Chaos Unchained- The Mad Smith

by Brock Deskins

  The troll lunged at him, and he darted away once again, narrowly avoiding the slashing claws. When he checked his condition, he saw that his stamina continued to deplete. He did not even have enough left to launch a power attack. Jandar knew he could not avoid the troll forever, and it was not going to give him a chance to retaliate.

  Another idea came to mind and he began pulling the remaining torches out of his player inventory. Needing all the mana he had left, he sidled around the chamber toward the torch flickering on the ground and used it to light the others. The additional fire enraged the troll and it lunged at him, slashing wildly.

  Jandar hurled a torch at it and burned a patch of its warty hide. The troll bellowed in pain and outrage, slapping at the fresh injury. It chased after the human as he retreated, but the vile flame wielder threw another of the hated fire sticks at it. The troll tried to knock the torch away and took the burn on its arm. Jandar continued to back away and flung torches every time the monster rushed toward him.

  Small flames dotted the chamber floor, illuminating the cavern and creating hazards for anyone not wearing boots and were susceptible to fire. After he cast his last torch, Jandar maneuvered the troll so that a couple of flames flickered behind the beast. He channeled mana into his hammer and swiped the flaming weapon back and forth ahead of him.

  As he had hoped, the troll stumbled back to avoid it and stepped on one of the burning torches. The creature howled in pain, leapt off the brand, and looked at its blistered foot in surprise. It was the opening Jandar had been praying for. He rushed in and channeled the last of his mana into the hammer to trigger its secondary effect.

  You hit troll with flaming crude war hammer for 22 damage: 11 physical + 11 fire damage.

  Troll is on fire. Troll takes 5 fire damage per second for 5 seconds.

  The troll shrieked and slapped at the patch of burning flesh as it danced around the chamber, but the flames continued to spread across its oily hide. Jandar trudged almost drunkenly to where the other troll was trying to stand up and struck it in the back of its head before it could rise. The burning creature ceased its flailing and fell to the floor mewling until it too lay silent.

  You have killed troll. You receive 4594 total experience points for killing troll. (+ 75% difficulty bonus + 75% pain level bonus + 20% racial bonus)

  You have killed troll. You receive 4594 total experience points for killing troll. (Difficulty, pain, and racial bonuses applied)

  For using your brain as well as your brawn, your Mind and Strength has increased by 1.

  For showing you can take a lickin’ and keep on tickin,’ your Body has increased by 1.

  Fleet footed. Due to your continuous evasion, your agility has increased by 1.

  Better lucky than good. Fortune smiled on you during your battle and saw you to victory. You didn’t think it was all you did you? Your luck has increased by 2.

  Your Arcane Channeling has increased to Level 4 Grade 4.

  Your Bludgeoning, 1-Handed skill has increased to Level 7 Grade 0.

  Congratulations, you have reached level 6. Your strength has increased by 1. You receive 1 attribute point and 1 skill point.

  Congratulations, you have reached level 7. Your Strength and Mind has increased by 1. You receive 2 attribute points and 2 skill points.

  You have learned the skill Throw Weapon.

  Throw Weapon: Level 0 Grade 1. Hurl your weapon at a foe up to your Strength attribute plus skill in feet away. Chance to hit your target is based on your Agility attribute and skill. Range: 18 feet. Rank: Initiate.

  You have learned the skill Dual Wield.

  Dual Wield: Level 0 Grade 1. Become a dervish of death by equipping a weapon in each hand. Increases rate of attack based on your dual wield skill and Agility. Decreases damage and chance to hit with off-hand by 20% and main hand by 10%. (Modified by dual wield skill. Higher skill can negate the penalty.) Dual wield has its own skill tree. Increase your dual wield skill to unlock special attacks. Rank: Initiate.

  Jandar slumped against the cavern wall, too exhausted and pained to do anything other than read the prompts. He wasn’t sure where to spend his attribute points. It was much simpler when his activities, and perhaps Matrice, decided how his body improved.

