Land of the Undying

by Dave Willmarth

  Shari gritted her teeth and cast Nature’s Wrath on the beast again. Then she used the last of her mana to cast a heal on herself. The spell doubled her remaining HP and made her feel somewhat better, but the gaping wound in her belly hadn’t closed.

  The wyvern had nearly freed itself from the entangling roots and vines. Shari knew if it managed another attack she would die. Fumbling to lift her bow, she nocked another arrow and drew it back. She didn’t have the strength for a full draw, so she pulled as far as she could and released. The arrow struck the wyvern in the chest, doing 200 damage. With the damage from the spell, the beast was down to under 100hp and the DoT’s were still ticking.

  Shari needed to survive another ten seconds. By then the thing would be dead. She rolled herself over and onto her hands and knees. She began to crawl behind the same tree Snuffles had used for cover. The piglet was still there, cowering at the base of the trunk. Shari let her arms collapse and turned her body into a roll that would take her the rest of the way behind the tree. Five seconds left…

  A searing pain erupted in her right ankle. Crying out in pain again, she looked down to find that the wyvern had bitten down on her foot. Shari panicked and kicked at the thing’s snout with her other foot, the pain in her leg warring with the pain in her gut every time she moved.

  The light went out of the wyvern’s eyes a second later, and its grip on her foot relaxed a bit. Shari’s health bar was down to 30hp and flashing red on her UI. She pulled a health potion from her bag and gulped it down. Out of danger for a moment, she used her bow to pry open the wyvern’s jaw and remove her foot. The wound wasn’t as bad as it had felt. Her boots protected her from most of damage. Still, several of the teeth had penetrated the leather and sunk into her skin.

  She sat panting, leaning back against the tree. When her mana had recharged enough, she cast a heal on herself. The pain in her gut lessened, and was gone completely from her leg. Snuffles came over and crawled into her lap, looking sympathetic.

  “My big brave tank piggy. Never seen you run so fast.” She half-scolded her companion. She scratched his ears to let him know she wasn’t really angry. What could he have done, after all? Besides get himself eaten?

  As she waited for her health and mana to recover, she reached out and looted the wyvern’s corpse. She was surprised by the sheer quantity of items. There was a stack of thirty pieces of wyvern meat, several claws, and ten pieces of wyvern-scale hide. There were thirty immature wyvern’s teeth, two eyes, and a wyvern’s heart that glowed purple indicating a rare item. There was also, by some inexplicable game mechanic, a bow made of bone.

  Wyvernbone Bow

  Quality: Unique, Scalable

  Stats: Agility +1; Strength +2; Stamina +1

  This bow, shaped from the spine and sinew of a young wyvern, is flexible yet strong. Arrows fired from this bow will fly farther and faster than normal.

  Holding the new bow in her hand, she could feel that it was lighter than the wooden one she carried. She tried an experimental pull of the string, and found it slightly easier than her wooden bow as well. Though that might be due to the strength bonus. Placing her old bow in her bag, she slung the new one over her shoulder.

  The last loot item made her grin, despite her exhausted state. It was a soul gem. One of the spell components she needed. That left only the bat wings.

  Getting to her feet, she said “Let’s go, oh mighty pig protector.” She took a moment to lay a hand on the elder tree that had warned her of danger. “Thank you, old one.”

  Checking her map briefly to regain her bearings after the fight, she once again set off toward the tomb.

  Finding the entrance again, she stepped down through the door and followed the tunnel. Since she hadn’t seen any actual bats the day before when she chose the left fork, she chose the right this time. Unlike the left tunnel, this one didn’t turn quickly. It extended in a long, gradual downward slope. After following it for a couple of minutes, Shari began to consider turning around. She wasn’t looking to explore a dungeon, just find a bat. And there was guano in the other direction.

  Just as she was about to give up and turn around, the tunnel made a left turn into a stairway. Shari and Snuffles descended the stairs, coming out on a landing about thirty feet down. The landing overlooked a cavern that glowed an iridescent blue-green color. There was enough light to make out the dimensions of the space, about forty yards across with a high ceiling. On the cavern floor were a few scattered boulders with their tops covered in the now familiar chalky white bat guano. The soft, colored light was coming from the walls, floor, and ceiling.

