Blood and Cupcakes

by Taj McCoy El

  Grax was upset there were no bosses or named mobs yet.

  They had also run across a very nasty little creature called a mist sprite. They were fist sized blobs of water that leeched your stamina and mana. When you hit them, they would splatter and then coalesce again. Mayah finally figured out how to use the Hold (E) rune and immobilize the sprites while they whittled down their hit points. They were a pain in the butt, and Margaret couldn’t cast resurrection doll on them because they were more elemental than corporeal. They were trouble than they were worth—their XP wasn’t that great either. After struggling with two of those, they moved on.

  They also ran through a ton of iron weevils, getting some nice XP. They were burrowers, digging through the ground to attack your feet and legs. Their shells were made of iron so their defense was quite high. When one attacked, Grax got behind it, pulled it out of the ground and turned it over so that either Mayah or Margaret could finish it off. Afterwards, Mayah drew a runeagram in the dirt around the stacked bodies and collected them as one whole crystal. She then repeated the process for everything in their bags. Thanks to officially partying up, they were all leveling up dramatically and sharing the wealth.

  “Hey Grax, how far are you from level ten?” She called out to the cat carrying the small torch in front of her.

  “About a third of the way there, 193/596 to be exact.”

  Margaret saw another target and stalked away from the group into the darkness. She was becoming less fearful, and trusted in her abilities more. But she hadn’t called a single doll yet.

  “Okay, don’t get level 10 yet,” Mayah warned Grax, as she kept a close watch on Margaret.

  “When you get about halfway, leave the party. You’ll be on support and rescue after that. I don’t want any of us to go past level 11 yet. We’re going to need everybody for the tournament. And I want to do some more hunting tomorrow. But we need to at least be level 9 so we can learn about our Class Skills. I’m already level 8, and Mags is catching up quickly. She’s shooting everything that moves!”

  “She really loves that bow,” Grax said through a smile.

  “I’m glad I got all of those extra arrows for her. It’s an even better thing that she can retrieve arrows now. I wasn’t happy to see those arrows go bye bye.”

  Mayah ducked under a branch, “We’re going to need to restock before tomorrow. And I really need to get some proper leathers.”

  “Are you okay, Fluff? You seem a bit too focused.”

  “Yeah, I’m okay. Why?”

  “I know you’re worried about a lot of things. I mean, you seem like there’s a lot going on.”

  “I’m just ready to get some rest after that fight with Malcipher.” At least that’s what I think it is.

  “Coming down off of your adrenaline?”

  “Yeah… it’s been a long day. I think I’m gonna call it quits in an hour.” She waved a hand in Margaret’s direction. “Margaret can just shoot everything on the way back and get some solo kills. Us being higher levels than her can’t be helping her too much anymore.”

  “Okay, well I’m here if you need me.”

  “Thanks, Grax. That means a lot. Appreciate ya, bud.”

  “Yahoo!!! Level 8!!!!” Margaret hollered in the distance.

  Mayah smiled, “Good, that means we’re making some progress.”

  “Hold on a sec. I think I see something.” He peered into the darkness and then scurried off into some bushes that were growing up against the side of a large pile of boulders. “Hey, check this out! There’s a hole here that opens up pretty big inside. Looks like there might be an entrance. I think we got ourselves a full-blown nest.”

  “A full-blown nest?” Margaret asked stepping up to the two and looking around with a little fear in her eyes. “A nest of what? …What’s a nest?”

  “Basically, a nest is a lot of mobs, maybe a named mob, and maybe some nice loot, like the terravoles.”

  Mayah rubbed her chin. “It’s worth checking out. Here, take this torch and stay close.” She turned took a step and then turned back. “As a matter of fact, I won’t be able to see if I’m holding Happiness. Time to see if I can add some light to this baby. Bring the torch closer Mags?”

  Margaret did.

  She enchanted the fire on the torch and Happiness. The torch started to burn sideways as if a straight breeze was blowing directly at the hammer. She could feel the warmth spread over the handle and it began to get hot in her hand. She moved the essence of fire until it only lay on the head of Happiness. Then she charged the enchantment, sealing it into Happiness. The head of Happiness burst into flame.

