by Matt Ryan
Service 20
Merchant 0
Perception 10
Stealth 5
Evil 20
Good 0
Weapon specialties:: 5 points in Spears
2 Points in Daggers
We left the library and headed to the next room—much larger than the last, with dim lighting. The floor had many symbols in a grid pattern, almost like a checker board.
“What do we do?” Gor asked and took a few steps into the room.
KILLian and I both yelled, “No!”
The square floor under Gor collapsed and he fell into a chasm.
I stood at the edge and looked down into the darkness. “Gor?”
“I’m down here. Still alive, but I can’t see anything. Can you throw down a torch?”
“Sure, coming down.” I picked up the nearest torch and heard a clicking sound inside the wall. “Uh-oh.”
“What did you do?” KILLian asked.
“I don’t know, I just grabbed the torch.”
“Hey, guys, the floor’s moving up,” Gor said. “I hear something down here. It’s getting closer.” Gor’s voice reached a high-pitched screech at the end.
“I’m throwing down the torch,” I said and tossed it into the hole.
As it fell, I saw the stone walls had large scratch marks on them, as if something had been trying to get out. That’s when Gor screamed.
“Gor!” KILLian called out, panicked.
He picked up the torch, then I saw what he was standing on. A pile of dead bodies. Gor whipped the torch around, as if things were coming at him from every direction.
“I hear it. It’s in the walls,” Gor said.
“Freaking Necromancers,” KILLian said. “Only they would store so many bodies.”
“Did you say a Necro is in here?” Gor asked as the platform kept rising.
A wall next to him burst open and a large dog stuffed his head through the hole. Gor fumbled with his ax as he dropped the torch.
A Necrowolf. Large and mean, with some of its skin falling off and hanging near its face. It growled at Gor, as if deciding whether he was an easy kill or not. Or maybe he was just eyeing the soft parts for consumption.
The platform was only about ten feet from the top when the Necrowolf broke through the rest of the wall and lunged at Gor. A frost shot bolted from KILLian at the same time Gor did a crushing blow on the thing’s shoulder, narrowly missing its head.
With the platform only five feet from the top, KILLian spread out her arms, then slammed them down. It created a shockwave of cold that froze the injured Necrowolf in place. Gor took another swing, and this time struck it square in the head. It went down on the heap of bodies just as the platform reached the top. All the dead bodies spilled out to the sides like a collapsing sand castle.
Gor scrambled off and away from the pile while gripping his ax. I went to loot the dead wolf.
Wolf Bone: might have magical properties.
I checked my stats as well and saw I was almost fifty percent of the way to the next level.
“I don’t even see another door. How do we get to the next room?” KILLian said.
“I bet we have to pick another torch,” I said and saw one to the right of the entrance of the door.
“Yeah, and summon another devil dog? I don’t like this plan,” Gor said holding onto his ax.
I looked around the room. There were square symbols spaced out every ten feet. I was sure each one held a trap, but one would be the way forward. There was another torch near the entrance, easy to grab, but I didn’t think the easy one would be the one. I spotted a torch about two squares in on the right-hand side and looked at the symbols leading up to it.
“What do you think, KILLian?” I hoped she had an idea because I had no freaking clue.
“Look at the wall on the far side, it has the same symbols lined up, and the one Gor stood on was the one with the three triangles encased in a circle. I see two of those going over there. So, I bet if you don’t step on those, you’ll be okay. Maybe.”
I walked to the edge and the symbol on the square in front of me had a single triangle inside a square. I put my weight on it, but not fully committing to it. It held. I took another step and put a no-going-back amount of weight on it. I looked back and smiled at KILLian. She’d done it. I took another step diagonally, onto a similar stone, and finally, one more holding the torch. I pulled the torch out of the holder and heard the clicking sound.
At the middle of the room, the floor fell in and a cloud of dust burst upward. Making sure to step on the right places, I made my way to the middle of the room and looked into the hole. About ten feet down, were a set of stone stairs leading into the darkness.
