No. What sucked was that now all of the Dwarves, Jason, and myself were all encumbered by our gear. And once one becomes encumbered, one quickly becomes fatigued. And after just another two minutes, all of us, save Dan and Wayne, were operating at a fatigued status.
All of us had been building our constitution with each level. Because of that, and the fact that our strength was large in relation to the weight of our gear, none of us had ever needed to monitor our Vitality bars. But now, here I was, watching it deplete rapidly. Once it hit zero, my movement speed dropped to 25 percent and my damage dropped the same. Jason noticed his mana was also not regenerating as fast.
Jason kept trying to heal Wayne, but with the loss of mana regeneration, his pool was not refilling in anywhere near a timely enough manner. The Death Lord was losing hit points, but nowhere fast enough for us to finish him before Jason’s Mana ran out. I kept watching Wayne’s health and knew that soon we were going to have to throw a hail Mary.
Wayne was yelling for a heal, and Jason was yelling that once he had the mana Wayne would get one, but the stars were not aligned this time for our group. Just as Jason began casting the heal, Wayne died.
Jason immediately interrupted the cast, and looked ready to run for it, but I had a plan. Although if it would work was anyone’s guess.
“Allister! Get ready to heal me!” I yelled.
“Forget it Alex, this is going to be a wipe! Let’s at least try to boomerang her!”
“Tibble’s people can barely move; they’ll be slaughtered down here. We either win or we die together!”
And with that I activated my Force Multiplier and Backstabbed the Death Lord as it started to beat up on Jason.
With my Force Multiplier engaged I was no longer encumbered and I had the following stats:
Alex (Alex) – 76 (+7) (-30) Strength, 84 (+19) Constitution, 40 (+23) Agility, 156 (+31) Dexterity, 24 (+6) Wisdom, 4 (+6) Intelligence, 64 (+7) Chance
My hit points were over 10,000 and my agility was almost as high as Dan’s. I was hoping this would allow me to dodge a lot of the Death Lord’s attacks. And after only a few swings I didn’t have to worry about losing aggro from the mob. With my Dexterity so high, I was proc’ing on every other swing with my dagger, significantly lowering the armor class of the Death Lord. And finally, with my extra Strength and Dexterity, I was landing some massive Critical Strikes.
But we still weren’t in the clear. I was going to lose hit points quickly because when I did get hit, I got hit hard. My armor wasn’t made to Tank. So Jason needed to regenerate his mana as fast as possible.
I only had five minutes to clear the two mobs, and it was going to be a close one.
With only a minute to spare on my ring we were able to kill the Death Lord. I immediately ran to Dan’s mob and started stabbing it in the back, chasing it around the room. Due to the damage Dan had already inflicted, and the multiple Snares, Dan wasn’t losing aggro on the mob. But I hadn’t thought to loot the Death Lord before my ring’s bonus ran out, as I was focused on keeping us all alive. I had likely lost the chance at any truly epic loot from the Death Lord.
Dan’s mob was still being kited when my Force Multiplier ran out and I became encumbered again. And within a short time I found myself fatigued. Dan still wasn’t affected by the debuff, so I had him continue to kite the mob around while I checked the Death Lord’s body.
I don’t know what it would have had on it when my Chance was over 600, but at 167, all it had was more of the same high quality plate and the great sword. Again, nothing magic. I was more than a little pissed that I had to burn off the ring’s bonus because Wayne didn’t want to see some NPCs bite it. But I kept my anger in check.
Three minutes later the strength debuff was lifted and we quickly finished the last mob. When the Marauder was dead we received a system notification:
Congratulations! You have liberated the mine of Orckin for the East Range Mountain Dwarf Clan. Due to your achievements you may claim possession of this mine. Do you wish to take possession of the mine now?
There was a notification with a Yes/No, which could be selected and activated. Having lost the opportunity for great loot I was tempted to say yes. But Wayne wouldn’t hear of it. “No guys. We did this for the Dwarves. I’m sorry that we didn’t get anything good and you had to use the ring Alex, but it wouldn’t be right. And you know it.”
