“Husband! You are supposed to protect me! That is why I married you!” the skeleton queen screamed at her mate, and slammed her staff down on the floor again. A trickle of purple energy emerged from the bottom of the staff when it rang against the tile, but the small wave didn’t seem to reach the feet of the muscular cloaked man that was sneaking up behind the woman.
I charged up the stairs again, but the skeleton queen seemed to have sensed Cornalic was behind her, and she spun with a wave of purple lightning power. The man vanished from the spot he had been standing a fraction of a second before, and I saw her crowned head twist around with confusion.
Then I slammed my broad sword into the back of her shoulders.
Lightning erupted from every inch of her bones, crown, robe, and staff. It was an immediate reaction to my attack, and the force of her magic drove me to my knees like someone had just kicked me in the balls.
Then she smashed me upside the head with her staff, and I was tumbling down the stairs again. My vision swam, my ears rang, and I tasted blood in my mouth. My jaw hurt terribly, and as soon as I landed on the ground I realized that it was broken. I’d dropped my swords during the fall, and while my broadsword had landed next to me, my glowing short sword was still at the top of the stairs.
“Leo! Ahhh!” Mirea screamed from behind me, and I forced my battered head to turn around. The skeleton king had cut into the woman’s left shoulder, and her shield arm hung loosely at her side. I used another Guardian of Fortune on her, but the fatigue pain really compounded with the agony in my head, and the emberbrands along the wall began to spin like a kaleidoscope.
“Dearest Leo, drink this!” Cornalic was suddenly standing next to me, and the big man forced a vial into my hands. Then he was gone from beside me, and I brought the glass to my lips. The liquid tasted like a watered down red wine, and my jaw, head, and face began to itch tremendously. I actually felt my jaw fall back into its hinges, and I was able to move my mouth again. The pain of the queen’s strike was completely gone, and I jumped to my feet with renewed vigor.
Cornalic was running up the stairs toward the queen, and she pointed her finger at the muscular man. A bolt of purple lightning flew from her fingers, but the half-orc suddenly vanished, and the undead woman spun her head around with surprise. She had only a sliver of her health left, perhaps only 5%, and she leaned on her staff in a manner that made me think she wouldn’t be able to stand without its support.
I snatched my broadsword from the ground and sprinted up the stairs toward her. She saw me coming, of course, and raised a trembling finger to point at me, but then Cornalic appeared from behind her robe and cut into her outstretched arm with a dual-slice from his blades.
His attack had been well timed, and the woman’s lightning bolt missed me by a few feet. His cut had also removed the end part of her arm at the elbow, and the woman screeched out in agony when half of the bony limb fell to the stone floor. It shattered into a dozen bone fragments as soon as it touched the tile, and a split second later I drove my broadsword into the woman’s skull face.
“Noooo! Shadows! Protectttttt meeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaggghhh… I gave you my child…. You… promised…” The woman’s mouth moved against the edge of the sword I had buried in her skull, but the words didn’t seem to come from her, they came from all around the room. The queen’s body went slack, then her bones lost their animation, and then they tumbled to my feet like a loose pile of dropped sticks.
“My love!” I heard the skeleton king shriek.
I turned around with Cornalic, and saw Mirea parry a trio of overhead swings. The warrior woman’s defensive movements looked painfully slow, and it seemed as if the last parry was the final she could muscle.
But the skeleton stopped his attack before he could plunge his blade into her.
“You…” the king said as he looked toward Cornalic and me. “… have killed my wife, but freed my soul. She was once a good woman, and I once loved her, but those times were forgotten by everyone save me. I am free, and will now join my child in the afterlife.” The skeleton dropped his sword and shield with a shrug of his hands, and both of them crashed to the stone floor.
“I am coming my son. We are free. I’m so sorry…” the skeleton king said as he looked up to the ceiling of the throne room. His armored body began to fade, and two seconds later his image disappeared as if he had never stood on the spot. The only items left from his passing were the longsword and shield on the ground a few feet from Mirea.
Bonus Quest Completed. You have been awarded 8 attribute points. The words formed on my UI in their usual orange letters, and I felt Cornalic’s hand pat my back.
“Dearest Leo, that was an excellent job,” the half-orc said with a broad smile. “I do believe we all would have been killed quite dead without you.”
“Agreed,” Wicum said with a groan. The man was trying to stand, but his health bar was still low, and I figured he wouldn’t be at full for another minute.
“We all did our parts,” I said as I looked back to Cornalic. I’d thought the man a coward, but I’d been wrong again about him. He’d just been waiting for the proper time to attack the queen. He’d even gone out of his way to give me a healing potion. I hated to admit it, but I was actually starting to like the guy. “Thanks for the healing potion. I’ve never had my face broken before.” I laughed and rubbed my left hand over my chin.
“You are just as handsome as you were. Do not fear, my dear friend,” he said with a wink.
“I’ve got a healing potion in one of my belt pockets. I know they are expensive, so let me pay you back,” I said as I reached to my belt.
“Oh no, that is quite alright,” the muscular man said as he waved his hands.
