I’d been so focused on the crafting that I didn’t even notice the time passing by, but now it was time for something more action packed. I still needed to deal with the trog incursion and start looking into the undead sightings near the docks.
Level eight wasn’t too far off, so finishing up the trog quest should be enough to push me over the finish line there, but I still had a bit to go before the recommended level for my undead quest.
I headed back to the Rimmsford storefront and Violet led me to the entrance again, seemingly uninterested in how I had gotten out last time.
I decided to let the NPCs maintain their programmed acceptance and general avoidance of the resurrection process and didn’t bring it up. After buffing myself once again, I headed back down for some vengeance.
I crept down through the first room and into the hallway that had led to my untimely end. The corpses from my previous fight were gone, either de-spawned by the game or more likely dragged away to be meat for the trog’s stew pot.
This time I knew what to expect and decided to use the tight tunnel to my advantage. The tidal wave of trogs that had been my end before was something of a worry, but if I could keep the trog warrior from calling for help I should be able to handle things, especially with the new digs.
I glanced at my quest log and saw I was still eighteen trog crests short of completing the quest.
I hadn’t been able to loot the last three that I thought I had slain during my last stand so they unfortunately didn’t count towards the quest total.
Oh well, I’ll just have to kill a few more, I thought as I crept towards the dead-end room where the trog warrior who’d called in the cavalry was stationed.
I charged into the room, ready to rumble, but there was noone there. The trog warrior must have joined his pal's at the player murder afterparty.
The room was empty of any sort of loot as well, although I did find a piece of bloody leather armor with teeth marks on it that I was pretty sure had once adorned my avatar.
I headed back out of the room and turned down the new passage and deeper into the sewers.
It ended about thirty feet later, emerging onto a walkway that hugged the side of a large sewer tunnel. Below the walkway was a channel full of slowly flowing greenish brown sludge.
Looking to either side I could see a couple of narrow stone bridges crossing over the fecal river every fifty feet or so to a similar walkway on the opposite side of the tunnel. Another smaller tunnel led away from this main tunnel into the darkness.
My eyes could see in complete darkness but there were limits to the range and the main corridor was long enough that I couldnt see the end.
I hadn’t seen any movement yet, but I knew there had to be some trogs about, considering the speed at which they had answered the warrior’s digeridoo call before.
The smaller passage across the way seemed like a better place to start than a wide open area where the trog swarm could use their numbers against me if I screwed up and pulled them all again.
The walkways provided decent enough footing as I made my way to the nearest bridge, watching for any hostiles.
The sludge of the sewer channel was constantly bubbling as it released a noxious gas into the air, and occasionally I caught whiffs of something that made me wish I had stayed dead.
After a minute or two I reached the nearest bridge and crossed as quickly as I could, not wanting to get jumped in a position where I might fall in. I’d been lucky so far, and there were no signs of trogs as I made my way into the new tunnel.
Moving slowly, I kept my shield and spear ready. The tunnel bent sharply to the right and then immediately opened into a wide room. Whoever had designed the sewers seemed to be a fan of this sort of setup.
Glancing around the corner I saw another pair of trog Scavengers, neither one armed with anything beyond their natural weapons. They came on guard as I entered the room, but I wasn’t about to give them the chance to strike first this time.
My Sunstrike lanced out from the tip of my spear and blasted the closest trog, the beam of holy fire burned a hole through its hip and dropped it to the ground in agony. The second creature dashed forward and slashed at me with its claws but was easily blocked.
A quick hop back saved it from being impaled on my spear as I counterattacked, resulting in a glancing blow instead of turning it into fishkabob.
I rushed forward, keeping on the offensive and trying to overwhelm the pair before they could call for help.
The burned trog clumsily regained its feet and hobbled towards me, unable to bring its normal leaping attack to bear due to its injuries.
I circled slowly and used my spear to keep them at a distance. I feigned a strike at the crippled trog, causing it to take a step back and opening a gap for me to close with its companion.
I dashed forward and lashed out with the edge of my shield, connecting with the creature’s bulbous throat.
The trog stumbled backwards making a horrible gurgling sound as its health bar plummetted.
The crippled trog moved back in, swiping at my back with its claws but skipping off the shiny bronze metal rings without finding purchase. Thanks, Fragi!
I stepped back and raised my shield again, intercepting a follow up slash and triggering my shield boon once again.
Harnessing the increased critical chance, I thrust my spear towards the unburnt trog and pierced it through the heart, the rest of its hit points disappearing at the same time a new icon appeared in my view and a divine rush of power flowed through me.
The critical hit had triggered my combat casting boon and I was flush with magic just waiting to be unleashed.
I turned towards the remaining trog and formed that power into a Sunstrike which blasted out of my spear and into the trog's gaping mouth searing through the back of its head and launching the creature’s remains several feet through the air.
I glanced around to make sure there were no other enemies in the area and then looted the trog corpses, collecting their crests.
