Thinking quickly, he examined the dwarf and skinny human in his HUD to get their names. Jace put a shocked looked on his face. “How do I know you? Why, everyone has heard of hard working Abutt and Kostell, the hardest working two on the docks!”
The dwarf sat up a little straighter, and hit Abutt in the chest with his hand, sloshing some alcohol out of his bottle. “Hey Abutt,” he called out louder that he needed to, “you hear that laddy, we be famous.”
Abutt didn’t respond but seemed fixated on the bottle of booze the dwarf was still sloshing around.
Jace stood up and started to walk away, making sure there were no guards in sight. Behind him he heard the two break into another verse of the song, but he quickened his pace before he could hear all of the words.
He was nearly out of the dock area when he heard someone call out to him from the shadows, “Psst. Hey you. Come here.”
He looked over to where the voice had come from. Halfway out of the shadows was a short, thin human dressed in dark leather armor and leather hood. He motioned for Jace to come closer.
Fearing a trap, Jace readied his weapons as he cautiously approached the figure. He was about to bring the man up in his HUD when the man spoke.
The man held his hands up. “Easy friend, I just want to talk. I couldn’t help but notice the certain skillful way you relieved those two fellows of a few coins, not to mention fast-talking yourself out of trouble once you got caught.”
Jace lowered his weapons, but still kept them in his hand. If the halfling Rogue had been right, this was the thieves guild starter quest. He decided to play the role a bit.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied to the dark clad figure.
The shadowy figure smiled. “Sure you don’t buddy. Sure you don’t. The thing is, my organization is always looking for talented individuals who are looking to earn some extra coin. Are you interested?”
Jace took his hands off his weapons and crossed his arms. He put a curious look on his face. “I’m always interested in making some coin.”
He took the opportunity to check out the newcomer in his HUD.
Name: Webley the Snake (Hero)
Race: Human
Level: 75
Profession: Thief
Webley was level 75, which meant he could kill Jace without even breaking a sweat. It also meant he might be the guild leader or at least a high-ranking member. If so, he was much more powerful than Drakkar had been. Then again, Crossroads was a small town, and this was the capital.
The thief’s smile grew wider. “Excellent. Go to the corner to Helm and Green Street. You’ll see a grate in one of the alleys. Open it up and drop down. Follow the passage north until you come to a large metal door. We’ll be waiting for you in the room beyond.”
Webley the Snake has offered you the quest, “Find the Thieves Guild”
Reward: +50 faction with Whitecliff Thieves Guild, Variable.
Accept quest? (Yes or No)
Smiling, Jace accepted the quest. He’d gotten exactly what he was looking for.
Webley matched his smile. “Good. I’ll expect to see you soon. Oh, and this offer is only good for the next hour.”
Quest “Find the Thieves Guild” Updated.
Time Limit: 1:00 hour
With that, the man moved back into the shadows and in a second had disappeared completely, leaving Jace alone. Looking at the timer ticking down, Jace turned to Luna. “Geez, no pressure.”
Luna stared back. “Yes.”
Chapter 4
Jace had no idea where to find Helm and Green. Whitecliff was the largest city he’d ever been in and it could take all night to search the city for a specific intersection. Even then, he may not find it. He would need to ask for directions.
Looking around, he couldn’t find any guards. Jace smirked. Just like in real life, there was never a guard when you needed one. He backtracked to the docks and found the roving patrols.
The guards stopped and eyed him warily as he approached. The pair were dressed in matching chain mail armor over which they wore navy tabards. The tabards bore the symbol of Whitecliff, the twin griffons facing outward.
“Can we help you?” asked the first guard. The man was taller and broader than Jace with a trimmed black beard that was just starting to show some gray. Jace noticed he kept his hand near the long sword he wore at his belt.
Jace smiled and showed his empty hands. “I’m trying to find Helm and Green Street.”
The other guard, a shorter, skinny fellow with a much younger face, spoke up before the older one could answer. “And what business do you have in the Luxury District at this time of the night?”
The other guard shot him an annoyed glance but then turned back to Jace expectantly. Thinking quickly, he came up with the best lie he could think of on short notice. “I’m supposed to meet a girl there. She’s gorgeous. Slender figure, short dark hair, gorgeous almond eyes.” Jace put a note of desperation in his voice. “I was supposed to meet her 15 minutes ago, but I got lost. Please!”
The younger guard gave him a sly grin. “Sounds like quite a looker.”
The older man elbowed the other guard and straightened up. “Helm and Green are in the Luxury District.”
The man gave Jace directions that he did his best to memorize them before thanking the guards and hurrying away. As he followed the directions, he realized they were taking him back near the entrance, to the west of the main gate.
He passed a few patrols that gave him suspicious glances, but they didn’t stop him. Jace navigated the guard’s directions for nearly a half hour before finally reaching his destination, a well maintained, cobbled street in the heart of the Luxury District. If this was where the thieves guild was located, it was a huge step up from the dilapidated building used by the Crossroads guild.
