Tinker, Tailor, Giant, Dwarf ( LitRPG Series): Difficulty:Legendary Book 2
Page 4
Quest Received: Find Lastor Bombraid
The Epic Tinker has been missing for decades, and nobody knows if he even still lives. The world is worse off for his absence, and great rewards await the one who finds him.
Class Restriction: Only Tinkers may accept this quest
Reward: Unidentified item [Rare]
I added this to my already-saturated list of quests. This one was different from the rest, though. Since I hadn’t made the quest myself I would get a reward, and the unidentified item on offer was bound to be something useful to my class. There was also the fact that if I found Lastor, I was sure he could teach me things about being a Tinker that nobody else knew.
I closed the book and sat back. The librarian whistled across the room. This had been a useful trip, I decided. A long journey lay ahead of me, but I was sure that I could face it.
The library door opened behind me, and I heard footsteps thump on the ground. I turned and saw Brian walking toward me, hunching his back so that he could fit in the tiny room. The librarian glanced at the giant, and a look of panic crossed his face.
“No giants,” he said, and then glanced at his bookshelves as if he expected Brian’s footsteps to send them toppling over.
Brian ignored him and spoke to me instead. “We’ve got to go,” he said. He seemed a little on-edge.
“Why?”
“You’ll see.”
I got up off the chair and followed Brian. Before I left, I reached into my inventory and took out CR5. I only had CR50 on me and I needed to send some to my parents, but the knowledge I had learned today was invaluable, and it deserved a reward. I put the CR on the librarian’s desk.
Guardian Point gained! (Total: 3)
The librarian snatched the CR, put it in his pocket, and then looked back at the book in front of him. That’s gratitude for you.
When I exited the library and followed Brian out of the alleyway, I stopped. I looked ahead of me and shook my head. I couldn’t believe what I saw.
Smoglar was stood in the centre of the town with his axe drawn. He swayed from side to side, and this time I saw that he really was drunk. Perhaps my story had given him an idea.
A crowd of NPCs stood around him but there were more of them this time, as though the entire population of the town had come to join the mob. All of them held weapons and stared in the direction of Smoglar. They weren’t looking at the dwarf, but instead focussed on the body of Tristan the merchant, who lay dead at Smoglar’s feet.
I knew I wasn’t going to be able to talk our way out of this one. Brian must have had the same thought, because he pulled a bomb out from his inventory and held it in his hand, ready to light.
As we got closer, I saw Renor the tavern owner point a finger at Smoglar.
“Murderer,” he shouted.
Smoglar shook his head. “He attacked me. Surely one of you fools must have seen it?”
The slurring of his voice robbed him of any authenticity, and I knew that the time for words was ending. This was confirmed when Renor stepped forward and swung his club at Smoglar’s face. The dwarf was too drunk to dodge it, and he took the brunt of the blow on his cheek.
Without missing a beat he swung his axe at Renor’s head, missed, and grazed his shoulder instead. The other townsfolk saw this as their cue to attack, and soon they advanced on my friend.
I knew that they wouldn’t stop until he was dead. Killing NPCs was frowned upon in Re:Fuze, but if the choice was that or death, then it was an easy one to make. I had to help him.
Someone hit Smoglar with a pike, and the dwarf’s HP bar fell to just above halfway. He couldn’t take them all alone, and I knew that he was too foolhardy to move out of range and fight sensibly. I had to end this now.
I opened a bomb casing. After filling it halfway with gunpowder, I tipped in eight screws. I closed the casing, and then I grunted with frustration as it fell apart in my hands.
Smoglar took another hit, and his health dropped below halfway. Brian threw a bomb into the fray, and the explosion damaged five of the mob. The smell of burnt gunpowder drifted to my nostrils. Some of the crowd covered their ears after the blast had damaged their hearing.
I must have put too many screws in the casing, I realised. Bomb making was all about balance. I opened a new casing, and this time loaded more gunpowder and fewer screws. As I was about to throw it, Smoglar took another hit. And then another. He stumbled back and grunted in pain.
Putting the screw bomb to one side, I hastily loaded a new casing with gunpowder and the healing potion from my inventory.
“Smoglar,” I shouted. The dwarf turned to look at me, taking another hit as he did. “Run toward me.”
“I’m not a coward,” he said, his voice strained with pain. “I’m going nowhere.”
Brian shook his head. He walked across the square, grabbed his friend by the arm and dragged him away from the mob. I lit the healing bomb and threw it at Smoglar. As it exploded, I saw his health bar rise.
The townsfolk looked at us. Some had symbols above their head showing red faces with exclamation marks. This meant that they had become enraged, and any damage they dealt would be doubled. They charged at Smoglar and Brian, holding their knives and clubs and pikes high in the air.
