Digitized Online

by Richard J Thorn

  So, I scoured the town looking for quests specifically to upgrade my equipment. I could work for gold and buy my equipment, but I didn't want to do that. I wanted it as part of a quest reward. Something to work toward.

  After a couple hours of searching, I finally stumbled upon an old quest halfway between this town and the next to clear out a barbarian encampment. It warned that the difficulty was moderate for my level. It also promised a green leather chest piece as a reward along with a pouch full of coins.

  I snagged the quest, marked its location on my map - a bit into my unexplored area - and set off.

  New quest: Clear Barbarian Encampment

  Objective: Kill at least 5 barbarians (including their leader) and raze their tent. Bring back their leader's head as proof

  Reward: 5 gp, 15 sp, 27 cp + Green Leather Chest +5 def / +2 Agility

  Hell yeah! I felt much stronger and I wanted to test my new ability out. I did wish I had a better bow, but I'd get a new one after the fight. I might also check out the new city since I'd be half-way there anyway.

  Paying Patch a couple silver, I grabbed some grub to go and filled my canteen with ale. That left me with 2 gp, 15 sp and 37 cp. Not bad, but wouldn't last very long.

  The first thing that struck me on my trek to the barbarian encampment was just how gorgeous the day was. A soft, very pleasant sound of wind whispering through the trees caressed my ears and heightened my senses. The fresh scent of pine tickled my nose and I took a deep, satisfying breath, filling my lungs with pure, clean air.

  I passed by a babbling brook and stopped to drink a handful of water. It was so clear that I could see the fish lazily swimming around. Tempting. I might try my hand at arrow fishing, but later.

  I splashed the cold, crystal clear water on my face. It woke me up and invigorated me at the same time. Now I felt I was ready to take on those barbarians.

  It took a good hour to make it to the encampment and I used that time to devise a strategy. I assumed that by the wording of the quest that there were likely more than 5 mobs. I also assumed that - being the barbarians that they were - they wouldn't just be sitting around in their hut playing chess all day. Likely, there would only be a token mob or 3 in there at any given time. Perhaps just the chieftain and a couple guards.

  With that thought in mind, I figured I'd stealthily take out the guards first - as quiet as possible - and then work on the chief.

  Then I'd have to lay low - for an indeterminate amount of time - until the others returned, probably from their raiding or hunting and pick them off one by one.

  But what made my heart speed up was knowing that anything I found in the encampment was mine to keep. If I could pull this off, it could be very lucrative.

  A few minutes later, the encampment came into sight, just where the quest marker said it would. I steeled myself for the fight ahead. I had yet to fight a fellow human - even it he was a barbarian. I also wondered about the chieftain. He would either be some kind of Berserker or a magic user - perhaps a Shaman or even a Warlock.

  Damn. I had yet to encounter a magic user, too. I hoped I was up to the task.

  I encircled the camp twice just to make sure I knew who was in there and their exact location. As far as I could tell, there were three guards and the chieftain who was busy in his hut.

  At one angle, I nearly had a perfect, clear shot to the chief's head. But I needed to stick to the plan.

  Waiting, biding my time while keeping in mind that the others could return at any moment and ruin the whole thing, I saw that one of the barbars always kept watch over the tent.

  The other two patrolled the perimeter, always linked, never apart.

  A plan began to form in my head. There was one place where they patrolled that took them the furthest from the hut. It was the best chance I had of taking them out without alerting the others.

  I knew that I was going to have exactly one chance to make a good first impression. My plan was to shoot a fire arrow at one guard's knee, bringing him down to the ground and buying me a few extra seconds where I could hopefully dispatch of the second guard.

  Would it work? I didn't know. I wasn't entirely sure of the rules when it came to aggro. If the chieftain and his guard aggroed before I could dispatch of the two patrol guards, I was screwed and might even have to fall back.

  Not knowing made this treacherous.

