by C A A Allen
Cheapjack runs a hand up and down his cart’s multi-tiered display as if it is a game show prize package. “Feast your eyes.” All three tiers are loaded with brown rolled up scrolls and simple glass bottles filled with multicolored liquid.
“Okay.” I look over the merchandise. “We are far from being maxed-out on abilities or hit points,” I say to my crew. “We should get some liquid healing.” This is the last chance we will have to purchase anything before taking on Setan, so we better spend wisely.
Hans pushes himself between me and Cheapjack. “Please tell me you are not going to buy anything from this roach coach, Riff.”
Slim picks up a bottle of red liquid, shakes it, and holds it up to the sun. “Cheapjack is no gypsy hawker. You can tell by the liquid’s glimmer this potion is top quality, and you can’t beat the price.”
VIEW CHEAPJACK’S MENU: Yes/No?
Yes. “Let’s see what he’s got,” I say. We only have six hours until midnight. There’s no point saving our money when we’ll soon all be dead if we don’t succeed. Might as well spend it now.
CHEAPJACK’S MENU: Ten Silver Pennies (SP) = One Gold Coin (GC)
Vial of Vigor - 7GC
Parchment of Pain - 10GC
Potion of Heal - 14GC
Potion of Health - 14GC
Scroll of Hurt - 20GC
Scroll of Harm - 28GC
Potion of Curing - 300GC
Water of Life - 1000GC
Potion of Salivate Paralysis - 1000GC
Liquid Di Giorgio - 1400GC
Scroll of Protection - 3000GC
Scroll of Affliction - 5000GC
Roll of Death - 10,000GC
Chronicle DiVaria Floryshe - 12,000GC
“You call these good prices?” I only see one item that we can afford that would really help us. “Give me three Vials of Vigor,” I tell Cheapjack.
“Not so fast.” Slims eyebrows tense. “Cheapjack is out of pocket with these prices. A few carts closer to the gate have better deals.”
“Who offers better bargains then me?” Cheapjack snaps.
“Quark Gint has been very competitive lately.” Slim cocks an eyebrow. “And Porgi Poke had some two-for-ones last time I stopped by his cart. Let’s go, captain.”
Cheapjack sidesteps to block our way. “I have a special deal for you. Half price on the Potion of Heal. It’s three to five times more potent than the Vial of Vigor. No one else in Cittadella can make you this offer. I promise you that.”
Slim nods. “I like it.”
“I’ll go with the three Potions of Heal then,” I tell Cheapjack.
ADD POSSESSION: (3) Potion of Heal (-21 Gold Coins)
Drink this potion to restore one to eight hit points of damage.
I give the man twenty gold coins and ten silver pennies.
SUBTRACT: 20 gold coins to Cheapjack Collie. New gold coin balance: 0
SUBTRACT: 10 silver pennies to Cheapjack Collie. New silver penny balance: 4
That’s pretty much all the coinage we have. We are as ready as we can be for this final push. I load the merchandise in my pack and strap it to my back. “Let’s get to it.”
We head toward Cittadella’s exit for the last time.
CHAPTER 16
06:20:58 hours until DCQ server shut down.
A tall hooded figure draped in a black cloak stands at Cittadella’s West Arch. As we approach, he raises a hand my direction and groans out, “Paperwork.”
I open my Grimoire, activate it, and put it in his hand. “Where’s Castel?”
He pulls back the hood slightly and slowly raises the device to his pale face. “Party of six with a thief confirmed. Enjoy your deaths.”
Hans walks under the arch. “Nobody’s dying, you freak.”
I step under the West arch and survey the road ahead. It is narrow with dark, twisted woods on either side.
“I don’t like it.” Bella wraps her hands around her arms. “The path to Setan’s Labyrinth is way more wicked for real than in the game. It’s like a path to hell.”
“I agree.” A cold wind howls around us, ruffling the trees. “We are sure to encounter the worst of what DCQ has to offer on this path.”
PARTY STATUS:
Time for this again. I focus in on the prompt.
