MH3 - Chapter 11: Shillelagh Shenanigans

“Are we,” Greg gasped, “almost there yet?” Greg fanned himself with a broad leaf and took a seat on the damp, stone step. The forest had thinned out the closer they came to a rocky hill only to discover it wasn’t a hill, but an old temple. They’d encountered a fair number of massive creatures along the way, leaving the entire party drained. Dolli didn’t blame Greg for needing a break, she wanted one, too.

Katrina paused a step higher than Greg, her eyes going distant. “Nearly. Two hundred more stairs.”

Greg whined pitifully.

Dolli paused and looked around. She didn’t see anything terrifying—some dangling vines between shadowy canopy branches—but that didn’t mean there was nothing out there. Greg would need all his stamina for the coming fight, and a break was the only way to recover it quickly.

“Stop for a rest, get your bars full and buffs up. Rufus, cloak me ahead,” Dolli reached out for Rufus’ hand.

He pulled her up onto his shoulder and camouflaged them against the bright greens of the forest and dark grays of the temple stone. When they were out of earshot of the panting group, Rufus hummed thoughtfully, disapprovingly.

“Dying to share your thoughts, are you?” Dolli asked playfully.

“We haven’t encountered any monsters in a while,” he said, his attention elsewhere.

Dolli tutted. “Don’t hex us.”

Rufus crouched and pulled around a pillar.

Dolli went on alert, dropping her playful demeanor. “What is it,” she whispered.

“Monster,” he crept forward and Dolli saw what he’d seen. A thick, yellow and black snake was strung across two branches. The skin had been peeled from half its body, and its fangs removed.

“What would do that?” Rufus asked.

“Heroes,” Dolli replied, pulling the necrotic gem from her inventory. It pulsed in her hand, and Dolli felt its desire to be made whole. “Let’s get back to the others.”

Rufus turned and sprinted back to the group with deft ease. He skidded to a halt and dropped their cloak.

“On your feet,” Dolli said. “We’ve got heroes encroaching on our staff.”

The party finished their provisions and potions, then took up battle formation. Katrina led with Greg, climbing at double-time.

Even through everyone’s gasps for air, Dolli could hear them; the heroes battling for her Druidic Staff. They were going in blind and rushed, a perfect combination for losing ones head. None of Dolli’s spells were on cooldown, and she still had a fair number of potions, so there was at least that.

The sounds of combat grew louder when they crested the top of the temple. Ahead, in a towering circle of rune-carved stones, Dolli saw the guardian of the staff: [Gorash Poison Claw]. It was three times the size of the giant boars they’d fought with the head and upper body of a bear, the lower legs of an ox, and a long, deadly-looking snake of a tail. Its body was covered in white fur marred with splashes of red blood, most of it likely its own.

Ten heroes encircled the chimera dancing through its attacks and landing solid hits. The staff sat high above the battle in a glowing spire of soft yellow light. They didn’t have it yet, but would soon. The guardian bellowed a roar when its health dropped to five percent. There was no time for a plan.

“Star-Well!” Dolli bellowed and charged forward. When she was in range, she unleashed the area of effect spells in quick succession, catching the heroes mostly unaware.

Their tank landed the killing blow on Gorash and the beam of light supporting the staff pulled her in. She floated up toward the staff, arm outstretched and face alight with joy.

“It’s ours!” The tank cried, elated.

Dolli fired a Nether Lance at the hero, but the yellow light deflected the attack. She cursed. She’d have to take the staff off her corpse.

The hero party wasted no time collecting themselves and going on the offensive. Melee attackers with thin rapiers and diseased-glowing off-hand daggers dodged past Greg with ease despite the Gravity Well, and made it into the ranks of the casters. Dolli cast Burst of Speed and zipped out of range of the first attack.

Greg pivoted, catching the third melee hero by the scruff of his hair. He yanked him to the ground and stomped one massive golem foot onto his chest. The hero yelped, but his health bar was mostly untouched.

A fire-type mage like Katrina unleashed on Dolli’s group from afar, turning the ground beneath them into smoldering quicksand. The Osorath’s sunk into the spell, clawing at their burning fur, and screaming for mercy.

It was chaos.

Dolli cast Solstorm on the Osorath, chain-healing them and dealing pitiful damage to the two melee heroes laying waste to Katrina. Rufus charged the hero tank, laying her out and stampeding through towards their casters. He went straight for their healer first, entangling her in moss.

Pain speared Dolli’s chest, and she looked down to see a bright bloom of red light where her pink and gold should’ve been. A notification appeared in her vision.

