There was a moment of silence as the companions looked at each other and then they all burst into laughter. Once the moment of humor passed, Jace moved back to the beetle queen’s body and looted it.
You receive Hive Queen Beetle Eye.
You receive Hive Queen Beetle Carapace.
You receive Hive Queen Antenna.
Jace looked at the items. The eye and the carapace were familiar, but he wondered what the antenna was. Out of curiosity, he examined it.
Hive Queen Antenna
Type: Wand
Level: 5
Damage: 2 + 1 (Masterwork) + 1 (Arcane)
Wt: 1 lb
Special: Attacks add 2 acid damage.
Description: When a Mage channels magic through this antenna, it acts as an arcane masterwork wand. In addition, it maintains some of the corrosive properties of the queen beetle it came from.
Jace whistled. “Diana, this antenna has your name written all over it.”
Confused, the raven-haired Mage walked over to him and made a face at the antenna in his hand. When he kept holding it out, she finally took the offered antenna. Once she had it, her eyes went glassy and then she smiled. “Oh, this is nice!”
“It looks like you’ll be doing a lot more damage now,” he told her, and she nodded as she held it out.
“What does it do?” Mika asked, now curious as well.
“Does 4 points of damage plus another 2 acid damage,” Diana said.
“That is wonderful!” Mika exclaimed.
Happy that Diana had gotten an upgrade, she looked around. It was lunch time and he was still shaken from the acid burns.
“Let’s turn in this quest,” Jace told them. Then he looked down at the ruined armor he still wore and sighed. “And I need to get some new weapons and armor.”
Turning to go, Jace suddenly felt a small hand on his arm and stopped. Mika was there smiling at him. In her hand, she held the magical longsword they’d found in the sewer gator’s stash in her hands. “I have the katana, I do not need this.”
Jace returned the smile and took the weapon. It was actually a better weapon than his rapier had been, but it was a slashing weapon and wouldn’t work with his backstab ability. Not that he used his backstab ability that much at the moment. “Thanks Mika. Are you sure?”
The girl put her hand on the hilt of her katana and gave him a curt nod. “I am sure.”
“Wait,” Diana said, looking around. “Does the queen have some loot?”
Jace shook his head. “She’s not a real boss, just a random spawn. She doesn’t have a lair.”
“Well that stinks,” Diana frowned. “After all that, I’d expect mounds of gold and a few dozen gems.”
“That would be nice,” he agreed and then gestured for the girls to follow him. “Let’s turn in the quest and at least get that reward.”
They walked back to the city gates and found Sergeant Wyot. After turning in the first eye, he realized only the people turning in the eye received the reward. He quickly divided the remaining eyes among himself and the girls.
Each of them turned in a total of 12 eyes, giving them 60 faction, 60 gold and another 300 experience each. Then he turned in the queen quest and thankfully they all received the rewards.
You have completed the quest, “Queen Beetle Mania”
You gain 300 experience. Experience to next level 720.
You gain +50 faction with Whitecliff City Guard
He also handed each of them a small pouch containing another 60 gold.
“Thank you for your service to Whitecliff,” the sergeant told them and then excused himself to get back to his duties.
“Now what?” Diana asked.
He motioned the girls off to the side, away from the ears of guards. “I need to go to the thieves guild and see if there’s a way to get replacement armor. I don’t think there is until I hit level 11, but it’s worth a shot. Then I need to go buy a saber.”
“May I have the carapaces we looted?” Mika asked suddenly. The girl was smiling and had a slightly mischievous look to her.
Jace gave her a quizzical look. “May I ask why?”
The girl maintained her smile but shook her head. “It’s a surprise.”
He looked over at Diana. “I assume you have no objections.”
Diana sniffed. “Oh dearie, you have all the carapaces you want.”
Shrugging, he traded all of the carapaces they’d found to her. “All yours.”
Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Mika accepted them. She made to leave but stopped. “I will meet you at the inn later.” With that she moved off and disappeared into the crowd.
“What about you?” he asked Diana.
“I’m going to go to the inn and have a nice meal, dear one. Or should I say, a nice dessert,” she told him. “You go run along.”
Jace waved goodbye and then, motioning for Luna to follow him, disappeared into the crowd as well.
Chapter 21
Jace decided to go to the thieves guild first. It was closer than the Central Market and he didn’t particularly care for walking around with a gaping hole in his jerkin. Heading south, he entered the Luxury District and made his way to the Fainting Unicorn.
His mind was so preoccupied with losing his equipment to the acid attack that Jace almost missed the increased guard presence. Everywhere he looked, he saw city guardsmen. Not only that, but they looked tense. He thought they might try to hide it, but they were guards, not actors. It was as if they were waiting for something.
Alarm bells started going off in his head. This was like a scene from one of the vidstreams, where all the cops raid a drug lab or a… crime lord. Jace had a terrible feeling about this. The only thing he could think they might be here to raid would be the thieves guild.
Jace stopped walking, unsure if he should continue towards the Fainting Unicorn. His abrupt halt caught the attention of some nearby guards and he had to quickly improvise. Feigning interest, he moved to the window of one of the shops and pretended to be very interested in the goods displayed there.
Through the reflection in the glass, he saw the guards watch him for a few seconds longer before returning to watching the people on the street. Were they looking for someone in particular? Or just noting who came and went from the Fainting Unicorn.
The guards certainly weren’t subtle, and he couldn’t imagine the other thieves not noticing them. Maybe they’d already cleared out. Jace didn’t know. But he knew that if Webley got caught, Jace would have no way into the Noble District. Only the guildmaster knew the inside man on the wall.
Darnit! This was risky. Almost too risky. If Jace got arrested, he’d be serving a real sentence in a real dungeon. He couldn’t log out and he couldn’t create a new character. For him, it would be just like in real life. For him, the imprisonment would be all too real.
As Jace debated, he could see more guards coming into the district and then duck into alleys, probably to avoid making their presence even more obvious. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen soon. He needed to make his decision now.
Swearing under his breath, Jace looked down at Luna. That cat was sitting next to him, curiously watching, and sniffing the people walking back and forth.
“I need you to go back to the inn,” he told the cat mentally. “The girls can understand you. Tell them they might arrest me. Tell them I went to the thieves guild.”
His familiar looked up at him, cocked her head and then replied. “Yes.”
The cat took off at a trot, easily navigating in between the people on the street. Jace took a deep breath. Did he really want to do this? The answer was no, but he had no choice. He didn’t know another way into the Noble District. He needed to warn Webley.
Jace turned from the shop and then cut down an alley. This alley was clear of guards and he quickly brought out his Infiltrator’s Hat. The magical hat would allow him to change his appearance to something roughly his own size. He’d also learned that if he concentrated o
n specific things, he could also change individual aspects of his appearance, like his clothing.
Putting on the hat, Jace changed his appearance to that of an elf. There was a rippling in the air and when he looked down to see he now looked like a normal elf commoner. Disguised, he left the alley and started towards the Fainting Unicorn.
The inn was only a few blocks away but the number of guards visible increased the closer he got. Jace made it to the Unicorn and went in the front door. The common room was mostly bare, and the bartender gave him a bored glance as he came in. Either the man didn’t know what was going on outside or he was a talented actor.
Not wasting any time, Jace walked to the back and ducked down the corridor that led to the secret passage. Checking the corridor, Jace activated the passage and ducked inside. He rushed down steps into the small room below.
Thom and Gerry weren’t there guarding the vault door this time. Instead, a burly human and dwarf with a sour expression were in their place. Were they the dayshift?
Wasting no time, Jace went into the entrance to the Lucky Coin and threw open the door. There weren’t many people in the bar but the ones that were there all turned to look at him. He ignored their stares and scanned the room for Webley.
