by K R Dimmick
“No thanks.” I turned to go, laughing inwardly at the shock written across her face. Clearly, no one had ever refused her before.
She recovered quickly, plastering a fake smile onto her face.
“Well, if you change your mind, especially when your timer hits day 2 and you’re no closer to solving that stupid riddle, I’ll be here again tomorrow.”
With that, she tossed her hair over her shoulder, spun on her heels and flounced off. I wondered how many days she’d been here and whether she’d already solved the riddle and was simply trying to help the ones who hadn’t. Somehow, I doubted she was that altruistic, but I could be wrong.
I left the village and instead of going right, I turned left and walked along a dirt path. After about 10 minutes, I reached the edge of the gray mist on my map.
Congratulations! You have discovered: Ben Sering.
The gray mist on my map receded and I could see a flat area that led up to some mountains on the left. There was also an odd, gold dot right at the edge of the mountains. I tried thinking about getting information and a little notification popped up.
Gold-colored map markers denote Marker Stones.
You may reset your spawn point at a marker stone by simply touching the stone and selecting the relevant menu item.
Okay, I guess that answered my question about what a marker stone was, at least. Why would there be one out here, though? Unless there was a dungeon nearby? If so, this might be a great way to level up fast, provided, of course, that I was a high enough level to manage it. Well, only one way to find out. I headed toward the entrance in the distance.
The path twisted and turned alongside a little stream that flowed down from the mountains toward Milgate village. Up ahead, I could see a little hut with a bunch of what looked like small sheets stretched between various poles. As I got closer, I could smell a rich, earthy, leathery smell, along with a hint of stale urine, which was thoroughly unpleasant. A tall, lanky man with pale blond hair was bent over a table, scraping something.
I walked up to his gate and realized it was a tannery, and that all the things stretched between the poles were leather hides. As the man turned around to see me, I caught sight of his ears, which came to clearly visible points. He was an elf.
“Hello there, I’m Kailu Banni, the Grandmaster Leatherworker, how can I help you today?” He asked with a smile on his rather grubby face as the text above him changed to read Kailu Banni - 7.
“I’m new to the area, is there a dungeon around here by any chance? And if so, do you have any information on it?”
“There is a dungeon, it’s recommended you be level 5 and have a large party to clear it, however, you can leave at any point if you want,” he glanced quickly at my gear. “You don’t look like you’re geared that well for it though. I do have some leather gear if you’re interested in buying some?” There was a definite hopeful glint in his eyes.
“I don’t have much coin yet, but I’d love to see if you have anything I could manage to pay for. Either a vest or some leggings would be great.”
“I understand,” Kailu’s shoulders slumped, “I’ll get out a couple of pieces that might work for you.”
He walked off in the direction of his hut as I had a quick look in my inventory to see how much coin I had to spend. I had a grand total of 5 florins, and the clothing in the market had been priced at 10-15 per piece. I seriously doubted I was going to manage to get anything, but there was always hope.
Kailu returned and held up a pair of plain, dark blue leather trousers, a matching pair of dark blue bracers, and a dark blue corset-like chest piece tooled with aged bronze-colored images of dragons and Celtic knots. They were stunning.
“How much are they?” I asked hopefully, trying not to look like I was in love with them already.
“10 florins for the leggings, 8 florins for the top and 5 florins for the bracers. If you get them all I’d be happy to take off 4 florins.”
“Oh, and what stats do they have?”
Suddenly, Kailu started mumbling and going red in the face.
“Well, they’re unique stats, which is why I still have them. They each give a boost to Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity and Fortitude. Essentially, they’d be great for a magic user, especially one who can also use physical weapons at range.”
“So, in other words, since there don’t seem to be many magic users around, no one wants them?” I asked.
“Correct,” he said, looking dejectedly at the floor.
“Well, I have a total of 5 florins. Any chance I could get the chest piece and bracers for that?” I crossed my fingers.
He looked at me with a rather shocked expression on his face and I figured I’d pushed it too far.
“Deal,” he said as a huge grin split his face, “I thought I’d have these around forever.”
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Bargain
Great. I should have asked for all three for 5 florins. Next time, I was going to bargain much harder. I handed over my 5 florins and picked up the corset top and bracers.
You have received: Dragon Spirit Vest
+ 7 Intelligence
+ 7 Wisdom
+ 7 Dexterity
+ 7 Fortitude
Quality: Superior.
Rarity: Rare.
Set bonus for 3 pieces + 10% effectiveness to Spirit Magic
You have received: Dragon Spirit Bracers
+ 4 Intelligence
+ 4 Wisdom
+ 4 Dexterity
+ 4 Fortitude
Quality: Superior.
Rarity: Rare.
Set bonus for 3 pieces + 10% effectiveness to Spirit Magic
“Why didn’t you tell me there was a 3-piece set bonus?” I grumbled.
“You didn’t ask and anyway, do you use Spirit Magic?”
“No, but I might learn it one day.”
Kailu started laughing. “Yes, and one day we’ll see dragons flying in the sky again. In all seriousness though, if you really want the leggings, since you’re going into the Telemachus Dungeon, if you bring me back some Hammerhead Bat wings, I’ll give you the leggings in return. What do you say?”
