Cass sincerely hoped that she wasn't going to have to fight - she didn't think she could lift another bite of food, let alone her wand. They'd fed her endless platefuls of roast beef, lamb, potatoes with gravy, corn, stuffing and other food that she'd already forgotten. They talked and laughed and rested for the next hour or so before Fargus came and stood before them. He was polishing a glass and grinning ear to ear.
"You ready for your next quest? A couple of the loaves are already finished."
Cass took a swig of her ale and looked up at the innkeeper - or would've looked up if he'd been a human.
"Yeah, sure. Hopefully, it's not killing a bunch of rats in your cellar." Everyone laughed at that except the innkeeper.
"Not rats, exactly, though you're close." He said gruffly.
Cass blanched and her face fell.
Hiss? Trexxa looked up, her head cocked to the side.
"What then?" One of the Goblins squeaked.
"Don't laugh." The Dwarf insisted, his face a mask of seriousness.
Cass's heart nearly stopped in her chest and her hands grew clammy. Trexxa hissed and the Goblins nearly fainted at his response.
"Demon bunnies!"
Chapter 5
The room fell silent until a woman screamed and dropped her mug, shattering it on the stone floor.
"How many?" Cass managed to squeak.
"Five." Fargus stared her in the eyes. "Five vicious, savage, evil demon rabbits from hell."
"From hell?" One of the Goblins repeated, then fainted and fell out of his chair.
"Wait! There's a hell here?"
A slow smile crept across the Dwarf's craggy face and he broke out into a barking laugh.
"Nope! Gotcha! They're just giant rats."
*** New Quest: Clear out rats from cellar ***
Five minutes later, Cass and Trexxa stood bravely before the cellar door. Who knew Dwarves had a sense of humor? On the other side, ominous sounds could be heard. Scratching, scuttling, thudding. Her mind warped back to the last giant rats she faced. Gripping her wand tight, she was much more prepared to deal with them. She'd been lucky the first time. This time she was going to be much more cautious.
"Ready?" She patted her faithful raptor on the scaly head.
Trexxa thumped her tail against the floor and pointed toward the door.
"On the count of three...one, two...three!" Cass swung open the creaky, wooden door, stepped to the side and watched as Trexxa leaped inside, hissing and gnashing her fangs.
Cass smiled and glanced around the room. The first thing she noticed was how dusty and musty it was. Old, forgotten crates half-filled with fermented bottles of ale and mead dotted the room. Cobwebs clung thickly to the walls and rafters. They were so thick that Cass had to cut them with her scimitar.
She whirled around when she heard the raptor hiss and growl. Three very large rodents with buck teeth and red pin-prick eyes had surrounded her. The giant rats hissed their displeasure. Their large muscular bodies flexed and rippled as they prepared to pounce upon her pet. She saw they had 20 hp each and suddenly wondered what they'd gotten themselves into.
She brought up her wand, aimed it at the closest rodent and cast her largest fireball just as it leapt for Trexxa's face. The force of the blast knocked the squeaking rodent into a pile of broken glass. 5 hp had been rent from its evil body, with another 1 from the broken glass. Before he had time to even shake his head, she followed the fireball spell up with a dot, lighting him on fire for another 3. Within just a span of a few seconds, Cass had knocked nearly half his health off.
The other two leaped upon Trexxa's back, biting into the blue-flecked beast. Cass hoped she could hold on while she finished the half-dead rat off.
Staggering to its feet, the red-eyed rodent stared balefully at her, its eyes gleaming with hate and fury. With a quickness that belied its size, the 5-pound animal hurled itself across the room, blood dripping from its wound and its flesh burning from the fire that licked at its body.
Without even thinking about it, Cass brought down the scimitar upon the furry rodent's head, smashing him for 2 more hp. But not before the giant rat sunk its razor-sharp teeth into her thigh, eliciting a squeal of pain and a spurt of blood as he tore away 3 hp from her pool of 12. The dot burned him for another 2, bringing him to 7.
