Last Horizon: Beta

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Rounding the last part of the tunnel he saw an archway into another room. This room was a large gallery, about two hundred feet long by sixty feet wide, with torches every fifty feet or so along the walls. There were at least a dozen goblins and some large rats scurrying around like pets. Terets took it in and crept back up the tunnel to inform the group.

  “Well, this is going to be vexing. The tunnel is wide enough for two abreast which means I can't bottle it up by myself.” Dumadin said and thought about it.

  “The goblins seem to all be level seven scavengers, the rats are Large Rat level two. Which means if we let Amythyst target the rats probably one or two Icebolts to kill each one. I only saw five of them, but let’s say there are ten.” Terets added to the intel he had glimpsed.

  “I can get thirty spells off, just not much more than that before tapping out of aether.” Amythyst chimed in and considered their options.

  “A dozen goblins, we have to funnel them into the hall so only two can attack at a time for me to have a chance to heal you,” Kittish added and pondered this situation. “The one earlier died in three shots, so they don't have the hit points to put up a prolonged fight. I wonder if they hit harder to make them that much more difficult.”

  “Actually you might be right. It would make sense they can hurt you quickly but are fragile. Meaning we need to focus burn them down.” Terets smiled as his brain kicked into gear and he started to formulate his plan. “Okay, I think this might work. Listen up.”

  Terets explained his plan to his friends who agreed to give it a shot. Dumadin and Kittish got set up in the designated spots, just out of line of sight of the room and Terets and Amythyst stealthed to just inside the next room. Kittish marked Dumadin with her necklace and took a few deep breaths.

  After a slow ten count Dumadin and Kittish edged forward to get a look into the next room where the twelve goblins were moving around. Kittish nodded and targeted the one closest to her and cast Weaken on it.

  When the DoT landed all of the goblins turned and ran towards the hallway, Kittish had just enough time to land a second DoT on the next closest before stepping behind Dumadin, who angled himself to take up as much space as possible.

  As the goblins surged forward Terets and Amythyst each chose one of the trailing goblins and attacked. Terets sliced his target from behind and vanished as Amythyst cast an Icebolt. Terets's target turned to attack him and was hit in the back with an Icebolt. Terets appeared behind Amythyst's first target and attacked, stabbing into its back and vanishing again. Both goblins turned to look for Terets, which gave Amythyst the time she needed to cast another Icebolt at the first one, killing it. The other goblin fell over dead as Terets once again stabbed it in the back with his swords.

  As the other ten goblins got to the hallway Dumadin unleashed Anger Howl to get them all focused on him. Dumadin hunkered behind his shield and focused on trying to keep Kittish safe behind him. The first two swings missed by a small margin. The goblins at the back of the pack were attacked with an Icebolt and a Backstab. One of the goblins looked back as Terets attacked, preventing him from using stealth again.

  “No more stealth for me Amythyst,” Terets called out and sliced into the goblin he had already injured.

  “Fuck,” Amythyst yelled as the rats finally joined the fight. They attacked the closest target, which happened to be Amythyst.

  Dumadin heard Amythyst's yell and triggered his shield ability to appear beside her, two seconds after Anger Howl was used. The goblins still under the taunt's effect turned and ran back into the room.

  Terets finished off his goblin and stepped aside as the mob ran past into the room. The goblin that had been slowed by the Icebolt lagged behind, and Terets stepped behind it to finish it off.

  Kittish threw a Healing Light at Amythyst, who was taking damage from the five rats. Amythyst was bashing at the rats with her staff, trying to force them back. The heal was enough to cause Kittish to be at the top of the aggro chart of the two she'd Weakened, and they turned and ran back toward her.

  Dumadin nodded and cut one rat down before the goblins got to him, then turned and threw his shield between him and them, letting Amythyst deal with the rats.

  Terets intercepted one of the two going for Kittish and left it on the ground bleeding from several swiftly delivered attacks.

  Kittish brought her staff up and smacked the one that got into range and received a minor cut in return. Before she could do more Terets cut that one down as well, allowing Kittish to start a Healing Light on Amythyst.

  Amythyst finished off the last rat and saw her life bar renew as Kittish's spell landed. The heal caused the remaining six goblins to turn and run at the tunnel again as Kittish once more topped their aggro charts.

  Dumadin picked the rearmost and hacked at it as it turned, causing it to stagger. An instant later it fell over dead as an Icebolt from Amythyst slammed into it. The remaining five were out of range and Dumadin just waited for the goblins to reach Kittish so he could trigger his shield to carry him back to Kittish.

  Terets intercepted the first one and sliced into it, dragging it to one side as its four remaining friends kept going. Another Icebolt hit the last one in the pack, causing it to turn back and start toward Amythyst.

  Terets took a minor cut from the goblin in front of him, swinging his blades back at it he landed a critical blow which severed the head of his opponent.

  The first of the three remaining goblins got to Kittish and attacked, only to bounce off Dumadin's shield as he abruptly appeared in front of her. Dumadin swung and hit one of the three near him, causing it to scream.

