, his own hands slapping together in front of him like he, himself, was praying, and a circle of energy rippled outward. Extending a hundred feet in every direction from the double, the magic circle seemed to reach its limits, then dropped straight down – passing harmlessly through The Fourth Crusade to etch lines and scripture into the stone ground. Another buff notification quickly followed.

You have been buffed by Circle of Peace.

Standing within the Circle of Peace grants you a 20% damage reduction.

Note: Leaving the Circle of Peace removes damage reduction until re-entry.

Dashing in, Hiral spotted one of The Fourth Crusade’s claws swiping in at him from the right. He probably could parry it with the Greatsword of Amin Thett, but he saw another opportunity beyond that. Like the Chord agreed with him, the melody whirled around as he pushed off with a burst of Rejection, flipping up and over the as the claw barreled past below. A Vengeful Lost Echo promptly appeared and exploded within the palm of the monster’s hand, the flash drawing its eyes long enough for Hiral to land. Two more steps, and the greatsword spun in his hand as he multiplied the gravity, then drove it down.

Directly through the top of The Fourth Crusade’s other front claw on that side. Scales that had resisted some of their strongest attacks shattered beneath the mountain of weight empowered with Separation, Breaking, and Increase – as did the ground beneath. A thread of Sealing left the sword activated – the claw pinned to the ground – and Hiral flipped off to the side and manifested his own claws of Separation.

A column of purple flames, and a beast seemingly made of raging lightning showed the pinned claw was the least of the Hidden Boss’s worries. Then the fireballs arrived, completely engulfing the stationary dragon’s front half in flames.

Bellowing fury and pain, the sheer volume of the roar pushed back the flames, while the dragon lashed out with his tail and three of his claws at anybody close enough. One claw got punched back by a haymaker from Right, the dragon outright losing that contest of strength. Another tried to close on Yanily, but the man burst straight up as a bolt of thick lightning, evading the attack, before striking back down with a second Skyfall+ that drove the dragon to the ground.

That made the third claw – the one trying to backhand Hiral into paste – crumple awkwardly under the beast’s weight even before it reached him. The Fourth Crusade’s chin slammed down into the stone, Seeyela riding it down as she sprinted along the long neck. How she managed to stay upright during the whole thing could only be attributed to gravity shenanigans until she leapt ahead and Bamf’d.

Carrying her momentum with her, she appeared beside the dragon’s head, though she’d changed the direction of her leap – straight toward the great beast. Coronas of green energy burst from her weapons – one of her cooldowns – and she stabbed ahead to drive both of her Fangs of the Lady directly into one of the dragon’s four eyes. Unlike the scales, the squishy orb did nothing to stop the strike, and Seeyela buried her daggers, hands, and wrists in the eye socket.

Completely consumed by pain and surprise, The Fourth Crusade’s head snapped to the side to try to get away from the pain. Except, there was an angry, charging Runeoceros right there.

Wallop lived up to his name, with bone – and scale – crunching ferocity, his Charge powered by Runes of Rejection and Impact. Scales on that side of the dragon’s head collapsed as the jawbone shattered at the joint, and sent the whole head and neck recoiling in the other direction.

A Bamf got Seeyela safely away before the head smacked back down to the ground. Stunned by the latest blow, the dragon’s head sluggishly lifted off the ground, lower jaw hanging crooked and blood gushing out between the teeth. Across its back and wings, Left and his Pack tore at the leathery wings, shredding everything they could to make sure the thing stayed grounded even if managed to free its pinned claw.

Normally, that’d probably be a big deal to a dragon, but even its addled mind recognized the larger threat – the one directly in front of it.

Feet spread and one arm back, Seena held a bow of condensed plasma as tall as she was, the arrow glowing like a lance drawn directly from the sun. Stone by her feet visibly melted at the heat, and the party leader narrowed her eyes as she took aim.

Panic fueling it, the dragon slammed its two claws on the right side into the stone to push itself off the ground. It got maybe three inches up before another titanic punch blasted one of the arms out from under it. The blow didn’t shatter any of the scales or break bones, but it did throw the appendage out wide, removing its support.

As for the other limb, a condensed beam of Dragon’s Breath struck the large elbow, bending the joint backwards. It held for another second before The Fourth Crusade’s own weight became too much. The sound of breaking bone and tearing muscle screeched across the battlefield, along with the dragon’s pain. Even as it toppled forward again, though, the Boss struggled to keep its head high and moving so Seena couldn’t unleash the clearly devastating ability with accuracy at anything other than its heavily armored body.

Too bad for it, Hiral appeared in the air nearby, lashing claws of Separation, Energy, and Expansion at it from a distance. Blades of cutting force carved into the side of its face, the scales holding – for now. More and more came, though, one even taking the other eye on that side, and finally the beast had to turn its attention on him. Wide went the terrible maw – complete with teeth that made swords look small – and it roared at him.

At least, what it thought was him.

As the two eyes on the other side of the head focused on where Hiral had been, they instead found Seena standing in the air, her bow drawn.

Terrible realization passed across the dragon’s face as it put together Hiral had Exchanged their places. Now it stood there with its mouth wide open, Seena barely a dozen feet away.

As if in slow motion, muscles in the side of the broken jaw tried to drag the mouth closed, only to find threads of crimson thread looped through its teeth. Connecting its top jaw to spines along its own long neck, and its bottom jaw to its claw pinned by the Greatsword of Amin Thett, the threads wouldn’t be able to hold it long.

They didn’t need to.

The one extra second they kept the mouth open was enough for Seena to release her arrow, and a line of glowing plasma connected the party leader to the inside of the dragon’s throat.

Where it exploded, because of course it would.