  Ding!!!

  Weapon Upgraded

  Name: Happiness (Soulbound)

  Level: 1

  Type: Two-handed battle Mage’s Mallet

  Enchantment #1: hidden

  Enchantment #2: Torch: allows for light to be cast in dark places and adds fire damage to your attacks. Can hold up to 150 MP of fire essence. At current level, 3 MP consumed per minute. To recharge, add fire essence.

  Grade: B (Unique)

  Material: Mystic Cherry wood and enchanted iron

  Weight: 29 lbs.

  Damage: 37 blunt trauma +3 fire damage when torch is active.

  Durability: 420/420

  Attributes: Scalable item. Essences of objects can be enchanted into this hammer. Once enchanted, they cannot be removed.

  Can channel the user’s mana so that spells may exit the hammer as if it were an extension of their physical body.

  “Ooh, I deserve a cupcake for this.”

  “Why a cupcake and not a cookie?” Margaret probed.

  “When I was a kid...” She thought about to whom she was speaking. “Well, when I was younger, my mom used to reward me for doing something extra creative and not just purely logical by giving me cupcakes. I used to paint all of my inventions so I could get cupcakes. Anyway this… this beautiful Happiness,” she kissed the flaming hammer on the handle, “is cupcake worthy”

  “But you just set your hammer on fire!”

  “Don’t be silly, Mags, it’s not ON fire. It’s enchanted WITH fire. So now I don’t need a torch. But I’ve only got about 45 minutes before it goes out. So, let’s see what’s in this dark creepy hole in the middle of the creepy dark forest before then, okay?”

  “You’re the boss,” Margaret acquiesced.

  Grax returned from his recon and asked, “If you’re the boss and I’m the muscle that leaves Margaret to be… what are you again Margaret?” He flashed an extremely wide and cheesy feline smile.

  “... A split second from shooting you in the leg,” Margaret grumbled.

  “No, that doesn’t sound right….” He tapped his chin with one claw.

  Mayah shook her head at him “Shut up Grax. Let’s get to work.”

  “...Sniper, Margaret’s the sniper.”

  Mayah sniffed, “I take that back, Grax. That fits perfectly.”

  “That’s twice in one day, genius. You should listen to me more often.”

  “I would if you talked less.”

  Grax stuck out his tongue at her.

  They shouldered aside bushes until they saw the opening that Grax found. Some boulders had fallen against each other making an enclosed area around an open space. They clambered inside, holding up their torches and hammers.

  “Looks like something’s been here.” Mayah pointed to a few mangled pieces of armor strewn around. Some looked like they had been chewed on. That is not a pleasant sight.

  Off to one side, there was a hole in the ground.

  As they examined the hole, Mayah noticed there were steps down to somewhere.

  “This looks like more than a nest. Maybe a mini dungeon?” Grax walked around the perimeter of the hole slowly.

  “You want to check it out?” Mayah inquired

  “We’re already here.” He gave Mayah the duh-face.

  “You going to be okay with this?” She asked Margaret. “You’ve got corpses in you
r bag and your bow and arrow if there’s room for it.” She looked at the entrance to the tunnel. “It also might be good to start working on your sword skill right about now.”

  She put her bow in its slot of her quiver of holding, pulled out her short sword and stood ready, holding the torch as a club in her left hand. Grax was armed with a katana in one hand and a torch in the other.

  “I guess we’re ready to go. Grax you first.”

  “Why me?”

  “Because you’re the smallest target.”

  “Figures.” His tail twitched in annoyance. He descended the steps, followed by Mayah. Margaret brought up the rear.

  “Keep your head on a swivel, Mags”

  “On a swivel?”

  “Keep checking behind us. I don’t want to get cut off.”

  “Got it.”

