As the five melee began to carve up the boss, Amythyst and Kittish got close enough to help out. The boss reached 50% and let out another cry which knocked everyone back to the walls and took up to half of their hit points away. The boss also healed back up to 74% from the attack.
“Fucking shit,” Dumadin growled and went running back to the boss. The others followed after him and piled back onto the boss as all three of the casters started to top people back up.
A minute later the boss was back to 50% but didn't recast the spell. “Good, a one time thing at 50% life. We got this, guys.”
The fight went on with no real surprises until 25% life for the boss. It once again let out a scream, throwing them to the walls and stealing up to half of their lives again, healing back to just under half life.
“Easy, we can do this,” Dumadin called out before he heard another sound. He turned his head to watch the skeletons stand back up near the entrance and turn their way. “Fuck us. G on the skeletons with me. Amythyst, need you and Gwennie to heal us. Everyone else kill that fucker.”
Dumadin and G turned to face the mass of skeletons that ran at them as the healers frantically worked to heal the tanks. Kittish tossed HoT's on the others and drank down a health potion. “Potions everyone, drink up quick,” she yelled.
Everyone downed a health potion as they rushed back into the fray. Amythyst and Gwennie also used aether potions as the constant healing drained their aether.
As the tanks used Anger Howl to grab the skeletons, the other three fell onto the boss. Minutes went by as the fight went on. The dps burned the boss down to 10% at which point Dumadin and G both went down under the mass of skeletons, followed by Amythyst and Gwennie in short order as they were overwhelmed.
Kittish cursed, “Tanks down. Kill the fucker already.” She turned and chain cast Chain Lightning, using her necklace to double up one spell to stun the mob for a few seconds.
The mob reached her after the third spell and stun and quickly killed her. Just as the mob reached the trio on the boss, Felton killed it. The skeletons instantly collapsed as the boss died.
The surviving trio looked at each other before sitting down hard as the others stood back up. “Fucking hell man, that was brutal,” Terets said.
Felton, Emilia, Gwennie and Garthur all spoke in near unison, “Ding.”
The group cheered raggedly at the news, “Woohoo level ten for Emilia and Felton and level eight for you two, right?” Dumadin said as he looked at his friends and got nods in return.
“Very nice and well done all. That sucked. I do not envy others even if they are level fifteen trying this dungeon unless they bring the max group of eight with them.” Terets commented as he began to go through the room for loot.
Felton chuckled as he got to his feet, “I will be a Master Crafter once I get to a city and do the quest chain associated with it. I hope someone has rare metals up on the auction house or market.”
The group cheered at Felton then at Terets as Terets came back with a chest and a set of robes. “The robes are for people using DoT magic, so maybe we can offer them to the same guy as the staff.” Terets said as he set the chest down and tossed the robes to Emilia.
At her look the others nodded, “Do it. We can use the coin to help furnish the castle. Which will be our next project once we leave here.” Dumadin said, winning a round of cheers from the others. “I still favor Thallien's cave as the place.” The others agreed that was fine with them as Terets lifted the chest’s lid.
Terets then stepped aside so the others could see a couple hundred gold inside the chest along with a steel rose set with garnets. “Nice,” Felton said picking up the rose.
Dumadin chuckled, “Quest item for Bjorn. We’ll hand it in when we get to Stoutbank.” Felton nodded and handed it to Dumadin, who stowed it in his bag.
“Let's load up on the coin,” Terets said and began to hand out handfuls to everyone. “Sooner we are done, the sooner we get back to an inn.”
The others all chipped in, quickly emptying the chest out. As they did Dumadin chuckled, “Guys, it doesn't matter who gets the coin. I had my bank bag open and was watching the count climb. It looks like it’s splitting it evenly between all of us no matter who drops it into a bag.”
The others blinked and laughed, “Guess that will stop one person from trying to pocket it all,” G said as they finished up. Once they had everything stowed in their bags, they fast traveled back to Stoutbank.
Troubles & Solutions
The group appeared in the square and found themselves to be the only ones there. Looking around they spotted a keep just outside of town to the east. There was a flag waving from the walls, but they couldn't make it out from where they were.
“Welcome back, Champions,” Dado greeted them as he came around a building, his face as grim as his voice.
“What's with the keep and why so grim, Dado?” Amythyst asked, as she was the first to spot the dwarf.
“The keep appeared a few short hours after you left town last. His lordship has been causing issues since, along with his minions. If you want to know more speak to Bjorn, he is with the others inside the inn.” Dado nodded, as amiably as he could as he stalked off, clearly done with talking.
Dumadin watched him go and frowned, “I think we should look into this. We have to return the rose to Bjorn as it is.”
With the others agreeing, they crossed to the inn and entered. The main room was deserted except for a single maid who was standing behind the bar. When she saw them her eyes got wide and she hurried over to them. “Champions, Bjorn was hoping you would return. Please follow me, he wishes to speak with you.”