Jace looked around. This was the Luxury District, an affluent area that contained upscale shops which catered to lesser nobility and wealthy merchants. It also catered to players who enjoyed frivolous items that didn’t necessarily affect the game.
Many of the game’s role-players saved up or transferred in real money to buy virtual luxury items like gowns, high quality outfits, non-magical jewelry, costumes, and other items that didn’t affect game play. Being practical by nature and necessity, Jace eschewed those sorts of superfluous items. He preferred to stick to the armor and weapons that actually helped him in the game.
He didn’t see the grate at the intersection, so he checked the alleys nearby. He found a grate down the second alleyway he looked down and walked over to it. The grate was locked with a large, old style padlock. He tugged on it, but it was extremely sturdy. There was no way he was going to break it, either with brute force or with his weapon.
Being that this was a thieves guild quest, the solution to opening the padlock was obvious, as were the many scratches from previous lockpicking attempts. Judging by the sheer number of scratches around the keyhole, he guessed many players had picked this lock before him.
“Keep an eye out,” he told Luna as he bent down and retrieved his picks.
Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he crouched down next to the lock and produced the lockpick and tension rod from his inventory. Picking locks in the game was exactly like picking them in real life. The developers had designed it that way. The only thing skill did was limit what level of lock you could attempt. Otherwise, it was all player skill.
Since he had played his vampyre assassin previously, Mordred, he’d taught himself how to pick most locks by watching vidstreams. After all, you could learn how to do almost anything on the internet nowadays. But, with this avatar, his skill was still low enough that he could break a lock pick if he wasn’t careful.
Focusing on the lock and feeling the tumblers, Jace set his tension rod and with a few twists and a pop, the lock snapped open. He smiled as he saw the system message. He’d done some lock picking in the village and should be nearly at the maximum rank for hi
s level.
Your Lock Pick skill has increased by 1.
Glancing around again to make sure no guards were going to see, he removed and lock and opened the grate. He peered down into the drain hole it had been covering. With his Cat-Vision, he could see the bottom about ten feet below. It appeared that the floor was moving, but he realized it was water running along the floor. At least, he hoped that was water.
Jace didn’t have a choice if he wanted to continue with the thieves guild quest and ten feet was an easy drop. He looked at Luna. “Ready for a swim?”
“No!” Luna looked at him aghast. “Bad water!”
“If you don’t come down, I’ve got to leave you up here,” he told her.
In response, the cat walked over to a barrel next to the alley wall and hopped up. She sat back on her haunches, wrapped her tail around herself and stared off into the distance.
Chuckling, Jace rolled his eyes. “I take it you’re staying up here?”
Luna ignored him and continued to stare at nothing.
“Fine,” he laughed and turn back to the grate. He lowered himself down the hole using his arms, finally letting go and dropping lightly to the ground while the grate slammed shut above. Instantly, he received a message.
Your Find Trap skill has increased by 1.
He froze in place and looked around carefully. Chances are, if this was the path to the thieves guild, then there were traps all about. He scanned the floor, the walls and even the roof. He didn’t see anything suspicious.
Cautiously, he looked up and down the passage he was in. He remembered Webley had told him to go north, so he faced north. At least, he hoped it was north. Once again, he scrutinized the passage before him. He could see a door further down the passage and assumed that was the door the thief had mentioned.
As he moved his gaze closer to him, a thin line around ankle height seemed to flash briefly and then glowed lightly.
Your Find Trap skill has increased by 1.
He bent down and gingerly ran his finger along the thin line. It was loose. He knew from experience with his assassin that a loose line was a tripwire that could be cut. Pulling out his dagger, he gently cut the wire. He braced for something bad to happen, but after nothing changed for several seconds, he stood up
Your Disarm Trap skill has increased by 1.
Jace started taking a tentative step forward but right before he set his foot down, the stone he was about to step on lit up. It was another trap.
Your Find Trap skill has increased by 1.
He stopped immediately and retracted his foot, placing it gingerly in its original resting place. Carefully, he bent down and inspected the glowing stone. He saw no wires, so it was most likely a pressure plate.
Jace looked out onto the passage directly in front of him and saw more stones lit up. He received several more skill ranks and chuckled. If only skill ranks were this easy at higher levels. But that’s how VEIL worked. Lower levels were easy but became progressively more difficult.
From his experience, he guessed these rocks were all pressure plates. He wasn’t sure what they did, but he was sure he didn’t want to find out. He mentally plotted a course through the glowing rocks and then carefully navigated through them, checking each stone before he placed his foot on it.
He stopped as he cleared the pressure plates and looked at the passage immediately in front of him. It was flat and much smoother than the cobblestones in the rest of the passage. In fact, it was unnaturally flat and smooth.
Bending down again, he caught sight of a small seam between the rough area and the smooth surface. As he stared at it, the entire smooth area in front of him glowed.
Your Find Trap skill has increased by 1.
The whole thing was a trap. But what kind? Was it a pressure plate? It seemed large for a pressure plate, probably a good 10 feet long. And what did it do? A trap door? An elevator trap?
