Stel, Venna, and Broda had burst forth from the forest and charged at the third guardian as Khorim and I launched our attacks. We hoped that the third skeleton would react to their threat and not retreat. If it did attack, the elves and Broda should make short work of it. But if it retreated, my job would be to slow it down enough to allow the others to catch it before it could vanish inside the ruins.
Fortunately, luck was on our side. The third guardian skeleton stood its ground, and my three heavily armed companions cut it down in no time. Once the three sentries were down, we took a moment to scan for any additional threats. When we found none, we regrouped just outside the entrance to the ruins.
“That went… well,” Broda commented ironically, apparently surprised with our success.
“We were lucky the last one stood his ground,” I replied as I recovered my arrow from the skeleton’s skull.
“I’ll take lucky any day, girl,” Khorim said with a wink.
Broda stared at him harshly with one eyebrow raised in response.
I sensed this was either going to be a sore spot with her or some sort of running gag between us. I decided to push my luck and went with running gag.
“Yes, master dwarf, I believe you would like to get lucky any day,” I said to him with a smile. “But I think it might be best for you to discuss such things with Broda and not me.”
Khorim nearly choked as his face turned bright red, while Broda laughed heartily at his discomfort; Stel and Venna joining in on the fun as well. While they laughed, I quickly looted the skeletons before I rejoined them to plan our next step.
“If you’re all ready now, perhaps we should head inside?” I inquired innocently.
From what we could see standing just outside, there was only enough room for us to proceed single-file. We briefly discussed several options before deciding on our marching order. Khorim would go first, acting as a scout and searching for any traps. We doubted the undead would employ such tactics, but we felt it was better to be safe than sorry. Stel then Broda would follow, while Venna would take rear guard, leaving me between her and Broda.
When we entered the ruins, the passageway ran for a fair distance and slowly descended along the way. As we traveled deeper inside, the light dimmed, and I cast Enhanced Sight so that I could see clearly in the gloomy darkness. We cautiously followed the hallway down until a large door loomed ahead of us. Khorim held up a hand when he saw it, and we came to a stop.
“Wait here. I’ll go ahead and check it out,” he whispered as we gathered around.
Khorim advanced cautiously to the door and took a few minutes to inspect both the door and the hallway surrounding it before he returned.
“Looks clear on this side, but I can hear something moving around just beyond the door,” he reported.
“Do you think you could open it just a bit and take a peek?” Venna asked.
“If it were a well-maintained door, I would say yes, but this rusty old thing is likely to squeal like a pig as soon as it moves an inch,” Khorim replied regretfully.
“We can’t just run in there. We have no idea what’s behind that door,” Stel added.
“I can try to take a look, but you’ll need to be prepared to run one way or the other. Either in if it looks good, or out if it’s bad,” Khorim said bluntly.
“I say we try. We came this far—we can’t just give up on Venna’s quest so easily,” I chimed in.
“Agreed,” added Broda.
With a nod, Khorim headed back up the passage. We followed him closely and took up positions around the door, ready for whatever his attempt would yield. Suddenly, I remembered one of my purchases, and I brought Khorim to a halt as I silently placed a hand on his shoulder.
He looked at me questioningly while I reached into my pack and withdrew the bottle of lamp oil before I poured a small amount on each of the exposed door hinges. It wasn’t exactly lubricating oil, but I hoped it would help to keep down the noise just a little. When I finished, Khorim gave me an appreciative nod as I retreated back to my position. As he slowly pulled the door open just a crack, he peered around the edge and looked beyond the door that was now slightly ajar. After just a moment, Khorim stepped away, and we crowded around to hear his report.
“It’s a large chamber with a few zombies, mostly forest beasts. I counted five of them. There are also two more of those skeletons,” he began. “The bad news is that there’s also an alarm set up. A large bell in the far-left corner. If one of them rings it, we’ll probably have everything in this place on us in seconds.”
“The zombies are nearly mindless,” Venna said, evaluating the risks. “They will attack but should not move to sound the alarm. The skeletons are at least somewhat sentient. We need to eliminate them before they can alert the rest of the undead to our presence.”
“I can take one of the skeletons as soon as we go in,” I offered. “Getting the second in time will depend on how far it is from the bell and whether or not I can get a clear shot.”
“Take the one closest to the alarm, Dae,” Broda responded. “Khorim and I will charge the other while Stel and Venna keep the zombies busy.”
Everyone nodded in agreement with Broda’s hasty plan, and we moved back to position ourselves around the door again. Once he was ready, Khorim nodded and then threw the door wide open.
As the room came into view, I saw the zombies Khorim had spoken of. Three shambling undead bears dominated the space, while two rotting wolves sat perched along the far wall. I quickly scanned for the skeletons and spotted them almost immediately.
The one closest to the bell had already begun moving towards it by the time I located him. With an arrow already drawn and infused with Swarm, I quickly aimed and fired. The distance was close, so my shot was true, and the skeleton fell to the floor in a jumbled pile of bones as both arrows pierced its skull.