“Wait, where is it?” I said as my fingers searched inside the pouch on my belt where I knew I had the Light Healing and Cat’s Grace potions stored. I didn’t feel either of them in the bag, and I knew I had placed them there when I put my belt on this morning.
“Listen, my dear friend Leo, I was thinking that you were a bit new with this whole dungeon exploration stuff. So I decided to help you out with a few things.” The half-orc began.
“You stole my potions, didn’t you?” I growled at the man.
“See, I wouldn’t call it ‘stealing,’ I just had your best interests in mind.”
“How is stealing my potions having my best interests in mind?” I growled.
“Well, I believed that you might not know when to use them, or you might forget, or perhaps you would be incapacitated. When a party’s healer is down on his or her luck, it helps to have someone else in the group looking out for them. I didn’t actually ‘steal’ your potions. I was just saving them so that I could give them to you when you needed them. Don’t worry about thanking me, I did it all because of our great friendship. In fact, I would like to remind you again that I will always have your best interests in my large half-orcish heart, and I will do my best to protect you from this cruel world.” The muscular man made another one of his deep bows when he finished his monologue, and his top knot touched the stone at his feet.
I stared at the man, and I had no idea what to say. It seemed like the instant I started to actually like him, he did something that made me regret my emotions. As soon as I started to hate him, he did something to impress me. Who the fuck was this guy? It was obvious from the few times I’d seen him fight that he was more than a little skilled with his blades, but he was trying to come off as if he was only good at opening locks. Part of me didn’t want to ever have anything to do with him, but another part of me realized that he’d probably been one of the most useful members of the party.
“At the very least, I would like to honor our friendship by giving you a new healing potion,” he said with a grin that was both charming and annoying.
“Or… two healing potions?” he asked after I didn’t say anything for a few moments.
“Three?” he grimaced.
“Fine,” I finally said with a laugh.
“You’re fucking crazy, but I’m still glad you are on my side.”
“I’m glad we are friends as well Leo, and I’m hoping our friendship lasts for all of eternity.” The man matched my laugh, and walked down the stairs to help Bylem and Wicum to their feet.
Chapter 18
“Leo, can you look at the shield first?” Mirea asked. “That might be my pick if it is better than what I currently have.”
“I’m guessing it will be. Yours is magical, but the Mind sage said it only augments Brawn slightly,” Wicum said. It had been a few minutes since we defeated the queen, and the Breath of Life enchantment had run its course. His health bar was back to full, and the man seemed exuberant about our victory.
“Mirea and Leo get their pick next, and then it goes back around?” Bylem asked. The fenia’s health bar was at 90%, and there were some burnt patches of fur on his arms, but I’d be able to use my healing ability on him in a few more minutes. He said the pain wasn’t really much of a bother, and he’d be fine to look at the loot with us.
“It will start back with me again,” Wicum said as he eyed the longsword on the ground. The weapon was of the same type that the auburn warrior was already using, and I guessed that he was hoping that I wouldn’t select it.
“Grr. I see,” Bylem said, and while the fenia didn’t sound unhappy, I realized that the loot system they were using did leave a lot to be desired. Wicum and Mirea had probably formed this group together, so I could understand why they wanted the rules to favor them with choices, but there were only five items to loot, and it was unknown yet if they were magical. It could be possible that both the siblings would get two powerful items out of this exploration, and the rest of us would get only one. Wicum performed during the adventure, but his contribution had been far less than his sister, Bylem, Cornalic, and my own.
I guessed that they would use the same rules during their next exploration, and the siblings would expect the first pick of the loot. It could mean that they’d end up with exponentially more treasure over a longer period of time when compared to me, and I began to wonder if there was a way I could get them to change their method.
Or form my own group. It seemed as if healers were in demand, and there might be a possibility that this dungeon dive would give me enough fame to lead an exploration under my own control.
But perhaps I was being ungrateful. The siblings had accepted me into their party without knowing how useful I would be. They had given me a chance, and sure, I’d kept them alive during the battle, but maybe it wasn’t right for me to demand that they change the way their group runs because I wanted more treasure.
“Here,” the courageous warrior woman said as she handed me the king’s shield. I took the hunk of metal from her and twisted it in my hands so that my UI popped up. The item was labeled with blue lettering, and I read off the description to the party.
“Shield of the Iron King
Block rate: 20% above standard - Metal shield
Damage: 20% above standard - Metal shield
Armor Rating - 10
Durability - Magical
Br+2
Qu+2
In—
Wi—
Pe—
Ch—
Co—
Lu—
Blocking an attack raises the armor rating of the user by one point. Effect lasts for thirty seconds and can be stacked up to ten times.”
“What is armor rating?” Mirea asked.
“It is a measure of how much an armor will protect you.” I thought back to the suit of purple lettered dwarven plate I had found in the old dwarven city. “I’ve seen plate armor that was rated twenty. So if this will give you ten more points with its magic, I’d figure it is really good,” I said.
