by Kong, Aleron
Both he and Sion stood with arrows drawn and pointed at the cave, waiting to see if the noise of the fight brought more enemies out, but none came. Richter eased the draw on his bow and examined the opening.
You have found: Seasoned Cave
“Futen,” Richer said.
“Yes my Lord,” a disembodied voice answered from somewhere in front of him.
“Stay invisible. Scout ahead into the cave, let us know what you find.”
“As you wish.”
The two of them waited for a few minutes. As they did they gathered the weapons of the skeletons they had destroyed as well as whatever arrows could be salvaged. The skeletons’ gear was all common and poor quality, but there might be a use for it later. Not needing to sit long, the remnant appeared back in front of them. “There are two caverns inside the cave, one after another. There are three skeletons with blades in the first cavern. A short tunnel connects the two. In the second chamber, there are five more skeletons. There is a stairway leading down at the back of the chamber, but that is as far as I could go.”
“Why couldn’t you go further? Was there a barrier you couldn’t pass?”
“I am bound to the village. It is only because you have absorbed the Heart Crystal that I can go so far afield. Normally I cannot move more than half a mile from the village borders. Now that we are past that point, I cannot be more than one hundred yards from you.”
Knowing that there were eight enemies within one hundred yards, it seemed clear that there would be close quarter fighting. “Futen, can you make your light brighter? Bright enough to see by in a dark cave?”
“Yes, Master, but away from the village, I will not be able to maintain a bright light for more than several minutes without rest.”
“Does the mist go into the cave? Can we rely on its concealment,” Sion asked.
“No, the mist stops at the cave mouth.”
“Okay then,” Richter replied. “Become invisible, and go to the top of the first cavern. Wait five seconds then flare brightly.” Looking at Sion he asked, “Have your mana and stamina recovered,” at his Companion’s nod, Richter explained the plan, “We strike immediately after Futen flares the light. Hopefully it will distract them. Take the one in the middle, I will hit the one on the right. Keep firing as quickly as you can to keep distance between us and them. Now go Futen!”
Placing an arrow to the string, he focused on his aura. It surrounded the arrow almost instantly, and he began to pour his mana into it. He held allowed the mana to flow for three seconds, reasoning that the deeper hey got into the dungeon, the stronger the opponents would be. He began to see streaks of black flow over the gold aura and moved into the cave mouth, Sion to his right. Just before entering a white grey light flared. They stepped inside, and both immediately took aim. As hoped, the blast of light had taken the attention of the skeletons for key seconds.
Triggering his Focus skill, the skeleton he was targeting seemed to jump towards him. Easily focusing on its chest he released. The golden streak with a black tinge hit the skeleton’s chest knocking it back to the cave wall. The charged arrow made a deafening boom in the confined space causing a ringing in his ears. Sion’s arrow blasted into the skeleton in the middle, which was holding a greatsword, making an even greater explosive clap.
The undamaged skeleton immediately started running at them with a sword in one hand and a buckler in the other. It moved with the same uncanny speed of the skeletons outside. It just seemed wrong that something dead could move so quickly. Despite that, Sion’s Dexterity gave him excellent combat speed. He was able to strike the skeleton two more times before it could cross the sixty yards to the cave entrance. The first hit its buckler and was deflected up above the bony head, but it served a purpose by knocking the buckler out of the way. Sion’s second shot exploded into the skeleton’s pelvis separating its top and bottom half.
Richter had imbued another arrow with magical force and attacked his initial opponent again, but missed as the skeleton dodged to the side. The failed shot was not a small thing. He had already lost more than half of his mana! He quickly drew his short sword and braced to meet the bony bastard!
Its cutlass swung in a viscious arc intending to decapitate him. He blocked the blow with his short sword, but it then swung a bony fist at his face which connected. He reeled back from the hit, pain exploding in his jaw and his health decreasing by a further 8%. Stars occupied his vision, and not knowing where the next strike would come from, Richter let his legs fold and he rolled onto his back then pushing up with his arms to land on all fours.
