by Aleron Kong
The tunnel twisted and turned like an epileptic snake. The curvature was so severe that Richter could rarely see more than ten yards ahead of him. As he turned what must the fiftieth bend, a flash of red caught his eye. A two-inch circle glowed under the dirt of the floor. Richter froze, even his breath catching in his chest. He focused on expanding his senses, checking each in turn.
He heard nothing except his own heart beat and steady breathing. He saw nothing except the hallway and the red glow of the trap. He tasted only the dry dust in the air. The air was slightly warm on his skin, hotter than what he thought it would be underground. He smelled nothing except for a slight sour smell like an old sponge.
Moving forward, he examined the trap closely. He gently brushed the dust away around it until he revealed a pressure plate. It seemed to be of simple construction, just an iron circle welded to a bar on a spring. Disarming it was easy, but he couldn’t figure out what it would have done if he had stepped on it. The mechanism was short and didn’t connect to anything else. His wand showed that the mechanism underneath was not magical. He stared at it for another fifteen minutes with no further insights. He ultimately had to just keep going.
As he walked down the hall, traps became more and more common. Even more common were the tributary tunnels that randomly sprouted off of the main vein he was walking down. Richter decided not to follow any of the smaller branches since they all seemed equally viable.
As he walked, the wet mold scent grew stronger. It was more than a little unpleasant. He had figured out what was so strange about the first trap he had disarmed because he had found several more like it. It was a dummy. It was connected to absolutely nothing. Whomever had set the traps must have laid those just to delay or distract. It was a level of deception that Richter hadn’t seen before, and it made him even more cautious. It occurred to him, as he slowly creeped down the hall, that maybe slowing him down was the whole point.
He was disarming yet another trap when he heard something. Richter immediately left the trap alone and faded back to side of the tunnel. He waited silently while the noise resolved into a language that sounded like a yipping dog. His Gift of Tongues ability translated the high pitched barks into understandable words.
“Why do we have to come down this tunnel?”
“Because we need to check the traps. You know that. Why do you keep asking?”
“But we haven’t caught anyone down this tunnel in more than a hundred years! Almost all of the side tunnels are either blind alleys or capture traps. Even if someone was down here, they would have to come by us.”
The figures finally came into view. Each was about three to four feet tall. Their heads looked like a long snouted dog, but they were covered in fine scales. He couldn’t tell their color with his Night Vision spell. They weren’t carrying any means of illumination with them, so they either could see in the dark or were using a spell similar to Richter’s. Each had a tail that trailed behind them and their legs were had two joints, the lower one bending backwards. Both of the creatures wore scraps of clothing that looked like rags. Analyze provided their identity.
Name: Tri’ulon. Kobold Level 6. Health 110. Mana 170. Stamina 140. Disposition: Distrust. Kobolds are small reptilian humanoids. Most adventurers can best a kobold in one on one combat, but you will seldom find such a fight. They highly favor traps and ambushes. Kobolds shy from bright light and make their homes underground. It should be a wary adventurer that enters a kobold warren. Kobolds get two points to distribute per level, and each level gives +1 to Intelligence, Dexterity, and Agility.
His stealth skills seemed like they were up to the task because the two kobolds came closer still arguing between themselves. One had a crossbow on its back and the other carried a short spear. They walked over to the trap Richter had been about to disarm when one of them froze and dropped down into a fighting stance. The other kobold immediately unlimbered its crossbow and looked around. They weren’t more than a few feet from where Richter was hiding.
“What do you see?” Tri’ulon yipped.
The other responded, “There are tracks in the dirt. Something was here.”
Tri’ulon sniffed the air and said nervously, “I think I smell human. We should run and tell the others.”
Richter shifted slightly to put his hand on the hilt of his new short sword. Just that small amount of movement was enough to alert the kobolds. With a cry Tri’ulon fired his crossbow at Richter. The bolt caught him in the middle, but thankfully was only a graze. Despite having avoided a direct shot, and with his armor, he still lost five health.
