.^^ the Tower ^^

— Tommy —

My back twinged a little in my sleep, waking me up, and I groaned, stretching out. My eyes creaked open, and I glanced down at my chest, where the two druidling girls were snuggled up against me, with Sandy sleeping up against Cassidy, who was reading her grimoire, and Glade nowhere in sight.

I went to sit up, and Caz shook her head. "He's taking a leak, leave him be. As uncomfortable as it is, he's in hearing range." She said calmly.

I extended my hearing, and chuckled when I heard him whistling, trying to disguise the sound of him tinkling in the river. "Such a dork." I smiled, and sat up slowly, resettling the girls. "How long did I sleep?"

"Eight hours or so. Go ahead and wake them up, they should do their necessaries and be ready in five." She nodded.

I hummed and shook the girls, restraining them before they stabbed me, and then set them to one side. "Wake up, girls, you've got five minutes to be ready or we leave without you." I warned them, and went to find a patch of riverbank for myself, spanking Glade as I passed him.

He yelped, and I yanked him backwards, before he could fall into the river, growling as I lost my own balance. As I hit the water, I reached for a bottle of poison antidote, only to screech in pain as my hand and feet began to be eaten by the acid that the river now contained. Glade pulled me out of the river, and I growled as best I could through the excruciating pain. "Base!"

He frowned, biting his cheek, and took my alchemy bag, conjuring a sack of baking soda, (the only Base he could think of, most likely,) and poured it on my right arm and legs as quickly and thickly as possible.

Caz reached us, and hissed in pain, her closeness giving her an exact copy of my pain. She surprised me by fighting through it, and helping Glade pour the base on my new wounds, then opening her grimoire, and muttering a few words in Draconic.

My arm stopped hurting, which was a terrifying thought, and then my legs, but I relaxed anyway, relieved. "Oh thank god... that hurt so bad... Caz... how did you do that? Walk like that?" I asked tiredly, as waves of bone-deep pain and tiredness washed over me.

She smirked at me. "When I lost my arm and legs? Hurt ten times worse." She boasted, trying to make me laugh, no doubt, then looked at Sandy. "Tell me you have something to at least seal these wounds properly. I'm not expecting a miracle."

I fumbled in my bag with my left hand, as that arm also began to feel weak, like the muscles were atrophying rapidly. "Stupid left hand... work properly... there! Ha!" I pulled out a bottle of Supreme Healing, and poured it on my right bicep, where the wound stopped and bone began.

A strange numbness reached me, seeing my own bones, and then pain arched through me as the bone cracked and fell off, then the stump healed up like Cassidy's had looked like when she came home.

"Huh... that's interesting." She nodded.

"Gather... Bones. Important not to leave them." I grunted, and pulled out another bottle, pouring that on my left leg, repeating the process on both thighs.

Glade nodded. "I'll make sure they're in the vault, but we need to get you somewhere safe until-"

"Shut up, cutie." I slapped his cheek gently, and leveraged myself up on one hand, scooting against the wall. "Oooooowwwwww." I groaned.

"Wimp." Caz grinned, then gathered my bones, placing them into the bag. "How you feeling? Technically you're all healed, by the look of your wounds, but that must've hurt like a bitch. You good?" She asked slowly, checking my eyes.

I saw movement at the end of the tunnel, and pointed my revolver over her shoulder, pulling the trigger until all six bullets were lodged in the giant floating ball with eight eyestalks. It hissed, offended and bleeding heavily, but then it dissolved when my grenade hit it, and I looked at Cassidy, whose ear was bleeding, and so was mine. "How's it feel, bitch?" I smirked as best I could.

She laughed and healed both our ears, then handed me her pistol. "Good girl. Sandy can stay with you and provide long-range support." She placed her rifle across my lap as well, and drew her spear, charging the Duergar with Glade dancing around her like a ballerina. A deadly Ballerina.

