Tristan

It was a slightly touching moment, Tristan thought, right up until the fairy came flying in, hot as metal fresh from the fire. She streaked toward the half-giant, stopping maybe an arm's length from Cross's face.

"What the actual, flying fuck, Cross?! What were you even thinking? If we weren't heading into the final fight of the raid, I'd be... I don't even know what I'd be doing, but I'd probably be leaving!"

The tank looked away quickly, not even trying to defend his actions. The slump of his shoulders showed his embarrassment.

But the fairy wasn't finished. "And if you'd just kept your stupid head, then we might not have had such a hard time with the end! We almost lost lives, not just an arm! I know you want a challenge, but the rest of us didn't sign up to struggle every single fight!"

When Cross didn't turn back to face her, the fairy simply threw up her arms and flitted away, over to where Sophie was standing, arms crossed and clearly shaking. Tristan suspected he knew how bad the astralist was feeling. He remembered how badly off she'd been in the days after the Venom fight, with what happened to Sneakers. He also knew she'd been quiet and withdrawn for a while after, clearly struggling to deal with her fallen friend. No doubt she'd ask Kitara for some space shortly.

Opie cleared his throat. "Anyone else need to speak their piece before we continue, or are we ready?" He was crouched beside Laura's unconscious form, using his staff for balance. His other hand flexed as flecks of green began to illuminate its edges.

Almost immediately, Cross slid to his knees by both of their sides. "She's going to be fine, right?"

"Other than her arm, yes," Opie answered calmly. "So, here we go."

The healer laid his hand on the fallen mage's forehead, just for a moment, before the emerald glow rushed eagerly from his hand into her body.

Laura opened her eyes and coughed. "Oh gods, that was..." She stopped mid-sentence as her arms attempted to lift her up but couldn't. Her eyes looked down and saw why. Her breathing became uneven, coming in bursts almost like muted sobs. She raised one hand to cover her face, but clearly she'd meant to use both--and that was what truly brought out her tears.

Tristan looked away, trying to give the woman a moment of dignity as she reconciled with her new life.

"Don't touch me!" she said only a few seconds later, and Tristan turned back just in time to see Cross pulling away.

He looked clearly wounded by the venom in her words. "Sorry, I'm... so sorry," he mumbled. It was clear he didn't know what to do, as his whole body was leaning toward her except his arms, which he'd just pulled back. "Can I help you up?"

"I'll do it when I'm good and ready!" she said, fighting through the sobs.

Tristan assumed no one else knew any better what to do than he did, as they all sort of stayed back a few paces, just letting the woman have whatever time and space she might need.

After a while, she did manage to mostly dry her eyes and rise, though a bit wobbly.

Cross, looking a bit lost, just stayed by her side, though never quite touching her.

Drannis was then the first to break the silence. "If you wish it, we could leave."

"That... depends," Cross said, looking back to Laura.

Laura scoffed. "Don't be absurd. I'm not going to stop now when what I--what we all worked so hard for--is so close. It's just an arm."

The half-giant looked down slightly at his girlfriend, concern written all across his face. "It's more than that, Laura."

Laura spat on the glassy black ground. "I'll be fine! All I really lost access to was one ring. I still have everything else. I'm the same except..." She paused, eyes flashing as she made no attempt to hide the fact that she was reading her notifications. "Huh," she said. "I think I like that."

"Like what?" Cross asked, obviously concerned.

"My new title."

Tristan was pretty sure he knew what she meant, as his own hand drifted to the center of his chest, but he still used [Identify] just to make sure.

[Laura, Human, level 16 (tier 2) thunder mage] {{Soulscarred}}

And there it was. The title that had arguably changed Tristan's life forever, too. Except while he was ashamed of how he got his, she'd already chosen to display hers like a badge of honor. She was braver than he was for that. For a moment, Tristan considered what he might say to her. Perhaps he could talk to her about his scar, relate to her that way.

"I approve," Xanax said. "It is a fearsome title."

Chessa seemed to lead a chorus of others, generally agreeing with the scaleborn's sentiments.