  Another Icebolt hit the one going for Amythyst, and Terets cut it down as he ran toward the remaining goblins. The three tried to force their way past Dumadin, but another Anger Howl focused all their attention onto him.

  Terets arrived and finished off the goblin Dumadin had injured, and an Icebolt hit another of the remaining goblins. A few moments later and the last of the goblins slipped to the floor dead.

  The group looked at each other and shared a brief laugh and slumped to the floor as the adrenaline wore off.

  “That was a good plan, Terets,” Dumadin said as he relaxed from the rush.

  “Yeah, using the aggro table to our advantage seemed to be the way to go,” Terets beamed as a Healing Light topped his life bar up.

  “Not bad at all. A little hairy there with the rats for a moment. They didn't do a lot, but five of them all biting fast sure put a noticeable dent into Amythyst's life bar.” Kittish said, casting a final Healing Light to finish bringing Amythyst's life back to full.

  “Yeah. I thought for a minute the plan was screwed at the start when the rats didn't follow the goblins right away. But it worked out all right,” Amythyst said and nodded her thanks to Kittish.

  “Let's go check the corpses and see what we get from them,” Dumadin stood up and offered a hand to each of the ladies. “Terets, want to skin the rats and grab the meat while we deal with the loose change and weapons?”

  Terets shrugged, “Sure thing.”

  The total loot from the corpses came to twenty five silver and seventy eight copper coins, twelve rusty sabers, five rat skins and ten chunks of rat meat. The rest of the room contained only a small chest, which was hidden under a moldy bedroll and locked.

  Terets smiled as he examined it, “Sweet, first chest found.”

  Amythyst coyly interjected, “Want some info my sister 'accidentally' let drop?”

  “Please enlighten, us oh one of the knowledgeable sister,” Dumadin said.

  “An agility user can attempt to pick a lock just once, if they fail they can't attempt to pick that lock again. Chests can also be broken open by any class, with a moderate chance of the goods inside being damaged in the process. Her co-founders thought limiting it in such a way would create a market for unopened chests in the auction house or market,” Amythyst finished.

  “That is truly shit,” Terets opined, frowning, “I me
an, come on, I only get one chance per chest? Then I either get someone to break it or sell it? Note to self: let Jazzy know that idea sucks donkey balls.”

  Kittish added her agreement, “That is so wrong and stupid. At least let agility users try once a day to pick a lock. And if you're too impatient to wait, you can get someone to break it open. Note to self: second Terets's complaint of that sucks donkey balls.”

  Amythyst smiled at the two of them expounding so energetically. “I'll also chime in that it's a bad idea as is and needs to be looked at.”

  “This is all well and good but please, Terets, open the damn chest,” Dumadin said, eyeing the box.

  Terets laughed and took out a set of picks that Agility users had in their belts, like crafting tools, and started picking the lock. A moment later he laughed, “Got it.” He opened the lid and peered inside.

  “What's in it,” the other three asked, watching him.

  He pulled an amethyst from the chest and a small pouch, “This is it.” He tossed the sack to Kittish who caught it with a clink.

  Looking inside she saw a bunch of loose coins, “Coins. A couple of gold, some silver and a bunch of copper.”

  Terets pocketed the gem with a wink at Dumadin and a small nod towards Amythyst. Smirking, Dumadin gave back a slight nod and moved to Kittish and hugged her.

  “Ok, you two sneaks go have a look down the next tunnel,” Dumadin motioned them away. As the two moved off he whispered to Kittish what Terets seemed to have in mind, causing her to giggle slightly and kiss the top of his head.

  A few minutes later Terets and Amythyst came back from the tunnel. “There are six Goblin Apprentices, and three Huge Rats.,” Terets informed his friends.

  “Casters more than likely with that name, means they'll probably stand still and cast and the rats are for keeping us busy.” Dumadin scratched his chin.

  “Just modify the last plan, then,” Kittish said, and explained, “Terets and Amythyst stealth into the room. I'll cast Weaken on one of the rats and run up the ramp to Dumadin. Line of sight pulling, the goblins should come up along with the rats. Terets kills a goblin and Amythyst engages hers in melee, in the room. Dumadin taunts the rest then uses his shield to teleport to Amythyst, causing them to run back down the tunnel. I'll cast Weaken on the first one again and then cast heals. As it comes back to me I'll engage it in melee, letting Dumadin use his shield to come back up the ramp again. Then rinse and repeat like the first group, it should work fine.”

  Nodding, the group decided to try it and set off down the tunnel.

  Panting and gasping, the group looked at each other and sat there while Kittish worked to get them all healed back up. “Okay, so they used instant cast DoTs instead of boom magic,” Dumadin panted, “that is good to know.”

  “Painful lesson learned there,” Terets added. “Thank goodness they were just as squishy as the earlier goblins.”

  “We might not have made it if they weren't,” Kittish added, “You and Amythyst were wrecked after tackling two of them and a rat.”

  Amythyst winced and nodded, “Those Huge Rats hurt worse than anything else so far for flat damage.”

