by C. M. Carney
A cool breath exhaled onto his face. The stale stench he’d noticed earlier grew to a horrid carrion smell. Gryph knew that it came from whatever now lurked on his back. It was a carnivore, ready to take a bite out of him.
A long snout came into sharp focus. Beady eyes that glowed with a dim green light sat atop the muzzle. Gryph made eye contact, and the foul creature opened its mouth to expose row after row of needle sharp teeth. A low, evil hiss flowed from the creature's mouth.
Gryph stared at the creature. Information rushed into his mind. A new prompt popped up unbidden in Gryph’s vision.
Undead Barrow Rat. Level 2 - H:35/S:20/M:0/SP:0
Barrow Rats are larger, more disgusting cousins to normal rats and while they prefer carrion, they have been known to take bites out of easy prey when the opportunity presents itself. This barrow rat was reanimated after death. Cowardly and easily spooked, Barrow rats’ real danger comes from the disease Barrow Rot that fills their foul mouths.
Strengths: Unknown. Immunities: Unknown. Weakness: Unknown.
You Have Learned the Skill ANALYZE - Level: 1 - Tier: Base - Skill Type: Passive
You have shown an ability to identify creatures you encounter You can now identify basic creatures (Levels 1 - 5). You can now access the skill perk tree that will allow you to know their strengths and weaknesses. Each level will unlock the ability to identify creatures of an additional 5 levels.
The barrow rat climbed onto Gryph’s shoulder and sniffed at his face. Gryph knew the debuff clock would last longer than this stinking beast's fear. It would take a bite out of him. He would get Barrow Rot, which sounded horrid. So, he did the only thing he could.
“Raaarrrgghhh!” Gryph bellowed at the top of his lungs, tearing at his parched throat.
The rat jumped back in fright, before hissing in anger, and perhaps embarrassment. It took just a few seconds for the creature to regain its courage and climb back onto Gryph’s shoulder, ready to take a bite out of him.
Debuffs Cleared.
Gryph thrust the dagger up with all his might and impaled the rat through the mouth. The point erupted from the back of the stinking creature's head, destroying its small brain before the signals of pain reached it. The creature died in a spasm of blood and gore.
You have scored a Critical Hit. 5X normal damage.
You have received 175 Experience Points (XP) for killing Undead Barrow Rat.
“Well, that sucked,” Gryph said getting to his feet. He was in a small cave. He looked around but could see no way out. “How’d you get in here?” he said to the dead rat, nudging it with his toe.
“Lex? You around, buddy?”
As expected, he got no answer. The room was dimly lit by a luminescent fungus clinging to the walls and fed by a slow trickle of water that came from a small crevice near the ceiling. Was that how the rat got in? The sight of water reminded him how thirsty he was. He girded himself and then slurped at the trickle, half expecting to get some horrid disease. It took him nearly ten minutes, but soon he’d drank his fill.
Gryph brought up his internal map, hoping to discover where he was. The world was a black mass of nothingness, aside from the small cave he occupied. The tag on the map read The Barrow: Level Three.
“Well, that's no help,” Gryph grumbled, wincing at the pain from his broken ribs. He eased himself into a sitting position forcing the fear and claustrophobia into the deep recesses of his mind. It wasn't gone, it was just submerged. So far, his experience with the Realms had not been pleasant.
Yet people enter this place by choice.
Gryph knew he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Aluran must have altered the system in some way. He was alone, God only knew where and no closer to saving Brynn. Maybe he should log off and reboot. The Realms may be real, but the game used to get players into the Realms was, at its heart, still a computer program. And what did you do when your computer went wonky? You rebooted it.
Gryph brought up his interface again and tapped at the LOG OFF button. He felt it depress and prepared to return to the real world. Nothing happened. Not even another ERROR message. He hit it again. Nothing.
