by C. M. Carney
The demon tugged its weapon, but it remained lodged inside the corpse of the wyrmynn leader. The demon almost shrugged as it looked up at the remaining two wyrmynn. It struck out with one hand and grabbed the closest lizard by the throat. Flames surged from the demon’s hands, and the wyrmynn’s eyes melted. It squealed in horror and pain.
At the same moment the demon shot its tail out and impaled the other wyrmynn through the chest. The demon raised its tail, pulling the wyrmynn off its feet. The obsidian barb protruded several feet from the wyrmynn’s back, covered in green blood and gore. The wyrmynn struggled for a few moments before going limp.
The demon shook its tail and flung the corpse against the cavern wall with a sickening thud. The demon paid it no heed as it pulled the other wyrmynn close. The saurian creature tried to scream, but its vocal cords were charred and useless. The eyeless sockets stared in horror as the abyssal terror brought it to its maw of needle-sharp teeth and chomped down on the wyrmynn’s head, severing it with all the ease and interest of a sociopathic child tearing the wings of a fly.
The world went silent except for the sickening chomping of the demon’s maw as it feasted on lizard flesh. Bones cracked and tendons tore and gore dribbled and splatted. Gryph backed into the corner. So far, the demon hadn’t noticed him. That soon changed.
In his panic, Gryph backed into a pile of stone and gravel. The sound of skittering rocks drew the demon’s attention and its head spun on Gryph, eyes burning from the inside with cold fire. It screeched, tossed the partially eaten wyrmynn aside and rushed at Gryph with a speed that defied its bulk.
Gryph raised his spear, wedging its base against a boulder and hoped. The abyssal terror was mere feet from adding Gryph to its varied buffet when an order in an odd language erupted from the gnome. In an instant the demon pulled up short, its bulk mere inches from Gryph.
“Sorry, I forgot to designate you as a friendly,” the gnome said.
“Forgot,” Gryph yelled. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’d lower that spear. First, it won’t do much on good ol’ Avernerius here. Second, if you so much as prick his infernal skin, your status as friendly will become void. And that would be…well seriously ungood.”
“You’re a lunatic,” Gryph sputtered, but he lowered his spear. He cast a hesitant gaze up at Avernerius and could see the hate in the demon’s eyes. It still wanted to gut and feast on him and the beast's infernal presence penetrated his mind and his soul. It felt like an oily stain seeping through every fiber of his being with acid tendrils that burned away bits of him.
“Yeah, and I wouldn’t stare in those eyes either. Bad things live in there.”
Gryph pulled his eyes away, and the foul sensation dissipated.
“Call it off?”
“Not how it works, but don’t worry his time in this realm is limited. He has about twenty seconds more before he’s dragged back to his own realm."
“I have decided I hate you,” Gryph said as he eased away from the abyssal terror and made his way closer to the ledge where the gnome stood. Gryph didn't look up, but Avernerius’ eyes followed his every move. The muscles in the creature's body strained as if it were fighting against itself to get to Gryph.
“You sure you have control of this thing?”
“Pretty sure. But no need to fret cuz in... 3…2…now.”
A pinprick of fiery light punctured the veils between Realms again and dragged Avernerius backwards as if pushed by hurricane strength winds. A foul rush of sulfuric air sucked the demon through the portal. The smell made Gryph gag.
The gnome slid down from the ledge and looked around at the bodies of the wyrmynn. Gryph got to his feet and advanced on the small man with virulent ire. Before the gnome knew he was upon him, Gryph had him by the neck. Gryph hoisted the tiny man with ease, lifting him up to his eye level.
“You nearly got me killed,” Gryph said in calm fury.
“I saved your life, man,” the gnome said, gasping for breath.
“I saved yours,” Gryph grumbled, but his anger was subsiding. Gryph let the small man drop, and Gryph felt shame pulse through him. Finn had never been one to let anger cloud his mind. Gryph refused to be victimized by it either.
The gnome coughed a few times as he forced air back into his lungs. He rubbed a hand against his throat as he stood. He walked right up to Gryph and held out a hand.
“The name’s Wick.”
So, he is the gnome from the journal, Gryph realized.
Wick held his hand out as the seconds ticked by and the air grew uncomfortable. Wick widened his eyes in a ‘don’t leave me hangin’ buddy’ gesture as Gryph continued to stare.
“And your name is?” Wick said in an irritating drawl that dripped sarcasm.
Gryph held the stare before grasping the small man’s hand.
“Gryph.”
“Nice to meet ya, Gryph. Thanks for the save there. I’d thought I’d given this lot the slip, but evidently my stealth skills aren’t up to snuff.” Wick grew uncomfortable as Gryph refused to release his hand. “Gettin’ a little weird, pal.”
Gryph pulled the little man closer and said, “Want to explain that demon lord of hell thing?”
“What’s to explain?” Wick said with a nervous grin.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t gut you now. You dredged that demon up from hell. What are you some kind of evil necromancer priest?”
