He activated his Power Shot ability, and drew back the bowstring, the wood creaking and straining under his strength. With the cast time completed, all he could do was wait for his moment. As he had hoped, the giant monster crashed into the clearing and hissed. It swayed back and forth, sizing up its defiant prey.
Leaning forward, the lizard roared at him, the booming sound shaking his very bones. Skree saw his opportunity, releasing his arrow, carefully aiming for deep red flesh of the lizard's throat. With a twang, the arrow flew forward punching into the soft flesh in the deepest part of the lizard’s throat.
The creatures jaw snapped shut and it reeled back on its hind legs then loosed a squeal of agony, the piercing sound nearly rupturing his eardrums. Through the pain, he knocked another arrow, activating Careful Aim. Time slowed as he channeled his power, drawing back on the bowstring. The lizard was flailing around, clawing at its throat, trying to remove the arrow but it was too dumb to know it couldn't be reached. As it stood to its full height, Skree took aim and fired at the hopefully softer underbelly.
The arrow struck its target, buried to the fletching, and he was rewarded with the Lizard flopping backward as the attack startled it, causing it to jump awkwardly and land on its back. Knowing there was no way he would be able to put this thing down for good, Skree shouldered his bow turning to run into the trees, when the lizard's tail came careening towards him, shattering a few smaller trees.
He tried to dodge but was unable to do so in time. The thick tail crashed into him, nearly dropping his health to 20% and throwing him bouncing through the trees. Several icons appeared in the corner of his vision.
Broken Bones - Ribs x 5
Dazed - 30 seconds
Crushing Blow - You sustained more than 50% of your total health in a single attack. Maximum health reduced by 40.
Coughing up blood and wheezing through the pain of that powerful blow, Skree attempted to stand but wobbled and fell to his hands and knees. His vision was spinning, and he was not recovering that quickly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the lizard starting to pace slowly toward him, its yellow eyes burning with rage. Each foot fall of the massive beast still shook the earth as Skree painstakingly watched the timer on his Dazed status tick toward zero. The lizard closed the distance and Skree could feel its hot breath as it sniffed him, the forked tongue shooting out of its mouth and slapping Skree in the face.
It was gross but thankfully it didn't cause any damage. The Dazed sensation faded away and his vision cleared. He got some air back into his lung just in time to dodge the fanged jaws attempting to swallow him whole. He rolled several times, the agony of his broken ribs far eclipsing the broken hand from his first day in Raiya. He scrambled to his feet, running for all he was worth noting that his stamina bar was still dangerously low.
He kept moving and even when his stamina bar hit 2% he wasn't ready to give up. He spotted something, a dark opening in a stone outcropping and changed direction. Perhaps there was a cave or at least crevice he could hide in until this monstrous iguana decided to leave him alone.
He felt the rumble of the lizard’s steps closing in as he neared the entrance, he knew it would be way too close for comfort. He dove for entrance, not caring what might be inside the cave, only thinking it didn't matter at all. It was either the cave or be torn to shreds by rows of razor sharp fangs.
He bounced along the stony ground, skidding to a halt about eight feet from the entrance. The lizard slammed into the rocky entryway sending a shower of rocks and dust falling from overhead. The behemoth continued to slam its body into the gap, and he could hear the cave entrance begin to crack under the repeated blows.
“No freaking way! This thing is about to tear down a mountain to get to me.” He said with exasperation. He searched wildly spotting a hole in the ground going straight down, into darkness.
“If it breaks through, at least I have one more way to avoid certain death.” He thought as he peered into the hole. “By jumping into an impossibly dark hole to what is most likely also certain death.”
He watched as the lizard began using its claws to rend the stone, tearing out massive chunks of earth, enlarging the entrance with sheer determination. Every few moments it would attempt to stick its head into the hole and when it still couldn't fit, it redoubled its efforts. Chunks of stone were flying away, and the stone above his head began to crack and shudder.
“Yup, this thing is definitely coming down and it's going to crush me.” He thought. “Well FUCK that!” He said aloud. He raised both his hands, gave the giant lizard two middle fingers, and leapt into the mysterious hole in the earth.