The group followed the maid as she led them to the private dining room. She knocked politely and waited for a response before opening the door for the group. They filed into the room to find all the shopkeepers there, as well as spouses if they were married. As all seats were taken, they spread out along the walls and nodded at the words of welcome.
Once salutations were done, Bjorn cleared his throat to make sure he had everyone's attention. “Champions, it is well you have returned. We have run into an issue with the new lord. We are at a loss as to what action we should take. We have not been able to reach a consensus. Maybe you can help with our deliberations.” Bjorn spoke with an even voice, watching the other merchants as he did.
“Bjorn, before we start with this we have a matter to resolve first,” Dumadin said, pulling out the rose and setting it before the dwarf. “We retrieved the item you asked us for.”
Quest completed: Bjorn's rose.
Receive: Five thousand experience and reputation with Stoutbank.
Bjorn touched the rose with a sad smile and nodded his thanks, putting it away. “Thank you, Champions. I will remember your kind deed and try to repay it when I can.”
“Now that we have concluded that, Bjorn, why don't you tell us what the issue is?” Kittish asked, “And who is this Lord you’ve mentioned?”
Taking a deep breath, Bjorn began to tell them the troubles Stoutbank had been having. “About a glass after you left town it started. The keep came into being, created by the legendary architect F.W. Wright and placed where you saw it by the owner. About an hour after it was constructed the owner and his minions came to the edge of town. He informed us he was going to be setting the tax rate for his lands. We could spare ourselves a crippling tax if we did two things. First was to rescind the order to have him and his friends killed on sight inside Stoutbank. The second was to hand over Alvira for them to do with as they pleased.”
“Vengeance,” Dumadin growled, “those petty little fucks.”
Nodding, Bjorn continued, “Aye, Vengeance is the name of the guild that holds the keep with their leader being Executioner. So Dado came to get me and the other shopkeepers to speak with him. Needless to say it didn't go well, we refused his requests. As a result we now have a thousand gold tax per year. None of us can pay that, much less pay it and keep a roof over our he
ads. On top of that theft has spiked again even with the guards doing all they can. Each of the thieves has had their guild emblem on them so we know who is responsible. We have stopped with the stockades and have gone straight to executions for those caught.”
“So that is what has happened over the last two days. We gathered here to decide what our solution to this should be. Taxes are paid automatically through the bank and if unable to pay the debtor is brought before the local lord for punishment. Some of us are considering moving to Veno while others are thinking of moving even further afield. We had considered just moving as a unit but there is no place for all of us that we know of. Even if there was we couldn't afford to open up shops again with the resources we have. The shops themselves are prohibitive.” Bjorn lapsed into silence when he reached the end of his summary and looked at the group.
The group looked at each other, trying to think of a solution. Dumadin began to speak, “First off, I want to thank you for declining their demands. No one should be forced to go with them, much less one who they already tried to kill once.” He smiled at Alvira before a sudden thought struck him, “I might in fact have a solution. Give me two days, Bjorn, and I might have the answer to the issue. I need to speak with my friends first, though.”
Quest: Solve Stoutbank's issue.
Help the townsfolk with the pressing issue of taxes.
Reward: Increased reputation with Stoutbank citizens.
“Of course, Champions. We are done for now as it is, so please use this room.” Bjorn stood up followed by the others. After exchanging handshakes, hugs and goodbyes the group was left alone in the room.
“What crazy scheme have you thought up now?” Terets said with a grin on his face, thinking he had an inkling.
Looking his friends over Dumadin chuckled, a smirk coming to his lips, “We have a castle to build. I was thinking of asking the architect about the options available for it. Maybe we can have shops included in it as normally castles have support buildings attached to them.”
Felton laughed, nodding, “I love it. Let's fast travel and summon him to see if it's viable.”
The others nodded along, “What kind of a deal are we going to cut with them?” Garthur asked. “Don't staff normally need to be paid?”
Amythyst nodded, “Yes, but as it hopefully will provide them with shops and such I don't think it will be horrible. We need to see if it will even work first.”
With no one else having a question or comment, the group fast traveled to Thallien's. They hiked up the path without stopping for the herbs or ore as they were eager to see what the answer would be. Once they reached the canyon Dumadin pulled the contract for the architect out of his bag and grinned at the others.
“Alright, let's see what the answer is,” he said and opened the contract to find three options listed and selecting the legendary dwarven architect Gehry Stonemind. A minute later an old dwarf with a long grey beard appeared before him with a brow raised.
“Ah, a dwarf has summoned me to build him a castle. Maybe this won't be hopeless and dull after all then. What can I do for you?” Gehry had a brisk manner of speech as if very busy with other things and wanting to get back to them.
