“I’ll set up at the entrance with my bow and see if I can get one or two as they enter the cave. When they start to close, I’ll fall back to meet you and take up position at the narrow part. You keep me healed. Sound like a plan?”
Mock groaning, I replied, “And here I thought I would get to avoid being a heal bot. Heh, well, I guess it beats being devoured by wolves. I just wish I could see so I could contribute more to the fight. Remind me when we get back to find a way to learn some sort of light spell.”
I thought about how a light spell could work and began to see the vague outlines of spell taking form in my mind’s eye; a single glyph that was a part of my Sunstrike and Beacon of Life spells. I started to focus on it but a loud howl right outside the cave entrance shattered my concentration. I tried to bring it back into focus, but the adrenaline was pumping, and my mind refused to cooperate.
Waiting for the incoming wolves, I closed my eyes to try and acclimate my eyes to the darkness and focus on my hearing.
There was little ambient noise in the cave, so I could hear Kjara’s steady breathing from her position closer to the entrance. Seconds later a new sound joined it; claws clicking on stone, echoing through the cave.
The twang of a bowstring was followed by a yelp and the sound of a wolf hitting the ground, the system message confirming the hit.
*** Kjara strikes Desert Wolf with Aimed Shot inflicting a serious wound! ***
A second and third arrow quickly followed before she retreated back down the tunnel, the wolves close behind.
*** Kjara strikes the Desert wolf with a standard broadhead arrow, inflicting a moderate wound! ***
*** Kjara critically strikes the Desert wolf with a standard broadhead arrow, inflicting a mortal wound! ***
*** Kjara has killed Desert Wolf! Your party gains 50xp! ***
The sound of swords sliding free of their scabbards was my cue. I opened my eyes and saw they had adjusted slightly. Instead of pitch blackness I could make out Kjara’s silhouette against the lighter darkness of the open cavern.
“Here they come!” she said, “One, two, three, four, ah fuck it, there are a lot of them. Get ready!”
My shield would be useless for this fight, so I swung my shield onto my back, wielding my spear with both hands. As the first wolf reached the narrow tunnel entrance and barreled towards Kjara she stepped forward and struck out with a quick combination of strikes, producing a pained yelp.
*** Kjara strikes the Desert wolf with a bronze longsword, inflicting a serious wound! ***
*** Kjara strikes the Desert wolf with a bronze longsword, inflicting a glancing wound! ***
The glyphs for Soothing Touch formed in my mind and I channeled a trickle of mana into it, getting it ready to heal at the first sign of injury.
My right hand began to glow with soft golden light, and I realized that the visual effect of the spell was actually producing enough light for me to make out the vague shapes of the wolves facing us. Their canine eyes reflected the light making them glow in the darkness.
Two wolves were working together to keep Kjara on the defensive. Each time she tried to counterattack one of the wolves or the other was there snapping at her exposed arms. I glanced at the party window and saw that her stamina was dropping quickly. If we had to play the long game here, we were in for a bad time.
I focused on the wolf on the left, thankful that its info text showed it was only level one and said, “Be ready Kjara, next time lefty mcwolf tries to take a bite out of you I’ll strike. See if you can get righty when I do.”
The wolf on the left darted in towards Kjara’s right calf and I struck, guiding my spear with my right hand as I drove it forward like a giant pool cue, stepping forward to add power to the strike. The head of my spear flashed past my companions’ leg and slid deep into the wolf’s neck.
*** You critically strike the Desert wolf with your bronze spear, inflicting a mortal wound! ***
*** You have killed Desert Wolf! Your party gains 50xp! ***
I pulled my spear back and the wolf collapsed in a heap. From the right I saw a quick flash of movement followed by two quick yelps as Kjara pressed her attack. I caught a glimpse of her final blow, a strong kick to the side of the wolf that sent it crashing back into its packmates, knocking them back.
*** Kjara strikes the Desert wolf with a bronze longsword, inflicting a minor wound! ***
*** Kjara strikes the Desert wolf with a bronze longsword, inflicting a minor wound! ***
*** Kjara performs Kick on the Desert wolf, inflicting a minor wound! Desert wolf is stunned! ***
We both retreated several steps down the tunnel as the wolves in the back rushed past their injured packmates to get at us.
“Gods, what I wouldn’t do for an AOE right now” I groaned.
Both of our stamina pools were dropping, and from the brief flashes I was able to see with my ghetto-light spell there were still at least six more wolves out in the main cavern.
Well, if we're going to be wolf dinner I might as well see if I could at least go out with a bang, I thought and decided that exploding my brain with poorly contained experimental magic was probably preferable to being ripped apart by a pack of angry wolves.
“Kjara…” I began hesitantly.
“What!” she snapped, still concentrating on keeping the wolves off of her. She seemed to have found a rhythm and was managing to keep the wolves at bay, but her stamina pool was barely at ten percent.
“I’m going to try something here. It may save our lives, or my head might explode, or both. If that happens, I’ll meet you back at the job board okay?” I said, trying to sound confident.