CHAPTER SIX
Gravity is a funny thing. Everywhere you might go, it works the same. His stomach shot into his throat and the wind ripped at his clothing. Fortunately for him, the hole wasn't terribly deep. When he hit the ground with a wet thud, Skree came to the stunning conclusion: He was alive!
Shocked and confused, not to mention more than a little stunned from the impact, Skree took a deep breath… and immediately vomited from the intensity of the foul smell of rotting filth. During his violent fits of retching, he realized he was able to see. Not very well, mind you, but he could see! Taking a few moments to adjust to overpowering stench, he looked around and realized what had saved his life.
“I guess I am just like dear old dad after all,” he said as he slid down the mountain of feces. “I also didn't know they stacked shit this high.”
He chuckled looking around. The walls of the cavern were covered in a glowing blue lichen, gently illuminating the cavern. There were several tunnels leading away from this chasm, all glowing with the same blue lichen.
Feeling relieved, he thought happily, “At least I am not trapped at the bottom of a well.”
Wasting no time, he walked to the nearest wall and began rubbing his back against the stone to remove the sticky feces from his armor. He understood his mistake immediately.
“OOOOOWWWWWW mother fu…. That hurts,” he growled through clenched teeth. “Ribs are definitely still broken.”
Again, this time as gently as possible, he began dragging his leather armor against the rough surface of the nearest wall, doing an acceptable job of removing some of the filth from his backside, then went to work using a smaller rock to clean his arms and legs.
He was deep in concentration when he heard something from one of the many tunnel branches that sounded strangely like someone muttering. Moving quickly, he limped to a small boulder along one of the walls and activated his stealth ability.
He was comforted by the closed eye icon, indicating he was currently hidden. He reached for his bow, bringing it to the ready. He reached for an arrow and when his hand grasped only empty air, he rolled his eyes.
“Of course, I lost all my arrows. Probably buried in that pile of shit now.” he thought. With a sigh, he drew his dagger and held it in a low position, keeping the blade hidden trying not to reflect any of the ambient light.
A small reptilian creature, about three-foot-tall, that looked like an iguana that walked on its hind legs swished into the cavern, muttering to itself.
“Ah fine, Sawbones will carry the poop. Always Sawbones carries the poop. Not weak, not stupid, just small.” The creature complained to itself. “Always Sawbones get worst duty. Sawbones, carry corpses to the pit. Sawbones, scrub the kitchen. Sawbones, boil water and scrub chieftains back during bath.”
Skree couldn't help himself, a small snicker escaped from his lips at the mention of scrubbing the chieftain. Sawbones whirled, holding the bucket of dung in front of him like a club.
“What that! Who there, Sawbones will kill you!” It said, looking left and right, having trouble locating the sound. He paced around, stopping in front of each tunnel looking for whatever had made that sound. He walked right past Skree and stopped less than a foot away.
Springing into action, Skree lunged forward and wrapped an arm around Sawbones neck and locked him into a chokehold. Sawbones fl
ailed mightily but its tiny arms were no match for the 11 Strength that Skree was rocking.
Sinking onto his behind, Skree pulled the creature from its feet and as the it started to weaken, its arms falling limp, Skree loosened his grasp. Sawbones sucked in air, it's vision returning to normal. It breathed in ragged gasps, slumping in exhaustion and relief.
“I don't want to hurt you little guy, so if you promise not to scream I will relax my grasp. I could have killed you, but I promise, I will not hurt you. Do we have a deal?” Skree asked, spitting and gnashing words in this creature's language to both of their surprise.
“Rosetta Stone perk for the win baby!” He cheered internally.
Sawbones thought hard about his situation. He knew this stranger could have killed him without trouble and now he was offering mercy to Sawbones? He figured it was a trick but he hissed “Deal.”
Skree kept his word and relaxed his grasp on the creature. As soon as he did, Sawbones scurried away from him, backing up against a wall.
“Why you no kill Sawbones?” The creature asked with a raspy voice, rubbing at its throat gingerly.
“I don't see any reason to kill you. In fact, I could use your help.” Skree answered honestly.
