World Tree Online: The Order of Epic Grinders: 4th Dive

by M. A. Carlson

  “Push everything you’ve got,” Olaf bellowed, firing, and reloading as fast as he was able.

  I couldn’t speak for anyone else, but that was exactly what I did. Leaping and landing hits as hard as I could. Striking a weak spot whenever one appeared.

  The enrage at 10% almost caught our healers off guard, but Baby was able to start dropping massively powerful healing spells on the tanks until the other four healers could catch up. It didn’t stop Baby’s heals from dropping off due to low mana, but it was enough to get through the enrage.

  The undead draghound roared one last time in defiance before its strength gave out and the beast fell to the cold stone floor.

  As soon as it dropped, the gate blocking the treasure chest opened once again.

  Olaf and the other leaders conferred for a few minutes before getting to the loot, then Olaf announced, “MVP goes to Heath Rickards and Babies Breath both. Heath’s haste effect kept most of us alive through that fight. And if it weren’t for Baby’s healing there at the end, we never would have been able to beat this boss.”

  They both earned it, not that I expected any less of them. I just hoped the voting was fair. I didn’t want anyone to think Olaf or any of the others were playing favorites.

  “Now, onto the loot,” Olaf said, moving over to the treasure chest and kicking it open. As usual, the Gold, Silver, and Copper was collected and to be paid out at the end of the Raid. “First item . . . well, this is different. We’ve got a necklace. ‘Hunter’s Gorget’. Increased Dexterity, Accuracy, and Attack Speed.”

  “I would like that,” Elara stammered out.

  “As would I,” Olaf said, making his own interest known.

  “So would I,” Hodge said.

  “Same,” Fitz added.

  “Same here,” Eagle said, raising a hand.

  The only ranged damage dealer that didn’t raise a hand was Dixie. I thought she would have been in the running for MVP on that fight as well.

  “Anyone else?” Olaf asked but didn’t get anyone raising a hand or saying anything. “Alright, let me talk it over with the other leaders.

  A few minutes later, Olaf announced the winner. “Alright folks, I know he doesn’t do the greatest damage and he’s the lowest level of us, but Eagle Eyepatch gets this one. He’s done a lot to make this raid easier on everyone and deserves his reward.

  No one could really argue with that.

  A leather jacket with a three-headed draghound embossed on the back went to Heath. It boosted Charisma and Dexterity, which were his main attributes now. It actually looked really good on him. It definitely fit with the rock’n’roller vibe he tried to portray.

  After that, a scroll with a flame breath spell went into the bank, otherwise known as Olaf’s bag, to either be sold or given to an Order member.

  After that, Quaker State got a staff that boosted general magic damage and Elara a pair of leather boots. I won’t lie, I would have liked those boots, but as Olaf pointed out, she hadn’t gotten anything yet. My inner greed demon howled in agony when I didn’t get them.

  “Last, we’ve got an Alchemy recipe. ‘Recipe: Dragon Booster Elixir’. I’m afraid that is all it tells me,” Olaf said. “Baby and Dawn are the only Alchemists with us. Baby gets priority if she wants it. Otherwise, it will go to Dawn. Baby?”

  “If I don’t take it, can I use my MVP reward on the next boss?” Baby asked.

  “Sure, but that fight’s MVP will get priority,” Olaf answered.

  “Then I’ll take it,” Baby said. With all the different healers and spellcasters, there was a risk that she wouldn’t end up with anything.

  “Then here you go,” Olaf said, holding it out for the winged child.

  Baby unfurled the scroll then quickly accessed the menu. “Oh my,” she gasped, narrowing her eyes as she read it more closely.

  “What is it?” Olaf asked.

  “Olaf, we need bones. A lot of dragon bones. As many as you can harvest for me,” Baby answered. “As to what this does. I’d rather talk to you about it in private.”

  Olaf tilted his head. “Alright, we can speak when we go back to camp tonight.”

  Baby nodded and flew back to Rose where her sister tried to browbeat her into telling her what Baby’s new elixir did.