As luck would have it, the second skeleton had also headed for the bell. So, by the time I drew another arrow, it had already reached the side of the alarm and was swinging a large hammer at the bell. If it connected, the resounding gong would echo through the entire ruin, and bring an untold number of undead down upon us.
To stop it from sounding the alarm, I needed a one-shot kill, so I tried to aim for its head. Unfortunately, Venna and Stel blocked my line of fire as they bore down on the zombies. It was also obvious that the dwarves would not arrive in time to prevent the skeleton from striking the bell, so my only hope was a desperate gamble. I took careful aim, and I let an arrow fly with a silent prayer on my lips. As I watched helplessly, the skeleton swung its hammer with force, only to have it sail through empty air. The only sound that followed its swing was a soft, dull thud.
My shot had ripped through the rope the bell had been hanging from and dropped it to the floor. When the alarm fell amongst the piles of debris, the muffled impact of the bell striking the cluttered floor had barely registered. Undeterred by his failure, the skeleton reared back to strike the bell as it lay on the ground. I was unsure whether or not his tactic would have any effect, but before the skeleton could follow through, Khorim and Broda arrived and slammed their weapons into its body. The sickening crunch of Broda’s hammer striking the side of its skull told me that the threat was ended. With the skeletons gone, I turned to take in the rest of the fight and began shooting arrows into the beast zombies while my companions held them at bay.
Venna, Stel, and Broda came together and formed a hasty wall in front of me, while Khorim’s blades flashed out from between them, striking at any target of opportunity. As they held the line, I continued firing over their heads as I took any opportunity that presented itself. Working together, we took out the remaining undead—Venna’s blessing on our weapons allowed us to do incredible damage to the abominations. Once the last undead bear fell, we all breathed a sigh of relief. Not only had we come through unscathed, but we had also prevented the skeletons from sounding the alarm and ending any hope we had of completing Venna’s quest.
; As we took a breath, Khorim silently pointed to the two exits from the room. One was a closed door, the other an open passageway. Nodding to Stel, Khorim cautiously moved to investigate the open hallway while the elf took up guard over the door. Khorim disappeared down the passage but returned quickly to make his reported.
“It’s only a short hallway,” he informed us. “It ends in a smaller chamber filled with refuse and fallen undead. Seems like they’re using it as a garbage pit.”
“Show me,” Venna replied. “I should at least attempt to see if any of the undead there are still animated.”
The two set off down the hallway to investigate the corpses. Since we had no interest in piles of undead bodies, Broda and I remained behind to search the room and loot the fallen skeletons. Venna and Khorim returned just as we completed our task.
“Were any still... functional?” I asked.
“No,” Venna replied solemnly. “Khorim’s assessment was correct. The undead were using the area as a refuse pile, depositing the bodies of their victims and their fallen brethren alike.”
“Very well,” Stel said. “Let’s take a moment before moving on. Dae, perhaps you could oil the hinges on this door before we proceed? That seemed to work well before.”
I did as he asked and then discreetly pulled up my notifications.
Experience gained – You have gained 420 XP.
You have gained a level! – You have earned sufficient experience to advance to level 5.
You have gained five Attribute points. Three of your points have been automatically assigned to DEX, WIS, and CHA. You may assign the remaining points to any two other Attributes as you see fit.
Your choices are final and must be made now.
Damn, I thought. The automatic assignment points were just killing me. Dexterity was a good stat to increase, but Wisdom and Charisma were definitely low on my priority list at the time. I hurriedly assigned my two remaining points to Strength and Intelligence. Since I needed to finish my review before rousing any suspicion, I quickly moved on to evaluate the next screen.
You can now choose a new Ability. You must choose one of the following:
Rapid Fire — After firing an arrow, your follow-up shot takes half as long as normal to be fired. Cost — 10 Endurance.
Seeker – Your next single shot has an increased chance to hit. Cost – 10 Endurance.
Body Blow – Your next dagger attack, if it lands, will cause your opponent to suffer an Endurance penalty. Cost — 20 Aura.
Impale – Your dagger inflicts a damage-over-time bleed effect. Cost — 20 Endurance.
Hamstring – The next arrow fired has a chance to cripple your opponent. Cost — 20 Aura.
Focused Fire – Your next arrow causes increased damage if it hits. Cost – 20 Endurance.
Parry – Chance for your blades to block next melee attack targeted at you. Cost — 20 Endurance.
Your choice is final and must be made now.
In a hurry, I chose Parry. I had plenty of offense, but very little in the way of defense, so it seemed like the best option. Besides, I needed to dispose of the rest of my notifications before anyone noticed my distraction.
Experience gained – You have gained 84 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 84 XP.
You have reached 20% proficiency with the Spell, Enhanced Sight. Proficiency gains slow after achieving 20% proficiency.
