Land of the Undying

by Dave Willmarth

  The elevator car came to a halt, and the doors opened. He once again motioned for her to step ahead of him. She found herself in a wide corridor that advanced to a security door, which was open. Beyond that it continued on, branching out in both directions more than once.

  Mace led her into the security room. He showed her the cameras, and told her how they could be set for motion detection, night vision, and infrared. Then he reminded her about the keycards. “Someone could break through the glass outside, and even get into the stairwell that leads to the upper floors. But that elevator won’t open without a keycard. You’re safe here.”

  Shari thought it was sweet that he was trying to reassure her. She decided to mess with him a bit. “Safe from the monsters. But I’m locked down here with you now…” she bit her lip to keep from smiling.

  Mace didn’t catch on quickly. “Oh, I promise, you’ve got no reason to worry about me. I-” he stopped talking when she lost her battle and laughed.

  “I’m kidding, Mace.”

  “Oh.” He looked sheepish. “Right. Of course. Uhmmm. Are you hungry? I could make us pancakes.”

  “OHmygodpancakes! YES!” she blurted out. He laughed and led her out of the room. He turned down a left-hand corridor and pointed “That’s my room.” Then he pointed across the hall “This one can be yours. Or you can pick a different one. Whatever. But for now, you can set your things in there.”

  She stepped inside and set her pack and shotgun on the bed. She took a quick look inside the bathroom. “Nice. Better than I’ve seen in a long time.”

  She joined him back out in the corridor, and followed him to the kitchen. She tried to help with breakfast, but he pointed to a stool at the counter and said “You’ve been up all night. I got this.”

  He whipped up a batch of pancake batter, and thawed some frozen orange juice in the microwave. She politely waited for him to cook more, after he placed a stack of pancakes in front of her. It wasn’t easy.

  When they were both seated, she said “This place is amazing.”

  Mace nodded, chewing and swallowing a bite of pancakes before answering. “Yeah. I got lucky. I was here accepting a new job when it all happened. A bunch of us came down here and waited it out. There’s geothermal power, so we have a nearly unending supply of electricity and clean water. As long as we can keep getting access to food, we’re good.”

  Shari took a sip of orange juice to wash down her own pancakes. “The others?”

  “Died on trips outside. The first few to other survivors. Then one or two at a time to the creatures. We didn’t have any vehicles. The ones outside are mostly destroyed, and the ones in the garage… well none of us knew how to hotwire a car. So we were scavenging on foot. Those things move pretty fast.”

  He didn’t need to say any more. Shari had more than enough experience to fill in the rest. “I’m sorry.” Was all she said.

  They finished breakfast mostly in silence. When he saw that she was done, Mace said “I’ll clean up. You gotta be exhausted. Go get some sleep. Don’t worry, that’s a metal door with a sturdy lock on your quarters.” He winked at her, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  “Thank you, Mace. For inviting me here. I’ve… been out there for too long. I needed this.” She gave him a quick hug, then departed to find her bed.

  Chapter 6

  Two Worlds

  Mace figured Shari would sleep for a solid eight hours, if not longer. He’d meant to unload the Humvee for her, but realized too late she’d taken the keys with her. Not wanting to wake her, he chose to let it wait.

  Besides, now that he knew she played Elysia, he was more anxious than ever to get to the surface in the game so that he could meet up with her there. So, once he was finished with the breakfast cleanup, he went back to his own quarters, closed and locked the door, and climbed into his pod.

  His first order of business was to go back to Jervis and pick up his armor. Leaving the inn, he didn’t stop for breakfast, or browse the items in the market as he usually did. He moved with purpose, nearly forgetting to watch his back, or keep track of his surroundings, as one must always do if one wanted to survive a trip through the streets of Immernacht.

  Managing to reach the shop without incident, he found Jervis waiting for him. Atop the counter lay his new and improved armor. “Ah, good morning young Mace. I began to wonder if you would be returning. It isn’t wise to be roaming the city unprotected.”

  “Good morning, Master Jervis. My apologies. I was… delayed.” Mace hedged.

