“Many died fighting the Terror, but they could not kill it, for it had no true form of its own, but possessed the bodies of others. When its shell was killed, it would pass into another, often the one that killed it. Still, the elite of the monks and the disciples were able to trap the fiend in the Vault below the monastery, at the sacrifice of their own lives. Unable to find a new host, and unable to escape, the Terror was trapped.”
“And then an idiot Traveler went and ruined everything.”
Chapter 68 – The Vault
“And then an idiot Traveler went and ruined everything.”
I sighed, hiding my face with my palm. “Of course they did. Let me guess, they ignored the warnings, spouting some crap about ‘cleansing evil’ or the like? Or were they just trying to loot whatever gear remained after all this time?”
“Have a lot of overzealous idiots amongst your lot, huh?”
“Traveling to other worlds means we don’t always have to live with the consequences of our actions in the worlds we visit. Makes it easier for people to be stupid. Same idea with coming back from the dead.”
“Well, if you’re going to go down there anyway, you might as well keep an eye out for the dwarves. Group of five went down there, trying to cleanse the place. Don’t know what they did to deserve it, but they were all cursed by Moradin himself.”
I nodded. “We’ll do what we can to find them. But before we head in, do you have any advice on how to end the Terror?”
“Ah, I knew I liked you. You’re the first to bother asking about that, thinking that we’d been anything other than idle in death all these years. Well, lucky you, there is a way to destroy the Terror. My brother and I forged two items to help you in your quest, if you are able to find them. The first is the Soul Trap. It will prevent ethereal creatures from passing its boundary. The second is the Ghost Chain, which can snare any ghostly creature, making them solid again.”
“To destroy the Terror, you must destroy the host within the Soul Trap, so that it does not have a chance to escape and possess another. Then, bind it with the Ghost Chain, and it will not be able to possess you, while your blows will damage it directly.”
I blinked. “Really? I would have thought it would be more complicated than that. If you had such knowledge, why not use it before, while you lived?”
The ghost laughed. “Because I didn’t know it then, you whelp! Do you know how many years my brother and I had to train in order to forge ethereal items? Not those enchanted items that a ghost can pick up, mind you, but true ethereal items? I never had the time for such studies before I was dead!”
Yeah, I should have expected that. As we went down the stairs into the vault, I said, “So, find the Trap, find the Chain, kill the host, kill the Terror. Sounds like we have ourselves a plan!” And indeed, when I checked the quest log, we did have a plan.
Blighted Monastery
A monastery formerly belonging to disciples of Moradin has been defiled by the Blight. You have learned that the Blight is caused by the taint of a Terror that has been trapped in the Vault of the monastery for decades.
Rank
B
Success
Bring news of the Blight’s cause to one of the Holy orders.
(Optional) End the Blight by slaying the Terror.
Failure
Die, or give up the quest.
Rewards
Experience
Unknown
Increased Reputation with followers of Moradin
Consequences
Decreased Reputation with followers of Moradin
Unknown
WARNING!
YOU HAVE ENTERED A PERMADEATH DUNGEON!
Some enemies or objects in this dungeon may have the ability to cause permadeath. NPCs who die to a permadeath effect cannot be resurrected. Players who die to a permadeath effect have their characters deleted, and must start Character Generation at level 1. (Legacy bonuses from World of Destiny will be replaced with bonuses based on your current character’s progress.)
Note: This dungeon is not instanced. Clearing the dungeon will permanently remove it.
And there was the downside. No doubt anything involving something called a Soul Trap or a Terror was going to be something that could cause the permadeath effect. Yukiko, Hrozne, Kamla, and I shared a nervous look, before I sighed, and said, “Well, we’ll just have to not die, right? Let’s get moving.”
From the map data we had, the Vault was originally laid out as a long hallway, with a series of rooms along either side of it, most likely for storing materials and crafted goods, as well as any treasures that might be found. Unfortunately, things weren’t going to be a simple jaunt to the end. Centuries of abuse by weather, undead, and time, not to mention active fighting, had caused several collapses, and there were a couple barricades as well. We would have to snake our way through the Vault to clear this mini-dungeon.
I’d heard on the forums that there were two kinds of dungeons. Instanced dungeons were like the ones you found in all other games. You ran it with your group, and you would be the only ones to be able to enter that instance. Moreover, you would be locked to that instance until you cleared the dungeon, meaning any time you entered the dungeon you would be in the same instance until you fought the boss, which prevented people from farming first floor mobs and chests for easy loot. Instanced dungeons had a two-week (in game) cooldown once you cleared them.
Non-instanced (or ‘event’) dungeons were often mini-dungeons or lairs, like the bandit lair, or the mine we cleared out. The Event in Duskhaven could be considered an event dungeon. Apparently, dungeons could change from instanced to non-instanced, if you did something extraordinary. In the case of the two main dungeons I’d played through, they had both been temporarily turned into Event dungeons, the Depraved Pits because I captured a floor guardian and removed them from the dungeon (and then been given title over the keep and the dungeon), and the Scheming Caverns because Kali had started her zombie invasion there, upsetting the natural order of the dungeon. If I went back to the Caverns, I could fight through the dungeon properly, and would get normal challenges (and normal rewards).