The skeleton was closing again, but was struck by Sion’s blue arrow, knocking it back. The sprite immediately struck the skeleton with another imbued arrow. The speed of his attacks were impressive, but despite high dexterity, Sion still needed time to put any real power into his Imbue Arrow skill.
Richter threw himself back into the battle, a backhand swing striking the neck of the skeleton which had struck him. The combination of blows was enough to make it collapse into component parts. He heard, “Duck,” and dropped to the floor. The middle skeleton had rejoined the fight and swung horizontally with its iron greatsword. The attack missed, but it used the momentum of its swing to bring the blade above its head intending to strike down and cleave him in two. Again his Agility saved him as he rolled to the side. The force of the missed strike made vibrations in the cave floor that he could feel.
The skeleton was overbalanced by its failed attack. Richter swung his sword at the back of its left knee. On his back, he couldn’t put too much strength into the blow, but it was enough to make his enemy fall forward. Sion’s arrow, a brilliant blue of imbued magic, hit its clavicle, tearing away both shoulder and head. As with the previous skeletons, removal of the skull broke whatever magic was animating it. The bones fell apart. A motion attracted Richter’s attention. The first of the skeletons from the second chamber came running into the battle. Sounds from the tunnel clearly indicated others were close behind.
“Run,” Richter shouted! He jumped back onto his feet, and followed his own advice. The half skeleton Sion had hit early in the fight raised itself up on one arm, its sword cocked to swipe at him. Sion shot it in the back before turning to run. It collapsed like its three friends, and Richter ran past. Once out of the cave, Richter pulled Sion with him to the right moving twenty feet into the mist before turning and drawing arrows. Neither began to Imbue their arrows however. While Richter was sure they both remembered that the light from their arrows could draw the skeleton’s attention, he was equally sure that Sion must have used the greater part of his mana.
“Move back,” Richter breathed silently. He began to take his first step as the skeletons spilled out of the cave. Two had bows, one a bastard sword and a fourth a heavy dagger and round shield. The fifth was slightly larger and held an axe. Knowing Sion need more time to recover his mana, they continued moving back slowly and quietly. A large fallen tree was behind them. Huddling behind it, Richter looked over and focused upon the largest skeleton invoking Analyze.
Skeleton Warrior: Lvl 9. Health 310/310. Mana 0/0. Stamina 220/220.
“FML,” he muttered under his breath.
“What does that mean,” Sion quietly asked as they moved back and took shelter behind a fallen tree.
“I’ll tell you later. Futen, where are you?”
The grey sphere appeared in front of them with its inner light muted.
“Can those things hurt you? Can you be hurt?”
“I can be destroyed by strong magic, but I am nearly immune to physical attacks my Lord.”
“Good! This is the plan. Those three skeletons almost kicked our ass. We need the concealment of the mist to destroy these things. So we are going to wait a moment for our mana to regenerate then I want you to turn invisible and make a loud noise to draw their attention. We will power our arrows and attack. While that skeleton warrior is almost definitely the biggest damage dealer, those archers are the biggest threa
t to us out here in the open. So we fire, and fire at them again, until they are down. Then we fade back and split up. Once enough time passes, they won’t be able to find us in the mist unless we power up. So we hit and move, hit and move. Meanwhile, Futen you move around and make noise and flare lights to confuse them. Can you speak in a different voice than the one you always use?”
“Than the one you always use,” Richter’s own voice spoke back to him from the remnant.
Pausing for a moment, “Okay, new rule. Never do that again unless I ask… it’s super creepy.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Futen replied in its normal monotone.
At his current mana regen rate, he got one point back every ten seconds. He was at about 50% of his mana, so that would take a little over ten minutes.
After the prerequisite time he looked at Sion, “Are you ready?” His friend nodded and said, “Let’s move.”
