Encounters

by A O Storm

  N/A

  N/A

  N/A

  Slash*

  N/A

  N/A

  N/A

  N/A

  "This skill grants the warrior the ability to block a strike from any given melee weapon from an opponent in combat, chance to deflect attack dependent on parry skill rank, player level, opponent level and opponent attack skill."

  "That sounds pretty good," Kano said aloud, considering the new skills he could get within the sword fighting skill tree. It showed something else he had considered, too, that level and skill impacted fighting prowess. He resolved to learn how to improve his experience and continue grinding on those points as much as possible after clearing the mine.

  "Don't they have elves, or dwarves or other fantasy creatures? I'm sure they do, somewhere," he muttered, wondering why the Three Rivers had only been populated with humans. Maybe the various fantasy races don’t get along? I’ll need to find out.

  Kano saw the inventory screen, which he hadn’t explored yet, but skipped it since most of his stuff was back at the inn. Then he selected the Known Locations screen and saw it only showed the valley and the Three Rivers. Makes sense, he reasoned, I’ll have to explore more to get a better internal map. Maybe there’s a shortcut, like if I buy one? One more item on the to do list. The map, while sparse, had one very interesting feature. By selecting the Three Rivers he could see the buildings he knew about, however, when he tried to select the smithy the button did not work. He then moved to select his inn, mentally clicking on The White Rabbit link.

  When he selected the inn, Kano could see business statistics, a list of employees (Kano, Bertha), stock of food and drinks, cash on hand (zero) building condition and more. There was a handy chart displaying the profit and loss, when Kano saw it he frowned. The White Rabbit had seen far better days before Bob had gone crazy.

  "It’s good to know the inn has potential," Kano mused aloud. "I’d hate to think the place doomed to fail." Having explored all the screens in the game display that interested him, he finally exited, happy with his findings. How Kano was going to invent plumbing, he had no clue. He amused himself with a few ideas as he finally spied the mine in the distance. Wiping suddenly sweaty palms on his hands, Kano started to walk a little faster.

  “Let’s see what lurks in the dark.”

  Eighteen - Dragon Of Mine

  As he approached the mine, he considered pulling out his sword. Then, after thinking over the idea for more than a minute, he realized it was foolish and simply walked closer. The entrance was dark, of course, and with the sun dipping into late afternoon, the angles of the rays did not illuminate the entrance for him to make out any significant details.

  When Kano was within a few feet, he looked around the entrance, half expecting to see bleached bones or other signs of death. Only small plants, shrubs and large trees dotted the surroundings. He knelt and rubbed his hand through the dirt, which was soft.

  "Well, this looks pleasant."

  Kano looked back and could not see the village in the distance. The path through the trees had been clear enough, but when he looked at the trail he had made between them, it was obvious very few people came up to this place. "Hmm," he said out loud, not sure what to make of things. Even if they found something valuable in the mine, it's clear that their success was short lived.

  Despite his earlier certainty, he started to have serious doubts as he walked up to the entrance and tried to peer into the darkness. Nope, he thought, I'll be blind in there. He walked further, just to the edge of the light and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim interior. They did; however, he still could only see a few feet in front of him.

  That's when he noticed the unlit torches along the walls and smiled. "Works for me," he said, grabbing one and then searching about for something to help light the wooden stick. One end of the torch seemed to be cloth covered in tree sap, at least it seemed like sap way from the pine scent and shiny, clear coat over the cloth wrapped around the stick.

  Item

  Description:

  Torch

  Quality:

  Average

  Attributes:

  Illuminates a twenty foot sphere

  "Uhhhh-," Kano said out loud, looking around to see if there was a way to light the torch. "There must be something." Unless I'm the only guy who goes to a dungeon and forgets to bring a light?

  Item

  Description:

  Iron flint and quartz rock

  Quality:

  Average

  Attributes:

  Bang together to make sparks

  Scrounging around the floor near the torch, he found a few broken up pieces of quartz. Next to the small rocks, some of which had scorch marks, was a small, flat piece of blackened iron. The four-inch long metal was just what he needed to bang against the quartz and catch the torch on fire.

  "Finally," he said, grabbing the iron and quartz, banging them together. "In the stories, the main character is never so ill-equipped," he muttered, thinking of Paul's hearty goodbye. The man was helpful, sure, but didn’t volunteer anything that Kano didn't directly ask.

  While holding the torch awkwardly between his knees, Kano tried to direct the sparks from the iron bar in his right hand onto the sap-covered cloth. After several tries, he finally got the flint to spark for him, and had to brace the torch. Another dozen strikes and one smashed finger later, the sparks landed on the torch, growing slowly into a small flame.

  "Yes," Kano said, watching in satisfaction as the torch burst to life.