A quest notification popped up.
You have received a quest: Leather Please
The leatherworker Kailu Banni needs 15 Hammerhead Bat wings.
Accepting this quest will mark possible locations on your map.
Completion of this quest will give you 1,000 XP and Dragon Spirit Leggings.
Do you accept? Yes / No
I quickly thought yes before he could change his mind, since the most a solo quest had given me before was 1 florin and I probably wouldn’t get these for less than that.
“Now I can help you in one other way before you go. I have a map of the caverns I can share with you. No charge.” Kailu held out his hand, palm up. “Just put your hand on top of mine and your map will update.
I put my hand over his, a little unsure whether he was being serious or not, however, my hand started to tingle and just as I was about to pull it away, my mini-map glowed and suddenly, all the mist covering that area receded to display the dungeon details.
Congratulations! You have received the map for: Telemachus Dungeon.
Well, at least I wouldn’t be walking in blind. I said my goodbyes to Kailu, equipped my new gear and walked toward the dungeon.
Congratulations! You have discovered: Telemachus Dungeon.
As I approached the caverns, I could see a 7-foot-tall pillar with a faint golden glow around it. I guessed this was the marker stone, so I reached out to touch it.
You can set your spawn point to Telemachus Dungeon by selecting: Set.
You can reset your spawn point to your previous one by selecting: Reset.
Set / Reset?
I thought set and saw the golden glow surge toward me. Before I could react, it enveloped me and my whole body tingled. As suddenly as it happened, the glow disappeared.
Congratulations! Your new spawn
point is Telemachus Dungeon.
As I walked to the entrance, a portal appeared in the mouth of the cave. It looked like swirling water, but iridescent and sparkling slightly. I reached out to touch the surface to see what it felt like and instantly my entire body felt like it was being compressed into a single atom. My vision went black, the ground disappeared, and I felt like I was floating in nothingness. ‘I really don’t like portals,’ I thought before the portal spat me out on the other side.
8
Magic Mushrooms
Once again, I found myself on my hands and knees. This time though, it was on a dirt floor. I picked myself up, dusted my hands off and looked around me.
Beside me was an identical marker stone to the one outside. Its soft, golden glow made the small area around it comfortably bright. Almost like you’d be safer standing next to the pillar. My guess was that nothing could attack you while you were within its light, so if I died in here, I’d at least have a small safe place to collect myself before I ventured back into the dungeon.
The rest of the caverns, however, were quite dark. Somehow, the air still gave off a glow that was enough to see by for about 10 feet in every direction. The rough stone walls were mostly in the shadows, but if I stayed toward the center, I should be able to see what I was walking on. There were a few odd plants near the entrance, but they looked mostly dead, and however hard I tried to Inspect them, nothing happened. I equipped my bow with a thought and figured I may as well get on with it.
A couple of steps in, before I could react, a net came flying toward me. It hit me and ended up covering me. It was horribly sticky. My arms were pinned to my sides. A debuff message popped up.
You are immobilized.
Duration: 5 seconds.
A little red X appeared at the bottom left of my vision as a pale brown spider appeared in front of me. It had a body the size of a cat, but legs that must have been at least 4 feet in length. It was already spinning another web to throw at me when this one wore off.
I could see a drop of green liquid starting to form around its fangs. I had a horrible suspicion I’d be using my new spawn point faster than I would have liked.
Four seconds before I could move, I Inspected the spider to see what I was up against. The words Gladiator Spider appeared in red above its head, with a small 2 next to it. I was still holding my bow, so I tried pulling my mana up to channel into it. It worked. A purple haze appeared around my bow. Now I just needed to be able to move. Time slowed to a crawl as the spider spun its web as fast as it could. I counted down the seconds until my debuff wore off.
Just as the spider reared back to throw its second web, the red X disappeared. I thought Dodge. I rolled out of the way and the web flew past my head. The purple haze around my bow was, amazingly enough, still there. I pulled back on the string and let the arrow fly, picturing it hitting the spider between its many eyes. The arrow hit exactly where I’d directed it. The spider lurched backward. Before it could recover, I pulled back on the string again. Another lavender arrow embedded itself in the spider’s head. This time, it lunged at me, trying to bite me with its venomous fangs. Again, I thought Dodge and rolled to the side just in time. My roll had taken me behind it. I let loose another lavender arrow into the back of its head. It keeled over dead, lying on its back with its legs curled up toward it.
The green XP bar at the bottom of my vision grew a tiny bit longer. Clearly, I wasn’t going to be getting much XP from simply killing mobs.
I stood up and took a deep breath. I’d gotten lucky with that one, I needed to be more careful and watch where I was going, or my luck would run out quickly.
Walking toward the spider’s body, I wondered how I was going to get its venom sac out since I hadn’t thought of bringing a knife with me. However, as I reached toward the body, it started to vibrate and then suddenly disappeared. There on the floor was an almost luminous green sac covered in something that looked like thick saliva. I gingerly picked it up and, sure enough, it was revoltingly slimy.