The other kobold immediately turned to flee. Richter knew he had only seconds. Hoping that his new 50% boost to Life Magic was enough, he cast Charm. His arm shot out and the kobold stopped its flight. Tri’ulon looked first at his compatriot and then at Richter in abject fear, the discharged crossbow held impotently in his hands.
Richter raised his other hand and shouted a word of Power. Then a gout of flame shot from his fingertips into the kobold’s face. He screamed, both from the pain of the flames and the intense light searing its eyes. Alma launched herself from Richter’s shoulders and latched onto the kobold’s face. The scream cut off and Tri’ulon’s head rolled back into his head as he dropped to the ground. His arms and legs shook with violent seizures.
Richter quickly cast Soul Trap before Alma finished her work. In just a few seconds, she detached herself from the kobold’s head, but no ribbon of light streaked towards his bag. Either the spell he had was not strong enough or the kobold counted as a sentient like humans and elves. Richter resolved to ask Sumiko about it later.
The dragonling finished her psychic meal and was about to launch herself at the charmed kobold when Richter stopped her. She hissed in irritation, eager for another snack, but obeyed her master. He checked the prompt that appeared.
You have been award 873 (base 17,455 x 0.04 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 6 Kobold.
Richter dismissed it and then looked at the kobold. He had never had the opportunity to slowly examine someone after he had charmed them before now. He still lacked the ability to differentiate colors because of Night Vision. He shook his head in irritation at the limits of the spell, then canceled it. He cast Simple Light. The light made the kobold’s eyes shine brightly in the tunnel. Despite the orb not being overly bright, the kobold immediately hissed in displeasure and started lowering its spear towards the light. Afraid that the pain from the light would break the charmed enchantment, Richter cancelled that spell as well. He then cast Far Light on the wall behind the kobold. The reptilian creature still didn’t appear happy about the light, but he relaxed. Richter used Analyze.
Name: Tri’yerin. Kobold Level 8. Health 130. Mana 170. Stamina 120. Disposition: Charmed (Hatred). Kobolds are small reptilian humanoids. Most adventurers can best a kobold in one on one combat, but you will seldom find such a fight. They highly favor traps and ambushes. Kobolds shy from bright light and make their homes underground. It should be a wary adventurer that enters a kobold warren. Kobolds get two points to distribute per level, and each level gives +1 to Intelligence, Dexterity, and Agility.
The kobold’s skin was indeed covered in fine scales. They were a soft brown in color. Richter had Tri’yerin open his mouth. The kobold had a single set of sharp teeth lining his jaws, but the back teeth were flat like molars. Richter sat on a nearby rock, well away from the still glowing red trap, and began to ask questions.
The kobold was a wealth of information and eagerly shared whatever he knew. The tunnel they were standing in was only the barest speck of an immense underground system. An entire subterranean civilization existed here. Apparently, ten different clans, with thousands of kobolds each, constantly vied for power and dominance. The only common factor between them was their greater hatred for other species. Under the level of the clans, the kobolds had a complex caste system. Now that he had cast Simple Light, Richter could see that Tri’yerin had paint and tattoos covering
his body in odd places. The kobold told him that those markings coupled with the specific configuration of clothing he was wearing signified his place in the kobold hierarchy. The charmed creature then started explaining how the system worked, but after a minute, the nonsensical rules started giving Richter a headache and he stopped the recitation. The main point he took away was that status was everything in kobold society.
Even the kobold’s name had special significance. The first part of the name identified which caste they belonged to. ‘Tri’ translated as ‘worker,’ and it denoted that these two were the lowest caste level. His clan name translated to ‘Long Fangs.’
As soon as the kobold talked about the clans, a prompt appeared.
Know This! You have come to the first level of the catacombs of the Mist Village. As Master of this Place of Power, you can also master this level. To do this, control the territory of one of the clans of kobolds.
You have unlocked the Quest: Power in the Dark. Many are the paths and pitfalls to power. Choose your path wisely or suffer the consequences. Will you become Master of this level of the catacombs? Reward: Advancement to level 2 of the catacombs. Yes or No?
