Into the Light (Axe Druid Book 1)

by Christopher Johns

  At least not so soon.

  QUEST COMPLETED: JUST LIKE NEW – You have completed Queen Kyra’s request to cleanse the ruins that Dinnia showed you. Reward: 2,000 EXP, status (to be decided by the Queen) amongst her people for you and those who assist in the quest.

  CONGRATULATIONS!

  Level Up! Level 11. You have 15 unspent attribute points.

  I considered the notifications that I had been ignoring and saw that the Dragon had given one thousand EXP when it passed. It was ten levels higher than me, so I could see why it would. Then the two thousand EXP from the quest pushed most of us up a few levels. Jaken, Balmur, and I were at level 11, and Bokaj and Yoshuke were at level 12. I had a good bit of EXP toward my next level already.

  “That was the boss?” Yohsuke asked incredulously. “We still have the rest of the place to explore!”

  “Well, that doesn’t mean we might not run into something else, right?” I said with a chuckle. “Besides, we have one of the major tenants of our gaming philosophy to observe.”

  Yohsuke smiled and looked at the rest of the group. “We get all the loot.”

  Chapter Seven

  We spent a few minutes recovering from our fight, healing, and discussing how things went. We all agreed that the idea to use the environment was a stroke of genius, and Balmur was promised a major good time with lots of booze in gratitude.

  After we rested, we decided to check out the area across the hole in the floor near the throne the Dragon had come to life in front of. We were about to just fastball special me back over when Balmur stepped out of the shadows on the other side behind the throne.

  “How the hell does he do that?!” I cried.

  “It’s an ability he learned before coming back,” said Bokaj. “Shadow Step is like using the shadows as a doorway. It has a certain range that I don’t remember right now, but it’s legit. You should ask him about it. He likes to explain his abilities.”

  “There’s a doorway over here!” called Balmur.

  “Toss me, bud,” I said before shifting to my fox form in front of Jaken.

  The Paladin picked me up once more with ease and threw me through the air like a baseball. I noted some serious difference in his strength, and I was a bit worried about my landing. I easily cleared the gap in the floor, and luckily, Balmur caught me.

  He and I went into the room he had found after he checked for traps. He found one in the floor—a spring-loaded one with barbed spears that would come through the top of the doorway. He dismantled the trap easily enough, and we were in.

  The room was only six square feet and fit the two of us comfortably with our bounty. There was a large chest in the center of the wall at the end of the room, and shelves lined the side walls. Items were sparse on the shelves but looked interesting. One was a simple gold necklace with a pearl in it that gave a +1 to charisma. Another was a ring of protection that added +2 to defense. The last was a pair of gloves that increased the wearer’s ability to perform sleights of hand. I tossed those at Balmur right there. After that, we opened the chest, and our inner greedy gamers came raging to life.

  There was gold, silver, and an even more precious metal—platinum. I had to physically wipe the drool off my face. We put the whole chest into my inventory, since my strength was the highest of the two of us. We didn’t want to sit there and count the money away from the group without protection. The whole chest disappeared, and I felt a slight shift in my physical weight. It wasn’t unbearable, but I knew I wouldn’t be the group’s pack mule. Not for long anyway.

  We walked back outside, raised our hands, and gave a thumbs up.

  “LOOTED!” I shouted. The group gave a cheer, and I tried to pick my way across the hole on my own by walking along the left wall in fox form. It took some time—about ten minutes of slow treading—and a couple close calls, but I eventually made it over.

  I took the chest out of my inventory, and we spent a couple minutes counting, stacking—bickering like school girls—and finally finished the tally and voting process on the money and items. We would divide the fifty platinum and one hundred gold as evenly as possible. The silver and copper, we would donate to the village.

  Bokaj, our charismatic friend, got the charisma necklace, and our squishiest member, Yohsuke, took the ring. Everyone agreed Balmur was the right choice to get the gloves.

  We decided to go loot the body of the Bone Dragon last. We hadn’t seen anything we had killed here disappear until someone looted it, so we weren’t worried about it. We still had the upper portion of the opposite wing to look into.

