As they stepped into the dimly lit stairwell the air seemed to hum with a low, unsettling frequency. Zavier paused mid-step, his senses heightened by the sudden shift in atmosphere. He scanned the concrete walls, watching the dim emergency lights flickering overhead cast eerie shadows that danced across the staircase. The smell of burnt metal filled his nostrils, sharp and acrid.
"Hold on," he said. He activated the last enchantment he'd stored in his Sonic Screwdriver, the ball of light that Ed had shown him, and moments later the ball appeared in front of him, casting the landing in dangerous shadows. There was no option to go up so he pushed with his mind and sent the ball down the stairs.
Then they saw it.
At first, it seemed like a tangled mass of limbs, barely discernible in the shadows clinging to the far wall. But as the light traveled toward it the grotesque form became horrifyingly clear in dappled, shadowed relief. Multiple bodies, human and inhuman, had been fused together, grotesquely sewn into a single living entity. Limbs jutted out at unnatural angles, dozens of malformed hands twitching with faint, erratic movements. Faces frozen in expressions of agony and madness stared back at them from within the mass, their eyes wide and vacant.
In the center of the writhing mass an oversized, glowing eye burned with electrical energy, casting an eerie blue light that flickered in rhythm with the crackling electricity arcing across its metallic grafts. Wires and metal plates had been grafted into its flesh, merging with the bodies, sparking erratically as the creature twitched and spasmed in place.
"What IS that?" Luna's voice wavered, barely above a whisper just as they all cast Identify. Zavier suddenly wished that their constant use of the spell hadn't given them the ability to see its description - yet at the same time he wished it had advanced to the point where it would allow him to see this thing's abilities.
Name: Homunculus Electromancer
Level: 10
Description:
A twisted amalgamation of multiple bodies fused together through the errant energies of the power plant, the Homunculus Electromancer is a grotesque sight. Its form is a tangle of limbs and torsos, with wires, metal plates, and electrical components haphazardly grafted into the flesh. Dozens of hands and malformed faces protrude from its body, some twitching with leftover motor function, while others are forever locked in expressions of pain or horror. Its skin is cracked and oozing with a glowing blue light, pulsing in time with the electrical surges coursing through it. Despite its shambling, chaotic appearance, the Homunculus moves with erratic speed, limbs contorting and snapping into place with a constant hum of electrical energy. Its most prominent feature is a single large, glowing eye in the center of its chest, which tracks its prey with unsettling precision.
The massive amalgamation shifted, its clawed hands tensing, ready to strike. Its form jerked and twitched, unnatural and wrong, like something born of nightmare and pain. Then came the sound - the high-pitched whine of electricity and unearthly screams. The light in its grotesque eye intensified and arcs of blue electricity crackled across its skin, jumping between the metallic components embedded in its twisted body. Zavier's stomach churned as he realized the thing was watching them, its single glowing eye locked onto them with unsettling interest.
Then it came at them.
The creature's movements were unnatural - jerky and disjointed as it crawled along the walls with alarming speed. Metal claws scraped against the concrete, sending sparks flying as it clung to the walls and ceiling with grotesque ease.
Cass rushed forward in a blur only to be thrown back at them, its mass too much for his bucklers' rebound effect. Zavier's chain was in the air and its tip sunk deep into the glowing blue eye, drinking deep of the energy within. The creature screamed and batted at the chain, freeing it with a disturbing slurping sound and sending Zavier flying into the side wall. Tess had both pistols out and was firing into every eye she could see, the creature's bulk rippling, halting its forward momentum as it swatted at the oncoming barrage.
"I'm out!" Both barrels locked in the open position. She holstered them and had Claw and a machete out in a single motion.
Power rippled around its bulbous body as the metallic lines increased with a blue glow. Their hair stood on end and ozone filled the air just before a wave of electricity shot from its body.
Luna leapt in front of her family, the Lunar Lightning Rod held in front of her like a wizard's staff. The arcs of energy curved toward her as they were pulled into the staff, its tip turning into a blue sun bright enough to make the rest of the family shield their eyes. A cracking sound, loud enough to set their ears ringing, ricocheted in the small space and an explosion of light and power shot from the wand in a beam as wide as Luna's arm. Metal plates and wires ruptured around the beast's body in crackling waves like fuses, sending flesh and wired components flying as it coursed through the thing's body like a rushing river.
It tumbled backwards into the stairwell, heavy thumps and thuds accompanied by pained and furious screams.
"Holy hell," Zavier said as he regained his feet.
Luna tapped her rod against her hand then holstered it. "It's out of juice."
"Do you think we killed it?"
Tess looked over the railing, squinting into the darkness at the landings below. "Z, send your light down there. I can't see."
Zavier moved next to her and sent the light down the open space that was the center of the stairwell.
"FUCKING CHRIST!" He yelled and jumped back reflexively. It was climbing the railings at a rapid pace. Its blue glow was gone but it was still a few hundred pounds of twisted limbs and claws and it was coming for them.
"Catch up quick!" Tess yelled then vaulted over the railing, both weapons held in reverse grips.
As Tess dropped she switched out the machete with Shimmer and activated its Invisibility Stalk enchantment to effectively turn invisible for the first hit - she needed the extra attack and agility. She prayed that the 15% chance of a spectral cut would work in her favor. Her biggest hope was that the combination of Shadow Abush's 30% increase to damage combined with Claw's 20% chance of inflicting dark damage would be enough to knock this thing on its ass. She had a sinking feeling that she'd need Claw's healing Life Drain ability before this was through, though.
The fall only lasted a few seconds but Tess's enhanced perception gave her all the time she needed to target the monster's closest heads.
Tess fell onto the homunculus like a hammer from the gods.
Indomitable wiped all fear from her heart and turned her into a hunter. Weapons Mastery and Bladestorm gave the huntress claws. Her blades landed an instant before she did and she relished the sight of dark energy pouring out of Claw in an inky cloud. Before the thing's body could register her impact she had buried Shimmer in the closest head and Claw had torn half a dozen deep gashes across its body. Claw-tipped hands surged around her faster than she could react and she was harried on all sides, barely keeping her feet from the brutal onslaught. Fists punched, hands grabbed, and ragged, metal-tipped bone slashed. The relentless response gave her no time to think, no time to plan, but Tess had become a veteran of fighting on instinct and reaction. An animalistic growl escaped her as she redoubled her efforts - kicking, slashing, punching, even biting. As brutal and chaotic as it was, she was even more so.
There. She had cleared a mere second of breathing space, but it was enough. She pulled out the Toxic Weaver Dagger, burying it into the center of its fleshy mass. She left it to do its poisonous work while she wielded Claw with deadly speed, lopping off any grasping hands and snapping claws that came close enough to reach her.
Tess screamed as a sharp pain shot through her leg, a silvery spike tearing through her thigh. She could feel the blood soaking her pants, but she couldn't stop now. The creature's claws came at her again, and she pushed the pain aside, focusing on the fight. Her hand tightened around Claw, the healing property kicking in slowly. She wheeled and sliced, the limb flying away with a spurt of black ichor, but she didn't have time to remove the spike from her leg. All her attention was focused on keeping the neverending barrage of limbs from reaching her.
Even with Claw's healing she felt herself losing momentum - if she didn't end this now she was dead. She attempted to activate the Moonshadow Pendant's fear ability but a full night must not have passed. Has it not even been a day? The errant thought cost her as she felt multiple hands grab her ankles in an unbreakable grip. Without any chance to orient herself she was swung through the air and hurled into the opening between the stairs, too many stories up to see the bottom.