by C. M. Carney
You have earned 575 XP for slaying a Wyrmynn Scout.
The priest was reaching the climax of his dramatic chanting. Gryph had no idea what was about to happen, but he knew one thing, he had no desire to hang out and wait. Gryph hobbled to his feet. He turned to face the priest and extended the middle fingers on both hands. He had no idea if the wyrmynn understood the gesture, so he hissed and growled the meaning in fluent wyrmynn.
The priest’s eyes went wide in fury, but he kept discipline and finished his chanting with a hiss of anger. The priest raised his hands above his head and silver energy coalesced. Gryph decided he needed to be elsewhere and dove into the rushing water. The river smashed him into the sides of the tunnel and his health sank again. But a few moments later, the surge calmed as the water filled the tunnel. The good news, he was no longer being smashed against the sides of the tunnel. The bad, there was nowhere to find air.
He spun and sped and soon his breath was falling. Angry red light raged in his vision and he began to drown.
23
A surge of excitement pulsed through the Barrow King. His wyrmynn had cornered the elf and would bring the Godhead to him. Soon, he would have the power to escape this wretched half-life. Soon he would become a god.
He watched the battle through the eyes of the wyrmynn priest. While still relatively low level, this elf had proven to be incredibly resourceful, even creative. The Barrow King liked a challenge. As a master of the soul sphere, the Barrow King could assimilate the skills and knowledge of those he possessed. That was the way he had gained so much knowledge and power in his physical life. And he would have it again.
Nefarious joy exploded in the Barrow King’s mind. The wyrmynn have him. The man was injured, but alive, just as he had demanded. The revenant made plans. He would consume the elf’s soul and take his body as his own. With the Godhead he could gorge himself on all the life in the Barrow.
Then he would evolve the Godhead. It would take time and patience, but the Barrow King had suffered for millennia so he was also a master of patience. The wyrmynn had his prize tied and ready for delivery when the man escaped his bonds and used them as a weapon. He’d used his limited magic in a most inventive way. The Barrow King would have been impressed if he weren’t so angry.
Time to take control of this situation, the Barrow King realized.
He extended his will through his dungeon and placed himself into the small mind of the wyrmynn priest. The beast had just enough mana for this one spell. It would be a conduit for the Barrow King’s casting. He knew it would burn out the priest’s mind, but he cared less about that than a man who mistakenly steps on an ant while out for a walk.
The Barrow King started casting Soul Portal, a spell of his own creation. It required a lengthy casting time, but when completed, it would create a doorway between his location and the battle. Then he could drag the man through the portal and take his prize.
The man locked eyes with him and made a furious gesture with both hands that the Barrow King did not understand. Then the elf spoke in the wyrmynn’s horrid language and the meaning became clear.
No, young fool, fuck you, the Barrow King thought. The casting was at an end when the elf added one last insult to gesture and words and jumped into the raging river.
The Barrow King howled and his rage burned out what little remained of the wyrmynn priest’s paltry mind. The creature collapsed, dead before it hit the ground. The pent-up energy of the Barrow King’s spell had nowhere to go. It exploded and tore through the remaining wyrmynn, splattering the cave with blood and gore.
The revenant’s mind tried to feel the Godhead. It could not see the man. He had no minion in the torrential river, but he knew where it would take the elf. To the cavern with the lake. The lake where the arboleth dwelled.
Fear gripped the Barrow King. There was no being in this dungeon who could challenge the Barrow King except for the arboleth. The arboleth was an ancient aetherial aberration that the Barrow King had drawn to this realm in his youthful arrogance. It had taken all of his power to trap the beast in the watery prison where it now lived. The watery prison the man with the Godhead would soon enter.
If the arboleth took possession of the Godhead, it would escape and the Barrow King was far too weak to survive a battle with the immortal entity. He needed to stop that from happening.
He extended his mind into the underground lake. There on a small island he caused a chest to emerge, laden with the best weapons the Barrow King could provide. He glamored the chest with a spell of seduction that would lure the elf to the island. It was not much, but perhaps it would be enough for the high elf to survive and to escape.