I giggled softly as I realized suddenly that Ninjas were just really deadly ballerinas with Swords! Sandy looked at me oddly, but fed me another potion, and my mind cleared. "Oh, blood loss, thanks." I hummed, and emptied Cassidy's revolver as well, aiming the grenade behind them so the blast didn't hit them or the girls, who joined in enthusiastically, even if they continued shrieking and turning invisible every time the Beholder's looked at them.

I looked at the rifle, and frowned. "And how do I fire this, you bitch?" I called at Caz's back.

"Use your hip, dummy!" She called back, and took two of the gnome's heads off.

I settled it against my hip, using my one good hand to aim, then grunted, setting a rock under the barrel, settling it again and pulling the trigger. The blast ripped the feet off most of the enemies, (those that had them,) as it impacted very low. I hadn't angled it high enough.

Reloading proved impossible, so I growled and reached in the Vault, pulling out the last thing replaced in it, and paused at the metal arm. "Uhm... Okay that's new."

"Weird Artificer I killed last night, possessed an Ironman Suit! Don't worry about it!" Caz called over her shoulder.

I grinned and pulled my own arm bones out, placing them inside the metal arm, after pulling out the bones of their predecessor, and began a ritual to connect the two spiritually, so I could control it. It wasn't a spell, per se, but more of a realigning, which I hoped would work.

I grinned as the fist clenched, just the way I was asking it to, signaling the ritual was successful. I pressed the other end against my new nub, and cast a healing spell, mentally crossing my fingers. I laughed a bit when the metal fingers crossed, but then grunted in fresh pain as the spell ripped open the freshly-wounded bicep in preparation for the surgery.

Next, an Adamantine interior/exterior ring slowly screwed itself onto what remained of my limb, the bone the only thing that exited the metallic cap, as if the new arm could be detached for maintenance like a pair of very fancy metal gloves. When I twisted it slowly into the proper position like the wrist of a space-suit, it activated, a magical connection sparking between flesh muscles and corded adamantine faux-muscles, as well as my real nerve endings and the fake ones in the arm.

I nearly passed out, but Sandy slapped me awake, bless her. "Thanks!" I grinned, and grabbed the rifle, reloading it and firing another shot, but this one turned out to be a hollowpoint, because the Duergar was pushed back a step, before he suddenly grew to twice his dwarfish height, bellowing with rage.

"Whoa... did I know he could do that?" Caz asked, then chopped one of his knees with a battle-axe, following up with an uppercut that split his head in two.

"Gross! But I've got two arms now! Keep going!!!" I called out, and pulled legs out, then the other arm as well, for the full measure, as well as my bones. It took me about five minutes, to repeat the ritual, but when it finally finished I grinned, downing another Supreme Healing potion, my last one. Those cost 10 gold apiece, and they were not easy to purchase, that was for sure.

I did pass out this time, but Sandy poured water on my face, then fired a magical projectile from her staff, which crashed into the back of one of the Beholders, and blew most of his stalks off.

I pushed my wet hair back, as it heated and dried, then grinned when I noticed the metal hands. "Yes!!! It worked!!! It's a temporary measure for now, but ha!!! NOTHING STOPS DUCHESS THOMAS SKØLL!!" I cheered, and reloaded Cassidy's rifle, placing the pistols in my belt as my armor and clothes fitted themselves to my body again. As magical items, the Acid didn't affect them, except that my limbs no longer filled the plate mail, identical to my sister's.

Sandy checked my eyes quickly, then nodded. "Alright, we'll check you more thoroughly later, for now we press on."

I nodded and jogged up behind Cassidy, using her back as a springboard as I leapt over her, and her opponent... and the next... I yelped as I overshot, not used to the apparently abundant abilities of my new limbs, and went out of the tunnel, into the crowd of Duergar that were pushing forwards into the tunnel and up the steps.

I slammed the butt of the rifle against the first person to come near me, and blinked when he was erupted away with a thunderclap of force from the rifle's magic. "Huh. Neat." I nodded, and then leapt straight up, loading a needle that felt warm, like I'd seen Caz do, firing at the crowd under me.