  Eagle moved ahead up the stairs that were hidden from view by the closed gate.

  He returned maybe a minute later, with almost no HP and getting lower with each passing second. “Traps,” he gasped as he fell dead, a bleed effect finishing him off.

  “Resurrect the drama queen,” Olaf said flatly with a shake of the head.

  Eagle was up and about a few seconds later.

  “Traps?” Olaf asked.

  “Yes sir, didn’t even get up the stairs before spikes shot from the floor, wall, and ceiling. I dodged most of them, but one caught me in the side and nearly killed me,” Eagle answered. “At least it wasn’t an arrow to the knee,” he added, getting a few laughs.

  “A Raid can’t help but make itself harder the closer we get to the top,” Olaf complained. He sighed. “Alright, Fitz, it sounds like you’re up. Tanks stay with him, if anything attacks, I expect you to keep him alive.”

  Fitz grinned. “Finally, real traps. This is going to be so much fun!”

  “There is something seriously wrong with that guy,” Heath said.

  There were more than a few people giving him odd looks. Only Rose was willing to say it. “Like you have room to talk?”

  Heath gave his usual response. He shrugged.

  “Eagle and Bye-bye, I want you both just behind the tanks. I need a good working map of what’s ahead of us,” Olaf continued, ignoring Rose and Heath’s bickering. “Baby, Duncan, stay close. Everyone else, watch your step out and don’t wander off. If you die in a side tunnel, we might not be able to find you and resurrect you. Understood?” He really wasn’t looking for anyone to ask questions, instead motioning for Fitz to lead the way.

  The stairs up were made of the same black stone as were the walls of the hallway at the top of the stairs. The path went both left and right before hitting a T-junction at either end.

  “Looks like a maze,” Rose commented.

  I replied, “It probably is.”

  Rose groaned. “This is going to take forever.”

  “Hush,” Fitz said. “You don’t know if any of these traps are sound activated. So please, keep silent from here on out.”

  I wasn’t sure if Fitz was serious or not, but I wasn’t going to question him. Besides, the quiet was kind of enjoyable.

  Every few feet, Fitz would stop us and crawl on the floor, up a wall, or even on the ceiling, and jab his tools into an unseen seam in the stone followed by something clicking. The Gnome then nodded to himself and continued forward a few feet before he needed to do it all over again.

  “Fitz,” Olaf said. “Are these traps old or new? Have any of them been triggered recently?”

  “Old,” Fitz whispered back. “Very old. But triggered recently . . . no, not on this path. Was I supposed to be looking for recently triggered traps?”

  Olaf resisted the urge to snap at the Gnome. “If the undead came up this way, then it is likely that would either have tripped the traps and kept moving or they would have disarmed them, yeah?”

  “Hmm, you have a good point,” Fitz said, then complained in the same breath, “I hate backtracking.”

  Olaf just shook his head.

  Fitz took us all the way back to where we started and down the opposite path. “Hmm, yes, these have been triggered recently. It would seem we have a path to follow now.”

  It was a long and winding path, one that often looped back on itself. It gave us hope that the Lich and its forces had gotten lost down here and therefore lost at some point. Maybe they never even found their way up to the top.

  We passed through several hallways and I did my best to regularly update my map, adding notes for trap locations. I would have added what the traps did but Fitz disarmed them and mov
ed on so fast I never had the chance to ask or inspect it myself.

  Then we passed a hallway that was relatively short and ended in a dead-end. But that shouldn’t have been right. I looked at my map again. The hallway in question ended before a blank area. There were hallways all around it in a way that suggested there should have been a room or something there.

  “Fitz,” I called the Gnome back.

  “What is it? Did I miss a trap?” Fitz asked.

  “No, uh, not exactly,” I answered. “It’s about this hallway,” I said pointing to the dead-end.

  “It’s a dead-end,” Fitz said, then lowered a loupe over his right eye and let out a slow whistle. “I have never seen so many traps in one place in my life. Why in the name of all that is, would dragons put so many traps in a dead-end?”

