by Kong, Aleron
Richter had the bright idea of eating two at once, hoping for an increase in the heal to time ratio. He had found that the herbs would simply restore 20 points over 60 seconds. Well, beggars can’t be choosers, he thought. Eating the herbs had the added benefit of slowly improving his Herb Lore skill. Sion assured him he would get better results from each healing herb as his Herb Lore improved, and he would also have an easier time finding more potent herbs.
In the time that it took for the herbs to do their work, Futen had completed his search of the room and was hovering in front of him again. Richter certainly felt better, even if he was a bit a hungry. Sion told him that was a common side effect of the green medicinals.
Three circles, each the uniform two feet in diameter, were glowing softly scattered throughout the room. These were easily avoided but the last was three feet in diameter and had a second line of runes inside of the first. It also completely covered the entrance to a set of stairs leading down.
“Okay, so how do we get past it,” Richter asked, “Should we jump over? Can you make it?” the last was directed at Sion.
Sion looked back at him, “It’s a magical seal of power. It’s meant as a barrier and a trap.”
“Yeah, I have picked that up,” Richter replied.
“Yes, well,” Sion said slowly. “It wouldn’t be very good at either if it could be defeated by, skipping.”
Feeling like a moron, Richter just gave a short nod. He really didn’t know what he had done to deserve a best friend who was basically a dickish Kebler elf.
“Futen, what can you do about those wards?”
“These are lightning wards my Lord. Lightning is the province of Air magic. I should be able to unravel the ward and allow the energy to dissipate. Also you might be able to set off the ward from a distance with a sufficiently strong magical strike.”
“Are you saying that I can learn lightning magic?”
“Yes my Lord. As you know, you can learn and master Life, Dark, Air and Water magic thanks to the Place of Power. Each Power has certain requirements that must be met, but it is possible.”
Richter had noticed a Magic tab on his interface, but as they were all greyed out he had not paid it much attention. He could see now that there were a list of lightning spells below the air spells. The weakest lightning spell required skill level 10 in Air Magic.
“Why didn’t the skeletons set off the ward when they crossed it,” Sion asked.
“The wards are cast to attack only the enemies of those determined by the caster,” Futen replied.
“Can you change the way we are ‘determined’ by the ward? Can you make us be seen as friendlies, and everything else be seen as an enemy?”
“No, my Lord.”
“Well that’s a shame,” Richter said. “Judging by how strong these enemies were on the first floor. I can only imagine what the next level is going to be like. Okay Futen, disarm it.”
Both he and Sion took a step back, being a bit wary of the remnant’s judgement after their, well, electrocution. The ward began to glow. The outer circle of runes began to turn, followed by the second. Both changed directions multiple times reminding Richter of the tumblers on a safe. A few more turns and both circles stopped rotating. There was a final flare of light and the ward floated up into the air until it dissipated like smoke and disappeared.
Richter began to move down the stairs, until Sion cleared his throat. The sprite cocked his head as if to say ‘Really?’ What the sprite actually said was, “We have been over this. Futen, scout ahead.”
It phased out of visible sight, and Sion and Richter were left waiting. The orb reappeared before long and said, “There is one large chamber. At the end are a set of black doors. In front of it are two of the larger skeletons. ”
“What type of weapons do they have,” Richter asked.
“One is carrying a large axe and the other a larger sword. They seem alert, my Lord.”
“Well that’s not surprising. A deaf bat could have heard all the racket we were making,” Richter commented. “If there are only two though we can take them. How far from the steps are they?”
“About eighty yards, my Lord.”
“Is there light?”
“Very little.”
“Then the plan is the same as before. Go in front of us, and draw their attention with sound and light. Sion, we both hit the one on the left with powered strikes, and once it is down or they cross more than half the distance to the steps, we retreat back up the stairs. If they follow, we will stagger our shots. You strike and knock it back, retreat, and I will do the same. If they get to close we retreat to the mist.”
Sion took the lead moving noiselessly down the steps. The waited a few steps up from the bottom, so as not to be seen. When they saw the flash, Richter and Sion both moved. Richter used Focus to draw his target close into view and powered his arrow for three seconds and released. Sion’s arrow struck a moment before him. The damn thing was still standing! At least the strikes had kept it from making any forward progress, however. Analyze showed:
Skeleton Warrior: Lvl 11. Health 230/350. Mana 0. Stamina 240/240.
Well that would be why! Meanwhile, Sion kept launching powered strike after powered strike into the already injured skeleton. The other skeleton warrior was halfway down the cavern. Richter switched his aim to it and powered his arrow for one second before releasing. The arrow struck the skeleton in the arm, flinging it off balance its greatsword scraping the ground.
Richter had underestimated the speed and strength of the warriors. The tactic of withering fire would not work. The skeletons would run them down and strike from behind. Richter fired one more imbued arrow at the closest skeleton further knocking it off balance and then drew his short sword. Stepping forward, he swung down as hard as he could and struck the greatsword, knocking the weapon out of the skeleton’s bony grasp. The warrior raked its outstretched hand across Richter’s chest creating an ear splitting screech as it scored his chest plate. Spinning low, Richter swung his sword in an arc striking the warrior in its knee. A chip fell off, but the leg remained attached. The warrior fell upon him, and it’s not inconsiderable weight drove him onto his back. The bones clearly had greater density than they should. He grabbed one bony wrist, but its other dug into Richter’s shoulder. The tips of its fingers pierced his flesh. It dug deeper into the meat of his muscle as it curled its fingers into a partial fist, on the inside of his body!
