Sky Realms Online- Grayhold

by Troy Osgood

  Reversing his grip on the javelin, Hall took aim and threw. It sailed across the short distance and buried itself in the Goblin’s leg. The creature yelped and jumped up, right into Roxhard’s swing. The weapon swung to the right, the axe head digging into the Goblin's side and pushing it right with the momentum. The axe stopped swinging but the Goblin continued, sailing a foot or two before falling to the ground.

  “Thanks,” Roxhard said, leaning on his axe.

  Hall waved his hand in acknowledgment, trying to catch his breath. He grabbed his spear, holding it ready just in case.

  SLAIN: Green Flow Goblin Raider x 2

  +50 Experience

  SLAIN: Green Flow Goblin Chief

  +30 Experience

  Skill Gain!

  Polearms Rank 2 +.3

  Skill Gain!

  Light Armor Rank 2 +.1

  Skill Gain!

  Thrown Rank 2 +.1

  Crouching down next to the Chief, who was dressed in better quality hides, he used the tip of the spear to poke at the clothing. Better quality was subjective. The hides and other bits used for clothes were poor quality by his standards, but would have been high by the Goblins. He found nothing useful on the boss.

  QUEST COMPLETE!

  You have found where the Goblin raiders have been hiding out.

  You have eliminated the raiders and their chief.

  GOBLINS AMOK II ELITE

  Reward: +300 Essec Reputation, +100 Experience

  He looked at his Character Sheet, seeing the bump in experience he had gotten for the quest reward as well as the Goblins he had killed. Not bad, but nothing to indicate why this quest had the ELITE tag. A new quest replaced the completed one.

  You have defeated the Goblin raiders and their chief.

  Now is the time to return to Guard Captain Henry and tell him of your success as well as the death of Scout Jacobs.

  GOBLINS AMOK III

  Report the death of Scout Jacobs and the destruction of the Goblin raiders to Guard Captain Henry.

  Reward: +1000 Essec Reputation, +50 Experience

  Reward: Grayhold Short Sword

  Damage 2D4 (+2)

  Durability 12/12

  Weight 5 lbs.

  ACCEPT QUEST?

  A blue-colored weapon for a reward. A nice upgrade to the dagger. Hall found it odd that right after the fight where he had wished for a short sword, he was now getting one. And a blue colored one at that. The +2 bonus to damage was nice.

  Magical, crafted, or enhanced items came in four tiers. White was the beginning, the basic weapons and gear that everyone started with. The next tier was blue. Those items had a couple of small magical bonuses. Above those were orange items, which had more bonuses applied. Green was the highest tier, the strongest of weapons. White was considered Common, blue was Rare, orange was Epic, and green was Artifact quality.

  The short sword's bonus to damage meant that it would always do at least four points of damage with a successful hit. Still had to hit the target and get past its Protection. If the blow was just a graze, it would do less damage than if the hit was a full hit. But the bonus meant that the weapons edge was magically sharp. Even a grazing blow would do a minimum of two damage.

  They still had to get back to Grayhold so he could get it.

  The wound on his arm had stopped bleeding as had the new ones on his back. He grunted in pain as the walk down the hill aggravated the tears in his skin. Pulling some Greenroot from his pouch, he started chewing on the root.

  At the bottom, he saw Roxhard already chewing on his own root. The Dwarf was kicking at the Goblin's body, muttering to himself.

  “There’s always at least some copper, but this guy is empty.”

  Hall nodded, surprised at the lack of loot from the monsters. He looked at the large pile of stolen goods, wondering what would be there.

  Hall stopped in front of the shaking box, returning to his examination as if the attack had not happened. The box was about two feet long, wide, and high. The air holes were only in the top and along the edge. It moved a little, something thudding against the sides.

  He didn’t know why or how, but something was telling him that it was safe to open the box. He had no idea what was inside, it could be dangerous, but instinct was telling him to open it.

  So, he did.

  Using his dagger, he pried at the nails and managed to take the top off. He set it aside and bent to look in when something flew out at him. He felt wings touch his face as he fell back, the thing a blur. He could hear the flapping as whatever the creature from the box was flew into the air. He expected it to continue flying but it didn’t. He heard a screech as it circled and the sound of the wings as it landed nearby.

  In the dark he could barely make it out as the creature perched on a crate against the stone. It was lost in the shadows but he knew that shape.

  A dragonhawk.

  A foot long, standing a foot tall, it had a wingspan of almost three feet when flying. It had the head of an eagle, sharp beak and piercing eyes. Feathers ran down its back with scales down the front. While it had a head shaped like an eagle, the eyes were more like a reptile. It also had a long, thin tail that widened at the end curled around the sharp talons that gripped the wooden crate. The wings were spread, settling back against its body, shaped like a bat's with a single claw at the end.

  The dragonhawk stared at Hall, the eyes locking on his.

  Congratulations!

  You have freed the dragonhawk. As thanks, the dragonhawk will bond with you and be your creature companion for life.