  “That’s my question exactly,” I said, smiling as I sensed something hidden and just waiting to be explored. “Want to join me in finding out why?”

  Fitz giggled manically and nodded eagerly. “Let’s!”

  “Why are we stopped?” Olaf asked, finally coming up to the front of the line.

  “Not sure yet,” I said, pointing to the dead-end hallway.

  I immediately saw the gleam in Olaf’s eyes. “Alright but be quick about it.”

  Fitz looked at Olaf and glared.

  “Or . . . take your time,” Olaf said.

  Fitz nodded once and turned back to the hallway, a manic grin lighting up the Gnome’s face. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation and said, “This is going to be so much fun.”

  Fitz was certainly a character. I wasn’t sure if he was acting . . . insane, because he was role-playing. Or if he was actually insane. Either way, I kind of liked the little goofball.

  “So many traps,” Fitz said. “Hey, Bye-bye, you know how to disarm traps, right?”

  “I do,” I said. My ‘Trap’ skill was . . . weak, in that I hadn’t put any time or effort into it since my very first month in the game.

  Skill: Trap

  Rank: I

  Level: 6

  Experience: 2.77%

  Description: Trapping and disarming traps is a necessary skill for an adventurer or dungeon delver. Only death awaits those without such a skill.

  Skill Effect (Active): Create or disarm a trap.

  Subskills:

  Snare Trap

  Use available materials to construct a small snare with a 25% chance of catching small game at the cost of -22-SP.

  Spike Trap

  Use available materials to construct a spike trap to attack the feet and ankles to deal -8-13-HP damage and reduce victim speed by 20% at the cost of -22-SP.

  Disarm Trap

  Carefully disarm a simple trap with tools on hand at the cost of -22-SP.

  Really, really weak.

  “Hmm, anyone else?” Fitz asked.

  “Heath,” I volunteered the scoundrel.

  “Get him. Some of these traps-” Fitz trailed off. “They need to be disarmed together or within a certain timing.”

  I retrieved the lazy thief as requested and explained what was going on.

  “What happens if a trap goes off?” Heath asked.

  Fitz answered, “Hopefully, we die a quick and painless death.”

  Heath didn’t seem to like that answer. “Hopefully?”

  Fitz briefly looked up at Heath. “The alternative is that the trap destroys whatever is at the other end of this hallway that we are trying to get to. Which do you prefer?”

  Heath just sighed. “Better be worth it, mate.”

  Fitz nodded and went back to work. Disarming a trap here and there, being extremely cautious with every step he took until finally he backed out of the hallway. “Okay, I’ve disarmed all the independent traps I can get to. There are four linked traps between here and where I stopped that will require your assistance. When I tell you to act, you need to act immediately, understood?”

  Heath and I both nodded.

  “Good, Bye-bye, over here,” Fitz called me over to the wall on the left of the hallway. “This trap right here,” he said pointing to the blank wall. I saw nothing. Previously, when my ‘Trap’ skill worked, it would highlight the trap and point me to what needed to be cut to disarm the trap. Currently, I saw nothing.

  “I can’t see the trap,” I said.

  Fitz sighed. “It’s okay. Just do what I tell you. You’ll need a screwdriver.” He then proceeded to tell me exactly where to place the screwdriver, a tiny hole in the wall that I honestly hadn’t seen until he showed me it was there. He explained the screw needed to be turned three full rotations to the right then turned to the left until the trap disarmed. After that, he showed Heath to another section of the wall opposite me and gave him the same instructions. After that, he settled on the ground between us with a screwdriver in both hands, spread as far apart as he could stretch.

  “On my count,” Fitz started. “Three . . . two . . . one, twist.” He plunged both screwdrivers down into two different holes and began turning them, an action Heath and I mimicked. In just a few seconds, the wall clicked, a sound mirrored by Heath and Fitz’s traps. “See, not too bad.”

  Not bad at all. More importantly, I just gained 23 levels to Trap.

