by Aleron Kong
Okay, he thought. I found the traps they wanted me to find, and the traps they didn’t want me to find. Now where are the traps that kill me, because now I’m a cocky bastard? Not moving, he shone his light around and saw pale white lines crisscrossing the room. Some extended vertically, other horizontally and still more at random angles. Whoever had devised this cockamamie dungeon needed a good kick in the teeth! Richter was just glad that he had cast Night Vision and not Far Light. Who knew what he would have triggered if the ball of light had crossed one of the white beams. Maybe these crystals released an AoE spell and not just a straight bolt of lightning. The only good thing was that there didn’t seem to be any white lines on the ledge the chest was sitting on.
Richter slowly made his way to the right side of the chamber. He chose that direction because the density of white lines was less on that side. Once he got to the corner, he did a kick step that would have made Jackie Chan proud. Facing the corner, he jumped towards the wall on his left, kicked off with his left foot towards the other wall, landed his right foot on that wall, kicked off again and then used the last of his upward momentum to grab the lip of the ledge, pulling himself up.
He hunched down shining his wand from his new vantage, but thankfully still didn’t see any other illumination on the rocky shelf he was laying on. The ceiling was only four feet above his head so he crab walked forward with the wand held in front of him. When he got closer to the chest, he saw a white glow above the chest, set into the wall. It was a crystal that looked different from the others he had seen, and there was no white line or sheet extending from it though. Examining it triggered a prompt.
Activation crystal.
Steeling himself, Richter placed his hand on the crystal.
Would you like to deactivate defenses? Yes or No?
“Yes,” Richter shouted as he mentally indicated his decision on the prompt. The activation crystal flared once, but nothing else happened. When Richter swung his wand over the room though, all of the white lines had disappeared. He took a deep breath and released it. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized how tense he had been for the last hour until that moment. The red glows on the steps were still there, but they were easily avoided.
Now that the danger from the crystals was past, he cast Far Light several times. Then he got back to business. Richter stared at the chest for a solid five minutes and checked it with his wand at least three times. When no white lines or red glow appeared, though, he gingerly grabbed the front of the lid and pried it back. He smiled when it was fully open. It was time for his reward!
You have found: Bag of coins.
You have found: Magic bracelet.
You have found: Magic Book.
You have found: Magic Potion.
You have found: Iron dagger. Damage 4-6. Durability 8/10. Item class: Common. Quality: Poor. Weight 1.0 kg.
You have found: Studded leather gloves. Defense +4. Durability 14/14. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight 1.2 kg.
You have found: Black Pearl
You have found: Topaz
Not at all bad, Richter thought with a smile. The simple gear was crap, but the contents of the chest should prove a good cash infusion for the village. Also, who knew how good the magic items would be? He emptied the chest and stared inside to make sure he couldn’t see any hidden compartments. He even ran his hands along the inside of it, but didn’t detect anything. He closed the chest once he had emptied it. Then he eased himself down off of the ledge, avoiding the steps all together. Richter had considered trying to pry the activation crystal out of the wall, but decided to leave well enough alone. He couldn’t take the chance that it would turn all of the lightning crystals back on.
The last thing he had to do before swimming back was to examine the skeleton. Most of the clothing had rotted away, but several items remained.
You have found: Ruby earring.
You have found: Magic High Steel Dagger. Damage 9-11 (Max damage 11-13). Durability 19/25. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.5 kg.
You have found: Magic Steel Dagger. Damage 7-9 (Max damage 8-11). Durability 16/20. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.6 kg.
You have found: Runic Studded Leather Chest Plate. Defense +9. Type: Light Armor. Durability 30/30. Item class: Rare. Quality: Superb. Weight: 4.2 kg
You have found: Signet Ring. Durability 100/100. Item class: Rare. Quality: Masterwork. Weight: 0.3 kg
You have found: Pouch.
You have found: Bag of Coins.