He spotted the guildmaster at his usual table, writing in a ledger book. Jace rushed over to the table, causing the guildmaster to look up. Webley seemed to be annoyed with the interruption and looked as if he was about to say something.
“I think we’re about to be raided,” Jace blurted out as he released the magic of the hat and resumed his normal appearance.
That got the guildmaster’s attention, and the man was instantly alert and wary. “Dedrurrurth! Nice trick. What makes you think we’re about to be raided?”
“Coming here, I just passed what looks to me like the entire Whitecliff guard,” Jace told him. “And right now, they’re all here in the Luxury District. It looks as if they were surrounding the Unicorn.”
The guildmaster seemed to take a second to absorb his words before the man leapt into action.
“Kelton, Cenric,” he called out as he sprang to his feet, “go up top and check out his story.”
Two men from a table near the door immediately left their chairs and ran out the door towards the stairs.
The guildmaster turned to the bar. “Ciaran, go down the drainpipe and make sure it's clear on the other side. You have ten minutes. If you’re not back, I will assume it’s watched.”
“Tarsire,” he said, turning a halfling sitting wide-eyed at one of the tables. “Go down the bolt hole and make sure it’s clear.”
Jace watched the halfling run to one of the doors near the bar and disappear inside the dark corridor. When he looked back, the guildmaster was looking at Jace, his face deadly serious. “This better not be some sick joke. Because I can assure you, I don’t find it funny.”
Jace was about to answer when one of the two men who had gone upstairs came running down, missing a step, and nearly falling. He caught himself and then barreled back into the Lucky Coin. “He’s right! There are guards everywhere. Lots of them.”
The guildmaster swore loudly. “You and Kelton stay up there as lookouts. The moment you see movement towards the inn, warn us and then seal up the stairs. Do it now!”
The man, Jace assumed it was Cenric, spun and ran back up the stairs.
Webley turned to the bartender and nodded his head towards the rooms. “Get the girls ready to move out.”
The bartender bobbed his head, took off the apron he was wearing and ran over to the far door and threw it open. He disappeared into the hallway and began yelling.
“Dedrurrurth,” the guildmaster was looking at Jace now. “Go to the market and tell them to pack up and be ready to move out.”
Jace was momentarily confused until he realized the guildmaster was talking about the Black Market. Leaving Webley, Jace ran over to the far door and rushed into the large room that held the market.
Like most markets in the game, this one never slept. There were always people in the market, both vendors, NPCs and players. “We’re about to get raided! Guildmaster says to pack everything up!”
The vendors immediately burst into action and began packing their wares. The NPCs began crowding out the door into the Lucky Coin and he saw several players log out.
“Don’t log out here!” Jace shouted and several players turned his way. “If the guard takes this place over and you log back in, they’ll catch you.”
Several players considered his words and then left along with the NPCs, but he saw other players fade away. They were idiots. Or they just didn’t care what happened to their character. Either way, Jace had tried to help them. Leaving behind the Black Market, Jace went back into the Lucky Coin.
The tavern was now filled with people from the Black Market, as well as people from the backrooms of the tavern. Webley was barking orders, trying to organize the people, when Tarsire returned.
“Quiet!” yelled the guildmaster and the noisy clamour died down quickly.
“Tarsire,” Webley addressed the out of breath halfling. “Report.”
“Bolt hole is clear,” he said and almost immediately the crowd began murmuring.
“Listen up,” Webley shouted. “Follow Tarsire to the bolthole. The tunnel will lead you to a safe house a few blocks away. When you get there, exit in one’s and two’s. Space your leaving and don’t look suspicious. Meet in the old guildhouse tonight. Make sure you’re not followed.”
The crowd surged for the bolthole, pushing and shoving to try to get ahead of the others. The scene was erupting into chaos but Jace saw nothing that could stop it at this point. Everyone wanted to get out.
