Tuesday, October 17, 2017

"May the force (wall) be with you." (Playthrough of One Deck Dungeon)

I descend down into darkness.  Never would I walk into the constricting darkness of this dungeon if it weren't for the promise of riches and adventure.  My skills with the bow had been honed over years of practice, of days spent firing arrow after arrow after arrow.  I can almost feel the right shot to make without even having to see it.  Now it is time to put those skills to use.


The air feels stale and lifeless, as if another living creature hadn't been down here for centuries.  Or ever.  But someone, or something, had to have carved these stone stairs that I walked upon. At the bottom of the steps there is a small entryway.  Four intimidating looking wooden doors stare back at me.  Which one should I open first?  What could be behind it?  The riches I was looking for?  A fell beast?  A dangerous trap?

My fingers wrap around the handle of the first door, but before I can even begin to pull, the door flies open and a wraith bursts into the room.   The wraith flies around the room quickly, using its vicious claws to tear open the flesh on my back.  As quickly as possible, I gather myself and search for my center.  I fall back into the hours and hours spent training with the bow.  I dodge the next attack, spin, and fired.  As quickly as it entered the room, the wraith simply vanishes.  The experience from this battle will keep me on my toes for my future encounters.

I slowly pull open the next door.  Moving as quietly as possible, I attune all of my hunter's senses to the sights and sounds of the room.  The room appears to be empty, everything looks normal, but something feels wrong.  I take a small step across the threshold, my senses straining.  As I lift my back foot, I hear a nearly indiscernible click.  I dive forward, trying to get as much distance from the door as possible, and feel a raging heat against my back.  I roll to my feet and quickly turn back.  Flames block the doorway from view and blacken the stone floor.  Danger truly is around every corner in here.  That must mean the riches within are worth guarding.

Two doors down, two more to go.  At least in this room.  I wonder how deep this cavern is?  I don't have to wait long to find out what's in the next room as I duck just in time to dodge the door that has been thrown off it's hinges in my direction.  Behind the flying missile stands a behemoth of fire and molten rock - a fire elemental.  

I ready an arrow to my bow.  This is not the kind of battle that I want to do in close combat, so I need to make my first shot a good.  Luckily for me, I came prepared for such a battle.  The arrow I have on my bow is an enchanted arrow.  Hopefully the mage I paid to do the enchanting was worth the money.  

The fire elemental roars and speeds towards me.  I take aim, wait a second, and let fire.  If this shot doesn't do the trick, I'm done.  I close my eyes and wait.  After a moment, I realize that I'm still alive.  I open my eyes and see a pool of lava melting through the flow.  The arrow did its job - it disturbed the magic of the elemental and returned it back to the ground from whence it came from.  I sigh audibly and head for the last door.

My adventure came to an abrupt halt.  Opening the last door, energy shot through my body.  Outlining the final door was a wall of powerful energy and coursed through my entire being, throwing me 50 feet back and knocking me unconscious.  Fortunately for me, another adventure found me and dragged me to safety.  I would live to fight another day, but would I choose to?

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