by A Uscila
They remained there for a time, spending it hunting down small groups of critters. Gathering experience, loot and most importantly – self-confidence and courage. Wail’s greedy-bunch of bandits no longer shook in fear and managed to properly fight the goblins. Sometimes even singlehandedly. Their old rusted weapons were now replaced with various steel swords and such. Though Wail didn’t get anything useful. Another strange tome, a belt for warriors – which he couldn’t even equip. A waste of space. But he did manage to snag a few coins right under his colleagues’ nose. Which resulted in…
Your intimacy with Bob and his fellows has fallen. They are unhappy over your recent actions.
Wail had no intentions of letting his fellow outlaws’ profit, while his coffers remain empty. Their priorities crashed. Conflicts were emerging. Wail’s leadership was high enough to take the lead in almost everything, but it wasn’t high enough to dominate the will of money-hungry goons. Not enough to suppress his colleagues’ interests. It didn’t matter much, of course. At least to Wail. He would not sacrifice his own well-being for something as uncertain as friendship or companionship. Anyone who threatened it, were hindrances – and he had a way to deal with such. All in due time.
They spent at least a day hunting and getting ready to delve deeper into the unknown of the dungeon. Morale at the highest peak, the expanse completely explored. It was time.
Wail approached a crude bridge made of rock - that hung over a bottomless pit, leading who-knows how deep. Perhaps it had no bottom, though neither Wail nor his fellow outcasts were planning on putting the theory to the test.
Beyond the bridge - a huge broken down gate awaited them. Its’ large doors barely holding onto rusted hinges. Not a single enemy in sight. No room for doubt, the party continued onwards toward it. No movement, no sound – just the echoes of their footsteps. Didn’t this situation happen before?
Suddenly, sounds of screeching metal echoed loudly, followed by an ear-numbing crash as the rusted-through doors finally gave out. The passage of time finally won another victory, another mark on the endless board of past victories. Unsteady on their feet, the group balanced themselves as the bridge shook and cracked under their feet – a tense pause following as everyone froze up in trepidation. Luckily, the bridge did not collapse. Though every single member of the group felt cold sweat run down their backs. Descending into the seemingly bottomless below, did not seem like a pleasant prospect.
A few more moments passed in ominous silence and just as Wail and the rest were about to lower their guards – what was to be expected, finally happened. A familiar noise echoed all around them. Groaning, clattering of iron, scratching and other indistinguishable sounds. Quite a racket. Surely - enough to wake the whole neighborhood, if it wasn’t awake already.
All around, did the racked echo and all around, they saw shapes and figures moving and scrambling about, on the rocks and cliffs. Most of them, though, seemed to be sprinting from behind. Where the heck did they come from so soon? Wail did not have enough time to be skeptical of the design. After all – things were looking pretty grim. Knowing from previous experience, the goblins, due to their single-minded nature, would not simply stop and exchange pleasantries once caught up to Wail’s group. And the bridge seemed quite narrow, with no protective railing in sight.
Running like mad through the broken-down gate seemed like the only feasible option. That or just plummeting down into the nothingness that lied below them. First choice it is, then!
Wail started casting Inferno and after a few seconds released its’ fury right in front of the swarm, turning its’ vanguard into a band of bright candles. Seeing their brethren in such a predicament, the rest managed to barely stop their advance - which accomplished Wail’s hopes. Surely - this hurt Wail more than it hurt the goblins. All that precious loot...
"Let's get the hell out of here! If we stay here, they'll run us over!" – The greedy magician shouted, and since his colleagues shared his fears, the five ran through the gates into who-knows-what.
They ran like the wind - passing closed doors, collapsed passages and detours. Always in a straight line - with the goblins hot on their tail. Desperately, Wail kept casting Inferno behind, whenever able. Sadly - all it did was slow their pursuers down. Things didn't look too good, though they were lucky enough not to encounter any other living obstacles. Most of the time. All that changed during the last moments of the chase – for an outwardly unthreatening individual barged their way.
Between them and a pair of large doors that led into a slightly lighted opening - he stood. An apparition of pale skin and worn attire. Covered in rusted through pieces of metal, worn over torn leather – the figure stood there almost like a statue. The only indication of life being a slight turn of the head, as it regarded the swiftly approaching guests. Right hand shifting as if to more tightly grip the brittle looking broadsword it carried. By the looks of it - days of glory have long passed for this sad excuse for a guard and Wail didn’t feel like slowing down one bit. No disrespect, surely.
"None.Shall.Pass!" – The apparition then shouted after slowly turning towards his guests – its’ voice carried far and loudly, contrary to what would be expected. It wasn't much, though. Nor did it have any effect. Before the words were even finished, the group already ran past him and barred the doors shut. Wide-eyed the guardian turned to look at the closed doors. Obviously, this has never happened to him before. Not only that, but a thundering noise approached from behind - with amazing speed. As the guard turned once again, its’ eyes went even wider. Only for a moment though. Since the goblin swarm quickly ran over the wronged sentinel and slammed itself into the doors with all the momentum that was mustered over the long chase.
The doors groaned. Loudly.
