“I’d have done it, Alex, but only because you seemed to have a plan,” Lug said.
“The other part, and don’t get mad at me here, but Lug is scarier than you.”
“What? No he isn’t!”
“Sorry, man, but he is. Don’t get me wrong, you are plenty scary, but Ogre-scary is way worse than Barbarian-scary.”
“It’s true, hon,” Jenny said while patting Wayne on the forearm. “He’s got ya beat.”
“Don’t get upset, Naugha. You still have way better gear than me!”
Wayne walked off pouting and muttering, “I am too Ogre-scary.”
*
Before I looted the boxes, I went over to the desk and placed my hands on the papers. A message appeared asking me if I want to take the contents on the desk. I hit accept and all of the documents were sent to my inventory. I then opened each drawer of the desk and removed any item that was in there. Lastly, I searched the desk for any secret compartments. I was slow and meticulous, but my search paid off and I found a false bottom in one of the drawers. Inside was a journal of sorts, and I pocketed that too.
While I was searching the desk, I kept one eye on the Captain. His crestfallen look when I pocketed the journal told me I had found the one item he wished to keep hidden.
I then approached the boxes that were lining the walls. I was about to activate my Force Multiplier ring when I remembered what happened at the door. Better to be safe, then sorry, I had everyone exit the room and had Dan put an arrow into each box. The Captain insisted the boxes weren’t warded, which they weren’t, but I felt better about taking the precaution.
I quadrupled my stats with the power of my ring and went to the first box. Whatever loot was in there, I hoped, would be the best possible with my ring activated. I didn’t know if the trigger was the opening of the boxes or the opening of the locked door, but I didn’t want to rush things through before we had entered the unknown room.
“Where did all of this come from?” I asked the Captain.
“These are the items we stole from the caravans heading to the front or from travelers using the main road. I was to deliver them to the Children of Loust next week.”
“You can explain all of that to the King’s men when you see them. I still can’t believe that you were working for the enemy.”
“The King is fighting a lost cause. My men and I planned to be on the winning side when this was all over and reap the benefits for the part we played.”
“You know, I don’t really feel all that bad about what the King might do to you now.”
The three boxes held three items each, and they were all spectacular. More importantly, we had the classes here to distribute all of the pieces.
“Alright, guys, I’m going to start linking all of the items. Start thinking about what you want. Some of these are certain class or race only, so that will be a deciding factor.”
There were a few side discussions happening that I was not aware of; however, the matter came to my attention when Wayne sent me a private message.
“I talked with the guys, and Jenny talked with her group, and everyone wants all the folks from Tyke’s group to get an item.”
I continued to link all the items, and nodded at Jenny and Wayne. I knew they would share that I was ok with that with the rest. Normally I might have balked at the idea, but the only really amazing item up for grabs was going to go to Jason no matter what, so I was ok making Tyke and company a permanent ally through the gift of loot.
After the loot was tallied and distributed, with us making sure everyone in Tyke’s group got a piece, I looked around at the players showing off their new wares. From Jenny’s group, Kaitlin got a ring that was Ranger or Druid only and allowed the player to summon food. It turned out that food could be used as the nourishment for their pets, and Dan wasn’t about to take anything that Kaitlin could use.
Jenny got a new bracer and Gary got some new shoes, that were upgrades, and added to their stats, but nothing that was going to tip the scales by themselves in a battle.
I ended up winning the roll on a bag that would reduce the weight of items by 75 percent and could hold ten items, beating out Dan, Tim, and Wayne. Jason was going to roll as well, since I hadn’t linked his armor piece yet wanting it to be as dramatic as before, but I shook my head and he stopped.
Tyke and his group all got solid upgrades. They had beaten the Trolls, so they had some good gear, but they hadn’t had the same history as us for finding other avenues of acquiring loot.
Tyke ended up with a pair of Shaman only pants that increased the damage of his offensive spells by 50 percent, while adding to his Constitution and Wisdom. Tammer acquired an Enchanter only robe that increased the length of his Bedazzle spell. I almost argued that Tim should get to roll on this item, but Tim knew where I was going and stopped me from saying anything with a shake of his head.
Syphon was in love with the new Amulet he received as it increased his hit points dramatically from a boost in Constitution and increase of 100 hit points. It also didn’t hurt that it was a Death Caster only Amulet that increased the amount of hit points his Life Steal spell could take by an additional 20 percent.
But the happiest of all was Lug. You’ve seen nothing until you’ve seen a giant Ogre dance around, waving a huge broad sword over his head and whooping the whole time. The blade was very impressive, doubling the amount of damage that Lug could dish out and proc’ing a debuff—the opposite of a buff, where the player gets an advantage—that stripped the mob of 30 Strength. Between the debuff and the extra damage Lug would have a lot less reason to worry about losing aggro to his teammates.
The other cool thing with the sword was that it was a two-handed blade for humans or smaller, but a one-handed blade for the giant races. Lug was now anxious to find a shield.
But, in the end, the real winner for loot was Jason. And everyone saw why as I looted the next item in his Legendary set.
“Hot damn, Allister! How many more pieces make the set?”