REORDER THE PARTY: Yes/No?
Set the dungeon marching order of your party. Remember, only the first three members of a party can attack monsters with weapons. Note: Only NPC's are bound to follow marching order instructions. (* = NPC)
Jareth Orcslauter, Fighter.
HP: 17/45
AC: 4
LVL: 4
*Salo Fatback, Fighter.
HP: 21/50
AC: 6
LVL: 4
*Biff Thunderpunch, Ninja.
HP: 7/65
AC: 7
LVL: 4
*Gregarious Slim, Thief.
HP: 27/40
AC: 5
LVL: 3
*Skookum Tortie, Belette.
HP: 14/30
AC: 4
LVL: 2
Madmartigan Galladoorn, Mage.
HP: 18/40
AC: 3
LVL: 3
Hans Talhoffer, Cleric.
HP: 21/40
AC: 2
LVL: 3
I wave in Bella and Hans. “Okay, we need to make the West Labyrinth before sundown, and do some leveling along the way. Salo, Biff, and myself are currently at level four. One of us has to make level five in order to access the chamber. It’s time for that good speed grind.”
“That’s still not a thing,” Hans grumbles, stomping ahead. “If all goes well, I’ll level up twice and save all our asses’.”
“This guy.” Bella shakes her head and watches Hans head down the path from the corner of her eye. “One of us has to make level five and survive to Setan’s chamber. Don’t forget the survive part. How are you holding up for the marching order? I know you’ve taken some damage.”
“I’m going to reorder and bolster.” I explain. “Hey, Biff.” I wave him over. “I’m switching you to fourth in the marching order.” Biff may be a Ninja, but he is only seven hit points away from death. Slim is sitting pretty at twenty-seven, best in the party.
Biff plants his peg and stands tall. “No need to drop me back. I want to fight. Ninjas are meant for the front of the marching order.” He looks ahead unblinking.
I’ve dented his ego, and I’m bummed about that, but I must make decisions based on what is best for the party. “Slim has the sniffer. They serve double-duty if I put them in front. Besides, I need you protecting our rear.” I pull a potion of heal from my pack and hand it to him. “I think I owe you another drink, my friend.” I pull out another potion for myself, uncork it, and hold it up. “Here’s to your good health, our party’s good health, and may we all live long and prosper.”
“Hear, hear.” Biff lifts his vial. “To colossal peace and long life, Captain.”
I clink my vial with his and put it to my lips. The liquid tastes like a mix of Jägermeister and dark chocolate. Not bad, actually.
YOUR HIT POINTS HAVE BEEN INCREASED! Hit points increased by one to 18/45.
A PARTY MEMBER’S HIT POINTS HAVE BEEN INCREASED!
NAME: Biff Thunderpunch. Hit points increased by five to 12/65.
“I only gained one hit point?” Maybe Hans was right about these potions. “I’ll just have to make eighteen work.” I grab the final potion from my pack, bite off the cork, and spit it out. “Bella, you’re next in need.”
She waves off the vial. “We both have eighteen hit points now, Riff, and you’re on the front line. I appreciate the gesture, but I’m fine.” She wraps her hand around my arm. “I need you strong on the home stretch, so drink up.” She continues down the road.
“She’s right, you know,” Biff says.
I drink down the contents and wipe my mouth. “I would feel better if Bella and the rest of us were closer to being maxed out.”
YOUR HIP POINTS HAVE BEEN INCREASED! Hit points increased by four to 22/45.
Four this time, okay. I focus on the status prompt and reorder Slim in front of Biff. “Let’s do this”
“Let’s.” Slim raises his cane. “Watch your back. Thieves on this road will leap on any weary traveler they can take, and the undead are known to pop up right out of the ground and mug you from behind.”
“Speaking of thieves and undead.” I look over at Slim as we walk. “What’s a Whipstitch?”
“I had hoped you’d forgotten that, Captain.” Slim says. “Whipstitch is the remains of a wild and crazy little hermit magic user that embraced undeath as a means of preserving himself.”
Bella looks nervously at the road ahead. “You mean a Lich?”