Experience gained – You have gained 420 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 84 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 74 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 74 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 74 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 74 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 74 XP.
It seemed that I had gotten at least partial XP credit for every kill the group had made, even the ones I hadn’t participated in directly. While I was surprised, it also made a certain amount of sense—the kills were part of a group effort, after all. Even so, it was a very generous XP reward, by far the largest I had received from any single encounter. I briefly wondered if this was normal, or yet another Deathless perk before I opened up my sheet to take a fast look at my overall progress.
Dreya Dae
Human Female
Level - 5
8504/10200
Health 150/150 Aura 350/350 Endurance 150/150
Class – Warden – Wardens gain a 10% bonus to skills associated with nature or which have natural effects
Specialization –
Mastery –
STR - 16
CON - 15
DEX - 17
INT - 16
WIS - 14
CHA - 20(+1)
Abilities
Ignore Armor – Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. - 22%
Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. - 23%
Block – You may attempt to use your bow to parry a single melee attack. Cost — 20 Endurance. - 7%
Swarm – Your next arrow duplicates itself in flight. Cost – 20 Endurance and 20 Aura. - 22%
Flurry – Perform three rapid strikes with a bladed weapon. Cost — 30 Endurance. - 21%
Parry – Chance for your blades to block next melee attack targeted at you. Cost — 20 Endurance. - 1%
Spells
Enhanced Sight – May be cast on self or ally. Improves visual acuity of the recipient in dark or obscured conditions. Cost — 20 Aura. - 20%
Skills
Bow – 25%
Critical Hit – 23%
Blades – 22%
Short Sword – 22%
Dagger – 20%
Critical Hit – 17%
Two-Handed – 15%
Armor – 20%
Medium Armor – 21%
Perception – 25%
Environmental – 25%
Identify Enemy – 12%
Identify Person – 4%
Combat Dodge – 11%
Subterfuge – 24%
Stealth – 24%
Find Trap – 5%
Disarm Trap – 4%
Set Trap – 10%
Manipulation – 9%
Persuade – 11%
Barter – 11%
Survival – 21%
Tracking – 21%
Identify Creature (Beasts) – 8%
Skinning – 13%
Field Dress – 12%
Alchemy – 9%
Herbalism – 14%
Once I had a quick glance, I closed the window and took a look around to make sure my actions hadn’t raised any suspicion. Fortunately, the rest of the group seemed to still be checking over their gear, tightening a few straps and the like.
Comparing the progress I was able to make being part of a group to how slowly I had been advancing while alone was astounding. It would have taken me several days if not a full week to get as much XP as this single battle had provided in mere minutes. That wasn’t even considering the increased security I gained from not traveling alone. The benefits were obvious, and I resolved to do my best to stay with my new companions even beyond the completion of our current quest.
But if I wanted to do that, I knew that I had to not only earn their trust but be willing to trust in them as well. Before my encounter with Nedd and the resulting conflict with the Bloody Hearts, this would not have been a difficult thing for me, but being hunted by a ruthless band of murderous thugs was sorely testing my ability to trust others. However, I had come to know my new companions, and not only were they honorable people; they clearly had no love for the Bloody Hearts.
They already knew most of my story. The only significant part I had held back was the fact that I was one of the Deathless. If we stayed together for an extended period of time, that was a secret that could not last. I thought that it would be better for them to hear it from me, rather than have them discover it on their
own, perhaps in some unanticipated and suspicious manner. I decided to look for an opportunity to share that last confidence with them at an appropriate moment. My musings were interrupted as Khorim approached the exit door. He motioned for us to prepare for the next round of undead and then began to slowly pry the door open little by little.
When it was cracked open just enough for him to peer around the edge, Khorim peeked into the passageway beyond, searching for any signs of danger. After only a moment, he pulled back and opened the door wide.
“Nothing as far as I can see,” he explained. “Just another corridor.”
We resumed the same marching positions as before while we cautiously started down the hallway, and discovered that the passageway sloped gently downward. At this point, we were well underground—at least a full floor below what would have been the surface level of the ruins. With no light penetrating from above, we marched forward in complete darkness. Venna offered her hand to guide me, but I shook her off.
“It’s okay Venna. I can see just fine,” I whispered to her.
Her face held an expression of mild surprise at my response. An expression I was able to see quite clearly thanks to my Enhanced Sight. She had obviously not expected my reply.
Before she could say anything, Khorim held up a hand and motioned for us to stop, as we had come to another closed door. Without waiting to be asked, I stepped next to Khorim and once again oiled the hinges. I nodded to Khorim when I was done and made my way back into position, and Khorim waited a few moments for the oil to penetrate before beginning to gingerly pry the door ajar. Once again, the door complied, opening silently and allowed Khorim to peer inside undetected. It did not take him long to assess the situation beyond the portal. Once he retreated from the doorway, Khorim relayed his observations.
Second Skin: Fractures Page 31