Webley shook his head at the scene but must have realized there was nothing he could do at this point.
“They’re coming!” a frantic voice yelled. “They’re coming!”
“Seal up the stairs!” Webley yelled. The guildmaster started moving around the crowd to the entrance and, not knowing what else to do, Jace followed him.
Kelton and Cenric had put a thick sheet of metal, as large as the door, in front of the stairs and were now placing iron bars in slots Jace hadn’t noticed before, effectively barring the door.
“Light from the drainpipe,” yelled the dwarven tough who had been guarding the vault. The dwarf squinted as he looked down the passage. “Wrodgar’s Beard! It’s the guard!”
“Close the grate!” yelled Welbey, and he moved back just as something heavy thudded into the door. The city guard was trying to break in.
“Lock the grain grate and get out of here,” Webley said. “This place is lost.”
Webley turned away just as the dwarf was slapping a huge padlock on the grate that covered the drain cover.
The crowd had diminished much and Jace guessed the bolthole was only wide enough to fit people single file. He didn’t think there was no way they’d all make it out before the guards broke down the door.
It appeared Webley realized the same thing. “It doesn’t look like we will make it out.”
Jace's heart dropped as visions of prison life filled his head. He had no idea how long of a sentence he might get. Perhaps he should just fight the guards and let them kill him. At least then he’d respawn. He wouldn’t have his equipment, but he wouldn’t be in prison.
Jace smirked. He could go back to the area with all the traps and just die there. Jace thought about the trap area for a moment. It had a grate above it. Could they get out that way? Climb up the grate to the alleyway nearby?
“What about the trap area?” he asked Webley. “Can we get out that way?”
The guildmaster considered for a moment and then his face brightened. “You know, you might be right.”
Welbey took one last look at the crowd still trying to get into the door. He seemed to consider something. All at once a resigned look came over his face, and he motioned to Jace. “Come on.”
The two of them raced through what had once been the b
lack market and then into the room beyond. Webley opened the door, and they emerged into the corridor that Jace remembered. It had been where he’d had to prove himself to get into the guild by getting through a gauntlet of traps. Now it looked as if he may have to do the entire thing in reverse.
Jace frowned at the course but the guildmaster didn’t even hesitate. He strode forward quickly, stepped over the tripwire and onto the rotating pit trap beyond.
“Watch…” Jace started to warn him, but then the guildmaster disappeared into the pit. Too late, Jace finished, “...out.”
Had the guildmaster forgotten about the pit? Was he dead? Or was he high enough level that could survive following onto or into whatever was at the bottom of the pit?
He had just started edging towards the pit when he heard a muffled voice. “You coming or what?”
Walking over to the pit, he heard the voice again. “I’m not going to wait all day. Step onto the pit!”
Jace realized he didn’t have a choice. It was either risk death in the pit trap or wait to be arrested and spend who knew how long in the dungeons.
“Here goes nothing,” he said and stepped onto the pit. The trap rotated remarkably smoothly and the next thing Jace knew he was falling as the pit opened up beneath him.
Out of reflex, Jace had closed his eyes, so it surprised him when he slammed into something soft. Jace checked his system messages. There were none. Nothing saying he took falling damage, acid damage, burn damage, impaling damage, or any damage at all.
He opened his eyes. He was lying on sacks of feathers with some feathers still airborne from his fall. An impatient looking Webley was looking down at him.
“You want to wait for the guard, or do you want to get moving?” the guildmaster asked him.
Chapter 22
Jace looked around at the sacks of feathers, trying to understand what he was seeing. He looked up at the guildmaster and was about to ask what was going on, but Webley seemed to see the question written on his face.
“What? You don’t think we have lethal traps in the test for new recruits?” the guildmaster chuckled. He offered a hand to Jace and pulled him to his feet. “If we did, the guild would consist of you, me and about 3 other Rogues.”
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