by TJ Reynolds
Our party was still buffed from the Smokey the Bear Meat, and I was excited to see how much the XP gain might enhance my gains during the raid. We drank some water, cleaned our weapons, and continued down the passage.
The air around us got colder the deeper we went, and I had to ignore the thought of thousands of tons of stone above my head. Still, the air was fresh, with some ventilation apparently running through the mines, which made the whole ordeal less terrifying somehow.
We passed a few of the larger rooms like the last, and each time, we slowed enough to examine them properly.
Finally, we came upon a massive cavern, though this one was not a neatly lined and timber-supported room that had been mined out. It was a natural cavern. The sound of picks at work filled the air alongside a few voices. It was surprising how far we had to go before anyone came into sight. Sound traveled easily off the stone walls, and the cavern curved in on itself as it continued to descend.
Hana peered around the corner, then tiptoed back to let Alysand and I know what lay ahead.
“A whole team of miners is up there, maybe twenty of them. At least five guards as well, but something else. Some of the miners look different. They are trow I think, but… but they are huge and don’t really look right. I don’t know. Let’s just be ready for anything, okay?”
As Hana turned to leave, an idea came to mind. Rather than bumble into a huge group of creatures, it seemed best to use our heads a bit. “Wait, let’s try something different,” I said, waving the two over to my position.
I told them my plan and we set about preparing.
A minute later, Alysand called out in a ratkin voice that was so accurate it was shocking. I fought back a laugh as his shrill voice filled the cavern. “Invaders! We kills them for masters!”
The sound of heavily armored guards hustling our way echoed off the walls, sounding like no less than an army. I waited in my position, standing like the badass I was in the center of the path around the corner. They saw me at once as they came around the corner. I taunted them, and predictably, they reoriented themselves and charged. Six guards this time, but still not enough.
As the distance closed, I heard an arrow whistle past me and bury itself in a ratkin’s eye. It fell and knocked over one of its brothers in the process. I hefted my axe, preparing to strike the first enemy in line as Pachi flashed from her hiding place. She tugged the rear guard back to the ground just as he was struggling to regain his footing. Two down, four to go.
At last, the Ratkin Lord swung his sword as me. I caught the blade on the end of my axe and landed a kick to his breastplate. He stumbled back, and as the second opponent came at me, wielding two shorter swords, I used Sunder again. My axe bit through his block and severed his arms above the wrist. Another swing sent his head thumping on the ground before his body.
The one I’d kicked had recovered and now swung at me again, this time with more skill. I winced, expecting the blow to fall, but an arrow sprouted from his neck and he fell in a heap at my feet, clutching the arrow with both hands like it was something precious.
The third looked down in surprise as his companions fell around him, and I bashed him in the face with the butt of my axe. The beast’s skull caved in and he fell, his limbs spasming.
Tejón charged the last, and I winced as I watched the ratkin slash at his head with a sword. A loud clang sounded, and sparks filled the air. Tejón mauled him and cut off his scream. I breathed easy when I noticed the sword blow had left only a white scratch on one of his bone plates. He was one hell of a pet.
Alysand walked up beside me and laughed. “At this rate, I will have fun watching you four dispatch everyone we find. I’m almost thinking I should have stayed back in Benham.”
We searched the bodies again and found more coin. This time, one of the guards had a handful of gold rivets on him, which made me smile. Cash is king. Afterward, we walked around the bend where the party of miners was, their picks now silent. Several of them saw the result of the fight and picked up their gear to sprint away. However, five of the zealous miners wielded their picks and charged us, followed by three figures that gave me pause. Massive trow goblins, swollen and disfigured, rushed us with an oversized pick in each hand.
Twisted Trow
Level 20
HP: 5012/5012
Abilities: Tackle, Smite, Frenzy
The zealots were dispatched quickly, but as the hulks behind them approached, I couldn’t help but admire their power if not the odd configuration of their bodies. Each was well over seven feet tall and as proportionately thick in the arms and legs as their diminutive counterparts. The twisted trow must have weighed four or five hundred pounds each, and as they tromped toward me in iron-shod boots, I felt the ground shake.