Thoughts of eternal death danced fearfully in Cass's mind and she frantically kicked out, trying to dislodge the vermin. But it wouldn't be so easily dissuaded from its victim and clung tenaciously to her flesh. Searing pain, the likes of which she'd never faced before, tore through her soft, inexperienced body causing her vision to flicker.
"Get off!" She cried out and suddenly remembered her fire shield and invoked it with her wand. Next time - assuming there was a next time - she would cast it before the fight.
The moment the fire shield was activated, the rat screamed bloody murder and released the chunk of tender flesh he had been clinging to. Between the fire damage of the shield and the dot's last tick, the rat was nearly dead. Just 2 hp remained, but Cass could barely concentrate. The searing, burning pain radiated up her leg and her first instinct was to crumple to the ground. She fought to stay standing and the rat, that vile, vicious rodent, recognized its advantage - and took it.
Fortunately, she still had her fire shield active and the rodent was burned to death before it could cause any more damage.
*** Giant Rat killed - XP gained: 25 ***
*** Congratulations! You are now level 3! ***
Suddenly, she had a renewed vigor as her wound had completely healed. She quickly rolled for her new health and mana points.
She rolled a 6 for hp, bringing her to a grand total of 18 and rolled a 4 for mp, bringing her mana pool up to 15. The best thing was, she was now fully healed.
Just as she was celebrating her victory over the dastardly rodent, Trexxa leaped in the air, brought her talons down upon both rats at the same time, eliciting the famed double-squeak and killing them with one blow.
*** Giant Rat killed - XP gained: 25 ***
*** Giant Rat killed - XP gained: 25 ***
Trexxa let out a victory hiss and stood over the dead rodents' bodies like a huntress standing over her trophy.
"Good girl!" She patted her on the head. This was going surprisingly well. But there were still a couple more rodents to go.
Trexxa hissed in appreciation.
"Where do you think they're hiding?"
The raptor pointed toward a cellar door piled high with crates and broken boxes.
"I didn't even see that!" Cass exclaimed as they looted the dead rats of their copper pieces. It was only 2, but maybe there'd be more in the cellar.
They spent the next 10 minutes clearing out the boxes and debris so they could get to the cellar door. Once it was clear, Cass used all her strength to lift it up. It was so pitch black in there, she had to summon forth her light spell and shine it down.
What she saw chilled her to the bone. Spiders, the size of puppies, skittered away. Red eyes peered back at her and the hair on the back of her neck stood straight up. Then, she saw it: A massive spider bigger than any of the others. It had inch-long fangs for teeth, glowing red eyes and with practiced ease, it skittered up the cellar ladder.
Cass stumbled back and nearly fell over some boxes as the massive arachnid leapt out of the hole and attacked them.
Trexxa hissed and snapped out with her teeth, grazing the beast.
The queen spider had a massive 30 hit points. But she saw that since Trexxa was leveling at the same time, she was quickly gaining in health. She was now up to 30, too. But neither of them had faced anything as fearsome as this.
Feeling Trexxa's sharp fangs brush against its carapace, the pure black, red-eyed beast spun around and lashed out at the plucky raptor. Seizing a chunk of Trexxa's flesh, the spider ripped 5 hp from her. Trexxa cried out and leaped in the air angrily, bringing down her vicious, sharp talons on the matriarch's body, slashing 6 from her pool of health.
The spider queen skittered back down into the cellar. If she thought they were going to let her get away that easy, she was sorely mistaken. Cass renewed her dot on her and predictably a couple of seconds later, a sharp, ear-piercing shriek blasted out of the cellar, disorientating them both.
*** Spider Queen killed - XP gained: 30 ***
Trexxa hissed, jumped down into the cellar and rifled through her dead body. She held up a bag of valuables, then her eyes widened as the largest, meanest-looking rodent either of them had ever seen stepped out of the shadows.
She hissed, dropped the bag and backed up.
"What's wrong, Rexxa?" Cass called down, then saw the shadow of the 5-foot tall were-rat dance across the room.
