“What is it?” asked the little old woman, and looked, and began to laugh. The feet of the dead Witch had disappeared entirely, and nothing was left but the silver shoes.
“She was dead six minutes,” explained the Witch of the North, “dead mobs despawn after that time and can’t be Raised or Resurrected. That is the end of her. But the Silver Shoes are yours, and you shall have them to wear.” She reached down and picked up the shoes, and after shaking the dust out of them handed them to Dorothy.
“The Witch of the East was proud of those Silver Shoes,” said one of the Munchkins, “it’s her rare drop and there is some charm connected with them; but what it is we never knew.”
Dorothy carried the shoes into the house and placed them on the table. Then she came out again to the Munchkins and said: “I am anxious to get back to my aunt and uncle, for I am sure they will worry about me. Can you help me find my way?”
The Munchkins and the Witch first looked at one another, and then at Dorothy, and then shook their heads.
“At the East, not far from here,” said one, “there is a great desert, and none could live to cross it.”
“It is the same at the South,” said another, “for I have been there and seen it. The South is the country of the Quadlings.”
“I am told,” said the third man, “that it is the same at the West. And that country, where the Winkies live, is ruled by the Wicked Witch of the West, who would make you her slave if you passed her way.”
“The North is my home,” said the old lady, “and at its edge is the same great desert that surrounds this Land of Oz. I’m afraid, my dear, you will have to live with us.”
Dorothy began to sob at this, for she felt lonely among all these strange people. Her tears seemed to grieve the kind-hearted Munchkins, for they immediately took out their handkerchiefs and began to weep also. As for the little old woman, she took off her cap and balanced the point on the end of her nose, while she counted “One, two, three” in a solemn voice. At once the cap changed to a slate, on which was written in big white chalk marks:
“LET DOROTHY GO TO THE CITY OF EMERALDS”
The little old woman took the slate from her nose, and having read the words of the Cap of Augury, asked, “Is your name Dorothy, my dear?”
“Yes,” answered the child, looking up and drying her tears.
“Then you must go to the City of Emeralds. Perhaps Oz will help you.”
“Where is this city?” asked Dorothy.
“It is exactly in the center of the country, and is ruled by Oz, the Great Wizard I told you of.”
“Is he a good man?” inquired the girl anxiously.
“He is a good Wizard. Whether he is a man or not I cannot tell, for I have never seen him.”
“How can I get there?” asked Dorothy.
“You must walk. It is a long journey, through a country that is sometimes pleasant and sometimes dark and terrible. However, I will use all the magic arts I know of to keep you from harm.”
“Won’t you go with me?” pleaded the girl, who had begun to look upon the little old woman as her only friend. “I need your spells.”
“No, I cannot do that,” she replied, “but I will give you three spells for your spellbook and I shall use up my Limited Wish that I have been saving for decades, ever since I completed the China Princess quest as a young Witch.”
She came close to Dorothy and kissed her gently on the forehead. Where her lips touched the girl they left a round, shining mark, as Dorothy found out soon after.
“There. You now have a Protection from Evil, which will last for a month. The road to the City of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick,” said the Witch, “so you cannot miss it. When you get to Oz do not be afraid of him, but tell your story and ask him to help you. Good-bye, my dear.”
The three Munchkins bowed low to her and wished her a pleasant journey, after which they walked away through the trees. The Witch gave Dorothy a friendly little nod, whirled around on her left heel three times, and straightway disappeared, much to the surprise of little Toto, who barked after her loudly enough when she had gone, because he had been afraid even to growl while she stood by.
But Dorothy, knowing her to be a Witch with a Dimension Door spell, had expected her to disappear in just that way, and was not surprised in the least. Opening up her inventory, she was glad to see the kind Witch had given her the three spells as promised. These could be inscribed into her blank spell book.
While Toto ran around sniffing eagerly at all the new and strange flowers, Dorothy sat and mediated, dragging the icons to the first empty slots.