They looked pained, though. Their bodies quite literally twisted, whether by magic or some other means. Perhaps that was how they had gotten so big.
“Incoming!” I shouted and lifted my axe to block a pickaxe from skewering me. Though I caught the implement on the edge of my axe, the sheer force of it pushed me to my knees. The monster lifted the next one to finish his work, so I rolled to the side to buy myself some time.
Play time was over. I buffed myself with Guardian of the Wild and then the party with Berserker’s Boon. New power flooded my veins.
Status Effect: Guardian of the Wild
Guardian of the Wild: Buff 1 will grant +10% Strength and +10% Constitution when fighting against a creature with any of the following status conditions: deranged, diseased, possessed, or evil. Buff 2 activates when serving in a protective role within a group, granting +5% to all attributes. Buffs will apply as Guardian of the Wild 1 and 2, respectively. Duration: 5 minutes. Cooldown: 30 minutes.
Status Effect: Shield of the Barbarian
Shield of the Barbarian: +10% to Vitality, +5% Stamina. All damage taken reduced by 10%. Duration: 2 minutes. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
I taunted the group to make sure I had both aspects of the Guardian of the Wild buff active, then hefted my axe for action.
A growl at my side made me look down. I was happy to see Tejón’s brave form standing next to me. As my companion, it seemed he could tank side by side with me.
The trow had gone after Hana and Alysand, but Pachi drew their attention away through flashes of her teleporting movement. Now that I had drawn agro, the other three group members began to attack the enemies from behind. All I had to do was stay standing.
Rather than block the next attack, I swung my axe sideways, pushing the huge pick off balance and sending it crashing into the stone floor. Luckily, the implement got stuck. The trow seemed not to notice and simply raised his offhand to attack. I sunk my axe into its neck on the unguarded side. To my surprise, the creature wasn’t killed. The attack was blunted by its stone-like skin. I had to use Dodge again to avoid being slammed with the second pick.
Tejón bulled into the creature and disarmed it, and the two bruisers began pummeling each other with blows so hard they shook the air.
The other two trow closed on me, and I avoided the first attack easily enough, only to have the second monster reach out and grab me around the neck.
I felt my throat close as it crushed my windpipe in its hand and began to lift me off the ground. I flung my axe at its head, but it caught the attack on its forearm and stared at me while I struggled. The second trow was winding up to bury its crude weapon in me when I heard a trilling whine and explosions erupted, filling the chamber with smoke and light.
The trow holding me was still growling, its mangled teeth bared in a terrible grimace, when its head snapped to the side, a hole punched through the side of its temple.
It released me and fell in a heap beside its companions.
Alysand stood, wisps of smoke trailing from his pistols and a look of concern on his face. Then I remembered Tejón.
I spun on my heel and saw the bear shaking his head, bits of gore dripping from his mouth. The trow underneath him was unharmed but for its c
rushed skull. Tejón sneezed a few times and licked at his maw, his face wrinkled in disgust.
“Ha!” I said. “You freaking gangster. Don’t like the taste of trow brains, eh? I wouldn’t either.” I looked back to the gunsinger, noting that he had already reholstered his guns and was now brushing his waistcoat with careful hands.
“I’m sorry,” Alysand said. “We are compromised for sure now. Every malevolent creature in this blasted hillside has heard us, and it is my fault. I’m…”
“Callete la boca! You saved my life. Thank you, Alysand.” I walked over to him, and despite his obnoxiously precise manners and perfectly tailored suit, I hugged the man.
I heard Hana laugh as I released the poor man. “You shut up, too. That isn’t funny, and you can tell princess feathers over there to watch it or I’ll sic Tejón on her.”
“Pachi!” Hana said, staring in shock at her pet. “Watch your mouth.”
It was my time to laugh, and we took a minute to collect ourselves.
Alysand spoke first. “I say we hurry up from here. No doubt a reactionary force is being assembled as we speak. The sooner we begin eliminating whatever opposition we may fight down here, the better.”