With a deep breath, Cass jumped the ten feet down into the cellar, her wand at the ready. She'd regained some of her mana, but not all of it. She was going to have to be careful.
Cass nearly screamed as the massive rodent stepped into view. Discolored saliva slavered from his jaws.
"You killed my family." He pronounced, his words garbled, but his meaning clear. "Now it's your turn." He motioned to a rat that neither of them had noticed, who squeaked menacingly and leaped at Trexxa.
With a flick of her wrist, Cass dotted both of them up. The were-rat sported 50 hp, the other just 20.
"Concentrate on the small one!" Cass shouted over the din of the were-rat's roar as the flames licked at his flesh.
Trexxa caught the rat mid-leap with her talons, raking him across the face for 5 hit points. The dot wiped 3 hp from both rodents' health. Ignoring the were-rat as best as she could, Cass side-stepped the furious humanoid beast, barely dodging his filthy claws and pointed teeth. He was so close that she could smell his putrid breath as it angrily washed over her face.
A massive fireball erupted from her wand, blasting the giant rodent and simultaneously cooking its flesh on its body, the smell of which seared into her nostrils. Combined with the decaying odor from the were-rat boss, caused her stomach contents to evacuate. Cass staggered forward and out of the corner of her eye watched Trexxa rip off the rodent's head, causing blood to spurt everywhere.
Falling to the ground was the best thing that could've happened to Cass as it caused the were-rat to miss and stumble over her, smashing into a box of ale, ripping 2 more hp from his pool. Between that and another tick of the fire dot, he was down to 42. But now he was angry.
Cass shook off her malaise, vowing to develop a thicker skin - or, in this case - a stronger stomach.
Trexxa hissed and before the giant were-rat staggered to his feet, she was upon him, digging her claws into his chest and her teeth into his face.
"Go Trexxa!" Cass encouraged as she gingerly rose to her feet. She had to dodge dead bodies and viscous fluids - some of them hers - to get a a good angle on the were-rat. Her wand had slipped out of her grasp and she had to track it down. By the time she re-dotted him up, Trexxa had managed to knock another 10 hp off him. Unfortunately, the super-strong rodent had grabbed Trexxa by the tail and was swinging her around. A fireball up his chimney caused him to release the hapless lizard, causing her to crash into the wall where she slumped to the ground with a sickening thud.
Cass's heart skipped a beat when she realized that she was now completely alone with the beast.
"Now, it's your turn." He growled, blood-tinged spittle flying from his mouth, his eyes crossed with rage.
The beast stepped forward and Cass back-up. She glanced over at the raptor, but blood was trickling from her mouth. Was she dead? That thought shook her to her core. She couldn't imagine living in this endless dungeon without her faithful pet. There would be nothing to live for.
Seeing Cass mentally off balance, the were-rat struck. His sharp, filthy, disease-ridden claws raked across her neck, wounding her and causing blood to spurt everywhere. Suddenly she felt weak and her vision started to fade.
Was this it? Was this the end?
She had just enough energy to cast one last spell. But what?
Then she remembered! Trexxa was a spell! Maybe she could bring her back to full health. But it would cost her the rest of her mana. She'd be helpless and defenseless, but it was her only option.
"I hope this works..." She cast her summon pet spell, all the while trying to stay out of the angry were-rat's arm reach.
"Go Trexxa! Go!" She cried out as she watched the dino materialize in front of her. Trexxa wagged her tail, hissed and attacked.
It was the last thing Cass saw.
Chapter 6
Cass didn't know how long she'd been out, but she awoke to Trexxa licking and pawing at her. The moment she opened her eyes, Trexxa danced around the room, hissing and celebrating in glee.
"What...what happened?" She asked the plucky raptor, who came over and plopped on her back next to her, seeking belly rubs.
Cass rubbed the grogginess out of her eyes, looked around the room and then remembered: the were-rat. Summoning Trexxa was the last thing she remembered. Then what happened?