Chapter 11
A loud thump echoed about, as if something exceedingly heavy slammed into the wooden doors. The brittle and cracked wood moaning under whatever pressure came from the opposite side, the act of barring them shut to keep whatever was coming away, an almost wasted effort. For all it seemed to do, was buy the escaping group a meager amount of breathing room. The horde was upon them.
Time to find an alternative route. Wail strained his sight and observed the immediate surroundings – a large, round hall, the light from a hole in the ceiling illuminating its’ interior. It seemed like the hall itself served as some sort of a viewing room, as it was divided into two main layers. The upper one – on which Wail’s group was now present, eyes darting about a couple of rotten through chairs and benches, all arranged in a circle around the lower level. Yet what was there to observe down low, was beyond Wail’s comprehension. All the magician saw was the usual tumbling mist gathered down there, a few pieces of bone protruding from the ever-shifting surface. Oh, the excitement.
As for a means of escape? Two immediate exit points came in sight – a shrouded in darkness archway straight ahead, which led to unknown depths. That was option one. Option two was a broken-down door to the right, which looked like an entryway to some sort of a closet. It looked, simply put, unimportant. Clearly not the way deeper into the dungeon. Though it served to make the choice between the two much easier.
During all this observation - new and unexpected guests entered the vicinity. Four individuals - three blood-soaked Onnion soldiers and a hooded figure, a large bow in hand. They entered, looked around for a moment and pointed at Wail and his happy-go-lucky band of law-abiding citizens. It didn't take long for the situation to escalate. Arrows were fired, shouts were heard and the three soldiers charged at them in full throttle. All three shots were aimed at Wail - luckily he managed to dodge all of them. Though it was more likely that the shots were slightly off their intended mark.
"Bastards!" - He mumbled loudly, as his anger flashed and fireballs flew in response. Wail didn't bother aiming at the far away ranger - instead he chose the Onnion soldiers. Soon, one of them roared in pain - engulfed in flames, he ran around desperately. One magic projectile found its’ mark. A pl
easant sight indeed - at least to Wail whose scowl quickly turned into a smile. Revealing a set of crooked yellow teeth. Obviously, he forgot to never do that again.
*******
Willow followed the guards through thick and grim, mumbling under her breath all the time. Orion trio. Those buffoons picked the most treacherous paths - thick with growth, barely accessible terrain. Visibility was terrible as well, even for her. By now, she figured that they did so on purpose - just to drag her down to their level of sight. Considering that they could barely see at all due to those ridiculous helms - extreme circumstances were needed.
Most of the day, they continued on like that - cutting through the forest and its’ inhabitants alike. Their uniforms have long lost their glimmering white - now all covered in dirt and blood. Willow had a suspicion that the trio enjoyed this, in more ways than one. And boy, was she regretful of ever involving herself in this ridiculous quest! Chasing some bounty, taking orders from these primates. Seems like be it outside or inside reality, things just didn't go too well for her. Not recently at least. She'd get through this though and if luck will have it - she’ll see her three companions’ burn. Though how that would even come to be - was beyond her at the moment.
Eventually Willow was led through some narrow cave entrance, like the forest wasn't dark enough. By the looks of it - they entered some dungeon, but asking the three idiots for answers was a futile attempt. They couldn't differentiate west from south, yet they seemed so sure on where to go. A little more and they'd simply go through walls towards their set destination. It frustrated Willow to no avail. Heck, she wasn't far from shooting at them herself. There's only so much a beautiful young lady can take. And she did consider herself beautiful.
After spending a few more hours navigating through narrow caves and strange corridors, encountering barely any life - they finally came out into an opening. A large round hall.
"Bloody finally!" - She almost shouted, after noticing the piercing rays of the sun that engulfed the whole space. Yet, she wasn't the only one who reacted to the sudden change of scenery. Her lovable companions began their own show. Their thickest stepping forward and pointing at four individuals that stood further away.
"There, brothers in arms! Our long journey is finally over! Let's do the honors!" - He exclaimed loudly, glancing at his two fellows standing on both sides. His trusted friends obviously nodded energetically to that and all three charged.
"Stop right there, criminal scum!" - They shouted in unison, their voices echoing incomprehensibly throughout the hall.
This was the last straw. Willow didn't even care who they were chasing after anymore. For what crime. Are the people she was shooting at now their actual targets? It just didn't matter. She let loose three arrows at the mage, who seemed to be the most aware of the situation. To her frustration - she missed. Seems like walking into such a lighted area after all that darkness handicapped her accuracy.
No matter, she got to see how one of her favorite trio was set on fire. Seeing him running around like some candle, screaming all the while gave her chills. Pleasant chills, of course.
Soon - the hall exploded in a heated melee scuffle - her forces now outnumbered by one. That and the mage was supplying his colleagues with plenty of cover-fire. In more ways than one.
Willow was starting to get mildly annoyed by now - her arrows just kept on missing the mage. Obviously it was his fault for not standing still, not hers. She was forced to change targets and shoot a few arrows at one of the bandits - hitting him in the shoulder and leg. The result? One less bandit to fight, as his impaired fighting ability caused an unfortunate accident. Him being cut down like some sow.
