(Elsewhere)
Jayden cursed as she turned the corner into what had been the slums of Duskhaven. Used to be, back before the Duskfall, which is what people were calling the Dragon’s Curse that had isolated the city and turned everyone into the living dead, bound to the city’s borders.
The Churches and the government were in disarray after the Duskfall. Hell, the entire kingdom was in disarray, according to what she had heard from the Travelers who had allies outside the city. It made sense with the King and high-ranking ministers trapped within the city. And none had found a way to soothe the dragon’s anger.
Not until now. Jayden was a Traveler herself, and her college roommate was in the Brudrinen Empire, and had gained enough rep with the scholars in Thol Darum that he had access to the Royal Libraries there. He had uncovered an account in the archives, listing the surviving members of the group that had taken down Mirelth back in the day. There were four individuals that had survived that battle. That much was known to loremasters. But between her friend’s research, and her own ventures into the Duskhaven Royal Library, she had found the surviving family of one of those men, the Shieldweaver line.
Stanway Lashlord and his two surviving children were the direct descendants of the Shieldweaver from the ancient story. When she found that out, she’d gotten a quest to kill Lashlord and his entire house. It offered a lot, but the big thing was that it would advance the Duskfall Event.
Jayden Redmane
Half-Celestial Human Living Dead Female
Level 50 Assassin (Rogue) / Ranger
Titles: Silent Killer, Human Bane, Manslayer, Lightfoot, Poison Master, Dragoncursed
Guild: Night’s Requiem
Jayden sighed as she looked at her status. The ‘Living Dead’ and ‘Dragoncursed’ parts still annoyed her. They had been given to everyone who had been caught in the city when the dragon Mirelth unleashed her spell, trapping everyone. Her guild, Night’s Requiem, had been working with the local Thieves’ Guild to try and sort out those annoying Scions of Torgan that were disrupting trade.
Now, she had a chance to get herself, maybe the whole guild, free of the city. She just had to return alive with the information she carried. When she found the name of the Shieldweaver descendant, she had obviously done some research. He was the head of the Slavers’ Guild, but according to what she could see, his level wasn’t all that high. Neither were his kids’ levels anything to be afraid of. She had been planning her assault, when three strange knights came out of nowhere, and tried to kill her!
Knight of the Order
Human Living Dead Male
Level 30 Knight (Fighter) / Paladin
Titles: Undead Bane, Dragonslayer, Dragoncursed
She had levels on the three mobs, but they were armored up, and she didn’t have surprise on her side. Worse, the Rogues of the city had quickly found that while the ‘Living Dead’ bit had some nice bonuses, there were drawbacks. They took damage in the sunlight (not an issue inside this dome of eternal darkness), and were treated as undead. That meant that things like poison or critical strikes were useless against them, except maybe for getting past a bit of armor. The kicker, though, was that as undead, she was vulnerable to holy attacks, which Paladins specialized in. And with the ‘Undead Bane’ title, they’d hit even harder.
So she ran, all the while calling on Guild chat to try and get a group together to help take out these knights. They had an ambush planned, not far from here, but she had to live long enough to get there. She’d already been hit a few times as she ran, taking a fifth of her HP. But it wasn’t far now…
She ducked, as a sword flashed from the darkness and embedded itself in the wooden wall behind her. Cursing, she was off again. At the far end of the block, she saw the hastily erected barricade, and smiled, diving behind it as the five other members of Night’s Requiem emerged from the shadows, attacking the bastards. It was over almost as soon as it began, now that the agile, but HP-poor Rogue was no longer the target of all three Knights. When the last knight fell, they found they’d gained a chunk of XP, but more importantly two quests (though the first one seemed to go out to everyone in the city), and a nice bit of faction XP with Mirelth.
New Event Quest Alert!
Knight’s Nightmare
Knights from the Order of St. George have been found in the city. Those seeking to oppose the Dragon Goddess Mirelth may seek them out to gain training in their knowledge of fighting dragons. However, slaughtering the Knights may be a good way to seek the Dragon’s favor.
Rank
C
Success
Join the Order of St. George.
Protect the Knights in Duskhaven from harm (22/25 Remaining)
Failure
The Knights in Duskhaven are slain. (22/25 Remaining)
Rewards
Experience
Dragonslayer Title
One Item from the Order’s Armory
Reputation with Mirelth faction becomes At War
Consequences
Experience
+1000 Reputation with Mirelth faction
New Guild Quest Alert!
Broken Chains
You have learned that Stanway Lashlord, head of the Slavers’ Guild, is the descendant of Voghan Shieldweaver, the cleric of Loviatar that chained Mirelth millennia ago. Eliminating that line may lessen the dragon’s ire towards Duskhaven.
Rank
A
Success
Capture Stanway Lashlord and his household, and deliver them to Mirelth.
OR
Kill Stanway Lashlord and his household, and give proof of their deaths to Mirelth.
Failure
Give up on the quest.
