Grand Game 310: Moving Mountains (Patreon)

Before leaving the tunnel mouth, I cast my buffs, more out of an excess of caution than anything else. I’d yet to decide whether to engage the rock giants.

You have cast heightened reflexes, increasing your Dexterity by +8 ranks for 20 minutes.

You have cast load controller, granting you a 10-minute encumbrance aura that slows any armor-wearing foe within 2 yards by 20%.

You have trigger-cast quick mend. When your overall health falls below 30%, it will instantly heal you for 20%.

After further consideration, I also swapped out my secondary blade—the stygian shortsword—and replaced it with faithful.

You have equipped the sword, faithful blade, gaining the recall ability and increasing the damage you deal with your offhand by +40%.

Ready as I could be, I left the tunnel behind and tiptoed across the bowl-shaped cauldron. While I did, I scanned the surroundings, searching for anything else Ghost might have missed, but spotted nothing alarming.

The cauldron itself held most of my attention. The cliffs bordering it were too sheer for an ordinary human to scale. I, on the other hand, could likely manage the feat with windslide. It was not, though, the most obvious route out; that was the narrow canyon whose entrance lay beyond the two rock creatures.

Where it led was anyone’s guess but that was not my chief consideration right now. My gaze slid back to the rock giants and for lack of better, dubbed them One-armed and Limp.

The pair strode along a ravine that meandered from one end of the cauldron to the other, dividing it in two near-equal halves, and looking for all the world as if they were patrolling it. I frowned.

Now why would they do that?

The constructs walked alone and in opposite directions, their footfalls heavy and ponderous as they marched along the ravine from the center of the cauldron to its rim, then back again.

Limp—the one with the missing chunk of leg—had a definite hitch in his stride and moved slower than One-arm, forcing him to wait in the middle of the cauldron while Limp finished his own half of the patrol. But even One-arm was no speedster, and I judged I was many times faster than both.

Unfortunately, speed seemed the only advantage I had over the pair.

Limp and One-armed were larger than me, undoubtedly stronger, and if appearances could be believed their skin and innards were rock hard too. Worse yet, if the pair lacked minds of their own, they were also immune to all forms of mental manipulation. That made them impervious to both my blades and telepathy. A story state of affairs that would have me gladly avoiding the behemoths entirely.

If not for my stolen spell.

It gave me an edge that, provided I stayed out of range of the giants’ ham-fisted hands, should win me the encounter. My lips twisted sourly. A lot depended on that ‘should.’

Two hostile entities have failed to detect you! You are hidden.

Drawing to a halt, I crouched down. I was now just under fifty yards from my targets, and near enough to the ravine to peer within. While some parts of it remained shadowed from sight, I could see enough of its depths to determine the ravine was as barren as the rest of my surroundings. Deciding there was no need to approach any closer, I unfurled my mindsight.

Not unexpectedly, no mindglows appeared.

“You were right, Ghost,” I said. “These two lack minds of their own.”

“They are constructs then?” she asked.

“There’s only one way to be sure,” I murmured. Reaching out with my will, I analyzed Limp, the closer of my two foes.

The target is a stone golem of indeterminant level.

Your analyze attempt has been detected! You are no longer hidden.

Limp’s featureless face creaked in my direction.

Uh-oh. Being discovered so quickly was unexpected and threw my hopes for a carefully choreographed encounter into disarray. Rising swiftly to my feet, I backed away. It was time to revise my plans.

The first order of business was securing an escape route, and unfortunately the tunnel would not do. “Ghost,” I ordered, “search the—”

I broke off. The ground under Limp was bubbling.

My gaze flickered downward. The previously solid-seeming ground beneath the stone golem was turning to mush. It was a safe bet that whatever was happening, it didn’t mean anything good for me. Edging back faster, I wrapped myself in shadows.

Or tried to.

You have failed to conceal yourself. A hostile entity has detected you!

“The other one is turning to face you as well,” Ghost reported.

My eyes darted to the second golem. The ground beneath One-arm was churning restlessly too.

What are they doing?

A moment later, the stone beneath Limp liquefied entirely, flowed up the golem’s legs, along his outstretched arms, and into his upturned palms.

Where it then coalesced into a giant boulder.

That explains the pockmarks, I thought inanely, watching Limp sink into the newly formed crater beneath him. The golem was unfazed by his new position, though, and slowly drew back his arms—and the boulder still stuck to his hands. Anticipating what was coming, I threw myself backward.

Not a moment too soon either.

Limp’s arms extended again, propelling the enormous boulder in my direction. The projectile hurtled through the air with a speed that defied reason—it was three times my size and had to weigh a few tons at least.

But I was faster still, and on the move already. Tucking in my limbs, I held them tight as the rock screamed mere inches past me.