You have found: Magic Ring. Durability 15/15. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Average. Weight: 0.1 kg
You have found: Magic Ring. Durability 18/18. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.1 kg
You have found: Magic Ring. Durability 25/27. Item class: Common. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.1 kg
You have found: Magic Belt. Durability 35/35. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Superb. Weight: 0.8 kg.
You have found: Diary. Durability 4/10. Item class: Common. Quality: Poor. Weight: 0.1 kg.
You have found: Small picture. Durability 6/7. Item class: Common. Quality: Above average. Weight: 0.1 kg.
It was a lot more than Richter was expecting. Who had this guy been? He obviously wasn’t just some average adventurer. The signet ring had a stylized K on top. It was made of multiple precious metals and was heavier than it looked. The magic items he put to the side, Futen would identify them soon enough.
The diary was small like one of those pocket bibles they sold at every gas station in the Midwest. It was bound with faded red leather and a white K was on the front cover matching the signet ring except for a small “S” that was in the corner of the large letter. No time to dive into that now, he thought.
The picture was only a finger length long. The frame was black metal and composed of three parts, a larger middle piece which the picture was set in and two smaller pieces that hinged like double doors, blocking the picture from view when closed. The picture was of a smiling young woman. It was clearly a treasured keepsake of the fallen adventurer. He placed it in his Bag. The bag of coins was full to bursting and not a small amount was gold. There were also three gold bars like the ones that Hafiz had given him. Each bar was worth one hundred gold coins!
As happy as Richter was to find the money, though, the other pouch was equally wonderful.
You have found: Lock picks. Durability 25/25. Item class: Common. Quality: Superb. Weight: 0.01 kg. x 30
You have found: Dart trap. Damage 3-5. Durability 10/10. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight: 0.1 kg. x 2
The leather armor had a white circle attached to the front. The disc was about four inches across and had a glyph carved into it. The glyph shone white in the wand’s light, and the quality of the armor was quite good, but otherwise it was unremarkable.
Richter gave the chamber a final once over, and then walked towards the waterfall. The cave extended farther to the side than the waterfall reached on the left. He was able to look out over the lake. He hailed the sprites who shouted and cheered once again. Shining his wand across the water, he didn’t see any sheets of white anymore. Just to be sure he cast Ice Dagger. The one-foot long ice projectile flew forward, past the first crystal and then second. No red lightning shot out to atomize it. Richter smiled and dove into the water.
He enjoyed the easy swim this time, and just made nice leisurely strokes. There was no way he could bring all of the loot with him during the swim, and anyway, it would have risked damaging the diary. Instead, he just piled the loot from the chest with what he found on the skeleton. He left it all on a dry spot well back from the waterfall. He would have to swim back with his Bag of Holding and load up. When he got back to the ledge, and Yoshi helped pull him out of the water.
“Was it worth it,” the sword adept asked.
“I think so,” Richter said. He explained what had happened from disarming the lightning crystals to
finding the loot. He left out his second brush with death. No reason to get people upset, he thought. They all made camp on the ledge for the night. It made sense with the access to fresh water.
Richter pulled the sleep rolls from his Bag and then jumped back into the water. The swim back and forth didn’t take too long, and he stopped at the island to grab the bone handle, map and key.
When he was in the final stretch back, he noticed that on the far wall, one of the lightning crystals was set low near the water line. He knew it was a bone head idea, but he couldn’t help himself. He swam over and examined it. The crystal looked like a clear pyramid. It was set into a black circular bracket, which was in turn set into the wall. Being so close to the destructive device made him uneasy, but the potential reward was well worth it. Before he could second guess himself, he grabbed a rocky protrusion on the wall to anchor himself, and with his other hand drew his glass dagger.
“What are you doing,” Sion shouted.
“It’ll be fine,” Richter shouted back. Then he focused on the task at hand.