  Like a cat waiting for its prey, I waited until the guards made their rounds to my pre-selected spot. Hiding behind some bushes for extra cover, I activated my new Flame Arrow I spell, knocked exactly 1 arrow and waited.

  I could hear my own heart beat in my ears and was sure that they could, too. I mentally counted down. 5. 4. 3. 2. Go!

  With the silence of an owl, my flaming arrow sped toward its victim. At first I thought my shot was wide, but it wasn't. With a howl of pain, the first guard grabbed his flaming knee and crumpled to the ground. The way he was writhing around, I knew he wasn't dead, but I'd bet at that moment he wished he was.

  Critical strike stealth shot! Damage x3

  Flashed upon my screen. Nice! I didn't know stealth crits were a thing.

  I didn't have more than a moment to celebrate my victory before the other guard whipped around, raised his two-handed sword high above his head and charged.

  I took a deep breath to steady my beating heart, pulled two arrows from my quiver and nocked them as quickly as I could. The second I had a shot, I activated Double Arrow I and Freezing Arrow I and let the two arrows loose.

  Again, I aimed for his knees. It was a tougher shot, but one that had a higher potential to cripple the barbarian and slow him down.

  Unfortunately, one of the arrows missed. However, the one that hit was the freezing arrow.

  Another crit flashed above his head. He wasn't close enough for me to see how many hp he had, but I could see that it took a good chunk of damage from him.

  I had to smile when I saw the frozen barbar's mouth - it was a mixture of pain, rage and surprise. But I didn't have time to rest on my laurels. I had to keep firing.

  Keeping an eye out for adds, I circled around the frozen warrior, peppering him with as many arrows as I could. I ended up getting off another 3 before the ice wore off.

  All three hit, one being a crit. Another good chunk of hp was wiped from him. His health bar was below halfway. I didn't want to get close enough to see the exact numbers.

  By this time the first one I'd shot was hobbling toward me at half speed with his battle axe drawn. The moment the ice wore off, the second barbarian dropped his sword and fell to the ground, clutching his knee and crying out in pain, allowing me to get another shot off.

  Another hit!

  By this time, the first one had caught up with his partner and he helped him to his feet. Now they were both after me. It was a good thing they were slowed or I'd have been toast.

  Rage filled their bodies as I danced and circled around them, peppering them with arrows, staying just out of their reach. It was almost unfair. Almost.

  I concentrated fully on the second barbar, making sure to keep him hobbled. His friend grew so frustrated, that he pulled out a throwing axe and hit me square in the stomach. I definitely wasn't expecting that.

  Only 3 hp had been shaved from my health bar, but the surprise attack had left me disoriented. I tried to back up, but my feet caught against a rock and I stumbled backwards.

  The instant my head hit the ground, they were upon me. The first one swung his large battle axe down. I was able to dodge most of the blow, but not all of it. In one fell swoop, I lost 10 hp as he left a deep gouge in my shoulder.

  Luckily, I was able to scramble to my feet, just as the second one lunged with his sword, a battle cry poised on his lips.

  Shit. I was going to have to be more careful.

  Gingerly, I raised my bow, activated my Freezing Arrow I spell and froze the second one, critting him. I could see that he was down to 8 hp. But I couldn't stop to worry about him. The first one, however, now
that he had a taste of blood, was on the warpath.

  Screaming in ways that I didn't know a human could scream, he lunged, his heavy battle axe raised above his head and murder in his eyes.

  I activated my Double Arrow spell and shakily loosed two in his direction. Luckily, both hit and he was down to 6 hp.

  Unfortunately, he was upon me at that time and I was too close to use my bow. Casting it to the ground, I quickly drew my new dagger.

  "Time to see what you're capable of." I said and lunged toward the screaming barbarian. I stabbed him for 5 hp and with 1 left he staggered back and dropped his axe, clutched his chest and fell face first onto the hard ground.

  I swiftly finished him off.

  1/5 Barbarians slain, 0/1 Chieftain

  350 xp gained

  As much as I wanted to rifle through his belongings, the other barbarian wanted to rifle through mine. Just as he brought his sword down upon me, I side-stepped and stuck out my leg.

