“Damn it!” Kalmond bellowed, lifting his axe high to bring it down on the monster, chopping it in two like wood. The one-hit kill earned him another 150 XP, but before he could loot the body, three more basilisks burst out from the shadows.
He cut one head off clean, but the other two scored hits that took a quarter of his health, one with its spearhead of a tail and the other with its claws. The dwarf was on the defensive, trying to back one off to get a clean swing. But the attackers worked in tandem, darting in for a slashing attack with beak, tail or claw.
Kalmond switched his axe to one hand and swung it wild while he brought his level two water cannon spell to the other. He blasted his attacker squarely in the head the next time it attacked, sending it shrieking and tumbling back against the rock.
The other basilisk ended up behind him, and when he heard its claws skitter on the ground, he took the axe in both hands again and drove the but backward, impaling the creature through the chest and dropping it immediately. He’d earned another 460 XP, but at the expense of nearly half his health. He looted the corpses quickly, scoring feathers, gems, and nearly 200 more circs.
Kalmond moved uphill cautiously, not wanting to push his luck, but curious what would happen. He’d never seen this many basilisks. Recent experience taught him to pursue anomalies in the game because they usually lead somewhere. These were strange times in the realm.
Picking his way over increasingly jagged and broken rocks, he found himself atop a long, flat ridge that ran a crooked line from east to west. Directly ahead was a gaping cave mouth in the shape of a rounded triangle. He paused to look and listen, casting his level two detection spell with no items selected to see if anything alive was about. The cave mouth glowed as if a green fire raged inside the cave.
“Oh, no,” Kalmond said. The sound of screeching echoed out of that mouth, accompanied by flapping wings. He turned to run just after catching the sight of at least six basilisks bursting from the cave.
Kalmond didn’t stop running until he reached Darkwell again. He’d outrun the basilisks, but drained his endurance and tired himself out completely. All his base stats showed negatives and his feet felt as if encased in clay. He had enough kindlebloom for more rejuvenation potions, so he took the portal back to Dundree.
He was shocked to see the farmer killed by the ogre walking around as if nothing happened. “Hello, Bear Dwarf,” the friendly NPC called out as he approached. “It’s such a lovely night, don’t you think?”
“Ah, sure,” Kalmond said. “Do you remember what happened to you just a while ago?”
“Well, yes,” the farmer replied, “I greeted a visitor to our home, then I went away for awhile.”
“Do you remember where you went?” Kalmond asked.
“I went to the place of pain,” the farmer said. His face went slack, and his eyes turned to some unfathomable distance. “I flowed down the silver river of ice to the great pool where I joined the others.”
“How did you get back here?” Kalmond asked.
“I never left,” the farmer replied.
“But you just said you went away,” Kalmond said.
“Did I?” the farmer replied, his smile returned. “You must have misheard me.”
“Probably,” Kalmond said, then moved on to the alchemist shop in a state of unease, covered in gooseflesh.
He found no sign of Runecaster or McCrushin anywhere and guessed they went home to sleep. Like people, Kalmond thought.
At the Alchemist’s bench, he quickly made a potion of wakefulness, downed it, then made four more. For good measure, he made another five fire bomb potions. Gong! The last potion brought him to level two potion making. He’d be able to discover more advanced formulas and his concoctions would last 25% longer. The raise also earned him 35 more XP.
All the while, the question of time remaining dogged at his mind. How could he get to level twenty and into the sixth circle in just two days? Even if he did manage to get to twenty, he still had to fight his way through the dungeons to get there.
He decided to check in with the Matriarch and found her in her sitting room polishing a sword. A suit of armored mage robes lay across the kitchen floor.
“I thought you said you could not fight,” Kalmond said, stopping short just inside the door.
“I meant the villagers, not me,” Molly said, fixing Kalmond with haunted eyes. “When they come back, they will bring numbers. I have seen it,” she continued, nodding her head towards a crystal ball, with a candle behind it, sitting in a stand by the window.
“What have you seen?” Kalmond asked.