I waited to start falling down, but my ascent didn't stop until I acknowledged it, and now I was standing a good twenty feet above the group. I looked at my heels, and saw large flight crystals, far more than I needed at my weight, and my hands now had large diamonds embedded in the palms.

"Huh... I'm officially Ironman. I dig it." I grinned, and began thinking their massive numbers, before they began firing crossbow bolts at me.

I conjured the shield in my left hand, but the talisman melted into my palm, to my surprise, though the shield still itself activated on command. "Huh... my limbs eat magical items? ... Neat!" I grinned, and dove back into the tunnel to reenter the melee. I stowed away the rifle and then pulled out my wand, before sighing at my stupidity as it melded with my arm, just like the talisman.

The blade grew out from my forearm at my command, and I stabbed a Duergar through the chest, kicking him away from me so had he cracked another of his allies' necks, and then I jumped over the melee to Caz's side.

"Okay, we gotta talk, Caz, because I just got rocketboots, and I think that officially makes me the cooler twin!" I grinned breathlessly, and punched with my left hand, watching a pulse of thunder leave my hand and blast the nearest enemies away.

Iris piped up to my left. "Sorry, I kinda have to agree. From a purely aesthetic and intrigue point of view." She grinned, and then spun her staff, breaking a gnome's skull.

"Can't have that!" Cassidy laughed, and leapt backwards, throwing a flashbang into the crowd. "Eyes!" She snapped.

I grinned and covered my eyes, as the entire group was blinded. When I opened them, she was amongst them, her weapon a scythe now, as she cut them all into pieces before they could recover. I blocked a crossbow bolt with my forearm, and frowned at the mob. "This is going nowhere, we should get the Hive-Mother! She can just keep making more until we kill her!"

"If you've got a plan, I'd love to hear it!?!?!?" Caz growled, wrestling with an enlarged dwarf.

I shot him in the head at point-blank, and then emptied the revolver into the crowd, handing it to Caz. "I do, actually. Retreat to the cave. The Elder said she'd deal with the Duergar. How to do so when there's Beholders? Solution: Go where they can't follow." I grinned, and shoved the druidlings into the cave, followed by Glade and Caz.

Sandy nodded and turned earth elemental, sealing the cave with a thin wall, and then earth-gliding in with us. 'They should break that in a minute.'

"Take the maps, and then close the paths that lead anywhere except to the Elder's Cave. She'll handle them while we head to the tower. You gather Iris and meet us there, don't tunnel, just earth-glide, Alright? Can you do that?" I asked.

'That is a good plan. I'll see you in a bit.' She nodded her elemental form, and then grinned, diving into the ground again as a pickaxe cracked through the wall.

I nodded, and looked at Iris. "Now, you, I need to seal the Tunnel with a rock-slide, once all the dwarves are past the steps. The ones left will be minimal forces, and the rest won't be able to get back into the City. Just covertly Earth-Glide into the ceiling up there, and when they're all in, collapse it. Don't worry, Sandy won't be mad. Meet up with Sandy after, and then meet us under the Tower." I grinned.

She chuckled and nodded, taking a step back and then stepping forward as a small earth elemental. She gave a thumbs-up, then dove into the glass floor, swimming through the rock and dirt up to the left of where we were, but within auditory range.

I snagged the maps, shoving them into the vault, then dropped through the small opening, starting towards the actual cavern through the Warren, using the city map as a guide. "Alright, plant these at each of those vents." I handed Kiri and Glade a bundle of teargas canisters each, and pointed them at the vents.

"Got it, easy enough." Caz began showing them how to set explosives, wiring them together swiftly.

I helped them set the tear gas under the vents, then started running to the next set of vents. We went through the entire inner city near the Broken Road exit, avoiding the little pockets of dribbling acid eating through the glass above us, and basically lacing each and every ventilation tunnel with enough tear gas to fumigate the entire city ten times over. About thirty minutes after we started, we finally arrived under the Tower, amongst its foundation.

