Part 6: Chapter 7

As the party descends into the catacombs beneath the Mad God's temple, they find a rather curious old man waiting not far beyond the entrance.

Costello: Crap, another conjurer. Okay, Skarn, Runsa, get ready to move in a pincer to-
Old Man: Fear not, joyman, for I mean you no harm. My name is Warren. Warren Angelus, if what I've heard is correct.
Kymas: Warren Angelus...? Costello, do not attack this man! If he is indeed Archmage Angelus, then he may be able to help us in our quest.
Skarn: ...So is he one of those friendly monsters that keeps randomly joining us?
Costello: I think I've heard of him. According to the tales, Archmage Warren Angelus was the mentor of Mangar, before he turned to the dark powers. But rumor has it that he was killed by Mangar shortly after the siege of Skara Brae.
Warren: I do not recall most of these things. My memories flicker and fluctuate like a fickle sea of faded thoughts and dreams.
Costello: Ooh... hang on, I need to write that one down.
Flamesack: Hold on. You can't remember anything? What about your spells? If you could just, you know, blow a hole in the side of Mangar's tower, it'd save us a lot of trouble.
Warren: Sadly, I have only a fraction of the power I supposedly once wielded. And there are terrible things in this dungeon; I doubt I would be able to handle them by myself. I could swear I caught sight of a dragon, not too long ago...
Runsa: ...A dragon?! Dammit, no! We only just survived spiders and hairy men with axes! The hell with this, I'm going back up whether you're all coming or not! I'm not going to die down in this dank hole like a-



Runsa: WIGHT!!!
Leif: Eh? You're not going to die like a wight? Well, good for you, but-

As the party realizes its peril, Warren joins the group and aids in driving back the new, more powerful foes of the catacombs. Costello's singing can barely be heard at first due to the echoing screams as Sir Runsa Lott is dragged off and torn into pieces by two wights. Also, the jade monks help.

By the way, wights can WITHER with their attacks to cause the OLD status, which make them immensely more dangerous than they would otherwise be.

Costello: ...Seeing as how an opening in the group has just come up, why don't we join forces with you, Archmage? If we continue along the paths that you once traversed, perhaps you will regain your memories along the way.



Warren: Very well. I shall render whatever aid I can in our quest to defeat Mangar. Let us go.

Of course, since Warren starts out at level 1 just like every other poor shmuck, we need to train him a bit.











That's a bit better. Warren will mostly be our support magic-user for the time being.





Our other two magical party members, Flamesack and Kymas, also level up.



Guess what? The next tier only costs a fortune for each of them. Getting spell level 5 for these two, and a few lower spell levels for Warren, eats up most of my savings.



Flamesack's newest spells, including an offensive spell upgrade, the Shock-Sphere. AKA one of my new best friends.



Here's some new magician spells. Including one of my favorites.



Animated Sword at its finest.

Kymas: Thank you for your aid, Joe.
Joe the Sword: Dooby-dooby-doo...







Our meatshields also level up.







There's new items to be found in this dungeon, too. The Mithril Axe is a slightly stronger weapon than what Garth's Shoppe offers. There's also Mithril Maces and Swords which are also a bit stronger than their mundane cousins.

The Bracers [6] are sort of like enchanted armor; they occupy the same slot as torso armor, for some reason. Since the Bracers are not better than what any of the frontliners are wearing, Flamesack puts them on in place of robes.

Figurines will, apparently, summon a monster to aid your party. The one in the screenshot is a Samurai Figurine. I also find an Ogre Figurine later on.



That's right, a zombie is offering lip service. You know, the kind that doesn't result in them trying to eat you.

Skorn: This... really isn't right.



All: AHHHHHHH!



Costello & Warren: ...Ouch.

There's a few nasty traps waiting in this dungeon. I think Levitate will get us over them, but I wanted to showcase a few just for giggles.



Our old pal Darkness is back.





Major ouch this time...





That wasn't so bad...





OH GOD WHY AHHHHH



The party approaches a door...



And despite it having a description and everything, there is absolutely nothing to be found within.



Flamesack: Great, more nonsensical rhymes. I was getting tired of a linear progression.
Costello: Guess I'd better write this one down too...



Leif: This foul mausoleum goes down another floor?
Skarn: Damnation... we should go back up. I can't do this without another tankard.
Warren: Nay, dwarf. We must press onward to discover the secret that awaits at the bottom of this dismal place.
Skarn: You're daft, old man. This is too much to take all at once.
Costello: Let's at least see what's down there. We're not far from the exit to this place.



Leif: ...Well, this isn't good.



Costello: Sure is dark in here... Warren, can you make a light?
Warren: As you wish.



Leif: Crap, we walked right into his bedchamber while he was taking a nap!
Costello: (Does he really sleep with his arms up and holding his staff like that...?)



Flamesack: No shit, Sherlock!



Just another sorcerer fight, right? Well, sort of. See, Bashar is not that much tougher than a run of the mill sorcerer.



But he has friends in high places.

Leif: Bastard! Die, foul one!



Leif: Hey, that was pretty easy!



Leif: Oh yeah... dragon. Crap.



The red dragon spends his first turn annihilating my poor generic Magician companion. All three of the frontliners attack, but none of them can pierce the dragon's scales. Similarly, spells have little to no effect, and do minimal damage.





In two turns, the red dragon kills Skarn. Frontline attackers are still unable to do more than one or two points of damage when they hit.

Flamesack: Damn you, you smoking heap of shit! I am ending you!



Fortunately, the dragon rolled minimum HP, and Flamesack's desperate spell does enough damage to slay it.



This is really not enough for that fight.



Beyond the chamber of the mad priest, we find yet another ominous rhyme.



Also, I forgot to cast Levitation again after passing through an anti-magic zone.



And then, more monsters!

Costello: Damn! Run!

Sadly, there is no escape. Because the door I took to enter Bashar's chamber? It doesn't exist on this side. That's right, there's no way to go back to town from here. There are a few more doors, however, one of which leads...



Costello: You're... you're kidding, right?



Guess what? The grey dragon has a breath attack.

Flamesack: D-damn... can't let it... end... like this...
Costello: I can't believe... no... not after all we've endured... no!

What happens next? Find out on the next update.

Statistics for this chapter:

Enemies killed:
Thieves: 32
Kobolds: 21
Hobgoblins: 50
Dwarves: 45
Magicians: 40
Barbarians: 22
Mad Dogs: 15
Skeletons: 47
Spiders: 19
Black Widows: 0
Spinners: 0
Nomads: 9
Mercenaries: 23
Swordsmen: 12
Hobbits: 27
Conjurers: 48
Gnomes: 34
Orcs: 16
Half-Orcs: 30
Wolves: 14
Zombies: 4
Sorcerers: 20
Master Sorcerers: 1
Samurai: 1
Red Dragon: 1
Wights: 19

Wiped by:
Hmm...

EXP gained this session: 16932
Gold gained this session: -13463. I'm not even kidding here.

Deaths:
Everyone...?