  He needed 15 points in mind to unlock new magical abilities, but he also had to reach level 10 in Arcane Channeling. To do that he had to survive, so he put all three points into Body. He also did not want to continue taking beatings to raise the skill naturally.

  Between his gaining two levels and adding a total of four points to Body, his maximum health soared to 119. He figured that alone nearly doubled his chances of survival. After this, he could focus more on Mind and his magical abilities. It was clear the burning effect from his secondary magic skill had been a decisive component in winning the battle. That and pure dumb luck.

  Had he not tarped the one troll and set it on fire he would be half-digested by now. Jandar shuddered at how close he come to such a fate. He would get new skills once he reached skill level 10 in bludgeoning. Putting all three points there would be enough to reach it, but he could earn that with just a few battles. Hopefully, easier ones than this had been. He doubted his luck was good enough to survive a second fight with foes this powerful.

  Since most all of his other skills were still quite low and would raise quickly on their own that was what he did. His new skill was…interesting, but he did not see himself flinging hammers at his foes very often. It was definitely a situational ability.

  A message alert flashed and he opened it.

  Congratulations, for reaching level 10 in Bludgeoning, 1-Handed, you are now a novice and get an additional +10% attack when wielding 1-handed bludgeoning weapons.

  He gaped at the text. With his hammer specialization, the damage he inflicted with hammers had increased to a whopping fifty-five percent. He must have missed that bit of information when he was going through the skill and level descriptions.

  Jandar sat against the wall unmoving for twenty minutes before he felt well enough to move. He retrieved his smith’s hammer and the torches, extinguishing all but one and placing them back into his inventory. A prompt appeared as he knelt next to one of the hideous, reeking trolls.

  You find troll blood x2. Choose a suitable vessel to collect troll blood.

  You found troll teeth x12.

  He did not know what possible good the blood would do anyone, but he assumed it had some value if it warranted a loot prompt. Jandar opened his inventory and found a jar with a sealable, locking lid that had contained the milled oats he had cooked. The jar was now labeled as Jar of Troll Blood x2.

  He stood and began walking toward the only exit out of the chamber, other than the one he had entered from, but he thought about the loot prompt and turned around. He had seen human skulls and bones in the other chamber. Since trolls probably did not eat inedible things, their victims’ belongings might be nearby.

  His twenty-minute dash was an hour-long walk back, which meant he had just added two more hours to his journey. He hoped it was worth it. Jandar found a few coins and other bits of mostly trash in the bone-strewn chamber but nothing of real value. He entered one of the tunnels and found that it ended in a deep alcove.

  All he found there was a pile of furs and a few shiny baubles like a brass hand lamp without oil, a copper chalice, a gold locket, silver bracelet, a polished silver hand mirror, three tin cups, and a cast iron skillet . He was just about to leave when he decide to turn over the filthy furs. Hidden in a small depression, he found a pouch containing a handful of gold, silver, and copper coins and a few uncut gems and gold nuggets.

  “Things are looking up,” Jandar said to himself as he gazed down at his find.

  He left the chamber and explored the other passageway. It too was an alcove and slightly larger than the other one. Here was where the trolls piled everything that wasn’t a shiny bauble or edible. From the looks of some of the leather equipment, there was some trial and error
to determine the latter.

  Along with several pieces of leather gear like backpacks, jerkins, vests, and trousers, Jandar found a thigh-length chainmail hauberk. A sword and buckler lay beneath the pile as well, all likely having belonged to the same victim. He picked up the hauberk and examined it.

  Iron chain hauberk: Common. Quality: Average. Armor rating: 8 Durability: 9/25.

  The hauberk had seen better days, but it was still functional. Dried blood covered a good portion of it, particularly around the areas with broken links. While not an experienced armor smith, Jandar was certain he could repair it given the right material and access to a proper smithy.

  The sword was rusting but serviceable. The shield had not fared as well during the battle that had claimed the man’s life. Still, he could probably repair it once in Crag Cross.

