by G. Akella
***
Attention! Your character's death has resulted in the loss of 20% of your levels. Your current level is 65.
Attention! Your character's death has resulted in the loss of 51 stat points. Your current stats are distributed as follows: Agility—10, Strength—71, Constitution—72, Intellect—72, Spirit—72, Vigor—60.
Shit! Shit! Shit! I was sitting at the graveyard near Urcahnta and looking at the moon hanging in the darkened skies, my back to a gravestone. Seventeen levels gone just like that! The damned gargoyle had completely nixed all the progress made over the last three weeks—my current level was even lower than right after Shaartakh's demise. Neyl was telling the truth—those hunters didn't just disappear (I'd been under the impression the NPCs were falling prey to the undead wreaking havoc). As it turned out, a named mob was to blame.
Players would consider themselves very lucky to encounter such mobs in the game due to guaranteed good loot. A mob that was about 1.5 times stronger than the regular sort would give the lucky victor a rare item in every case. The fact that its level would often be two or three times higher than that of the zone would normally be fairly inconsequential—you could call a fellow clanmate of a higher level, or several friends, and pocket the trophy. Alternatively, you could sell the info to someone you trusted.
This particular encounter, however, made me want to howl at the moon. It was hard not to get discouraged in this situation… the more self-pity I felt, the more I hated myself. Finally, hatred triumphed over pity, and an outburst of fury destroyed my melancholy completely. "Screw all of you!" I hissed, rising. Seventeen levels lost—so what! I got to keep all my talents, and fifty seven points of stats were small fry considering the gains from the equipment. I'd be able to equip my armor and sword again. As for the cloak, the earring, and the ring—I could put them back on once at level 70, so no great loss there. However, I still needed to think of a way to retrieve aforementioned armor.
The first thing that came to mind was to ask the legionnaires for help, but how would that reflect on me? And how would I put it to them? "Why don't you guys snuff the gargoyle with those mighty high levels of yours, and poor little me will stand and watch? Oh, and I also need to get that armor off my corpse." Yeah, right. Ludicrous. I had to get the armor myself, and I knew how to do it. All I needed was to pop into my room and grab two vials of Medium Invisibility Potions.
There was a huge pile of boulders some thirty feet away from my corpse. Skeleton packs didn't venture that far—the gargoyle's roost was close nearby. It was pretty simple—I would use the first potion to get to the pile and wait out the five-minute cooldown. Then I'd cast Shackles on the nearest pack and Silence the sorcerer, if they had one, just to play it safe. Then I'd grab my stuff, pop the second bottle, and split.
It would still probably be a good idea to tell the legionnaires about the gargoyle—it wasn't like they would rush out to the ruins and start exploring right away. But I had to go either way, otherwise I wouldn't manage to sleep at all—why would I want that kind of anxiety? I shouldn't draw any aggro on my way to the ruins—that much had been established.
As usual, my mood lightened once a decision was made. What was a month or two of delay when you had eternity at your disposal?
"Stone gargoyle, eh?" Neyl scratched the back of his head, deep in thought. I was fortunate—the captain wasn't asleep, so I didn't need to wait for someone to wake him.
"Yup. Sitting on a protruding part on the wall of the keep, right above the entrance. I won't be able to handle it alone, so I thought I might tell you about it."
"But we've been there, haven't we?" the demon frowned. "Although those creatures are great at disguising themselves—you can't tell one from a rock. We may have failed to notice it."
"He's no fool to attack a dozen soldiers, is he?" I don't know why I had to specify the gargoyle's gender or why that would even be important—Hart only knew how those beasts were classified! And I definitely shouldn't mention the aggro radius. Neyl's was… somewhat different from mine, given that his level was 230, and mine, 82… formerly, that is. Little wonder that the legionnaires hadn't noticed anything.
"Thanks, Krian. We'll definitely check it out today and see what kind of beast hides there." Neyl looked toward the ruins somberly. "Will you come with us?"
"I'll definitely join if I manage to get there in time," I nodded. Where else would I be? Hell, I should get some popcorn as well, and a front-row seat to the execution of the brute that had sent me to be reborn.
