by Baron Sord
===============
Another volley of arrows hit the phalanx from every direction, but this time, far fewer arrows were launched. They were running out.
“IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE,” Jason roared, “I COMMAND YOU TO HOLD!”
Another round of arrows clattered off the shield barrier.
I chuckled to myself.
KingFarthurT:> That worked.
SigurdDärksvärd:> Their high levels of chaos must be giving them immunity to the Force of Law.
KingFarthurT:> Uh huh.
I shook my head, grinning.
KingFarthurT:> Jay, I think you should try reading them their Miranda Rights. See if that works.
SigurdDärksvärd:> Ha ha ha.
Several more arrows bounced off the phalanx shield.
KingFarthurT:> These guys are only levels 6 and 7. We should take them out. We’ve got the levels
Now that I’d seen people come back to life good as new, I was a lot less worried about killing the people who were trying to kill me. And for all I knew, these guys were the ones who had Emily trapped in here somewhere, so I really didn’t care if they lived or died.
SigurdDärksvärd:> So now that you’re level 7, you’re the shit? Is that it?
KingFarthurT:> Please, Jay. You know we can waste them.
We had always argued like this when we used to play D&D with Dad. Jason tended to plan and was always Lawful something. I tended to go berserk and was always Chaotic something.
SigurdDärksvärd:> Then be my guest. You lead the charge, King Fart Hurt.
KingFarthurT:> Gladly, Sir Douche Bag.
Walter_Simon_Byrne_1978:> Boooooys.
SigurdDärksvärd:> Sorry, Dad.
KingFarthurT:> Sorry.
While we were arguing only a few more arrows flew.
Walter_Simon_Byrne_1978:> Logan’s right. They seem to be out of ammo and we’ve got enough man power to handle this bunch. I say we cut them up.
SigurdDärksvärd:> Okay. Whatever you two wanna do. But if you get yourselves killed when I lower the shield, don’t come bitching to me. Shield is going down in 5, 4, 3, 2—
KingFarthurT:> Attack!
Ty was the first to bolt across the cavernous chamber, bounding on all fours across piles of stone and rubble in his gladiator armor, then launching through the air and landing on a distant Orken. His punching knives pierced the Orken’s chain armor with ease and his rear claws tore away at exposed flesh. The Orken didn’t stand a chance. With savage fury, Ty’s jaws clamped down and ripped the Orken’s neck to shreds.
Qoorie roared as she too tore apart two humans.
Dad went to work with his double-bladed axe, and Jason’s soldiers started mowing Orken down with their big swords.
SigurdDärksvärd:> I think I’ll watch.
Jason folded his armored arms across his chest.
KingFarthurT:> Don’t you want to get some XP?
SigurdDärksvärd:> Do I look like I need any?
KingFarthurT:> You’re such a douche, Jay.
SigurdDärksvärd:> You better go get some XP yourself, or it’s gonna be all gone
He was right.
The battle was already in full swing.
I ran right into the fray, my saber charged with a sprinkle of mana as I activated Snake Strike Level 2 and vaulted over a big fallen stone, planting a stiff arm on the rock to lever myself over as I crashed my boots into the chest of a human outlaw, knocking him down. The Orken in leather armor next to him didn’t waste any time swinging a huge mace at my head. The solid steel head was as big as a football. If it hit my head, I would explode like a watermelon. But everything was moving at half speed for me. I was too damn quick to catch. I ducked right under the mace and stabbed the Orken in the throat with my Saber. His eyeballs didn’t explode like the Dark Orken last night because I hadn’t used nearly as much mana, but he shook like he’d been tasered.
Critical Hit! You severed your opponent’s jugular!
Nice.
Nothing like having that +20 to Speed and +10 to Accuracy. The Orken clapped a huge hand to his neck, trying to plug the spray of blood shooting from it as he stumbled forward.
I swiveled and engaged with the human who was back on his feet, swinging two swords at the same time, coming at me like a lawn mower.