  He found several daggers and a couple of shortswords in the pile he could clean up and sell. Most of the leather items had succumbed to the damp air with the exception of a heavy pair of leather leggings, a leather cuirass, and a padded leather helm.

  Leather Cuirass: Common. Quality: Average. Armor rating: 5. Durability: 10/16.

  Leather Helm: Common. Quality: Average. Armor rating: 4.

  Durability: 7/12.

  Leather Leggings: Common. Quality: Average. Armor rating: 3. Durability: 10/16.

  Jandar removed his rent leather apron. The leather was still good, and he could use it as materials to repair the helm, cuirass, and leggings. Or someone could. He had even less experience repairing leather than he did metal armor. Everything else was trash, so he left it where it lay and headed back in the direction of his final battle with the trolls.

  It took another two hours before he reached an intersection with some markers. A troll face pointed back the way he had come, and the other two had numbers. The larger of the two was also marked with CC. Jandar headed down the tunnel, praying he was close to finding his way out. Although not claustrophobic, being surrounded by stone and stale air was beginning to wear on him.

  He passed through one more intersection before finding himself standing beneath a cloudy, late afternoon sky and drizzling rain. It was getting dark, and since he had used his tent to set the troll on fire, he would have to stay the night inside the cave entrance. As much as he longed to leave the caverns, he disliked the idea of traveling in the rain in the dead of night.

  Jandar gathered some wood the rain had not yet soaked and managed to get a fire going. He did not have anything to cook, so he gnawed on some hardtack and dried meat. The sun was just about down when he heard a crack that did not come from his fire.

  He grabbed the battered shield he had set aside, leapt to his feet, and brandished his hammer. Two men holding crossbows walked out of the nearby trees, but they kept their weapons pointed toward the ground.

  “Ho there, friend,” one of the men called out a few yards away. “We’re not here to cause you no trouble. Mind sharing your fire? Got a bit damp on the way here.”

  “Not particularly,” Jandar growled.

  The man lost his smile and glanced at his friend. “You know, there’s more than a few folks who consider that tunnel private property. Now I ain’t gonna raise a fuss about it. I just think you ought to know that being unfriendly when you’re trespassing is bad manners.” He leaned to the side to see past Jandar. “I don’t see no cooking utensils on that fire. You eatin’ cold tonight?”

  Jandar ducked his head in reply.

  “Tell you what,” the man continued, “you share your fire and we’ll share our meat. It’s good stuff. How’s that sound?”

  Jandar wanted to refuse, but his stomach growled, demanding better sustenance than hardtack after having battled two creatures that should have killed him five times over.

  “All right.” He lowered his shield and hammer, and the two men began walking toward him, keeping their crossbows pointed to the side. “Just so you know, I killed the last two men and a couple of others just yesterday who called me friend and showed they were anything but.”

  “Fair enough,” the talkative man said. “I’m Conwold and this is Owulf.”

  “Jan—sen,” Jandar replied, cutting himself off at the last second.

  The two sat down near the fire and set their crossbows aside but within reach. The quiet one unshouldered a bag and brought out something wrapped in rough paper. He opened it up and revealed several slices of seasoned meat.

  “You got a pan or grill?” Conwold asked. “If not, I’ll cut us some skewers.”

  Jandar pulled out the iron skillet from his player inventory, but it appeared to come out of his rucksack. He set it atop a couple of rocks to hold it just above the low flames. Owulf dropped a dollop of lard into the skillet along with some onions and mushrooms. The meat began to sizzle and let off a wonderful aroma.

  Conwold looked at him from across the fire once the meat started cooking. “You from around these parts?”

  Jandar wagged his head. “Middale.”

  The smuggler’s eyes widened. “Middale? You come through the caves or just happen by and got out of the rain?”

  “Through the caves.”

  Conwold narrowed his eyes and studied Jandar more closely. “Owulf and I know most folks who use the Underpass on account of us all being in similar lines of work. I don’t recognize you.”

  “My first time through. What kind of work do you do?”

  “We’re…entrepreneurs of a sort.”

  “What sort would that be?”