Never one to resort to bitching, Gryph assessed his situation. His health was still low, and he was in pain. He pulled a health potion from his inventory. He examined the vial of swirling red liquid for a few moments before shrugging and downing it in one gulp.
Instantly, heat flowed through his body and his pains soothed away. First the minor scratches and bruises disappeared. The pounding in his head, he suspected was a concussion, lessened and eased. He felt his ribs snap back into place and the bones knit together again.
“Holy crap,” Gryph said, his mood perking up. The US Army would kill for this technology.
Gryph stood and did a few jumping jacks to force feeling back into his arms and legs. After stretching he noticed the small wooden chest hidden in a nook. It hadn’t been there a few moments ago, Gryph was sure of it. Where had it come from?
Gryph walked up to the chest with caution. It couldn’t have just magically appeared, could it? Was the concussion worse than he thought? Maybe he was hallucinating. He’d hit his head pretty hard when he fell.
With that thought, Gryph looked up at the roof of the cavern a mere dozen-feet above him where stalactites jabbed down like fangs. He felt like he was inside the maw of a massive stone beast. He expected to see a hole in the roof. Something he had fallen through. Something that would explain all of this. But the ceiling was solid.
“None of this makes any sense.”
Gryph walked up to the small chest. Made of simple planks of wood bound by tarnished bands of iron. A rusty latch bore a keyhole, but the latch itself was bent, suggesting that the lock had long ago failed its purpose.
Gryph's hand hesitated above the lid. A faint red glow pulsed around the keyhole. His hand stopped, and he focused his attention on the glow. It intensified, and he knew he was looking at a trap.
Trap Detected. Use the Disarm skill to avoid pain and death.
“Well, that’s helpful,” Gryph grumbled.
He grabbed his locksmith kit. Opening the small box, he saw various tools designed for intricate detail work. His mind flashed back to his time in the army where he’d learned how to disarm a claymore mine and gave thanks to the US Army. He suspected it would not be the last time he’d be thankful that the Realms imported real world skills.
Gryph inhaled, calming his hand and his mind and slipped the thin pick into the lock. After careful probing, he felt a click, and the red glow disappeared. He replaced the tools and eased the chest open. Inside was a small bag of coins, a small shield, a dagger in a sheath, a bandolier bearing six throwing knives, and a small silver ring with a row of sapphires.
You have found 3 gold coins, 12 silver coins and 22 bronze coins.
You have found a Banded Wooden Buckler (Block)
Item Class: Non-magical
Base AC: 6
This small shield attaches to the forearm and is a great compliment to staves and spears.
You have found a Fine Steel Dagger (Short Blade)
Item Class: Non-magical
Base Damage: 6
This finely-honed dagger is sharper than a normal steel dagger.
You have found Throwing Knives of Minor Bleeding (Thrown Weapon)
Item Class: Non-magical
Base Damage: 4 (25% chance to cause bleeding damage. 5pts/sec for 5 seconds.)
These throwing knives have serrated edges that may cause additional bleeding damage.
You have found Ring of Minor Air Shield
Item Class: Base - Item Category: Active
Active Powers
Power (1): Creates a sphere of solidified air that will protect the user from damage. The air shield can absorb 5 points of damage for each point of mana spent. It will last for 5 seconds per point of mana spent. The air shield will collapse once damage limit is reached or time expires.
Power (2): Each level of air magic mastery redu
ces Cool Down by 5 seconds.
Power (3): Each tier of air magic mastery ups total daily usage by 1.
Mana Limit: 10% - Cool Down: 5 minutes (Max Uses: 3x Day).
Your Skill Identify has been upgraded due to the presence of a Prime Godhead.
It is now a Gift and has an effective level of 100. You are now able to Identify any and all non-magical and magical items and you will know their powers and capabilities.
NOTE: This Ability will not Identify all powers and properties of a Prime Godhead. These powers and properties will have to be discovered over time.