  The stairwell descended for a few minutes. It made strange turns, serving to make them lose any orientation. It wound its way through the earth like the belly of a snake. No one was speaking. Even their adrenalin was pumping silently through their veins. Occasionally, they started at a kicked pebble that bounced down into the darkness. They reached the bottom where a rotting wooden door had been torn off of the hinges a very long time ago. Grax slipped inside, torch held high. Mayah came in behind him. It was a long hallway with cells along both walls. The walls that separated the cells made the perfect setup for an ambush. Murder alley anyone? A few of the doors were hanging on by one rusty hinge or the other at odd angles along the walkway. The bars played tricks with the light, casting strange shadows as she walked past the first of the rust-pitted bars.

  Okay, it’s definitely a dungeon.

  She motioned for Margaret to stop and plant her torch in a bracket by the door and switch out her sword for her bow and arrow. Margaret looked confused, so she spelled it out for her on the party chat. Grax moved down the hallway, checking the cells. Mayah walked up behind him double checking, just because.

  A door came into view at the far end of the hall. Mayah signaled for Margaret to stay there while they scouted the next room. They opened the door and saw another room triple the width, populated by two rows of cells. Iron bars ran from floor to ceiling and ten-foot walkways surrounded each cage separating them from the other cages and the walls. She could make out the walls to the sides, but the other end of the room was still deep in shadow. The cages would have held ten men comfortably, but she had a feeling that many more than ten had been crammed into one at any time. If two prisoners were in separate cages and stuck their hands out to touch each other, they would fall short by about six feet. The room was crowded with shadows, but she could see through most of them with her Shadow Vision.

  She motioned to Grax to go get Margaret. He scampered away as she scanned the room, pulling out details as her eyesight further adjusted to the darkness. She walked further into the dungeon, noticing chains and manacles affixed to the walls.

  For holding prisoners.

  And there were manholes with grates across them in the floor.

  For draining all types of ooky messes. She shuddered to think about it.

  The room grew brighter as Margaret and Grax came back in. She waited for them to come halfway to her before moving forward, taking her turn at point since her Shadow Vision allowed her to see past where the light was thrown. There was only a wall ahead and nothing else to be seen. She stopped and looked around.

  Nope, nothing’s here.

  She pressed on the wall to make sure there weren’t any secret doors or anything. Grax and Margaret caught up to her and began earnestly searching the room, pulling chains and shaking cages to check for any trapdoors or levers.

  “Well, I guess this is a red herring, guys.” She shrugged her shoulders in disappointment and yelled, “Shaz!!!!” adding a fierce stomp kick to the wall in a moment of sad frustration. The wall boomed like a bowling ball falling on a plate metal floor. It echoed through the room and reverberated back and forth, causing the bars of the cages to ring in tune with its frequency. As the vibration quieted, she heard a noise that was a cross between a bird chirping and a dog growling. It got louder and louder, echoing up through the manhole covers that were between them and the door.

  “It’s a trap! Get your back to the wall. Whatever it is, it’s coming.”

  Grax jumped into Margaret’s back pushing her frozen form into motion. “Drop your torch. Nock yer bow!!!” He commanded.

  “Backs to the wall, now!!!” Mayah yelled.

  “Now this is gaming!!!” Grax shouted in a happy rush.

  “I’m all amped up,” Mayah agreed giddily. “Margaret, remember to enjoy yourself. You’re not in any real danger here. Take chances. Go crazy. Oooh, and try out that lightning arrow maybe?” she looked back towards the entrance and back at Margaret. “Definitely try the lightning arrow.”

  Mayah’s used Shadow Vision to watch as the sewage grates slid back and the creatures agilely crawled out of the holes. They kept their bellies on the ground and made loud snuffling sounds as they sniffed the air. One of them slowly stood upright and guardedly walked forward into the light of the torch. Then they all began to stand on their hind legs. There had to be at least 25 of them. The three-foot-tall creatures walked on small legs that were barely a third of their height. The legs supported a barrel shaped torso which made their gait slow. The broad torso carried their long muscular arms, which ended in giant hands and talon-tipped fingers that almost touched the ground. Smooth scaled heads, yellow eyes, and a dog’s snout that ended in a bit of nastily serrated beak made them look slightly turtleish to Mayah. Greenish brown skin glistened moistly on their chest, inner arms, and legs. Scales grew from the sides of their ribs around to their backs, growing in size. ...and hardness, she guessed. She ID’d one.