They left the shelter of the tree still seeing the five skeleton’s outside of the cave entrance in a rough half circle. They stood nearly motionless, heads turning slowly, searching for some indication of the duo’s location. Futen phased out of view, and Richter and Sion knocked arrows waiting. A white flash and voice from the other side of the skeleton’s position was their cue. All of the skeletons turned towards the improvised flash bang. A blue and golden glow immediately flared into existence behind them. Both Richter and Sion waited three seconds, the glow growing brighter and more intense, and then they released. The skeletal warrior seemed cognizant of the danger behind it before the other monsters. It squatted, bringing its double headed axe in front of its skull like a shield. It was not, of course, their intended target. A gold and blue blur converged on the chest of one archer shattering it instantly. The concussive force of two close proximity strikes staggered the other skeletons.
Sion launched one strike and then a second at the remaining archer, taking only the minimal time to power the arrows. His goal was to keep it off balance. Though neither shot landed with crushing force, the skeleton was staggered. It allowed Sion to once again imbue an arrow with extra force, and land a blow to its left chest. It was not destroyed outright, but one arm was knocked free. While it wasn’t dead, it would certainly no longer be a threat as an archer.
The three melee skeletons had already started running towards them. As discussed, Sion took off to the right while Richter moved to the left. Each ran following the slight curve of their respective hills until the skeletons lost sight of them. It took about a minute, but by making short changes in direction periodically it became clear when the skeletons lost the trail. They were once again safe in the protection of the mist. Without speaking the skeletons all seemed to arrive at the conclusion that they should return to guard the cave mouth. They stopped searching and returned to guard the entrance. All was silent.
Sion and Richter looked at the unaware monsters, breathing as quietly as possible. They had regrouped and positioned themselves at the top of a hill looking down on the bony creatures. Another white flare was their cue to resume attack. It flared right in the midst of the skeletons causing a small amount of pandemonium. A blue arrow struck the skeleton with the shield in the back dealing extra damage. A golden arrow struck the warrior in the shoulder, but it seemed to simply shrug the blow off. Both lesser skeletons moved after Sion who fired with his usual alacrity, one arrow per second. The barrage staggered each skeleton in turn. He was moving back as he shot. Each skeleton was struck twice struggling up the hill before Sion ran off a short distance, and then started the onslaught again.
The skeletal warrior rushed Richter, axe pulled back ready to swing. He moved to the left drawing and beginning to imbue his arrow, but as soon as the glow began the skeleton warrior moved towards him with intimidating speed. Judging by the information he had seen with Analyze, Richter knew he was no match for his opponent in a standup fight. Three more times he moved off and attempted to attack the warrior, but each time he could not do more than summon his aura before the warrior was almost upon him. He feared moving further away lest he lose the warriors interest. It might pursue Sion whose own battle was not concluded based upon the blue flares that could be seen over the hill. Looking around an idea occurred to Richter though.
“Futen, draw it up the hill. Make a gold flare and use my voice.”
A moment later, Richter’s own voice could be heard up the hill, and the skeletal warrior followed it axe swinging. Meanwhile Richter moved down the hill and began Imbuing his arrow. After one second his arrow glowed golden. After two seconds, the warrior noticed him, and turned to run down the hill. After three seconds, black streaks once again shot over the golden aura surrounding the arrow. The warrior ran closer, now only 20 yards away. It was building tremendous speed as it sprinted downhill. After four seconds, the black streaks flowed up and down the arrow and a high pitched whine grew in Richter’s ears. The warrior began its swing obviously aiming for decapitation, only to trip over the fallen tree that it didn’t see until too late. It fell over it, prone, only 12 feet away from Richter. Five seconds had passed and black streaks moved over the arrow to fast to see. Richter released and struck the warrior at point blank range directly in the head.
The Imbued arrow didn’t just impact the warrior, it rendered the skull into pieces. The blow collapsed the skull of warrior and the force continued on, destroying its neck, chest and upper vertebrae. The backlash of the strike drove Richter off of his feet, his head striking a branch and knocking him unconscious.