Magic Missile
Mana cost 12. Cast time 1 second. Refresh time 2 seconds.
Damages creatures vulnerable to magical energy attacks in proportion to the caster’s level.
Stinking Cloud
Mana cost 24. Cast time 5 seconds. Refresh time 8 seconds.
Creates a sphere of noxious gas 20 yards in radius, at any point up to 100 yards from the caster, lasting 90 seconds per caster level. Creatures that breathe and who fail a fortitude check fall Nauseated for the duration. Those who succeed in their fortitude check must leave the cloud before taking any other action.
Haste
Mana cost 48. Cast time 8 seconds. Refresh time 24 seconds.
All grouped allies within twenty yards of the caster receive the Haste buff for 1 minute per caster level. Movement +20%, attack speed +20%, AC+1.
Her HUD had spell gems for all of the slots she had unlocked: four first, three second, two third and one fourth. There were no hard choices to be made, no choices at all: Dorothy filled her gems with all her spells (Read Magic, Detect Magic, Magic Missile, Stinking Cloud and Haste), which still left her with grayed out gems for a first level spell, two second, one third and one fourth.
It was delightful to have more spells than simply Read Magic and Detect Magic. Yet Dorothy couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret that the Witch wasn’t able to give her Lightning Bolt or Fireball. And what about a fourth level spell? O my! Dorothy thought. Imagine being able to cast a fourth level spell; I never thought such a day would come.
Chapter III
How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow
When Dorothy was left alone she began to feel hungry. So she went to the cupboard and cut herself some bread, which she spread with butter. She gave some to Toto, and taking a pail from the shelf she carried it down to the little brook and filled it with clear, sparkling water. Toto ran over to the trees and began to bark at the birds sitting there. Dorothy went to get him, and saw such delicious fruit hanging from the branches that she gathered some of it, finding it just what she wanted to help out her breakfast.
Toto seemed more energetic than ever and out of curiosity, Dorothy checked the stats on her familiar:
Toto
HP 12
Level 5 Familiar
Dog form: Attacks 1 (bite), damage 9-16, AC 2 (+2 Dex)
Brave (+6 on morale checks); Loyal (+6 on mind influencing checks); Magic Resistant (+6 on all saves vs. magical attacks)
“Why Toto dear,” said Dorothy, “you’ve levelled up handsomely too. That bite could come in very useful. And although your armor class and hit points are very low, you might just be able to delay a mob long enough for me to get a spell off.”
Then she went back to the house, and having helped herself and Toto to a good drink of the cool, clear water, she set about making ready for the journey to the City of Emeralds.
Dorothy had only one other dress, but that happened to be clean and was hanging on a peg beside her bed. It was gingham, with checks of white and blue; and although the blue was somewhat faded with many washings, it was still a pretty frock. Unfortunately, it provided no bonus to armor class and Dorothy was conscious that she was AC 0, the worst possible in the game.
The girl washed herself carefully, dressed herself in the clean gingham, and tied her pink sunbonnet on her head. She took a little basket and filled it with bread from the
cupboard, laying a white cloth over the top. Then she looked down at her feet and noticed how old and worn her shoes were.
“They surely will never do for a long journey, Toto,” she said. And Toto looked up into her face with his little black eyes and wagged his tail to show he knew what she meant, which of course he did, since Sorceresses and their familiars had a Telepathic Bond.
At that moment Dorothy saw lying on the table the Silver Shoes that had belonged to the Witch of the East.
“I wonder if they are useable by the Sorceress class,” she said to Toto. “Even without any magical bonus to my armor class they would be just the thing to take a long walk in, for they could not wear out.”
She picked them up.
Silver Shoes of Proicio
Attune?
YES / NO
Of course, Dorothy chose to attune the Silver Shoes to her. With that, they became No Trade and no matter even if she were killed, it meant that the shoes could not be worn by anyone else. As Dorothy knew well from instruction by Uncle Henry, attunement discouraged player characters from killing one another for gear.