“First off, I’m a chthonic summoner, not a necromancer. Necromancers hang out in graveyards digging up corpses. I summon beings from the chthonic realm. Second, I am not evil, I just make use of beings whose moral standards may be a tad looser than my own.”
Gryph’s withering look suggested that in his mind the two things were not all that different on the moral scale of things.
“You sound just like my dad,” Wick grumbled. “Well, maybe you act like my dad, since you aren’t really saying much. You’ve really mastered the strong and brooding thing.”
Gryph just stared.
“Now look, do you think I asked for this? It's not my fault I have an affinity for the chthonic sphere. I sure as shit didn’t ask for it. I would have been perfectly happy following in my dad’s footsteps and become another in a long line of Flintspanner Master Tinkers. But no, the gods cursed me with this.”
“Are you done?” Gryph asked.
After a shy moment of introspection, Wink nodded. Gryph let go and Wick lurched back at the sudden freedom. He smoothed out his wrinkled clothes, all the while casting a sideways glance of mistrust at Gryph.
“Yes, I believe I am.”
Gryph's mind went to Jebbis' quest. This Wick was like the child who liked to play with fire. All fun and games until the neighbor’s house burned down. Definitely someone not to trust. Maybe Jebbis and Rehla would be better off if Gryph completed the quest on his own. Not that he knew where he was, much less how to get to their village. After a few moments consideration, Gryph decided to keep the quest a secret.
“Good, now how do I get out of here?”
“Out of the Barrow?” Wick snickered. “Are you new here?”
“Just answer the question Wick.”
“Well, you don’t. There is no way out.” Wick laughed out loud at the crestfallen look that crossed the tall elf’s face, earning a look of ire from Gryph. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pile on your misery, but if there was a way out do you think I’d be hanging out here?” He waved his hands around with all the drama of a stage magician.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Yeah, well nobody ever does,” Wick mumbled and almost sounded sad. “Listen, come with me. I have a safe place. Well, relatively safe since we’re in a sentient dungeon bent on seeing us all dead.”
“What did you say?”
“I have a place.”
“No, a sentient dungeon. What does that mean?”
“Are you new to language too or maybe just dim?” Wick said, and then gave Gryph a sideways glance. “How is it that yo
u know don’t know anything about anything
“I’m not from around here.”
“Yeah?” Wick said, a look of suspicion crossing his face. “Where you from then?”
“You won’t have heard of it.”
“Try me. I’m well-travelled.”
Normally, Gryph would have said nothing. Years of training warned him not to hand out information that could give anyone an advantage. But, at this point, he didn’t see any harm. Maybe he was getting soft. Maybe it was just loneliness.
“I’m from a place called Earth,” Gryph said.
“Well, I’ll be damned, you’re a player?” Wick said, eyes going wide. “You are, aren’t you? A little late to the party, aren’t you?”
Shit, Gryph thought. “I don't understand anything that is coming out of your mouth.”
“Yup, definitely slow. You don’t seem to get any of this.” Wick spread his hands around in a spastic gesture indicating all of creation.
“Why don’t you explain it then,” Gryph said through gritted teeth.
“Cool, man, chill,” Wick said, giving Gryph a sideways glance. “The way my gramps tells the story is that a ways back, say fifty years ago, the Pantheon invaded the Realms. They came from some Realm called Earth that nobody had ever heard of. The Pantheon brought a bunch of buddies with them. They called these people players. Not sure why since, as you’ve seen, this place ain’t no game. Anyway, they fought against the corrupt New Gods and defeated them. The Pantheon took over, ruling over Korynn with ‘benevolence and justice.’” This last part he said with sarcastic air quotes.
Gryph, realizing how weary he was, sat down as Wick told his tale.
“So, after the Pantheon defeated the New Gods they sent all the players back home with thanks and well wishes. Nobody's seen a player since that day. Sure, rumors floated that a player was seen in this place or that, but I never believed it. To be honest, I always thought the tales were a bunch of poppycock. Yah know, stories made up to inspire children.”
“Doesn’t seem to have worked on you too well there, Little Demon Lord,” Gryph said.
“Look, guy, we went over this. I’m not an evil wizard, I’m just a guy who got a bad rap.”
“And summons demons from hell.”
Wick stood up and turned away from Gryph. “Listen, I already thanked you for saving my butt. I’d be gnome stew if you hadn’t come around.”
Gryph said nothing.
“Seriously, dude, you need to work on your people skills. I said thanks. Now let me show you my appreciation. Come with me and I’ll get you a hot meal of…” Wick’s voice went low. “Rat stew.”
“Did you just say rat stew?”
Wick shrugged. “What do you expect? It's not like there’s a handy market right around the corner. We make due with what we got and we survive.”
Gryph stood, and Wick smiled.
“Good, finally showing some sense. Let’s loot these bodies, and then head back to my hideout.”
"I'm not going to any hideout." Gryph didn’t move. “I'm getting out of here."
“I already told you there is no way out of here.”
“You’re telling me that somebody built this place without an exit?”
“Not exactly.”