Too bad for him my Snake Strike was still active, and I could see openings in his attack all over the place. The first thing I did was stab the inside of his right elbow through a gap in his armor and he immediately dropped that sword. Then I picked my shots, and with the help of a little mana, diced him up and fried his ass in a pan. He went down right before my Snake Strike ran out.
The human outlaw perished!
You earned 750 XP!
BASH!
The Orken whose throat I’d slit wasn’t dead quite yet, so he smacked me good in the shoulder with his mace. It wasn’t a killing blow, but it sent me flying, stealing 35% of my Health.
Oops.
I got too cocky.
The Orken swung again. This time, I dodged. He was almost dead, hand to his neck, down on one knee, breathing hard, but he still had enough fight left in him to kill me if I wasn’t careful. Since I had more Mana than Stamina, I charged up my sword and danced to his side away from the mace. All I had to do was touch him with my saber and—
CRACK!
This time his eyes did explode with blue-white sparks and he flopped face first against the stone.
You cooked that Orken’s goose!
You earned 850 XP!
Before I had time to celebrate, another human in chain armor came at me with a short sword from the side, jabbing me so hard in the sword arm, I dropped my saber and lost 5% of my Health. I bent to pick it up, but he pistoned his blade at my face and I couldn’t reach it. All I had left were my throwing knives. I flicked one at him but it bounced off his chainmail. I really didn’t know the first thing about throwing knives. But I did have a grappling skill.
I shot for his legs, executing a perfect double-leg take down, just like I’d learned from wrestling in high school.
Level up! Your Grappling skill is now level 2.
Too bad for me, short swords weren’t allowed on the mat, and this guy used the pommel of his to bash the top of my head.
If he hadn’t already been on the way down, he probably would’ve knocked me out. As it was, he took another 5% of my Health and my vision starred briefly. I needed to get a helmet.
I tried to knee him in the balls when I crashed down on top of him, but he managed to block me and started hammering for my face with his pommel. This guy was good. Probably had a better Fight Dirty skill than I did. Completely thrown off my game, I tried to grab his wrist, but he was too quick and too strong. So I rolled off him, intent on retrieving my saber.
He slammed into me a second later, smashing away at my spine with his pommel. If it wasn’t for the padded leather of my fencing jacket, he probably would’ve chipped my vertebrae to pieces.
Another 5% of my Health gone.
Somehow, I managed to roll over, but now the guy was sitting on my chest, going for my face. If I wasn’t careful, he was going to beat me to death. He was also much bigger than me and weighed a ton. I tried tossing him off, but my 15 Strength wasn’t enough. Worse, my Stamina was dropping quickly because of the intense exertion. I considered activating Snake Strike, but that would eat up more Stamina, and I wasn’t sure if it’d make any difference.
He hammered my forehead with his pommel and a constellation of stars exploded in my eyes. Then my vision blurred and all the fight went out of me.
You’ve been Stunned! You cannot fight for 5 seconds!
With only 45% Health, he could easily beat me to death or stab me through the throat in 5 seconds. I didn’t want to fake die because I wanted to be here when we found Emily. My adrenalin was pumping and I was scared out of my mind as the guy on top of me realized what he’d done. His thin lips peeled over yellow teeth and he grinned a d
eadly grin.
4 seconds.
“You’re gonna die now, boy.” His voice was gravely and his breath stank. He flipped his short sword around so it was point down and pressed it against my bare neck. He must’ve read my mind.
3 seconds.
I considered calling Jason for help, but I didn’t want to give up that easily. But what could I do?
2 seconds.
“I’m going to enjoy this…” His sword point dug right into my throat.
This was it.
Time to die.
1 second.
“Stop,” I gurgled, piercing his eyes with mine and pushing as hard as I could with my mind.
Sure enough, the blade stopped its forward progress. The outlaw’s face turned beet red, brows knitting, teeth bared, his arm quivering as he attempted to end me.
“Stop!” I growled, pushing harder now, using up as many Mind points as I could.