“How do you know what the exact numbers are? Only the most expensive sages are able to tell that stuff. The reasonably priced people can usually only tell if something helps an attribute a little, or a bit, or some, or a bunch. They are very vague,” Mirea asked.
“I just know,” I said with a shrug. Do you know your own attribute points?” I asked her.
“Yes, but we have to visit an attribute accessor. Their fees are very modest, only a gold or two, but it is much more expensive to get it done for an item. What you are doing for us is worth a few—”
“It’s really useful,” Wicum interrupted his sister. “Are you sure that is what the shield is?” he asked me as his eyes narrowed.
“Yes. I am sure,” I said.
“This will be my pick then.” The woman’s green eyes glittered, and she bit her upper lip as I handed the shield to her.
“Can you look at the sword?” Wicum asked.
“I believe it is Leo’s pick next,” Bylem said.
“Aye, but he’ll need to look at the sword anyways,” the swordsman snapped at the fenia, and the cat-man shrugged.
“I’ll look at it,” I said as I picked the weapon up. It had a great balance, and its lettering was colored blue, just as the shield was.
“Longsword of the Iron King
Damage: 20% above standard - longsword
Durability- Magical
Br+2
Qu+2
In—
Wi—
Pe—
Ch—
Co—
Lu—
Damaging a target raises the armor rating of the user by one point. Effect lasts for thirty seconds and can be stacked up to ten times.”
“Same as the shield,” Mirea said. “That would be really useful for me, since I’m the one taking most of the hits.”
“Let me see it,” Wicum asked as he grabbed the sword from my hand. He stepped away from the group a bit, performed a few practice swings with one arm, and then made a few testing thrusts with both of his hands on the grip of the weapon. “I’m going to take it,” the swordsman said after his fifth practice swing.
“Dearest friend, I believe it is Leo’s turn next,” Cornalic said with a nod.
“Oh. I know,” Wicum turned to look at me and his jaw hardened a bit. “What are you going to pick?” the man asked, and I noticed his grip tighten a bit on the handle of the longsword.
“Let me look at the crown and staff,” I said as I turned to the spot on top of the stairs where the queen’s bones lay. Wicum’s behavior was pissing me off, but my end goal was getting one of the fifteen relics, and I doubted that Baron Yinnia was going to care about a blue colored longsword.
The group followed me up the steps, and I picked up the crown from the pile of bones. The metalwork on the silver piece of jewelry was exquisite, and I saw that the topmost fold by the peaks of the crown was etched with skulls. The lettering of the piece was in purple, and the richness of the color drew my eyes.
“Crown of Queen Dorni
Armor Rating - 4
Durability - Magical
Br—
Qu—
In—
Wi—
Pe—
Ch+4
Co+4
Lu+2
Wearer of this crown experiences half the usual mana fatigue from Shadow abilities. Cool downs or other similar delays to re-use abilities are also cut in half.”
“Grrrr, that is amazing,” Bylem gasped. “I’ve never heard of an item that powerful. I almost can’t believe it.”
“How much do you think it would sell for?” I asked the fenia.
“Sell for? Why would you sell that? It’s—”
“I would guess a hundred thousand gold pieces. Perhaps more to the correct buyer, dearest friend,” Cornalic said.
“Yeah, but don’t sell it. By the Light! I don’t even have any Shadow abilities, but I’ll learn them so I can wear that,” Bylem let out a laugh. “I’m joking. A bit. It is a wonderful item, Leo.”
“Perhaps you all can help me with something,” I said to the group as I looked down again at the crown. “Do you know who Baron Yinnia is?”
“Yes, he’s one of the wealthy noblemen who often buys ite
ms from adventurers,” Wicum said. The man had relaxed his shoulders a bit, and I guessed that he was thinking I was going to take the crown.
“I believe that he has a relic. It is something that I am looking for. I want to be able to trade him for it. Do you think this crown is something that the art collector types in the city would want?”
“Yes, I think you’ll get every noble house in the city offering to buy it from you,” Mirea said.
“I agree,” Bylem said. “Grrr, but don’t sell it to the rich folk.”
“Dearest Leo, what is this relic you want from Baron Yinnia?” Cornalic asked.
“I’m not sure. I’m hoping that he’ll let me look through his collection; then I can find it and trade him something for it.”
“It will just sit on display in a glass case somewhere. Grrr. It breaks my heart,” Bylem groaned.
“You don’t even use Shadow abilities,” Mirea laughed.
“I know! Just the thought of it not being used makes me want to cry though.” The fenia sighed and patted his chest with his paw. “Maybe you should look at the staff before you make a decision?”
“Good idea,” I said as I set the crown down on the floor. I lifted the black bone staff and marveled at the detail of the shaft. It really did look as if someone had carved links of bone out of onyx to form the macabre weapon. The three globes on the top of the thing were about the size of wine glass bells, and they pulsed a soft purple light when I held onto the cold material of the staff. The name of this staff was purple also, and I read what popped up on my UI to my companions.
“The Darkest Death
Damage: 50% above standard - staff
Lion's Quest: Dual Wield: A LitRPG Saga Page 25
