Gloria had warned us that the temple wasn't abandoned. A warning that was born out because we were careful enough not to rush in. We spent the better part of a day simply watching. It was easy to spot the Murloc patrols and even easier to learn the pattern and timing they used during those patrols.

The Murlocs had posted roaming guards that were fiercely territorial and would attack everyone they encountered. We saw that firsthand when a [Bell Spider] was unlucky enough to cross their path. Most of the scouts used spears as weapons, but each patrol did have a caster class. A shaman-type caster that was capable of casting damaging spells as well as a spell that healed the Murlocs that received injuries.

Watching them fight, it was hard to believe that they were a species that had once focused on resource gathering and crafting. We had only managed to see one battle, but it was decisive, their frenzied response to the [Bell Spider] bloodthirsty. That they ate the spider raw once they had killed it, only added to the barbarism of the encounter. Their tactics and cohesion as a group were formidable, their savagery remarkable.

We planned to try to circumvent the temple ruins. We hoped that by skirting the edge of the area they patrolled we could pass by this challenge, but we soon found the Dungeon wouldn't allow it. Force barriers had been erected that forced us to travel through the temple, there was no way around it. Barriers that blazed with light and sound signaling our location to the Murloc patrols the first time we encountered one.

That first fight had been bloody and quick. The Murlocs' strategy of overwhelming their opponents ineffective when they were challenging a group of people that had fought together, had control type spells and abilities and were intelligent enough to respond to the Murloc attacks intelligently.

That first fight was more responding to events than we would have liked. The barrier signaling our position, not allowing us to consider the most effective way to win. We won, but it was sloppy, not our finest moment.

We discovered, while looting, that the Murlocs were able to be skinned, their hides a crafting component that the System had labeled uncommon. It was frightening to think that the same could hold true for each of us. That Bob could be harvested for his skin, tentacles, meat, and bone.

It added another dimension of realism and horror to the dangers of this dungeon, one that was made even more horrifying when you considered our ability to heal. I could envision myself trapped, each day healing only to be harvested for resources over and over. Sadly, the thought of that fate was a fact that Sidhe had suffered irrespective of the dungeon environment. Mab and the Morrigu had made torture an art form, flaying and skinning their victims the least of the tortures they had perfected.

If we wanted to get to the next zone, we had no choice but to take our chances and brave the Sunken Temple ruins. Of course, we'd barely crossed the line that divided the temple proper from the surrounding area when a patrolling Murloc party of five aggroed on Bob. A patrol that ignored the careful attention we had paid to patrol routes and schedules. The Dungeon seemed determined to force us to fight our way through.

Bob was capable of traversing the water as easily as he did when flying, so we had agreed that he would make the most effective person to take point. If he encountered any aggression, he could lead whatever was threatening him back to the group quickly. It was an effective strategy and would allow Thutmose to peel mobs, taunting them as they came within range.

Bob normally would have attempted to solo the monsters he triggered, most Slaugh would, but he had grown used to working with the rest of us. His ability to adapt to team mechanics was largely due to his age. He like the rest of us were young enough to not have become entrenched in tactics specific to our race, we hadn't trained long enough to become inured in those tactics that the Sidhe had practiced for eons.

Bob reacted exactly as he was supposed to, retreating as soon as the mobs had aggroed and led them to where Thutmose was waiting. His shield held firm as he planted his left foot behind his right. He was rock steady, the back leg providing him the support and power he needed to withstand the Murlocs' charge.

You would have thought that fighting in a water environment would have meant that we had to worry about more than a frontal attack, that the Murlocs would have learned to launch attacks using the medium to their advantage. But they hadn't. I wasn't sure if that was a Dungeon limitation, or if their intelligence was a limiting factor.

Thutmose would have had a much harder time containing them if they had approached him using different vectors. They hadn't, and Thutmose's [Taunt] garnered enough threat that all but one of the Murlocs changed course and headed for him. Bob, mostly forgotten.

Only one remained when Bob swam past where Sieph and I were waiting. I had planned on changing my fighting style after I realized how damaging and effective [Death's Icy Breath] could be in this environment. And I was happy to see that the spells were as effective against the Murlocs as it had been the [Bell Spider]

[Murloc Scout has been slowed]

[Icy Breath does 25 damage. Stacks 1/1]

I quickly navigated my System permissions to toggle messages off during battle, only to find it was already saved to that setting. That message shouldn't have shown up, but I would worry about why it did after we had won this engagement.