That this dungeon wasn’t instanced meant that we could stumble upon other groups here, and that our actions would affect groups that came after us should we fail. If we were forced to retreat, the monsters may change their locations and tactics. Or they might even try to follow us from the dungeon! On the other hand, other players could come and join us in the assault, if they were nearby. But that seemed unlikely.
Ahead, there was a rough barricade combined with a cave-in, making the hallway impassible without a lot of work. I flipped a coin, and we headed into the room on the right. Two mummies awaited us, evidently risen from some nearby crypt. Unfortunately for them, we brought three holy casters, a necromancer, and a shit-ton of damage dealing with us. Also, they were both level 40 or so, which meant we all had at least ten levels on them. On the other hand, the loot was pitiful, and the XP was barely worth mentioning. But hey, we got to grind our skills some, right?
In the following room were several forges, attended by a ghostly dwarf and several human skeletons. Since they didn’t immediately try to attack us, I called out, “Hail, master dwarf. Are you the kinsman of that Grim Warden outside?”
Folgrun Hammerhold
Dwarf Ghost Male
Level 40 Wraith (Spirit) / Fighter
Titles: Forgemaster, Deathsworn, Ethereal Blacksmith
“Aye, that be me. If that idiot is still calling himself by that pretentious title, instead of Bruenor, like an honest dwarf, then I’m guessing you’re another pack of fools to try and challenge the Terror? And ye’ll be wanting the Trap and Chain? Well tough luck to ye. Those damn fool dwarves took the trap, but they were all under Moradin’s Curse, so they’re weak as kittens.”
I sighed. “I see. In that case, what can you tell me of the dungeon’s denizens? Are there more like you, who retain the sense of who they were?”
/> “Meaning are there others that won’t attack ye on sight? No, me brother and I are the only ones. We have some limited power over the weaker undead here, but that is all.”
Well, that was good to know, at least. “So if the Dwarves have the Soul Trap, where is the Ghost Chain? I know we’ll need both to finish this.”
“In the halls ahead. There’s a spring that has healing powers. It was the best place to keep the chain safe, so I tossed it in. Of course, you’ll have to get past the guardians, but I’m sure you’ll be fine. But hey, if you bring me some Essence of Undeath, I can make something that’ll help you out for that final battle.”
Right. Of course we’d have to get past the guardians. Still, if this was a non-instanced dungeon, then there was hope that any monsters the dwarves had cleared out wouldn’t have all been respawned yet. Since we’d come to a dead end here, we decided to check out the other room. And along the way we’d need to find sixty units of this ‘Essence of Undeath’. Not sure what it was, or what it would do for us, but I bet that the fight against the Terror would be a helluvalot easier if we had it.
Whatever storerooms and treasuries were down here, they’d clearly not fared well. There were some stores of raw materials, mostly metals, but they were all basic grade materials like iron. Any cloth or leather had rotted away over the years. Any that remained had been hopelessly corrupted by the Blight, meaning only Undead could use any materials coming from this dungeon unless we found a way to purify them.
Collecting the Essence of Undeath was difficult. It dropped at a rate of about one unit per three or four undead in the dungeon. The undead we faced were mostly weaklings in the 30 to 40 range, but there were a couple more mummies and a few ghouls. But clearly the ranks had been thinned. We would have to catch up to the dwarves if we wanted a chance of getting all that Essence for the upgrades.
The dungeon, which had originally been a long, straight hall, forced us to take a serpentine path through the storerooms, passing through rough tunnels dug into the earth, and at one point we had a tough fight where a pair of barricades had been set up in a long room, with archers behind the far one, with melee types by the first. All skeletons, but mindlessly ruthless in their methods of attack. That room would have sucked if it weren’t geared for undead. As it was, it was basically a speedbump.
When we crossed the main hall again, and found ourselves in another room with five dwarves, all looking severely worse for the wear. Apparently, being cursed by a god would do that to you.
Korir Shadowthane
Duregar Dwarf Male
Level 200 (40) Weaponmaster (Fighter) / War-leader (Marshall)
Titles: Cursed of Moradin, Thrall
Braznas Coalmaul
Iron Dwarf Male
Level 200 (40) Assassin (Rogue) / Shadowdancer (Rogue)
Titles: Cursed of Moradin, Thrall
Rafrig Alecloak
Half-Dragon Dwarf Male
Level 200 (40) Hellfire Mage (Flame Sorcerer) / Glacial Master (Ice Sorcerer)
Titles: Cursed of Moradin, Thrall
Hanwuna Battleforge
Stonetouched Dwarf Female
Level 200 (40) Fallen Servant (Priestess) / Shieldmaiden (Fighter)
Titles: Cursed of Moradin, Thrall, Masochist, Broken One
Kindag Chainhelm
Mountain Dwarf Male
Level 200 (40) Rage Lord (Barbarian) / Battle Raper (Dominator)
Titles: Cursed of Moradin, Sexecutioner, Corrupter, Sadist, Traitor
And it would seem we had found the members of Moradin’s Hammer. I was able to get some details on their curse, which amused me.