  “I see. A young female, was it?” Jervis winked at him. “No matter. Your upgrades are complete. I think you will be pleased.” He pushed the armor across the counter toward Mace.

  Using his Identify skill, Mace looked at his new armor

  Kobold Armor of the Darkblade

  Set pieces: 4 of 4

  Quality: Rare; Enchanted

  Armor rating +25 (+15 full set bonus)

  This armor set has been crafted by a Master for a certain Sorcerer-Assassin who is training to become a Darkblade. Crafted from black Kobold skin, the armor is enchanted with Shadow Meld, which allows its wearer to blend into nearby shadows with a thought, and Liquid Armor.

  Mace looked up at Jervis. “Liquid Armor?”

  “Aye. Something new I developed. I infused a magnetorheological fluid into the armor itself, changing its nature. Let me show you. Put on one of the gloves.” Jervis instructed.

  Mace did as he was told, slipping a glove onto his left hand. Jervis snapped his fingers, and suddenly held a small, but very sharp, knife. “Please your hand upon the counter.”

  Again, Mace complied. Though warily. When Jervis held the knife above his hand, he said “Uhm, that blade isn’t poisoned, is it?”

  Jervis paused, considering the blade a moment before snapping his fingers again. “Quite right, boy. Good thinking.” The old drow picked up a knife from the shelf behind him. Holding the knife above Mace’s hand, he brought it down with a quick thrust. The blade struck the glove, and the glove… rippled. Mace had no better word for it. The knife had not penetrated. Then Jervis pushed the knife down again, much more slowly. It made contact with glove, and still Jervis pushed. Gently, but firmly.

  A moment later Mace felt the prick of the blade against his skin. “Hey!”

  Jervis just grinned at him. “I find lessons learned with a bit of blood to be much more effective.”

  “What lesson? That a knife will penetrate the armor with enough pressure?”

  “No, boy. This lesson is about speed, not pressure. A blade moving slowly enough will indeed puncture the armor, as your blood attests.” Jervis cleaned the tip of the blade as he spoke. “But anything faster, and the armor’s liquid properties are engaged. The force of the impact is dispersed across the face of the armor, and thus reduced. And the high armor rating, combined with the dispersed impact force will prevent the object from penetrating.”

  “The ripples.” Mace nodded his head. He’d seen something like this in a physics class.

  Jervis nodded. “Good, boy. Yes. The ripples. Arrows will bounce off you. As will any blade moving with speed. Blunt force impacts will lessen as well. But only when Liquid Armor is activated, and only for a minute at a time, once per day.”

  “Thank you, master. This is… amazing.” Mace bowed his head, trying to keep the reserve expected of a drow Darkblade. Darkblades were a loose organization of drow assassins who reported to Jervis. Mace had only ever met two others, and had no idea how many there were in total. He’d become an apprentice while following a quest chain that began at level 10. Jervis had sent him on a variety of quests that involved murder, theft, sabotage, intelligence gathering, and a great deal of time in the training room. When presented with the Darkblades apprentice option as a quest reward, Mace had asked what a Darkblade was. Jervis had replied “We are assassins. Magic users. Wizards, witches, sorcerers and summoners who work in the shadows beneath the shadows.”

/>   At the time, Mace had jumped to accept the quest, expecting a cool and profitable chain of quests. He had not been wrong.

  “Yes. It is. I am quite proud of myself.” Jervis preened. “If you insist on going to the surface, I must do something to ensure you remain alive. I have, after all, invested quite a bit in your training. Speaking of which, there is someone on the surface who requires killing. Since you are headed that way…”

  Mace rolled his eyes at his master. “Of course, master. Tell me.”

  Quest Accepted: Pokeface Must Die!

  Jervis explained. “Pokeface was also an apprentice of mine. An outworlder like yourself. He was sent to the surface city of Graf to retrieve an item sought by our queen.” Jervis handed Mace a scroll. “You will find the details in there. He was supposed to return nearly two months ago. There has been no word of him. The item was quite valuable.” Jervis frowned. “I have sought him out via magical means, but can find no trace of him.”