It would have to be.
24
Gryph’s health was playing a game called ‘How Quickly Can I Plummet?’ and it was putting up an MVP effort. He guessed he’d been in the water for a minute when a Drowning prompt popped into the corner of his vision. Again? Dammit. Flashes of light sparked in his vision ticking away the last moments of his life.
The torrent of water shot Gryph from the cave opening like a cannonball. A coughing, sputtering near dead cannonball. Gryph inhaled a ragged breath that burned his starved lungs as it nourished them.
It was then he realized he was falling. He’d emerged into a large cavern, dominated by a lake. The water from the river erupted into the cavern nearly one hundred feet in the air. Gryph shot like a cork exploding from a shaken bottle of champagne, tumbling head over feet as he plummeted towards the lake.
Gryph knew that pain was coming, but as he hit the surface of the water with an epic, skin smacking belly flop he suspected he might also die. The water felt like concrete and the small breaths he’d pulled into his lungs exploded on impact.
Gryph lost consciousness.
Deep in the lake, something stirred. Powerful thoughts reached outwards as a primordial body awoke from a deathlike slumber. Something was in its cave. Something that held a powerful potential. Something that would serve it.
When Gryph came to, he was several feet below the water and sinking. His sliver of health flashed as it dipped to 10%. His health, like his body, was sinking. He pushed through the agony and swam towards the dim light of the surface. His lungs burned like molten iron as he put the last of his life into a few more frantic kicks. His mind retreated to a place of comfort. A place from his past.
Brynn walked in the place she once loved most. The house at Bow Lake. The house that burned. The house that had taken their mother. Brynn looked back at Gryph and smiled. It was all wrong. It was adult Brynn who looked back at Gryph. Yet, he could see the fifteen-year-old girl whose life would soon shatter looking back at him. He had failed her then. He wouldn't fail her now.
Gryph broke the surface and his lungs burned as he inhaled.
He spent a few moments recovering when a sharp pain reminded him the spear was still lodged in his leg. The journey down the river had broken the haft in two, causing the flow of blood to increase. He tried to pull the spear shaft from his leg but couldn’t get a solid grip on the weapon.
Instead he fumbled through his pack, grabbing his last health potion. His hand shook with pain as he struggled to keep the vial above water. He popped the cork and downed the liquid in one large gulp. Warmth and ease spread though his body and his health bar shot up to nearly 60%.
The potency of the healing potions continued to amaze him. They didn't just restore health, they knit bones and closed wounds. It was one of the many things in this world he couldn’t wrap his head around. He made himself a promise. If he lived through this hellhole of a dungeon, he would learn how to make them. Lots of them.
He caught his breath and surveyed his surroundings. The lake was large, half a mile across at its widest. It was surrounded on three sides by the high walls of the cavern, but the fourth side had a beach and better yet a solid metal door. There was a way out.
Then he felt a tingle at the back of his mind and his gaze turned to his left like iron to a magnet. Two
hundred yards off was an island of rock and sand. A large metal and wood chest sat at the center of the island. A swell of desire rose in his mind. He wanted the chest, wanted it more than he'd ever wanted anything. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he knew it was foolish. He needed to get out of the Barrow, not detour for a few trinkets.
Gryph concentrated and swam towards the beach. He focused his mind, ignoring the lure of the chest clawing at his mind. After a few minutes of swimming he was stunned to realize that he had drifted and was now swimming for the island.
I may as well check it out now, Gryph thought. I’m so close.
He pulled himself up onto the island. It was twenty feet to a side. His mind fogged and the pain in his leg faded to a distant throb. The chest was close, and he knew, just knew it contained amazing treasures meant just for him. A shooting pain zipped through the haze as the spear grazed upon the stone of the island.
