by A F Kay
Three oblong yellow objects rolled out of the bag. They were each the size of Ruwen’s thumbnail. Next to them landed a palm-sized disk with a falcon etched on its face. Ruwen picked up one of the yellow egg-shaped items.
Tring!
The Black Pyramid has rewarded you…
Name: Lemon Lozenge of Lightning
Quality: Uncommon
Durability: 1 of 1
Weight: 0.02 lbs.
Activation: Saliva
Effect: 33% chance to stun creatures of the same level for 1-3 seconds.
Effect: Attacks generate lightning causing 4-8 damage.
Restriction: Effectiveness decreases as level difference increases.
Description: A sweet and sour candy great for removing the taste of lake pee. Duration is dependent on how much you suck (you really suck).
Ruwen scrunched his face in disgust at the lake pee comment. When he’d propelled himself forward at the end, his goggles and scarf had both come off, and he’d gotten a mouthful of water. He wanted to rinse his mouth out. Picking up the other two, he brushed the sand off all of them and dropped them in his Void Band, thankful to have another source of damage for his attacks. Blapy had poked fun of him again with the duration description, but he did wonder how long each lozenge would last. Regardless, they were valuable loot.
Ruwen picked up the palm-sized disk.
Tring!
The Black Pyramid has rewarded you…
Name: Falcon Gloves of Training (Brand)
Armor Class: 0
Quality: Fine
Durability: 27 of 27
Weight: 0.01 lbs.
Activation: Press disk between your two palms and bind appropriate skill.
Effect (Passive): Increase advancement in bound skill.
Restriction: Bound skill must utilize hands.
Restriction: Activation disk must remain within 10 feet of hands or stored in Inventory.
Restriction: One hour cooldown when switching bound skill.
Description: With the speed of a diving falcon, the bound skill will increase 100% faster during skill levels 1-10. Every 10 skill levels will decrease effectiveness by 10%. Binding a skill is no substitute for the pain of hard work, but the disk will remind you regardless.
Ruwen turned the disk shaped gloves over in his hands. He’d never heard of a brand before. The disk felt like it weighed a couple of pounds, but the weight in the description read as almost nothing. The falcon image, with its claws empty, had been etched into each side of the disk. What a strange item.
Since Ruwen knew he’d need to bind a skill, so he opened his Profile and went to the Skills tab. He skimmed his current skills and their details.
Skill: Deception
Level: 2
Effect: Increase Persuasion by 2%.
Skill: Disguise
Level: 1
Effect: Anyone observing you has a 1% reduction in their Perception.
Skill: Meditation
Level: 3
Effect: Clear Mind: increase Health, Mana, and Energy Regeneration by 1%.
Skill: Staff
Level: 6
Effect: Increase damage by 3%.
Skill: Dagger
Level: 2
Effect: Increase damage by 1%.
Skill: Unarmed Combat
Level: 4
Effect: Increase unarmed damage by 2.0%. Increase chance to deflect or dodge a blow by 2.0%.
Skill: Black Pyramid Cipher
Level: 1
Effect: Understand level 1 Black Pyramid Ciphers.
Skill: Alchemy
Level: 10
Effect: Alchemical creations gain a 5.0% increase to success and a 5.0% increase in effectiveness.
Skill: Herbalism
Level: 3
Effect: Increase harvest speed by 6.00%. Increase harvest yield by 3.00%.
Skill: Mining
Level: 2
Effect: Increase extraction speed by 4%. Increase extraction yield by 2%. Decrease gem and mineral damage by 2%.
Skill: Prospecting
Level: 1
Effect: Increase chance of discovering plants, gems, ores, minerals, and other collectibles by 1%.
Skill: Taxonomy
Level: 2
Effect: Increase identification of plants, gems, ores, minerals, and other collectibles by 2%.
The effectiveness of the gloves would drop by ten percent for every ten levels he gained in a skill, but the only skill Ruwen had that would trigger that restriction was Alchemy. Since his next Alchemy level would be eleven, that made the skill increase only ninety percent.
The disk had a one-hour cooldown when he swapped a skill, so he didn’t have to worry about making a choice that turned out to be terrible. The skills related to collecting like herbalism and mining didn’t make much sense at the moment, and he didn’t know which weapon-related skill to choose.
“Are we going down to level five?” Ruwen asked.
If so, he would choose the staff skill unless it turned out to be another crazy level like this one that didn’t really require weapons.
“I wish. My parents are forcing me to come work on my Meridians. Ugh,” Sift said and then rolled off the fire and walked to the lake. He eased himself into the water and scrubbed the dried blood off all the places he could reach.
“What are we doing later?” Ruwen asked.
“Probably more Step training,” Sift said as he pulled himself back onto the beach. He immediately walked back to the fire and sat down in it.
Ruwen nodded. That meant his first binding should be Unarmed Combat, and he pressed the disk between his palms.
The disk grew insanely hot, and Ruwen gasped in pain. His Health bar never budged, and he realized the pain must be mental. It felt like his hands were being charred by the disk. He tried pulling his hands apart, but they wouldn’t budge. A notification pulsed at the bottom of his vision and he opened it.