  Do You Accept?

  Hall didn’t hesitate. He accepted quickly.

  The dragonhawk screeched, a friendly sound.

  A new prompt appeared.

  Rename “a dragonhawk”?

  He thought about calling it Screech, the name of the one he had before. Skirmishers, Druids, and Witches were the only classes that could receive creature companions. Witches were able to get familiars that added in the casting distance and power of their hexes. A Druid was able to get an animal that served as additional offensive support as the Druid was primarily a healing class. Skirmishers didn’t have a choice in their creature allies. They always got a dragonhawk.

  From the lore, the Skirmisher was a class developed by the High Elves. They were meant to be border guards, trained to hold back the enemy. As a gift, the ancient Elven leaders had granted the Skirmishers the dragonhawk to serve as a companion as Skirmishers were meant to be solitary guardians. The dragonhawks serving as the Skirmishers eyes over long distances.

  The more he thought about it, the less a name like Screech fit. He had never given much thought to it before, the creature companion just being additional damage. But now he felt he had to treat it differently. Already, this dragonhawk felt like a real animal. The dragonhawk looked at him, head tilting.

  “Pike,” Hall said. The bird screeched, an acceptance.

  The name was in reference to the long spears used by infantry soldiers. They gave the soldier a longer reach, and that was what a dragonhawk could do for a Skirmisher.

  Pike stretched out its wings, screeched, and rose into the air. He settled in the trees overhead, Hall hearing the rustling.

  Congratulations!

  You have Learned a new Class Ability. Shared Vision.

  This allows you to view the world through the eyes of your Companion.

  “Nice,” Roxhard said, looking up into the trees.

  Hall smiled, feeling somewhat complete. He couldn’t explain it. A part of himself had been missing but was now whole.

  “What else is there?” Roxhard asked, breaking Hall from his contemplations.

  Together, they quickly searched the contents of the crates and bags. There was a lot of cloth, silk, and cotton. A couple crates of ore and some miscellaneous leather. They found some packed food, dried jerky, and bread. Both grabbed some, eating as they searched. Hall had forgotten how hungry he was. There was flint and tinder, rope and c
limbing gear. They even found a couple of bedrolls to go with the cloaks he had set aside earlier.

  Enough equipment for both of them, along with some extra packs to use, and a good amount to sell. They found no coin or jewels but they would make a decent profit with what they had found. The equipment they gathered would save them having to buy it.

  “Damn, we got lucky,” Roxhard said, taking the ore. They had divided the crafting material up. Roxhard got the ore, and Hall the leather. They’d split the money from the sale of the cloth.

  “We got lucky with the fight,” Hall said, motioning back to the Goblin corpses. “ELITE quests have the chance for greater rewards but will be much more dangerous and deadly,” he continued, reciting the quest text.

  “True,” the Dwarf said from where he sat on the ground, arranging the various goods. His magical pouch was now full, and he was dividing the rest up into the extra bags for transport.

  Hall stood up, looking at the last bag. The pile of crates was off to the side, not worth breaking apart or bringing with them. He had already divided up the goods he would carry and was just left with this last bag he had set aside.

  Unlike the others, which were backpacks or sacks, this one was long and skinny. It was tube shaped, about a foot in length, three inches in diameter. The bottom was stitched with hard leather, the tube sides a lighter and thinner leather. The top was the same as the bottom but able to be removed. The hard ends would prevent the tube from being crushed. A long strap was attached to the top and bottom edges.

  “What’s that?” Roxhard asked, standing up.

  Hall shrugged and pulled the top off. He couldn’t see much in the dark and firelight, but inside looked to be a paper rolled up.

  Capping it, saving it for daylight, Hall stuffed it into his magical pouch.

  “Let’s go,” he said. “Need to find some shelter for the night.”

  “At least we’ll be warm this time,” Roxhard said cheerfully, patting his new bedroll and blanket.

  Together, they walked out of the hollow in the ground, leaving the Goblins behind. They had kicked the fire apart, spreading it out so it wouldn’t catch the forest on fire. Hall looked up and saw the dark shadow of Pike flying through the air above them.

  Roxhard had been right.

  They were warm the rest of the night. They had found a cluster of boulders, three sides protecting them from the night’s wind, and more importantly, far enough away from the carnage of the dead Goblins that nighttime scavengers would not be a problem. A real fire made with the flint and tinder, real and enough food, and the bedrolls and cloaks had made for a fairly comfortable night.

  With no Vitality negatives when they woke, it was a good night.

  Hall was happy. The ELITE quest had been a risk. Both had gotten wounded and were still recovering. The fight could have gone either way, but the rewards seemed worth it. They had recovered enough items to at least get some silver and wouldn’t need to spend money on supplies.

  He looked over at Pike, the dragonhawk perched on a low branch just outside the rock shelter. As far as Hall knew, the bird had been there all night. Having the dragonhawk was far better than anything they would get in return for selling the goods. A month of cold and hungry nights wouldn’t equal out.