The creature stared at Skree, suspicion clear on its face. “Humans hate Kobolds, Humans kill Kobolds always. Sawbones not understanding.”
Skree sighed, “Look, I jumped into a hole after running from a giant lizard, landed in that giant pile of shit, heard you coming and hid. I don't know where I am, and I just want to get out of this god damn cavern. “he winced as the pain of his broken ribs sent jolts of pain through his body.
Sawbones tilted his head, reminding Skree of a dog from earth. Skree could almost hear the gears whirring in Sawbones mind as it considered his story. Sawbones was muttering to himself under his breath.
“Sawbones is smartest Kobold. Sawbones has deal for Human. Interested?” Sawbones asked with excitement.
Skree smiled and Sawbones recoiled.
“Why show fangs! Not trick, swear!” Sawbones exclaimed throwing his arms in front of his face defensively.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, little dude.” Skree instinctively stopped smiling and put his hands up in the universal gesture of peace “I am human, we don't have fangs. I’m sorry I scared you.” He slowly lowered his hands and sat back a little further.
“I want to make a deal with you Sawbones, so please tell me what you have in mind.” Skree said in his best reassuring tone.
Sawbones relaxed a little, rubbing his hands together like a greedy merchant. “Sawbones is part of clan. Sawbones love clan. Clan love Sawbones.” He pounded his chest. “Evil Chieftain kill old leader. Evil Chieftain hurt clan. Sawbones wants to kill Chieftain, steal her treasure, free clan forever.”
At the word treasure, Skree perked up and a prompt appeared in his vision.
You have been offered a quest! Friend in low places - part 1
Sawbones the Kobold has offered to assist you in escaping the underground warrens if you will help him kill the Kobold chieftain.
Reward: Experience, Unknown Treasure
Do you accept? Yes or No?
Skree considered it for a moment. His options were pretty slim, and he didn't have the faintest idea how to escape the Kobold warren. He mentally accepted the quest and the prompt disappeared.
“Sawbones, my little friend, I think we can make a deal. I help you kill the chieftain and we split the treasure. Then you show me a way to the surface and we part ways as friends. Deal?” Skree asked then extended his hand.
Sawbones flinched but did not immediately cower. “We have deal.” The Kobold stuck his hand out in front of him, mimicking Skree’s gesture.
Skree chuckled at the little Kobold, standing with his arm outstretched. He really was an idiot thinking Kobolds would know what a handshake was so instead he gave him a gentle high five.
Sawbones looked at his hand after Skree patted his open palm. “Humans are weird.” He said, putting his hand down.
Sawbones stood, hopping from one foot to the other. “Human, ready to go?”
Skree shook his head. Glancing at his health bar, he was still in bad shape and his ribs were still broken. Despite having an indicator like a health bar, he really didn't need it to know he was beat up. The hot pain he felt with every breath reminded him ruthlessly.
“Sawbones, I hurt myself pretty bad and it’s going to be a problem if we get into a serious fight. Do you have any medicine?” Skree asked, not expecting much from the little Kobold.
“No medicine.” Sawbones walked over to Skree and placed his hand on his head. Golden light illuminated the area as Sawbones hand began to glow. Warm energy began to fill Skree’s body and the pain in his ribs eased. A quick glance at his status showed his Broken Ribs status was gone and his health had been restored to nearly half.
Skree stared at Sawbones with his jaw hanging open. “Sawbones, did you just use healing magic?”
The creature nodded excitedly “Kobold clan think healing magic is for weaklings, never use. Sawbones mocked for only having healing magic.”
Skree grabbed the Kobold by the shoulders, looking into its eyes. “Thank you, Sawbones. My name is Skree and now I owe you a debt. I promise, I will do everything I can to help you kill this chieftain.”
The creature nodded, its tail wagging happily. “Sawbones not useless, Sawbones is smart Kobold. Now kill Chieftain Gertrude and steal her treasure?” It asked without breaking eye contact.
Skree stood and nodded, walking over to the waste pile searching for his arrows. “Help me find my arrows then we leave.” He collected a few arrows from around the pile as Sawbones clambered up atop the pile, retrieving several more.