I heard a massive rockslide, and nodded, snapping my fingers. The metallic click was soft, echoing down the glass corridors, an insignificant sound like a pebble dropping, but Kiri threw up a bubble of air as suddenly every single part of the tunnels and the city above was flooded with caustic, horrible gas, derived from the Laernean Hydra's Venom and a spell I'd found that created a giant noxious cloud of mildly acidic, bile-inducing fog.

Sandy and Iris arrived back, entering our bubble before dropping their pockmarked rock forms. "That's some fog, huh? Where'd you get that stuff?" Iris coughed.

"I made it. I'm devilishly clever. Now Sandy, please cover us in as thick a dome of protective stone and crystal as you can?" I raised my other hand.

She nodded and touched the ground, making a dome of rock surround us, then sunk us into the floor snugly. "Okay?"

"Cover your ears." I grinned, and snapped my fingers again.

She flicked her fingers, creating the spell to silence things, like yesterday, then a moment later the world tilted swiftly, and we were suddenly sideways. "That shouldn't be possible... we're in the foundation of the Ruined Tower... right?" She asked.

I nodded, and smirked. "Oh it's Ruined Alright. The foundation just got ripped right out of the ground!" I laughed, and she opened the dome slowly, revealing the cavern... or what was left of it. Luckily the actual dome of the cavern and the bones which held it up were Magical Items, and therefore immune to explosives, but nothing else remained.

All around us, the fire had burned hot enough to melt the stones into a meaningless sludge, and as we watched, the air that had had all the oxygen ripped out of it so savagely was being replaced quickly; the efficient air ventilation system working like a charm.

Then I looked up, and frowned at the tower righting itself, having tipped over but not broken. The Foundation wasn't magic, apparently, so it broke, but the tower was entirely unharmed.

"Uuuugh, What is it with towers rebuilding themselves when I blow them up? WHY CAN'T I BREAK EVEN !!!ONE!!! TOWER IN THIS GODFORSAKEN FUCKING REALM OF MAGIC AND TOWERS FUCKING GALORE!?!?!? IT'S NOT LIKE THERE'S A FUCKING SHORTAGE OF EVIL !FUCKING! MAGES AND THEIR EVIL !FUCKING! TOWERS, RIGHT?!?!" I yelled at the stone walls, and growled, wheezing for breath.

Glade rubbed my back gently. "I know darling, it's very frustrating, isn't it?" He nodded calmly, and I hugged him tightly, recognizing that I was currently and irrationally focusing my rage at losing my limbs and the disgust I felt for having killed all the dwarves the day before in such a gruesome and cruel way into this feeling of a lack of accomplishment.

Sandy gasped, looking at what was left of the city. "Gods above and below..." she breathed, turning around in a circle slowly.

Cassidy hugged her, giving her a sweet kiss. "Focus, Alright? The tower isn't harmed, the Beholders and the Hive-Mother probably aren't either. We still have work to do."

She nodded. "Right... you're right... okay, Kiri, get this air back to fresh levels, Iris, put out the fires, steal the heat from the lava, use your staff as a medium, it'll replenish the magic you lost taking elemental form. Kiri, try to take energy from the fresh air of the vents, and form some clouds with whatever water is left, see if you can make this cavern your Domain." She clapped her hands, shooing them off and taking a seat. "Let's rest a bit... wow... I have no words." She rubbed her face slowly, looking at the molten ruins.

I nodded, a bit calmer now. "Yeah. With any luck, the fire also washed through the tunnels and killed most of the Dwarves. A swift death, much more humane than... the acid." I shivered at the thought of what they had felt, and what I had felt.

Caz nodded. "Oh... and Sandy? That stuff I told you about, Karma? That's what just happened, with her falling in the Acid. She paid her Cosmic Debts." She explained educationally.

Sandy shivered slowly. "I do not want any part of your God of Justice, if that is how she handles things."

"Actually it was pretty heavily favored towards me... the pain I felt ended, mostly, and I got new limbs. Their pain lasted until their final, tortured moments." I shook my head.

She froze, and then looked at the field of molten lava. "Ah... I suppose I can't argue with that."

A creak sounded to our right, as the front door of the Tower opened slowly.