"It's agreed, then." The demon shook my hand. "Come by midday—that's when we set off."
It took me about an hour to get to the ruins. I could have been quicker, but I was trying to move as stealthily as I could, keeping to the very center of the path lest I waded into the aggro range of some wild beast, god forbid.
I only realized how stupid it was to travel through the forest by night once I got deep enough. The forest had a life of its own. The light of the moon barely got through the gloomy canopy of the trees that stood to either side of the road. Silence was often broken by mysterious sounds that would make anyone in their right mind want to run as far and as fast as they could.
For a moment I thought about going back and retrieving my equipment later, after dawn, but I instantly suppressed it. The decision had been made, and I wasn't about to go back on it.
The eyes of the skeletons patrolling the environs of the ruins shone with a blue light—the devs must have thought it would intimidate the players, but I found it funny for some reason. The ruins themselves, lit by moonlight alone, looked like a huge dark blotch from where I was standing.
The position of my corpse was marked on the map. There shouldn't be more than three hundred fifty yards left—about three hundred to the gates, and another fifty to the dungeon entrance. I pulled the vial with the Medium Invisibility Potions from my inventory. Invisibility would kick in two seconds after ingestion and last a minute. The potions's cooldown time was five minutes. It would indeed be odd if the cooldown time were shorter than the effect—everyone would turn into a brigand. The first goal was the pile of boulders. Let's roll.
You are currently invisible. The level of threat you represent has been lowered. No enemies can target you. The effect's duration is one minute. Any extraordinary action on your part will result in the termination of the invisibility effect.
So, I could run around, crouch, shout and wave my hands. However, if I used Jump or looted my corpse, invisibility would instantly fade. It took me about fifty seconds and nearly all my visor to reach the designated spot. Now all I had to do was wait.
No doubt, it was unwise to visit such places at night. Apart from the resurrected undead, nothing seemed to have changed over the time that I'd been gone. Fragments of walls that had once protected this castle were scattered all over the place, along with the rubble from a stone statue, the dark remnants of a well and the somber arch of the keep's entrance. All in all, the moonlit courtyard of the castle looked decidedly spooky.
The ugly thing that had killed me was sitting some five feet above the ground. Neyl was right—if you didn't know exactly what to look for, the still body of a stone gargoyle was hard to tell from a simple rock. Noon isn't that far off, you monkey. I didn't care for the loot the gargoyle had on it—I just wanted to see the damned thing kick the bucket! This is strange—I've never been this bloodthirsty. I quickly chased all that sappy self-reflection out of my mind. Sure, I'd really enjoy seeing this scum die. And then I'd come closer to kick its corpse. Something like that. The game was no longer a game, and I was now able to rejoice at my enemy's death. And I didn't give a damn if anybody judged me for it.
Five minutes went by as one instant. My corpse was fifteen yards away, with a single four-mob pack close nearby. Let's rock!
I cast Shackles on the skeletons and quickly ran toward the dearly departed. I should leave the Jump in reserve in case I might need it. I threw Silence on the one with the staff while running—the
last thing I needed now was his lousy magic. I approached the body lying on the cobblestones, quickly looted all my stuff, and instantly downed an invisibility potion. Two seconds till I could run back to safety.
Shit! I had originally assumed the fourth skeleton—the one armed with a dagger—to be a rogue, but he turned out to be a necromancer who'd managed to hit me with a thirty second periodic damage debuff, instantly stripping my invisibility. Gah! How was I supposed to tell them apart if all the undead in the courtyard flounced about in the nude with nothing but the legend "Ghorazm Ruins Skeleton" and their level floating above their heads?
Getting past eighteen packs of the undead without any armor on was certain death—I'd never be able to leave the ruins again. "Screw you all!" I bellowed and leaped toward the dungeon entrance. I heard the familiar scraping sound above my head on the right—the winged ape had woken up. I accelerated and dove into the dark arch of the keep, hearing a loud thud of the heavy body hitting the cobblestones behind me…