Gor and KILLian made their way over to me and looked down.
“At least there aren’t any dead bodies,” Gor said. “You think that leads to the boss?”
“I’d guess yes, maybe one more room of mobs. These starter dungeons usually aren’t too long,” I said.
“This is fun,” he said with a big smile. “I like playing with you guys.”
“I’m just happy you’re wearing pants,” KILLian commented.
I lowered myself down on the ledge, then dropped the rest of the distance. I landed hard enough that I checked my HP, but it hadn’t taken a ding.
KILLian and Gor came down the same way and we used the torch to light the way down the stairs. The ceiling was only about a foot overhead, and the hall narrowed the farther we descended. At the bottom, we were side by side, squeezing down the corridor.
That’s when I saw a Necroman holding onto the leash of a Necrowolf. They both had white eyes and appeared not to have noticed us yet. The Necrowolf smelled the air, but I wasn’t sure how well his snout worked, as I could see its skull where its nose should’ve been.
“What’s the hold up?” Gor yelled.
The wolf barked at the intrusion, and lunged forward. The movement pulled the Necroman forward; his arm hung by a few threads of tissue before the wolf lunged again, ripping the arm right off. I couldn’t go back even if I wanted to, and the wolf was running down the narrow hall toward me. I summoned my spear and placed it against the floor, pointing it forward. The wolf didn’t slow down, and jumped right into the spear.
Necrowolf is speared!
+ 20 XP
Its black blood trickled down the spear and the weight of the thing threatened to make me drop the spear entirely. The wolf flailed on the stick and sunk its body down onto it, sliding closer to me. I pushed back, holding the spear, but KILLian was right there, trying to reach over me.
“Get out of the way,” she said.
“I can’t.” The hall was too narrow, and the creature was still inching its way down my spear. Behind it, I saw the Necroman had gotten back on its feet and was clawing at the walls to get to me, with its one good arm.
“Got to hit it in the brain. Take my ax,” Gor said and extended the handle to me.
I grabbed for the handle, and my hand went right through it. I tried again, but I couldn’t touch it.
“Crap, you haven’t learned axes yet,” Gor said.
The wolf was only a foot away from digging its rotten teeth into my hand. I wished I had kept the dagger I’d thrown and looked at my sparse inventory. The wolf bone.
I took it out of my inventory and into my free hand. About two feet long, it had a sharp end. Drool from the thing’s mouth seeped onto my hands. I took the bone and plunged it into its head.
Critical Hit!
214 Damage
+ 90 XP
I dropped the spear from the weight of it and the bone went down with it. I reached down to grab it when the Necrowolf lunged at me and bit me on my shoulder. I screamed and jabbed it one more time.
Good Job! Necrowolf is dead.
147 Damage
+ 90 XP
You have been poisoned: -2 HP a second.
A bit dizzy, I fell back with the thing attached to my shoulder. The room got cold and I looked at the ceiling
. At least I knew what would happen when I died away from the resurrection angel.
KILLian stepped over me and I saw a burst of blue come from her hand. Then I saw Gor’s ax slicing at the Necroman’s head.
I kicked the thing off me, right on top of the wolf. It smelled as bad as it looked. I scrambled to get past it.
Congratulations! Level 7 Unlocked:
+5 Attribute points
+1 Proficiency in spears
Special Ability Unlocked: Whirlwind attack
Grip those weapons tight and take them for a spin. AoE attack with a 5-yard radius.
Damage is divided by number of targets struck.
Thrilled to have a new level and a new talent, I wanted to look at it, but the room felt like it was closing in on me and started to swirl around.
“Wait,” I heard KILLian yell from behind me, but it didn’t matter. I needed to run, crawl, squeeze my way out of these constraining walls before they crushed me.
Finally, I got to an opening and fell to the floor. The HP meter continued to click down and I felt the poison running through me. My shoulder felt as if it was on fire and I didn’t even see KILLian as she knelt next to me, feeling my forehead.