  Mace nodded his head. The timing was right. He suspected that Pokeface had already died, eaten by a zombie most likely. In the surface cities, the sudden disappearance of millions of outworlders would have been noted. But down here, where so few chose to begin their journey, the connection may not have been made.

  Jervis continued. “If you find him alive, kill him and return to me with the item. If he died before retrieving it, then find it yourself and bring it to me.” Jervis handed him another scroll. “This will teleport you directly to my shop. When you have completed the quest, I shall award you an item that will allow you to teleport back to the surface.”

  Mace bowed his head “It shall be done, Master Jervis. I will go to the tunnels now, and do what I can to reach level 30, so that I may leave the city for the surface.”

  Jervis shook his head “You need not visit the tunnels yet. You’ll face enough danger there, while making your way to the surface. I have another job for you. One that should earn you the level you need.”

  Mace looked curiously at the old drow. “What is it, master?”

  “I believe you’ve met an old friend of mine, a Swordmaster. His name is Krieger?” Jervis paused until Mace nodded. “The wizard he killed the night you met was a traitor to the house Krieger serves. The young wizard and his cousin had ambitions to found a house of their own. They killed several retainers and stole some family artifacts from the house vault. Krieger has been tasked with killing them. The first, as you know, has lost his head. Krieger has located the second cousin. This one is a fire mage. The Swordmaster has requested a Darkblade accompany him to counter the mage’s magic while Krieger removes his head.”

  Mace was elated! Getting to fight next to a Swordmaster! “It would be my honor, master.” Mace replied keeping his face stoic.

  Quest Accepted: Mage Ya Look!

  Assist Sword Master Krieger in eliminating a traitorous fire mage.

  Mace shook his head at the ridiculous quest name.

  Jervis waved toward the back room. “Go prepare yourself. I’ll let Krieger know you’re coming. When you’re ready, I’ll send you to him.”

  Mace went to the back room and sat on the floor. Removing his spell ring, he set it in the center of an ornately drawn summoning circle. Removing several spell components from his various bags, he placed them at the proper locations around the circle. When everything was in place, he uttered the incantation to summon a stone golem. Golems, stone in particular, had a high resistance to fire magic. Mace had not taken the opportunity to replace the spell since he’d used the ring to summon the golem to fight Dunk.

  There was a flash of purple light as a dark portal opened, creating a doorway to the nether realm. Through the doorway strode a stone golem. This one was larger than the last, nearly ten feet tall. It bowed its head once to Mace, then disappeared in a stream of light as it was absorbed into the ring.

  Mace placed the ring back on his hand. Rising to his feet, he equipped his armor. He equipped his shoulder harness, and sheathed the sword and staff on his back. He equipped a dagger on each thigh, and another in each boot. Finally ready, he stepped out to find Jervis.

  His master wasted no time, teleporting Mace to a room in what he guessed to be a tavern cellar. There were barrels of wine, mead, and spirits stacked everywhere on racks. One wall was covered in smaller racks holding dusty old bottles of wine. There was a stair leading upward, but Mace didn’t move. If Jervis had sent him here, this was his meeting place.

  Mace didn’t wait long before a hidden door opened in the wall below the stairs. Swordmaster Krieger stood in the opening. He waved Mace toward him “This way, Darkblade.”

  Mace walked through the opening, and Krieger closed the door behind them. The tunnel was much darker than the cellar, where some faint light leaked down from above. But the darkness bothered neither drow.

  Krieger led the way, through a tunnel that only extended in one direction. Several times as they moved, Mace detected faint air flows emanating from the wall on one side or another. “Secret doors?” he queried after they’d passed the fifth such anomaly. Krieger simply nodded his head and continued.

  They were proceeding toward what looked like a junction in the tunnel, when Mace sensed something. “Hold” he whispered to the Swordmaster ahead of him. The old drow halted without hesitation, one foot in the air. He turned to look at Mace.

  Mace closed his eyes. “There’s… something. A ward.”

  Krieger moved his foot backward and placed it on the ground where it had previously been. “What kind of ward?” he growled.