Our jerky buff was wearing off, so we all ate a bit more of the dried bear meat and drank more water. Then, with me in the lead, we headed down into the dark tunnel.
It felt like an hour passed as we trudged deeper and deeper into the mine. Several empty rooms met us, some with fresh evidence that they had previously been occupied. It wasn’t a good sign.
The tunnel finally leveled out and began to widen. An orange light flickered ahead, brighter than any other we had seen so far. I stopped for a moment and recast my buffs.
“Alysand, how about that Bullet Blessed? It’s a savage skill. We might need the extra Stamina and Dexterity.”
“It can only be activated once a day. I think it wise to wait until we need it most.”
I nodded and stepped out into the cavern.
A deep voice echoed off the excavated walls, startling me. “Greetings, friends. We’ve been waiting for you to arrive. It isn’t polite to keep your host waiting, you know?”
The chamber was the largest yet, an amphitheater of a cavern, with huge torches burning along the wall. To one side, a line of miners continued to shuffle out a side passageway, a few of the ratkin lord guards prodding them with spears. In the center of the chamber stood a huge ratkin with bright steel armor on his chest and shoulders. He held a halberd that shone in the fire of the torches. I inspected the leader and was not surprised to see he was a named mob.
Foreman Shezkal: Elite Ratkin
Level 26
HP: 9633/9633
Abilities: ?
The ratkin continued his rant, saying, “You killed some of my friends, though, so I am not feeling generous. I think we’ll kill you. And, oh, you’ve brought us bear? So tasty. I really should thank you.” He smiled at those who stood with him—a dozen twisted trow and six ratkin guards. The leader opened his mouth to keep talking, but I just couldn’t take any more.
I interrupted him, watching with satisfaction as the creature’s smirk disappeared. “Usually people talk a lot when they are scared crapless. How about, let’s fight already.”
He slammed a visor down over his face and jabbed his huge polearm in the air. “You heard the girl. She wants to fight. Attack!”
The trow ran ahead, and Alysand began his eerie whistle again. Flashes lit the walls as his bullets tore through their bodies. I taunted the group and they converged on me. By the time I swung my axe to intercept the first attacker, five of them had already fallen.
The gunsinger moved to the side and continued pelting the rest of the party with his piercing rounds. Hana and Pachi were clashing with a beast of their own, and Tejón stood beside me, standing up on his hind legs and trading blows with a trow wielding a wooden cudgel.
Two of the monsters began to rain blows on me, the first using a large pickaxe and the other throwing around a hammer that would have made Wardeen’s forge hammer look small. I used Dodge to avoid an attack, then Cleave, sinking my axe into a trow’s mouth. Its teeth were shattered, and my axe carried through and cut the top of the beast’s head off.
The other kicked me square in the chest. I flew backward and crashed into the cave wall. My vision flashed as the stone cracked against my skull. I stood and narrowly avoided the hammer strike that followed. As I scrabbled to my feet, I grabbed a handful of the rubble that lined the walls.
Screw honor. This fight was getting crazy. I threw the dirt in the trow’s eyes and sidestepped its attack easily. The blind beast flailed around a few times with his weapon, smashing one of the remaining trow behind him. I darted in and used Cleave again, burying my axe in its face.
It fell to the ground in a heap, limbs still twitching. I noticed the others had fallen as well. Alysand was reloading, Hana was panting, and Tejón and Pachi’s mouths dripped with fresh blood.
Foreman Shezkal gave an order, and his guards fanned out. “Excellent! It is a fight then. Ratkin, bring them down. Focus on the irksome fire mage. He is the most dangerous.” These were labeled as ratkin lord guards like the ones we’d fought previously, but they were elites and were all level 22. To make matters worse, they all wore plate armor like their master.
They held long spears, which would make my job a lot harder.
They formed a rank of four, two falling behind. Since their level was too high, I had no idea what abilities they might throw at us. But they were organized. My cooldowns had finished, so I rebuffed our party and cracked my neck, ready for the hell that was about to break loose.