Meanwhile, the dwarf gave a respectful nod. "May your Path grow deeper with its new circumstances. If it is your wish to stay, then I must say, I am glad to have you along. You humans truly are made of sterner stuff than I had thought."

Laura faced him with a clearly-forced smile. "You're darn right we are. Besides, we've only got one last boss, right? And it's weak to lightning." Her face darkened. "This place owes me."

Then she turned toward Cross. "But, after this is all done," she waved her hand in a gesture that included the whole volcano, "I think I need a break for a while. The stress of the Hydra was bad enough. But this..." She raised her hand to cut off Cross before he could speak. "I love you, Cross, and that hasn't changed. It won't change. But I don't think I can do this as seriously or as intensely as you do. At least not now. I'm going to need some time."

"I understand," was all Cross said in response.

There were a few moments of awkward silence as the members of the group all seemed unsure how to proceed.

"Well," Drannis eventually said, clearing his throat, "I am glad you're willing to continue, young thunder mage. I admit, I am starting to feel this place owes me something, too."

Manama strummed a series of major chords on his lyre that sounded uplifting, almost like victory. "Speaking of which, this place still owes all of us something: we haven't collected our loot from the Heart!"

"That is certainly true!" Drannis said, marching toward the broken construct in the center of the cracked platform.

Tristan glanced over his shoulder and saw that Sophie had summoned Poof, and the pair of them were hanging back. Kitara was notably absent from her shoulder, and the astralist's eyes weren't really focusing on anything, just glossy and tearful. Meanwhile Poof was snuggling into her tight embrace. Tristan didn't really want to interrupt their quiet time.

Instead, he actually followed the raid leader to their defeated foe. If nothing else, he was going to take a piece of that construct back with him. Maybe that was what this place owed him. He wasn't sure exactly what he'd do with it, but he felt certain that he could learn something from it. And even if he couldn't, taking it back to his father sounded like a decent fallback.

"May I?" he asked, lifting up the construct arm Xanax had cut off just before everything had gone crazy.

"If it will benefit you, I see no reason why you shouldn't have it," Drannis replied. "Besides, it is only fitting that we take from it what it has taken from us."

No one else seemed to object either.

The arm was still mostly intact, severed extremely cleanly by Xanax's blazing strike during the fight. Tristan was able to fit the whole thing easily into his [Crafting Materials Bag] without a hint of trouble.

"Well then," Drannis said, shoving his arm into the rubble of the construct, "let the examination and distribution of our new treasures commence!"

His eyes widened, and he actually gasped slightly, as he reached into the remains. "This will--no, no, that will wait until the end," he said quietly to himself before announcing more loudly, "We have been truly blessed on this kill." Then he slowly pulled out a thin piece of silvery metal that was quickly revealed to be a magnificent longbow.

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"I suppose there's no question of to whom this should go," he said with a laugh.

"Only if it's an upgrade for me," Chessa replied. "Let me [Identify] it first."

Of course, Tristan did the same.

[Petrifying Longbow (rare)]: [Stonetouch], [Agility Boost II]

A longbow made from the same unusual metal composite found only within the center of the Heart of the Mountain.

He expanded the [Stonetouch] property, as it sounded pretty cool, but he wondered how it might compare to the [Petrifying Slash] that it was clearly modeled after.

[Stonetouch] Each arrow fired from this bow has a small chance to apply a mild stacking slow to the target. Subsequent applications double the amount of slow currently on the target.

"Oh," the huntress said, her eyes growing wider by the moment. "OH! Yes, please, and thank you!"

Drannis bowed slightly as he presented the bow to Chessa. "Yes, I couldn't imagine you wouldn't want it. You have more than earned it already, mighty huntress."

"Especially since I'm pretty sure you struck the killing blow," Opie added, bumping up against her shoulder.

"It'll just make our next fight that much easier," Chessa said, already examining and flexing her new weapon with all the glee of a child on their birthday. She nocked an arrow, then two, then three, and pulled the string back as she found a mark on the volcano's outer wall and let them fly. Based on the huge grin that spread across her face, she was delighted by the results. "Oh yeah. I can definitely get used to this!"