Looking at their scaley hides, I briefly pondered whether a skinner might be able to do something with their hides but abandoned that rabbit hole with a shudder.
Finding nothing else of use, I moved through the room towards a set of stairs that led further down into the sewer complex. As with every other path in this place, the stairs bent sharply before continuing down.
I followed the stairs around several more bends until they came to an end at a short corridor which then opened into a larger room.
Three trogs were wandering around the room, doing whatever it is trogs do in their spare time. Two of them were the normal scavenger types that I was used to, but the third was a new type, a Trog Shaman.
The scavengers were both level five, the same as the previous ones I encountered, but the shaman was level six.
I decided to play this smart. The stairs lent me a tactical advantage, but without knowing what the shaman was able to do, I couldn’t be sure. The confined space might feed right into the shaman’s plans if it had something like my Flamestrike spell.
As per standard RPG rules, the caster was target numero uno and needed to go down as quickly as possible.
It was time to be a little bit reckless. To go big or go home, as they say. I waited until the trogs were close together and then cast a Flamestrike as quickly as I could, shielding the light of the fire with my shield until I was ready to launch it.
I threw the javelin towards the shaman but missed, sinking it into the stone near his feet instead. The three creatures turned their faces towards the heat in surprise and then BOOM.
The shaman went flying onto the wall, its scales charred and cracked from the heat but its health bar showing it was still alive.
The two scavengers were injured as well, their health bars down to less than half strength and the one closest to me had been set on fire.
I rushed into the room, cutting down the flaming trog with a quick slash across its throat and then turning tow
ards the shaman.
I felt a flash of pain as the other Scavenger raked its claws against the leather on my upper arm and then sunk its teeth into my thigh, the tips of its fangs still penetrating the new hardened leather.
My health dropped to seventy percent as I bashed down on its skull, knocking it off me and injuring it further.
A wave of weakness flowed over me but then faded as my skin pulsed with a soft golden glow.
*** You have resisted Trog Shaman’s Curse of the Deep spell! ***
The shaman was barely on its feet, its burnt flesh cracked and oozing as it moved its hands through the air in a quick gesture that launched a bold of ice blue energy at me.
The bolt shattered on my shield and failed to do any damage, but a wash of cold flowed through my shield and permeated my body, filling me with a feeling of intense cold all the way down to my bones.
*** You have been affected by Ice Bolt! Movement slowed by 5%! ***
I stumbled as the trog scavenger clawed at my foot, its claws piercing my new greaves and my flesh. I cursed and kicked the creature in its face and then plunged my spear through its ribs which finished it off.
The shaman took advantage of my distraction and slipped an ice bolt past my defenses. The projectile slammed into my side, knocking off a large chunk of my hit points and adding another stack of the movement debuff.
*** You have been affected by Ice Bolt (2)! Movement slowed by 10%! ***
My hit points were under half and I was ten percent slower and the damn frogman was trying to kite me.
It shuffled backwards, casting another ice bolt which I barely dodged, and I followed as quickly as I could. The icy effect was the worst in my hip where the bolt had struck me, making walking uncomfortable.
Another ice bolt flew past me, clipping the edge of my shield and refreshing the debuff timer just as it was about to wear off and adding another five percent on top of it.
*** You have been affected by Ice Bolt (3)! Movement slowed by 15%! ***
The chill was starting to affect my thoughts, so when the shaman’s crest began to flare and its gullet fill with air It took a second to register and I panicked.
All I needed now was for it to summon the entire dungeon down on me. Again. I had to stop it and did the first thing that came to mind. I threw my spear.
I heard a meaty thunk and saw the Trog Shaman fall to the ground, clenching at the spear sticking out of its stomach. Its throat deflated with a pitiful gasp and it lashed out wildly with another ice bolt which sailed over my shoulder and into the wall.
The shaman’s arms fell weakly to its sides as I stumbled towards it. Not wanting to risk taking another hit while my health was so low, I cast Cure Wounds on myself raising my health a bit and even getting closer to my next rank.
The icy debuff wore off and I moved in to finish it, grabbing my spear and yanking it out hard and to the side, ripping the wound open and ending the fishman’s life.
*** Congratulations! You have become more skilled with Medium Armor and have reached Rank 5! Complex movements and combat maneuvers will now cost less stamina when wearing medium armor. In addition, medium armor will now offer slightly better protection. ***
*** Congratulations you have reached Level 8! ***
*** You have gained 1 Combat Skill Point. ***
*** You have gained 1 Divine Skill Point. ***
*** You have gained 1 General Skill Point. ***
*** You have gained 15 maximum Hit Points. ***
*** You have gained 18 maximum Mana. ***
*** You have gained 7 maximum Stamina. ***
I knelt, rubbing at my sore hip and feeling a bit of numbness even after my hit points had been restored by the level up.
I looted the corpses, taking the crests for my quest as well as some additional leather scraps that were scattered around the area.
