A Full Frontal Assault Plain

Zain and the group had just made their way to the end of the corridor, they were growing wearier from the travels they had endured thus far when they came across the usual stone double door that stood in their way. This one was different, instead of a depiction of the creature it held inside, it had an inscription.

"When ice is below freezing temperatures, it is harder than most metals. However, with a little heat, over time, the ice will shed back into the water in which it came from. This is the first of six battles. There will be no more long walks. Just climb down the flight of stairs to your next opponent. Each will be harder than the last but with enough grit and a heart of fire you might just pull through."

Zain swallowed hard at this. He knew what it was implying so he sat in front of the door blocking it from opening. "Rest for now. We are going to need fire in order to beat this thing. I highly doubt one torch is going to cut it. I have some alchemical weapons, but I don't want to waste all of our supplies in one shot, especially when we have five more consecutive fights after this one."

Sophia gulped hard and sat down, she shut her eyes and started relaxing while the rest were doing the same huddled around their one torch.

Zain started taking inventory of everything he had on him. One vial of hell fire, two vials of acid, three vials of sleep gas he had personally concocted, and four small explosives. He had a whole pouch full of ammunition at the beginning but when he took count again, he was down to forty-five regular bullets and about ten throwing daggers.

After taking count of his supplies, he looked around to see almost everyone else with their eyes shut. Damascus was the only one not trying to sleep a little at the moment.

"Get some rest. I'll wake someone when I need a watch change." Damascus nearly growled towards Zain.

So, Zain shut his eyes and drifted into a soft sleep not wanting to be unable to function upon waking up.

Zain awoke to a gentle pat on his shoulder from his father as everyone else was waking up. It hadn't been the most comfortable sleep but was still enough to get him slightly rejuvenated.

As he made his way to the stone door again, he noticed another inscription on the other door that he hadn't seen before so he read it aloud. "Be warned, once you enter this door, there will be no going back. After each fight, you will descend a staircase that will lead you directly to another floor boss. This will not be an easy feat. Once you have beaten the last one, an exit will appear."

After it was read aloud, the whole group seemed a little more reserved when Zain turned around. Their expressions had grown a bit gloomier, and their posture had begun to slouch a little. Reaching back into the archives of stories he had heard of his parents and his uncle who wasn't related by blood, Zain began to try his hand at pep talk.

"Father, what happened to the Zombie horde killer? And Damascus, what happened to the titian slayer? I heard the stories of you two growing up and always looked forward to seeing you in action." Zain said these and looked at his mother. "I never heard tales of you, but I also knew you used your alchemical products as weapons but never really knew how until this dive we are currently on."

All three of them just nodded knowing his words to be true, they still look as youthful as when he was growing up which was a shock to Zain as he was used to the aging that happened when he was alive for the first time.

Sophia upon hearing about this had a smile creeping across her face. She knew what Zain was trying to do, but he was going about it lacks a little something. "So, what is our plan here? We have six back-to-back boss level battles, and we don't have a way out once we start."

Zain thought for a moment then tossed his mother his one vial of hell fire before speaking, "We fight like our lives depend on it. If we get backed into a corner I have some means of helping, but that will be mostly up to my mother. Damascus and Sophia should be vanguard while me and my father pull up the rear with our marksmanship."

His plain for a formation was sound with marksmen in the back but Sophia saw one glaring misconception she had to bring up. "So, what about a rear guard?" She asked, half expecting them to laugh at her.

"With the next stages being solely boss level fights, I didn't see a reason to include that due to the fact that we will most likely be going head-to-head to bosses back-to-back." Zain started saying before continuing, "however, if you feel the need, we can have you two alternate between it during the treks between boss room fights."

Sophia nodded in agreement with this. Zain turned to face the doors once more and with a push it exposed the dark that laid before them with a chill being sent through the air. He looked towards Damascus and Sophia and motioned them to enter first. His mother followed directly behind, then him and his father brought up the rear.

As they walked through the door, it just behind them lit up the room, revealing that it was completely covered in snow and ice. The subzero temperature had allowed the forming of stalagmites and stalactites to form and encompass the surrounding walls. It was in and of itself a frost cave that had something in the center.

In the center laying on the ground was a being of immense proportions; it was probably about eight foot from foot to head with long and lanky arms and powerful looking legs. It had fur coming from around its neck and down its shoulders and on to the back. The head looked like a deer skull with antlers.

 As they moved in a little closer, Damascus stepped on a loose patch of ice that crunched under his feet and the being stirred, waking up and under the skull was a set of red glowing eyes. The creature cocked its head to the side and let out a deep bellowing "Gggrrraaaahhhhh!"