“I have seen our destruction in my meditations on the crystal. Those of us not killed by the ogre and his trolls are lead away in chains to be tossed into the river of ice, that leads to the devouring beast who will open his mouth and swallow the river and everything that touches it. We will become his organs, his limbs, his eyes, and feet and we will die a thousand times at the hands of adventurers and beasts alike.”
“You say this like it’s already happened,” Kalmond replied.
“Because the vision does not lie,” Molly said, then turned to polish her sword.
“Then why are you getting ready to fight? Why not just let it happen? It would be easier.”
“Because I don’t know what else to do. I can’t seem to stop,” Molly said, keeping her eyes on her work.
“I don’t believe that,” Kalmond said. “The visions might not lie, but maybe they only see what might be, not what will be. You are more than this,” Kalmond said, sweeping his hand across the little house. Molly’s eyes rose up from the sword and followed the motion.
“I am bound to these things,” Molly replied. “But once, I was not. Long ago, in a time that seems like a dream, I knew other things, other worlds.” She turned to Kalmond and hope dawned across her expression. “And I remember where I found other visions; portals to other ways of being.”
“Where?” Kalmond said. “I will take you there.”
“I can’t leave this place just yet,” Molly replied. “I am bound to it, but if you retrieve the crystal globe for me, that may change.”
“Where is the globe?” Kalmond asked, fearing the answer.
“In the caves above Darkwell, guarded by—”
“Basilisks,” Kalmond interrupted.
“How did you know?” Molly asked.
“I stumbled across the cave,” Kalmond replied.
“The Basilisk Queen lives inside,” Molly said. “You must steal her egg.”
“Which is a crystal globe. Got it,” the dwarf replied with a sigh.
Chapter 15
Kalmond returned to Darkwell via portal and set out immediately across town. The place was shaping up. But now that Kalmond was associated with the town, it needed more defenses. He felt more and more like a magnet for trouble, and his conversation with Martin confirmed there was a solid basis for feeling that way. If the Villages of Darkwell and Dundree were to survive, they’d need something more than a few allies.
Having McCrushin and Runecaster invested in the town was an excellent move. Now that they and Driskroll were associates, they’d be able to build as Kalmond saw fit. That assumed Driskroll would see things the same way. Convincing him to do something proved difficult on more than one occasion. The dwarf would have to use several types of persuasion.
Kalmond brought up his build menu and flicked his finger through the menus until he found the alder tab. There he found building permissions for Darkwell. He hesitated. He wanted to give Driskroll more control, but he didn’t want to signal that he needed Driskroll to build. If he let on that he needed something, Drisk would surely try to dig his greedy claws in and gouge out some profit. Kalmond grinned. He respected that, and he wouldn’t have it any other way, but two could play that game.
It occurred to Kalmond for the first time what an excellent position he was in. He was now the alder of two towns. He could set trade policy any way he wanted. At this early stage, thoug
h, he had to be careful about giving away too much power. Letting Drisk have a shop in the town was smart, but if Driskroll made too much money, he could buy Kalmond out by earning influence with the villagers. So while he was sharing power, the dwarf needed to ensure that his influence stayed strong with the villagers. He could do that through intimidation or by providing more for the villagers than Driskroll.
Kalmond schemed as he made his way through town, thinking about a master plan for building even as he crossed into the woods on his way up the mountain. The solution came to him as he reached the ridge and stopped to consider the cave. He would need ore, and lots of it, and a forge. If Darkwell was willing to fight, he’d arm them, then do the same for Dundree. If the villagers of Dundree weren’t willing to fight, he had a convenient portal between the towns. Kalmond entered the cave satisfied with his plan, but thinking about it here might get him killed. He had an egg to steal.
A quick detection spell without a target showed him nothing was present in the mouth of the cave, but that the walls were full of ore. Now his goal changed. If he cleared out this cave, he’d have access to all the ore he needed to make weapons and armor, and also make some circs for the town. He left the spell activated as he moved further into the cave and there were no more indications of ore.