The shaman had a strange bone necklace on it as well, and when I picked it up I could feel a tiny tingle in my hands. I tried scanning it as I had with the other items I had received in the past, but got nothing except a new system message:
*** Achievement unlocked! Magic Booty! You have found your first piece of random magic loot! Typically, when finding a magical item its abilities will be unknown. Those with the Identification skill, or lore skills directly related to the object have a chance to determine an item’s properties. Some spellcasting classes can also learn an identification spell or skill to assist with this process. NOTE: Loot obtained as quest rewards or from dungeon loot chests will always be identifiable by those receiving the items. ***
Random magic item for the win! I tucked the necklace into my pack, not wanting to risk equipping a potentially cursed item. I hoped I’d be able to learn how to identify items myself. Those general skill points were in the bank for a reason after all, but who knew where I could learn the necessary skill.
In any case, the room was clear and now that I wasn’t fixated on the frog people trying to kill me I noticed a large wooden door at the other end of the room. As I approached, I could see that the wood was in pretty crappy condition due to the moisture in the air, but that could be pure aesthetic on the part of the game engine.
I checked my buffs, making sure they were still going strong and pressed my ear to the wood.
From the other side of the door I could make out the sound of something heavy being dragging along stone, but not much more than that.
Hoping I wasn’t making a terrible mistake, I turned the handle to the door and pushed it open.
The rusted hinges let out a loud creek as the door swung inwards, revealing a room with scattered piles of random items along the walls, and one big as hell trog.
*** Trog Champion, Level 9 (Boss) ***
*** HP: 100%, SP: 100% ***
“Shit!” I cursed, staring at the giant trog before me. Standing over seven feet tall with its crests rising another foot above that, this trog was a monster.
It looked like someone had taken the Hulk from the early Marvel flicks and mixed in some trog DNA, coated it in glue and then rolled it around in a mixture of garbage and broken armor.
When it sensed me, it raised a giant monstrosity of a sword that was taller than I was in its meaty fits and flared its crests, letting out a blood chilling war cry.
*** Trog Champion uses Horrific Visage! ***
*** Fear effect resisted! ***
“Nope,” I said, grabbing the door and pulling it closed as I ducked out of the room, hoping the old school MMO boss zone restrictions were in place in this game.
I didn’t need a status effect to scare me away from that beast. For a second I thought I was in the clear, but then the rotting door burst into splinters and the Incredible Trog crashed into the room.
“Well fuck…”
I thrust with my spear, scoring a wound on the boss’s hip and dropping its health by a sliver before absorbing its backhand counterattack on my shield.
The power of the blow knocked me back several steps, and as it turned to face me, I could tell I was in some deep shit if I didn’t figure out some mechanics for this boss pretty quickly.
The boss’s head was shifting from side to side, its nostrils and crests flaring as it used its hearing and smell to hone in on my position.
It dashed forward, raining down a series of blows that caused my arm to go numb as I absorbed the hits with my shield, the force of the blows still enough to bruise me deeply and drop my health by a few percent.
The final blow triggered my increase crit chance so readied Precision Strike, wanting to capitalize on the combined crit bonuses.
As the trog raised its arms for another attack it revealed some less armored areas. Precision Strike kicked in and highlighted a small gap in its makeshift armor over its ribs.
I struck, thrusting the spear straight into that revealed weakness and between its ribs. A bleeding icon appeared next to its health bar which dropped to around ninety percent.
I disengaged and examined my work. If a critica
l Precision Strike had only done ten percent damage to the massive trog I was in even deeper shit than I originally thought.
The boss began to flail around wildly, smashing through anything in its reach as it went on a wild tirade throughout the room. I barely dodged the flung corpse of the shaman.
During its tirade the bleeding wound had leeched away another small bit of its health before the wound had sealed, and as its rampage came to an end, it started sensing out the room once more.
I stood as still as possible, holding my breath until it turned away from me, but even that wasnt long enough.
When I released my breath its crests flared out and its head immediately swiveled in my direction. With a savage roar it leapt across the room towards me.
I dodged to the side, fast enough to avoid the boss’ fang filled maw but not quick enough to dodge its massive sword. I caught the blade on the edge of my shield but it powered through and slashed across my midsection, the rusty blade smashing through several of the bronze rings and cutting a nasty gash through the leather and flesh underneath.
My health bar dropped down to sixty percent and I once again gave silent thanks to Fragi for the ring mail upgrade.
I backed away, putting some distance between us and trying to channel Soothing Touch in the few seconds I had before the beast was on me again.
Rank four let me cast the spell a little bit faster and I was able to wash away at least some of the pain by the time beast attacked.
It leapt for me again, and I dodged, but this time I positioned my shield to catch the sword strike I knew was coming. My shield absorbed most of the damage, but my arm was in agony.
As it moved past me, I thrust my spear towards its flank. The point slid along the edge of its makeshift armor before sinking into a soft spot in its flesh, cutting a deep gash and dropping the beast’s hit points to eighty percent.
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