  A wry grin tugged at the corner of Conwold’s mouth. “The kind that don’t always want to deal with border guards and nosy Templars.”

  Jandar held the man’s gaze, stone-faced. “Thieves?”

  The two men grew serious and Conwold said, “We don’t know each other, so I won’t take offense—this time. No, not thieves, though our line of work has us cross paths from time to time. Sometimes in business, sometimes not, hence the crossbows. You might say we’re in the import export business. Free traders.”

  “Smugglers?”

  “That’s the common if ignoble name some use. You have an issue with smugglers?”

  Jandar shook his head. “Nope. Haven’t seen enough of good folks’ taxes comeback to Whitbell for me to care if the king collects his due or not.”

  Conwold watched the big man draw his hand away from the hammer next to him and ease his posture. “Thieves the ones who called you friend and turned on you?”

  “Most of them.”

  “Well, you can relax. Even if Owulf and I were that sort, there’s a law of conduct regarding the Underpass. Keeps one group from taking control and extorting others who need it. So you came through the caves and it was your first time? How’d you manage that?”

  “Got lucky I guess.”

  “Yeah you did. Code of conduct or not, caves can be a dangerous place. In fact, there’s a couple of trolls that took up residence in one section. You’re damn lucky indeed for not running across them.”

  “I guess so. If they’re so dangerous, why are you two going through?”

  “The trolls usually stay near the territory they’ve claimed as theirs, but not always. Most of us have been risking the border patrols, but something’s gotten everyone’s knickers in a twist and they’ve locked the borders up tighter than a Caprian’s purse. No one goes in or out of Truale. I saw a fellow demand passage into Capria and ignored the soldiers’ demands to turn around. They filled him with arrows before he got within fifty yards. Wouldn’t even go get his body. Made some other folks looking to pass drag it off with them when they turned them away.”

  “Any idea why?” Jandar asked.

  “Word is there’s some kind of plague in Truale, so they’ve effectively quarantined the whole kingdom. Not sure how they’ll manage it. Magic I guess. You see any sickness in, where’d you say you come from, Whitbell?”

  “Y—no, Middale. No, I haven’t seen any sickness.”

  “I didn’t think so. My guess is it has to do with these eter
nity stones everyone’s so anxious about.”

  “Eternity stones?”

  “Yeah, some magic rock that’s supposed to make you immortal or some such thing. People are scrambling to find them. Anyway, now we have no choice but to use the Underpass.” Conwold gave Jandar another appraising glance. “You’re a stout-looking fellow, and that big hammer of yours has sure seen some use. Me and others would reward someone well if they took care of those trolls for us.”

  “How well?” Jandar asked.

  “As well as we could. Especially now. Not only in coin, but something even more valuable—favors. We can be real good friends to have if you find yourself in a tight situation.”

  You have been offered the quest: Troll toll. Difficulty: Easy (modified.) Success: Convince Conwold you have slain the trolls. Reward: 1200 XP, 10 gold, an item from Conwold’s supply, and the appreciation of the Crag Cross smugglers. Do you accept the quest, YES or NO?

  Jandar pretended to consider the offer then nodded. “All right.”

  “Just for full disclosure, more than a few have gone in to find them beasts, but few who did ever came back.”

  “I appreciate your honesty. I hope you’ll appreciate mine. I’ve already killed them.”

  The two smugglers looked at each other then back at Jandar.

  Conwold rubbed his stubbled chin. “I don’t want to sound like I doubt your word, but I’ve seen what them creatures can do to a man, several men at once in fact. We’ll need some kind of verification before we can pay out.”

  “Understandable.”

  Jandar brought out the jar of troll blood and leather pouch containing their teeth. Owulf took the pouch and shook several of the shark-like fangs into his hand. Conwold flipped the latch on the jar and recoiled from the putrid smell.

  “Got damn that’s foul! I don’t know what it came from, but it sure smells as bad as one of those monsters.”

  Owulf nudged him with his elbow and showed off the teeth. He then reached under his shirt and drew out a leather cord threaded through a nearly identical tooth and nodded.