  We packed up and marched back the way we came. The arrows littering the ground told our story. I wondered if they would just disappear or if they would stay. Oh well. While we walked back, I fiddled with my unspent points. I had fifteen to play with, so I thought about what I had used the most of recently. Strength and magic. That blow took a good chunk of my health which bothered me. I thought over things for a moment and decided to up my stats like so: strength five points, dexterity three points, constitution two points, and intelligence the final five points. I figured hitting harder with my spells and strength would equal out my slightly slower mana regeneration. I also had four points for my weapon proficiency.

  I opened my weapons tab and opened up the Great Axe Proficiency. A tree grew from it—kind of like a perk tree from some of the games I played back home. They were weapon skills. There were three to choose from so far, and I had four points to play with. One from not having enough to level up my Great Axe Proficiency before we left, and three from leveling up three times.

  Wind Scythe – Throw your great axe into the enemy accurately up to 30 feet. One additional foot per 5 strength (max 35ft). 15 – 30 base damage. Cool down: 1 minute.

  Cleave – Boosts damage of the next attack by 100%. Cool down: 3 minutes.

  Devil’s Hammer – Slam the butt, or a blunt portion, of your axe into the enemy. 50% chance to stun target for 30 seconds. Cool down: 2 minutes.

  All of these skills were amazing, and I would have each of them, especially since this was only the beginning of the tree from the looks of it. I chose Cleave because duh, damage boosts are the stuff.

  Wind Scythe would be something that could be a game changer for me. With that, I might be able to take an enemy out right away from a distance, then engage however else the situation dictated. Devil’s Hammer was a must, too—who didn’t want to ring someone’s bell hard enough to stun them? I really had no reason not to take them all, so I had a point left over for later use.

  We returned to the center of the place without incident, then crossed over to the wing on the right. The wing was empty—no Butlers or Maids unlike the other wing. This wing was also only two rooms. Well, two doors at least.

  Balmur had to pick the lock of the first door, which took him more time than he was comfortable with. Inside, it looked like some kind of study and office combo. There was a dark desk with stamps and moldy papers on it. The shelves behind it were lined with books and pamphlets. I checked, but nothing jumped out a me. Most of the books just crumbled to dust after I touched them. The back wall hosted several large windows that opened to the courtyard we had seen earlier. The view was much the same.

  We turned up some money in the desk but nothing too great—about three silver. We walked through an adjoining door off to left side of the room opposite the desk. Balmur was the first into the room, and the first out of it. A lightning burst shot into his chest and flung him into the rest of us. His health shot down until it was throbbing red, and the front of his armor was singed and smoking.

  “Owwwww…” the poor bastard groaned. I cast Regrowth, and Jaken cast another spell that brought our friend’s health up a good way.

  “I’ll go first,” Jaken said and brandished his shield.

  The tank stepped forward and nothing happened—no lightning burst, no traps, nothing. Balmur grumbled about him not saying something sooner, but that’s what he got for not checking for traps.
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br />   We carefully filed into the room, and it was a good thing we hadn’t barged in again. I could see something on the floor in front of the group. It looked like a rune tinted in a dark blue color with solid lines that shimmered the way the air does over concrete when the sun is out. The circle spanned three feet and was mere inches from Jaken’s toe.

  “I would wager that there is our problem right there,” I said and pointed to my find. “Looks like a rune trap.”

  The group wasn’t unfamiliar with this concept. In more than a couple of the games we all played, runic magic was pretty popular to have as an aspect for magic in general. One of the spells in these games allowed the user to pick a spot to place a rune. That spot was then trapped; if someone stepped into the rune, they received damage. Sometimes the runes had elemental damage attached to them that was more powerful than some spells. If I were to guess, I would say this was either another lightning rune or an ice one.

  I took out a copper coin and tossed it into the circle. The coin plunked down near the center and nothing happened.