  Copper Imp

  Level 7

  HP73/75

  “Copper imps level 7. 75HP. Time to hit’em.” She activated Shield (F) as an arrow flew out past her head to strike the lead imp in the eye for a critical hit and a one shot kill. This drew all of their aggro. They began a keening chirping sound as they all turned to Margaret.

  “ Keep shooting!” Mayah yelled over her shoulder, “We’ll take the heat off of you.”

  Arrows started to fly. Judging by the effects she was seeing, they were stun arrows. An imp made it close enough for her swing Happiness. Activating Whack-A-Vole and Crushing Blow, she started swinging at anything within her range. Nothing survived her blows for the first moment or two. After that, she began taking hits as they tried to dogpile on the three paladins. She swung savagely, trying to keep the imps from Margaret as the swarm closed in. Checking, she noticed her health bar was still full. They were definitely hitting her, but she only felt a light thump when they did. She let one slip her guard and hit her on purpose. Her hit points didn’t budge. She tried to put some distance between herself and the imps. They kept swiping and hitting her but her HP hadn’t dropped an inch.

  “Hey guys, is anyone’s HP dropping?” She was just fending off hits now instead of just killing the imps, making it much easier to talk.

  “No one’s touched me,” Margaret said as she nocked an arrow and fired.

  “Mine is still full.” Grax was slicing at anything near him, looking like a kitty sized blender.

  “Why aren't their hits doing anything?” Or why are they hitting us?

  She was just shoving the harmless imps with the haft of her hammer and only taking shots of opportunity to conserve stamina.

  “What type of game is this?” Mayah asked herself.

  Grax was spinning around, letting the imps hit him like a massage all over his body when one screeched, drawing the attention of all the others. It held up a silver coin. And screeched again. All of the imps rushed to Grax, fighting to get a place to start swiping at him.

  Mayah had a quick thought, “Grax, check your wallet!!!”

  “Oh snap!!! They’re stealing my cash!!!”

  “Get’em, Margaret!”

  Margare
t called two dolls to attack their brothers, then started letting off arrows as her dry heaves started up. Grax was in the middle of the huddle puddle, slicing around him with his daggers. Two of the imps roared and started to bulge. Before their eyes they quickly grew to twice their size, taking on a slimy silver appearance. She took a look at one of them.

  Silver Imp

  Level 11

  HP145/145

  “Bad news! The big ones just a got a boost to their HP!”

  “And they’re dealing damage now,” Grax grunted. “Get them off of me!”

  Mayah waded in with her hammer trying to clear a path for Grax, drawing some of their aggro.

  I really need a tank.

  One of the new silver imps began to emit a howl that was laced with those strange, chirping notes. It was answered by a howl back towards the entrance.

  I’m starting to think we should get out of here. She could hear more manhole covers opening as silver imps emerged from the sewers below like a dirty, quicksilver river. What started as a trickle quickly increased to become over 50 of them.

  Yep, we should definitely get out of here.

  “Margaret, to the back! Don’t stop shooting. Take out anything that moves. No mercy! Grax, we hold them off for as long as we can and try to kite them around the cage on the left. If you need to run to deal damage, just call an audible.”

  “Gotcha!” Grax snarled.

  Arrows were flying when Mayah cast Shield (F) again. Margaret called up two more silver imp dolls from those she had shot. The imp dolls stood at the end of the center aisle pushing back against their living kin. The corpses at their feet made an obstacle course the other imps tried to breach. Mayah thanked her lucky stars that they weren’t that fast and that the bodies were slowing them down. Soon, the number of them getting through grew, even as Mayah and Grax finished them off as fast as they could. So far none of them had tried to go around the cages to get to them. For now, they were being corralled by the center aisle and the press of bodies—dead and alive. But that wouldn’t last forever.