I slowly counted to ten and let my anger dissipate. Wayne was right. We took this quest to help the Dwarves, and I wouldn’t respect myself later if I reneged on that offer now. With more than a little trepidation, I selected “No.”
“Thank you Alex.” I heard Wayne say in my ear.
After selecting “No” another prompt appeared and asked if we wanted to cede our rights to the Mine to the East Range Mountain Dwarf Clan. I clicked “Yes” and saw a look of appreciation fall across Tibble’s face. There were more than a few teary faces amongst the Dwarves and I felt horrible for considering taking their mine. Tibble started to approach, but I stopped him before he could say anything. I still needed to loot the other mobs before they disappeared and I wasn’t ready to chat just yet.
I looted the two Yellows and the Blue quickly and then walked past the Death Lord again. Only this time I saw a pile of what looked like bones sitting against a corner of the cavern. I approached and knelt down next to the pile. The action opened up an inventory and I saw that these were the remains of Hornus Rockcrawler. There was only one thing in his inventory:
Tranquility Pick
Epic Item (Magic Item)
Dwarf Only
Effect: The user falls into a deep state of tranquility that makes them one with the mountain. Chances to find high quality ore + 50 Percent.
I looted the Pick, but didn’t tell the rest. A plan was starting to form in my mind. I did ask Tibble to approach the bones and asked him if he knew of this Dwarf.
“Aye Alex, I recognize the tunic. Hornus was always known for having a tunic that looked like it was made from the rock itself. He was lost to us many years ago. Many speculated he went off to find his own adventures, but it seems he came here and met his end with these Orckin. It seems we have another brave Dwarf whose soul needs to be heralded to the other side. Tonight we will honor our dead, and celebrate our heroes! Huzzah!”
* * *
“It will be some time before Naugha can rejoin our party, so I suggest we leave here and meet him at the entrance of the caves,” I said to Tibble and the Dwarves. They all praised Naugha for his valiant sacrifice for their Clan, but didn’t seemed disturbed to know Wayne would be joining them shortly. The Dwarves disregarded the absurdity that someone who just died could immediately return to this land. It was, of course, vital to game play that a character who died in front of a quest mob could still finish the quest once successful. It was a paradox, but one that all games had to account for.
Knowing that we would be having a bit of a celebration once Wayne returned, I asked Jason to Gate back to Port Town and pick up food and drink for the large gathering. With his horse he would be back to the mine before Wayne would arrive. Traveling only by foot and without any speed enhancements, it would be many hours before Wayne made his way back through the forest and to our gathering.
Wayne’s body still remained in the middle of the cavern where he had fallen. In order to retrieve all of his items, Wayne would need to loot his own body. An easy task if he had died in the middle of a forest, but much more difficult for someone who died in a deep dungeon and who didn’t have an innate ability to become invisible. The developers of the game had taken all of this into account and allowed other players to drag a body to another location to make looting easier. However, this only worked with players and not with mobs. Once the dead player gave permission to another player to drag his body, the corpse became weightless and could be taken anywhere. This was why you wanted to only give permission to trusted companions, as someone with permission could drag the body to any location they wanted. To put it in
to perspective, just imagine what Dan would do with such freedoms.
I contacted Wayne and asked him to give me permission to move his corpse. During the discussion, I was happy to learn that Wayne had received experience from the Death Lord and Yellow Marauder, but more importantly, for the quest itself. We had all gained almost an entire level completing this quest. Of course Wayne’s experience took a hit from his death, but he wasn’t complaining in the least bit.