  “Looks like it might be activated by proximity to a body,” I mused aloud. “I’d say that we should experiment, but screw that. Anyone see any more?”

  My friends shook their heads, and I chuckled. Good. I doubted that would be the last of the defenses in this room, especially if this was the room I thought it was. A large, four-poster bed dominated one wall; plush pillows and furs covered the entirety. A well-preserved man laid in the bed. He had long, brown hair and the beginnings of a beard on his face. He looked serene with his eyes closed, a slight nose and chiseled jaw. He would definitely be considered handsome for someone in his early thirties. I got the feeling this was the owner of this castle. Well, more like a fort at this point.

  The room was bathed in warm light from the large windows; rays of light covered the red carpeted floors. Two large suits of ebony plate mail armor stood menacingly in the corners beside the bed on slightly raised daises. The one with the winged helmet carried a black and white greatsword, about a foot wide and five-foot-long blade. The center of the blade was as black as the armor, dark as a new moon, and the edge was pure white. The suit with the hooded cloak over the helm wielded what looked like two decent sized daggers.

  “What are the chances those tin cans are enchanted to defend the guy in the bed?” Bokaj asked quietly. “Anyone else feeling like they’re in one giant cliché?”

  We all nodded. Things had been kind of basic since the beginning of this ‘dungeon’. Don’t get me wrong, we were enjoying ourselves all things considered. I had been busy doing something I loved in the week we had been here. We had become something akin to heroes to people we didn’t even know, in my world and here, but I missed my kid. I had to keep reminding myself that I was doing this for him; the little, blue-eyed whirlwind didn’t deserve to have his life taken from him, especially not when it’s my job to protect him.

  The sooner we finished this here, the sooner our world would be protected. I hoped. But just because I was in a hurry to get back to my friends and family, didn’t mean I was going to do this stupidly or half-assed.

  No, sir! Not this guy.

  “I’d wager that those items might drop if we can take them.” Balmur took the words right out of my mouth.

  “Dibs on the great sword,” Jaken whispered quickly. I laughed; the only other person in the group who could even wield it was me, and he knew I swung axe. Dork.

  “Hey, Bokaj, you have any melee weapons?” I asked. He shook his head no.

  “I was mainly worried about ensuring my bow skills were high,” Bokaj explained.

  “You may want to think about it, a bit more, man,” I informed him. “You never know what kind of area we might be in. A bow may not always be the best thing to use in those situations, right?”

  He nodded thoughtfully. “What about our resident Rogue here? He would be able to put them to use better than I could.”

  “True, but I’m having fun using my hand axes, and I’m not looking to change them anytime soon.” He smiled. “Maybe I can start smithing and make my own. You guys do know you can take up jobs, right?”

  There was a confused look that passed over the rest of us, and Balmur sighed dramatically.

  “While I was looking at weapons, the blacksmith, Rowland I think, approached me to see if I was interested in learning his trade since I’m an Azer Dwarf. He says he wonders how the metal will react to me. I thought about taking him up on it. Since we don’t know where to go just yet or what to do, what’s the harm in learning a trade?”

  I thought about it a moment. Yes, while we work on our trades, we would be potentially taking time away from our mission, it could give us experience in its own way. Not to mention, if we could make our own gear, we could potentially help each other in the long run. It depended on the kinds of jobs that were available. I’d have to ask about it later.

  “Great initiative, man. So it’s decided then. Bokaj, if you want those daggers for a back up, you got ‘em,” I said.

  “Sweet!” He smiled and readied himself, flashing a glance at the daggers.

  We stepped further into the room, and the suits did nothing. We all had a bit of a “huh” moment. That sure didn’t last long though because the guy in the bed sat bolt upright and began to wail in an unearthly moan.

  “Lich?” I shouted the question, and the rest of my party shouted back, “LICH!”

  We all went to town on the poor bastard. Arrows whizzed through the air and connected with their mark but didn’t seem to do too much damage. The real powerhouse seemed to be our tank who had a golden hue to his sword and shield. The creature, now green with a sickly glow and it’s hair waving and moving behind it like a creature in water was trying to rise. Sure enough, the thing was a Lich Duke Level 14. Not too much higher than us, but it was still hitting hard.

