The Last Guardian

“What do you think’s gonna be down here?” Beth asked as they proceeded down the final path.

“Probably another tree,” Aeolia glibly answered.

“Could be a golem,” Vivian interjected. “That’s what Beth and I had to deal with, wooden animals.”

“I guess a woad would make sense,” John added as the path began to grow lighter thanks to patches of evring moss. “They are made by the same elves that ran this temple.”

“Do you think this place is real, somewhere out there?” Teri wondered.

John shrugged. “Maybe. But I’m going with the idea that all this is a fabrication of something that might exist. Like, maybe there is some forest temple out there, cared for by elves and their living trees, but not one that’s been abandoned.”

“Think the baddies we’ve fought would contest that ‘abandoned’ thing,” Beth remarked with a grin.

John snorted. “Fair point, but you get what I mean.”

“What about the past you saw?” Teri asked. “Did that actually happen or was that made up too?”

“I have a theory on that,” Vivian chimed in. “If this place is modeled off a real temple, then some aspect of the real one’s history would be brought over. There’s no reason to believe these series of trials aren’t real and haven’t happened in the past.”

“Observe seems to go with that idea,” John said. “The guardian Teri and I faced had a mention that it was made to test people.”

‘I think whatever our final enemy is will also reference that notion,’ Senka attested.

‘Looks like we’ll get to test that out sooner rather than later,’ he thought back to her as they rounded a corner. Instead of more tunnel or an opening into another chamber, a pair of sealed doors, partially covered in moss and vines, sat at the end of the path.

“Well, that looks familiar,” Beth remarked, lightly nudging Vivian with her elbow. “Think it’ll open the same way?”

“Stands to reason it should,” Vivian answered, drawing up the structure. “Our totem and way forward was locked behind a puzzle door that looked like this one.”

“Did your totem vanish when you tried to pick it up?” Aeolia asked. “Cus ours did, then a part of the wall opened.”

Vivian nodded as she examined the door and John spoke up, “Ours didn’t, and I think I know why. They may be needed to open this. The other two got dropped into my inventory when we all met up.”

John quickly withdrew his totem, leaning it against the wall, then pulled out the other two, casting Observe on all three.

“Not a lot of variety there,” Beth commented. “I mean, yours and the one me and Vivi got look exactly the same.”

“Well, you guys fought the guardian meant to test a warrior mage pair, and ours was the one for just the mages, so that makes some sense,” John said, focusing on the totem he and Teri won. “But complaining about the look isn’t going to help us go forward. The first attribute opened the path here, so maybe all three together might open this one. The set related attribute probably will answer that. And might as well get all the info out in the open.”

Totem Set: This item is one of a set of three. When used with other pieces, its effects grow stronger.

Yav’maia Grown: This item was grown with the power of the elven forest god, greatly increasing its resilience to weathering and rot.

Evocation: Totem’s Blessing(Peace): Cost 25 MP, 20 Durability. Pacify hostile animals. Duration: (Wis/4) minutes.

“Looks like the Evocations change depending on the totem,” Vivian pointed out.

“One way to confirm it,” John said, calling up the other two Evocations.

Evocation: Totem’s Blessing(Might): Cost 25 MP, 20 Durability. Increase your and nearby allies’ (range: 2 meters) Strength by (Evo Lv. x 4)%. Duration: (Wis/4) minutes.

Evocation: Totem’s Blessing(Cooperation): Cost 25 MP, 20 Durability. Allies within (Evo Lv./3) meters instinctively know what actions you are going to take. Duration: (Wis/4) minutes.

“Yep, each one has its own effect,” John stated. “‘Peace’ probably won’t help us and ‘Cooperation’s’ range is too short for all of us to get use of it. ‘Might’ could help, if we need to hit boost.”

“We’ll have to see what’s on the other side before we make any strategies. Bets on Mystic Key getting a boost and opening this?” Aeolia asked, a saucy grin on her lips as she tilted her head towards the door.

“Don’t think anyone would take that bet,” Beth remarked. “So what, we just wave these at the door and ‘Open Sesame’, they unlock?”

John let out a small chuckle. “Probably with less Arabian Nights references, but since the door leading here just opened when we brought the totem close, I figure we just need to present them and the door will unlock.”

“Let’s get moving then,” Aeolia said, placing her glaive down and picking up the totem she and Senka won. John picked up his as Beth mirrored him. Vivian and Teri parted as the trio approached the door. The carvings on the totems glowed with purple light, an effect the markings on the great wooden door mimicked.