“What? What do you mean your head might explode?!” she shouted and glanced back at me. One of the wolves took advantage of the distraction and ripped a gash along her calf.
“It’s a magic thing, but you know what they say, no risk, no reward!” I laughed, “At least we won’t get eaten by wolves!”
My hand stopped glowing as I shifted my focus to my Beacon of Life spell, eliminating the glyphs that appeared in that spell and my Soothing Touch spell.
I filed those away in a corner of my brain and then examined the new Purifying Touch spell, finding the glyph that had been added to transform it into is new, fiery form.
Taking that and the glyph that let me project the spell at a distant target, I tried to fit them together. I began to form them in my mind and watched as another glyph beginning to take shape between them, bridging the gap. I fed mana into the new glyph and watched it start to solidify into one I knew as well from Beacon of Life spell.
*** Desert wolf viciously bites Kjara! ***
*** WARNING: Kjara’s stamina is reaching critical levels! ***
Putting my work in progress on the back burner, I shrugged my shield off my back and rushed forward, channeling Soothing Touch again to give me enough light to see as I stepped between Kjara and the wolves. Using the shield as a battering ram, I bashed it into the closest wolf.
*** You strike Desert wolf with your war shield, inflicting a minor wound. ***
Stepping back, I whipped my spear across in front of me, keeping the wolves at a distance while Kjara caught her breath. At the mouth of the tunnel, just in range of my meager light I could see six more pairs of eyes glaring at me.
“Thanks for the breather, but without some way of getting my stamina back I think we are fucked if your experiment fails. Let me past and then do what you need to do. I hope your head doesn’t explode, but at least I'll get to see the fireworks show before I die!” she laughed, and then prepared for the swap.
I slashed my spear across again. The wolves easily avoided the clumsy attack, but it gave us room to switch positions again.
My mana was at eighty percent, which was strange as I hadn’t cast anything since we entered the cavern. Apparently keeping my hand glowing was slowly draining my pool.
I brought the glyphs for my experimental spell to mind again, focusing on the mouth of t
he cavern where the pack was gathered, and locked it into my mind’s eye. I fed mana into the new spell form and watched as the glyphs all began to glow within my mind. Mana started leaking out of the construct and I had to turn my full attention to keeping the mana from escaping.
After what felt like an eternity of struggling, but must have only been a few seconds the spell form solidified, and the mana drained out of me and into the glyphs.
*** Attempting new spell construct! Difficulty: Hard. ***
*** Presence check... successful! ***
*** Willpower check... successful! ***
*** Intelligence check... successful! ***
*** Combat caster check…successful! ***
*** Fortune check… successful! ***
*** Spell Creation successful! ***
*** Congratulations! You have discovered the Flamestrike spell! You gain 100xp! ***
The spell construct flashed into my hand and formed into a blazing javelin of fire.
*** You successfully cast flame strike! ***
“Fuck!” I shouted and threw it into the center of the wolf pack, almost hitting Kjara by accident with my panicked throw.
The javelin struck one of the wolves in the side, lighting up the room enough for me to see a wisp of smoke escaping from where the wolf’s fur was being burned by the spell.
Seconds later the javelin exploded into a pillar of fire, engulfing the pack in flames.
*** Flame strike burns the Desert Wolf with magical fire, inflicting a serious wound! Desert wolf is on Fire! ***
*** Flame strike burns the Desert Wolf with magical fire, inflicting a mortal wound! ***
*** You have killed Desert Wolf! Your party gains 75xp! ***
*** Flame strike burns the Desert Wolf with magical fire, inflicting a serious wound! ***
*** Flame strike burns the Desert Wolf with magical fire, inflicting a serious wound! Desert wolf is on Fire! ***
*** Flame strike burns the Desert Wolf with magical fire, inflicting a mortal wound! ***
*** You have killed Desert Wolf! Your party gains 50xp! ***
*** Flame strike burns the Desert Wolf with magical fire, inflicting a minor wound! ***
*** Desert wolf fails willpower check! ***
*** Desert wolf fails willpower check! ***
*** Desert wolf fails willpower check! ***
*** Desert wolf fails willpower check! ***
*** WARNING: Stamina at critical levels ***
*** WARNING: Mana at critical levels! ***
I stumbled against the wall and glanced at my gauges. Stamina was down to five percent and mana was at ten percent.
The main cavern was full of fire that was slowly burning out, except for three of the beasts whose fur had caught and was still burning brightly. The wolves were running around in panic and heading for the exit as fast as they could manage.
*** Desert wolf fails willpower check! ***
*** Desert wolf fails willpower check! ***
“Holy shit!” Kjara exclaimed. “Do. That. Again!”
“I don’t think I could right now if I tried,” I gasped between breaths, “that took a lot out of me.”
She looked back with a grin, “Your head is still in one piece and we are not chew toys, so I’ll take it.”