  “One moment. This is no novice spell. I’m having trouble…” Mace’s voice drifted off. Then he let out a deep breath.

  “It is not an alarm. It will, however, make a great deal of noise when triggered. It’s an explosive ward. Likely strong enough to collapse this tunnel and bury anyone… us… inside.

  “This was not here earlier today.” Krieger stated. “So, either they know we are coming, or whomever is down that corridor is concerned for their safety.”

  “I can disable it” Mace offered. “Either permanently, or just long enough for us to pass through. Are we coming back this way?”

  Krieger shook his head. “No. When we find them, we will defeat them, and continue out. Or we will die.”

  The old Swordmaster looked thoughtful. “Still, others use this tunnel. And we may have use of the ward.” He handed Mace an empty wardstone. “Use this.”

  Wardstones were enchanted to absorb, contain, and then dispense wards. They were used as a vehicle for runesmiths and mages to sell wards to clients with no magical ability. One simply placed the full stone against the object to be warded, and spoke a trigger word. Then moved away quickly before it took effect.

  The spell to absorb a ward, however, was much more difficult. Mace knew the spell, but only got it right about three out of five times.

  First, he disarmed the ward, rendering it momentarily safe. Then he held the stone against the faintly glowing spot on the tunnel wall where the ward had been placed. Taking a deep breath, he chanted the incantation necessary to activate the stone and absorb the ward. After a few seconds, a stream of red began to flow into the stone. Five seconds later, it was done.

  Krieger held out a hand, and Mace reluctantly handed him back the stone. A wardstone filled with an explosive ward of this strength was worth maybe a hundred gold. More in some markets.

  Continuing on, Mace located two more wards, both alarms. He disabled each, and they moved on. Krieger halted twice, having spotted physical traps in the tunnel floor. He pointed them out to Mace, who stepped around them. These however, they did not take the time to disable. Any drow who couldn’t spot such traps, deserved to be caught in them. Any lesser creatures traveling the tunnel were not their concern. Likely these traps were set long ago, and simply disregarded by those who had set the wards, just as the two drow disregarded them now.

  The tunnel eventually led them to a round doorway of dwarven design. The door itself looked like a six-foot
wide gear welded to an iron plate that could simply roll to one side to allow access. There was, of course, another ward.

  Mace whispered “Give me a moment. This ward is more complicated than the others. It is tied to the lock mechanism. Meant to be opened with a magic key that operates the lock and the ward at the same time. If I unlock the door without disabling the ward, it will go off. If I disable the ward without unlocking the door, same result.”

  Swordmaster Krieger nodded and stepped back.

  This was not the most complicated lock that Mace had been forced to deal with. Or the most difficult ward. But the two combined… this was going to take some concentration. Over the last several months, Jervis had trained Mace in a wide range of assassin skills, including lockpicking. Even with just a baseline 10 Dexterity, his drow fingers were more nimble than those of most races. Still, Jervis was rarely satisfied with his progress. He used the words “thick-fingered” and “slow as mushroom sap” often.

  Mace went to work on the lock, first. Using tools he kept wrapped in a cloth in his pouch, he worked the lock until the tumbler was millimeters from releasing. Holding it there, he turned his focus to the ward. This took more time. He analyzed the working, pulling gently at the threads of magic woven into the lock. He found the contact point where the magic met the metal, and found a trigger he recognized. This particular ward was activated if the attaching thread were ‘stretched’ by the tumbler falling. Much like a string tied to a trigger. But if the thread is never pulled, then the ward would not activate. From there, it was a simple matter of disconnecting the thread. As soon as that was done, he let the tumbler fall, and they heard an audible click.

  Krieger gave a respectful nod, and stepped forward. Grasping the door handle, he gave it a tug. As the door swung open, Krieger drew both of his swords. The moment there was sufficient space, he leapt through the opening. Mace waited two seconds, then followed.

  In those two seconds, Krieger had severed the head of a sentry to the left of the door, and an arm from the sentry to the right. The Swordmaster was a blur of movement as he made his way across the room to engage three more guards.