“Greetings sir, we have need of a castle. When I learned I could have the greatest of the architects to build it I was overcome with joy. My friends and I are hoping for a dwarven stronghold built as a castle should be right into the rock of the mountain itself.” Dumadin said with a deep bow to the dwarf.
Gehry chuckled, “A little thick lad, but nice to see the youngsters have not forgotten respect.” Gehry turned to the others and nodded, “Sadly, you appear to be the only dwarf in your group.”
Dumadin shrugged, “I do the best I can, sir. Will you be able to help us with our mission to build a place to be spoken of for generations to come? We also have a few questions as to what amenities might be built into the structure.”
Gehry nodded and pulled out a sketch pad from his bag along with a pencil. “Oh yes, I can do that without a doubt. What sort of things were you looking for?”
“We need to help people of a nearby town move to a more hospitable area. They have a crafter of every type that we are hoping to have a shop built for.” Kittish said coming over and standing next to Dumadin.
Gehry looked at her then Dumadin before nodding, “Most castles come with things like a stables and blacksmithing capabilities. We can accommodate these things, it will mean cutting back on barracks space though.”
“We’ll live with the trade off. Just one other thing, sir. Can you leave the cave behind you alone? It is a memorial to a friend who has since passed on.” Dumadin asked motioning to Thallien's cave.
Gehry turned and looked at it and frowned, “I can make it a much more fitting memorial if you want. Build the main gates right next to it but leave it separate from the main structure.”
“Awesome,” Felton said, “may I watch you work? I used to be an engineer and love to see how things are built.”
Gehry turned to Felton and raised a brow, “Hmm, you will all be able to see how it works. Just stay behind me as I don't want any accidents.” With that he turned to face the cave and began to sketch on his pad. With each stroke of his pencil the outline of main gates into the mountain began to take shape.
The group stood there with eyes wide, watching as Gehry worked. A few minutes later two massive thirty foot doors banded in iron stood open with chains running into the rock face of the mountain. A few seconds later a thirty foot tall hall began to extend into the mountain. As he worked, Gehry slowly advanced on the gates. The group followed along behind him with broad smiles as they watched the stronghold being drafted by the architect.
He paused right at where the wall used to be, looked back at the group chuckled, and walked into the empty space. He directed his eyes back to his pad, drawing as he did. As he sketched the group could see arrow slits form to either side, carved into the walls. “We will add the guard rooms behind those walls in a moment. As well as the portcullis before the tunnel leading further in.” Gehry called back to them as he focused on his drawing.
“This is awesome,” Felton said in a soft voice. “I wish we could have done it this easily when designing and building the stuff I used to work on.”
“If that was possible I don't know if there would have been as many builders though.” Dumadin pointed out, playing devil's advocate.
Frowning, Felton nodded, “Fair enough. Still, to create like this is wonderful.”
The group followed Gehry as he crafted them the stronghold right out of the rock. A couple of times the group asked if certain rooms could be changed slightly and Gehry nodded erasing the part they wanted changed, which made the rock reappear, before redrawing the room again. A couple of hours later Gehry walked with them outside.
“Well that be the stronghold itself. However, you also get outer walls as part of a castle. I can drop an outer gate across the passage there. Also, tell me about this friend of yours so I can build this memorial.” Gehry turned to the group with attentive features.
The group who had interacted with Thallien began to tell his story to Gehry, who stopped them. “Thallien, oh that be a sad thing to hear. I shall have to tell the king’s adviser about this. You don't have to tell me more though, his story is well known to me.”
The group blinked and tried to figure out why Gehry would know Thallien as Gehry began to sketch out the memorial cave. The first thing was on either side of the cave entrance. One side had Thallien kneeling with his hand outstretched and up. The other side was a beautiful elf with wings floating above the ground slightly so her outstretched hand just barely touch Thallien's.
The group blinked as they studied the features of the Elven female as Gehry walked into the cave. The group turned and looked at Amythyst as if in anticipation of her explaining. Amythyst just blinked then looked at the others and shook her head. “I have no idea, but you can damn well bet I am going to ask her.”
The gr
oup, realizing Gehry had entered the cave, went in after him. The cave itself was the same as before except for the statues on either wall mirroring each other. Bjorn, Thallien and Bettie gazed across the cave with welcoming expressions on their faces. The group looked at Amythyst again due to the resemblance of Jazzy and Bettie. Gehry finished up with a small raised area for offerings to be laid.
“Well then, shall we go see about some gates for you folks?” Gehry said then paused at their expressions. “Is something wrong?”
Dumadin pointed at the Elven female, “I take it that is Bettie?”
Gehry nodded, “Aye. I took liberties of adding the wings to the one outside, it just seemed right to me.”
Shaking her head, Kittish spoke up, “It is wonderful. We just have never seen Bettie. She has a resemblance to someone we know.”
Last Horizon: Live Page 11