  Terets levered himself to his feet and helped Amythyst up after him, “We'll check the next tunnel while you two loot this stuff. Be back in a few.”

  Dumadin and Kittish got up and began looting the goblins. They collected several staves, as well as a decent amount of coin from the goblin corpses. Dumadin gathered the rats together to make it easier for Terets to skin them when he got back.

  A few minutes later Terets and Amythyst returned. Terets began skinning the rats and nodded at Amythyst.

  “So, the next room is like the last two, but instead of a tunnel there's a door at the far side. In the room are two Goblin Warriors, two Goblin Apprentices, two Goblin Shamans, and four Huge Rats. The Shamans are level ten, everything else is level seven. We're thinking of using a twist on our ping-pong tactic.” Amythyst explained her idea, “So the rats and warriors will be melee, the Apprentices have their nasty DoTs, and I would expect the Shamans to be healers. Me and Terets will stealth in and single out and burn a shaman, then the next shaman, use healing and aether potions and then burn the two apprentices. Once we get that done we'll come help you with the others. Let Kittish pull them and run up to here, then wait for them to reach the edge of your taunt before using it. I'll be in melee with one of the casters by then and you can shield down to me, causing them to come running back. If Kittish then comes down and starts healing me and Terets she'll probably get her first target back again. Shield to her and let me and Terets start in on the warriors. You grab and hold the rats then we'll burn each rat down as you do your best to hold them.”

  Dumadin nodded and sighed slightly, “Rat bait, that's what I am.”

  Terets laughed and slap his friend on the back, “Better than being rat shit.”

  The group laughed and got ready to try Amythyst's plan, marching down the tunnel to just short of the opening. The plan worked beautifully, their enemies were slain at the cost of four healing potions and one aether potion. Terets and Amythyst each had to use two health potions during the early phase as the DoTs from the Apprentices ate through them quickly, then Kittish had to use an aether potion as she tapped out trying to keep Dumadin up during the rats at the end.

  “I'm really starting to hate rats,” Dumadin said and sprawled out on the floor, panting. Kittish finished healing him up to full again and he lay there with his eyes closed, trying to relax.

  “It worked out even if you did drop to 5% life near the end,” Kittish replied, gently stroking her lover's forehead.

  “Gods this is frickin brutal,” Terets exhaled. “I hope we're near the end or we might not be able to finish it in one go.”

  Amythyst nodded, “If it gets too much worse we might be making the trip back out here to try again.”

  “Terets, do you mind looting? I just want to lay here for a minute.” Dumadin asked without opening his eyes.

  “Sure thing, be right back,” Terets agreed and went to loot the mobs and room.

  A few minutes later he was back with his arms full of stuff. “Okay, we got a lot of different stuff here. The normal rusty weapons and assorted coins we've seen before, another chest, and add in some rusty breastplates. Give me a minute with the chest to see if I can pop it.”

  The girls split the loot up to carry in bags as Terets picked the lock. “Got it,” He cried out and opened the box, “Nice stuff in this one.” He pulled out a bag which he tossed to Kittish, a pouch that clinked when he picked it up which was tossed to Amythyst, and a set of thieves tools which he pocketed. “Hey, shorty wake up,” he said and when he saw an eye open he gently lobbed a metal chunk at his friend.

  Dumadin caught the chunk of ore and looked at it then blinked, “Mithril!? Are you fucking shitting me?”

  “Yup, that's what I thought when I saw it. Didn't want to ruin the surprise for you,” Terets laughed.

  “Well fuck, that almost makes it worth it right there. Should probably get a skilled smith to make bars out of it to increase the yield, maybe let them keep a bar for doing it.” Dumadin stared at the chunk in his hand.

  Kittish blinked and opened the bag Terets had tossed her, “Ah, nice. Mountain bloom and some Deathhead mushrooms. These will be useful.”

  Amythyst looked into the coin pouch and gasped, “There's eight gold and a bunch of silver in here.”

  “Absolutely worth it so far then, good crafting mats and plenty of coin.” Dumadin sat up and smiled at his friends. “Well then, shall we check the door?”

  Terets smiled and vanished into stealth and moved up to the door, waiting for his friends to get set in case something came charging out. Once everyone was ready he cracked the door open and glanced in, after a moment he pulled the door shut and unstealthed.

  “Guys, this is going to suck,” Terets began and sat down. “There are six Goblin Shamans in there and a Goblin Chief. The shamans are level ten and the c
hief is just showing a skull. They're set up across the room with the Shamans all kneeling in front of the chief who's sitting on a rough throne.”

  “Okay, so figure he might hit like Theodore did. The healers are going to be the issue though. Wait, Terets, you still have that spider poison? And if you can make me a stoneskin potion or two, Kittish, that would be awesome. Here's what I want to do,” Dumadin explained his plan to the group, who agreed with it. “Let's kick his ass and collect our loot.”

  The group got ready and Dumadin opened the door and looked at the scene in front of him with a smile. Giving his friends a ten count, he entered the room with Kittish behind him. They set up right next to the doors and Dumadin nodded at Kittish, who cast Weaken on the Chief before stepping behind Dumadin.