His next sensation was of a very small hand slapping him across the face. This did not bother him very much, but the follow-up backhand across the other cheek just seemed rude and excessive. Blinking back to consciousness, he clearly said, “Skop furgin hidin mi uuu fookene men e me!”
“Quit laying around. Time to get back to work.”
Taking several slow, deep breaths, Richter finally controlled his own personal spinning universe and sat up. Sion stood beside him. In front of him, was the ruined frame of the skeleton warrior. Still dazed, Richter looked around hoping that the danger had passed, but not yet able to fully muster the ability to care.
Sion looked at him with a confused expression, “What is FML?”
CHAPTER 15
When Richter was finally able to stand, he searched the warrior. The skeletal warrior had been clad in rags. The only thing of value was its axe.
You have found: Steel battle axe. Damage 17-22. Durability 17/40. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight 13.7 kg. Requirement: Strength 19.
Richter really missed mobs dropping random loot. Having to search the dead was a pain in the butt compared simply opening an inventory window. To be fair though it wasn’t really realistic to find a bottle of fire resistance inside of a bear, or a healing herb from killing an air elemental.
The walked back to the cave entrance both gnawing on healing herbs. The herbs did not have the instant healing of Richter’s Minor Ring of Healing. They also didn’t heal as much or as fast as the potions they had found. Instead they slowly added health at one point per second.
Basic healing herb: Eating this will restore 10 points of health over 30 seconds.
A benefit of all that hide and seek in the mist was a bump in his stealth skill.
Congratulations: You have reached skill level 4 in Stealth. 2% increase to Concealment.
They gathered the other weapons and shields from the destroyed skeletons, and left them in a pile at the entrance. Like the warrior, these skeletons had nothing of value besides their weapons. A quick scan by Futen found no other enemies in the immediate vicinity. Moving into the cave, they swept up the remaining weapons placing them with the others.
They entered the tunnel connecting the two chambers, Richter took the lead, sword in hand. If Futen had missed some creature, then there would only be a split second to defend himself, not nearly enough time to aim and shoot his bow. Sion followed two paces behind, arrow nocked and ready. He moved carefully into the second cavern. As soon as he placed hi
s foot down inside the chamber, the floor at his feet began to glow blue white.
“Move,” Sion shouted! The sprite grabbed the back of Richter’s belt and pulled. Unfortunately Sion lacked the strength to actually move him back, but it did stop him from moving any farther forward. The light flared and with a zzzsst, bolts of electricity shot into the air bouncing off the sides of the hallway.
Both he and Sion fell to the ground
You are stunned for the next 3.0 seconds!
Richter’s body was locked in spasm, pain coursing through him. He saw that whatever had just happened, had also removed 35 health. The next three seconds felt like an hour. Even after the paralysis wore off, they lay on the ground for a bit.
“Thaatttt suckkked!”
“I think I will move in front from here on out, Richter!” Sion’s voice was tight with pain and annoyance.
“Fine! Futen, what WAS that?”
“You seem to have stepped upon a lightning ward my Lord.”
“Why didn’t you warn us?”
“I was only scanning for enemies. Though in retrospect, it would have been prudent to also look for traps.”
“You think?!” Richter was almost shouting.
“Yes, my Lord,” the remnant paused for a second, “I do.”
“Pink would be too good for you, you damn night light! I’m going to find a way to make you burnt ochre! Now scan for traps!”
“Yes, my Lord.”
The orb flowed around the room occasionally hovering in one place. A circle would slowly appear on the floor to the side of its position. Richter noticed that not even the remnant passed directly over the wards. Each ward was two feet in diameter and had small runes lining the inner edge of its circumference. In the meantime, both he and Sion ate more healing herbs. Herb Lore certainly did come in handy as a skill. If not for finding these herbs in the forest, the only options for accelerated healing would have been his ring or the two healing potions they had found. Thankfully the herbs were sprinkled throughout the forest, and they had been able to pick some each night.