The man’s face knotted with purple fury. His breath turned ragged, his entire body now shaking. But he hadn’t removed his sword from my neck.
“STOP!”
“Guk!” His eyes popped open and rolled up into the back of his head as he collapsed in a heap. His sword clattered to the stone.
The human outlaw suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke! You literally blew his mind and earned yourself 900 XP!
You have unlocked a Mental Power! Word of Power. Level 1. In the beginning was the word, and mastery of the word can make you a god among men. Increase your Willpower and/or Leadership to improve your chance of success.
+1 to Willpower
Holy shit.
I’d just told that outlaw to stop, but I’d stopped his brain instead.
I spun around to check on everyone else. At the moment, my view was mostly cut off by the piles of stones surrounding me, but I saw flashing blades and heard the clang of metal and the roars of Ty and Qoorie.
KingFarthurT:> You doing okay, Dad?
Walter_Simon_Byrne_1978:> Kinda busy!
He sounded okay for now.
My Health bar was climbing quickly, already at 65%. All the damage I’d taken so far had been hard strikes, but nothing that required medical attention. Time to fight some more. My Stamina was at the point I could afford another Snake Strike, so I looked around for more enemies. When I saw 3 more Orken had backed one of Jason’s soldiers into a corner, I went to help, activating Snake Strike as I stalked up behind the Orken. The Orken was so busy fighting Jason’s soldier, he never saw me coming. I shot my saber right under his helmet and sunk it into the base of his neck.
Level up! Your Stalking skill is now level 3.
Backstab! Your opponent’s didn’t see you coming!
Critical Hit! You cut your opponent’s spinal cord!
The Orken crumpled to the ground.
The Orken outlaw is dead! You earned 450 XP!
With my Snake Strike still active, I went after another Orken, jabbing through the holes in his leather armor and cutting him up.
The Orken outlaw is dead! You earned 350 XP!
While he was still falling, I went on to the third.
This one turned on me, swinging an axe at my face, but I ducked below the blade and thrust upward, stabbing him in the eye. Just because I could do it. Then I stabbed him in the other eye. He never saw it coming, no pun intended. Damn, I loved Snake Strike.
Level up! Your Basic Swordplay skill is now level 5.
Level up! Your Surprise Attack skill is now level 4.
Level up! Your Dodge skill is now level 6.
Critical Hit! You punctured your opponent’s brain!
The Orken outlaw is dead!
You earned 550 XP!
As my Snake Strike faded and time resumed regular speed, I walked toward Jason’s soldier with my arm up for a high five.
He didn’t five me back.
KingFarthurT:> You gonna leave me hanging?
JusticeSoldier4:> What the hell, kill stealer?
KingFarthurT:> Huh?
JusticeSoldier4:> I was almost finished with those three. I didn’t need your help. You stole my kills and took my XP, ass.
I dropped my arm.
KingFarthurT:> Whatever, dude. I was trying to help.
JusticeSoldier4:> Why don’t you go help someone else, kill stealer.
KingFarthurT:> Geez, dude. It’s just a fricking game.
JusticeSoldier4:> So why’d you take my XP?
KingFarthurT:> I told you, man. I was trying to—
He shook his head and turned his back to me, pretending to look for another outlaw to scrap with, but he was being a bitch.
Whatever.
By that point, there weren’t many outlaws left. I helped Ty and Qoorie and Dad take out a few more. They didn’t whine about kill stealing.
When the fighting was over, the soldiers got busy looting the bodies, which were either strewn throughout the stone chamber on the floor, or laid out over the big broken stones. A couple were draped on top of a 6 foot high stone like they’d been thrown there.
KingFarthurT:> Hey, Ty. You do that?
Tiygar:> Yeah. Tiger be tossin’ bitches around like baseballs, yo.
KingFarthurT:> Nice. What’s your Strength up to?
Tiygar:> 33.
That was more than double mine and way past a D&D 18.
KingFarthurT:> Shit, tiger. Remind me not to grapple your ass any time soon.