“Not a bad haul,” Gryph said as he pulled the bandolier on and slipped the ring onto his finger. Part of him wondered why he’d received such a bounty for slaying so simple a foe. Maybe due to the paralysis? He realized his excitement was rather foolish. What good would any of this stuff do him if he was stuck in this damn cavern?
The stirrings of panic and despair built up in him when another dim glow appeared inside the chest. A small blue square glowed at the top left corner where the walls of the chest joined.
He eased his hand in and pressed down on the blue glow. He heard a small click, and then the rumble of rock scraping on rock. Behind him, the cave wall rose into the ceiling, revealing a dark passageway.
14
Deep in the darkest parts of the Barrow, on an ancient altar sat a skull as old as the world. Its eye sockets were pits of primal darkness. Along the wall, braziers glowed with emerald fire.
It was enough light for the barrow rat to see by as it sniffed for bugs and grubs among the ancient refuse that littered the floor. A low hum, lower than human hearing rose, and the rat twitched. The braziers along the walls erupted into gouts of green flame, and the rat squealed in terror as the hum became the grinding of bones.
Pinpricks of murky green light came alive in the empty eye sockets of the skull and the Barrow King wakened from his slumber. His energy reserves remained low. It was too early. His mind reached out seeking the source of his revival.
Something is different. If anyone else had been there to hear his telepathic voice, a fear unlike any known since the primal days of the world would have gripped them. Few could hear the voice, but all life in the Barrow could sense a change had come.
The skull floated off the altar and darkness spread from it, forming an ethereal body made of solid smoke. The Barrow King had returned to the world of the living.
A tendril of energy erupted from the gaping maw of the skull and enveloped the barrow rat. The rat spasmed and opened its mouth to shriek in horror, but no sound came out. Instead pulses of light flowed up the tendril from the rat’s body and into the mouth of the Barrow King.
The barrow rat’s drained and desiccated corpse collapsed.
Foul tasting beast, the Barrow King said as he sat on a throne behind the altar. Why have I awakened? The glowing eyes of the Barrow King winked out as the ancient fiend concentrated and looked inward.
The Barrow King extended his perception outward through the passageways and rooms of the Barrow. The swirling form of darkness was not his true body, nor was the Barrow itself, but he influenced both. His true body, murdered by his apprentice, had long ago turned to dust. Now he was a soul trapped in this half-life of hate and the need for vengeance.
The Barrow was a massive underground complex. Millennia ago, it had been a gleaming tower on the surface. There he'd conducted a search for truth others deemed evil, as they feared the unbridled power of soul magic. The Barrow King thrived on the fear of others.
He saw the Barrow. The passageways and rooms, the traps and the false paths. As his awareness wormed through this surrogate body, his mind noticed bright pools of energy.
Life, he said with greed. Tendrils of his mind flowed over the motes of light with desire.
Life birthed souls, and he fed on souls. There was a time when he did not slumber. A time when his Barrow was full of life. A time when adventurers came to the Barrow in search of wealth and power. Then he never had never been hungry. But these last centuries were a famine. Something had changed in the world above the Barrow. A once mighty city destroyed. The life in the Barrow reduced. His stock of souls pared down. He was hungry now.
To preserve his existence, he spent most of his existence in slumber. Each time he woke, his reserves were further depleted. Yet, this time, something was different. He expanded his awareness, knowing that even this small exertion of his powers cost him greatly.
There were pockets of life of various shades and intensities. Foul creatures were common, filled with rancid, bitter souls. His minions, once dead creatures given false life to act as extensions of his will, still slumbered.
There was far too little life. He had gorged before his last slumber, preparing for a long sleep. He'd consumed many a sentient soul that day. Over time the Barrow would capture more souls, and he would feed again. But his Barrow had not had enough time to restock. The number of souls in his Barrow was insufficient. Panic surged in the Barrow King’s mind.
There is not enough.