You have evaded a stone golem’s attack.

Having missed me, the stone projectile kept going, only coming to a halt when it met the encircling cliff and shattered into a thousand tiny pieces.

Bounding back to my feet, I winced at the sound of the impact, finding it all too easy to imagine what the boulder would have done to me.

“Incoming!” Ghost shouted.

My head whipped around to see One-arm lobbing his own missile. Without hesitation, I dived again and took cover as the second boulder whistled by.

You have evaded a stone golem’s attack.

Right, no more time to waste. Not bothering to look back over my shoulder, I set off running, arcing away from the angry golems. While I did, I summoned my psi, and willed two slim shapes of vibrant violet energy in my palms.

You have cast twin astral blades.

The instant the psi daggers materialized, I spun about and flung them at Limp. But I didn’t wait to observe the outcome. Whirling around again, I resumed my flight.

Your astral blade has failed to harm your target.

Your astral blade has failed to harm your target.

Stone golems are immune to all forms of mental assaults!

My lips thinned at the Game messages. Just as I’d anticipated, Limp proved immune to psi damage. Yet even though I’d expected no less, I had still needed to verify my suspicions.

“They’re forming more boulders,” Ghost reported.

“Thanks,” I grunted. “Let me know when they release.” In preparation, I drew more psi and cast windborne.

“Take cover!” Ghost yelled.

I could hear the massive stones hurtling through the air myself and laid down the ramp of air I held in readiness. Gliding along the windslide, I watched the projectiles sail harmlessly past.

You have evaded a stone golem’s attack.

You have evaded a stone golem’s attack.

Somersaulting off the windslide, I hit the ground running and yanked free a brace of stoppered bottles from my belt. It was time for another test. Winding back my right arm, I threw all three objects at Limp.

You have ignited an ice bomb, creating a freezing cloud.

You have ignited an acid bomb, creating an acid pool.

You have ignited a fire bomb, creating a fiery explosion.

You have failed to harm your target. A stone golem is immune to cold damage, acid damage, and fire damage.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but total immunity to all my bombs was not it.

Damnation! What does it take to hurt these things?

I still had a few other tricks up my sleeves. I could try a lightning trap or a straight up assault with my blades, but after the resounding failure of my bombs, I was skeptical of either approach working.

Enough quibbling, I decided. It was time to try the only real weapon left to me: the necrotic spikes.

Another pair of boulders sailed my way, but I’d opened the distance between me and the golems to about a hundred yards and barely had to break stride to dodge out of their path.

“Are you going back into the tunnel?” Ghost asked.

Taking stock of my surroundings, I realized that I was indeed heading in its direction, but that was more by sheer chance than conscious choice. “No,” I panted between breaths. “The tunnel isn’t safe. I can’t risk being trapped in there between the viper and the golems.”

“Oh. Right. I’ll find you somewhere else to hide, then.”

I almost called Ghost back, but then realized I would need a place to recuperate—and soon. “Alright, see to it,” I replied while neatly sidestepping the next pair of incoming boulders.

After the projectiles passed by, I ground to a stop and turned around. I was far enough from Limp and One-arm that their missiles were no longer a significant threat. And neither golem, I noticed, was closing the distance to me with any great speed. Here will do. Tapping into my pool of magic, I let it form the weaves of my one and only mana-based spell.

A necrotic spike ward has been successfully configured.

Mana remaining: 80%.

The ward spell materialized beneath the ponderously advancing Limp and, a heartbeat later, triggered as his foot crushed down on it.

Necrotic spike activated! A stone golem has sustained nether damage.

I grinned and the tight knot of dread in the pit of my stomach unraveled. I’d been half-convinced that even the stolen tier six spell would fail.

But it hadn’t, and my relief knew no bounds.

Now, we’re business, I thought. Setting off on a looping run, I began a second casting.

✵ ✵ ✵

A stone golem has sustained nether damage.

A stone golem has sustained nether damage.

A stone golem has sustained nether damage.

A stone golem has sustained nether damage.

Mana remaining: 0%.

A little later, I’d set and triggered four more necrotic spikes, all while kiting the golems and dodging sporadic boulder-fire. Despite its premature and ominous beginning, the battle was turning out easier than I expected.

The wide-open nature of the cauldron left me plenty of room to maneuver, and even after enduring repeated hits of nether damage, Limp did not change tactics. Despite the golems’ toughness, I realized they were no more than unthinking constructs.

A weakness I’d intended on ruthlessly exploiting.

“Find anything yet?” I called out. The first stage of my assault was completed. I’d focused all my attacks on Limp and by my reckoning, I’d eaten through a quarter of his health already. Three more waves of spikes and he’d be dead.

Now, though, I needed a hidey-hole to recover.