Curse of Moradin
The bearer of this curse has committed great sins against the Father of Dwarves or his chosen. The bearer suffers an 80% reduction in effective level, as well as an 80% penalty on all attributes, resistances, skills, damage done, and healing received. MP costs of all spells cast increased by 80%. Some titles may be lost, while others are suppressed. Gain no experience for fighting creatures beneath true level. Cannot be removed without the assistance of a priest in good standing with Moradin whose level exceeds that of the character’s true level, or by completing a trial of penance set by Moradin himself.
Note to self: Never, EVER piss off gods in this game.
Chapter 69 – Hammer of Death
So, these were the members of Moradin’s Hammer, hmm? I hadn’t thought that I’d get to see them so soon, especially with the level gap. Fortunately, I knew just what to do with these guys. I stepped forward, my weapons in hand as I spoke.
“You have been judged by Moradin for your crimes against one blessed by him, selling her to a Demon to be used for things that can only be called depraved, even by my standards. That was stupid of you, and while you’re already paying for that mistake, I do believe that a certain Paladin has said that you are not paying nearly enough yet. You’ve been judged by Moradin, but you still have the judgement of Brylres Hardbottle to deal with.”
The barbarian spat at the ground. “That bitch should have just done what I said, instead of always going on about how I’m too violent, or that we shouldn’t play with the bitches we fight.”
“In other words, she wanted you not to be an evil bastard, and wouldn’t become your Thrall, like these weak-willed fools? No, I’m sure you were completely blameless in all of that.” And then, without warning, I launched myself at the barbarian, twin blades promising death. Killing him in his weakened state was not hard. That curse was nasty. His axe only did 150 HP of damage to me, before I relieved him of his head. And by that time the other four were dead as well. I kept the heads as proof of death for Brylres.
Betrayer’s Due
Brylres Hardbottle was betrayed by her comrades in the adventuring party Moradin’s Hammer, and left to be enslaved by the demon Neozhur and his pawn, Jynerra. She now asks your aid in gaining her revenge.
You have slain the members of Moradin’s Hammer. Now you simply have to venture to the Dwarven kingdom and report your victory.
Rank
A
Success
Kill the former members of Moradin’s Hammer. And return proof of death to Brylres.
Failure
You do not return with proof of death or prisoners.
Give up the quest.
Rewards
Unknown
Increased Reputation with Brudrinen Empire
Increased Reputation with Hardbottle Clan
Consequences
Decreased Reputation with Hardbottle Clan
Checking the gear the dwarves had, there was a lot of high end gear, as appropriate for a group of level 200 adventurers. Clearly the only reason they hadn’t died so far was because of this gear. Too bad all of it was restricted to dwarves only. Still, it would fetch a good price at the auction house. We also found the Soul Trap, so that was good.
Continuing on, we fought our way through more defenders, level 40 specters, incorporeal undead which ignored most physical attacks. That probably explained why the Dwarves hadn’t proceeded on, and were just camping in the dungeon. They were trying to figure a way to fight the specters. But once past the specters, who were little problem for us, we eventually came to a pool of pure water, clearly enchanted beyond what even the Blight could do to it.
Gadriel sighed in contentment as she looked at the water. “This is a pool of radiance, created by the power of a god, almost certainly in person. Any living creature who has not been claimed by evil may set foot within and be cleansed of any disease, curse, or affliction, even those set by the gods. But an evil creature will be constantly damaged, should they even get a drop of its water upon them.”
“Then I guess it is good that you have not yet been wholly corrupted by my charms.” With a laugh, Gadriel nodded, and went into the water, returning with the chain. “Very good. Hold on to that until it dries. I’ve decided that one should never take the gods lightly in this world. Especially when they give warnings like that.”
/>
“A wise choice, Master.”
Pressing on, the fights were more or less the same. While the curse made it so that the Dwarves were unable to progress through the dungeon, we were higher (effective) levels than they were, and weren’t weakened. Plus, we had a Necromancer and oodles of healing on our side. So that always made undead fights easier.
Finally, we made it to the center of the vault, a large treasury of some sort, but anything within had long crumbled to uselessness through time and the Blight. Stone columns around the walls of the room helped to support the high ceiling. In the center of the room was a raised dais, with five stone statues surrounding it. They had clearly been men and dwarves once, before they were locked in this final act, sealing the barrier around that dais, on which a woman was standing, seemingly frozen in time.
Abbie Williams
Human (Terror-Possessed) Female
Level 20 Fighter / Craftsman
Titles: Pure Heart, Martyr
Xonohr the Malignant
Rules-Free VRMMO Life: Volume VI: Taking the Show on the Road Page 6