First, he tried wedging the blade into the space between the pyramid and the bracket. The tip of the knife couldn’t find purchase. It seemed that the bracket was set snuggly over the crystal like a hilt over a blade, and the pyramid continued on past what was visible from the outside. Next, he tried to fit the blade between the bracket and the wall. The entire rim was set flush with the wall, though, and he didn’t make any headway. That left only one choice. Hoping that the durability of the glass dagger was equal to the task, he started stabbing it into the junction between the wall and the bracket. After several strikes, the first chips of rock fell free. Taking that as a good sign, he kept at it. After ten minutes he had made a small hole in the wall that revealed an empty space. He wedged the knife into the hole widening it until a portion of the blade could fit behind the bracket. Then, making sure he was braced well on the wall, he applied as much pressure as his 29 points of Strength allowed. His muscles strained and veins started to bulge in his neck. With a loud crunch, the pyramid came free of the wall.
The circular bracket fell away. It turned out to be nothing more than a rim of metal. The crystal was actually a double pyramid, the half that had been hidden in the wall, a mirror image of the portion that had been sticking out. Richter looked at the item in dismay. The crunch he had heard had apparently been made not just by the wall giving way, but also by his glass dagger piercing the pyramid. An irregular hole marred the surface of the crystal, destroying it symmetry. Gritting his teeth in irritation, Richter swam the rest of the way back to the ledge with the device held out of the water.
When he was back on the ledge he examined it closely.
You have found: Lightning Prism (broken). Durability 47/80. Item class: Epic. Quality: Exquisite. Weight: 3.7 kg. The Prism is a marvel of magic and technology. It will focus raw magic into a bolt of extreme damage and power. This prism has been damaged, and cannot be used.
He looked into the small hole and saw thin clear filaments creating a delicate web inside of the double pyramid. Sighing at the loss of such an artifact, he put it into his Bag anyway. Maybe something could come of it later. The sprites were gnawing on jerky, watching him moon over his broken toy. Alma was eating too, but it was clear from the glares she was shooting his way that she still wasn’t happy about the dried meat.
“Congratulations,” Yoshi said. “You found junk.”
Richter just glared at him before quickly drying off. Then he donned his underclothes and armor. He would have preferred to sleep without it, but this dungeon was no joke. He wouldn’t be caught wearing just his skibbies if the eaters came back. He laid down on his sleep roll to just relax a moment, but was soon fast asleep.
CHAPTER 18
Richter woke an undetermined amount of time later. He shivered slightly in the cool air. The temperature was lower near the water than it was in the central chamber. With nothing to burn though, they had to make do without a fire. He took stock of himself. A flashing prompt showed that his Endurance had increased by +1 from his exertions. When he sat up, he heard a squawk and he got a stream of air in his face. Alma flew up from where she had been sleeping on his armored chest and glared at him from midair. Waving away his prima donna familiar, he looked around and saw Daniella looking at him.
“How long was I out?”
“Five or six hours,” she said. “Yoshi and Sion already took a shift standing guard. I’m just starting mine.”
“Why don’t you lay down for a bit longer,” Richter said. “I won’t be able sleep anymore, and besides, I feel completely rested.”
“Are you sure,” she asked. At Richter’s nod, she smiled and laid back down on her sleep roll.
He called Futen over and removed the items he needed identified. He started with the loot from the chest. The remnant flared white, and then Richter knew the items’ properties.
You have found: Shadow High Steel Dagger. Damage 9-11 (Max damage 11-13). Durability 19/25. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.5 kg. Ignores 10% of target’s defense.
You have found: Steel Dagger of Life. Damage 7-9 (Max damage 8-11). Durability 16/20. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.6 kg. Bestows +1 life damage upon successful strike (+5 to Death creatures). Charges 20/20.
You have found: Bracelet of Health. Durability 10/10. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.1 kg. Traits: Increase maximum Health by +40.