"But we mustn't forget that we have a second piece of loot, and by all accounts, it may be the finer of the two!" Drannis was clearly excited by this one, which Tristan hoped wasn't just because it was tank gear.

The dwarf lifted out a red-glowing amulet, holding it delicately and displaying the luminescent red gemstone for all to see. Given that it was roughly the size of Tristan's first two fingers curled, the stone's beautiful and pristine cut was all the more impressive.

[Heart of Volcanic Flame (epic)]: [Flame Shield], [Extra Heart], [Endurance Boost]

A pendant embodying the untamed might of an ancient volcano.

As an epic item, Tristan shouldn't have been surprised by how powerful the necklace was, but when he expanded the properties it possessed, he was still blown away.

[Flame Shield] While wearing this pendant, all damage you take is reduced by 10%, which you deal back to the attacker as fire damage. Additionally, once per day, you may increase that damage reduction to 50% for 10 seconds.

[Extra Heart] While wearing this pendant, each day at dawn, you gain 10% of your total health as additional maximum hit points, which expire at Dusk.

These were both incredible tanking boosts, and to gain a flat bonus to Endurance, too, put them into the realm of absurdity. So when the dwarf turned to his tanking partner and began to speak, Tristan wasn't at all expecting how their exchange actually went.

"How would you like to deal with this, Cross?"

"You take it."

Apparently Tristan wasn't alone in his surprise, as practically all the others turned to look at the half-giant in shock.

Drannis himself leaned back as if struck. "Cross, you must not have seen the item in question. Please, pay attention and let's discuss--"

"Nothing to discuss," Cross said, cutting him off. "It's the Heart. I know it's the Heart. I know it's amazing. But I'd feel like utter shit if I tried to take it from you, especially... Just take it."

At his continued dismissal, Laura actually approached and held out her hand, which Cross took, squeezing, while giving her a sad smile.

Drannis didn't quite give up though. "But Cross, you haven't received a single piece of loot yet!"

"And that's fine with me. No matter what you all may think of me, I'm.. I don't deserve this one."

Drannis sighed and stood up, placing the amulet around his own neck. "I would be a fool to try and push you further, given how beneficial this will be to my Path. I thank you, and I shall not forget it."

"It was an honorable decision," Xanax acknowledged, clearly approving.

Looking from face to face, however, Tristan could see that still not everyone was as forgiving. Kitara especially still seemed upset and had flown quickly away. She now stood at the edge of the black platform, staring down into the volcano's depths.

"Are we ready to discuss the final encounter, then?" Chessa asked.

"The hardest encounter, given what we've now set in motion," Manama added.

Drannis nodded. "Aye, All Sides Lose is not for the faint of heart, but we shall still prevail! Cinderbark has fallen, as has the Heart of the Mountain. Now only one force remains."

"The Water Demon," Opie said with both a hint of excitement and a grin. "I'm so freaking ready to deal with that giant wet jerk again!"

Chessa nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and this time he'll actually be targetable."

Tristan thought back to everything Chessa had said about this fight, and it was a lot, but he still had one important question: "How is the All Sides Lose version of the fight different?"

Cross was the first to respond. "It's a lot harder. With the Heart gone, we don't get the buff that boosts our damage output, and it won't help us by handling some of the adds."

Chessa picked up where the half-giant left off. "We'll also have a larger battleground, since we won't just be fighting on this platform. When it falls, we'll have to defend the whole width of the volcano."

Behind him, Laura asked, "Will we take damage when we--and the whole platform--fall?"

"No," Chessa answered.

"Why would more space make the fight harder?" Manama asked. "After the last encounter, I feel it'll be nice to be able to spread out more."

"Because the wider area means the adds can spawn farther away, which will be harder for the tanks to manage," Chessa replied. "This will also be more of an accordion fight. We won't be able to spread out all the time. Instead, we'll have to spread out some, and then collapse back together, and then spread out again... Over and over again."

She quickly explained that everyone had to stack together before a short debuff expired, to split the damage between them. [Impending Wave], it was called.

"And we'll have to spread out farther to deal with the bubbles."

