by Kong, Aleron
A lost castle on a hidden island discovered on a treasure map? Uhhh, yes please! It seemed like the kind of quest that gave legendary of even artifact gear! It also seemed like the kind of quest that had monsters that would use his balls for ju ju bees at his current level. Looking closely at the map he saw that the citadel was considered a timeworn dungeon. That meant it was at least a thousand years old, and possibly up ten thousand years old! He couldn’t tackle it at his current low level, but that wouldn’t always be a problem now would it? No, it would not, Richter thought with a smile. Then he thought, it’s kind of creepy to be talking to yourself in the third person. I need to stop this. He dismissed the map.
A second prompt had been hidden behind the map.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Map Making. Through careful observation of the world around you can map everywhere you have been. Finding additional maps will add to your personal map.
Hafiz had been looking at him as he worked with the maps functions. “Are you satisfied with your purchase, sir?”
“Oh yes,” Richter replied with a smile.
“Hazaah! Most happy to have been of service then,” Hafiz replied with a smile of his own. “I will add these other standard maps as part of the price with the diamond. Now is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Not right now, but I may need a varied amount of items later. I will need them brought to Leaf’s Crossing, could you arrange that?”
“I am ever you humble servant, good sir,” Hafiz said bowing his head. Hafiz handed him a bundle of arrow shafts to affix the arrowheads too. Richter had said he was going to use his sprite arrows, but Sion had told him mixing magic was never wise. Even imbuing an arrow that was already enchanted could be dangerous. Deciding to follow his friend’s advice, Richter thanked Hafiz and accepted the shafts. He then equipped his rings and belt. He felt a perceptible change in his body as it filled out slightly reflecting his increased stats. Shaking hands with the merchant one last time, Richter and Sion left the shop. Two bells tolled as they walked outside letting them know there wasn’t much time left before they had to meet back at the inn.
They followed Terrod’s instructions to reach Aldimah’s Focus. The store front looked much as Terrod had explained it. The panes of purple glass were varied in color. As they walked into the door they heard a chime. A tall man came to the front. Not wasting any time, Richter said, “Terrod sent us.”
“What does he need,” the man replied. There was none of the obsequiousness that Hafiz had displayed.
“It’s actually myself and my friend that are looking to trade,” Sion said.
“Then what do You need,” he asked gruffly.
“I’m looking for spells, my companion specifically for Air Magic, but I’m interested in anything useful.”
“By the laws of the King, magic can only be taught to and by members of licensed guilds.”
The merchant stared at them both, no one speaking.
Richter placed a small jewel on the counter.
He looked at what Richter had dropped and then looked back up.
“But laws don’t put food on the table, right? Come to the back. Ryun! Come watch the front!”
A teen aged boy walked up from the back to stand behind the counter. Richter and Sion followed the man, walking through a back door into another room. He sat a circular table and offered for them to join him.
“Are you Aldimah,” Richter asked.
“No, Aldimah is right behind you,” pointing behind Richter and to the left.
A hand gripped his shoulder just as the man pointed, “Holy sh-!” Richter thought only the three of them were in the room! Scrabbling to turn quickly, he knocked over a chair. A golden skinned elf stood before him. She had silver hair, not with age, but as if someone had spun silver coins. She wore blue robes with arcane sigils in silver thread embroidered along the hem. She looked like she was Richter’s age, but he realized you couldn’t really tell in such a long lived race. A wry smile was on her face as she said, “I’m sorry. I get so bored cooped up in here.”
“Which doesn’t make it right,” the merchant said in admonishment.
“I’m sorry,” she said contritely letting her head hang slightly. “Hmph,” the man just grunted in reply, but he seem mollified.
“Please don’t give it another thought,” Richter replied with a faint smile. She really was remarkably beautiful. “Are you Aldimah?”
She gave a small laugh, her voice resounding with the purest tones. If the Wood Sprites were woodwinds when they spoke, she sounded like a violin. “Aldimah is my grandfather’s name. He founded this shop. He and the rest of my family left Law several years ago. I have been running the shop with our good friend Killik,” indicating the merchant. “You may call me Leandra.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Richter replied. “Terrod sent us here when I said I wanted to learn some spells.”
“You do know that it is against the King’s laws to learn spells outside of a registered guild?”
“We’ve been over that Leandra,” Killik said.
She gave another small laugh and looked at Killik, “Well you are the one that always told me to say it.” Looking at Richter she said, “My powers are focused in Earth and Water magic. I have some spell books that can teach you some low level spells, if you have the affinity and level to learn them.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Richter said with a smile.
“Do you have any experience with Earth or Water? No? Then you can only learn skill level one spells then, but they should still help you.” She took three books from a shelf along the wall.
You have found: Book of Barkskin: This spell will increase natural armor by +2. This is a spell of Earth. Cost 20 mana. Duration: 20 min. Range: self. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: N/A.
You have found: Book of Grease: This spell will make a 10x10 foot area slick with grease. It greatly increases the chance of anyone in the area falling down. This is a spell of Earth. Cost 15 mana. Duration: 30 sec. Range 25 feet. Cast time: 2 seconds. Cooldown: 10 min.
