Dragons and Malboros and behemoths, oh my

The Switchback

Remember when I wrote I suspected difficult stages to come further down the deep dungeon? Well, this is it. When we entered the eighth floor we were practically overrun with monsters of the highest order: dragons, greater hydras and one-punch behemoths, none of whom seemed to be phased by Rapha’s dancing or my own dark knightly skills. And those that died were not willing enough to grant us some light, leaving us all to fumble around in the dark, trying to find either the exit or the treasure left behind. Neither of which we were successful in.

In the end, as Ramza put his hand at the last remaining, quite aggressive, behemoth to avoid it killing him instead, he decided we had to fall back and regroup – put our heads together and decide on a better strategy.

With the last behemoth on the floor killed and still no treasure or exit found, we did just that. It wasn’t as if we had another choice.

Archer’s convention

Having decided on our strategy to deal with the dragons, malboros and behemoths, we returned, fully equipped and fully expecting the fallen monsters’ brethren to have come seeking revenge.

Imagine our surprise when we walked straight into a gathering of archers instead! Why they were here in the first place, I couldn’t tell you, dear squire. The depths of this hostile dungeon was certainly no place to hold any sort of convention – but perhaps het were looking for that mythical Elixir distillery too… And clearly they did not stomach any competition.

Unlike the monsters from before, these archers were phased by Rapha’s dancing and once Mustadio and I cornered a little toaded archer, playing with it and making sure it wouldn’t gobble up our scintillant crystals, things picked up quickly.

The floor was still a disorienting piece of work, even with all the light we had now. But with the help of Ramza ans Meliadoul, who both turned out to be naturals at unassumingly stepping into traps, Rapha found what she needed underneath the traps in no time, from the usual Elixir down to a set of robes that clearly belonged to a lord. What had a nobleman been doing here?!

Following his instinct, Ramza also quickly found us the exit. Playtime with the little toad was over. We picked up all the crystals just in case they held echoes of the archer’s abilities, and fried the toad.

Finally off to the next floor, and almost there.