Stanway Lashlord escapes the city.
Rewards
Experience
One Item from the Dragon’s Hoard (Each)
Faction Reputation with Mirelth becomes Friendly
Unknown
Consequences
Faction Reputation with Mirelth becomes Hatred
Individuals killing you gain Faction Reputation with Mirelth.
Oh. Oh shit. This was our ticket to the big time! Looking at the rest of the guild, I said, “I’m going to log off and make some calls. In the meantime, I’m sending you everything I found on the mansion the targets are staying at. Start planning the raid. I’ll see if I can’t find some support.” Everyone nodded, and we agreed to meet at the inn we’d been calling home since the start of the Duskfall.
(Back in the Mine)
With the zealot knight under Hrozne’s control, we entered the tomb. The miners had, apparently, broken into what looked like an antechamber near the main entrance to the tomb. I could see collapsed stone in the face of the original entrance. If the whole thing was sealed off ages ago, then they probably never knew it was here.
With the runes protecting the place broken, we were able to enter, and found ourselves confronted with a trio of undead.
Risen Priestess
High Elf Zombie Female
Level 60 Zombie
They were dressed as priestesses, though it seemed that whatever had happened here had transformed their corpses into mindless undead. All three looked to have been killed by slashing weapons, like the sword Sir Dumbass had. I looked over my shoulder at Hrozne. “I believe this is your territory. Let’s avoid fighting everything we see until we know how Merkath feels about them. We can release them later, if need be.”
Hrozne nodded, and moved to the front of the group, using his ability to calm the undead, and control them. It wasn’t as total a control as if he had made them, but the mindless undead began following him like rats after a piper. All the while, Sir Dumbass kept muttering how, once the Order found out about this, that they would purge us all, in the name of the light. Or some such crap. I ignored him. Though it sounded like he and Zephara would get along. Maybe, once I ran into Ms. Void again, I’d introduce them.
As we walked, I looked around the old temple. M
y darkvision allowed me to see, but it was in greyscale. I could tell shapes, even recognize individuals, but things like color were lacking. There were some statues, perhaps depicting the elven gods, but I didn’t know any more than that. There could have been paintings and murals on the walls, or they could have been flat marble, for all I knew. Once things were settled, I’d have the temple looked at, and maybe restored.
It wasn’t until we got to the main altar of the temple that anything changed. Three undead Knights were there, in a triangle formation. They appeared to be holding a barrier in place, a golden orb of light that had a form hiding within it.
Knight of the Order
Human Deathless Knight Male
Level 50 Spellblade (Fighter) / Priest
All three were hybrid fighter/casters, it seemed, which is why they were keeping the barrier in place, instead of Sir Dumbass, I guessed. At any rate, it seemed like their attention was fully on keeping the thing up. I looked to Hrozne, catching hir eye, and then nodded my head at Sir Dumbass with a grin.
Hrozne caught my meaning, and grinned in return. Looking at hir new slave, shi said, “OK, Renny, I want you to go and kill those three. Don’t stop until all three have been destroyed.”
“Curse you, Necromancer! Your actions condemn you to the fire! In this life or the next, I promise you that I will have my revenge upon you, and all your kind!” The knight was not happy, but had no choice but to take his greatsword and bring the holy blade down on each of his fellows in turn, destroying them while the rest of us went and picked up the loot. Most was nice, but not worth keeping for myself or my group. I’d toss it in the guild vault. But there were a couple gems.
Light of Hope
Type
Scimitar
Rank
Rare
Damage
80 – 140
Damage Type
Holy
Forged from mithril and quenched in holy water blessed by priests of warrior deities, this weapon is a massive boon to those who fight on the side of the heavens against the lower planes. Evil characters cannot bear its touch.
Requires: Level 50
Requires: Good Alignment
+120 Attack
+10 STR, +10 DEX
Imbued: Blessed – Deals x2 damage to creatures with Evil alignment. Deals x4 damage to Evil Outsiders.
Enchanted: Brilliant Energy – Weapon ignores nonliving material. Ignores worn armor. Blade ineffective against Undead and Constructs.
Blessing of Pelor
Type
Ring
Rank
Uncommon
This gold ring is blessed by a priest of Pelor, and has been given a portion of divine power because of that.
Requires: Deity - Pelor
+20 WIS
Cure Light Wounds – Heal touched creature for 2 HP per user’s level. (Heal for 4 HP per user level if user has Divine Magic at Advanced or higher.) Useable 1/min.
Daylight – Creates sphere of pure daylight, radius 40’. 1/hour. Duration 10 min.
Enchanted: Purity – Wearer is immune to nonmagical poisons and diseases.
Angel’s Wings
Type
Cloak
Rank
Rare
This cloak, fashioned to look like a pair of white feathered wings, is a rare item that, on command, transforms into angelic wings, allowing the wearer to fly.