[Spark Siphon]

TK_you lose 2x opponents Mental Prowess [163] in Spark over ten seconds. Opponent can use and manipulate the siphoned Spark as long as they maintain concentration.

-----

The red Spark trickled away from Dolli in tiny blocks and drifted on an unseen wind toward the mage. Another red bloom appeared on Dolli’s leg and it disappeared out from under. Another counter appeared on Spark Siphon in the corner of her vision, then another.

Dolli drank a Spark regeneration potion and cast a Nether Lance at the mage. He held out one hand and conjured a shield from the floating red energy that encircled his body. A name appeared above his full health bar; TK_Dickweed.

He smiled. “We know all your tricks, Dollitrice.”

Dolli’s Spark was fading faster than the regen potion could replenish it, and the pain mounted. He hit her again with siphon, then compressed her lost Spark into a thick spear.

TK_Dickweed’s smile faded, and he snarled. “Die.”

The spear rushed toward Dolli and she cast Fold Reality, dropping the second portal right over TK_Dickweed’s head. The spell sheared through Dolli’s Fold, ripping it apart. The spear hit Dolli’s chest and sent her sailing backwards, then pinned her to a tree.

Agony radiated from her chest through every limb. Dolli tried to pull away from the spear, to move off it with her vaporous body as she could any other solid thing, but couldn’t. The spell made of her own Spark held her pinned in place and she watched her life drain away.

Greg fell to his knees and the tank hero smashed his own hammer through his skull, shattering his obsidian face across the path. He wasn’t dead, but Dolli bet he wanted to be. The Osorath were trapped waist deep in the ground, their skin burned and blistered, health bars nearly empty. Katrina was already gone, off for respawn.

“You’re finished,” TK_Dickweed said and stepped up to Dolli’s side. He turned his hand and the spear in her chest turned to a cage, trapping her against the tree.

Her health hovered at ten percent, unable to climb, but no longer dropping either.

“Give me the TK_Necrotic Gem and I won’t keep you trapped in this torture forever.” TK_Dickweed put his hand out, waiting for the gem.

Dolli’s being ached for death, but she grinned. “Eat a bag of ticks.”

The mage scowled. “What? That’s not… just give me the gem or we’ll camp you forever.”

Dolli pulled the gem out of her inventory. It hummed, sensing its seat not far away in the tank’s possession.

“That’s a good mob,” TK_Dickweed said.

“You want it?” She held it close to her chest, forcing the hero to come even closer.

TK_Dickweed reached through Dolli’s cage for the gem and she popped it back to her inventory with a smile. “Well, you can’t have it.”

With a final thought she triggered TK_Blackout (make sure this fits and that she gets it either after town massacre or raid massacre). Black like a starless night burst out from Dolli’s center, encompassing the entire mountain top. TK_Dickweed dropped to the ground, unconscious, and the siphon spell fell away.

Dolli slammed her last Spark regen potion and held out the Necrotic Gem, letting it pull all her energy, everything she had to give, into a powerful blast. The rays of Necrotic light hit friend and foe alike, killing her monsters that hung on to the edge of life.

The Gem_TK extracted its vengeance on Dolli for her abuse, backfiring with a power jolt of Nether energy. Searing pain tore up her arm, whipping the Spark of her body up like smoke in a tornado. The green hex ripped into her chest and with a final agony-filled scream, Dolli blasted apart. [JH1] All went black. Then, in a snap, she was back in her cottage.

She reached into her inventory for the gem, but it was gone. Dolli leaned forward in her rocking chair and found a hand-scribbled note on the table.

Overlord, you’re still in respawn and I had no other way of leaving you a msg. VV’s taken the gem and the staff, they’re headed for the charm. Rumor on the forum is they’re going to destroy it. You shouldn’t go after it. I don’t think it’ll do what you’re thinking it’ll do. ~Trina

Dolli dropped the parchment and cradled her face in her hands. How could she have been so stupid? One of those heroes must’ve survived and looted the gem off her body. But why did they want to destroy it?

Because it could do what Dolli wanted, and Katrina didn’t want the portals closed.

There was a knock at the door. Dolli didn’t look up, whispering to herself between her hands as she raked her mind for a solution. Katrina had said they were getting the last piece soon, so Dolli could still recover that much, but then what? Bargain for the rest? With what? And if the heroes knew what Dolli was doing with it—via someone’s loose lips or otherwise—why would they bargain?

No. There’d be no resolution they could come too, and Dolli was running out of time. She’d have to steal it all back before the heroes could destroy it.