“No, not exactly.” Slim adjusts his tunic and scans the tree tops. “Liches are great wizards that have embraced undeath. Whipstitch was an insane, low-level seer that got lucky to embrace it. I guess you can call him a minor Lich, but deadly with dark magic nonetheless.”
“I am familiar with the Whipstitch Lich.” Biff blurts. “He’s a colossal little bugger. Rumor has it he’s out and about on this very road, and physically falling apart from feeding on rodent and Kobold souls. They say that, when he was alive, he gave half of his brain to a real wizard in exchange for lichdom after death. Hardly a fair deal to become a Lich with zombie-like intelligence.”
“I don’t know.” Hans stretches his neck and smiles. “He had the right idea. Becoming a Lich means you can live past death. Who wouldn’t want that? I’m sure, with some tactical maneuvering, you can become a Lich without going crazy and becoming evil.”
“All Liches are crazy,” I say. “And I don’t like the idea of taking on one of any type.” But I bet killing one would net some major experience points.
As we head down the road, the forest encroaches upon it more and more. Rocks, mud holes, ruts, inclines, and water crossings become more frequent with every step.
I check my map as the sun dips below the treetops. We’re only about twenty minutes from the West Labyrinth entrance, but with every step our chances to level up decrease. We need a fight. “Hard to believe we haven’t run into any wandering monsters yet,” I mutter.
Just as I say it, Skookum scampers from Slim’s right shoulder to his left, rises on its hind legs, and hisses at the road ahead.
Slim stops and scowls at me. “Did you really have to say that?”
Five rusty brown humanoids in crudely fashioned hide garments scamper from the trees and form a line across the road in front of us.
The one in the middle—the tallest of the bunch—drops a rock in the pocket of a sling and swings it in a wide vertical orbit. The four monsters flanking him all pull out daggers and yip like small injured dogs.
“Kobold,” Biff says. “I believe they are demanding Skookum, and a payment of gold as a toll to pass. Very enterprising for such unintelligent creatures.”
KOBOLD
LEVEL: 1/2 (50XP)
HIT POINTS: 5
ARMOR CLASS: 5 (Natural armor)
FREQUENCY: Common
NO. APPEARING: 5 – 35
DAMAGE: By weapon
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
SPECIAL DEFENSES:
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT: Evil
SIZE: S
TYPICAL WEAPONING: Sling, Dagger, Short Sword, Spear
DESCRIPTION: Kobold are small reptilian humanoids with rusty brown skin.
“They won’t be getting a damn thing from us,” I say. Now this is a monster I know well from the game. What shall I dispatch them with? Not the Keris. Best to save all its charges for Setan. So…
NEW PRIMARY WEAPON: Executioner’s Sword
I raise my sword and lift my shield. “Should be a piece of level-up-fodder cake. I’ll take on the one in the middle. Let’s fight.”
“Agreed.” Salo swings his mace around and grips the shaft. “I’ll start with the reptiles on the left.”
Slim uses his fingers to give Skookum a rub on the head. “We’ll take the right.”
A rock whizzes past my ear as I sprint forward. I dodge a weak dagger-thrust to the face by the tall Kobold, and then jab a swift stab forward puncturing the beast through its chest. I yank up, pull out, and kick the monster backward. It’s carcass collapses onto the ground. One down. Four more to go.
Salo upends his combatant with his mace and then bashes its skull over and over again with its heavy metal head.
Biff steps up and fires three mini war hammers into another Kobold’s head causing it to wobble a few steps and fall flat.
The two remaining enemies bear down on Slim. He spins his cane in a circle and then quick punches it forward, caving the first one’s nose into his skull. Just as the second Kobold’s blade cuts into Slim’s shoulder, it gets blasted in the side by a brilliant basketball-sized ball of yellow flame. The monster spins in a circle, stumbling backward headfirst into a tree. I run up on it, plunge my sword into its scaly torso, and turn around. “Nice shot.”
“Got him.” Hans blow off his palms. “Slim, you owe me just like the rest of the party.”