You have found: Book of Ice Dagger: This spell will throw a dagger made of ice at your target. This is a spell of Water. Cost 20 mana. Duration: 1 min. Range: 40 feet. Cooldown: N/A.
All the spells seemed pretty basic and uniform. That didn’t mean they weren’t also wonderfully useful. He especially liked the grease spell. In Richter’s experience, even high level enemies could be affected indirectly by spells that changed the environment. He remembered a tough fight from years ago. He had to kill a dungeon boss. It was a death knight whose spell resistance was so high that no spells could touch it. A mage he was playing with had created an icy floor though, that made the knight fall on its back. Richter had been able to score an easy critical strike after that and win the fight.
“I’ll take them all,” Richter said. He was practically salivating thinking of increased capabilities.
“At two each that will be six gold coins.”
Errrrrrch! What was wrong with these people? It seemed like they were determined to bleed him dry! He had to fight the impulse to see if he bought two if he could get the third free. Six hundred dollars for three books! Say what you want about massed produced crap back home, it made things cheaper. He did have a thought though. Using Analyze on Leandra, he had her stats
Female High Elf, Lvl 8. Health: 160/160, Mana 190/250, Stamina 110/110.
“Each of these spells seems like it takes about 10% of your mana,” Richter said enjoying her shocked look. “I would think that a way for you to be able to reduce the cost of your spells would be valuable.” He withdrew the blue staff from his Bag of Holding. He handed it to her, allowing a closer examination.
Leandra took the staff looking at him, but then switched her gaze to the item in her hand. She focused, and a white flare that looked like when Futen identified items extended from her hands and surrounded the item. He look of surprise switched to one of excitement and greed. She began
muttering to herself. “Leg bone of a frost giant… Steeped in waters of Great northern glacier… Must have been enchanted by…” She came back to herself all of a sudden, seeming to realize how transparent she was being, and tried to shift her features to studied nonchalance. “It’s a nice trinket.”
A large wolf-like smile was on Richter’s face, and he settled into some serious haggling.
An hour later the two companions left the shop, and Richter had three new spell books and several restore health, mana and stamina potions. He had even bartered to obtain the recipes to health, mana, cure poison, and other useful potions for Sion, who assured him that the ingredients were easily found in the forest. For all of these goods, he ultimately gave her two gold and four silver coins. He was even able to secure a 10% discount on future purchases. Leandra didn’t seem to mind much though as she lovingly held her new staff. He could swear she was cooing to it. Before leaving the shop he opened and read each book. The same process occurred as with the book of Charm, each crumbling to dust and leaving him with a new spell. Reading them gave him two new corresponding skills. There was also a pleasing third prompt.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Earth Magic. Increasing you skill will unlock more spells.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Water Magic. Increasing you skill will unlock more spells.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Trade. Bargaining has afforded you a better price. Increasing this skill will allow for better prices and open new business opportunities.
Leandra agreed to keep an eye out for other spells books. Richter and Sion thanked her, and then hurried back to the inn knowing not much time was left. Going inside, one of the men behind the bar made eye contact with Richter, and nodded his head towards the back. They made their way by the smiling patrons and entered the kitchen, Terrod met them and walked back into the alley again. Immediately cautious, Richter and Sion slowed down, but Terrod kept walking without pause to a sewer grate and climbed down. Having no choice, they followed him in. They stayed to the side once they reached the bottom to avoid the stream of foul smelling water flowing down the tunnel. The sewer was made of dark stone with an indentation in the middle to channel the flow. They could stand upright, but Richter only just. Terrod was ahead of them, moving along the right side of the tunnel torch in hand. They hurried to follow.
They took turn after turn until Richter had no idea as to their current location. He guessed that was part of the point though. Terrod finally stopped in front of a ladder leading up. He climbed it and opened a trap door at the top, allowing the sound of hushed voices to come though. They followed him up, and found themselves in a warehouse filled with boxes. It had a dirt floor and straw was scattered on the ground. There were twelve other figures there. Everyone quieted upon seeing Terrod.
“Alright gents. I’m glad we are all here. The two with me I vouch for. They will stay with me. Go back to what you are doing. I will fill them in on the plan.” The men continued on with their preparations and Terrod turned to Richter and Sion. “Alright, the plan is relatively simple. We are going to strike just after midnight. The Night Blades have a base on the wharf. That’s where we are now, but all the way on the other side of the harbor. We have been told this base is where they have our people. Now as you’ve already seen many of these buildings are attached to the sewers. If we attack above, you can be sure they will bolt underneath. So we have divided into two groups. You will be with me and we will be in the group attacking underneath. We will try to disable anyone we find in the tunnels quietly. When we hear the attack above, we wait a moment so it draws focus, and then kill anyone attempting to flee. After that we move in, and attack these bastards from behind. Do you have any questions?”
“It sounds like there is going to be a lot of close fighting underneath. Sion should be in the above ground attack. He is tough in a close up fight, but he is absolutely deadly with a little room to wield his bow. Are you okay with that,” he asked his friend.