After Richter read the prompt he stopped the kobold’s talking and started walking back and forth. He shouted in the near darkness and swung his arms angrily about in his best Joe Pesci, “What the hell! So to master the very first level of the catacombs I just have to kill thousands of monsters and take over a clan of kobolds. Of course, THEN, I’ll be surround by thousands and thousands of MORE monsters and I’ll probably have to fight those off too! Figlio di puttanta! Questo dungeon puo mangia merde e morte!!!” That Italian chick he had dated had been buckets of crazy, but she had at least increased his vocabulary… not to mention her other attributes. Apparently you can learn a lot when you grow up slurping pasta!
Richter let himself rant and rave for another few moments, but then chose ‘Yes’ and accepted the quest. He had to handle business and time was running out. His Charm spell only lasted an hour, and he didn’t know if it would work a second time on the same creature.
“What else do I need to know to survive down here?” Richter asked.
“There are many traps here, master,” Tri’yerin replied. “Kobolds are the best trap makers in The Land. It is one of our racial abilities. You must be careful as there are often traps within traps. Avoiding the first, may place you exactly in line to be caught by a second. The entire Depths are riddled with traps of all types.” The Depths was what the kobolds called this level of the catacombs.
Great, Richter thought, tens of thousands of kobolds and probably millions of traps! “Do you have a map to help me avoid the traps?”
“No, master. I have memorized many of the traps and tunnels in our section of the Depths, but I have almost no knowledge of the other clans’ defenses.”
“Can you draw them out?” Richter asked.
“It would be easier if I were just your guide, master. I will gladly be at your side and fight against any danger!”
How to explain to a charmed creature that the loving vibes he was feeling would only last about another forty minutes? Best not to pull at that thread, Richter decided.
“Drawing would be better,” Richter said. Another thought occurred to him though. “Are there any more kobolds close by? Is there anyone that is going to be missing you?”
“There may be patrols that will cross near this tunnel, but I doubt it, master. My clutch brother and I were sent on a scout mission to check this and other remote areas. We are not expected back for some time.”
“What’s a clutch brother?” Richter asked curious.
“We were hatched at the same time and to the same caste. It is the closest thing to what humans refer to as family.”
So basically I just killed your brother and then enslaved you, Richter thought. No wonder the kobold’s disposition had dropped all the way to ‘Hatred.’ Richter resolved to keep an eye on the time. He couldn’t have the Charm spell wear off unexpectedly. The risk of Tri’yerin escaping was too great. Still, he didn’t feel safe questioning the kobold any further at this point in the tunnels.
*Alma, watch him closely. Let me know if he starts acting differently.*
She sent back the mental equivalent of a head nod.
“Walk with me,” he told the kobold. “Remove any tracks or evidence that show that I have been this way. Then leave a trail showing that you and your clutch brother went down a side tunnel. Come back within five minutes.”
While the charmed creature did as he had been bid, Richter walked over to the body of Tri’yerin’s clutch brother and searched it.
You have found: Kobold Crossbow. Damage 10-16. Durability 11/13. Item class: Common. Quality: Poor. Weight: 1.6 kg. Traits: - 15% accuracy.
You have found: Stone tipped crossbow bolts x 8
You have found: Blue rags.
You have found: Pouch.
You have found: Bone necklace. A simple string of animal bones.
The crossbow looked rickety and slapped together with nails sticking out in places. With a max sixteen damage though, it still had stopping power no matter how crappy it looked. As he examined the kobold’s body, he couldn’t really imagine ever losing a fight to one of these creatures. Especially in light of the fact that the slain monster hadn’t been wearing any armor. It seemed like a pretty easy enemy to overcome. This was only one of the lowest caste, though, Richter admitted to himself. Who knew how strong these buggers could get. Even this worker caste would be deadly if there were enough of them.
The kobold’s pouch contained a few nuggets of copper and one silver coin. The raw metal had clearly been worked to be more or less uniform. Richter surmised that the lumps were a type of currency down in the Depths.
Richter looked around and didn’t see anything else useful. He picked up the body. A minute later, Tri’yerin came back.