Dorothy took off her old leather shoes and tried on the silver ones, which fitted her as well as if they had been made for her. But whatever magical powers they had, she could not make out, despite trying all sorts of leaps and skips and jumps. Her armor class remained resolutely at 0.
“Am I faster perhaps?” she asked Toto, while running back and forth.
Toto did not seem impressed.
Finally, Dorothy picked up her basket. “Come along, Toto,” she said. “We will go to the Emerald City and ask the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again.”
She closed the door, locked it, and put the key carefully in the pocket of her dress. And so, with Toto trotting along soberly behind her, she started on her journey.
There were several roads nearby, but it did not take her long to find the one paved with yellow bricks. Within a short time she was walking briskly toward the Emerald City, her Silver Shoes tinkling merrily on the hard, yellow road-bed. The sun shone bright and the birds sang sweetly, and Dorothy did not feel nearly so bad as you might think a little girl would who had been suddenly whisked away from her own country and set down in the midst of a strange land.
She was surprised, as she walked along, to see how pretty the country was about her. There were neat fences at the sides of the road, painted a dainty blue color, and beyond them were fields of grain and vegetables in abundance. Evidently the Munchkins were good farmers and able to raise large crops. Once in a while she would pass a house, and the people came out to look at her and bow low as she went by; for everyone knew she had been the means of destroying the Wicked Witch and setting them free from bondage. The houses of the Munchkins were odd-looking dwellings, for each was round, with a big dome for a roof. All were painted blue, for in this country of the East blue was the favorite color.
Toward evening, when Dorothy was tired with her long walk and began to wonder where she should pass the night, she came to a house rather larger than the rest. On the green lawn before it many men and women were dancing. Five little fiddlers played as loudly as possible, and the people were laughing and singing, while a big table nearby was loaded with delicious fruits and nuts, pies and cakes, and many other good things to eat.
The people greeted Dorothy kindly, and invited her to supper and to pass the night with them; for this was the home of one of the richest Munchkins in the land, and his friends were gathered with him to celebrate their freedom from the bondage of the Wicked Witch.
Dorothy ate a hearty supper and was waited upon by the rich Munchkin himself, whose name was Boq. Then she sat upon a settee and watched the people dance.
When Boq saw her Silver Shoes he said, “You must be a great Sorceress.”
“Why?” asked the girl.
“Because you wear Silver Shoes and have killed the Wicked Witch. Besides, you have white in your frock, and only Witches and Sorceresses wear white.”
“My dress is blue-and-white checked,” said Dorothy, smoothing out the wrinkles in it.
“It is kind of you to wear that,” said Boq. “Blue is the color of the Munchkins, and white is a sign of goodness. So we know you are a friendly Sorceress.”
Dorothy did not know what to say to this, for in truth she was closer to Lawful Neutral than Lawful Good. Moreover, while all the people seemed to think her a powerful character, she knew very well she was only level 8 by an exploit. All her skills were unpracticed and therefore low and she had only three offensive spells. Even her Restore Mana skill was only at 5, meaning her mana pool would replenish at just 1 tick every 3 seconds. She was far from being the mighty Sorceress that her level suggested.
When she had tired watching the dancing, Boq led her into the house, where he gave her a room with a pretty bed in it. The sheets were made of blue cloth, and Dorothy spent most of the night casting Detect Magic with Toto curled up on the blue rug beside her. Not long before dawn, she had maxed her Restore Mana skill at 40, which gave her 11 ticks per second.
She ate a hearty breakfast, and watched a wee Munchkin baby, who played with Toto and pulled his tail and crowed and laughed in a way that greatly amused Dorothy. Toto was a fine curiosity to all the people, for they had never seen a dog familiar before.
“How far is it to the Emerald City?” Dorothy asked.
“I do not know,” answered Boq gravely, “for I have never been there. It is better for people to keep away from Oz, unless they have business with him. But it is a long way to the Emerald City, and it will take you many days. The country here is rich and pleasant, but you must pass through rough and dangerous places with high chances of wandering monsters before you reach the end of your journey.”