+25 CHA
Angel Wings – On command, Fly at speed equal to land speed. Cost: 10 MP, 1 MP/sec
Now sure, the first two were pretty much useless to my group, but the reason I wanted them was for Enchantment purposes. I wanted to learn how to make the enchantments on them, but I also thought it would be possible to change or transmute the enchantments. Perhaps corrupting the ‘good’ items would allow them to be used by my party? It was worth a thought.
At any rate, the barrier was falling, revealing a sleeping dragon lying before the altar.
Chapter 59 – Dark Daughter
The dragon was not that large, as dragons go, only about forty feet long, with ten of that in the tail. But then, she had been a young dragon when she became undead, from what I heard.
Merkath the Dark
Vampiric Dragon Female
Level 100 Shadowmistress (Dark Sorceress) / Loremaster (Diviner)
Titles: Fallen One, Human Bane, Elf Bane, Orc Bane, Dwarf Bane, Undead Bane, Lichloved, Greedy One, Great Scholar, Daughter of Mirelth
Looking over to Kylana, I said, “Conjure us some lights, my dear. I’d like to see the dragon properly.” Then, I turned to look at Hrozne. “Perhaps you’d like to do the honors? You’re the one she asked to rescue her, after all. Though I’d suggest making you make your new pet do it. Sleeping dragons, and all.”
Hrozne chuckled, and I turned back to look at Merkath as my familiar conjured several orbs of light around us, casting the room in a soft glow, enough for us to see, but not blinding to our eyes that had been adjusted to the darkness. Her black scales glimmered in the lights, looking like a serpent’s scales. She was built like a western-style dragon, with powerful limbs and wings that had to span at least forty feet.
Grumbling about his obvious fate as a sacrificial victim, Sir Dumbass went forward and did as Hrozne told him, shaking a dragon awake. If someone who still possessed free will did it, I would have been very impressed. Since it was a slave doing it, I almost felt bad for it. Almost. But Sir Dumbass was a zealot, and they deserved worse for ruining everyone’s fun.
It surprised literally no one when the dragon yawned, and bit the undead knight in two, even before opening her eyes.
“Hoh, so, Mortal, I see that you’ve succeeded in making your way here. Come closer, and let me look at you, all of you.”
We stepped forward, all seven of us, and looked at the dragon vampire. Her eyes glowed red in the light of the orbs, and she took her time looking each of us over. She nodded slightly, having confirmed something. Looking at us again, she said, “Hrozne Bosorka, you and your allies have done as you said. Your actions since coming to the mine show your character. I see one of you is already a Dragonfriend. I now name the rest of you as such. Each of you shall gain an item from my horde, in accordance with your deeds.”
I dimly noticed that the quest completed sign came up. We all got some gold (meaning I got 100 PP, while Hrozne and Kylana both received 20 PP), and enough experience to bump us all up to Level 42. Oh, and we each got a magic item from the dragon’s horde. Can’t forget that.
Wrath of Demons
Type
Bow
Rank
Rare
Damage
80 – 100
Damage Type
Hellfire
This bow was made from the bones of demons, and strung with the hair of a Greater Succubus. It exists solely to inflict the tortures of the lower planes upon the living. These bows are often carried by mid-level demons or their allies.
Requires: Evil Alignment
+20 Attack
+40 DEX
All damage dealt by this weapon is Hellfire damage.
Hell’s Quiver – Spend 1 MP to generate 1 arrow. Arrow is made of hellfire and disappears after use. Applied when bow is drawn with no arrow on the string.
Inferno Arrow – Spend 1 MP to coat normal or magical arrow with hellfire, allowing it to be fired from the bow. Applied when bow is drawn with arrow on the string.
Imbued: Lifeseeker – Will only hit living creatures. Ignores shields and armor. Cannot attack Undead or Constructs. Passes through nonliving material as though it were not there.
Enchanted: Demoncaller – When delivering the killing blow, there is a 5% chance of the soul of the victim being sacrificed to summon a demon of the target’s level. Demons called in this way serve the wielder of this bow for 48 hours, after which time they are released, but remain on this plane. The wielder, or any other creature, must use normal methods to persuade or coerce the demon into serving past that time.
> I smiled as I looked over my pretty new bow. It looked intimidating enough, which was good. I was amused to see that Merkath gave me a weapon that, while certainly effective, would, under no circumstances, be able to harm her. But that was fine. I’d already thought of a bunch of great ways to use this weapon.
I let Hrozne and Kylana chat with Merkath, since they were the scholars in the group, and turned my attention to the guild chat, which just blew up for some reason.
Zayn: What’s going on?
Lexichan: Good, you’re on. Johnist, tell them what you told me.
Johnist: OK, so I’ve been keeping track of events in Duskhaven, through a friend from college. His roommate is caught in the city with her guild, Night’s Requiem. They’re a small guild, only six members, but they’re all former WoD players who reincarnated.
Rules-Free VRMMO Life: Volume V - Power Base Page 8