Sion looked at him somewhat concerned, “Are you sure you don’t need me to watch your back?” His gaze wavered to the other men for a moment, the implication clear that the Night Blades might not be the only danger.
“This is going to require trust on all of our parts. And I think it’s understood that there will be vengeance on anyone breaking that trust,” Richter said looking Terrod in the eye.
The man didn’t seem offended by the veiled threat, “I absolutely agree,” he said returning Richter’s gaze. “Randal,” he said over his shoulder summoning a man to him. “The sprite is going to be with you. Apparently he is pretty good with the bow.”
Randal looked at Sion with disbelief, “Hey little man, you sure you can handle yourself, urk!”
An arrow was suddenly quivering in a crate only an inch from the questioning man.
“I didn’t even see him move…,” Randal said in disbelief. He continued in a respectful voice, “We will count ourselves lucky to have you among our number sir sprite. Please come with me and we will figure out the best role for you.”
Sion walked off with the man, leaving Richter with Terrod. The reserved man look at Richter, “The walk to their base by tunnel should take the better part of an hour. We will leave at eleven bells. Take the time to center and prepare yourself. We will be safe here until it’s time.” He walked away to confer with the other men.
Richter decided to spend his time using his new powers. He started with Ice Dagger, mostly because it sounded coolest if he was being honest. Focusing upon the spell, he immediately felt a chill in his hand. Strange, he thought. He let go of his focus and the sensation disappeared. It hadn’t been painful or unpleasant, just surprising. Looking at a crate against the wall he invoked the spell. His arm shot out of its own accord and a one foot dagger made of ice sprung from his finger tips and struck the crate. It penetrated the wood and stuck there. He walked up to it and examined the blade. It had a simple spiral handle with no cross guard. The “blade” was a cone coming up from the hilt. He wrenched the blade to the side, but it did not snap in two, apparently the ice that comprised it was extremely dense. He was able to pull it out of the crate and saw that it ended in a wickedly sharp point. It also remained solid in his hand and he was able to slam it back in the crate, leaving it stuck there. He hadn’t counted one being able to use the dagger after it was “thrown.” He would never be without a weapon again!
Next he cast Barkskin. His skin grew rough, and the sensation in his fingertips decreased slightly. Drawing the dagger from the crate he scraped the point along his skin with little effect. He pressed lightly and then somewhat harder before it was able to pierce his skin despite its sharp point. He was clearly not impervious, but the spell was a large improvement to the unarmored parts of his body.
Last he cast Grease. The floor looked slightly shinier and dark in the torch light, but otherwise there was no real effect. He was wondering how to test it, when on the men to his right fell with a loud curse. Another fell trying to help him. They looked around with irritation until seeing Richter’s sheepish expression. The tirade that followed convinced him to sit quietly and wait for the operation to begin.
CHAPTER 21
Richter, Terrod and two other men, Jason and Jeremy, made their way along the tunnels. The two men were in front checking for traps as they were nearing the Night Blades hideout. They had already led their group past two tripwires. A shuttered lamp provided the barest illumination. The lead man, Jason, held up his hand and gestured around the corner. “They are right around the corner,” he said softly. “There are two of them. Now I can take one from a distance. The question is, are you any good with that,” he asked indicating Richter’s bow.
“I can handle myself. I can’t guarantee a silent kill though. I’m assuming quiet is what we are going for.”
“As long as we can kill them quickly, and keep them from getting back into their lair we should be safe enough.”
Richter snuck a glance
around the corner. He could see two vague shapes standing about 5 feet apart. Unlike their entrance to the tunnel, it appeared that there was a door built into the side of the sewer tunnel. The closest was about 30 yards away.
“I am pretty sure I can get a chest shot on the closest one,” Richter said.
“Okay then, I can sneak relatively safely another 10 yards down the tunnel before they should be able to detect me,” Jason said cocking a crossbow. “After I go around the corner, count to ten and then take your target out. If you hear shouts come around the corner immediately before these motherless trogs kill me.” With a nod at Terrod, he went around the corner.
Richter counted silently. Unfortunately he had only gotten to five when the screaming started. Terrod and Jeremy went around the corner immediately. Richter was only a half-step behind. Jason was on the ground, blood freely flowing from his left foot. The thief that had been closest to the door had a small crossbow out, and was aiming at the downed man. The other thief was turning to the door, clearly about to enter and sound the alarm.
Richter took in all of this in an instant. In even less time he choose his target, aimed and fired. The closest thief was shot through the chest and his crossbow discharged harmlessly into the sewer floor. The other one was able to make it through the door and raise the alarm, though. Though he did not notice, a message indicator appeared in Richter’s side view.
The man on the ground held up his hands and shouted “Stop! Don’t step in the puddles, they are studded with spikes!” A trip wire was seen across the length of the tunnel. Jason must have stepped over it, but had then stepped into a pool of water on the other side and impaled himself on a concealed spike. Terrod went to him and bandaged the foot quickly, stemming some of the blood flow. He murmured to the man who nodded with a pained look on his face. Terrod looked at Richter, “We keep going. Our men above will be slaughtered if they attack alone. It’s just that now we will bear the brunt of the attack, and they will attack from behind. Are you with me?”