Tiygar:> No doubt.
He grinned, showing fangs and whiskers. We high-fived without any bitchery.
SigurdDärksvärd:> Does anybody want any of this gear?
Jason stood beside the pile of weapons and armor stacked in the middle of the chamber.
Walter_Simon_Byrne_1978:> Anything magic?
SigurdDärksvärd:> No. But there’s some decent armor and weapons if anybody wants to sell anything.
Qoorie:> How much gold is there?
SigurdDärksvärd:> My man tells me there’s just over a 1000 on them. 60 and change for each of us. 65 if you guys keep my share, which you’re welcome to.
Wow. That was hardly worth the effort. Oh well. It was money. I sorted through the pile of weapons and found a 6 inch dagger in a scabbard that I attached to my belt. After that last wrestling match, I wanted something for close fighting in an emergency.
Iron Dagger — Weight: 1.0 kg. Durability: 22. Availability: Common. Damage: 1-12. A well-used basic dagger and scabbard.
There were some helmets, but they were sized for Orkens and stank, so I didn’t take one.
The soldiers were sitting around with their helmets off, bullshitting with each other and telling tall tales about how many outlaws they’d taken out. Kill Stealer was telling the 3 Orken story like I hadn’t been there. I really didn’t care. I was antsy to find Emily.
KingFarthurT:> Jay, can you saddle up your men so we can get this show on the road?
SigurdDärksvärd:> Yeah, yeah. Give them a minute to rest and regain Stamina. Do you need any healing magic?
KingFarthurT:> Nah. I’m fine.
My Health was back up to 85%. Good enough. It wasn’t increasing as fast as before. Probably because of the shots I’d taken to my head. I’d heal.
While the soldiers were busy with their pseudo smoke break, I wandered around the chamber, searching through the rubble and overturned chunks of stone.
SigurdDärksvärd:> Looking for Emily?
KingFarthurT:> Yeah.
SigurdDärksvärd:> I don’t think she’s in here. There’s more mobs on the map, and there’s another cluster of them deeper in the dungeon.
KingFarthurT:> Then let’s get moving already. I’d like to find her before the new guys find out what happened to their dead friends. I don’t want them doing anything to Emily—
A deep rumbling shook the chamber. Debris snowed down from the high ceiling. An earthquake? If it was, it was over already. Nothing serious.
Jason rounded up his men and we left the chamber, walking down another stone corr
idor.
SigurdDärksvärd:> Keep your eyes peeled for traps, people. Step carefully, there may be pressure plates or tripwires.
Our group turned several times without incident before descending another staircase. At the bottom, an arched stone corridor was blocked off by a pile of rocks
Walter_Simon_Byrne_1978:> Here’s your earthquake. This is recent.
SigurdDärksvärd:> Looks like a cave-in.
KingFarthurT:> Did someone cause it?
Tiygar:> Them mobs on the map be my guess.
KingFarthurT:> More bandits?
Nobody had any ideas.
The soldiers set to work moving rocks. Ty pitched in. I did my best, but looked silly moving the smaller rocks with my 15 Strength. Oh well. I could always level it up later.
It didn’t take long to open a path we could crawl through. The inside of the corridor was unfinished compared to the rest of the dungeon. The walls were ragged and jagged and water seeped through numerous cracks, reminding me of an old mine shaft more than a dungeon.
SigurdDärksvärd:> We ready?
“KREEEEEEE!”
Dozens of gigantic dusty brown beetle-things bristling with short spiked limbs burst out of the darkness like scattershot, running along the ground, the walls, the ceiling. Each one resembled a 2.5-foot land tortoise with a dozen stumpy fast-moving legs and no head or eyes. Where the tortoise’s neck would’ve been were 3 sets of stout insectile mandibles that looked capable of cracking bones and stone.
Cave Digger
Level: 5
Health | Stamina: 270 | 270
Mana | Mind: - | 2
Size: Medium
Armor: 200
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