'Well, shit…'
Looking down at the now broken blade of their spear, G attempted to back up from the statue and refocus themselves, but the angry figure used one of its warped legs to kick at their right side. Unwilling to separate from the spear again, G quickly braced as best they could and took the kick while trying to keep balanced.
When the metal leg connected with G's leather armor, it felt like it was as thick as a tank top. Feeling a cracking sensation in their midsection, G was shoved into the wall with a crunch.
Managing to hold onto their spear, G fell into a back-roll, tumbling onto the lower ledge. Landing on their back, G sat up and tried to stand, but flinched.
'That hurt a lot more than I thought…if I was flesh and blood, that might have killed me. This armor is crap. At least I can still move though…'
Seeing G roll down the ledge, Alex quickly knocked and loosed another arrow towards the scared statue's head, hoping to distract it.
"You alright down there, G?"
"I think that kick broke something, but I'll manage."
'At least they're all right.'
Assessing the damage to the statue, Alex saw that his arrow had struck true, and the statue had resumed its attempt to reach him. Although it was trying to approach him, Alex wasn't very worried at this point. While its blows were heavy and fairly swift, it was getting clumsier and slower with the injuries to the legs.
While G had to step in to attack the figures, Alex could simply stand back and attack from a distance, even if it was only for miniscule damage by comparison. It would at least serve as a distraction for G to recover if he kept the statue's focus.
'I wonder how bad the damage to G was…it sounded like a solid hit, but using blunt damage against stone isn't very effective. I guess the best move would be to wait for G to recover so we can get more heavy hits in.'
Moving to the space between the 2 nearest sets of stairs up to the topmost ledge, Alex placed himself nearly up against the wall, though he was careful not to lean against the moss. After seeing the moss inside of the wound on the calm statue, Alex figured that it was better to keep away from the stuff, even if that was being overly cautious.
From the way the statue fumbled against the stairs up, 2 legs on the next step and 4 on the walkway of the second highest ledge. While it was able to partially move itself onto the stairs, the weakness of the remaining legs proved too much for it to continue.
'As long as we can get another leg or 2, it won't be a threat anymore. I guess my next arrow will be my last. Need to keep one spare just in case, and I doubt the arrows I used here will be in great shape after being recovered.'
Loosing his last arrow at the scared figure's arrow-filled knee and hitting, the statue barely flinched, as it had much of its weight supported by that leg. That worked as a double edged blade however, as the impact of another arrow seemed to damage its structural integrity.
The amount of weight being put on the injured knee was already straining the moss covered metal, but the final arrow served as the breaking point. A sound reminiscent of a power saw echoed from the leg as the weight acted like a guillotine to the scared figure's weakened joint, shearing the leg in 2 rough halves.
No longer able to support its awkward shape and weight distribution on the stair with a single leg, the statue fell forward and lost balance, sliding down the stairs and ledges with a sickening sound. Sparks flew as the uncovered metal plating of the statue grinded against the stone making up the chamber. The statue only stopped when it finally crashed against the rim of the fountain, sending chips of the stone flying like shrapnel.
The impact being between the heads of the angry and scared statues and the fountain rim resulted in the 2 heads looking like they had been placed into a low power hydraulic press as they were squashed, reduced to half their original size.
*You have slain "Silver Cage".*
*Congratulations, you have accrued enough experience to level up.*
Letting out a breath of relief, Alex relaxed his shoulders and put his bow on his back. Dropping to the next ledge, he peered over towards G, who was another ledge below.
"You alright, G?"
When he looked over, he saw G leaning against the wall, assessing the damage done to their midsection. Already having taken off their studded leather doublet, G had tied up their tunic underneath to get a clear view of their torso. They mostly looked fine, but some surface cracks were visible in their side, and some of the skin looked chipped. Looking up, G saw Alex looking over the ledge.
"Yeah, I'm fine. That kick hurt pretty bad, but it wasn't a weapon, so the impact was pretty spread out. I'll make sure it's fine when we get back to Mosshaven, but for now, let's just finish this up and find somewhere to wash off."
"Fair enough. Think we can scavenge anything from…that?"
Looking at the now broken statue, Alex took in the sight. The deformations to the statue from the fall revealed more of why was underneath the silver plating. Coming out of the necks of the 2 most deformed figures was a bluish waxy substance with the blue moss and black chunks of something mixed in.
"If the name is to be believed, the metal coating could be silver, which could fetch a good price. Problem is I don't know whether anyone would buy it with the material inside still there."
"Why don't we remember where this place is and come back for the statue? Let's bring the leg that came off with us to town, and worst case scenario I use it as a weapon for the time being, since my spear broke and all."
Looking back up to the sheared off leg laying on one of the higher ledges, Alex pondered. The moss covered metal hadn't degraded with time, and still retained its durability and shine, but it was filled with…something.
He was sure it would still be sellable, and probably fetch a good price, but the material inside could be dangerous in some way. Maybe carrying diseases or something poisonous, the material could get them in trouble by selling it.
'Well, it can't hurt to try.'
"Yeah, sounds good to me. Even if we can't remember exactly where this place is, the entrance was in the middle of a clearing, so I may be able to see it from the air if I ever figure out how to fly. Anyway, I'm going to check out the door. Do you think you can move without the wound getting worse?"
"I already said I'm fine, geez. I'm coming…"
Getting up slowly, G picked up their doublet and what remained of the spear, and followed Alex to the door in the back of the chamber. Like the door they entered through, it was covered in moss on this side, but this door was still closed.
'Why did the Cage open the other door and not this one? Maybe it knew the exit was that way? Or maybe there is something else even more dangerous past this door.'
Putting the doubts out of his mind, Alex reached for the door and pushed hard. Slowly starting to move, the glowing moss tore at the seam of the door as a darker hallway made its way into view.
Beyond the door was a small amount of moss trailing on the floor and a hallway very similar to the one they entered through, except that this one had an end. The passage went on for about 50 meters, just barely able to be seen with (Nightvision). The end of the corridor was marked by a door, but not of the same design as the one he had just opened.
Instead, the door at the end of the passage was engraved with gold and silver ornamentation forming a crest. Even in the dark and covered in dust, Alex could recognize it as the crest of Mosshaven.