A scream ripped from Richter’s throat as he struggled against the skeleton. His left hand scrambled for purchase against it, but was weakened to the point of uselessness with the skeleton’s fingers inside his deltoid. His other hand tried to keep the skeleton’s free hand from ripping into his throat and taking his life. Richter looked up into the insane grin of the skeleton with its mouth partially open. His stamina was running out fast and he felt himself weakening. Panic was taking over which might have been the only thing keeping the pain from rendering him unconscious.
He strained with creature for long moments panting, caught in a stalemate that he knew could not last much longer. Just when he felt he might succumb, he saw Sion’s sword dig point first into the side of the warrior’s neck vertebrae. The sprite had jumped onto the skeleton’s back. With his sword wedged into its spine, Sion wrenched up with all of his strength using his blade like a lever. With a heave and an audible snap, the bones of the neck separated. The head went flying, and the rest of the body collapsed into its separate parts on top of him. The hand remained intact and inside of him though. Sion placed his knee on Richter’s chest, pulling swiftly, and wrench the skeletal fingers out of his friend’s shoulder. A large amount of blood and a few pieces of flesh came out as well. Richter could barely see straight as he reached into his pouch drank one of the red potions he had taken from the goblin chief in the fight that already seemed so long ago. He triggered the healing ring as well. The pain began to lessen but his health did not seem to recover as quickly as it should. He saw a symbol
in the shape of a red tear drop at the corner of his vision. Focusing on he it saw:
You are bleeding. You will lose three health per second for the next fourteen seconds.
Well that explains that. Sion handed him several healing herbs and he stuffed all three into his mouth chewing, trying to ignore the bitter flavor. He swallowed them all as quickly as possible. It seemed the potion and herbs would work in conjunction allowing for increased health regeneration over a period of time. For the next few minutes Richter sat in pain waiting for his wounds to heal. Sion stood nearby staring at the tall black doors at the end of the hall, but no further enemies appeared.
“Futen.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Are we going to run out of time? Will the skeletons that we have killed come back if we don’t move fast enough?”
“No, my Lord. Some dungeons are indeed bound with a power that brings back any vanquished enemies quickly, but this dungeon is fixed. Unless you leave the dungeon for a prolonged period, slain enemies will not reappear. I cannot give any assurance of new enemies wandering in, however.”
“Do you mean more skeletons could be coming from outside,” Richter asked with alarm in his voice.
“Yes, my Lord. I have been scanning for enemies as instructed however, and have detected no hostile creatures other than the skeletons you have encountered.”
Not fully reassured, he tried for a bit of levity. “You seem to make a habit of jumping onto enemy’s backs, buddy,” Richter said.
“Only because you seem to be making a habit of lying on you back with big things on top of you. You should stop that. It’s no way to find love,” Sion replied, a cocky grin spreading across his face.
“Shut up! I’m still healing,” Richter groaned.
Despite suffering not only wounds, but also Sion’s twisted humor, there was a bright side to the fight. Upon the death of the warriors Richter was award with:
TRING!
You have reached level 7! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!
Congratulations! You have reached skill level 3 in Imbue Arrow. +5% damage. +5% speed of mana flow.
Richter wasted no time and allocated the necessary points needed to use the charm spell. Two points went into Intelligence, two into Charisma and the last two he placed into Dexterity. The increased attack speed of the sprite could not be underestimated. His 25% proficiency increase he held off, as none his skills was far enough along to level.
Richter pulled out the spell book. The blurry lines that were on the page the last time he had looked at it resolved into clear text. He began to read and quickly finished the first page. The next page turned of its own volition. After he read it the process repeated. This happened faster and faster until the turning pages were a breeze on his face. With the last page done, the book slammed shut and crumpled to dust.
Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Charm! You can convince a target that they hold you in the highest regard. If cast on an enemy during battle they will fight for you. Casting this upon a creature lowers their regard for you after the spell wears off. This is a spell of Life. Cost 60 mana. Duration: 1 hour. Range: 20 feet. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: 10 minutes.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Life Magic.
His wound closed while he learned the spell. Richter stood and looked at the black doors. It was time to finish this.
“Can you scout what’s inside Futen?”
“No, my Lord, not until the door is opened.”
“Well then, no point waiting around. Let’s do what we came for! Futen, as soon as we open the door, illuminate the room, and find any traps as quickly as possible. Sion, kill stuff,” Richter said, getting a viscious smile in return from his Companion.