The knock came again, a little louder.

“Come in,” Dolli rasped.

The door creaked and Dolli heard the hollow bells of Taffy’s shoes tinkling. “I wager it didn’t go as planned?” he asked.

“No,” she said, hoarsely. There was a notification blinking in the corner of her vision for Necrotic Hex. She assumed the raspy voice was due in part to that and didn’t care to investigate the rest just yet.

“I guess we better pack our things,” Taffy said. The bells on his shoes clanked as he shuffled his feet, but he didn’t leave.

She didn’t want to have to break the Posse’s tie with Monster Haven and abandon them to the wilds. They’d be roaming monsters, with no respawn point. If they died… wasn’t that far worse than twelve days of endless massacre in the village?

But if Taffy and his Posse ran amuck while Dolli was trying to recover the Shillelagh, it could be the end to that forever-solution if the heroes destroyed it first.

There had to be another way.

Taffy took a deep breath. “Couple’a the guys wanted to say goodbye in person. Will you walk with me to the stables?”

Dolli slumped. They’d prepared for her failure, and she’d lived up to their expectations. She wanted to throw her hands up and scream, and that wasn’t the first time since becoming Overlord—or Regnant even. Leadership was infuriatingly horrible.

“Do you want to come say goodbye?” Taffy prompted her again.

“Yes, of course.” Dolli pulled herself from the rocking chair.

Taffy frowned in disgust. “What in the unholy heck happened to you, Doll?”

Dolli turned to the mirror resting by the door. The Spark in her chest was tainted with black and putrid green. Her eyes were empty sockets with green, spidery lines stretching across her face. She opened the notification in the corner of her vision.

[Necrotic Hex – Level 1]

You have played with powers beyond your world and suffered the consequences. Aside from your ghastly sound and appearance, you are debuffed with the following:

· [-10]% to all stats

· Randomly suffer Necrotic Growth, dealing [5]% of your total health in damage over [10] seconds. Can stack up to [3] times.

The Lifestream cannot purge Necrotic Hex.

Utilizing the Necrotic Gem_TK [10] additional times will upgrade Necrotic Hex to Level 2 and reset the duration timer.

Duration: [71:56:04]

-----

Dolli sighed. “I shouldn’t have used the gem so much.”

“You look dead,” Taffy said with a wrinkled-nose grimace. “Smell kinda dead.”

Dolli nodded. “I feel dead, too. I feel so—” she stopped herself when she felt the sudden wave of emotion threatening to overcome reason. She felt like the worst piece of Overlord scum. How could she have prioritized the Shillelagh over Taffy and the Posse’s well-being?

She’d thought the Shillelagh was protecting Taffy, and Monster Haven, and all the other villages and dungeon across Hafheim. She’d thought wrong. Again.

Dolli went on, calmer than before, “I feel so sorry this didn’t work. I feel worried for you and the Posse.”

Taffy smiled kindly. “Don’t gotta worry about us, we’ve done this dance before. We’ll find somewhere far away from you’n everyone else to set the beasts free. Heck, we might even have some fun.” He chuckled at the last bit, but Dolli could see in his eyes that there was no fun to be had. She couldn’t imagine what it felt like to lose control of her mind, become a passive watcher as her body committed horrible atrocities.

“Well, no sense in keepin’ them waiting,” Taffy said.

Dolli nodded and walked a fair few feet down-wind from Taffy as they made their way to the stables. The Posse was strapping their last few bags on the backs of their reindeer in somber silence. Cookie perked up when he spotted Dolli, then his eyes went wide with horror.

Before he could ask, Dolli put up a hand and stopped him. “Necrotic Hex. I messed up. I lost the gem, and debuffed myself for three days.”

“Did’ja kill’em at least?” Nog asked.

Dolli nodded, though she was pretty sure at least one hero survived.

Ginger pulled her reindeer’s saddle taut. “S’too bad we ran out of time. I’s really startin’ to like it here.”

Time.

Something tickled the back of Dolli’s mind. “How long does the brew take?”

Taffy patted Roodaulf’s snout affectionately. “Six_TK days.”

“A full one-hundred and forty-four hours?” Dolli asked.

“Well, no, about one-hundred thirty-eight, but close enough,” Taffy said with a shrug.

“How many days until Crisismas?” Dolli was getting excited now.

Taffy scowled. “Five_TK and some change. What’s got you so worked up?”

“The valley between the rock and the hard place,” Dolli smiled. “Unpack your bags and prepare the brew materials for travel.”