“What will happen if the two of you don’t report back to the other kobolds?”
“There may be a search. As the lowest caste, we are not much valued. If we are sought out and no bodies are found, it will be assumed that we were killed by a monster or one of the clan’s enemies. The tunnels are not safe, and disappearances are common.”
That was music to Richter’s ears. “Follow me,” he said.
Richter started walking back the way that he had come. The kobold trailed behind, erasing tracks by swinging his tail across the floor. The appendage apparently wasn’t prehensile because he had kept one hand on the base of it and manually moved it. Alma slowly flapped along behind the kobold, ready to strike if the charm spell wore off.
It had taken Richter more than an hour to get this far down the hall, but that was with him stopping to disarm traps. Walking at a faster clip, they made their way back to the temple in less than twenty minutes. It occurred to him that the disabled traps themselves could tip other kobolds off to his passage, but there just wasn’t time to reset them. Also, resetting traps was just… stupid.
The two of them made it back to the temple with no difficulty. Once back in the room with the windows, Richter had Tri’yerin stand in front of him. He took the kobold’s spear and then cast Charm. The kobold seemed to struggle for a brief second, but then the spell took hold again.
Richter used Analyze again just to be sure the kobold wasn’t faking it. Despite the fact that that their weapons exhibited crappy craftsmanship, he didn’t doubt the kobold’s innate intelligence or cunning. Deception must come naturally to a species with a racial ability dealing with traps. Thankfully the disposition showed ‘Charmed’ again.
In addition to the weapon, he took the rest of the reptile’s items, meager as they were. It was just another pouch with some lumps of copper and one bent copper bracelet. Richter put all of the kobold’s items into his Bag, and withdrew several sheets of paper, a pot of ink and a quill pen. After sharpening the quill with his short sword, he told the Tri’yerin to draw all of the tunnels and traps he could remember, starting at the
point where they met. Then he laid back on one of the stone pews to wait. He made sure to position himself between the kobold and the exit leading back to the tunnels.
Since he had time to kill, he checked his combat log for the last time that he cast Charm. Richter wanted to know why the kobold had been able to mount a defense against the spell the second time, no matter how meager, when the first time Tri’yerin had easily succumbed to the spell. What he found was confusing. Many factors seemed to come into play including Richter’s own Intelligence, Charisma, Life Mastery, but also the target’s Wisdom, Charisma, resistance to Life magic, and that was just to name a few. It all added up to a percentage chance of the spell working. He accessed the first time he had cast the spell as well, and by cross checking, he was able to discover two large differences. The second time the kobold’s disposition towards Richter was lower, which seemed to lower the chance for the spell to work. There was also a penalty to casting the same enchantment type spell again on the same person within 24 hours.
Hmmm, he thought, I won’t be able to make all of these calculations in the heat of battle, but it was good to know what could keep the spell from working. Basically, what affected Charm in The Land was the same as what affected it on Earth. Charming a woman who already liked you was easy. Charming a woman who hated you not so much, and EVERY guy had learned that the same line probably wouldn’t work two times in a row!
With that mystery solved, Richter cracked open a Lore book and started reading. He didn’t know when it happened, but he must have dozed off while waiting because the next thing he knew, he was being awoken by a shriek. It was pitch black. He quickly cast Night Vision. Looking around, he saw the kobold spasming with Alma latched to his head.
“Stop Alma,” he shouted. She glared at him, but didn’t detach. He tried again with more steel in his voice, “Stop! I still need him!” The dragonling gave an angry squawk, but finally let go, flapping angrily into the air. The kobold stayed on the ground stunned. Richter cast Charm a third time. Analyze showed that the spell had worked. Then he cast Slow Heal on the kobold. Alma had taken away 58 health from the creature before she let go. The spell restored 45 health over a minute. The original effect on the spell had been 30 health over 60 seconds, but it was now buffed by Richter’s new Life mastery. In a couple minutes, the kobold had recovered. Richter asked him to get back to work on the maps and he complied as if nothing had happened.