Choose a skill to complete the branding!
Ruwen’s eyes watered from the pain, and he quickly chose Unarmed Combat. The imaginary heat disappeared, and his hands came apart. The disk dropped to the sand.
Ruwen looked at his palms and saw the image of the falcon had been transferred to his palms. But now, clutched in its claws, were two fists. The lines of the falcon were a little wavy, like they had been burned into his skin, and not drawn. His palm felt smooth, however. It just looked like scars from a burn.
Ruwen rubbed his hands together. He already knew he wouldn’t want to bind different skills very often. Even though temporary and imaginary, the pain had been intense. The last part of the description had said the disk would remind him of the painful cost of training, and it hadn’t been lying.
Ruwen picked up the disk and placed it in his Void Band. He opened the person cutout in his Inventory view, and confirmed the disk now occupied the hands slot. The name had changed to include the skill he’d just bound to it.
Name: Falcon Gloves of Training (Brand – Unarmed Combat)
“Did you get the gem?” Sift asked.
“Yes,” Ruwen said as he removed it from his Inventory.
“Go ahead and complete it. Yell for me when you finish.”
Sift had shifted to lay face down in the fire, and Ruwen shook his head. He turned and walked up the beach. After twenty feet, it rose sharply, and Ruwen clambered up the small hill. When he reached the top, the level’s exit appeared, and the wall next to it had a beautiful mosaic.
Thousands of colored gems were expertly placed together, forming an image that covered an area ten feet by ten feet. It depicted a Shocking Pony of Terror, colored like the rainbow, gripping a black pyramid in its tentacles. Ruwen ran a hand over the gems as he marveled at the craftsmanship.
The SPOT in the mosaic looked fierce, and the spikes on his forehead were covered in yellow gems that looked like lightning. There must be thousands of gems in this mosaic. How was he going to find where the missing one went?
Maybe he c
ould use Magnify to scan the mosaic and quickly find the location of the missing gem. Ruwen took a few steps back and activated Magnify. He immediately turned it back off as the reflected and fractured light overwhelmed his vision.
He put his hands on his hips and stared at the creation. If he had to search every portion of the mosaic, it might take hours. He looked at the quest again to see if there were any hints. Blapy loved games and double meanings. Maybe she had left a clue.
Have You Herd?
A gem from the mosaic “Shocked and Stunned” has fallen into Prism Lake. Retrieve the gem and bring it to the beach in the time allotted. Complete the mosaic to receive your rewards.
There really wasn’t a lot to the quest. The only thing that stood out to Ruwen was the “herd” in the title. He had thought that referenced what a group of SPOTs might be called, but maybe it had another meaning as well.
Ruwen walked closer and studied the side of the SPOT’s head. Seeing a tiny flaw, he stepped right up to the mosaic and narrowed his eyes at all the reflected light. Sure enough, the SPOT’s ear had a missing gem in its oval shape.
With a laugh, Ruwen took the small gem he found in the lake, turned it to fit the opening, and pushed it into the mosaic.
A loud crack thundered, and Ruwen flew backward. He landed on his butt and blinked in surprise. His body wouldn’t move, and he noticed the Stun debuff under his resource bars. His Health dropped twenty-five points. He opened his log.
You have completed the quest “Have you Herd?”
You have been Shocked!
You have been Stunned!
You have taken 25 (30-5(16.5% elemental resistance)) damage
You have gained 1,000 experience!
The debuff blinked and then disappeared. Ruwen shook his head. The name of the mosaic was “Shocked and Stunned.” He should have expected that.
A small leather bag had appeared at the bottom of the mosaic, and Ruwen emptied it onto the ground. A small blue gem that looked similar to the one he’d just placed in the mosaic lay in the sand. He gently picked it up.
Tring!
The Black Pyramid has rewarded you…
Name: Gem of Stabled Terror
Quality: Rare
Size: Small Herd
Weight: 0.04 lbs.
Activation: Water
Effect: Shocking Pony of Terror larvae will activate and transition into adults (approximately 30 seconds).
Restriction: Control of herd requires gem. Obedience quickly deteriorates after 1 minute.
Description: Submerging the Gem of Stabled Terror in water will release a small Shocking Pony of Terror herd. Size (Herd and Shocking Pony of Terror) is dependent on available volume. Aquariums not recommended as tiny Terrors are angry Terrors.
Ruwen had seen books in the library that detailed how to take care of fish and sea animals in aquariums, but he’d never met anyone who’d actually had one. Why would someone want an aquarium full of tiny sea animals? He carefully placed the gem in his Inventory along with his Scarf of Freshness and goggles.
Since his log was open, he quickly scanned the entries above his quest to see how much experience the SPOTs had given him.
You have killed a Shocking Pony of Terror, Sentry (Level 4)!
You have gained 37 (166*(22% level modifier)) experience!
You have killed a Shocking Pony of Terror, Sentry (Level 4)!
You have gained 37 (166*(22% level modifier)) experience!
This entry repeated for a while. Ruwen stopped when the text changed. These must be the things Sift had killed.