We all saw a back entrance from the cavern that gave us access to the topside of the mountain. Unlike with regular dungeons, this was simply a secret entrance, and once discovered remained usable by the Dwarves, as well as for my group. More importantly, we also saw a way to access deeper levels below the cavern we just vacated. There were likely more tunnels, with more ore, but also stronger and more powerful mobs than even my group could handle. I planned to advise Tibble to remain on the first level of the caverns and work the ore in that area before descending to the next level. Any action taken on the second level could end up alerting more mobs from deeper under the mountains.
Once everyone was out of the caverns, Tibble began making preparations for the celebration we would have that night, with half of the Dwarves trying to salvage anything that was left from the initial Orckin attack. Tibble sent the other half of the Dwarves back to the old mine, where he first encountered Wayne and our group, to collect their belongings and all of the ore they had already acquired. He also sent a lone runner away from the mine on an unknown errand. I don’t like unknown.
“Tibble, if you don’t mind my asking, where have you sent the messenger?” I asked pointedly. I didn’t see any reason for beating around the bush with Tibble, since we had just handed over a fortune in mining rights.
“Protocol Alex. When a clan takes possession of a new mine, it be required to inform our King. All Clans fall under the King and dem taxes and the like must be accounted for. More so, declaring da mine to the King be givin’ us the right to ask fer security ta protect the ore.”
“So the King will send a representative back here to see the mine?”
“That be the usual protocol. But I be a distant relation to the King. Might’s be that he comes himself. Our King ain’t one to be holed up in his mountain!”
“Well then we better make sure this party is one for the ages. Wouldn’t want to disappoint royalty!” I said while Tibble and I laughed together.
* * *
After Jason’s return and the libations were dispersed I called my group together. It would still be a couple of hours before Wayne returned, but I had held off on explaining my plan for as long as I felt comfortable. Wayne wasn’t going to like it, but altruism can only go so far in these games.
“Wayne can you hear us fine?” I asked, and received a verbal acknowledgement.
“Here’s the deal. When we finished up the raid we found the bones of a Dwarf who had died long ago. Amongst his bones was this,” I said and linked the epic pick axe.
“Woah!” Dan said, summing up everyone’s response in one word.
“It’s tradeable, and I know I could sell this item for more money than anyone has even collected on this game to date. But I’m thinking we can use it to get some concessions.”
“You need to give that to Tibble, Alex,” Wayne predictably said.
“And I plan to Wayne, but not without something in return. This is an item that pays for itself in spades. We can’t just hand it over. I’m thinking a percentage of the mining proceeds. Not a lot, but something that keeps money in our pockets without us having to do anything. It’s a mighty bargaining chip, and I don’t want to just give it away.”
“I don’t like it. It negates everything we just did if our plan is to fleece them afterward,” Wayne challenged.
“Sorry Naugha, but I’m with Alex on this one. Unless you want to take up mining as an occupation, I can’t see us just giving this away,” Jason responded.
Dan also agreed with me and Jason, and Wayne’s lone dissenting voice was overruled. As I had foreseen, Wayne wasn’t happy, but he succumbed to the desires of the group. Now I just had to deal with Tibble.
I pulled the senior Dwarf of the East Range Clan aside and showed him what I had found. I explained to him our desires, to have a cut of the Fermium mine’s proceeds, in exchange for the item. Tibble’s eyes never left the pick, but he started shaking his head no.
“Me runner just returned. The King is coming. This needs to be presented to him.”
“But why Tibble? It is your Clan’s mine, and this was found inside the mine. If you want to present it to your King for favor, that’s your business, but I don’t want to see your Clan take a loss for our own benefit.”
Tibble winked at me, laughed, and said, “Then don’t let us take a loss.”
* * *
The celebration was underway for an hour when I heard a voice from behind me say, “Tibble, by chance ya can spare some for me and me boys?”
I turned around and saw the oldest and baddest looking Dwarf I had ever seen. At that moment I hated Dan all the more, because he was right again. The eyepatch the Dwarf was wearing definitely added to his level of badass.
“King Steelhammer! Of course me Lord, we made sure to set some aside for you and yours! Knew you was coming when me lad returned.”