You have received: Gladiator Spider Venom Sac
I quickly put it into my inventory, hoping it would somehow clean itself and everything else wouldn’t end up covered in the goo as well. Wiping my hands on the side of my trousers, I peered into the space before me. Hopefully, I’d get some kind of skill that would help me see hidden things soon, letting me spot these things before they attacked.
A few steps later, with the purple haze still around my bow, I spotted a dark shape just in front of me, against the wall.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Perception.
You are 10% more likely to spot hidden items and traps.
I drew back my bowstring, ready to face whatever that shadow was.
Once again, before I knew what was happening, a blob of something green landed on my left arm. It started to eat away at my skin, and I screamed. A little red skull and crossbones icon appeared in the bottom left of my vision.
You are poisoned.
Duration: 5 seconds.
My head started to spin, and I wanted to throw up. These things had some powerful venom, I thought. I released the lavender arrow in the direction that I hoped the venom had come from. Thankfully, I heard a thud as it hit home.
Another big spider scuttled out from beside the cave wall. It threw a web at me, almost like a net. I Dodged to the side, but it caught my foot. Yet another little red X popped up on my debuff bar, telling me I’d been immobilized. This time, however, I found I could move my hands at least. I just couldn’t move my feet. It lunged at me. I threw my arm up in front of my face. Its fangs scraped across the new bracer on my arm and I silently thanked Kailu for their quality. With the poison debuff still going, my health was ticking rapidly down and was already at only 50%.
I pushed back against the spider to make it release its bite and drew my bow again. Picturing the arrow landing in the spider’s head, I let it fly. Immediately, I generated another arrow and released it toward the same spot. Finally, the immobilize debuff ran out and I threw myself backward as a new web landed on the spot I’d been in a moment before. My health was now at 25% and I had no idea how to see the spider’s health. I drew the bow again and shot another two arrows in quick succession, both hitting the spider in the head. Luckily, that was all it took, and it rolled over dead, with its legs curling up.
Another tiny little sliver was added to my XP bar.
I had another two seconds of the poison debuff left and only 20% health. I grabbed one of the health potions from my inventory, holding it ready in case I’d miscalculated how far it would drop. The seconds ticked by slowly as my health decreased to 10%.
Finally, the debuff disappeared. The question now was, how fast would my HP regenerate, and would I need to use one of my two health potions anyway? With such a limited supply, I was loath to use one if I didn’t absolutely need to. I sighed. Yet another thing I had to get more of as soon as I could.
With only the base Endurance, I’d done nothing to speed up my health regeneration time. I stood still, wondering if it’d be safer to stay here or go back toward the dungeon entrance. Mobs (monsters) shouldn’t respawn in a dungeon, should they? After all, I seemed to be in a separate instance, having gone through that portal. So, keeping a very wary eye out, I slowly backed up toward the entrance. All the while holding my health potion in case something attacked me anyway.
Still safe, I sat down on the floor in the hopes of speeding up my health regeneration. Sadly, it had no effect, so I stood back up just in case. My health seemed to be increasing by one point each second. With seventy points left to go, I had just over a minute left before I could carry on. Suddenly, a little red icon that looked like a chicken drumstick appeared, and my health regeneration rate halved. I focused on it to find out what it meant.
You are hungry.
Health regeneration rate is halved until you eat something.
Great. Just what I needed. I pulled one of the basic rations out of my inventory a
nd started eating. The trainer wasn’t kidding. It was what I imagined eating cardboard would taste like. However, after a couple of bites, the hungry debuff wore off and I started gaining health at my normal rate again. As I finished the basic ration, I noticed a little blue icon of an apple appear in the bottom left of my vision and focused on that to get the details.
You are well fed.
All stats are increased by 2 for one hour.
I’d have to invest in some more food from the village when I got out of here because that was a very nice buff, at least at my current level.
A minute later, I gingerly walked forward into the cave. The body of the Gladiator Spider I’d killed had already disappeared and the slimy venom sac was simply sitting on the floor, ready for me to pick it up. I added it to my inventory. Two down, only 48 to go. I was definitely going to be working hard for this quest completion.
With the purple haze around my bow, I cautiously advanced further into the caverns. I kept peering around as hard as I could into the darkness, in the hopes of spotting a mob before it saw me. While I figured there was probably some sort of sneak skill for lurking around in the shadows, I equally knew that, so far, all the spiders had been in the shadows too, so I wasn’t overly keen to be walking near the walls.
A faint, blue glow over to the left caught my attention. Making my way toward it, I frantically scanned the area for movement. As I got closer to the wall, the faint glow became clearer and clearer, until finally, I could see a large mushroom that came up nearly to my waist. The top was mostly white, but there were powder blue dots all over it. These dots were what was producing the glow. I bent down to touch it and it was relatively hard. Grabbing the stalk with both hands, I pulled. Nothing happened. Since I didn’t have a knife, I decided to try pulling again. This time, I braced myself with a foot against the wall and pulled with everything I had. It felt like it was slowly breaking away or coming out of the ground, so I tried pulling at more of an angle in the hopes of breaking its stalk.