  Fitz quickly moved on, directing us to the next trap to be disarmed. One that required a certain order of disarmament.

  Olaf wasn’t happy when an hour later we had only made it halfway down the hallway. He was even less pleased when an hour after that we still had a quarter of the hall to go. With each trap we disarmed, the next trap became far more complex. By the time the last trap was disarmed, I had hit Rank IV, level 13 of ‘Trap’ and could now disarm a journeyman level trap.

  Skill: Trap

  Rank: IV

  Level: 13

  Experience: 89.11%

  Description: Trapping and disarming traps is a necessary skill for an adventurer or dungeon delver. Only death awaits those without such a skill.

  Skill Effect (Active): Create or disarm a trap.

  Subskills:

  Disarm Trap

  Carefully disarm a journeyman trap with tools on hand at the cost of -100-SP.

  It was the ultimate crash course in traps and Fitz was a master level instructor.

  “And my work is done here,” Fitz said, sagging in relief. “Back to the boring traps. Let me know if you find anything interesting.”

  From somewhere behind me I heard Olaf say, “Finally!” Personally, I was focused on the hallway. We’d disarmed all the traps. Now, I needed to find the hidden door . . . if there even was one. I really hoped disarming all the traps wasn’t a waste of time.

  The dead-end wall was blank and smooth. No writing or hidden levers that I could find. I really hoped my ‘Perception’ subskill ‘Eye for Detail’ would work here, especially after my ‘Spot Trap’ did nothing on the trapped hallway. Even using ‘Detection’ wasn’t much help.

  Spell: Detection

  Level: 44

  Experience: 5.47%

  Description: Magically enhance your senses to improve your 'Perception'

  Spell Cast Speed: Instant

  Spell Effect (Active): Augment your senses with magic to detect more than you would otherwise. Increase Chance to See +22.00%

  Mana Cost: -5-MP per second

  I moved from the back wall to the side walls, searching high and low with my eyes but finding nothing.

  Determining that this wasn’t something I could see with my eyes, I took to using my hands, running them over the wall, looking for anything. And that was when I found it. An invisible hole with an all too familiar shape. A keyhole.

  “Heath,” I called for the Thief.

  “I’m right here, mate,” Heath replied, startling me. “What did you find?”

  Calming my heart after the surprise, I asked, “I found a keyhole, think you can pick it?”

  Heath moved closer to peer at where I was pointing. “I don’t see anything.”

  It was hidden, just like the traps
. “It’s there, trust me.”

  Heath shrugged. “Well, alright. I’ll give it a shot,” he said, slipping his lockpick set from his bag and taking a knee in front of the door. “This might take a while.”

  A while was an understatement. I didn’t know how many hours we spent between the traps and the lock. I really hoped it was worth it.

  “Who in their right mind would use over a hundred tumblers in a lock?” Heath complained, stepping away from the wall, one pick still sticking out.

  “Did you get it?” I asked, eager to see what lay beyond.

  Heath grinned then gave the pick a little twist and the wall began to rumble as it slid upward.

  “Yes!” I shouted excitedly. “Way to go, Heath!”

  “Olaf, we got it,” I shouted and looked back to see . . . no one. “Where’d everyone go?”

  Heath, still facing the slowly opening door, answered, “They were going to keep clearing the path.”

  “Should we go get them?” I asked.

  Heath smirked. “Personally, I’m not going anywhere. I just need to see what’s behind the door.”

  I knew we really should have gone to get Olaf but like Heath said, I just needed to see what’s behind the door.

  Crates and chests. The room beyond the door was filled with wood crates and chests. Rotting, aged, wood. I just hoped that whatever was inside those chests and crates remained intact.

  “Do we dare look inside?” Heath asked.

  As much as I wanted to, we really should get Olaf. I shook my head. “No, we should get the others. I don’t want to be accused of-” I trailed off when I saw something shiny hanging from the wall next to the door. Five shiny somethings in fact. I moved over to look. It was exactly what I thought I saw. I took one off the wall and looked at the item’s description.