The moment almost didn't seem real. It was them looking over an item, not even an action that would warrant any danger in the first place, and yet Kaelen now sported an arrow in his side and Liora had one in a part of her neck. Worse still Kaelen was our primary healer. My mind flashed back to the Blood Trent where Kaelen had to slap me to get me moving as for a moment, I feared I would freeze up again.
"Thalia, grab them, Selene, get them back to the barricade!"
Came a familiar voice that took me a moment to realize was my own. It had taken a moment, and was clearly a work in progress, but I took charge of the situation. Thalia and Selene nodded, Thalia's strings flew out, grabbing the two now unconscious team members who Selene caught and carried back to our fortifications. We all rushed back to our barricaded section. We vaulted over, I quickly grabbed two of the healing potions from my bag and pulled the arrows out as I applied them. As I did, I checked the system, worried more about their poisoned state than anything.
You have used item Basic Healing Potion(E) X 2
Party member Kaelen is poisoned, healing effectiveness reduced by 50%
Party member Liora is poisoned, healing effectiveness reduced by 50%
Party member Liora has healed 9 trough your meticulous application
Party member Kaelen has healed 5 trough your meticulous application
Damn it, I knew the poison would spell trouble. Liora's eyes opened as she started writing and flailing slightly, the wound in her neck while mostly closed now had sickly green lines running from it.
"W-what?"
She started, raspy as even talking made her wince at her wound.
"You were shot with a poisoned arrow; I'm preparing an antidote."
I said grabbing out my notebook and rapidly flipping through the pages.
Party member Kaelen's bleeding slows down
Party member Kaelen takes 4 damage from Poisoning
WARNING WARNING WARNING Party member Kaelen is fading fast
WARNING WARNING WARNING Party member Liora is unconscious
I flip my notebook open to the section on basic antidotes as I did, I could feel panic rising in my chest. I can feel my hands shaking as I reach for two vials to fill with liquid crystal as I drop one and it shatters. I bite my tongue, trying desperately to calm my nerves as I see the red glowing screen telling me how both Kaelen and Liora are fading fast.
Thalia ran over to my side from where she had been standing ready to assist Jax and Selene in case we were attacked.
"Focus on filling the vials, what herbs do you need!"
Thalia yelled as she threw open my bag and started to pull jars out.
"6 alkanet stalks, and 2 milort leaves, put them in a 3 to 1 ration in two vials. I said handing the vials to Thalia as I grabbed two more healing potions and applied them
You have used item Basic Healing Potion(E) X 2
Party member Kaelen is poisoned, healing effectiveness reduced by 50%
Party member Liora is poisoned, healing effectiveness reduced by 50%
Party member Liora has healed 6 trough your meticulous application
Party member Kaelen has healed 8 trough your meticulous application
Liora's eyes opened again, as she flailed slightly, but it was clear she was confused and hurting so there wasn't as much force this time. I turned to look past her, but Kaelen stayed unconscious as my mind raced, trying to repeat the next steps. I turned back to Thalia who held the prepared vials. Holding my hands out I created Liquid crystal that quickly filled the vials.
"You need to process the ingredients first, right?!"
Thalia asked, her normal calm and stoic nature ever so slightly slipping into very mild panic.
"Normally yes, but we don't have time!"
I yelled shaking the vials as I used another skill.
You have used skill Liquid Crystal Consolidation(E) X 2
You have created two vials worth of liquid crystal
You quickly process the makeshift potions using skill Quick Brew(E)
You have made basic antidote(E)
Due to its rushed creation, basic antidote(E) has lost its lingering poison resistance effect.
I poured both vials into Kaelen and Liora's mouths as Thalia grabbed two more healing potions and applied them.
You have used item basic antidote(E) X 2
Party member Liora has had their poisoning cured
Party member Kaelen has had their poisoning cured
Temp party member Thalia has used item Basic Healing Potion(E) X 2
Party member Liora has healed 19 trough Temp party member Thalia's meticulous application
Party member Kaelen has healed 12 trough Temp party member Thalia's meticulous application
Kaelen's eyes finally opened as he started thrashing, pushing, and feeling at his side like he could feel a snake slithering around his waist. I grabbed him and held his arms for a moment until his breathing returned to normal.
With the situation now no longer dire, I could feel my legs wouldn't hold my weight if I stood so I stayed seated as the whole group took a sigh of relief. Kaelen looked down at the minor, but mostly fixed wound as Jax and Selene walked over to sit down next to us.
"Yikes, that was close, and did you see the system window!? I think we found the boss of the dungeon."
Thinking back to the room, the setup of it was obvious. The son probably saw the box and entered, expecting to find an item, maybe even leave, but got shot in the side of the neck, stumbling before falling over dead. While I'm not sure how the father got shot or even if he got shot, for all I know, he was stabbed or ripped apart by the cohort of zombies from before. Selene looked over the rest of us before taking what seemed like a calming breath before asking.
"W-what do we do about the archer though, he was shooting from a thin hallway, so even if we rush them, we will take several arrows before getting to them, and those arrows can take out everyone but Jax and m-me in a single shot."
"Worse news, we ran out of ingredients for antidotes."
Thalia said, shaking out the empty jar as if to demonstrate. We all sat for a quiet moment before Liora spoke her voice oddly somber and soft.
"I… I think this dungeon raid is a failure."
Jax jumped up at this and started pacing the room before turning back, an idea written on his face.
"What if we grabbed a makeshift shield out of the table and get to the room by letting it take the arrows!"
"I only have 2 healing potions left, and no more antidotes, so even if we win the fight, the chance someone dies due to the poison is practically guaranteed."
I said starting to place the hastily pulled out equipment back into my bag.
"Then we can make makeshift armor out of the stuff around here, plus we can-."
However, as he spoke, I felt a boiling feeling rising in my chest, maybe it was because I was feeling extra responsible because of saving Liora and Kaelen, but to my surprise I yelled.
"JAX! LOOK AROUND YOU! Nobody is in top shape anymore, and two of your party members just almost died, even if we were in top form, that boss has both positioning, strategy, and weapons we just can't handle. Face it, we aren't winning that fight."
Jax turned to be a bit surprised, in the month and a half we had known each other I had never yelled at Jax, so it seemed that it both caught his attention and grounded himself a bit. He stared at the ground, his mind still racing as to how we can do this as Kaelen turned to Thalia.
"Can you use your strings to grab the two body's, let's take them back to their home at least."
Thalia nodded, walking over to the edge of the dark room, she let her strings snake into the room as the two bodies were pulled out. Selene picked them up, using an extra blanket as a barrier between her and rotting flesh as Kaelen and Liora lead the way out of the dungeon. Both vanishing in sparks of light. Selene went next with Jax walking after her, his normal bubbly attitude now replaced by a somber silence as he followed, his head pointed at the ground. I started to follow when I got a system notification.
Temp party member Selene has swiped one of the dungeon items
Item: Ring of mana storing(E)
Captain Pices feels his item being taken and orders his soldiers to charge
I heard the silent dungeon around me suddenly replaced by the cacophony of noise as Thalia went running past me, a certain fancy box in hand. Not wanting to see the source of the noise, I followed, both of us darting to the ladder as we vanished into sparks of light.