  With the mine entrance illuminated Kano could quickly see why Thomas was desperate to get it reopened. Rich veins of minerals glittered along the walls like sparkling lightning bolts. Kano brought up his display to see if he could identify any of the ore deposits in the tunnel.

  Item

  Description:

  Mananite Ore

  Quality:

  Unknown

  Attributes:

  Special grade of steel used in enchanting

  "Now we're talking," Kano said, taking a few steps further into the cave. It was primitive, to be certain. He stared into the dark tunnel in front of him and mentally talked himself into not turning back. No, I gotta get this done. I can do this.

  "Here goes nothing," he said, talking louder than necessary. His thought was that if there were creatures in the mine, they might run away in fright when he spoke. Okay, now that I think about it, why would my voice scare things off? More likely it would summon them like, hey, over here, you’ve got dinner, delivered! I think I’ll stop talking now.

  The shaft disappeared in the distance and Kano wondered how much time and effort the villagers had spent creating the mine. Maybe part of this was natural, he thought, straining his ears to hear anything from the dark depths beyond the torchlight. I wonder how they advertise this game, anyway, he wondered. Travel to exotic lands, meet interesting people, and try not to die?

  His footsteps started to echo in the enclosed space and he tried to walk softer. Stealth, he thought, as the sound coming from the regular thump, thump of his leather boots dimmed. More and more, I’m happy with the druid class, he smiled to himself. The sound was still there, but muted. I’ll need to advance this skill too, he thought, creeping forward at a measured pace. Darker minerals glinted in the light along the walls. He came across a bowl, as well as some work gloves and a tool deeper in the mine.

  Item

  Description:

  Crumbling Leather Gloves

  Quality:

  Poor

  Attributes:

  Protects hands from the elements

  Item

  Description:

  Rusty Pick Axe

  Quality:

  Poor

  Attributes:

  Used to mine ore from rocks

  Item

  Description:

  Mining Pan

  Quality:

  Poor

  Attributes:

 
; Sifts dirt to help find valuable ore

  Meh, garbage, he thought. Turning to look back at the entrance, he could barely see a patch of sunshine. The shaft had turned, it seemed, but at so subtle an angle it was hard to tell unless he looked back at the entrance.

  Stomach grumbling, he reminded himself for the hundredth time that he needed to prepare better when he took off on an adventure. If, he added to himself, shaking his head and inspecting the abandoned equipment. He didn't see any sign of foul play or splatter marks where somebody may have met a violent end, so he started to wonder if the whole thing was empty.

  "Rawwwr!"

  The sudden roar startled him, making him almost drop the torch in surprise. The higher octave predatory call had a clicking sound resonating behind it. The sound didn’t strike Kano as coming from anything larger than a medium-sized dog. Not empty, he thought, at least you don’t sound very big.

  Finished inspecting the equipment and dismissing the notifications, Kano took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Then, he pulled out his sword and held it in his right hand, carrying the torch in his left. Whatever creature was living in the mine probably was not used to light, since they were hiding in the dark, so Kano thought he might have a few advantages when he found whatever creature lie ahead.

  He walked, slower this time, through the mine and started to feel warmer. The ground also felt like it was sloping downward, as well as at a continued angle. To confirm, he looked back and saw the entrance had disappeared into the distant dark. Not even a small pinprick of light remained that he could see with the torch obscuring his vision. The air was warmer now, and Kano understood the torch was not solely responsible. He'd heard mines were supposed to be warm but he had never experienced one firsthand.

  Breathing steadily, Kano used his Stealth skill, moving almost silent, his ears straining to hear anything else from the depths.

  "Rawwwrr!" The sound came again, this time a little closer, a bit louder.

  At least, whatever it is, it's not jumping out of the shadows to bite me.

  Laughing silently to himself, Kano shook his head, squinting his eyes to try to see beyond the circle of light from the torch. Eyes focused, he still could not make out anything farther away than the warm light he held could reach. The path continued onwards. He started walking even slower, straining his eyes and ears, trying to be certain he wouldn't get caught by surprise.

  Eventually he came to a fork in the mineshaft and paused. Which way?

  "Rawwwrr!" The sound came from the left fork so he went right.

  I can hear you, buddy, he thought, but let’s make sure you don’t have a friend down here with his trap shut. Just keep calling out, little guy. I like knowing where you are.

  Recalling the ogre bear from the arena, he looked up and noted the ceiling was too low for a creature like that to stand upright. Sure, it could fit in the tunnel, but the beast's massive arms and claws would be unable to move at their full extension. Shaking his head, he convinced himself nothing so menacing could be living in a mine or cave like this as he explored the right fork.

  A few steps in, he found more tools, this time a shovel and other implements that were higher quality than the items he found earlier. Apparently, Thomas had put not just time and effort, but also equipment into this mine. No wonder he was anxious to get it operational again, Kano thought. This must have taken some time and resources to create.