I picked up the screw bomb. I lit the fuse, took a breath and then threw it. I watched as it spiralled through the air and landed on the ground in front of the NPCs. It exploded just as Renor stepped over it. The air was filled with screams of pain, and I felt sick as I watched chunks of flesh lift up high and then fall to the ground in a shower of body parts.
NPC killed – No EXP Gained
NPC killed – No EXP Gained
NPC killed – No EXP Gained
The message repeated thirty times until I was sick of seeing it. I knew that no exp was given for killing NPCs. The reason for this was that they wanted to discourage murder of characters that held vital roles. I didn’t care. Thoughts of levelling up were far away, and instead, I focussed on the new messages repeating on my screen.
Chaos Point gained! (Total: 2)
Chaos Point gained! (Total: 3)
Chaos Point gained! (Total: 4)
The message filled my screen until I had 31 points, leaving me 69 away from getting the reputation of ‘Nasty Git.’ I swiped them away. I didn’t want to level up in chaos points, nor did I want a reputation as a bad person.
There was nothing I could have done. I wouldn’t let my friend die, and if gaining chaos points was the penalty for saving Smoglar, then I’d just have to accept it.
“Are you guys okay?” I said.
Smoglar leaned over and vomited a spray of ale on the blood-stained streets. Brian looked at the carnage around him, and then turned away from it. It was time to leave Dry Gulch, I knew. There was nothing for us here, now.
Bounty gained: CR300. (New Level: Fugitive)
You have done wrong, and you have a bounty on your head. Any player may claim it by killing you.
Bloody hell.
Chapter Four
We had left Dry Gulch before we had planned to, but we would have to adapt. I had wanted to reach level ten before setting out, but I was quickly learning that the best-laid plans of Tinkers, Giants and Dwarves often go awry. It was going to take us years to match the sheer power of Herelius, but I knew that if we could find Lastor Bombraid, then I would have an advantage.
We walked across a desolate field. Field Imps attacked us every so often, but their numbers were few and their levels were low. Smoglar seemed to enjoy venting his frustration on the aggressive creatures. Every so often we’d pass a nobbled tree or a hilly mound, but other than that there was little to mark the landscape.
Brian had taken to humming a tune out loud as we walked, though I didn’t recognise it. I had enjoyed it at first, but when he began his tenth cycle of the song I decided I needed conversation.
“So, why do you guys want to find Herelius?” I said. “I’ve told you my story. What about yours?”
“What now?” I said.
“There’s a town ten miles east, but I still think we’re better avoiding it,” said Brian.
Smoglar stopped. It looked like an imp was running toward them from the distance, but when it got closer they realised it was a hare. Not even Smoglar was angry enough to attack the harmless animal.
“I need a drink,” he said.
“We need a plan more than we need the ale,” I answered. “We’ve still got some levelling up to do. We need to toughen up more.”
“Spoken like a true warrior,” said Smoglar. “But I’ve been thinking. Brian and I stashed some weapons before we…”
“Before you what?”
“Nothing.”
Message from viewer: ‘They’re lying to you.’
The viewer’s cryptic messages were starting to irritate me. If they wanted to help me, then fine, but at least just come out and say it. The fact was that I knew that Brian and Smoglar were holding something back, but I trusted them all the same. If they wanted to harm me they could have done it long ago. All they’d ever done was help me.
“When could you have stashed weapons?” I said.
I thought about it. They’d started in Blundow at the same time I had, which left them little time to collect weapons and then stash them somewhere. Then it dawned on me. I looked at my two friends and spoke.
“You had different characters before these ones, didn’t you?”
Smoglar shrugged his shoulders as if he knew the game was up. Brian nodded at me.
“So what happened?” I said.
“We like you, Janus,” said Brian. “But you have to understand, not everyone in this world is trustworthy, and it takes a while for people’s true colours to come out. So we don’t want to share that with you yet. And don’t try to use Snake Tongue on us to get the information, either.”
“While we’re at it,” said Smoglar, “We better make a pact right here and now. None of us can use our abilities on each other without agreeing beforehand, okay? If we’re travelling together, there needs to be some trust.”
“You’re a fine one to talk about trust,” I said.
“I partied up with you, didn’t I?” said the dwarf. “And I’m sharing my loot with you. What more do you want?”
I heard a squawking noise above me, and I looked up to see a murder of crows flying across the sky. Ahead, in the distance, was a gang of imps. I pulled out a bomb and threw it. The bomb exploded yards away, but it was still powerful enough to kill them.
15 Exp Gained! (113 until level 10)
“Nice shot,” said Smoglar.
“I think you’re right,” said Brian, looking at the dwarf. “We need to find the stash. Some of the weapons we put aside are much better than most people our level can buy, and that should give us an advantage.”
“Where is it?” I said.
“Right in the middle of Gospag Forest,” said Smoglar, shaking his head.