Jace quickly glanced up at the ceiling. He had suddenly imagined the whole area shooting upward as soon as he stepped on it and squishing him against the ceiling. There were no blood splatters on the ceiling, so he didn’t think that was it. He looked back up. Unless they cleaned it each time. He shook his head. That probably wasn’t it.
He looked around at the walls for holes that might shoot out spikes, poisoned darts, fire, acid or any number of equally lethal things but found no holes that he could see and nothing lit up on either side of the wall. In fact, if anything, he would say that the walls on either side of the trap were rougher than the rest of the wall with stones that seemed to protrude out even further than the other parts of the wall.
Since he wasn’t making any progress in figuring out what sort of trap it was, Jace flatted himself against one wall in case spears or darts shot from the far wall and with his toe, he pressed down on the flat area.
To Jace’s surprise, the flat area sank down but nothing else happened. He waited a bit longer to see if there was some sort of delayed trigger. After several moments, he stepped out from the side and looked at the huge plate. He pushed down on with the toe of his boot again and it smoothly and effortlessly tilted downward. As it did, the opposite side tipped upward.
Jace kept his weight on his back foot and pushed hard with his front foot and watched as the whole 10 feet long section easily and silently tilted down. It was a revolving section of floor, almost like the old style see-saws they still had at some parks. The problem was, it was 10-foot-long and would tilt either way, dropping him below. He could only imagine what lay below: spikes, water, acid. Who knew with devious developers? It could be killer bunny rabbits at the bottom of the pit for all he knew.
He looked beyond the tilting trap and saw a door another 15 feet down the passage. Was that the door Webley had mentioned? If so, he was so close.
But how could he get past the tilting trap. It was too far to try a standing long jump. A running long jump was out of question because of the pressure plates behind him. He had rope but nothing to anchor it to.
He looked at the side of the passage again. They were really rough - probably as rough as that stone wall in the bandit fortress he’d climbed as Mordred. Could he climb across?
Reaching out, Jace tested the rocks. They were sturdy and large enough to use as handholds. It might work. But if he fell, he’d hit the plate and slide right into whatever doom waited below.
Should he risk it? If he died in some pit trap, would he be able to retrieve his corpse? Was it worth it?
Chapter 5
Jace stood there at the trapdoor for several minutes, weighing the risks and rewards before finally deciding to try it. He psyched himself up, knowing this could be a very gruesome death. Without giving himself time to reconsider, he pulled himself onto the right-side wall.
He used the hand and foot holds to keep himself close to the wall. Slowly, he moved his left hand over to the next hold towards the far end of the trap, followed by his left foot. With those holds secure, he moved his other hand and foot in the same direction. It was slow going but not particularly difficult and he made it to the middle with no issues.
Then, as he moved his left hand and foot to the next foot hold, there was an odd sound down near the rock his left foot was on. His foot slid off the foot hold, forcing him to quickly grip more tightly with his hands and try to move the weight to his right foot. He tried to find the rock again with his left foot, but it was gone.
Where it had been just a second ago, he felt a rough indented spot. Had the rock broke under his weight? He stretched his left foot further to the left to find the next rock. It was a little awkward, but he managed to find it. Gingerly, Jace started putting some of his weight on the foot. A little bit of weight. Then a little more. This one seemed to hold, so he relaxed a bit and put the weight on his toes in this uncomfortable position to give his arms a rest.
After a minute, he decided to push on. He still had five feet to go. He moved his left hand to a new stone and gripping it tightly, started to move his weight to it when
it suddenly exploded in a shower of chalky bits. This time, he almost fell. His body started to sway backwards but he quickly pushed up with his toes and pulled with his right arm until he was flush against the wall again.
Your Find Trap skill has increased by 1.
That’s right, he could get a skill up by blundering into the trap as well. He brought his left hand to his face and sniffed. Darn it! It WAS chalk. With alarm, he realized that some of the stones were fake and made of chalk. It was a trap within a trap. Or in this case, a trap next to a trap. This just got a bit more interesting.
Bringing his left arm to a lower rock, he tried to put some weight on it and like the previous one, it too exploded into chalky bits. Frustrated, he tried another rock a little higher than was comfortable and this time, it held. He held his precarious position and let his body rest as much as it could under these circumstances.
His muscles ached and even though he realized he didn't really have muscles; the game sure did a very good job of emulating fatigued muscles. He checked his Stamina and realized it was draining quickly. He needed to get off this wall and fairly fast. If he ran out of Stamina while still on the wall...
Carefully feeling each and every foot and hand hold, he slowly made his way to the end of the area. He had a few more close calls, but since he was ready for them, none were as bad as the first two. His Stamina was nearly gone.
When he got to the edge of the smoothed floor, where the floor once again became stones, he very carefully looked the area over as well as he could from his perch on the wall and then tested the area with his leading foot before finally dismounting on the floor.
With his Stamina a few seconds away from nothing, he stepped off and started to sit down to rest. As he bent to sit, he stopped as a thin light lit up again right in front of him at ankle height.
Your Find Trap skill has increased by 1.
Veil Online - Book 2: An Epic LitRPG Adventure Page 3
