Door Crasher

Celeste

I’m rather embarrassed by the entire situation. There I was a woman who tried to bring reason to a chaotic would, doing the dumbest thing I could think of. The entrance to my opponent’s cave yawned open before me. Hidden by the half finished shack he’d built for himself out in the wild. It was a disappointing display for one I sought to educate at least in some small part, the alchemical arts.

The solution to my problem was obvious. I would pump the hideout full of poison, and kill everyone inside. Quick, cheap and deadly.

It is a moral failing on my part that I could not bring myself to do it. Because Daliah would be down there.

I didn’t stay my hand out of any love for her. My hands and conscious would be quite clean if I killed her. Most would agree that betrayal was among the greater sins, and I was within my right to extract lethal vengeance upon one I had fed, clothed, and paid to do rather simple mundane chores around the store.

No.

Daliah had made herself a sort of golden goose which now tempted and seduced me. She lured me into immortality and stupidity.

Now I was to risk my life for treasures untold. To fail was ****, to succeed:the kingdom!

I was ill suited for such pursuits.

My rise to power had been one of careful study, and execution. I did not delve, I did not quest except for knowledge.

This whole thing was just so disgraceful I doubted even if I got what I wanted there would be any sense of pride or accomplishment. There would be power no doubt, but I had power. I don’t consider myself any happier as a 3 star than a 2 star, and yet the craving persisted. Rare is the individual who achieves a star who does not die in the pursuit of more.

Thus alternative means were developed for the task.

The first, I attended to. A tall square wood brown box sat in the ground as I stared into the swirling abyss of the hideout, dark works were afoot in there for sure. I pulled the lid off the box to reveal nine circular holes each of which was filled with a pulsing blob of flesh. I tugged on a rope to pull the top section free and slowly two more identical platforms emerged from the box before it clicked into place. Slowly the 24 blobs of flesh unfurled their wings and lifted themselves from the holes. They began sniffing at the air in search of prey.

It was better for these homunculi to be grown with a certain scent to chase. For these I’d bred them with two scents to avoid my own and Daliah’s. This of course meant I could not aim them, and there was the risk of them all flying off into the Forest to harass the local fauna. But I’d drawn my scent around the mouth of the cave behind them which should propel them into the cave in search of my opponents. I could of course have coded them to the alchemist and his smelly friend, but there could be more in the cave, and one of my grenade imps was enough to kill a man. Sending multiples after a single target just seems cruel.

They took to the air and as planned flew away from me into the cave. There I waited, until eventually I heard the tell-tale sound of low popping echoing up from the cave. The imps would latch onto their prey and explode. They wouldn’t explode if killed in the air, so an explosion meant there was a dead body littering the floor, a few by the multiple pops I heard from inside. There were a dozen of them at least.

Ah, the goblins from raid on the treasury wagon. He’d been their boss. Elixir of goblin fertility, yes. He had some poor maid tied up down there, a goblin factory. Now that was immoral alchemy at work. Perhaps his blonde friend, or that half dead girl I had saved. Perhaps both. It was upsetting to think of how much harm an alchemist could do if they set their mind to it. Perhaps that’s why I was being so reckless, all of this was something of a personal affront. My clerk, my store, my profession.

The popping had stopped.

Very good.

Either they’d dispatched with the rest of my imps, or there was nothing left to detonate upon. I wished for the latter though now I felt bad for the goblin factories that would have fallen victim to my attack.I don’t feel I would be morally culpable for their deaths, but thinking of them chained up and struggling while an imp latches onto them… the mind produces infidelities from such feelings.

I reach for my next container, and produced another homunculus. This one was similar to its kin, but it wouldn’t explode. Instead it had one large eye which would record the goings on in the dungeon, return to me, then meld with me to share what it had seen.

I released it, and waited for half an hour but the damn thing never came back. This was good. This was data.

There yet existed a foe to kill my creation down there. That stinking beauty no doubt. I’d be lying to say I didn’t wish to see her again. Funny that I had stone skin, but I’d always considered my heart to be the hardest thing about me. Well that had been taken care of. Our last encounter had been humiliating, losing due to lust? It was unheard of! Other than in pillow books, and bodice rippers. This would not do. I’d taken care to numb a few glands and receptors in my body to avoid any further mishaps.

“Three stars.” I announced taking in an enormous volume of air into my lungs. My ribs groaned as they became elastic for a few moments as my chest expanded outwards to incorporate more and more air. “Poison breath!” I exhaled sending a powerful gust into the cave, a cloud of lavender poison was pushed deep into the cave, filling every compartment with my poison. I’d needed to sacrifice potency for volume and a powerful propulsion that would send it so far, so my beautiful foe could overcome it, but I suspected she would have already increased the potency on her poison immunity. This was not for her, but any remaining minions.

Fear not, this poison was simply meant to put people to sleep. This a lighter potency was better. With Daliah in a coma a potent sleep potion would probably kill her. Though I was confident that my current poison, and the process I used on Daliah to keep her subdued would not produce any abreactions.

I’m curious what my peers will think of this strategy. Should I have poisoned the cave first then sent my imps to detonate upon the bodies of the sleeping victims? It was a grim vision, but effective I think. For me I felt the slow creep of poison would have given them time to prepare for the imps. Starting the encounter out with an explosive ambush seemed the better plan, though I am open to criticism. We shall see first hand the application of my theory.

It was then time to enter the dungeon and I found myself wishing I’d brought more to lob inside before descending. Though it’s likely I would have have been truly satisfied. Besides I think creating 24 imps in one night was rather impressive on its own.

Well I was already being pridefully stupid with this misadventure might as well not ad slovenliness to my sins. I leaned back and allowed my armor to consume me. Then together, we began the hunt.