You have found: Book of Minor Life Aura. Surrounds the caster’s body with the aura Life magic. This is aura will cause damage to Death creatures if there is direct contact, and will cause lesser Death creatures to shy away.
Richter wasted no time in reading the spell book. Just as with previous books, the pages began turning faster and faster, until the book was done. It crumpled to dust, and Richter had a new spell.
You have learned the spell: Minor Life Aura. The caster’s body is surrounded by a golden shield of pure Life energy. Any nearby Death, dead or undead creatures will be discomforted. Any actual contact with the shield will cause damage to the undead. Cost 50 mana. Duration: 15 minutes. Range: self. Cast time: 2 seconds. Cooldown: 20 minutes.
Last but not least, the potion:
You have found: Potion of Luck. Taking this potion will increase Luck by +30 for one hour.
The new spell alone was worth the effort of getting behind the waterfall! When you added the potion, there was no doubt in Richter’s mind that he had made the right choice. He pulled out the items from the skeleton. Futen flashed white again.
You have found: Minor Ring of Stealth. Durability 15/15. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.1 kg. +8 to concealment while stealthed.
You have found: Fish Ring. Durability 18/18. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.1 kg. Allows wearer to breathe underwater for three minutes.
You have found: Minor Stamina Ring. Durability 25/27. Item class: Common. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.1 kg. +30 to stamina
You have found: Sustenance Belt. Durability 35/35. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Superb. Weight: 0.8 kg. The belt makes your body more efficient in managing its basic needs. While wearing this belt, you require 50% less sleep and 50% less food and water.
Hmmm, whoever that skeleton had been, these items seemed like a bit of a cheat. Fish Ring? Way not to almost die twice making it to the waterfall, guy! Richter shook off his grudging feelings that the adventurer hadn’t had to go through what he himself just had. After all, the guy was, well, dead.
He instead focused upon his good haul. Overall, the items would be more than useful. What was really strange was the amount of money the man was carrying. The signet ring indicated he was some type of nobility, but still, he was walking around with more three hundred gold coins. That equated to more than thirty thousand bucks!
Last, Richter examined the leather armor with the rune attached.
You have found: Runic
Studded Leather Chest Plate. Defense +8. Type: Light Armor. Durability 30/30. Item class: Rare. Quality: Superb. Weight: 4.2 kg. Contains rune of Chuthriom.
A rune of Chuthriom? Well, Richter thought, that’s certainly helpful information! Except, not at all since he didn’t know what a ‘Rune’ or a ‘Chuthriom’ was. Shrugging, Richter shoved it back into his Bag. Having nothing else to do, Richter opened the diary. The strange squiggles resolved into legible words after a moment or two. The book turned out to be a play by play of the man’s life. It mostly confirmed what Richter had already suspected. He was a noble. More than that, he was part of the ruling family of Kailand. If Richter remembered correctly, that was a country on the western side of the River Peninsula.
There was frustratingly no mention of the adventurer’s name, but that wasn’t too surprising. How often would someone write their own name in a diary? Someone named ‘Kerita’ was mentioned prominently, though. Richter skipped to the end, having no real desire to delve into the man’s personal life. Only the last few pages were about the dungeon. He had been searching for some artifact that mattered to his family. It didn’t say what it was, he only referred to it as “The Link.”
Richter put the diary away. He was sure that Randy would make better sense of it than he could. He decided to do something he had been putting off recently. He pulled out the book of magic history that Leandra had sold him and started to read. He had left off when the book was talking about ‘The Basic Elements.’ The same topic Zarr had touched on before.
The Basic Elements are the most widespread use of Power in The Land. This is because of the readily available sources of this type of magic that cross The Land as ley lines. The Basic Elements are Dark, Light, Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Death, and Life. Each Element has its own strengths and weaknesses. It is often said that Light and Life are the province of good, and Death and Dark are the domain of evil. All Powers are neutral, however. The ill or good that each power may cause lies in practioner…