His living companions seemed to put in more effort - delaying the inevitable. Everything was shifting towards her favor, until a fireball managed to graze her - just enough to set her cloak on fire.
"Fuck fuck fuck!" - She shouted after trying to put out the fire - repeatedly pummeling it. Once that failed she took the cloak off and glared at the mage.
This was personal now. That was her favorite cloak! She slowly notched an arrow, aimed, drew and was about to reduce the number of wizards in the world.
Sadly though, it was not meant to happen. As she was about to let loose, a sudden explosion shook the whole hall, as splinters and burning body-parts bombarded its’ temporary guests. Her arrow flew way off the intended target and everyone stumbled to their hands and knees.
Willow turned her head and noticed that the large doors that were barred before - were now one big smoldering hole with a fiery creature in the middle. Bright red flames engulfed his skeletal form - as he slowly walked into the hall. Stepping over charred goblin parts, quite a lovely sight. Or would be - if he was on her side.
"None.Shall.PASS!" - He then roared like a fiery beast from hell, reminding a certain magician of a certain someone that was briefly met not too long ago.
"Shit!" - Was the mage’s reply to that. Quite an apt description of the situation.
His trusted companions seemed to share his point of view - as the two of them scattered to all directions. Seeing that, the mage cursed under his breath yet again and joined his fellows. Around the lower part of the hall he ran - towards the archway.
"Oh no you don't" - Willow mumbled. She slid her bow around the shoulder and drew a fancy dagger. Golden, with luxurious engravings. Like its’ beauty would calm the souls of its’ victims.
By the looks of it - Willow didn't care much about her purpose here, nor about the bounty. Her eyes were fixated on the mage, as she ran at him with remarkable speed. Poor cloth user, the dagger would slice through him like butter. Would - but didn't. As the mage finally noticed her approach, he turned - wide-eyed, a fireball conjured in his right hand as a last resort.
Once she saw his face, Willow joined her prey – her eyes now wide as melons.
"You!?" - She shouted - knocking into him due to the shock, her previous intentions all but forgotten.
Into the lower section they fell, through the mist and into a pit beneath it. A bed of spikes at the very bottom. Not the most pleasant end - the two closed their eyes and braced for impact. It would only take a moment. Hopefully – the pain wouldn’t last.
Chapter 12
You have received 2947 fall damage.
Wail did not die. Sure, his pelvis got a taste of tough love – but more than that? Nothing. He opened his eyes and looked around. What a sight – bottom of the spike pit. Not a single scratch on him. Excluding the fall damage that left his health points in the single digit percentages. Due to some miracle, he managed to fall in between the spikes. His assailant? Not so lucky. Wail got a lovely chance to look at her impaled figure before she disappeared into particles. With a few presents left behind – a luxurious dagger and 20 gold coins. Truly, another hard earned prize.
Gathering it all up took only a second. There was no point to hesitate after all – time was of the essence. Also, you never knew when some sneaky rodent jumped at the opportunity of shiny things.
Once done with all the looting, Wail decided to sit down and munch down on some stale bread. Alone. In a dark pit of death. With who knows what lurking in the shadows and no obvious route of escape in sight. Smart man that Wail. A master at setting priorities. Never wasting a single minute.
Belly full and satisfied, now all he needed to do was find a way out. And what do you know? It was but a few steps away – a narrow tunnel that might lead to an even more dangerous location. Yet Wail didn’t have much of a choice. Wait for his trusted colleagues to rescue him? Or find a way out by himself? Difficult choice, to be sure.
Wail was forced to almost crawl his way through the small tunnel - like some sewer critter. Didn’t like them much - due to the wet fur, they burned terribly. Other than that? He was paid, got some loot, tummy full of cheap cardboard bread and even his assailant was dead. Competition is most likely gone and no one was after his poor self. Heck, even darkness wasn’t much of an issue with fire in his hand. Thing
s couldn’t be going any better.
As such optimistic and self-preserving thoughts caressed his inner-mind – Wail finally came out into an opening. A dark little chamber - illuminated by the light from Wails fireball. Probably its’ first light in ages.
A barren chamber with the only object in it - a small rectangle shaped platform. Frankly, it looked like a stone coffin, but that might just be Wail being morbid.
On it - a simple dagger with a bone hilt, its’ smooth surface shimmering in a deep purple. Considering how old and un-kept the place was – the weapon itself seemed to be in tip-top shape. Robes accompanied the dagger – black, with red embroidery and weird symbols on it. Items. One wouldn’t need to stress his mind to guess what would happen next.
Peculiar dagger
Description: A strange dagger made out of unknown material.
Durability: 40/40
Damage: 25-33
Requirements: Level 75, 20 Strength, 60 Intelligence.
*Unknown
An almost useless item, with unimaginable requirements. Wail wasn’t fooled by it one-bit. Obviously - certain conditions needed to be met - to unlock the true stats. Same story with the robe…
Simple black robe
Description: A worn black robe. Maintained in good condition - unaffected by the passage of time.
Durability: 31/35
Defense: 15
Requirements: Level 75. 60 Wisdom, 80 Intelligence.
*Unknown