Slim looks the Kobolds up and down. “It’s skinny little lizards like this thinkin’ they the Last Dragon that gives questing a bad name.”
Kobold (5) has been killed! For killing the monsters each survivor earned 42 experience points.
I sheath my blade and view the message in dismay. Not much XP attached to Kobold.
Bella wraps her hands around Slim’s bleeding shoulder and chants, “Vulnere remedium.” Then she turns to the rest of us. “Is everybody else okay?”
Salo works his way from one corpse to the next. After plundering the last body, he steps my way and drops a fist full of coins in my hand. “That’s fourteen silver pennies. I’ve stockpiled their daggers too, but they are of little to no value.”
“My man,” I say.
ADD: 14 silver pennies to Jareth Goblinmasher. New silver penny balance: 18
Biff examines the sling inch by inch. “The cords show signs of significant wear, but the pouch is like new.” He stretches it out the full length of his arms. “It’s engineered for a greater range than my current rig, I can work with—”
“Eeeeek!” Skookum squeals and hisses at the road ahead.
A small skeletal humanoid with black eye-sockets and glowing pupils levitates several feet above the ground in front of us. It has a diagonal stitch across its bone forehead, is wrapped in decaying red velvet garments, and holds a wooden staff topped with a green gem.
Now I understand why there weren’t many monsters prior to the Kobold. All the rest were avoiding this thing.
Slim sets Skookum on the ground and wraps his palm around the ivory bust that tops his cane. Bella slowly unsheathes the staff of immortuos and says, “Hans, what’s your daddy doing here?”
“It’s Whipstitch.” Biff loads his newly acquired sling with an ovoid led projectile and begins a swooshing vertical orbit. “The crudest of the undead.”
“That’s a Lich?” Hans asks. “I guess something is lost in the translation.”
Salo takes up arms. “Don’t underestimate it.”
LICH (LESSER)
LEVEL: 5 (5100XP)
HIT POINTS: 50
ARMOR CLASS: 14
FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
DAMAGE: 5-20
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Touch, Magic
SPECIAL DEFENSES:
INTELLIGENCE: High
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: S
TYPICAL WEAPONING:
DESCRIPTION: A Lesser-Lich is an undead and skeletal little person with black eye-sockets and glowing pupils. Its garments are the decaying remains of once fine robes.
I fought stronger liches than this in the game, but I am not about to underestimate this ones power. I unsheathe the Keris and feel its pulse.
NEW PRIMARY WEAPON: The Keris of Knaud + (5) Charge. Distinguished Hack.
“Aaargh.” Whipstitch points its staff forward and mutters, “Volumina ligeti.”
Four reddish brown hellhounds sprint from behind him. They have glowing red eyes and spit a combination of black froth and red flames from between sharp teeth. Tiny skeleton warriors ride the hounds like jockeys on thoroughbreds. They have one hand under the hounds’ spiked collars, and the other held high with curved sickle swords.
“Who’s got some magic for these fools?” I call out.
HELLHOUND
LEVEL: 1 (225XP)
HIT POINTS: 6
ARMOR CLASS: 8
FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 2 – 8
DAMAGE: 4-11
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
SPECIAL DEFENSES:
INTELLIGENCE: Simi
ALIGNMENT: Evil
SIZE: M
TYPICAL WEAPONING: Bite, Breathe fire
DESCRIPTION: Hell hounds are pitch-black in color. Their eyes glow red and their bodies are muscular. They can exhale fire and have a deadly bite.
SKELETON (DEMI)
LEVEL: 1 (141XP)
HIT POINTS: 5
ARMOR CLASS: 6 (Armor scraps)
FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 3 – 30
DAMAGE: By weapon
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
SPECIAL DEFENSES:
INTELLIGENCE: Non
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: S
TYPICAL WEAPONING: Short sword, Dagger
DESCRIPTION: Demi-skeletons are the animated bones of dead little people, mindless automatons that obey the orders of an evil master. Garbed in the rotting remnants of a combination of clothing and armor.