  He still didn’t understand why he felt that way. He’d played ninety levels with one in the game, not normally getting the Creature Companion until level ten, and it had been nothing but an additional attack that never really amounted to much damage. But Pike was different. More independent, not confined to a preset command structure of actions. The dragonhawk was smarter. What else was different? Hall was excited to find out.

  With the sun out, he could now see the coloring of Pike. A dark forest green color to the feathers, the scales a lighter orange. The bird was beautiful.

  As excited as he was to find out what Pike was capable of; he was also excited, more curious, to find out what was in the tube case.

  The sun was up high enough that he could see the details in the case. Golden runes ringed the top and bottom edges, a line of runes down the center of the case. He didn’t recognize the writing, but it appeared to be non-magical. He tapped it a couple times, trying to activate the runes. Nothing.

  He’d already opened it in the night with no trap so he assumed it was safe.

  Holding the end, he tipped it upside down, and the rolled parchment fell out. He opened it up, holding the opposite ends and saw a rough map of what he thought was the island of Cumberland. He could see the Gray Dragon Peaks, the Green Flow River, and what he thought was Grayhold at one end and Land’s Edge Port at the other. It was heavily stylized, with some features exaggerated, especially at the northern edge. In that area, there was a roughly drawn line, snaking through the Far Edge Peaks to what looked to be a cave. There were numerous notations, handwritten notes explaining landmarks and other directions.

  Congratulations!

  You have uncovered a Treasure Map Level I.

  X MARKS THE SPOT

  Reward: +50 Experience

  ACCEPT QUEST?

  Success!

  You have deciphered: Treasure Map Level I

  Cartography Rank 2 +10

  Hall stared into space, focused on the prompts floating across his vision. He read them multiple times, trying to make sense of it all. A treasure map? Cartography? He accepted the quest, watching it show up in his quest journal and log.

  Both the map and skill were things he had never encountered in the game before. Had never even heard of them existing in the game before. Another new skill and a new kind of quest?

  Opening up the skills tab, he saw that Cartography was now listed under Professions. It would be one of the three Profession skills he could learn. It wasn’t a gathering skill, as he already had two of those in Skinning and Herbology, and theoretically should not have been able to learn another. That made it a crafting Profession. With this, he wouldn’t be able to learn Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, or any of the others.

  Clicking on the Cartography skill, he was curious to learn more.

  Cartography is the art of making and reading maps. You will learn to make accurate and scaled maps of cities, dungeons and the land. You will be able to note your personal map with markers, using that to generate maps that can be sold to Players and shopkeepers.

  These maps can be used by Players to add those locations to their personal maps. You will also be able to decipher Treasure Maps. Only with Cartography will Treasure Maps be usable.

  Interesting, he thought, closing out the prompts. He stared at the map in his hand. The skill could be extremely useful, but it depended on how often these Treasure Maps dropped and what was available at the end of them. The other aspects would be more useful. It sounded like he could make his personal map more detailed and basically copy that for others to use. Essentially, he would be able to do what the various game Wikis had done: take game maps and plug in important NPCs, quests, and other locations. Since there was no access to the Wikis or forums, that would be very useful.

  But at the cost of Leatherworking or Smithing? That remained to be seen.

  Either way, he now wanted to see what was at the other end of the path shown in the map.

  “What is it?” Roxhard asked, sitting up in his bedroll and pointing at the parchment.

  “Our next task after selling the goods in Grayhold,” Hall answered, already planning the journey.

  CHAPTER TEN

  After two more nights in the wild, encounters with a couple of wolves and an aggressive bear, they returned to Grayhold. Both had managed to get multiple skill gains from the Goblin fight as well as the random encounters and ones that happened while traveling. Hall was getting pretty good at finding herbs in the wild. They both had a good supply of Greenroot.

  Walking unchallenged through the gates, Hall noticed the guards on duty were all different. He tried to remember. Guards in the game had been background, and he had never really paid attention, if they had changed
before. He didn’t think they had, being static NPCs. These guards were definitely different, none he recognized from when he had left.

  Guard Captain Henry was still there but not in the small guard house. He was up on the wall, and they had to search for him.

  “You’re back,” he said to both of them. “It’s been almost a week. I thought you had perished,” he continued, walking by and signaling for them to follow. He led them to the guardshack, remaining outside before he talked again. “Tell me, did you thin out the wolf populations? Find Scout Jacobs?”

  “We killed the wolves,” Hall said.

  “Excellent,” Henry replied, reaching over and shaking both their hands and handing each a small stack of copper coins.

  QUEST COMPLETE!

  You have slain the wolves that had been threatening Grayhold.

  WOLVES OUTSIDE THE HOLD

  Reward: 50 copper, +100 Essec Reputation

  Hall noticed that they did not get the Experience reward, as that had come when the quest conditions had been met.

  “But what about Jacobs and the Goblins?” Henry asked, all serious with an undertone of worry. He was concerned about his soldier.

  “Jacobs is dead,” Hall replied.