  It smacked Yohsuke away from it into one of the suits of armor, the dagger one, and he stayed there stunned for a moment. With such close quarters battle going on, I figured I’d try my close up Lightning Bolt again. I snuck up on the thing as Jaken weaved in and out of the creature’s spell-enhanced swipes and Tmont batted at its floating legs.

  I put my hand up to its back and cast my spell. The spell phased right through the creature and hit Jaken square in his shield. The spell zapped him and dropped his health by a good twenty percent.

  “Hey!” he called out indignantly.

  “Sorry!” I yelled back over the wailing of the creature. “Spell damage is no good!”

  The rest of the group didn’t really have to worry all that much, but Yoh and I would be hard pressed. Just as that thought crossed my mind, Yohsuke stabbed through the creature, and it screeched even louder than before.

  So I was the only one then.

  At fifty percent HP, the Lich released another wail that slammed us up against the walls, stunned. It lifted both hands into the air, and a sickly yellow aura coated the room, then dispersed. The ground shook slightly, and bones began to burst through the floor and walls like the room was made from them. Seconds later, a dozen level 8 Skeletal Warriors stood to attention in the room. They each carried some kind rusted sword or mace. The Lich raised its hands again to point at us, and they milled forward. They weren’t the swiftest enemies, but there were twelve of them. This, I could do though.

  As the stun lifted, we all stood and began to power through the enemies.

  “Jaken, get that flying bastard, bud,” I yelled. “We’ve got these guys.”

  He yelled then charged the Lich. He burst through the bones of one Skeleton, and it didn’t stand up again. Eleven to go. I took out my great dagger and set to work, then snapped my fingers and summoned Filgus’ Flaming Blade. I wasn’t certain how well the elemental sword would do or if this counted as dual wielding, but I knew I would need to try and sort this out quickly. My movements seemed clunkier than normal, less agile or decisively less effective, but I chalked it up to the fact that I had nothing near Balmur’s skill. S
hitty as I may have felt doing it, though, it worked, and there was something to be said about life and lemons in there somewhere.

  Yohsuke must have seen my sword because I heard him laugh and call me a rather rude name in a friendly manner.

  He was tanking three of the Skeletal Warriors while Bokaj and Balmur laid into them. They fell shortly after. I took care of two more that had begun their way—death by magical flaming slash wounds was always fun. Half the force left.

  “Yoh, go grab some Lich brother,” I half shouted over my shoulder. “We’ve got this. We can’t have him summoning more.”

  I didn’t have time to look away from the Skeleton I had begun fighting, but I heard the bastard’s growls and unearthly groans of pain and knew that Yohsuke had joined Jaken. I caught a glimpse of the Lich’s HP bar—thirty percent, and it looked to be falling steadier with the two of them teaming up.

  Balmur, Bokaj, and I focused on our small skeletal squad. Balmur dashed behind my back and stepped from the shadows behind the mob. Having a little more room to play with, I dissolved my Filgus’ Flaming Blade and re-equipped my great axe. My first swing caught the Skeleton on the far right and knocked him into his friends. A black blur of fur and hand axes fell on him and ended his life quickly. Tmont bowled into another three on the left, and Bokaj loosed arrow after arrow into them while his familiar went ape shit.

  I unleashed Cleave and slammed my axe into the head of the Skeleton I hadn’t managed to hit, and it crumbled to dust. The only one left standing ended up getting snuck up on and slashed by Balmur as an arrow pierced its left eye socket. Tmont polished off the last Skeletal Warrior beneath her, and we turned to help our friends with the Lich. The Lich’s health had gone down to fifteen percent since last I had checked. Balmur stepped from the shadows again and laid into the Lich opposite Jaken. Arrows sprouted from the enemy’s shoulder, and his health dropped another percentage. So weapons worked, just not spells, groovy.