Osmar The Sorcerer
"Alea, you're on the runners again," Ravi told the nodding elf, "Pick off the Witch Doctors if you can, but the runners are your top priority."
Alea's form disappeared into the deep shadows; only Callum's
"Callum, I need you to back up Boren as we move down the ledge; Osmar and I will advance with you. Amarok, can you hang back a little bit until we attract most of the attention?"
A whisper of a bark escaped the Dire Wolf's jaws as he acknowledged Ravi's question. Callum moved just behind the Shieldbearer. Together, they quietly worked out the exact positioning that would let Callum's axe fly freely, but would focus the brunt of the goblin's aggression on the dwarf.
Boren nodded to Osmar when they finalized their position on the restricted ledge; its width wasn't consistent, but it averaged about 6ft (1.8m). Osmar started preparing a ritual magic attack.
Ritual magic consumed far less Mana as the user slowly drew in free Mana from the surrounding area. However, the downside of casting ritual magic was its relatively long casting time that could stretch out into minutes or even hours depending on the spell.
Osmar was able to slowly build up the attack spell without the slight glow of the gathering Mana giving their position away; he was shielded from view due to their position at the top of the ledge.
Callum tensed up as he observed the gathering Mana, he could feel its lethality from where he crouched. Sweat beaded upon Osmar's brow as the final bits of Mana were added to the spell. It took fifteen minutes before the attack spell was ready.
The whole group watched with bated breath as Osmar eyed the roving bands of goblins below them.
A loud roar filled the pit as he unleashed his attack and a bright colored column of reds and oranges lanced downward in the blink of an eye. The column impacted an area in between two passing goblin patrols near the bottom of the pit.
Callum temporarily lost his vision as the bright light overwhelmed his
The two patrols were almost decimated down to the last goblin; a Goblin Champion was clearly on its last legs. One of the two Witch Doctors had been in the other patrol and Callum couldn't see it anywhere.
Callum could see where various lumps of charred flesh lay, which he supposed must have been the remnants of the two patrols. The Champion had survived the onslaught, but only stumps remained where its limbs once were.
Boren started shaking Callum hard and managed to drag Callum's attention to him. His lips moved but no sound came out. That's when Callum realized he could only hear a ringing in his ears.
Boren gave up trying to talk to Callum and simply pointed at the nearest goblin patrol before he charged down the ledge. Callum shook his head and slowly tottered after the dwarf; his ear drums had been damaged by the loud blast of magic.
A blessed wave of healing magic washed over Callum and he was finally able to shake off the effects of the spell and think clearly again. His first thought was to check on Amarok's condition.
Through their connection, he could tell that the Dire Wolf was pissed off about the effects of the spell, but he too had been healed and was doing just fine now. They sent each other assurances about their status before Callum terminated the link.
He picked up speed as he followed the careening Dwarf who was pinballing from one goblin to the next. Some goblins he simply pushed off the ledge and others he smacked with his warhammer.
Callum's long strides quickly closed the distance and he was belatedly able to get into the fight. Together, the two melee fighters crushed all goblins before them as they moved further down the ledge.
The goblins had been affected by the spell and it took them sometime to overcome the aftereffects. Although these goblins were a higher level than the ones from the previous floor, their unsteady state gave them very little chance to resist their attacks.
They managed to get halfway down the spiraling ledge before they met an effective resistance. The two surviving Goblin Champions stood before them; they were backed up by a handful of Brutes and a dozen Warriors.
The Champions were as tall as Boren, but not nearly as wide as the barrel chested dwarf. They had some crude iron plates for armor and wielded swords and shields. None of these goblins displayed any aftereffects from Osmar's spell.
The occasional flash of magic spoke to the spellcasting of Osmar or possibly the remaining Witch Doctor. However, no attacks came Callum's way, so he ignored whatever magical duel that was going on and focused on the enemies in front of him.
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The lesser goblins, the Warriors and Brutes, weren't able to resist the taunt and immediately tried to surround the dwarven warrior. The two Champions were able to resist it though and they tried to edge around Boren.
Boren moved to block the Champions' path even as the other goblins tried to swarm him. Callum lashed out with well timed axe strikes and removed the heads of the goblins that focused solely on Boren.
The Champions were able to break the hold that Boren's taunts held over the lesser goblins; forcing the dwarf to rely on his footwork to keep the goblins from attacking the more vulnerable party members.
The two opposing forces flowed back and forth as they sought an advantage over the other. Callum hung back and let the heavily armored dwarf blunt the goblin swarm. However, he did occasionally charge forward in order to relieve some pressure off the tank.
The dwarf would have had to constantly fall back if he had to fight alone. Callum's attacks thinned the goblin swarm and his forays into the goblins allowed the dwarf to reset his position before Callum fell back once more.
Callum heard a commotion around him and turned to see that multiple Goblin Warriors were climbing up the ledge and were about to attack the physically weaker spellcasters. He was about to rush back to deal with those goblins when Ravi shouted.
"Now, Amarok! Kill the climbers and then go help Alea," Ravi's thunderous voice echoed throughout the large pit.
"Aaaaaoooooooh!" Amarok howled as he raced towards climbing goblins.
Callum turned back to assist Boren; he was confident that Amarok could handle a handful of Warriors. He had forgotten that Ravi had asked Amarok to hold back.
By now, the goblins before the two fighters had been significantly thinned out. Only a small handful of goblins were left to support the two Champions. The Champions' armor and their shield helped them survive on the front lines for the duration of the fight.
Given the numerous targets available, Callum and Boren had focused on killing the weaker goblins. Now that the Champions had fewer supporting goblins, the party members started to advance on the diminishing goblin force.
"Boren, I'm going to peel one of these Champions off. Help me isolate the left one!" Callum shouted out. The two worked together to separate one of the Champions from the rest of the group.
Eventually, one Champion stood before Callum and Boren faced down the rest of the goblins.
Callum struck at the goblin time and time again; the Champion was able to block the strikes with his shield. It was more solid than other goblins, but Callum still had a weight advantage. Each strike left it more and more unbalanced as it tried to stay alive.
The inevitable happened and it finally stumbled under Callum's heavy axe strike. The goblin was sent sprawling and he moved quickly to take advantage of the opening. One last swing of the axe removed the goblin's head.
Callum rejoined the dwarf as he easily kept the few remaining goblins from interfering; the last of the Goblin Warriors lay dead at Boren's feet. The five remaining goblins were quickly set on the defensive as the two party members advanced.
Suddenly, magical spells started to land upon the goblins; Osmar had joined the fray. As the Goblin Brutes fell under the magical onslaught, the Champion turned and started running down the ledge.
"Who said you could leave?!" Callum shouted as he unleashed <