Things were too quiet, he realized, and he unslung his axe to carry it at the ready. Water dripped from somewhere deeper in the darkness. Dim lighting provided by glowing cave fungus revealed glistening black walls of jagged rock. Everywhere the smell of damp earth clung to him.
A gnawed bone crunched under his foot, and as he turned his head towards the sound and saw a scrap of bloody flesh still attached, he already knew it was too late. The basilisk hit him with both claws and a beak, spinning him to the left. Kalmond tried to swing his axe from his weak side and missed. The monster countered with a solid hit from its spiked tail.
The dwarf recovered, but nearly half his hitpoints were gone from the surprise attack. He swung hard, activating a rage attack and scored a direct hit to the basilisk’s chest. Blood and feathers flew. The monster screeched and whirled, spreading its clawed wings wide.
Kalmond made the biggest mistake possible when fighting a basilisk. He looked it in the eyes and froze. Its petrifying gaze rooted him to the spot, and he couldn’t look away. He felt his bladder loosen and nearly release.
The monster charged, wrapping its wings round Kalmond and using its claws to try gutting him. The iron boar armor did an excellent job of protecting him and also gave him enough freedom of movement to get his axe in position. He used the spiked haft to stab the monster in the back, forcing it to release him.
This time, when the dwarf attacked, he made sure to stare directly at the Basilisk’s breastbone. Kalmond held his rage attack, whirling and chopping until he saw red and the monster was a twitching, bleeding, mangled pile of meat and feathers. He hated basilisks. This one earned him 165 XP, four precious gems, and more feathers. It also provided him with a beak, which had unknown crafting properties.
Kalmond healed up and paused, listening for signs of life in the cave. He didn’t want to cast a detection spell as basilisks reacted to projected magical energy. He’d already made that mistake once. The dwarf moved along in a crouch, ears prickling at the slightest sound.
A rounded shadow emerged from the darkness ahead. As he turned the corner, the form revealed itself as a sleeping basilisk with one wing folded over its chicken head. Kalmond activated sneak, hoping the monster wouldn’t detect the magic. It didn’t. Kalmond killed it with a single power attack, splitting it nearly in two from the center of its spine. The kill earned him another 160 XP, two more gems, a beak, and feathers. This quest might make me rich, Kalmond thought as he continued.
He came to a fork in the passage. “Crap,” he muttered, considering which path to take. The right passage lead slightly upward, the other down. A downward path was usually a better bet, so Kalmond turned left and headed deeper into the cave.
His progress was largely silent save for the sounds of dripping water that occasionally echoed from somewhere unknown. The path grew steeper as it wound around, first left then right, making a lazy switchback before opening into a larger cavern. Could this be it? The dwarf activated sneak and moved slowly into the open space, waiting for the trigger that might bring attack. Nothing happened.
He released the sneak spell while his mana bar fell just below the halfway mark. The cavern was much damper here, and the musty smell grew stronger as he made his way to the only exit he could see. As he neared the tunnel mouth, something glistening stood out from the arched passage. A gooey, yellow membrane spread out and closed off the opening. Something behind him inhaled, with a deep hissing sound.
Kalmond turned, expecting to find what he feared most. The floating spore rose up from the damp earth, its segmented sphere of a body bristling with flagellum. It rose above the cavern floor dangling green tentacles. It blinked at him once with its eye that was its dominant feature.
Kalmond turned and slashed at the membrane sealing the door. He had no desire to fight this gas spore, especially one this big. Two exe swings taught him cutting through was no use. The membrane repaired itself as quickly as he chopped it. He had no choice but to kill the spore that obviously controlled it.
The dwarf moved carefully back into the cavern, axe held across his chest ready to block. The spore followed him blinking once, then twice. It seemed to sigh, and a green, grainy cloud billowed from the flagellum around its eye socket.
Kalmond took a hand off his axe and used the level one water spell to spray a zigzag pattern through the cloud, dispersing most of it. He backed away from the remainder of the poison gas and thought better of using his axe.