“I’m sensing that’s not a good thing.”
“Depends how you feel about a dying forest full of level 13 Blood Steers. I’m not overly excited about the prospect. When I stashed the weapons there, I never thought I’d been going back as a green-gilled newbie.”
“If it gives us an advantage, then I say we go for it,” I said.
Smoglar grinned. “You know what, Janus? I’m beginning to…not like you, but accept you. You’re okay.”
“Steady on with the praise.”
Gospag Forest was fifteen miles west of the direction we were heading, so we changed course. After a while our stamina was drained, so we decided to rest near a hollow-trunked elm tree. Smoglar leaned back against the tree and rested his axe on his lap. He rubbed it from time to time as if it was his pet.
“We’ll need a plan,” I said. “If the Blood Steers are level 13, then that gives them the upper hand straight away. There’s no sense just charging in.”
Brian nodded. “Do you know anything about Blood Steers?”
“Never heard of them,” I said.
Smoglar put his hands behind his head and relaxed.
“They wouldn’t be so tough if it wasn’t for those bloody great antlers on their head. They’re made of bone and they’re as sharp as knives. The buggers are aggressive, too. If you hit them they get enraged, and then they charge at you.”
“So I’ll need to level up my endurance, then,” I said. “Otherwise one blow and I’ll be gone.”
Smoglar nodded. “You could. And that would be fine if we had about twenty years to wait while you bulked up. You just don’t have the body to take damage, tinker.”
“Think, Janus,” said Brian.
I put my hands to my chin and thought about it. They were right; I could level up all I wanted, but I’d need to quadruple my HP before I had enough. Even then, I’d still have to get some high-level armour to take the bulk of the damage.
“How about this?” I said. “Smoglar, you’re stocky. You stand there and get them riled up. They attack you, and you absorb it. Brian and I stand on the sidelines with screw bombs and healing bombs. We’ll keep your health topped up, and we’ll pepper the Steers with bombs from range.”
Smoglar stood up, moving with an agility I hadn’t expected of him. “And that’s what I call a plan. Let’s go.”
***
When Smoglar had described Gospag as a dying forest, he wasn’t lying. It was full of trees with withered branches and rotting trunks, packed so tightly that barely any light shone through. Bracken littered a forest floor that would have looked undisturbed had it not been for the hoof prints planted in the mud. Nothing in the forest made a noise except our footsteps.
Soon, the Blood Steers crept out from the trees. They took tentative steps at first but then, as if they had decided that we weren’t to be feared, they attacked. Twigs cracked beneath their hooves as they trampled over the floor toward us.
Smoglar stood in the centre waving his axe in the air and yelling, drawing the attention of any Steers that came to attack. While he took the force of their blows, Brian and I blasted them with screw bombs. We broke our attacks only to throw the odd healing bomb at Smoglar.
The plan worked as we had wanted it to at first, which was a welcome surprise. I had been expecting something to go wrong. Maybe the Steers would have explosion resistance, or their antlers would drip with a poison that made fast work of dwarf flesh. As we walked through the forest yard by yard and dispatched the creatures, my experience points tallied up. One of my bombs blasted a hole in the side of a Blood Steer, and I felt a familiar pleasure rush through me.
Level up to Level 10! (142 until level 11)
Now wasn’t the time to allocate my points, so I followed Smoglar through the forest. With every step I looked around me as it became darker and the silence became more oppressive. We walked by a particularly thick oak tree that had vines wrapped so tightly around its trunk that it seemed like they were trying to smother it. Herbs littered the forest floor and gave off the smell of onion and mint.
We eventually reached the centre, and there we found three sticks that had been driven into the ground to make a sign. Smoglar walked over to them and stopped. He turned around and smiled.
“This, ladies and gentlemen, is the stash. No need to thank me yet, there will be plenty of time for that later.”
“You could have made it less conspicuous,” I said. “Those sticks in the ground might as well be an arrow with a sign saying ‘loot buried here.’”
“Nobody else comes here,” said Brian. “There are much easier places to level up, and no NPC quests take you into Gospag.”
Smoglar got down on his knees and dug in the dirt. After a minute he stopped. He grabbed hold of something, and his face turned red as he strained to pull it out of the ground. It was a brown chest with a brass
handle. Smoglar had gotten it halfway out of the ground when we heard a roar.
“We need you centre stage, tank,” I said. “We’ve got more blood steers to handle.”
“That wasn’t a steer. Listen,” said Brian.
Something roared again, and then it was followed by the sound of booming footsteps on the forest floor. I turned and gasped as I saw a gigantic bear twenty feet away. It was so tall that it almost reached Brian’s height, and its body was thick with matted fur. It had claws that looked sharp enough to take my head off with one swipe. This wasn’t an ordinary grizzly, though. Its face was decayed, and yellow bones stuck out.