“You’re burning up, Mago. I need to know what kind of attack he used against you. Was it a curse, a disease, or a poison?”
“Poison,” I muttered.
“Okay, good. I have a cure for that.”
The pain wasn’t anything I couldn’t bear, but my mind was slipping as well. I couldn’t think straight, and there was an anger building inside. “Don’t touch me!” I screamed, but it didn’t feel as if I’d said it.
“Gor, hold him.”
I didn’t know I was flailing around, until I felt Gor use his body as a dead weight over mine.
“Don’t bite me, buddy,” he whispered.
The idea of biting him seemed crazy. I’d never bitten a person in my life. Yet, my body lunged forward, trying to tear his trachea from his neck.
Then KILLian was back, holding a bandage with a large swathe of green liquid on it. I had the wherewithal to know I was near the end. My health points wouldn’t last much longer.
KILLian pushed the bandage over my wound and I blacked out.
The next thing I knew, my eyes shot open, only to see Gor standing over me with an ax raised.
“You okay?” he asked, adjusting his grip.
“Yes, I think,” I said and sat up. “What happened?” My screen flashed.
-178 HP
“You got bit and went kind of ape-shit crazy,” KILLian said. “You’re damn lucky I had taken the time to learn a few healing tricks.”
I got to my feet, a bit wobbly. After a few seconds, I got my bearings and looked at my HP. 42 points. Jesus, if someone blew on me the wrong way, I’d die.
“Here is some HP food I picked up along the way,” Gor handed me what looked like a wafer.
I took it and put the whole thing in my mouth. It had a chalky taste to it, but it made me feel better, and my HP raised to 142. Manageable. “We at the boss yet?” I asked.
Gor pointed to the bigger, adjacent room.
At the far end, sitting in a large chair made of bones, sat a tall, thin man with white eyes. His clothes seemed to be strands of black fabric, stitched together. He held on to a dark rod with a black orb at the end of it.
“Yep, that looks like a boss to me,” I said. “He’s a Necro, so most of his powers are going to be in summoning the dead. If that room is anything like the room above us, the quicker we can kill him, the better.”
“He might have a curse as well. I can dispel one with a potion bottle, but I only have one,” KILLian said. “We could go back to town and get more stuff.”
I inspected the guy on the throne.
Nathaniel Rile: Level 29
Spec: Necromancer
Spec: Necromancer
HP: 900/900
My attacks were going to be near useless against him, and that was when I realized I didn’t have a weapon. In my poisoned haze, I’d left my spear impaled on the wolf, and the bone in its head.
“This is a bit embarrassing, but you guys don’t happen to have an extra weapon on ya, do you?”
“I’ve got a dagger with plus 5 attack,” KILLian said and a dagger appeared in her hand. I took it. A basic looking piece of steel with a bit of wear on the handle, but it would kill just the same.
“I’ve got a dagger as well, if you can dual wield?”
It felt right to have the weapons in my hands, even if they were a mismatch. “Thanks, guys. You ready to kill this deadhead?”
Chapter Eighteen
We walked with Gor slightly ahead of us. He’d draw the boss in, then we’d take out the summons as best we could.
“Remember, we have to keep up on killing the Necromen and Necrowolf spawns,” I whispered.
“Easy-peasy.” Gor hefted his ax on his shoulder. “Hey, dickless death-spawner!” he yelled up ahead. “Have you seen any good movies lately?”
I’d seen a lot of agro-draws from tanks in my time, but I’d never seen a question about movies as one of them.
Nathaniel jerked to attention and his white-eyed gaze landed on Gor. “You dare come into my chamber and disturb me? And what’s this dickless you speak of?” His voice boomed across the room.
I took a quick glance around and saw holes dug into the walls, just big enough for an adult to fit through. That’s where the Necros would be coming from. I quickly motioned to KILLian, and I knew she saw the same thing.