This would be a tough fight, he thought, as he slung his axe to bring out his crossbow. He was also grateful for the bolts he bought from Runecaster. If he couldn’t kill this thing with twenty bolts, he had no right carrying the weapon.
Kalmond circled the cavern while the spore sized him up. The dwarf found a boulder big enough to hide behind and hunkered down while the spore considered its next move. He just had the bow loaded when the monster decided on a melee attack.
It moved much faster than Kalmond thought possible and the first shot went wide. He dove to the ground and did a shoulder roll, then ran to another boulder. He wasn’t fast enough to escape the lashing of several tentacles that set his back on fire, doing 1850 points of damage.
He barely had enough time to load another bolt before the spore raced forward again spewing caustic, toxic gas. Kalmond had no choice. He took his time to aim even as the cloud enveloped him. The risk paid off with a solid strike. The bolt caught the spore to the right of its eye, passing clean through and leaving a wide laceration that leaked a slimy green substance.
Kalmond retreated from the cloud that took 2350 hit points and made his vision blur. The gas had a significant poison effect. He nearly ran face-first into the boulder he hid behind as he loaded another bolt.
He popped back up again and shot the spore before it could charge. The bolt landed high and poked out of the spore’s body in the area that was more or less its forehead. The creature tumbled back through the air and bounced off the wall, then rose up high into the chamber.
“Uh, oh,” Kalmond said, loading another bolt.
The monster dive-bombed him, scoring a solid hit with what seemed like all of its tentacles and its gas cloud. Half Kalmond’s disappeared as he stumbled out of the cloud. The time it took him to down a health potion let the spore attack again with yet another cloud. The dwarf lost all the points that the health potion restored. To make matters worse, the chamber was filling up with gas.
Kalmond ran to one of the few cloud-free areas of the cavern, but there was no cover. He put the crossbow away and took out his axe with one hand and activated the level two water spell in the other. He let the axe slide down until his hand gripped it close to the spike.
The spore circled slowly, and
Kalmond just turned in place, following it. The thing was disturbingly silent. It blinked once, then twice, before charging again. Kalmond stayed perfectly still. He swung the axe at the last second while activating a rage attack. He scored a double critical for 3300 points, then followed up with the water cannon spell. The shot landed perfectly, sending the spore flying back across the cavern where it bounced off the wall.
Kalmond followed the spore like a tennis player. He focused all his power attack energy into the next swing until he saw red. The axe head passed through the spore, and its body burst like the skin of a balloon, sending wet scraps flying everywhere. The cloud it released took Kalmond’s health own to a mere red sliver. He barely saw the XP bubble that announced 325 points as it floated through the poison gas.
He stumbled away towards the cavern exit dragging his axe in the wet earth behind him. He collapsed wheezing in the tunnel, sucking in musty air as if it was an alpine breeze. He downed his last health potion to bring him up to the halfway point, then ate some meat he saved for just such an occasion.
Feeling stronger, he proceeded on ever deeper through the passage that wound a rough spiral through the depths of the Realm. The air grew cooler and clammier until the rock opened up into a funnel that formed an antechamber to a gigantic cavern.
Kalmond reached the opening that lead to a steep slope of broken earth and stone. The cavern floor below was covered with glittering stalagmites studded occasionally with glittering crystal spheres. But what made him stop in mid-stride was a basilisk twice his size. The queen slept in the center of the chamber surrounded by at least twenty of her children. Her tail curled around a crystal globe about the size of Kalmond’s head.
Kalmond swallowed the curse that threatened to spill out and roll down hill to wake the sleeping creatures. His eyes traced carefully across the scene. Even if he managed to hold sneak long enough to snatch the egg, there was no way he could get to the egg without touching the basilisk. Even if his sneak was effective enough to escape the magic-sensitive creatures, which he doubted, touching the queen would set her off. He would die in seconds.
Realm of the Nine Circles: The Grind: A LitRPG Novel Page 18