I liked that Tibble didn’t stand on ceremony too much with the King. He didn’t act like he didn’t know the King was coming, and didn’t genuflect when he saw him, showering praise and thanks on the King for taking the time to make the trip. Tibble treated him like he would another Dwarf, but with obvious respect. Even more, the King seemed to appreciate that Tibble wasn’t a boot licker. I really hoped my plan was going to work with the King.
“We waited till ya arrived to start the celebration right me Lord. But now that you’s here, and have food and drink, I wants to say some words for our friends.”
The King nodded at Tibble and took a healthy pull off the mead we had provided. He also took a chunk out of his turkey leg, juices spilling down his beard. And naturally, there wasn’t a napkin in sight.
“I not be one fer makin’ speeches. I’m a simple miner. But these lads here,” Tibble said while pointing at my group, “these lads have shown themselves to be honorable and just.”
Tibble then turned to Wayne and said, “When you first came upon us Naugha, ya helped when ya need not have to. Ya celebrated our boys and sent them to their rest when ya had no obligation to do so. Ya sacrificed yourself to save me kin. And you all showed honor with the deed to this here mine,” Tibble stated while pointing at the entrance to the cave. “You was welcomed as friends when ya arrived outside of this mine, but you left as more. From this day forth, as head of the East Range Mountain Dwarf Clan, I name ya kin.”
Silence descended. All of the Dwarves were looking at each other, and then at the King and his entourage. No one spoke.
Finally, Tibble lifted up his mug of mead, with all of the other East Range Clan following suit, and exclaimed, “to our kin!”
“HUZZAH!” bellowed all of the other Dwarves, loud enough that one would think an earthquake had shaken the mountain side.
“Well said Tibble!” the King finally said. It seemed like he had more to add but then fell silent.
Tibble then moved on to the next item that needed to be addressed. Celebrating the life of Hornus Rockcrawler.
“Ya found his body in the caves?” the King asked.
“We did me Lord. They was just bones, and I believe Hornus passed long ago. But I think you knew him well and we would be honored if you started in our duty to herald his journey to our Gods.”
The King nodded and began a fanciful tale of Hornus and how he could climb the side of a tunnel with one hand and a pick in another, pulling out the highest quality ore as he traveled. When asked about the technique, Hornus had looked confused and asked “what technique? I just wanted to see what was at the top!”
Many more stories were shared and many “Huzzahs” were off
ered up in the name of Hornus. After a time, the revelry died down and Tibble motioned for my group to take center stage.
“Would you like to say some words Naugha?” I asked.
“I’m even less of a speech giver than Tibble. You feel free Alex.”
“A greater honor does not exist in this land than to be named kin to the Clan of the East Range. You have honored us in ways we cannot ever express. Huzzah!”
“HUZZAH!” the Dwarves all yelled out again. Mental note, invent ear plugs for any dealings with drunken Dwarves.
“We will stand by our kinsmen in their times of need just as we did today against the Orckin!”
“HUZZAH!”
I finished with, “and we would be honored to call all Dwarves our friends.”
The King looked up at that statement and stood to his full height. “You’ve done a great service to the East Range Clan Alex, and they are right in calling ya kin. You’ve earned that right. Know that ya will never find animosity from the Dwarves Under the Mountain. You and yours can pass freely amongst my people and they will deal with ya fairly.”
“Thank you Lord Steelhammer. But I wonder, what would it take for the Dwarves Under the Mountain to call us friends?”
Another Dwarf from the King’s entourage snorted and said, “how much Mithral ya got?”
That got a chuckle from a few of the others from the King’s entourage, but the King didn’t laugh, nor did any of my new kinsman. I interpreted the question to be the answer one would give when it is impossible to meet the demand. Meaning, the Dwarf didn’t think we could possibly have anything that could lead the entirety of the Dwarven nation Under the Mountain to call us friend.
Resurgence: The Rise of Resurgence Book 1 Page 32