  The space started to grow a little wider and Kano saw the walls sloping together, then merging, forming a small cul-de-sac at the end of the fork.

  Shit, he thought, seeing no exit. The excavation had just stopped, tools tossed where the miner’s left them. Looks like it’s just the little beasty in tunnel number two. He walked more quickly, though still trying to be as quiet as possible, toward the split in the trail, and with each step, grew a bit more nervous. The sword was getting heavy, and he now doubted the wisdom of carrying the thing in the open.

  "Rawwwrr!"

  Ya, ya, I hear you, Kano thought, pausing to set the sword down and wipe the sweat from his hand. The torch still had enough cloth and pitch left to provide light for however long he might be inside the mine. Cursing mentally, he knew he might need more mobility in a fight and wondered where he could put the torch.

  The walls were rough but there weren't any holders or sconces in them that Kano could find. Shrugging, he finally settled on wedging the torch into the hard packed dirt under his feet, using the sword to carve out space. He then stomped the dirt back into place and pushed on the torch a little. It moved, but not much, so he was satisfied it wouldn't fall over while he explored the source of the sounds.

  Stepping as lightly as he could, Kano crept downwards, toward the sound. The ground had a more noticeable slope on the left fork, and the light only extended so far. He could not see anything, yet, but the further he went from the torch, the darker it grew. His eyes adjusted to the dimness and he continued on, pausing every few feet to listen for sounds.

  "Rawwwrr!"

  This time the sound was higher pitched and definitely closer. He looked down toward the darkness and finally noticed the shaft went to the side abruptly. Irritated, he went back to grab the torch and then realized how silly it was to have only picked up one. He sheathed his sword, confident that whatever awaited him in the dark wasn't going to jump out of the shadows and eat him, as the source of the sound had still not moved. At least, that was how it sounded.

  Walking all the way to the entrance and back took him a few minutes, during which time he considered, again, simply leaving the village. The idea had its appeal, especially considering how if he did one favor for Thomas, why wouldn’t the man eventually ask for another? The idea of the local village mayor ordering him around regularly was not appealing.

  When he reached the torch he left half dug into the ground he lit the second torch now held in his left and once again unsheathed his sword.

  "Here goes nothing," he said, taking a deep breath and walking deeper into the mine. Arriving at the turn, he paused, trying to peer around the corner. He could see from the torchlight this mineshaft also ended in a cul-de-sac. Though the ending here had a much larger room. The shadows were too deep to see anything but the smell told a different story.

  At the entrance, and in the other shaft, Kano had only smelled the rich, earthy dirt and the sharp, mineral scent of rock. Peering around the corner, he was reminded of a library. The musty, dry air had a strange smell, as if it was full of dust. Wrinkling his nose to keep from sneezing, Kano crept around the bend, still unable to see anything further in the dark.

  "Rawwwwwwrrrr!"

  "Oh fuck!" Kano blurted, ducking back around the corner. At the far end of the room, it looked like a Komodo dragon, only twice as round and almost twenty feet long. It was lying outstretched and seemed to be in pain from the sound. Kano ducked around the corner again, more carefully, and held the torch higher, trying to get a better view. A notification appeared in his screen and he selected it while looking at the creature.

  Name:

  Mature Lasher

  Level:

  4

  Class:

  Drake

  Energy Points (Max)

  5 (500)

  Health Points (Max):

  45 (1000)

  Skills:

  Unknown

  This time he didn't immediately turn and run. Studying the creature, dimly lit by the torch, he noticed the puncture wounds and missing rear legs. There were a few skeletons on the floor as well. The spear that pierced its hide was still lodged in the drake’s chest, near a foreleg that was covered in dried blood. The musky smell mixed with an undercurrent of rot the closer Kano walked, and the creature's head swiveled toward him.

  "Rawr!" The cry was softer, shorter this time, and Kano looked into the creature's huge, black eyes. They were almost as large as his face, each one, and had a slit down the middle like a cat. The thing's muzzle was three feet long, or more, and Kano was certain the Lasher could eat ha
lf of him in one go. The animal looked as if the struggle had cost it, and judging by the way its tongue slowly rolled out to lick its muzzle, the drake was dehydrated. The skin shone like a snake's scales underneath the torchlight, and Kano could tell, despite the movement it attempted, the creature wasn't going anywhere.

  Dark green along its length, with lighter colors on the underbelly and darker around the eyes and jaw, the thing looked scary enough that Kano was almost shaking, despite the lack of movement. Those sounds had been stomach curdling, and he had debated running back to the entrance to relieve his suddenly full bladder.

  "Easy," he said, both to the drake and himself. "It looks like you're already done for," Kano said, "so I can ease your suffering, if you want, or you can lie here in the dark until you die from starvation or dehydration." He looked around the room and realized the piles of bones were all human. Did Thomas send these men to clear the mine? Or are those from workers who were eaten by this creature?