  The cavern had a moist feel to it. Shari thought she heard the trickling of water from somewhere, and made the connection. She whispered to Snuffles. “This light must be from some kind of glowing moss. Don’t eat it.”

  She cast her light spell on her bow, and it glowed brightly. Much more brightly than she’d expected. She made a mental note to ask Arlon about that.

  The increased light showed her dozens of water rivulets running down the cavern walls all around the perimeter. The water pooled in places on the floor. The moss, now a dull grey in the light from her bow, was much thicker in those areas, and it covered most of the floor.

  She raised her bow above her head to extend the light to the ceiling, and smiled. There were hundreds of bats hanging in clusters of two and three.

  She nocked an arrow and drew it back, aiming for a nearby bat. But she hesitated before loosing the arrow. She was a druid, after all. She didn’t think Arlon would want her to kill a defenseless creature just for a spell component. Plus, the little guys were kinda cute, in a creepy sort of ‘don’t touch me’ way.

  Snuffles solved her problem for her. As usual, he’d been exploring, sticking his snout into everything. While sniffing at the moss, he’d inhaled something he didn’t like. Sitting back and shaking his head vigorously, he let out a high-pitched squeal of distress, or disgust. Either way, the sound agitated the bats, causing several to drop from the perch and swoop toward the landing and the tunnel beyond. Shari ducked her head as several flew right at her. One got tangled in her hair momentarily, screeching loudly at her as it struggled flew and took off.

  That screeching woke the rest of the bats. Almost as one they dropped from the ceiling and rushed at Shari. Hundreds of them. Too many to fit in the tunnel at once. They swarmed around her like a black cloud, battering her with their wings. A few latched onto her with sharp little talons and tried to bite through her armor with tiny needle-sharp fangs.

  Snuffles squealed in pain. Several more had latched onto him, and he didn’t have armor to protect him. He was bleeding in several places already.

  “Screw this. These bats must DIE!” Shari shouted, further agitating the bats. She began to swing her bow about like a club, bashing bats from the air. She stepped toward Snuffles, casting a heal on him before clubbing several of the bats that clung to his hide. Realizing she was never going to get anywhere trying to hit them one at a time, she cast her Campfire spell, a simple low-level ignition spell used for lighting wood campfires, on one of the bat corpses on the floor. The bat’s fur caught fire, and immediately the flame spread. Several dead bats burst into flames. The smell of burnt hair, bat flesh, and smoking moss was revolting. So much so that the remaining bats fled the area, exiting through the tunnel.

  Shari checked on Snuffles, casting another heal on him. When she was sure he was okay, she looted the bat corpses. In addition to the wings she needed, she got several sets of claws, teeth, and roasted bat meat. She chuckled at that. Looking down the tunnel, she said “Sorry guys. I wasn’t looking for a fight.”

  Stowing her loot in her bag, she led Snuffles back up and out of the tunnel. Normally she would check the cavern for hidden treasures and such. But the smell was making her eyes water and she just wanted fresh air.

  When they emerged from the tomb, Snuffles immediately dashed for the nearest patch of grass and rolled around in it. Rubbing his snout in
the grass as well. “Trying to clear the stink? I don’t blame you. It was bad enough for me. I can’t imagine how it was for you.” Shari commiserated with the piglet. She waited for him to finish, and the two of them began the hike back to the city.

  It was getting late in the day by the time she arrived back at the gate. Rather than going to see Arlon right away, she decided to log out for the night. She could visit him in the morning.

  When she walked into the tavern, she almost immediately received annoyed looks from several of the patrons. One of them asked “What is that smell?”

  She hadn’t realized she’d brought the burned-bat-stink back with her. She blushed furiously, suddenly finding herself the stinky kid in class. “I’m sorry. Burned some bats. I was attacked in a tunnel and…”

  “I didn’t really want to know.” The elf interrupted her. “Please, take yourself upstairs, or outside. Or out of the city.” He grimaced. Several others nodded their heads.

