Extra Credit

by J. Arthur Klein

  I ordered a mead and took a seat near the knife throwing range, enjoying my drink and the general atmosphere while I assigned the points for my current level.

  I maxed out Dark Blessing, increasing the number of minions I could grant skills to by one. With that upgrade I could give skills to my guard or have five miners working at a time, depending on the size of the mine.

  So far, the copper and tin mines could only support a few miners at a time, but in areas of higher ore concentration it might be possible to increase my workforce.

  It would also allow me to create a support caster for my current party. A healer to keep the meat shield full while I focused on defense. And it would have its own mana pool to since I could fuel it with a soul.

  But to do that I’d have to raise Bind Minion again or get rid of Gimli or one of the amigos to free up a slot.

  The temptation to have a pocket healer was too much, so in addition to upping my seven core skills to max I raised Bind Minion to twelve to unlock that extra slot.

  I used the freebee from the grimoire a two of my remaining points to increase Vampiric Link to four, leaving three in reserve in case the Guildmaster had something nice waiting for me.

  With all of the updates I could have up to twenty-one points worth of minions under my control at any point, maintain six bound minions, and bless five of them with up to two skills from my character. I was a virtual party of one.

  I finished off my drink and paused for a second to enjoy the nice, mellow buzz from the mead as I left the inn and headed towards the graveyard.

  The honor of becoming my first caster minion went go to Leilani’s elven bones, empowered by the soul of a Gnoll Raider and my own arcane prowess to become a Skeletal Magus.

  Bind Minion added her to my permanent minions, and Dark Blessing granted her the ability to cast Mend Flesh and Bone and Dark Shield.

  I named her Healz in honor of her intended role, at least until I found a corpse capable of becoming a wight.

  Glancing at her status bar I had to laugh. My healer minion had more hit points than I did. Its mana was abysmal, but at least it would be able to cast a few healing spells before running dry and wouldn’t be stealing my mana for its initial castings.

  I summoned the rest of my ever-growing legion, cringing at the giant amount of mana required to keep them all active and then headed to the mine.

  Another night in paradise. The first Prospect upped my skill to fifteen, but from there on out it was a no XP venture.

  After that it was… well, it was a job, and except for the rare interruption by an angry earth elemental, it was just as uneventful.

  Once my “shift” was complete and I’d gotten everything that I could out of the mine, I counted up my ore and gems and logged off for the night.

  ***

  60

  I woke up early the next day, performed my morning rituals, and scarfed down my breakfast before calling April for our morning chat.

  “Hey love,” I said with a smile when she answered the phone, the video showing Diego playing on a bed next to a half-packed suitcase. “Can’t wait to see you guys tonight! Feels like it’s been forever.”

  She came into frame and flashed me a smile while tucking some clothing into the bag. “It’ll be nice to be home. I miss our bed.”

  I gasped in mock hurt and she continued, “I miss you too, dummy, but Mom’s guest bed has seen better days.”

  April sat on the bed and picked up the phone, centering the picture on herself. “So, today’s the big day, right? Time to see if the whole thing will work?”

  I nodded nervously. “Yeah. I leveled my character up enough that I shouldn’t get turned into chunky salsa just by going near the place at least. Theoretically iron should sell for enough to cover our needs, but I won’t know if I’ll be able to mine enough until I get there and try.”

  She gave me a sympathetic smile, “Either way I am proud of you for doing this for us, and regardless of where we live, we’ll be happy as a family.”

  I gave her a warm smile as we said our goodbyes, ended the call, and then hardened my resolve. I had a lot of work to do before I could call my venture a success.

  First up I’d rent the master’s tools again and get all that ore smelted and up on the auction house, then make a circuit of the town to pick up some more potions and see if there were any new spells waiting at the necro trainer.

  Then off to the Sunken Forge to start mining some iron.

  I logged back into the game at the smelters hut and got straight to work. I traded Darr two of the Earthhearts for an hour’s rental of the master smelting tools and smelted all of the tin I had gathered the night before. Then, using the remainder of the copper I had left over to make some bronze, I ended up with one hundred and thirty-six bronze bars and six hundred and thirty-five tin bars with one lonesome copper bar left over.

  The bronze smelting even earned me enough XP to reach the next rank in Mining, bringing the skill on par with my current level.

  It all went up on the auction house; one last giant load of the tier one and two metals. Hopefully the last of those types.

  Even if the Iron didn’t pan out, I’d at least proven that I could earn something by mining tin and copper. There was an upper limit to what the mine would yield in a day, and I was pretty sure I was hitting that cap with tin, and definitely with copper.

  I stopped by the Proper Potions shop to check into my investments and found Mistress Valynwood there. She’d been holed up in her laboratory for the past few days, so I hoped she had some good news for me.

  She looked up as I entered the shop and gave me a gigantic grin, reaching behind the counter to take out a vial of a viscous purple liquid and a small sack of coins. “I was hoping thou wouldst visit today, friend Kababala. I have something for thee!” she said excitedly.

  “Thine egg sack posed quite a quandary. It was rich with potential for many things, holding the essences of earth, life, and water in abundance. I admit, I did get quite caught up in my work. Hast thou any more of these that I might purchase?”