“So, there is an exit?”
"There's an entrance. A one-way door. We could never reopen it once it closed. Wait, why don't you know this? How did you get in here?"
“Which way?” Gryph demanded. A few heartbeats of tense silence followed.
“Fine, man. Your funeral.” Wick reached out his hand. Gryph just stared. “Well, take my hand, man. How else do you expect me to give you my map? You really don't know what the hell you’re doing, do you? Gonna bode well for you.”
Gryph extended his hand palm up, and Wick placed his hand on top. Wick closed his eyes, and Gryph felt a pulse of warmth spread outward from the gnome’s child-sized hand. It pulsed into Gryph and moved up his arm and through his chest where it settled in his mind.
An extensive map of the Barrow filled Gryph’s mind. It included a ton of notations, including the location of Wick’s camp, the various warrens of the Wyrmynn and a place called Gray Haven, a network of caves and tunnels offset from the rest of the Barrow. But all that interested Gryph was the door marked entrance. It was a way up through a series of tunnels and caverns that intersected the wyrmynn held areas.
Gryph opened his eyes and nodded his thanks to Wick.
“Wow, was that gratitude? You’re moving up in the emotional spectrum, man. Congratulations.”
Gryph grinned and held out his hand to Wick. “Thanks for the help, and the info.”
“You’re welcome,” Wick said, taking Gryph’s hand. “You sure I can’t talk you out of this?”
“No, I’m supposed to be somewhere else.”
“We’re all supposed to be somewhere else.”
Gryph nodded. Maybe Wick wasn’t all bad.
“Before you go, let’s see what these lizard bastards have on them. You’ll need every advantage you can get.”
While Wick searched the bodies, Gryph checked out his prompts.
You have earned 5,000 XP for completing the Quest Gnomish Team Up.
You have helped the gnome Wick and defeated the wyrmynn. Wick now has a friendly disposition towards you.
Reward: Partial map of the Barrow.
You have earned 15,535 XP for slaying Wyrmynn (X6).
You have reached Level 6 and 7.
You have 12 (5 Base + 2 Godhead Bonus) unused Attribute Points.
You have 2 unused Perk Points.
You have reached Level 3 in Air Magic.
You have reached Level 6 in Stealth.
You have reached Level 6 in Light Armor.
You have reached Level 6 in Dodge.
You have reached Level 6 in Staves/Spears.
You have reached Level 6 in Thrown Weapons.
Gryph put two points into Constitution and four into Dexterity and Intelligence. His stats received a nice boost. He kept two in reserve for his newly discovered game hack. Now for the tough and fun part.
Gryph - Level 7
High Elf (El’Edryn)
Deity: None
Experience: 36,310
Next Level: 14,690
Stats
Health: 165
Stamina: 166
Mana: 153
Spirit: 130
Attributes
Strength: 23
Constitution: 27
Dexterity: 29
Intelligence: 20
Wisdom: 10
Gifts
Health Regeneration: +25%
Mana Regeneration: +25%
Night Vision: 120 Ft.
Master of Tongues
Identify
How to spend his Perk Points? Without hesitation he dumped one into the Stealth perk Invisibility, having already seen what the lack of that skill had nearly cost him.
Stealth Perk Tree
Stamina
Tier
Back
Invis.
Speed
30
B
2X
15%
50%
25
A
3X
25%
60%
20
J
4X
35%
70%
15
M
5X
45%
80%
10
GM
6X
55%
90%
0
D
10X
75%
2X
Now what to do with the other one? He opened his Air Magic perk tree and examined it.
Mana: Reduces the cost needed for any spell in this sphere to the percentage listed.
Effectiveness: Increases the effectiveness (damage, duration, heal, etc.) for any spell in this sphere to the percentage listed.
> Resistance: The ability to resist a percentage of the effects of spells and weapons derived from this sphere of magic.
Item Power: Any magical item or weapon in this sphere has its effectiveness increased by 25%.
Gryph noticed that the perks for magic were generic as if every magic skill would have the same basic branches. It made sense as the perks increased the effectiveness and reduce the cost of casting. It was easy to imagine that one day, if he focused on one or two spheres of magic, that Gryph could grow to be incredibly powerful.
He started now. Animate Rope was so far his only spell, but it had saved his life on two occasions. He suspected if he were to live long enough to find Brynn that it would do so many more times. He put his last perk point into Mana.
Air Magic Perk Tree
Tier
Mana
Effect
Resist
Item
B
80%
+25%
10%
+25%
A
70%
+50%
25%
+50%
J
60%
+75%
50%
+75%
M
50%
+100%
70%
+100%
GM
30%
2X
80%
2X
D
20%
3X
90%
3X
Satisfied, he closed down his prompts and went to find Wick. He found the gnome next to a pile of loot. True to his word, Wick gave Gryph most the loot he’d found.
You have found 31 gold coins, 34 silver coins and 56 bronze coins.
You have found a Potion of Minor Healing.
You have found a spell stone for the Earth Magic Spell Flying Stalactite.