Trexxa stood, then trotted over and rummaged around the were-rat's dead body, fishing out several gems and a large pouch of coins.
"You did it!" Cass exclaimed as she surveyed the damage. The room looked like it had been hit by a hurricane. And it smelled like it had been drenched in a sewer explosion. She coughed and choked as the putrid smells clung heavily to the air, stinging her eyes.
Trexxa hissed and poured out the contents of the pouch.
"Greedy little raptor, aren't you?" Cass laughed.
Trexxa hissed and nodded. They counted out the coins, with Trexxa taking exactly half and putting them in her pack. What exactly was a raptor going to do with money, she didn't know. But, knowing how smart Trexxa was, she was sure she'd find something.
After it had all been counted out, Cass's portion was 15 silver, 55 copper and 1 gold. She wasn't sure what the gems were, but she promised the overgrown lizard that she'd have them appraised at the first opportunity.
Satisfied with their arrangement, Trexxa pointed to Cass's HUD.
"What is it, girl?"
Cass brought up her stats and saw the reason that she wasn't unconscious and bleeding out on the floor. Apparently, Trexxa finishing off the were-rat had been just enough xp to level her. She was now level 4 and rolled a 6 for health and a 2 for mana, bringing her to 24 and 17 respectively. That was entirely too close. She knew she wasn't going to be able to rely on leveling to save her bacon all the time. She was going to need some kind of healing potion or perhaps spell. She knew Trexxa could heal herself once per hour, but that didn't help her.
She did wonder, however, if there wasn't a way she could create some kind of healing spell with her fire. Looking in her spellbook, she didn't notice any new spells. However, there was a mini-pet quest that was ready for her. Perhaps when she was finished with all this Goblin nonsense.
"Anything else noteworthy in the room?" She asked the raptor. They both looked around. Surely the rats had horded more than just a few silver. Ten hard minutes of searching later, Cass stumbled upon it. It didn't look much like what she was expecting. Instead of some kind of chest, it was a large nest full of what looked like valuable gems. Coins, trinkets, worthless baubles and a few what looked like potions.
"Jackpot!" Cass exclaimed and Trexxa whooped and hollered as she got a look at all the shiny coins and gems.
"Trexxa! What are you doing, silly goose?" Cass admonished the scaly raptor as she was so excited that she jumped in the pile of
treasure and rolled around in it just like a dog rolling in shit. Hell, she couldn't get on the raptor's tail as she felt like doing the same thing.
Trexxa hissed and jumped out of the pile of treasure.
"Shovel it all in my pack. We'll count it later. I want to get out of this stinky place." Cass set aside the potions and helped her pet scoop handful after handful of treasure into her pack. They found an empty pocket to store it all in.
"This'll be our little secret, right Trexxa?"
Hiss!
"Good, now let's get the fuck out of here and see what other quests he has for us."
"All finished!" Cass said, shoving a dead overgrown rat in his face.
Fargus bellowed out a laugh that shook the entire place. "Better not let the health inspector see you with that." He grabbed the rat and threw it in the back room. "Nice job. Wasn't too difficult, I presume?"
Cass and Trexxa exchanged knowing glances. Trexxa answered for them.
Hiss!
"Good! Those fuckers have been causing me no end of grief for awhile now. I haven't been able to step foot in there for months."
*** Quest Complete: Clear out rats from cellar. XP gained 100 ***
That brought her to 350/500 to level 5. Cass wondered how much more powerful her spells were. She was starting to feel less vulnerable. She was eager to get back to base and see what else she could conjure now that she had more mana.
"Anything else you need done?"
The Dwarf put his fist under his chin and looked off in the distance. A moment later, he shook his head. "No...clearing out my cellar was worth more to me than you'll ever know. Maybe, though, when you're finished with the Goblins you can come back and help me expand my business. As you can see --" He swept his arms around the inn. "We're a bit cramped in here.
"Sure! Since I seem to be the only one who can dig through the dirt walls, it only seems fair." Cass agreed.
Endless Dungeon Page 6