Beag exited Shadow to hamstring the Murloc Scout, an effective strategy if we had been on land, and while it did some damage, it didn't affect mobility. Hamstringing an opponent that was swimming just didn't have the same impact on mobility.

With the [Water of Life] buff active, Beag was no longer forced to stay within the Shadow Realm. Even so, her fighting style remained the same. She would attack and return to the Shadow Realm to reposition for her next attack.

The Murloc Scout was effectively defeated once I'd landed my spell, it had been slowed so much that it never got within range to attack any of us using its spear. It did throw the weapon at me in a last futile attempt to do any kind of damage, but Sieph easily wrested control of the metal that had been used in crafting the spear to reverse its trajectory. That attack by Sieph did enough damage that the fight was over.

The final blow to kill the creature had come from its own weapon.

Turning our attention to the four remaining Murlocs that were focused on Thutmose, I released a succession of [Death's Icy Breath] targeting each Murloc individually.

[Murloc Scout has been slowed]

[Icy Breath does 25 damage. Stacks 1/4]

[Murloc Scout has been slowed]

[Icy Breath does 25 damage. Stacks 2/4]

[Murloc Scout has been slowed]

[Icy Breath does 25 damage. Stacks 3/4]

[Murloc Scout has been slowed]

[Icy Breath does 25 damage. Stacks 4/4]

I finally understood why the System messages were being displayed. My spells stacking effect was shared across targets. I wasn't certain what the stacks did, so I decided to give my battle log a quick glance to see if it might explain what was happening.

It was easy to spot what was going on. The spell had a debuff feature that not only included a slowing effect that lasted as long as the stacks remained, as well as an added damage over time component to the spell. Each stack did two points of damage at this level, so by the time I had landed that fourth cast, I had done 25 initial damage, and 8 damage every second after.

The fight was pretty finished at this point. Thutmose could have kited the Murloc Scouts and my damage over time debuff would have finished them off. That effect would be my most effective tool when fighting groups, and it made me realize for the first time that my [Shadow Druid] class was as much about spell casting as it was [Stealth] and [Backstab].

That realization came with System spam.

[You have gained a level - Level: 6]

[Name: Ryu de Teigh y Cyronax]

[Race: Volar-Fey/Unseelie/Cu-sith Hybrid]

[Level: 6 (2700/12320)]

[Class: Shadow Druid]

[Hit Points: 330] [Magic Pool: 210] [Stamina: 312]

[Attributes:]

[Strength: 24]

[Dexterity: 26]

[Agility: 31]

[Intellect: 18]

[Constitution: 26]

[Will: 17]

[Skills:]

[Shapeshift: (2 of 3) Unseelie, Cu-Sith]

[Dagger: (level 3 B) 12/100]

[Dodge: (level 2 B) 2/20]

[Shadow Blend: (level 3 B) 18/20]

[Shadow Passage: (Level 3 B) 20/25]

[Inspect: (Level 2 B) 1/20]

[Spells:]

[Shadow Blade: (level 1 B) 87/100]

[Death's Icy Breath: (level 3 B) 10/25]

[Portal: Summerlands]

[Portal: Bind Point]

[Pet: 1 of 1]

[Name: Beag - Level: 6]

[Race: Cu-Sith/Volar-Fey/Unseelie Hybrid]

I hadn't realized how close I was to leveling. I hadn't thought to check after we had defeated the [Bell Spider] or the party of Murlocs the Barrier alarm had aggroed. But it did seem as if grandfather was right, and I would have to wait until level 10 before the System offered any new skills and spells for my class.

I suppose that was to be expected. We didn't know if this System paradigm included level caps, so new skills and spells every ten levels might make sense for the Sidhe that could continue leveling for millions of years.

I couldn't be certain, but my instincts were telling me that level 100 would be a milestone. A cap that would require you to test yourself in order to break through to the next rank. It was the only way I could think of for the System to merge the Ranking System found on Talahm, and the leveling system System was adapting on Ijal.