Then he felt it, towards the edge of his being in a part of himself long abandoned. A light stronger than any since the ancient days. There was something familiar about this light. It was beyond sentience. His mind touched the edges of it, a nexus of potentiality unlike anything he’d felt since…
In a flash, his betrayal came back to him. The hidden power brought to bear against him that day was like nothing experienced before or since, and he knew what had become trapped by his web.
A Godhead, the Barrow King thought in both fear and reverence, snapping his tendrils back from the light as if burned. Has the Betrayer returned? Fear ripped claws through his mind, and he felt a desperate need to return to his slumber.
But the Barrow King was no coward and his hunger was great. He reached out again and sampled the edges of the light. It was potent and pure and primal.
“And different,” the Barrow King said aloud. Renewed confidence and desire flowed through his ethereal body. He poured more of his stored energy into the tendrils and reached out to touch the light. The tendrils melted in the glory of the light, but the Barrow King was now certain that this was not the Betrayer returned.
He needed to know more. He gazed upon the corpse of the dead rat and an idea formed in the revenant’s mind. He stretched his will into the Barrow and found another barrow rat close to the Godhead. He pushed a small amount of power into the rat and possessed its small mind.
The rat found the light of the Godhead locked in a cave with no entrance and no exit. How did it get there? the Barrow King wondered. He spent too much energy opening a small crevasse in the side of this mystery room and his scout entered.
It was an El'Edryn. “A high elf,” the Barrow King said bewildered. That race had left Korynn millennia ago. His scout gazed upon the elf. He was face down and damaged. The Barrow King extended his Analyze skill through his surrogate and read the newcomer.
The elf suffered from several broken bones and a paralysis debuff as if he'd fallen a great height. That made no sense. The cave's ceiling was only a dozen feet above the man’s prone form.
The elf was also a paltry Level One and had zero experience. How had it come to be there? Why was it here? The Barrow King ordered his scout forward. He needed a closer examination. The man was aware of his scout, but was unable to move, despite the twitching of his finger near the dagger at his belt. There was time.
The Barrow King poured more of his dwindling power into the rat and there it was, the Godhead. The blaze of energy it put off flowed through the rat’s eyes. The Godhead was undetectable to those ignorant to its presence or its purpose. Yet the Barrow King had felt one’s touch before.
The Barrow King imagined himself filled with the divine power of the Godhead. He would never be hungry again. The vast potential contained in this mote of creation surged through his poisoned mind.
A vast army of the dead rose and marched in front of him, the foul energies leaking from
them drawing clouds across the sky. Astride a skeletal dragon, the Barrow King moved across the land.
An army of the dead rose in the ruined city to the South. Ancient corpses that lay where they’d fallen in battle centuries before stumbled to their feet, weapons held aloft in worship of their new god. They marched through the villages that still dotted the hills and valleys around the dead city, pillaging and adding more to their numbers.
Then he turned his forces towards the mountain kingdom of the dwarves and plundered it for weapons, wealth and warriors. With each conquest his army would grow, for the dead served only him.
His army laid waste to all the lands of Korynn. Then he would turn the dead gazes of his million strong army against the Shining City itself and lay the Betrayer low.
The Barrow King pulled himself from his foretelling and looked at the man. He was weak. The Godhead would be easy to take. A plan formed in the Barrow King's mind. He would draw this adventurer further into the Barrow, kill him and absorb him, body and soul. The Godhead would be his.
He would be reborn and remade and have his vengeance.
The elf stabbed up with his dagger, killing the rat. The Barrow King's scout died and the view of the man blinked out. No matter, the greed of mortals was their great weakness.
The Barrow King let flow a twinge of mana and gifts appeared. A small chest containing tools to survive his Barrow. It was an irresistible invitation that would inexorably lead the elf deep into the Barrow.
Exhausted, the Barrow King withdrew most his tendrils. He let one slither through the passages of the Barrow, seeking. He needed power to challenge the man with the Godhead.