  I shook my head and replied, “Unfortunately not, but if I ever run into such creatures again, I’ll make sure to bring them your way. You might be able to hire adventurers to track down the anthills in the area and procure more, but I’m not quite sure how that would work.”

  “That is regrettable,” she answered with a weary sigh. She picked up the potion and swirled it around. “These would fetch quite a price were I able to secure a steady supply.”

  She handed me the vial and a small pouch of coins. “This one is for thee. An ‘Elixir of the Queen’s Domain.’ Should thou find thyself in a cave system or dungeon, this elixir will allow thee to harness the queen’s essence to gain knowledge of the area. Simply find thyself a safe location where thou wilst not be disturbed and drink it. Thine awareness wilst spread throughout the system and map out every nook and cranny. The larger the system, the longer it will take, and should thou be disrupted, the process will end.”

  “Wow!” I said. “Mapping out a new zone or dungeon ahead of time would be amazing. Thank you!”

  I tucked the potion into my satchel and looked into the pouch, finding twenty-five gold.

  “I know that it is not much when compared to the value of the potion, but my recourses are not infinite,” she said with a small smile.

  “No worries, Mistress Valynwood. The potion itself is an amazing prize by itself. I hope you can find a source for the egg sacs so you can make more,” I replied with a grateful nod.

  “It is quite amazing what one can do when they properly apply themselves to the art of Alchemy is it not, apprentice? How art thine own studies progressing? Hast thou mastered the basics yet?”

  I looked down, embarrassed. I still hadn’t even tried to level my Alchemy or Herbalism skills. “No Mistress, I am quite the slacker as they say. I’ve been busy adventuring and pursuing other ventures, including some that you might be interested in.”

  Hop
ing to change the subject, I piled the various bits and pieces of potentially useful components on the counter before her.

  “Ah apprentice, it is only because thou dost continue to bring me such nice things that I can forgive thy negligence of our art,” she said, looking through the collection of blood, meat, and organs spread before her.

  As she finished, I took out the pièce de résistance, the laeshhound egg, and handed it to her as her eyes widened even more.

  “What, by all the gods is this?” she asked, examining the egg closely.

  “I encountered a pack of beasts called laeshhounds in a small cave a few hours from here. After defeating them I found a nest with that egg. It was the only one that hadn’t been destroyed in the fighting. The scaly hide, ganglia, and some of the blood are from those creatures if that helps,” I explained.

  “Thou dost continue to amaze me, friend kobold. Most adventurers are handing such things off with the auctioneer with no regards to the potential discoveries that might be unlocked by true masters of their arts. I will buy the gnoll blood and liver from thee of course, but I know of no recipes that call for components from these laeshhounds. If thou dost wish to again enter into an arrangement, I would be happy to do so with the ganglia, blood, and this wondrous egg.”

  “Of course that would be acceptable. Do you have any recommendations for what I should do with the hides?” I asked.

  She paused for a moment. “Perhaps Galowyn would be interested. He is the local leatherworker whom I contract for bags and other goods. He owns a shop in town, but I will warn thee, he is not the most… friendly of individuals. If he gives thee any problem, please inform him that thou art there at my direction.”

  A new tag appeared on my mini map, showing the location of the leatherworker.

  “Thank you. That is most appreciated,” I said and bid her goodbye after a small bit of shopping, restocking my potions supply in preparation for my trip to the north.

  While I was in the shop interface, I spotted the listing for Queen’s Domain potion and almost choked. The current selling price was ten platinum. Damn.

  I followed my map to the leatherworker and entered the shop, looking around at the different leather armors that were available. Everything was much heavier than I could wear with my current class, and my minions were better off in heavy gear.

  With no interest in the selection, I quit browsing and approached the counter where a moon elf, old enough to have gray in his hair and the beginnings of wrinkles around his eyes was busy punching holes with an awl through a thick piece of leather.

  Without looking up the elf said, “Welcome to the Black Elk leatherworkers, my list of goods is on the counter. Have a nice day.”

  “I’m not interested in buying anything, Master Galowyn,” I began, and the elf looked up at me with a glare. “Mistress Valynwood said that you might be interested in some strange hides that I’ve gathered during my adventures.”

  At the mention of the dryad’s name, the glare faded from Galowyn’s face but he still seemed a bit annoyed. He put down the piece he was working on and tapped the table. “Let’s see what new and unusual things you adventurers seem to think might be useful.”

  I put the laeshhound and gnoll hides on the counter and he sniffed, looking at the gnoll hide with a bored expression, then looking more closely at the laeshhound hide. “The gnoll’s worth about two silver each. Good for making armor, but I’m not familiar with the other skin. I’d need time to examine it and run some tests. Leave me a piece and come back in a day or so and I’ll give ya a deal.”

  I tossed the entire stack on the counter. “I’ll leave it all with you in case you get inspired. If it’s no use to you, then I can always sell it on the auction house later. If it is, then we can discuss the price. The beast it came from was called a laeshhound. It was a blind, subterranean lizard-dog that had some sonic based abilities, if that helps.”