The display continued as the door creaked open, disused hinges screaming as they swung. The space beyond the threshold wasn’t that dissimilar from the other arenas: a large, wide oval shaped chamber with a number of glowing trees. Unlike the others, however, the trees weren’t grown throughout the chamber but instead were planted around the edge of the room, leaving four wide gaps, one at the bottom of the stairs before them, one directly opposite it, leading up another set of stairs, and one each on the sides of the chamber. And in the center of the room, a tree with golden leaves grew, its trunk a series of twisting wood, spiraling upward into its branches.

“So where’s this treasure we’re supposed to get?” Beth asked after a moment of quiet examination. “Unless that tree is it, but I think we’ll have a bit of a problem hauling that out.”

“I’m more worried about the lack of the final boss,” John muttered, craning his head to scan the chamber again. “The quest log made it sound like we could defeat the boss or just pull the grab and dash. I don’t like that it’s not here to greet us.”

“Think it’ll ambush us if we head down there?” Aeolia asked.

“Seems probable,” Vivian chimed in. “Either way, we need to find the prize. So how do we go about this?”

John let out a sigh and gave one final look at the chamber before turning to the assembled party. He considered their options and conditions.

‘We’re all pretty drained in one way or another,’ he thought, not keeping his musings isolated from Senka. ‘Not knowing what we’re looking for or what we’ll have to fight or avoid puts us in a bad spot.’

‘I think we have to spring the trap,’ Senka counseled. ‘It seems obvious that’s what will happen. Something will appear to stop us from pressing onward or finding what we’re meant to find. We can’t move forward without risk.’

“Alright,” John said aloud. “Senka thinks we’ll get attacked if we go down there, but we don’t have any other options, so we might as well set it off and move from there. Any other ideas?”

“I can’t sense anything,” Teri reported. “But since the trevolk back in the entrance were hard to detect, whatever’s in there may just be better at hiding. Makes sense for some final trial.”

Aeolia let out a hum. “Think flying invisible will set anything off? I mean, this place was built for elves, right?”

“That could work,” Vivian muttered. “Given what we know about the people that built this place, at the very least it would be an unexpected tactic.”

John frowned at the idea of using Aeolia as bait, but knew it was the best option. His discomfort obviously showed on his face as Aeolia shot him a smile.

“I’ll be fine,” she reassured him.

“I know,” John said. “Still not going to stop me from worrying.”

Aeolia sauntered up and gave him a quick kiss, repeating the ritual with Vivian a second later. She winked at them before shrinking down, taking to the air and vanishing from sight. John shook his head clear of amorous thoughts and focused his eyes on the chamber below.

He tried to activate Arcane Sense, but his nerves prevented him from calming down enough to engage the skill. Seconds passed as Aeolia flew unseen through the grove then her voice broke the tense silence.

“There’s something tangled up in this tree,” her disembodied voice called out from above the central tree. “Looks a bit like a box.”

“Guess that's our treasure,” John surmised.

“Think trying to pick it up is going to summon something?” Beth asked.

“Seems likely,” he replied. “Really wish we could tell where whatever’s going to fight us is going to spawn in. Can’t set up a trap if you don’t know where to put it.”

“I can set up some arrays and fling them at whatever shows up,” Vivian said. “I can’t make them do more than minor concussion damage with my remaining mana and probably could only make six or so.”

“If it's anything like what we’ve gone up against already, I can try to pacify it,” Teri added. “Or try tapping into the blessing again, see if that can do anything.”

“Ready to sprint in,” Beth announced, giving John a mock salute.

‘I’ll hold off on manifesting,’ Senka chimed in. ‘We can use a well timed summon to surprise our enemy.’

“Okay,” John said to all of them. “If trying to take the box sets off the encounter, we’re ready. Aeolia, try to grab it. Don’t be afraid to drop it if things get dicey.”

“Copy that,” Aeolia’s voice rang out. John imagined her flying over the tree, circling it until she dived down to pluck the box from the arboreal grasp. The faint sound of her talons grasping at wood was the only sign she had made her move and that was drowned out by the sudden crash of one of the side walls collapsing, spewing rubble down into the grove and dust into the air.

Everyone turned their attention to the dust filled alcove to see a large knightley figure stride into the chamber, a form John recognised immediately.