“I’ve got no idea, Naugha. In other games that I’ve played a set would require you to have the helmet, shoulders, chest, legs, boots, and it was optional if you needed arms or gloves, but always one of them.”
Wayne was nodding his head and smiling joyfully. A 20 percent increase to a Holy Spell, which was all of Jason’s healing spells, meant that Jason would be saving even more mana. “I can’t wait to take some damage so I can see how your heals are now.”
“I can arrange that for you, Wayne.”
“Screw you, Alex. I’ll let natural selection work its magic instead of one of your sadistic experiments.”
“Wayne never lets me have any fun. Great job, everyone. Let’s head back to the Keep.”
We all activated our teleportation stones and arrived back at the main city. Where normally quests were completed at the central square, the stones placed us closer to the castle, and near a set of barracks. As soon as we arrived, two uniformed soldiers approached.
“Welcome back and fair journey. I see that you have succeeded at capturing the traitor. Excellent work. Take this token to Sir Arthur, and you will receive your rewards. The Kingdom is forever in your debt.”
“Before you take this man away,” I said as I exchanged the token for the prisoner, “I must tell you he was cooperative in providing a number of documents that will likely make uncovering this plot easier. I made a bargain that if he cooperated, I would inform you of his efforts and relay his wishes.”
“And what is it this filth wants?”
“Take the documents and the journal I found, and he will answer all of your questions about what they mean. In return, he asks only for a swift death.”
At that moment, a senior guard dressed in all black approached. The two regular guards backed away a bit, a tad afraid of the newcomer. “Show me this journal.”
I looked to the guards that had given me the token, and they nodded that I should comply.
The new arrival searched thro
ugh the journal and looked at the Captain. “You will decipher all of this and answer all of my questions?”
The Captain dropped his head but said that he would.
“Excellent. Then you shall get your wish. Come with me.”
And with that, the Captain was out of our hands, and only one stop remained before we collected our quest rewards.
“That was the head Inquisitor. If anyone can see to it that the traitor doesn’t suffer, it’s him.”
We took our leave of the guards and made our way to Sir Arthur. Dan was shaking his head as we left the area. “That dude is going to get a wet willy so bad.”
“Do I even want to ask what you’re talking about, Dan?”
“Wet willies, Alex. They are, hands down, the worst. Beat me. Jab hot needles under my fingernails. Play elevator music on an endless loop. I can take ‘em all!” Dan said with his hands raised. He then turned to us with a very serious look on his face. “But wet willies, man. Forget it. That’s the ultimate torture. Slimy little finger wiggling around in your most sensitive canals… I’d sell out. I’m not proud of it, but a man needs to know his limitations.”
“You aren’t right, Dan. You know that, right?”
“And that is my cross to bear, Allitater.”
Turning in the token got each of us 5 Platinum pieces and half a level of experience. Tyke approached and handed me 4 Platinum and 40 Gold to pay back his loan. I didn’t even need to look over to know that Wayne was eyeballing me.
“I’ll take the 4 Platinum, but you keep the Gold. It’s only been one day, so it isn’t like there was any time for interest to even accrue.”
Tyke shook my hand and said, “I won’t argue with that. This is the most money we’ve ever seen. And the new gear we got is amazing. Any time you guys need another party, you know to call us!”
After saying their goodbyes, Tyke and his group were talking with the people around the square and showing off their new gear. It was all very exciting for them, and I wished them the best of luck now that everyone was seeing what they had. It would mean lots and lots of messages asking how to get exactly the same stuff. Soon Tyke would have to filter messages just like I did. I had to remember to ask him how long it took before he put them in place next time we talked.
Before logging out, I told the guys I was going to see if we could get the next story quest, just for shits and giggles. As we expected, though, Sir Arthur wasn’t having it.
“I see that you have indeed answered the call for His Majesty on numerous occasion, and the latest has brought with it valuable information. The King will need brave souls such as yourselves to take action on those uncovered as supporters of our enemy.
“However, the King has not uncovered just who that is. Yet. Return when His Majesty has learned the identity and nature of these usurpers, and your services will certainly be accepted.”
“You think more time or more levels?” Jason asked.
“Always more levels, Allicorn.”
“So I guess it’s time for us to start grinding again.”
“For now, let’s call it a night and get some rest. Grinding will have to wait, anyway. Tomorrow we hit the swamps.”
Chapter 15
November 10th, 2043
There was an air of excitement as we stood around the square and got ready to head out for another of Lady Tessa’s quests. Upon logging in, we had all received a set of messages from the guys in Tyke’s group. They thanked us again for the awesome raid and the opportunities to improve their gear so significantly. With the money they received from Sir Arthur, they were all able to upgrade their armor to much of the same stuff that we were wearing.
Tyke privately told me that he was saddened that his group hadn’t received one of the coveted titles that added base increases to their Stats and Resistances. Silently, I was a little disappointed by this, as well. In large part, this is what separated our group from many of the others of a similar level. With those bonuses, our Stats and Resistances were high enough to make a difference on the field of battle. On top of all of that, though, was knowing that before the stupid AltCon PVP tournament, our team was the only one with titles. Another reason to hate those guys.