Striding to the end of the chamber, Richter flung open the doors and moved inside. Futen lit the room, hovering above their heads. A black altar was in the middle of the room. A skeleton stood behind it wearing black robes and holding a long staff. The staff appeared to one large bone. It was at least five feet long, and was blue in color. The top of it had spiderweb cracks that were black in color. Small spheres of black light shone in the center of the skeletons eye sockets leaving no doubt that it was staring directly at them. It was flanked by two skeletal warriors both holding greatswords. Next to the priest though, was the show stopper. A grayish humanoid creature sat on haunches wearing tattered rags as a loincloth. It had weeping skin and festering sores. The stench coming off of it was horrible and overwhelming. It looked up at them with animal like intelligence, arching its back as it prepared to leap.
“A ghoul,” Sion shouted.
The robed skeleton waved its hand, and the doors slammed shut with an ominous boom, locking them in.
Then Richter heard something even more disturbing from his Companion.
“Fuck my life!”
CHAPTER 16
“Don’t let the ghoul touch you,” Sion shouted, “it can paralyze.” The sprite drew, knocked and imbued an arrow, firing it at the closest skeleton warrior. He then switched to the other warrior. His shots made a constant staccato, buying time before they could close the distance, and bring their horrible strength to bear. Richter fired his golden arrow at the skeleton mage, but a blue disc of hazy energy appeared from the tip of staff. It acted as a shield. His arrow stopped well short of the skeletal mage creating a loud bang, but having little other effect. The ghoul had jumped over the altar, and was quickly closing the distance to Richter.
Putting all of his faith in his new spell, Richter cast out his hand and invoked Charm. The one second cast time allowed the ghoul to leap. It was in the air by the time Richter had finished the incantation. Its jump easily crossed the remaining distance between them. The stinking weight of its body crushed Richter into the wall. He held his arms out ready to wrestle the creature to the ground, but it easily gave ground. It simply stood there staring at him. With a grim smile on his face he pointed to the skeleton mage, “Sick’em boy!”
The ghoul rushed at the mage who had been chanting a spell that would almost definitely have ruined Richter’s whole day. The mage was forced to break off its spell to fire a bolt of frost at the ghoul knocking it to the side. Unfortunately, the caster did not seem fazed by spell feedback from the interrupted spell.
Richter pulled his attention from the two fighting monsters. He drew and fired upon the skeletons that were perilously close to Sion. His attack pulled the attention of the axe wielding warrior. The energy seemed to flow easier than before, his increase in Imbue Arrow level making a small but perceptible difference. He was able to land two strikes on the warrior before it took a swing at him. Ducking under the blow, he planted his feet and rammed it with his shoulder, knocking it back a step. He quickly nocked another arrow and fired at point blank range directly into its face. He had not had time to Imbue the arrow, but the shot still connected solidly with its skull. It fell upon its back with a loud clatter. Standing over it, he charged his arrow, and shot at the connection of its neck and body. The skull flew free and the bones lost cohesion.
Looking to Sion, the sprite was dodging his opponent’s swings with no chance of counterattack. Drawing a bead on the warrior, Richter imbued his arrow, then shouted “Drop down!”
Sion rolled to the right to avoid the skeleton’s sword leaving Richter a clear shot. He took it, and the second skeleton dropped into a pile of bones. Turning his attention back to the altar he heard a piteous shriek. The skeleton mage had plunged its staff into the chest of the ghoul. The creature still struggled to reach the mage and rend it with its claws, but ice began to spread from where the staff had pierced its body. After only three seconds, the ice had completely frozen its torso. With a sharp twist, the skeleton freed its staff. The sudden jerk sent the two halves of the ghoul’s body in differe
nt directions. Blue and red icy shards fell in a tinkling sound around the base of the altar.
Hoping to catch the mage off balance, Richter drew an arrow, imbued it and released. He didn’t have Sion’s speed though. The seconds that it took to do so was enough to allow the mage to erect his shield again. The shot was stopped feet away, splashing harmlessly against the blue circle. Sion regained his feet and fired an arrow, but with a pulse of power from the staff, the circle widened in diameter, blocking his shot as well.
“Flank it,” Richter shouted, not letting up on his rate of fire as he moved to the right. Seeing Sion’s confusion, he exhaled in frustration and shouted again, “Move to the other side and keep shooting!” They both kept hammering at the skeleton’s shield moving to either side to get past its defenses. With another flare from its staff, the shield grew into a sphere covering it from all directions. It now had a distinctly softer shade of blue, however. They continued firing Imbued shots. It was clear that it was a race to see who would run out of mana first, the Companions or the skeleton mage.
Taking a moment, Richter swallowed his mana potion. While Sion continued the assault, Richter powered his arrow for one, two, three, four, five and now six seconds. The black streaks flowed thick over the golden arrow, and Richter felt the magic begin to flare out of control. Not able to wait any longer, he released. The arrow hit the sphere, but unlike the previous shots, the magic surrounding it did not immediately wink out. The arrow seemed to push at the protective sphere, bowing it in. The sphere buckled, and then, in a torrent of light and sound, it exploded. The eruption knocked both Sion and Richter backwards to the ground. Blinking clear the spots in his vision, Richter quickly made his way back to the altar. The skeleton was laying on its back, frozen. This time, apparently the spell backlash had stunned the mage. It was helpless for a few moments. Unsheathing his sword, Richter delivered the coup de grace, severing its head. Looking down, he saw the dark light fade from its eye sockets.