Ghost did not respond to my hail which likely meant she hadn’t heard me. Unfortunately, I had no idea where she was; she’d long since dropped out of range of my mindsight.

I grimaced, realizing I had erred by not asking the spirit wolf to report back regularly. A communication protocol, that’s what we need, I thought. In situations like this, neither Ghost nor I could afford to be left wondering if the other was alright. Somehow, we still needed to stay in contact. I sighed. It was another problem for later. For now, I just had to find her.

Where is she?

Lifting my head, I scanned the cauldron’s perimeter. Ghost had gone looking for shelter, and the only likely spots for that were the base of the cliffs or the ravine. There was nowhere else to hide from Limp and One-arm. Unintelligent though the golems were, there was nothing wrong with their senses, and despite multiple attempts, I’d failed to hide from them in the cauldron’s shadows.

I needed somewhere out of direct line of sight if I was going to lose them. Cutting left, I headed towards the closest edge of the cauldron and away from both golems.

I hadn’t taken more than a dozen steps, though when Ghost raced into view. “Found it!” she sang.

“Welcome back,” I said, hiding my relief at her return. “What did you find?”

“A cave,” she replied proudly. “It’s in the ravine, and is small, dry, and empty.”

I smiled. Ghost had done well. Swerving north, I angled back to the golems and the ravine at their back. “Lead the way.”

✵ ✵ ✵

You have teleported 50 yards to Ghost.

I didn’t climb down into the ravine—that would only have let the golems know where I was heading—and instead shadow blinked directly into the cave using Ghost as a teleport beacon.

Two hostile entities have failed to detect you! You are hidden.

I smiled at the Game message. I was safe at last, if only temporarily. “Keep an eye on our friends,” I instructed Ghost before closing my eyes and seeing to my recovery.

You have replenished 4% of your mana. Your mana is now at 4%.

You have replenished 4% of your mana. Your mana is now at 8%.

…

You have replenished 100% of your mana.

Thirty minutes later, I was ready to venture forth again. My short rest period had gone undisturbed. Rising to my feet, I crept to the cave entrance. Mindsight reported Ghost to be directly above me, likely standing on the edge of the ravine, but of the golems, there was no sign.

“Where are they?” I whispered.

“They’ve resumed their patrolling,” she answered. “The one-armed one is near the cliffs and turning around, and the other is near the center but heading away from your position.”

“Perfect,” I replied and stepped through the aether to emerge by Ghost’s side.

You are no longer hidden!

Immediately, both golems swung around to face me. But I was already running—and casting.

A stone golem has sustained nether damage.

A stone golem has sustained nether damage.

I hit Limp twice before he managed to form a boulder. Dodging the incoming missile, I cast again and laid down two more necrotic spikes.

A stone golem has sustained nether damage.

A stone golem has sustained nether damage.

“Ghost,” I panted, while weaving mana for my last spell. “Return to the cave. I’ll be there in—”

I broke off as the ground trembled violently.

Spreading my arms, I retained my balance and risked a glance over my shoulder. It sounded like one of the golem’s missiles had misfired and hit something—the ground, most likely—and it was what I was expecting to see. The sight that greeted me was altogether different, though.

Limp was no more.

Where he’d stood was a pile of shattered rocks and stones.  My brows drew down in confusion. Was he dead?

But he couldn’t be.

I’d hit the golem with nine necrotic spikes so far. That equated to only forty-five percent damage. He can’t be dead, not unless—

A Game message interrupted me.

You have killed a level 224 stone golem.

Of their own accord, my feet stopped moving, and I stumbled to a halt. This time there could be no doubt. I’d done it. I’d killed an elite!

More Game messages scrolled through my mind.

You have reached level 158!

Your dodging has increased to level 130 and reached rank 13.

Congratulations, Michael! You have accomplished the feat: Master Dungeoneer! Requirement: slay an elite creature in any dungeon. You have been awarded an additional life! Total lives remaining: 3.

I whistled softly in amazed appreciation.

Killing Limp had netted me four levels, not to mention earned me the unlooked-for boon of another life. True, I’d only managed the feat because of the stolen necrotic spell. But even knowing that did nothing to dampen my mood.

I’ve killed an elite, I thought, still marveling at the fact.

If I could repeat the feat, it was entirely possible I would emerge from Draven’s Reach as an elite myself—even accounting for the diminishing returns as the level gap between me and the dungeon’s denizens decreased.

I grinned. Now, there’s a happy thought.

“Look out!” Ghost warned.

My head jerked up and spotted the boulder taking shape in One-arm hands. In the heady aftermath of Limp’s death, I’d nearly forgotten about my second foe. Throwing myself into motion again, I prepared another casting.

It was time to gain another bunch of levels.