  Shari practically ran up the stairs in her embarrassment. Once in her room she stripped off her clothes and changed into a plain pair of pants and shirt. Then she opened the window and hung her stinkified clothes on nearby pegs, hoping to air them out. If the smell wasn’t gone when she logged back in, she’d have them cleaned.

  Sitting down on the bed, she dismissed Snuffles, who looked grateful to be escaping her stench. Then she logged herself out.

  *****

  Mace continued to move from tree to tree in a more or less straight line toward the lake. In less than an hour, he reached the edge of a cleared area on the lakeshore. The trees had been cut to stumps a few hundred feet back from the lake, and it looked as if a good bit of the lumber had been used to build a settlement. There was a log palisade that encircled a group of maybe twenty buildings, with a gate that faced the water. At the lake’s edge, two long piers stretched out into the water. Several small fishing boats were pulled up on the shore, and at each of the piers was a larger vessel. One was a barge, wide and flat, riding low in the water with a half-dozen oars on each side. The other was a sailing vessel maybe thirty feet long with a single mast.

  Scattered around the shore and within the palisade, a variety of people of different races were moving about. Mostly, Mace saw orcs. But there were humans, dwarves, gnomes, kobolds, even a few goblins. Just outside the gate Mace spotted a familiar glowing stone marker. A bind point. Even if he couldn’t safely enter the village, Mace needed to get to that bind point. If he died now, he’d end up all the way back at the kobold village inn where he’d spent the night.

  Dropping to the ground, he went into stealth mode. He moved quickly toward the back wall of the compound and blended into its shadows. He slowly made his way around the outside of the wall toward the gate, being careful not to make noise. When he reached the bind point, he positioned himself so that the stone was between him and the guards at the gate. Crouching down to hide behind the rock, he reached out and touched it. He was now bound to this spot.

  Deciding he had little to lose, he stood in the open and called out to the guards at the gate. “Ho, there! Is there an inn for a weary traveler?”

  The guards immediately raised their weapons, looking around. Mace waved his arm in the air, making it easier to spot him. He took a couple steps around the rock and toward the gate. The two guards took a good look at him, then whispered among themselves. When they lowered their weapons, Mace took it as a good sign.

  “Aye, there’s an inn.” One of the guards, an orc, replied. “Though many here won’t be glad to see a drow visitin’ I don’t think.”

  Mace nodded his head in understanding. This was going better than expected. “I imagine not.” He agreed. “But please rest assured, I mean no harm to anyone here in…” he paused for the guard to finish the sentence.

  “Lakeside” the second guard grunted. He appeared to be half orc, half something larger. Ogre, maybe?

  “I mean no harm to anyone here in Lakeside. I simply wish to lay down my head and rest for the night. Maybe purchase some food.”

  The first guard observed “Yer a drow. If’n ya meant to kill us all in our sleep, yer not likely to say so now, are ya?”

  Mace sighed. He just needed to get to the inn. Once he was inside the room, he would be in a safe zone. No one could enter without his permission.

  He reached into his bag and produced two gold coins. Offering them to the nearest guard, he asked “Do these make me seem any friendlier?”

  The guard accepted the gold coins and grunted.

  Your reputation with the settlement of Lakeside has improved to Neutral

  A nod from the guard, and Mace stepped through the gate. He received some unfriendly stares from some of the citizens on the street, but none tried to kill him as he made his way to the inn. Once inside, a quick conversation with the innkeeper, who was a kobold and seemed happy enough to accept his coin, and he made his way up the stairs to his room. He plopped down on the bed and dismissed Minx before logging out.

  Chapter 14

  It Ain’t Easy Being Me

  Mace checked the clock as he exited his pod. It was 7:00pm. He hit the shower, then dressed in blue jeans and a “GameLit Don’t Quit!” T-shirt featuring a honey-badger wearing a horned helmet. After slipping on a pair of boat shoes, he stepped out into the corridor. He figured a late dinner would be a good chance to talk with Shari some more.

  Her door was left open, and she was nowhere in sight. Mace made his way to the kitchen, where he found her already cooking some spaghetti. He said “That sauce smells delicious.” as he crossed the room. Stepping close to the stove, he put a hand on the small of her back while he leaned in for a better sniff of the pasta sauce. “What did you put in there?”