He grimaced and fell to his knees. Looking down he saw the barbed spear head pushed all the way through the muscle of his calf. Only a few inches of shaft protruded from the other side, broken off in a jagged splintery mess. Gryph grabbed the shaft below the tip and inhaled deeply. On the exhale he yanked the spearhead free drawing a gout of fresh blood. Gryph screamed and lost consciousness.
Sometime later he awoke, surprised the wound in his leg had healed. Residual effects of the healing potion, perhaps? He stood and the pain in his leg had reduced to a deep throb. His mind was foggy, reminiscent of a post bender hangover, but Gryph forgot his pain as he saw the wondrous chest.
He felt a longing like nothing he’d ever experienced. A child’s obsession for a favorite toy or the alcoholic's need for a drink or the returning soldier’s desire for his lover’s touch. It was all these things and more.
He walked to the chest, his fingers trembling in anticipation. Energy flowed from the chest and as he got closer, he saw it was as much a work of art as a container. Aged wood that told a story with carved bas relief images, bolstered by bands of a green metal.
A mighty warrior, shining spear held aloft, stood by the open chest. Rays of radiant gold poured from the chest, bathing the warrior in warmth and glory. His expression was the fulfillment of every promise Gryph now felt in his mind. Whatever was in this chest would change his life forever. The rest of the story told of the great adventures. Kingdoms united. Demonic beasts slain. Evil thrown from the Realms.
Gryph’s mind rushed to Brynn. With this I can save her. The echoes of his thoughts returning to him bolstering his surety. He had never been more confident of anything in his life. With trembling hands, he eased the chest open. A low click announced the mechanism had released, and the lid opened on well-oiled hinges.
Gryph looked down into the chest with awe. He was so distracted by the wealth in the chest he didn't notice the bubbles of rancid air break the surface a dozen yards behind him.
For the chest contained wonders unlike any Gryph had seen since entering the Realms. His Identify gift surged to life as he pulled each item from the chest.
You have found Elven Bracers of the Return
(Light Armor) (Air Magic)
Item Class: Base - Item Category: Active.
AC Bonus: +8 (+2 Base Item Bonus).
Active Powers.
Power (1): Magnetic Control of Thrown Weapons.
Mana Limit: N/A - Cool Down: 5 seconds.
Yellow elementum scrolling infuses these extraordinary quality leather bracers. Besides providing great armor bonuses, the wearer can use the bracers to summon thrown weapons back to them, allowing them to attack again. There is no cooldown of this power.
You have found Banded Leather Breastplate of the Moon
(Light Armor) (Life Magic)
Item Class: Major - Item Category: Passive/Active.
AC Bonus: +18 (+5 Major Item Bonus).
Passive Powers.
Power (1): Health Regen +25%.
Power (2): Resist Death Magic: +25%.
Active Powers.
Power (3): Moon Flare: A surge of moonlight (Life Energy) explodes from the chest plate causing temporary blindness and 5 points of damage per point of mana spent to all creatures of the lower magics and healing 5 points of damage per point of mana spent to self and all allies within 50 feet.
Mana Limit: 20% - Cool Down: 6 hours.
This extraordinary quality leather jerkin is covered in layered bands of green elementum and white mithril.
You have found Elven Boots of Deftness
(Light Armor) (Air Magic)
Item Class: Base - Item Category: Passive/Active.
AC Bonus: +10 (+2 Base Item Bonus).
Passive Powers.
Power (1): +2 Dexterity.
Power (2): -10% Stamina cost for Stealth.
Active Powers.
Power (3): Speed Doubled for 15 seconds per mana point spent.
Mana Limit: 10% - Cool Down: 1 hour.
These extraordinary leather boots are worn by elven warriors. Crafted from the hide of a strike lizard, the boots offer excellent protection and speed-based abilities derived from beasts.
You have found Elven War Pants
(Light Armor)
Item Class: Non-magical - Item Category: NA.
AC Bonus: +12.
A well-made pair of leather pants enhanced with thick hide pads that provides excellent protection.