“Of course it’d be a woad,” he remarked, casting Observe as the wooden knight’s eyes flared to life.

“Okay, two levels higher than the Commander Aeolia and I fought, we should be able to do this,” John said. “Don’t think we’re in the best spot for the optional event though.”

“You really think three of us can’t take it down?” Beth asked, rolling her shoulders.

“In our current conditions, I’d rather not risk it,” John honestly replied. “If our mana was topped off, I’d be all for it, but discretion is the better part of valor. We hit it hard as the full group, smite it, pick up the loot, and get the hell out of dodge.”

“At least we aren’t just running,” the dark haired girl muttered, unfixing her borrowed sword from her back.

“Wasn’t planning on that unless things really went sideways,” John said, summoning his greatsword. “Loot and xp are hard to pass up.”

The woad, perhaps confused by being activated but not seeing any combatants, cautiously moved into the chamber proper, head turning slowly as it scanned the area. Purple eyes locked onto them at the entryway, pausing briefly before resuming its sweep.

“It didn’t attack us,” Vivian remarked, halfway through drawing an array. “It had a clear view but didn’t. Think it’s programmed to only go after people in the chamber proper?”

“One way to find out,” Aeolia shouted, shifting into visibility above the woad. Verdant wind swirled around the blade and she slashed down on its head.

12 DMG

Her blow caused the temple guardian to pitch forward slightly and Aeolia flew high to avoid any counterattacks. Her attack did little to affect the woad’s ability to function, and now with a target, it launched into motion, pivoting as it swung its blade at her. She was too high for it to hit, but she still disengaged, forcing the woad to pursue her.

“We going to let Aeolia have all the fun?” Beth asked, already making a move towards the stairs.

“Slow down a second,” Teri chided her excited compatriot. “We’re not considered enemies yet, so we should make our first punch really count.”

“Can you affect it?” John inquired of the goblin as Aeolia fired off a wind blade, dealing another three points of damage to the woad.

Teri shook her head. “Not with my own power. And there is a much greater resistance to using the blessing than there was from our totem guardian. More than what a repeat of our combo spell could get past in my opinion. Sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” John said, internally a little disappointed they couldn’t hack the golem. His eyes widened when an idea popped into his head. “Three warriors, three mages. That’s what this thing is meant to test, right?”

“That’s what you said you saw,” Vivian answered.

“Right, so what if the ‘proper’ way to beat this guy is for the three warriors to fight it while the mages work their magic on it?” John theorized.

“Or we could just pile on this guy and turn him into mulch,” Aeolia shouted, flying behind the golem and slashing into its back.

15 DMG

Her attack carved into the woad, cutting a shallow line from shoulder to hip. Aeolia pulled away from it, an annoyed look on her face.

“Fuck, this thing’s a bit harder to scratch than the one we fought before,” she complained. “How much damage have I done?”

“Around thirty,” John answered. “It’s looking more beefy than the Commander.”

“Of course it would be,” Aeolia sighed as the guardian squared up on her once more. “That help would be nice.”

“I have an idea,” Teri interjected. “If John’s idea is right that the three mages were meant to do something to the golem, we might be able to hack the expected action and attack its mana directly.”

“I can help with that,” Vivian announced. “It shouldn’t be too hard to adapt the array I used to paralyze the animal golems Beth and I fought to work on this guy.”

“I’ll need to recast Wellspring to charge you up,” John said. “Actually, this is the perfect time to use this.”

John pulled the Mana Cell Battery from his inventory, stowing his blade at the same time. ‘I’ve got 36 mana stored up. Wellspring uses 25, so that leaves 11. Do you still want to do minute long hit and runs or a more long term summoning, Senka?’

John felt her push into his memory, searching for what he and Teri had done back on their own and he fed her what transpired. She reviewed the entire ordeal in an instant and projected a feeling of acceptance.

‘I have faith this plan will accomplish something,’ she intoned. ‘Summon me. I’ll go and help fight the woad.’

John nodded and summoned Senka, the spirit appearing with a flourish of her robe next to Beth.

“Shall we go assist Aeolia, Beth?” she asked the acrobatic girl.

“Now you’re speaking my language.” Beth grinned, bolting down the stairs, Senka following with a somewhat less brisk pace. The instant she reached the chamber’s floor, the woad’s head twisted towards her, causing her to pause and letting Senka catch up.