  The elf looked at me closer. “Alright kobold, I’ll do as you say. You’ve certainly got a little steel in your spine, and I am tired of working with the same old same old. Come back tomorrow and we’ll see what we see.”

  From there I headed to the guild house, briefly speaking with the Guildmaster. I collected another new spell, this one called Spectral Field.

  You have learned “Spectral Field.”

  Spectral Field

  Range: Long

  Type: Offensive

  Requirements: Somatic, Verbal

  Call upon the spirit world, creating a shifting field of spectral energy that seeks to ensnare enemies who enter its influence.

  Area: 10 foot diameter circle.

  Keeping those three reserve points had been a wise decision. I added them to the new spell and recharged my staff, filling all of the empty slots with charges of Greater Create Undead.

  My errands were done. It was time to try my luck at the Sunken Forge.

  ***

  61

  I stepped out of the Underpassage and into the tunnel leading up to the surface near the entry to the Sunken Forge. Being there again made me a bit anxious, the memory of being one-shotted by the orc scout still fresh in my mind.

  At sixteenth level I should be able to take the mountain orcs if I ran into them, or at least I hoped so. I summoned my combat squad and cast Dark Shield on everyone, Vampiric Link on Chevy’s maul, and Aura of the Grave after my mana had regenerated.

  Then we were off. I had Chevy and Banzai go out first, forming a wall that I hid behind, putting myself and Healz in the center with the other two amigos on either side, doing double duty as body blockers and ranged DPS.

  My eyes scanned the surrounding terrain, looking for any hidden enemies. My bonuses to Perception were amazing, so I was pretty sure I could spot any normally hidden critters. Any specialized stealth mobs would probably be beyond my ability though.

  A glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye was the only warning I received before the arrow struck. My Dark Shield flared and robbed the projectile of most of its force before it struck my side, dropping my health by a quarter and knocking me to the side.

  The form of a Mountain Orc Scout shimmered into being as its stealth faded and I couldn’t help but grin. Vengeance shall be mine! I thought and sent my minions charging its position.

  I almost felt bad for the lone orc as my minions rushed forward and attacked.

  TWANG! Another arrow buried itself in Banzai’s zombified flesh, doing a sliver of damage to the undead gnoll seconds before it and my skeletons reached melee range.

  The orc snarled and tossed his bow to the side, nimbly dodging out of range of the undead and grabbing a pair of hatchets from his belt.

  His focus on my minions played into my hands and I launched a Necromantic Bolt that slammed into the scout’s chest, dropping his health by twenty percent. But more important than the damage, it broke his concentration leaving him vulnerable to the onslaught of the three amigos.

  I’d like to say they didn’t circle beat the orc to death… but they circle beat the orc to death. In the end there wasn’t even enough left to dissect anything from.

  You have killed a Mountain Orc Scout! You have gained 200xp!

  Banzai made good use of the orcish hash, slowly healing his own wounds while Healz removed the chips and dings that the skeletons had sustained in the encounter.

  I knelt down and let my natural regeneration repair my wounds, and when my mana was high enough, I recast Dark Shield.

  It was a relief to know that I had gained enough power to take on mountain orcs, especially after getting one-shotted the first time I’d made the trip. The single orc didn’t have a chance against my small legion.

  We left the ruined scout behind and headed towards the mine. Eventually we reached a small crest in the path and I spotted the entrance to the mine, blissfully clear of any enemies. Banzai and Chevy led the way down the path with the rest of us following in formation, heading directly for the cave mouth.

  I sighed with relief as w
e passed through the mine entrance, a little of the tension momentarily leaving my shoulders as we stepped out of the sunlight and into the… mountain orc camp.

  “Shit,” I cursed, counting the figures sitting around a small campfire just inside the mouth of the cave. Six mountain orcs of various sizes were currently devouring some sort of spitted animal carcass that was roasting over a large fire, their large tusks easily ripping through flesh.

  An orc on the far side of the fire gave a grunt as it spotted us, pointing us out to the rest of its kin.

  My archers opened fire while I quickly stumbled through the casting of my newest spell, centering the effect on the roasting spit.

  The orcs tossed aside their food and grabbed their weapons, bellowing a war cry and surging towards us just as I completed my spell.

  Deep purple tendrils reached up from the floor and lashed out at the gathered orcs, wrapping around their legs and holding them fast. Only three of the orcs made their way through, either dodging the grasping tentacles or ripping their way free.

  Banzai rushed forward and intercepted the orcs as they reached the edge of my spell, knocking the first back into the tendrils while parrying the blow of another with his sword.

  Chevy rushed the remaining orc, his maul whipping around to meet the orc’s center of mass. I could hear the monster’s ribs crack as its health bar dropped by almost half from the single blow.

  I targeted the same orc with a pair of Necromantic Bolts that knocked its hit points to zero. One down, I turned just in time to see another orc break out of my spell and swing its axe at my side.

  I brought my staff around to block the blow, but it blasted through both my weak defense and my Dark Shield to dig into my side.

  I hissed and dashed backwards, triggering my stored Necromantic Bolt from my staff as I ran and called Banzai to intercept the orc before it could do any more damage.