by C. M. Carney
“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 Gryph’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 you 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 maybe 200 years, 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 Crusaders, but they referred to themselves as 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 dude? 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 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 Grey 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 ways 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 cannot 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, lets 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
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
Backstab
Invis.
Speed
30
Base
2X
15%
50%
25
Apprentice
3X
25%
60%
20
Journeyman
4X
35%
70%
15
Master
5X
45%
80%
10
Grandmaster
6X
55%
90%
0
Divine
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
Effective
Resistance
Item Power
Base
80%
+25%
10%
+25%
Apprentice
70%
+50%
25%
+50%
Journeyman
60%
+75%
50%
+75%
Master
50%
+100%
70%
+100%
Grandmaster
30%
2X
80%
2X
Divine
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 Gold Coins (31).
You have found a Potion of Minor Healing.
You have found a spell stone for the Earth Magic Spell Flying Stalactite.
Most of the loot was unimpressive, except for the spell stone. As Gryph examined it he wondered why the wyrmynn hadn't used it. Why not learn what sounded like a kick ass spell? He asked Wick.
“Cuz wyrmynn are dumbasses with tiny brains,” the gnome said as he knelt down near one of the wyrmynn and pulled a dagger. Without hesitation he hacked into the neck of the reptilian corpse. Unnerved, Gryph wondered if he was digging for one of these “tiny brains.”
“This isn’t bolstering my confidence you're not an evil wizard,” Gryph commented as Wick dug into the necks of the lizard beasts with a dagger.
Wick dug a grisly bit of gore from the wound he’d carved. It was a gland of some kind. “Wyrmynn Adrenaline Glands,” Wick said, as if that explained anything. “Look closer.”
Gryph stared at the bit of gristle and his Harvest skill gave him a prompt.
You have discovered Wyrmynn Adrenaline Gland. This rare and valuable ingredient has many uses in both alchemy and Crafting. You believe it could make a potion that will temporarily increase Stamina, Dexterity and Speed and other unidentified effects. You also get the sense it could craft an item that increases Stamina, Dexterity and Speed and other unidentified effects.
“My girl will love these. She’s an alchemist and great at this stuff,” Wick said. “Among other things,” he added with a wink. “Come with me, she’d be willing to train you up in alchemy as a thank you for saving my sweet ass.”
Gryph considered the offer for a moment, but he had to escape this place. He needed to find Brynn and defeat Aluran. Once again he thought on the absurdity of his situation. Here he was, a lone guy who’d never played an RPG or MMO in his life, thrust into a world run by game mechanics, where he was tasked with defeating a god. Gryph inhaled and forced his mind to its task.
“I appreciate it, I really do, but somebody out there needs me. I can’t fail her.”
A look of understanding crossed Wick’s face, and he extended his hand out to Gryph. “Best of luck my friend.”
Gryph shook the gnome’s hand. “To you as well.” With no further ceremony Gryph turned and headed towards the tunnel that led towards the entrance. As he got close Wick called out to him.
“Hey Gryph.”
Gryph turned back to the gnome.
“See you in your next life,” Wick said with a melancholy look.
With that confusing comment, Wick disappeared down another tunnel. Gryph shook his head in bewilderment, but remembered the gnome was was a summoner of demons. Who could say what else was wrong with him?
22
I t had been nearly twenty minutes since Gryph had left Wick behind when the doubt wormed its way into his guts. Had he made the right choice to go it alone? What if Wick was right? What if there was no way out?
He pulled his new spell stone from his Inventory. It was like the Animate Rope stone he’d found in his starter inventory, except where that one had been a sapphire filled with swirls of white light, this one was anthracite pulsing with sparks of brown energy.
Gryph held it in his closed palm and concentrated. Energy pulsed and flowed from the stone just as it had before, but this time as it flowed up his limbs it made them rigid and heavy as if his body was turning to stone. It flowed up into his neck and settled into his brain. He could hear the grinding and slow cracking of the earth and stone around him and then his mind expanded and filled with knowledge.
You have learned the Flying Stalactite
Sphere: EARTH Magic - Tier: Base.
This spell will conjure a single spear of stone that will fly wherever the caster points. Base Damage: 20 points of Earth damage +2 points per level of Earth Magic mastery.
Mana Cost: 30 mana. Duration: N/A. Cooldown: None.
You have learned the skill EARTH MAGIC
Level: - Tier: Base - Skill Type: Active
You can now wield the power of Earth Magic. Earth Magic allows the user to manipulate the earth itself. Earth Magic makes use of offensive and defensive spells, but is also used in mining and to summon or construct creatures made of earth.
“Well that rocks,” Gryph thought before realizing he’d made a horrible pun.
Gryph checked the map Wick had given him and took a tunnel that led west. If he was reading the map correctly, he was 300 feet underground and over a mile of snaking tunnels from his goal.
Not too bad, Gryph thought. There were a ton of skull and crossbones icons of various colors littering his path. Gryph concentrated on a red one not too far from him and a prompt popped into his vision.
Pit Trap; Punji Sticks; Poison.
A few minutes later Gryph found the trap. He could see a faint red glow outlining the pit. This was his Perception skill in action. At Level 5 he had a 25% chance of spotting traps. The dimness of the glow suggested to Gryph that had he not already known the trap was there that he may not have detected it. He made a mental note to be more careful.
Gryph eased himself by the pit trap, but couldn’t resist activating it. He applied pressure with the butt of his spear until the ultra thin stone covering
the pit fractured and fell. The pit was nearly ten feet deep and lined with dozens of ultra sharp punji sticks. They were not wood, but stone stalagmites that grew from the floor. Their uniformity and even spacing were perfect like rows of corn, suggesting that they had been cultivated. Worse still the needle point tips of each stalagmite oozed viscous liquid.
Poison rocks. Perfect. Who the hell built this place? And why? Gryph wondered. He still didn’t understand why the Barrow tossed death around so casually.
Gryph moved onward. The tunnel took a slight left, and the gradient increased. If the map was accurate, he’d soon hit a large cavern that Wick had marked with half a dozen blue skulls. Gryph focused on a scroll icon in the corner of the room and another prompt emerged.
Wyrmynn Outpost: Full of stank wyrmynn. At least ten. This is the base from which they patrol our area. I told Tifala that I could summon Avernius into their midst and Bam, problem solved. She said no and gave me that look. Yah know, the one that says “I love you, but the things you can do terrify me.” Regardless, they are getting too close and we must do something about them soon.
Who was Wick? Now Gryph was the first to admit that he knew nothing about the Realms, but even he sensed the odd juxtaposition between the gnome’s jovial personality and the 'things he can do.' Gryph made a mental note to not put too much faith into the map or the gnome who made it. It could cost him his life.
Gryph plotted out another route. It was more circuitous and took Gryph perilously close to unmapped territory, but it had less death’s head icons. He had only seen a small sampling of the terrors this world held and he was in no hurry to up his experience with them now.