*** Fire has gone out on a desert wolf! ***
*** Desert wolf is on Fire! Desert wolf is burned for moderate damage! ***
*** Fire has killed Desert Wolf! Your party gains 50xp! ***
*** Congratulations you have reached Level 3! ***
*** You have gained 1 Combat Skill Point. ***
*** You have gained 1 General Skill Point. ***
*** You have gained 1 Divine Skill Point. ***
*** You have gained 13 maximum Hit Points. ***
*** You have gained 17 maximum Mana. ***
*** You have gained 7 maximum Stamina. ***
I breathed a sigh of relief as my health, stamina, and mana pools refilled.
Kjara slapped me on the back and said, “Congratulations! I’m about two hundred and fifty short myself! Hopefully the quest reward will take me over the top.”
I smiled and said, “Thanks! Let’s see what these wolves have in terms of loot. I figure there has to be some way for us to prove how many we killed for the quest.”
I used my Soothing Touch spell as a light source again as we looted the bodies in the cave. Each wolf dropped a pair of wolf teeth that I figured would be our turn-in item. Between the ones in the cave, the original group, and the one that died from fire right outside the cave entrance we managed to net seven pairs.
At the posted bounty rate, that should bring us thirty five silver pieces. If my own inn was a baseline, that would be enough for basic living for a week or so.
Not wanting to risk running into any random monsters on the way back, we broke out the trail rations and water skins and settled down to rest for a bit, the food and water granting a small buff to our regen rates.
We made it back to the city with no issues and headed to the caravansary, taking our wolf teeth to one of the many clerks seated around the area. He collected the notice from the job board and the pile of wolf teeth and counted out our reward from a small chest on his desk.
“Names?” he said in a bored voice, waiting patiently. We gave them and he noted something down in his ledgers, taking the teeth and dropping them into a small bucket on the side of the desk before sliding the coins across to us. I picked up the coins and split them with Kjara, giving her the extra coin.
***Quest Complete - Tender Vittles. ***
*** Your party has gained 100xp! ***
*** You have gained reputation with the Tael’va Caravansary! Unfriendly → Neutral. ***
She tried to protest the split in her favor, but I insisted. “Next time I’ll get the extra. I have enough to last me, and it looks like your armor could use some repairs.”
“Fine, I’ll hold you to that,” she said, and then sighed. “That was less xp then I was expecting from the quest, but I guess the wolves themselves counted for the bulk of it. Oh well, what’s next?”
I smiled at her excitement and glanced up at the sky, trying to get a gauge on the time. The sun was beginning to set, and I only had a couple of hours left to play today so I decided questing would have to wait until next time.
I decided to head back to the inn for a good meal, and then logout for the night. I had more than enough info now to put together a great review for my stream, and I was tired.
“I’m going to head back to my inn now and probably log out. Have you found a place to stay yet? If not, you’re welcome to come with. I will warn you though. I’m not too sure about the innkeepers’ thoughts on me. He's a djinden and there’s some pretty bad blood between his people and the Saa. They did let me stay there though, and their kid is a fan.”
She was silent for a couple seconds in thought, but then made up her mind and nodded, “Sure, I was going to check out the moon elven enclave, but I’m willing to give your inn a chance.”
I led the way through the city, pointing out the apothecary as we passed and invited her to join me on the quest to find the herbalist as I planned that to be my first task for my next play session.
Eventually we arrived at the Stone Serpent and I held the curtain open so that she could enter. She turned and flashed me a grin which quickly transformed into alarm.
She opened her mouth and started to say something when my back erupted into agony and I saw blood splatter the curtain.
I looked down as my vision began to waiver and I saw a blade sticking out of my chest, blood slowly dripping from the tip.
*** Sneak Attack! Unknown assailant strikes you from the shadows! You have been critically wounded! You are stunned! ***
The edges of my vision were pulsing a dull red, and I saw my health gauge was a sliver over zero.
A hand grasped the top of my head and pulled it back. I felt the warm breath of my assailant on my ear as a voice whispered, “
Tepik sends his regards”, followed by a sharp pain across my throat.
A warm, wet sensation spread down my chest and I fell face first onto the ground.
*** Unknown assailant performs ‘Coup de Grace’! You have been killed! ***
The last thing I heard before my world went completely black was Kjara’s voice, full of fear and trauma as she screamed for help while the sound of my murderer’s footsteps faded into the distance.
...
Chapter 7
*** Congratulations? You have experienced your first in-game death! Death in Sosaku Online is not permanent and there is no death penalty until you have reached level 10. When you die, your spirit will journey to the underworld where you will travel along the path designated by your faith until you reach the Gates of Death which will allow you to respawn at your last bind point. Your previous body will remain in the physical realm until you have respawned. Should a player loot your body, they will be able to obtain a small portion of your current coin, but none of your equipment may be taken unless you have enabled the Risk/Reward functionality once you have reached level 10. We hope you enjoy your afterlife! ***
*** Loading the Land of the Dead… ***
My senses returned and I found myself lying face down on a dark stone floor, feeling a sense of peace. I picked myself up and looked around and let out a low whistle as I examined my surroundings.
Crimson Sands Page 12