  That bought me just enough time to sheath my dagger and pick up my bow.

  Before the barbarian could get up, I shot a fire arrow in his back. The air went thankfully silent.

  I looted their bodies and bandaged my arm. They had some good loot on them. I took their battle axe and sword, plus they each had a hefty gold pouch that I would look through when I was finished with the quest. One had a non-magical silver necklace and some non-magical bracers. I threw all that in the bag and dragged their bodies so they wouldn't be noticeable.

  I still had to take out the guard and the chieftain. I wasn't worried too much about the guard, but the chieftain scared the crap out of me. I just knew he was going to be level 7 or something. But I knew my time was limited as the others would be coming back anytime now.

  Creeping up to get a good view, I positioned myself behind a tree and crouched. Let's see if I could get another stealth crit. Nocking two arrows, I activated both the double and flaming arrow spells, waited until I was 100% sure he wasn't paying attention and released them.

  Just as I released the arrows, the guard bent down to pick something shiny up on the ground. Fuck!

  The arrows sailed overhead, embedded in the tent and promptly started a fire.

  I smiled. Not exactly what I had planned, but no one could accuse me of not being an opportunist.

  Ice arrow. Aimed at the panicking chieftain. Whammo! He was out of the picture. At least temporarily. But I was also out of spells. Damn these cooldowns!

  Still hidden and still taking advantage of the mayhem, I released my silent arrow, hoping to slow or even topple the guard.

  Critical strike stealth shot! Damage x3

  Nice! The guard howled with pain and fell to the ground, clutching his knee.

  I glanced at my cooldowns and saw that flame and double arrow still had 2 min left. Fuck. I was going to need them in this fight. I was able to get a couple more arrows into the guard's body before the freezing arrow wore off the chieftain.

  I hadn't realized it, but both the chieftain and guard were level 7. Which meant they had more hp.

  The second I saw the chieftain casting a spell - some kind of lightning spell by the looks of it - I danced out of his line of sight and smiled at his curses.

  Turning my attention back to the now-enraged guard, I was able to hit him with one more arrow - crit - before I had to step out of the way of his charge. He had neither a two-handed sword or battle axe, instead he wielded 2 longswords. Fuck me.

  Even though his swing was wild, he still whacked me with the broad side of the sword, sending me crashing into the tree I'd been hiding behind.

  Ow! My head bashed into the tree and for a moment I felt woozy. But I didn't have time to think about such things as the guard lunged with both swords gleaming.

  I kicked his legs out from under him, but behind him, in front of the blazing tent, I saw the chieftain shaman cast his lightning bolt spell.

  Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. I pleaded to the devs.

  Every hair on my body stood on end as bright, blue energy crackled around me. My heart sank in my chest. This was it. I knew it.

  A sharp stinging sensation slapped my body, sending me prone, followed by a loud buzzing sound in my ears. It took several moments before I regained the feeling in my arms. A large, red, angry-looking 12 electrical damage flashed across my vision.

  I saw the glint of the guard's swords, but I could not move my body fast enough to avoid them. With great satisfaction, he brought them down into my helpless body. I screamed out as another 9 hp was ripped from my health bar.

  I was down to 48/72. Not quite half, but I wasn't feeling so hot.

  He pulled the blades out and I kicked out as hard as I could, sending the guard reeling into a table, draining another 3 from him.

  This time I saw that the chieftain was casting some kind of fire spell. I didn't have time to waste. Staggering to my feet with all the strength I could muster, I put my head down and charged the chieftain with everything I had, knocking him over and successfully interrupting the spell.

  With blinding speed, I withdrew my dagger and plunged it into his neck. Since I was in a weakened condition, my dagger only stole 4 hp from him, leaving him with a whopping 86 hp. How the hell was I going to shave that off?