A Shocking Pony of Terror, Artist (Level 3) has died!
You have gained 25 (111*(22% level modifier)) experience!
A Shocking Pony of Terror, Sentry (Level 4) has died!
You have gained 37 (166*(22% level modifier)) experience!
A Shocking Pony of Terror, King (Level 7) has died!
You have gained 214 (973*(22% level modifier)) experience!
A king? Ruwen wondered if the king SPOT looked any different. Sift had killed far more, and Ruwen closed his log. He opened his Profile and looked at his experience.
Experience: 6,688/15,000
He had started today at almost seventeen hundred experience. Sift had killed over eighty of the SPOTs and Ruwen, with the ten in his Void Band, had killed over twenty. Even with only getting twenty-two percent of the experience, because of the quantity, it added up quickly. When you added the thousand experience from the quest, he had gained nearly five thousand experience.
Sift walked up next to him.
“They really are great Artists,” Sift said.
“Who?”
“The Octorse.”
Ruwen faced Sift. “Are you saying those things created this?”
Sift nodded.
“What? How do they even get up here?” Ruwen asked.
“Oh, the water level shifts in here. We came at low tide. Otherwise, the Octorse are too big, the tunnels are underwater, and this level is too hard.”
A hundred questions appeared in Ruwen’s head. He asked the one that seemed the most impossible. “The Octorse change size?”
Sift nodded again. “If we would have arrived when this place was full of water, they would have been our size. You’re lucky that I’m so smart. The only time this level is really doable is now. Even six hours from now, they would be big enough that their shocks might kill you.”
This level had seemed much easier than level three. But now Ruwen understood why. Sift had done these levels so many times, he knew the secrets to success. Ruwen imagined trying to get the gem from SPOTs that were six feet tall.
“Thanks, I can see how that makes a big difference.”
They walked to the exit, and Ruwen’s Black Pyramid mark updated to level four. He wouldn’t need to do this level again in the future if he didn’t want to.
“I will find you when my parents are done torturing me,” Sift said.
Ruwen smiled. “So you can come torture me?”
“Exactly,” Sift said with a grin.
Sift held his mark to the wall of the exit. “Rock garden.” He held out his fist, and Ruwen placed his flat palm on top. “See you later.”
“Later,” Ruwen responded.
Sift stepped through the portal, and it vanished. Ruwen glanced back at the lake and saw the water level had risen. Half the beach had already disappeared. Worse, hundreds of SPOTs had come to the surface, and they all stared at Ruwen.
Ruwen turned and placed his right wrist against the cold stone of the wall. He thought about what he should do with the next few hours. The alchemy lab would be a good use of time, or he could go back to his room and practice his staff or Steps. Reading was always a good use of time, and he had a lot of new books to look at. He still needed to figure out how to open the one on Harvesting.
The quests on the right side of his vision caught his attention, and he expanded them. He focused on one, and after a moment of thought, he nodded.
“Quartermaster Fluffy.”
Ruwen walked through the open portal.
Chapter 17
Ruwen stood in front of the quartermaster’s metal door. He looked at the quest one more time.
Nothing to See Here…
Quartermaster Fluffy has requested your help in cleaning items stored in the Black Pyramid vaults. Magically clean five items to receive your reward. This quest is repeatable.
Reward: One item from Fluffy’s crate of crap
Ruwen took a deep breath, slowly let it out, and then knocked on the door. A small rectangle opened, and Fluffy’s eyes appeared.
“What do you want?” Fluffy asked.
“I’m here to clean.”
“Let me see your mark.”
Ruwen held his right wrist up and focused on the Black Pyramid mark. It appeared, and Fluffy grunted.
“Where’s Sift?” Fluffy asked.
“With his parents.”
Fluffy grunted again, and the small rectangle clos
ed. Ruwen heard bolts sliding free as Fluffy unlocked the door. The door opened a couple of feet, and Ruwen slid through the opening. Fluffy immediately shut the door and locked it.
“I wondered if you’d come back,” Fluffy said while he walked toward his desk.
Fluffy looked identical to how Ruwen had last seen him. Even his clothes were the same: soft leathers and a green vest lined with a row of pockets. Fluffy’s bald head and bushy grey beard were the bookends to a face of wrinkles.
“Well, your equipment has already saved my life multiple times. It would be dumb not to earn more.”
Fluffy opened the locks on the vault door behind his desk. “Exactly! Shades first rule: proper tools build success. You need to talk to Sift. That thick-headed boy never buys anything. It is going to get him killed.”
“I will,” Ruwen said, but he already knew Sift would ignore it.
It took Fluffy thirty seconds to finish with the locks and open the door. He waved Ruwen through.
Ruwen stepped past the threshold and stopped in shock. The room was vast. Not Deepwell warehouse vast, but at least the size of the main floor of the library. And like the library, there were rows of shelves, all packed. Around the edges of the room, racks filled with clothes led to walls covered in weapons and further lines of mannequins, each displaying a set of armor.
The door slammed shut behind Ruwen, and he jumped.
“Welcome to the Black Pyramid’s High Vault,” Fluffy said.
