A vortex of swirling wind lifted one of the frogmen into the air and the other one hopped slowly forwards with what might have been a murderous look in its eyes. Except . . . frog.
Charnos drifted out to meet it and there was a dicey moment when Drew really wasn’t certain if a level ten summoned creature was able to stand up to a level twelve elite. The demon’s health bar wasn’t exactly plummeting, but it was going down pretty quickly. Pulse pounding, Drew quickly threw a Life Seed on it and then followed up with a Nourishing Soil.
He was so focused on Charnos’s health bar and the two ways he had to maintain it that he had no idea what else was going on. Occasionally he’d see a flurry of shadow from Aconite’s direction.
The fight seemed to be lasting forever. But, as it went on, he started to feel more confident. Charnos was taking damage at a steady rate, and he was getting a good feel for when he had to be healing and when he could afford to do other stuff.
With a mournful ribbit, the first bullywug crumpled to the floor and Charnos moved menacingly to the second, who’d just recovered from his attack of Incapacitating Wind. This time Drew was comfortable enough to switch between his two healing spells and his two damage spells, and the frogman fell over substantially faster.
He gave an actual fist pump, exclaiming to his empty room that the frog dudes could, indeed, suck it.
[Group][Aconite]: Yay!
[Group][Aconite]: *hugs Charnos*
[Group][Efthalia]: hey I was here too
[Group][Efthalia]: healing
[Group][Aconite]: *hugs Efthalia*
[Group][Efthalia]: i can’t believe we pulled that off
[Group][Aconite]: Don’t get too excited
[Group][Aconite]: There’s four in the next pack
[Group][Efthalia]: !!!
[Group][Aconite]: But first! The loots!
[Enigmatic Bracers of the Whale] Need/Greed
Drew squinted at the crappy stats on the crappy drop.
[Group][Efthalia]: they are technically an upgrade
[Group][Aconite]: For me too
[Group][Aconite]: My bracers are still grey
[Group][Efthalia]: hey thems healer stats
[Group][Aconite]: You’re right. Those 2 points of wisdom will make all the difference to your performance
[Group][Aconite]: You take them
[Group][Efthalia]: i was only joking
[Group][Efthalia]: you have them
[Group][Aconite]: No, you should always take care of the healer first
[Group][Aconite]: You can remember this moment when we go back to our mains
[Group][Aconite]: Besides, I don’t think they go with my toga
You have received [Enigmatic Bracers of the Whale].
Drew equipped his shiny new healing gear. It didn’t go with his toga either. All the same, Efthalia gave a little /twirl and Aconite /clapped.
Charnos remained unimpressed, stretching his claws in a way that suggested he really wanted to be tearing something’s soul from its body right now.
They moved cautiously down the tunnel and into the next cavern. More mushrooms. More bullywugs. Whoever had designed this dungeon had either put no effort into making it interesting or a lot of effort into making it accessible.
And had clearly been a different person to whoever had decided to put it at the bottom of a swamp surrounded by killer fish.
[Group][Efthalia]: tacs
[Group][Aconite]: Same again but double, I guess
[Group][Aconite]: I’ll have Charnos take star and skull. You wind dildo. I’ll stick [Damnable Chains] on circle.
[Group][Efthalia]: sounds like a plan
[Group][Aconite]: Jacob would love this
[Group][Aconite]: We’ve never 2-manned this one but I think he’d dig the retro charm
[Group][Efthalia]: you can inv him if you like
[Group][Aconite]: Do you want me to?
[Group][Efthalia]: only if you want to
[Group][Efthalia]: i mean
[Group][Efthalia]: its up to you
[Group][Aconite]: I like hanging out with Jacob but we do that all the time
[Group][Aconite]: I kind of like that this is just us
[Group][Aconite]: If that’s okay
Drew was in a messy place again. He’d thought Kit wanted Ialdir along, and that had made him feel weird, but it seemed Kit didn’t, and that made him feel weirder. He decided it was a happy weird.
[Group][Efthalia]: I like it too
[Group][Aconite]: And I brought Charnos
[Group][Aconite]: To chaperone
[Group][Aconite]: Protect your virtue
[Group][Efthalia]: maybe hes my type
[Group][Efthalia]: all big and purple with no face
[Group][Aconite]: O.O
[Group][Efthalia]: that didn’t come out right
[Group][Efthalia]: should we kill these frogs
Efthalia and Aconite stepped forward together this time. One of the bullywugs was snatched into the air by Efthalia’s wind (someday Drew was going to stop smirking at that) and another was rooted to the ground by chains of living darkness. Charnos floated forward and started making threatening gestures at the other two frog people. With twice the attacks coming in, his health was going down twice as fast and Drew was in a panic.
[Group][Aconite]: omg spears
[Group][Aconite]: spears
Drew spun the camera to see long wooden staffs piercing Aconite’s character model. And then glanced back at the health bars to see