“Oh, you don’t like the term dickless?” Gor asked.
“It’s not that I don’t like it, I don’t know what it means.”
“He’s stalling,” KILLian said. “Probably got a summoning spell building. Hit him.”
Gor walked closer to Nathaniel and swung his ax. Nathaniel was surprisingly fast and dodged the attack.
“Smart girl. Why don’t I give you some company? You might find a keeper in this mix.” He gestured to the Necromen entering the room, and laughed at his stupid joke.
I trained my attention to the side door on my right. KILLian had my back on the left.
Gor screamed out a battle cry, and then came a sound of metal clinking, but I focused on the spot where the first Necroman was entering the room.
“Got a wolf,” KILLian said.
I timed my dash and got my daggers ready, then activated it. I used my momentum to strike the Necroman in the head.
Good Job! Necroman is dead.
Or deader. Deadest?
214 Damage
+ 75 XP
+ 1 Specialization in Daggers
“Guys,” Gor screamed.
I turned to see Gor levitating in the air, as Nathaniel held out his arm. His black rod pulsed with power, leaving Gor gurgling and flailing in the air.
“Mago, watch out,” KILLian warned, as she sent a rod of ice into the wolf’s head.
Behind us, a Necroman lumbered toward me. I dashed again, and sliced right through his head. Killing him and leveling my dagger further.
Good Job! Necroman is dead.
214 Damage
+ 75 XP
+ 1 Specialization in Daggers
“Gor’s going to die,” KILLian said as another wolf jumped at her. She froze it in midair, and the beast crashed to the ground, stopping at her feet. She then killed it with another ice rod.
Without pausing, she sent a bolt toward Nathaniel, but he absorbed it. I followed with a thrown dagger, and the blade bounced off him.
I studied the room and saw two large pots stationed behind Nathaniel’s throne. Black tendrils of smoke spewed from them.
“The vases!” I called out to KILLian. “Strike them.”
I dashed to the one on the right side and used my new AoE, whirlwind attack, to slice through the vase. I’d never had a feeling like it. My hand seemed stationary, but I knew I was moving fast, as the blade sliced through the vase. Even as it crumbled into smaller pieces, the blade crashed through
it several times. Amazing. I’d kept my focus, even through my spin attack.
Nathaniel groaned and wobbled, but held onto Gor.
KILLian used a frost shot and I watched the icy bolt strike the second vase. It broke open and the black mist went up to the ceiling and disappeared.
Nathaniel cried out in pain once again, but this time, he was unable to keep his hold on Gor, dropping him to the floor.
+5 Attack Power
+5 Intelligence
Oh my God, we had leveled some base stats just by figuring out the strategy. I didn’t have time to celebrate.
“Come to me,” Nathaniel said, raising his hands.
The ground rumbled and I eyed the doorway where the first Necroman had come out. Just as I’d feared, a steady line of them began to stream out. On the other side of the room, the same thing was happening with the Necrowolves. Too many to handle.
“Collapse on Nathaniel!” I yelled. “Gor, pick up the boss.”
There was no way we could kill the endless wave of undead coming at us. I checked Nathaniel’s HP.
HP: 230/900
Gor didn’t move, he just laid there.
“Gor!”
“I got him,” KILLian sent a heal spell his way.
Gor stirred awake.
Nathaniel continued to keep his hands up and his white eyes began to darken. Gor grabbed his ax off the floor and headed for Nathaniel. I stayed right behind him, and timed my dash to coincide with the swing of his ax. I veered to the right and struck Nathaniel’s arm, severing it from his body. His black blood sprayed all over my face.
Critical Strike!
180 Damage
+ 50 XP
Gor landed a solid ax shot right in his chest, while KILLian continued to launch frost shots at him. Nathaniel’s health was falling, but not fast enough. The horde of undead were nearly on us. KILLian slammed out a freeze spell, stopping four wolves from temporarily getting to her.
She ran across the room toward us. “Double shot to the head, okay?”