“Bring it on, you fugly bastards!” I said, taunting them. To my dismay, they ignored the taunt and walked forward in a disciplined line.
The four frontline elites veered toward Alysand, and I saw Hana and Pachi move to stand beside him. The two remaining foes came at me, effectively splitting up our party.
Tejón stood beside me, a ball of power and fury. The two approaching enemies were intimidating in their gleaming metal armor, but they didn’t know what they were in for. Our forces clashed, and the cavern became a cacophony of ringing steel and grunts of effort and pain.
I was fighting more cautiously this time. The spear, which kept flicking at me like a snake’s tongue, was long and sharp. I winced as the blade grazed my thigh. Somehow, I would have to take that stick away.
A sharp yelp pulled my attention away. I glanced over and saw that Pachi had been stuck by a spear as well, but in a flash of yellow and orange fire, she had crossed the distance to the ratkin guard and was ripping at his throat.
Hana was holding both of her swords, the shorter one in her offhand, and was whirling around like a divine dervish. Was this the same timid girl I’d met just a week ago?
Alysand’s guns were firing away, but even with his specialized whistle, it seemed the ratkin’s armor was preventing injury. The steel looked to be high quality, but it was the thickness that counted. The breastplate looked immensely heavy. To my surprise, I saw him flip the pistols in his hand, and a deep hum resounded from his throat. Then, like a dude on the streets fighting for his lunch money, the guy started pounding away at a ratkin with the butt of his pistols.
I kept moving, trying to avoid getting any extra holes punched in me. The guards were fast, though, and even as I avoided another blow, I saw the telltale aura of an ability being used. Both of the guards facing Tejón and me screamed with rage, and their attacks sped up considerably.
I used my Dodge ability twice more but winced when I noticed my Stamina bar had already depleted to half. My axe was poorly matched against the nimble speed of the spears. Another flurry of strikes brought two more gouges searing across my ribs. I looked to Tejón; he wasn’t faring any better. The spear tip was dripping with blood despite his raging attacks.
My last card needed to be played now, or I wouldn’t have a chance. I activated Rampage.
Status Effect: R
ampage
Rampage: +50% attack speed, +25% damage, HP drain at 2% every 3 seconds. Duration: until deactivated or until player expires.
The fire of power and potential lashed out through my limbs, begging to be used. A haunting growl erupted beside me, and I saw that Tejón was glowing with the same red aura as me. My skill had worked on him as well. I grinned like a lunatic and slashed out at the next spear thrust.
Suddenly, the attacks appeared slower, more manageable. I flung them aside with ease, clanging the spearpoint away with sideways strikes of my axe. Still, the distance was hard to cover. The guard kept lunging or retreating each time I tried to adjust, keeping me at bay with his longer weapon.
An idea flitted through my raging mind, and as the next attack came at me, aimed low at my thigh, I stepped back with the leg that had been targeted, and slammed down on the spear shaft as it darted past me. The spear was momentarily pinned to the ground. I stepped on it, cracking it in half.
A look of shock filled the guard’s eyes, barely visible through his visor. I laughed at his dismay then lunged at him, thrusting the spiked butt of my axe into his face. He reeled back but stumbled. As he tried to regain his footing, I buried my axe in the top of his skull.
My victory preceded Tejón’s by a few seconds, giving me enough time to look over and see him rear up at the ratkin. He ignored the spear that was lodged in his shoulder and, using his paw, struck the ratkin’s head so hard that the sickly crack of its spine echoed around me.
Foreman Shezkal bellowed a challenge, and I screamed back. Nothing like a fight between two equally unhinged opponents, eh? I told Tejón to go and support the others, who, by the sound of the fray, were not faring well.
The bear ambled away even as I sidestepped the first thundering downward slash of the halberd. The weapon was longer than the spears and much more powerful. Its tip was capped with a long spike, and hanging just below was a wicked double-sided axehead. One side was the typical half-moon shape, the other hooked like a dagger.