This worried Dorothy a little, but she knew that only the Great Oz could help her get to Kansas again, so she bravely resolved not to turn back.
She bade her friends good-bye, and again started along the road of yellow brick. When she had gone several miles she thought she would stop to rest, and so climbed to the top of the fence beside the road and sat down. There was a great cornfield beyond the fence, and not far away she saw a Scarecrow, placed high on a pole to keep the birds from the ripe corn.
Dorothy leaned her chin upon her hand and gazed thoughtfully at the Scarecrow. Its head was a small sack stuffed with straw, with eyes, nose, and mouth painted on it to represent a face. An old, pointed blue hat, that had belonged to some Munchkin, was perched on his head, and the rest of the figure was a blue suit of clothes, worn and faded, which had also been stuffed with straw. On the feet were some old boots with blue tops, such as every man wore in this country, and the figure was raised above the stalks of corn by means of the pole stuck up its back.
While Dorothy was looking earnestly into the queer, painted face of the Scarecrow, she was surprised to see one of the eyes slowly wink at her. She thought she must have been mistaken at first, for none of the scarecrows in Kansas ever wink, even straw golems; but presently the figure nodded its head to her in a friendly way. Then she climbed down from the fence and walked up to it, while Toto ran around the pole and barked.
“Good day,” said the Scarecrow, in a rather husky voice.
“Did you speak?” asked the girl, in wonder.
“Certainly,” answered the Scarecrow. “How do you do?”
“I’m pretty well, thank you,” replied Dorothy politely. “How do you do?”
“I’m not feeling well,” said the Scarecrow, with a smile, “for it is very tedious being perched up here night and day to scare away giant rats.”
“Can’t you get down?” asked Dorothy.
“No, for I have been tightly fastened to this pole up my back. If you will please take away the pole I shall be greatly obliged to you.”
Dorothy reached up both arms and attempted to lift the figure off the pole, thinking that being stuffed with straw, he would be quite light. The ropes around the Scarecrow, however, had been tied very tightly indee
d.
Stepping back, Dorothy pointed at the biggest knots and cast Magic Missile. On the third bolt, the ropes broke apart and the Scarecrow fell down.
“Thank you very much,” said the Scarecrow, when he had lifted himself to his feet. “I feel like a new man.”
Dorothy was puzzled at this, for it sounded queer to hear a stuffed man speak, and to see him bow and walk along beside her.
“Who are you?” asked the Scarecrow when he had stretched himself and yawned. “And where are you going?”
“My name is Dorothy,” said the girl, “and I am going to the Emerald City, to ask the Great Oz to send me back to Kansas.”
“Where is the Emerald City?” he inquired. “And who is Oz?”
“Why, don’t you know?” she returned, in surprise.
“No, indeed. I don’t know anything. You see, I was a human Bard, before I got hit by a Curse by the Wicked Witch of the East when my Intelligence was only six, so I have no brains left at all,” he answered sadly. “And I was Polymorphed into a straw man and left to serve her minions as a lesson.”
“Oh,” said Dorothy, “I’m awfully sorry for you.”
“Do you think,” he asked, “if I go to the Emerald City with you, that Oz would cast Dispel Magic on the Curse and Polymorph and restore my race and Intelligence?”
“I cannot tell,” she returned, “but you may come with me, if you like. If Oz will not remove the Curse, you will be no worse off than you are now.”
“That is true,” said the Scarecrow. “You see,” he continued confidentially, “I might not revert to human. I don’t mind my legs and arms and body being stuffed, because I cannot get hurt. If anyone smashes a mace on my toes or sticks a sword into me, it doesn’t matter, for it only does one point of damage. But I do want my Bard abilities back, and if my Intelligence stays on zero, how am I ever to give performances or cast spells again? Not to mention the penalties on my skills make most of them useless.”
The Wonderful LitRPG Wizard of Oz (LitRPG Classics Book 1) Page 2