After a few minutes of searching, they had recovered all 28 arrows. Skree placed them back in his quiver and readied his bow. He looked to the Kobold. “How many Kobolds are there in your clan?”
Sawbones eyes darted back and forth as he attempted to count. “More than few, not quite many.” The Kobold nodded in the affirmative.
Skree squinted at the Kobold. “Not quite many? How many is many?” He asked, hoping to get a more detailed answer.
Sawbones put his hands about 6 inches apart as if measuring a length of wood. “More than a few,” He widened his arms as far as they would go. “Not quite many.” He brought his hands closer together, about eighteen inches. “This many.” he said with a nod.
Skree sighed dejectedly. Sawbones was a smart Kobold, able to cast healing magic, but apparently his race did not have a counting system. Skree nodded to Sawbones. “Lead the way, shortstack.”
The Kobold pointed at himself, a questioning expression on his face. “Sawbones.” he said, patting himself repeatedly. “Not shortstack.”
Skree laughed gently. “Okay then. Sawbones, let's go kill your Chieftain.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Skree really hated being in the tunnels. Despite that fact that the walls and ceiling were coated in glowing blue lichen, it was still slow going. The lichen provided about as much light as a full moon, but he constantly tripped over rocks and cracks in the stone floor.
Sawbones came to a sudden stop, and his tail twitched went rigid. “Patrol.” Sawbones hissed. “I distract, you attack from darkness, yes?”
Skree whispered his agreement, knocking an arrow and activating stealth. Sawbones did a double take as Skree faded into the darkness. When he looked carefully, Sawbones could just barely discern the shape of his new ally.
Sawbones rushed forward to meet two Kobolds who had entered the tunnel from random connecting tunnel. His posture was submissive as he approached them.
The first Kobold held a spear and was clothed in the same ragged clothing that Sawbones was wearing. The second Kobold wore a thick fur wrap that covered most of its torso and held a wooden spear that wasn’t quite straight.
The first Kobold laughed as Sawbones neared them. “Look, puny Sawbones is here.” It swung the haft of its spear at Sawb
ones head, nearly hitting the smaller Kobold. “What you here for, where you poop bucket.”
The second Kobold laughed as well, a grating sound that was mostly hissing and coughing. The second guard continued mocking Sawbones. “Bet puny Sawbones ate all poop, breath smells like poop. Eat all poop did you, Sawbones?”
The second Kobold kicked out, this time connecting with Sawbones leg, who yelped in pain. “I find creature in depths, big meat. Not strong enough to carry. Come find help and bring home, Sawbones be welcome at hearth.”
The two Kobolds looked at each other. “Big meat?” The first Kobold asked, snatching Sawbones by the front of his rags. “Show us! We take and be welcome at hearth. You never welcome at hearth.”
Sawbones looked nervously between the two Kobolds. “My meat, my find. My welcome. Sawbones not give, but share is fine.”
The second Kobold slapped Sawbones, the loud clap echoing down the tunnel. “You give big meat, or we give pointy end.” It said brandishing its spear aggressively.
Skree decided that he had enough of watching Sawbones be abused. He leaned out from the wall, activating Careful Aim. He drew back on the bowstring and sighted in on the fur covered Kobolds neck. With a snap, his bow released the power stored in the wood, arrow streaking forward through the darkness scoring a direct hit in the center of its throat, fletching on one side and the arrowhead sticking out of the other.
The creature gurgled, collapsing beside its partner. The remaining Kobold looked at its fallen ally but before it was able to comprehend its situation, Skree activated Power Shot, his bow creaking under the strain of his draw. As soon as he had finished channeling the required mana, he released the arrow. It impacted with a wet thwack, going clean through the chest of the Kobold holding Sawbones, the arrow clattering noisily to the ground.
It gasped, clearly in shock from the sudden rupture in its chest. It lifted its spear lazily, its eyes glossy. Sawbones drew a stone knife from his rags and stabbed the creature in repeatedly. As the enemy fell flat, Sawbones clambering on top and continuing to stab, growling angry words at the fallen Kobold.
Raiya: Starter Zone - A LitRPG Saga: Archon's Chosen - Book One Page 4