“Guess you’re not programmed too well,” Aeolia mocked, charging up an attack. “You’re not supposed to take your eyes off an enemy!”

7 DMG

Her attack struck the woad’s exposed neck, inflicting a small wound and doing little to stun the golem. Instead, it quickly focused its attention back on Aeolia and brought its blade to bear with a greater ferocity than it had before.

“That did less than her other attacks,” John remarked, worry creeping into his voice. “Aeolia, did you dial back the power with that one?”

“Of course I didn’t,” she shouted back, shrinking down to better avoid the golem’s oversized blade.

“It got harder to hurt right after Beth entered the ring,” Teri pointed out.

“So it gets tougher armor the more people it’s fighting,” Vivian said as she constructed an array. “I can work with that idea. Once I get this done, do what you need to do, Teri.”

“Guess that’s my cue to cast,” John said, draining the remaining mana from the battery and casting Arcane Wellspring.

Skill Level Up: Arcane Wellspring Lv. 2. Cost reduced to 23 MP.

The wave of magic washed over John, dampening his nerves slightly as his Wisdom was increased.

“How long until you get that array working?” John asked his redheaded girlfriend.

“About a minute,” Vivian replied, erasing a bit of the array. “Teri, you said you dealt with your totem guardian by directing the power John’s spell infused you two with and made it submit, for lack of a better term, right?”

After the goblin nodded, Vivian continued, “I think I should be able to take that and use the disruption array Beth and I employed to reverse the magic increasing its power. I don’t think I could come up with something to just shut it off without analyzing it properly.”

“Weakening’s fine with me,” Aeolia shouted, slashing down at the golem from near the far side of the chamber.

5 DMG

The golem was unfazed by Aeolia’s attack and moved with surprising speed to counter. As Aeolia dived to evade, a black tear opened up on the woad’s back.

6 DMG

“It would seem you’re forgetting Aeolia isn’t your sole opponent,” Senka said coolly, shadows fading from around her hand. “And you should pay better mind to your footing.”

The woad attempted to turn to face her and that was when Beth stepped out from one of the trees very near to it, crouched down with a hand pressed flush against the ground. Her magic reduced the friction around the woad to the level of slick ice and the heavy golem’s feet slipped out from underneath it.

2 DMG

The woad slammed into the ground and Beth shouted in a strained voice as it tried to stand up, “Keeping him down. Don’t know for how long. Bastard’s pretty strong.”

“Perfect timing,” Vivian called out. “Array’s ready.”

John wrenched his attention away from the fight as Vivian maneuvered the circle so it was in front of Teri, the woad framed by the inverted triangle that dominated the creation.

“Just fire your spell through this,” the redhead instructed the goblin. “It should counter whatever is bolstering the woad’s resistance to our attacks. I think you should put everything you have into the spell. Maximize the effect, you know? ”

“Right,” Teri said to her, presenting her hands to Vivian and John. “I need physical contact to draw out the power.”

Vivian didn’t hesitate to take the offered hand and John did the same. He felt the now familiar wave of noontime peacefulness wash over him as Teri drew out the power of the godly blessing and he let Arcane Sense activate so he could follow its movement. The power streamed out of his chest and flowed down his arm and up Teri’s where it pooled with her own reserve.

Vivian’s blessing traced a mirrored path, and the three sources of power mixed within the goblin’s chest before she directed the flow outward. The combined energies rushed out from the shaman, passing through Vivian’s array, which John noticed thrummed with an odd vibration, starting at the top and pulsing downward every few seconds.

As Teri’s spell passed through it, the languid feel of the magic grew, becoming akin to the oppressive tiredness an overly humid day would cause. Despite the sluggish feel it invoked, the energy rushed towards the still struggling woad and easily flooded into the wooden golem.

The magic that radiated from it contracted violently and Teri let out a surprised gasp before shouting, “It worked! Attack it now!”

“Way ahead of you!” Aeolia belted back, glaive already coated in wind. She let her attack fly at the same time Senka silently preformed another Cutting Shadow.

48 DMG
47 DMG

Wind and darkness tore into the weakened golem’s chest, wood splintering like it had rotted on the inside. Not wanting to be left out, John cast Fiery Pursuit, the fireball shooting from the high ground into the chamber. It crashed into the prone and wounded woad, lighting it up like a piece of dry timber.

70 DMG

222(12) EXP Gained

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