Before logging off the night before, I tasked Dan with going over the map we had so far and coming up with a route we could take, keeping us away from most of the mobs. I was always game to gain experience, but I wanted us to focus on figuring out the route to the next Monastery.
“We’ve mapped out a significantly large portion of the swamp so far, Alex, but nothing has led me to believe that there is anything out there like the old mill we found before. I’m just not seeing how that’s possible.”
“What makes you say that, Dan?”
“When we traveled north, we had a number of side roads that we were able to take. Most of them didn’t lead to anywhere, but they were definitely there. Now we have gone through a lot of that swamp without heading off the main road to explore, I’ve noted something interesting.
“In all of our exploration we haven’t seen anything that would suggest that we crossed a pathway. It’s just been swamp, bog, and marsh. That leads me to believe that there must be some other means for finding this Monastery. Is there anything in the sketch that helps?”
I pulled the journal out of my bag and examined the sketch again. It was extremely vague in its details. “I’m not seeing anything that could help. I’m betting the Lancasters already had some knowledge, or there was more to the instructions that Constantine received from The King. Either way, it’s not pointing to anything more.”
“Well, I see two options in front of us, then. The first, we jump on our horses and ride to the front. If we see a road that branches south into the swamp, we take it. The second, we do much of what we are already doing and just keep trying to map out the swamp.”
I didn’t tell the guys that there was a very real third option. I could have the Wanderer update my map with exactly where the Monastery is. At this point, it was tempting. But I had told the Wanderer that part of what would help me figure out the code was figuring out the rest of the game as well.
Internally I vowed to go to the Wanderer if, after a couple of days, we still hadn’t found the location.
“We aren’t going to figure out anything standing around here. Might as well make our way toward the swamps. Maybe once we get on the road something will jar loose.”
My feelings on the subject were in line with Wayne’s. Standing around the square wasn’t going to do us any good.
It didn’t take us long to get past Treeswain’s camp, over the bridge, and along the road that bordered the swamp to its north. We had already traveled within the swamp a great distance south of the road. While we hadn’t reached the “end” of the swamp heading south, we held little belief that the Monastery of Might was in that direction. Partly, we were basing this on past experience. The other part was no one believed the Monastery would be so close and that we would have to travel as far or farther than we had to find the Monastery of Calm.
We were racking our brains when we saw a caravan approaching from the opposite direction. As soon as it was close enough to see the head driver of the caravan, I recognized our prior acquaintance, Pike. Probably thinking we were bandits, Pike yelled out for the guards.
“Woah! Slow down there, Pike! It’s Alex.”
“My apologies, Alex. Guards, never mind!”
I looked past Pike and didn’t see any guards running our way to begin with. I was guessing Pike had called out for these guards more times than he should have, with no result.
“You fellas heading for the front?”
“Not to the front, but heading in that direction, yeah. I’ve got a question you might be able to help me with, in fact.”
“Ask away, Alex. This caravan is in your debt.”
“Excellent, and thank you. I was wondering if you knew of any villages that one can get to from off the road? Before hitting the front, of course.”
&nbs
p; “Village? No. But there is an old sawmill north of the road that is still in operation. Perhaps that is what you are looking for?”
I knew that sawmill well, but that wasn’t what we needed. Although it did make me think we could be on the right track, since it was something like the sawmill we wanted. Something that could help us to track down the Monastery.
“Hmmm, maybe. How about south of the road?”
“In the swamp?”
I nodded my head at the caravan leader.
“There isn’t anything in that swamp but death and snakes. Definitely no villages.”
“Well, there is the Witch.”
While the caravan was stopped, but long after Pike called for the guards, a few of the soldiers had meandered up and were listening to my interaction with the driver. It was one of the guards who responded.
“There isn’t any Witch, Kris. That’s a story everyone tells to get the children to behave, and you know it.”
The guard, Kris, said, “Ain’t true, Pike. My Pa saw the Witch!” Turning toward my group, he began, “See, he was out in the swamp looking—”
“Everyone has heard the story of your Pa and the Witch. We don’t need to hear it again.”
“Well these folks haven’t, now have ya?”
“That is true, Pike. My friends and I have not heard this story, and we are interested. Please continue, Kris.”
“Thank ya kindly, Alex,” the guard said, giving Pike a slightly dirty look and launching into his tale.
“So my Pa was out in the swamp, looking for some snake. Pa was a healer and an alchemist, and one of the kids from our town got bit. If they had found the snake in town, Pa could have used his magic to make an antidote from the venom, but without it, Pa had to go to the swamp and hunt one down.”
“He went by himself?”
“I went with him along the main road, but he wouldn’t let me go into the swamp. Said with his magics he would be fine, but he couldn’t protect me as well.
“Now where was I? Right, I remember. Pa’s in the swamp. So he is searching for one of these snakes, and he hears a terrifying shriek. Sounded like something—or someone—getting killed, so he said. And if there was a predator in the area, he wanted to make sure he knew what it was and whether to avoid it. Pa wasn’t much for fighting, but a little animal he could handle.
Restoration: The Rise of Resurgence: Book II Page 32