  She leaned into him slightly, reaching toward the counter. She lifted several herb bottles and showed them to him. “Diced onion, garlic powder, basil, thyme, oregano, and a little sea salt.”

  Mace nodded his head. “Family recipe? Or just making it up as you go?”

  She chuckled a bit and said “Actually I think I might have seen it in a movie. The Godfather? Maybe Goodfellas? One of those gangster movies.”

  “Ha!” Mace grinned back at her. “Whatever works. Can I get a little taste?” He asked, reaching for the wooden spoon she was using to stir the sauce and the pasta.

  She was faster than he was, grabbing the spoon and rapping his hand with it. “No! Just be patient mister Stabby McHungrydrow. It’ll be ready in about five minutes. Go set the table. Find us some nice cloth napkins and real silverware. And some wine. Is there any wine?”

  Mace had indeed grabbed some bottles of wine on a previous trip to the Safeway. He opened a cupboard near the refrigerator to reveal a small wine rack with seven bottles in it. “Uhh… what color wine goes with pasta?”

  Shari snorted. “Look for a chianti or a cabernet.” she said, shaking her head. “Boys.”

  Mace quickly checked the bottles. “No chianti. This one says ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’. Good?”

  “Perfect! Now find us some wine glasses. The wide kind with a fat belly.”

  Mace stuck his tongue out at her. “That part I actually knew. I’m not a total savage.” He didn’t hear her response, as she mumbled into the pot of boiling pasta.

  Retrieving two wine glasses, he set them and the bottle on the counter. Apparently, that was a mistake. “What are you doing? We’re not eating in here. Go set a table in the dining room. Find a table cloth.”

  Mace rolled his eyes, but only after he’d turned so she couldn’t see his face. The ‘dining room’ was a fifty-foot square cafeteria with about twenty small square tables and three long ones with benches. Mace chose one not far from the kitchen door and set down the bottle and glasses. Then he went in search of a table cloth and linen napkins. After a minute of opening doors, he found a fully stocked linen cabinet. He made a detour through the kitchen, grabbing up plates and silverware.

  Returning to the dining area, he set everything down next to the wine bottle. A min
ute later he’d set an adjacent table with linens, plates, silverware, and glasses. He went back into the kitchen to rummage around a bit, finding a bottle opener, a couple of small candles, and a lighter. He quickly jammed the candles in his pockets so Shari wouldn’t see them. Hurrying back out to the dining room, he placed and lit the candles, then opened the wine. Taking a last look at his preparations, he nodded to himself and stepped back into the kitchen.

  Shari was just pouring the pasta through a colander in the sink. While that cooled a bit, she turned off both burners on the stove, and poured the sauce into a gravy boat. Then she dumped the pasta into a bowl, and handed it to Mace. She picked up the sauce, and he followed her to the dining room.

  “Aww, candles!” She turned and favored him with a beaming smile. “Nice touch.”

  Setting the pasta down on the table, Mace stepped over to the wall and switched off the overhead lights. “Better?”

  “Much. Come sit before your dinner gets cold.” She answered.

  The two of them dished up their food. As they ate, they talked about their adventures in-game. Mace told her about leaving the kobold village and the attack by the centaurs. “I know the elves were trying to be helpful. But their messages put a bright red target on my back. It may take me longer to reach you than I expected.”

  Shari asked “Did you make it somewhere safe?”

  “Yup. Found a settlement on the western shore of a big lake. Cleverly named Lakeside. It had an inn. Mixed race settlement. A few gold got me in the gate and a room for the night. Probably have to sneak out in the morning, though. Anyone who’s interested will have all night to plan how to ambush me.”

  “That sucks. I didn’t realize how tough it would be for you on the surface. Maybe you should re-roll?” Shari ventured.

  Mace shook his head. “I thought about it. But I like my drow. And I’m starting to get strong. I want to see what happens with my soul dagger, too.” He tilted his head. “Besides, there are no admins left. I’m not sure I could re-roll if I wanted to. I’d probably have to hack admin access to the server.”