  The chieftain recovered, grunted and batted me aside like I was little more than a gnat. I scanned around and found my bow, picked it up and activated my double arrow and flaming arrow combo, unleashing the 2 arrows - one of them burning - at the chieftain.

  At that moment I felt like I was fighting for my life. Plunking the chieftain with both, I drained some of his life and lit him on fire. Nice!

  Another crit. I watched in satisfaction as 20 hp drained from his bar. Each time he tried to start a cast, he'd be burned for 1 hp, interrupting him.

  But I still had the guard to deal with. I scrambled back away from them to get myself some distance. When I turned around, the chief was casting again. I didn't want to waste my freezing arrow on him, but what choice did I have?

  With the guard charging at me, I loosed the arrow up over his head and watched it plunk the chieftain in the face just as he was about to cast the spell. Almost made him swallow it! I'm going to have to learn that trick.

  But that left little time to deal with the barreling guard. Jeez, didn't these guys ever give up?

  I began to side-step him, but there was no time, he crashed right into me, bringing his two swords right at me, slicing me for 10 hp more. This was getting serious now.

  Shoving him off me and fresh out of spells, I peppered the guard a couple more times, each one hitting and knocking a combined 13 off him. I spared a glance at his hp bar and saw that he was down to 32. Fuck.

  The chieftain was about to thaw out again and the guard was waving his swords wildly, his eyes hot with anger. This was nuts. After having experienced the chieftain's lightning spell I simply couldn't let him get another off. It was too dangerous.

  I raced back to the chieftain, readying my bow. Just as he was about to cast his spell, I unleashed the arrow, staggering him and interrupting the spell.

  While he was gathering himself, I peppered him with a few more arrows, dodging the guard whenever I could. This was a much tougher fight than I thought it would be and the three of us danced around the camp in a deadly battle for a good ten more minutes.

  I took a couple more hits from the guard's swords, but thankfully nothing from the chieftain. I'd had enough of that to last me a life-time, thank you very much.

  Battered, bloody and bruised, I finally claimed victory and cut off the leader's head.

  4/5 Barbarians slain, 1/1 Chieftain

  1050 xp gained

  Well, at least I had that. 4800 away from level six. I laid down on a cot for several minutes, bandaging up my wounds. I blanched when I saw I was down to 26. Holy shit! The bandage brought me back up to 36 and I closed my eyes and quaffed half the ale. The warmth hitting my belly felt good. I also nibbled on a day-old sandwich I found.


  I so badly wanted to lay down on the cot and just drift off into a blissful sleep. But I couldn't. I still had a couple more barbar's to hunt down and slay.

  These two were a bit trickier than the others. I ended up having to wait for three hours before they popped their heads into the burning camp to find out that their chieftain had been murdered.

  At first I thought they were going to fight. You know all that stuff you hear about honor and victory? Yeah, I found out it was a crock of shit. I ended up having to hunt them down.

  Two dead barbarians and an hour later, I had completed the quest.

  6/5 Barbarians slain, 1/1 Chieftain

  700 xp gained

  Quest complete: Clear Barbarian Encampment

  Experience gained: 1500

  New quest objective: Bring chieftain's head to Armana

  There was only one problem. Chasing them down I had stumbled further into the forest than I should have.

  Immediately, I sensed that this was a higher level than I was. And, sure enough, every creature I saw was red to me. What was that saying? Red = dead. They were right.

  I didn't have much in the way of stealth skills, but I learned real quick. I was surrounded by higher level mobs that would gladly chew my face off if given half a chance. I doubted that my abilities would even have any effect on them.

  I would've made it, too, but when dodging one bear I ran smack dab into another. He raised up on his hind legs and roared the most terrifying roar I'd ever heard. I swear to the devs that my heart stopped when I heard that.

  I turned to run, but my feet were slow, like I'd been running through mud. My heart jumped in my throat as I tried to fight my way through the bear's effect.

  Even when I did, I was no match for the bear. He swiped me with his left paw, then the right, sending me crashing into the nearest tree - neck first.