You have found Cowl of Elvenkind
(Light Armor) (Life Magic)
Item Class: Base - Item Category: Passive.
AC Bonus: +6 (+2 Base Item Bonus).
Passive Powers.
Power (1): +5 Levels to Perception and Analyze while worn.
Mana Limit: NA - Cool Down: NA.
This soft leather cowl is made from the hide of a scout fox. It provides excellent protection and perception abilities derived from the animal. It is the traditional garb of wood elf scouts.
You have found Bane of the Dark
(Elvish War Spear)
(Staves/Spears) (Life Magic)
Item Class: Base - Item Category: Passive/Active.
Base Dmg: +11 (+2 Base Item Bonus).
Passive Powers.
Power (1): Double Damage to aetherial, chthonic, death or chaos creatures. The so called Lower Magics.
Active Powers.
Power (2): Banish (Undead or Summoned) Upon Strike a 2% per mana point spent chance to sever the Undead’s/Summoned Being’s connection to their natural realm, thus “killing” it. Capped at 80%.
Mana Limit: 5% - Cool Down: 5 minutes.
This elvish war spear is made from a shaft of white alder wood tipped with mithril and sealed with starflower sap (a Life resin). The life energy in the weapon dispels undead.
You have found Empyrean Spider Silk Rope
(30 feet)
Item Class: Base - Item Category: Passive.
Passive Powers.
Power (1): Compel. Beings tied with this rope are compelled to answer all questions. Chance to resist is equal to twice the beings Wisdom.
Power (2): Animate Rope spells last twice as long.
Mana Limit: NA - Cool Down: NA.
Woven from the silk of an empyrean spider, this rope is nearly unbreakable and like the empyrean spider’s themselves can compel truthful answers from other beings.
The find was incredible and perfectly tailored to him. Part of his mind found this odd, but his excitement drove away all doubts. The chest also contained a sack of 135 gold coins, 235 silver coins, 432 bronze coins. five more health, stamina and mana potions and a small sack of glowing spell stones. He focused on the individual stones, receiving a slew of prompts.
You have found a spell stone for the Air Magic Spell Halo of Air.
You have found a spell stone for the Life Magic Spell Minor Healing.
You have found a spell stone for the Life Magic Spell Detoxification.
He tucked the bag of spell stones into his inventory and pulled on the pieces of armor. He felt pulses of energy surge through his bo
dy as the various passive powers of the items enhanced him. He felt a boost of vitality as the breastplate kicked his health regeneration into a higher gear. He felt more agile and energetic as he pulled on the boots. He could sense the magnetic forces now at his command as he slipped the bracers onto his forearms. Finally, the fog in his mind cleared as the Perception bonus from the cowl became active. He hung the rope at his belt and hefted his upgraded weapon.
Life was good.
A second before pain erupted in his leg his upgraded Perception alerted him to a slithering noise behind him. He turned in panic, but even his newly enhanced Dexterity was not enough to evade the silent attack. A thick gray green tentacle wrapped around his left ankle and needle like spines punctured his skin. Agony tore into his leg as he was dragged into the water.
25
Once, a long time ago, the Barrow was much larger. The physical space was unchanged. The same caverns and tunnels and ruins of barracks, storage rooms and ancient temples still existed and in the same places. The Barrow was no normal dungeon. It was alive, but it had been slowly dying for hundreds of years.
This is how Ovrym still lived. Had the Barrow taken him at the height of its power he would not have survived more than a few days, never mind the many years he had called this wretched place home. Some days he wondered if his existence was truly living. Perhaps it was his penance. He let these thoughts flow over him and their power dissipated like a wave breaking on a beach.
As Ovrym sat in his chamber meditating, he felt a ripple in the aether. The disruption that had so long ago sent him on this quest had come. The ripple became an explosion that flowed over him and pulsed outwards to cover the entire world. His eyes opened, pinprick coals of yellow light that pierced darkness and living beings alike. The time he had foreseen was upon him. After years of waiting his purpose had revealed itself.