"Or the adds that spawn from them, that is correct," Drannis said. "It is imperative we do not let a single add return to the boss, or we shall all take massive damage."

Chessa sighed. "And the last problem with the fallen arena deals with the geysers. Since we'll be all the way on the bottom of the volcano, there won't be hardly any warning. They'll just gurgle or pop once, maybe twice, and then blast steam straight upward."

Sophie, rubbing her chin, lifted one finger. "So why doesn't it qualify as a hardmode? With all those changes, this feels like it's going to be much more challenging."

"There's some debate about that," Chessa tried to answer, though her voice wasn't as sure as it normally was. "The side I tend to believe is that it's because it's the end of a dungeon's pathway, and not just an individual fight that can be changed back or forth, so it's locked in."

"Time to prepare," Drannis said, briefly pausing Tristan's train of thought. "Take ten minutes, and then we'll check back in. If we're all agreed at that time, then we'll trigger the final boss."

Tristan considered all that he'd heard and what he'd likely need to do in this fight. Which swords should I be using? His [Oozebane Greatsword] would definitely be one, as it did the most damage of all his options. But should he go with the [Sanguine Champion] or [Hope's Aspiration] for the other? His tanking sword would do less damage, but that's because it was designed to keep him alive. He'd trade damage for self-healing. His original sword, though, had [Brightshield], and while he shouldn't need that, he knew all too well how useful it could be in a pinch.

While Tristan considered his options, the others began to spread themselves around the platform. Drannis stayed more or less in the center. Laura and Cross went to one side, Opie and Chessa went to the exact opposite, with Manama moving over to the edge where Kitara was floating. Xanax nodded briefly at Tristan, then glanced at Sophie, and moved away from both, taking a cross-legged pose two thirds of the way out.

Tristan walked over to Sophie, who was sitting again and petting Poof. "How are you doing?" he asked her. "And hi, Poof. Mind if I join you two?"

Sophie began with a sigh. "Not great, as you can imagine. And Poof says... well, she'd like to know if you could pet her." Sophie scrunched up her nose. "Traitor. But please, Tristan, join us if you'd like."

The swordsmith smiled and sat. "Thanks. And Poof, I think Sophie might need you a bit more than I do right now. Why don't you stick with her a bit longer, and I promise I'll give you a great big hug at the end of all this--if Sophie lets me, of course?"

The corners of Sophie's lips turned up in a brief, thankful smile, though she rolled her eyes at the final bit. "Of course I'll let you."

Tristan nodded, quirking one side of his mouth as he joked, "Hey, you've been known to get kind of jealous of our special bond." He pointed back and forth from himself to Poof.

Poof gave an exaggerated nod.

"Oh, whatever! You're both traitors!" Sophie said, but she also gave a small laugh, and that told Tristan that she wasn't really mad.

The three of them just sat together and talked as the minutes ticked by. Tristan found it rather nice, since he'd only come over to offer her support and had expected to be turned away. He was happy that his friend had allowed him to stay this time, and they unwound a bit together, not dealing with the others.

"This has been a wild run," he said aloud.

"Yeah," Sophie agreed. "I think I'm going to be glad when it's over though."

Tristan thought about what she'd said and considered carefully just how far he agreed or disagreed. He'd definitely had fun running with Opie and Chessa again, but the rest of them? Well, Xanax had been great, but the scaleborn hardly even talked. Manama was delightful--except that he talked and sang almost constantly.

"I think it'll be nice to get back to just you, me, and the astrals again," he eventually replied.

"I agree," Sophie replied. "It bothers me that no one else seems to see them as anything but stat sticks. And you were right, by the way: Opie is kind of a lot."

Tristan laughed. "Yeah, but he's my kind of a lot."

"Ugh, I hate that that makes sense to me."

"Meep meep!" Poof added.

"You are not kind of a lot," Sophie said with a sigh and a squeeze. "You're family."

If Poof responded, it was not by any means Tristan could hear, but Sophie did pull Poof into an even tighter embrace.

They continued on like that for a short while, before Drannis finally stood up and addressed the group. "Are we all ready to proceed?"

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