Chapter 5.29

Chapter 5.29
Chapter 5.28	Chapter 5.30 G
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Chapter 5.29 is the 31st chapter of Volume 5, and the 9th chapter of Book 8, Blood of Liscor.

tl;dr[edit | edit source]

Erin practices using her Aura with Lyonette. The Shield Spiders rush through the dungeon as a wave. The Horns and Silver Swords survive the wave, and "discover" the Antinium tunnels connecting to the dungeon.

Synopsis[edit | edit source]

Numbtongue secretly practices the guitar while Erin and Lyonette discuss the bar brawl. The conversation turns to Erin’s aura and how it didn’t work as well as it could have. Lyonette teaches her to consciously use it. As they train, Lyonette shows that she is able to shrug off the pressuring effect of Erin’s Aura; she is the only one present able to do so, within the inn.

Drassi arrives and informs them about the Shield Spider nest that Griffon Hunt and the Halfseekers discovered. Erin rushes to organize a response, having learned lessons from the Face-Eater Moths attack. Erin is confident they'll survive this latest threat.

Griffon Hunt and the Halfseekers quickly maintain a stand at the the corridor leading to the nest, then organize a more thorough response. Typhenous casts a Tier 5 spell that obliterates many of the spiders. The adventurers are merry with the results, until Halrac discovers a sizeable portion fled into the dungeon farther below. Warning [Messages] are sent to Liscor and the Silver-ranked teams.

The Mage's Guild is crowded with the local authorities and spectators. Everyone is eager to hear what is happening in the dungeon. They are informed of the successful suppression and subsequent warning from Griffon Hunt. No one warns the Horns or Silver Swords.

Gemhammer and The Pride of Kelia are still engaged with the Raskghar and dismiss the warning, busy as the are. The fighting turns atritious, but instead of retreating they push for the artifacts the Raskghar are wielding. Suddenly, the Raskghar and Goblins suddenly retreat. A nearly dead Cave Goblin mutters a forewarning: "Wave". Upon hearing that, the masked adventurer makes wild, panicked motions before running off. Then the two Silver-ranked teams see a wall of Shield Spiders rushing towards them. They make to retreat up the rift, climbing in panic and fear. If not for the ropes that Erin and the Hobs had dropped from above, they may not have escaped with as few casualties as they did.

Meanwhile, the Horns of Hammerad and Silver Swords are at odds with each other, the latter having shown they are atrocious at dungeon delving. They compromise on leaving the dungeon when Ksmvr detects an incoming wave of Shield Spiders. The two teams quickly realize that they can't retreat from the dungeon in time. Falene insists on casting a temporary magical defense, with support from Pisces and Ceria. After a few minutes of casting, the others protest against Falene's strategy. They believe her magical barrier to be futile. When the barriers break Falene suffers backlash. Ylawes and Dawil carry her as they all run.

As they stop in a fork in the dungeon, Ksmvr rummages through his pack and finds the monster lure, an artifact the Horns had originally found within Ruins of Albez. He flings the screaming artifact down one fork of the tunnel. The wave of Shield Spiders rushes past the teams. The Horns suggest following the monster stampede’s path as all traps will have been triggered by the spiders. The adventurers agree and, after some conspiratorial looks between the Horns, discover a break in the dungeon leading to a kill zone made and manned by Antinium and overseen by a nervous Belgrade.

The leaders of Liscor confer with each other and the Walled Cities about this discovery and question the motive of the Antinium. It has been brought to light that the Antium had long known about Liscor's dungeon, and the Drakes worry that the Free Hive are interested in looting the powerful artifacts that possibly lie within. Pisces, under the guise of a greedy Human selling secrets, cleverly directs their focus to consider the Antinium's motive to be a grand treasure hidden somewhere in the dungeon. He is then paid and dismissed.

Ceria, Yvlon and Ksmvr appear as Pisces is making his way through Liscor's streets. The rest of the Horns are revealed to have been in agreement of the entire plan. Their motive is revealed: bringing in more attention the dungeon and Drake High Command will increase their chances of Calruz being discovered.