Looking at the source of the voice, I saw a young male drow with white hair wearing a nice looking leather armor, pants, boots and gloves, all black. At his waist, he had three daggers and a small golden pouch.
"Sorry?" I said.
"Quests? Or tasks. You have any? I don't have time, be quick."
Yet again, I was found by an unpleasant player. I smiled. This time, I would get something out of deceiving an ass.
"Oh. It's nice of you to ask, young man. I've heard of a great treasure, and I might tell you its location. For a fee."
"What? No fee. Just tell me."
"Well, that'd hardly be fair, would it?"
"Come on, just fall for my high charisma already."
"Well, now that you mention it, you do look like a charismatic young man. Tell you what, I'll make it cheap for you. For only fifty gold coins I'll tell you the location of a huge treasure. So big it wouldn't fit your pockets."
"Stupid NPCs," he said as he opened his pouch. "Why not go and take the money themselves? Luke said this game was different, but all the NPCs suck." He took twenty gold coins and put them in my hand. "This is all my money, take it or leave it."
I pretended to think about it. "You drive a hard bargain, young man. All right, I'll tell you. Follow through this street..." I said the location of the fat merchant; they deserved each other.
"Thanks, idiot," the drow said as he left.
"You're most welcome."
Charisma increased to 4 (+1)
Continuous talking and negotiation makes you a little better at it.
Trait received: Negotiator
After tricking two Travelers and bargaining hard for a sword, you've become a skilled negotiator.
» +1 charisma in negotiations
Player interactions can also be used to raise attributes? Good to know.
I didn't worry that it could be abused. Not after talking to Ted about the anti-black market measures that read directly into the players' minds.
Finally, without tasks on the queue, I went to the temple, feeling damn good for robbing the little shit out of his twenty gold.
As I got close, one of the black clothed men spoke.
"Deathlord. I am Parnass, a priest of God. Do you wish to enter the Heart of God?"
"Hell, no. I just want to see the Temple."
The black-clothed priest looked at me as if I was an idiot. "That was my question," he spoke slowly, making me feel like a halfwit. "However, as is widely known, any non-drow species requires a formal invitation from a Chosen to enter."
"Oh. That sucks. How do I get invited?"
"An invite can only be given to the friends of the Dark Temple, those who have proven themselves worthy to witness the great Heart of God."
"And how do I prove I'm worthy?"
He sighed. "Just... Go away. You are not welcome here." He shooed me with a hand gesture.
Well, that went badly.
With no sightseeing left to be done, it was time for me to follow up with my unbound deathlord quest and find the Resistance.
Jack Thorn
Unbound Deathlord
Legendary Spotter, Dark Archmage
Level 8
Hit Points:235 / 235
Mana Points:365 / 370
Stamina:83 / 200
Attributes:
Strength:7
Agility:7
Dexterity:5
Constitution:7
Intelligence:10
Perception:4 + 10 [Items]
Willpower:9
Charisma:4
Traits:
Adept Mage:11 + 10 [Items]
Adept Controller:11
Gold Digger:2
Scavenger:2
Antimage:1
Crafter:1
Energizer:1
Healer:1
Meditator:1
Mind Seer:1
Negotiator:1
Nitpicker:1
Shadow:1
9. An Eight Legged Favor
'Never negotiate when you're desperate.'
- Father
"Sorry," I said as I squeezed myself between the drow. "Passing through."
Getting to the counter was a real challenge. The White Spider was the closest inn to the Temple and it showed; the big room was so full it was a miracle I had been able to get in.
In real life I would either have gone to another place to drink or already have been sitting in a reserved table. Real life didn't come with the need to find information in drinking environments though, and for my purposes I guessed that the more people, the better. Even if no one talked to me, I could at least listen to strangers' conversations.
"I'm telling you, man!" A drow – as far as I could tell there were only drow in the inn other than me – told another one. "The Nordic Warriors are gonna destroy the Red Mammals!"
That marked them as players, talking about football. If I had to bet, I would say every consumer in here was a player, even if most of them looked just like the drow in the streets with their plain white clothes.
Most of the conversations I overheard in the chatty room as I got to the counter was real life related or boasts about killing some monster or another. It looked like the Nordic Warriors were the favorites in the season, the players were forbidden by the NPCs to leave the city before reaching at least level ten, and there were hundreds of quests inside the Temple.
It also looked like the average level of the players was five. The game was not designed for power leveling, the term for rapidly leveling up a player, but for adventuring and experiencing different things than real life.
"What will it be?" The barman yelled to me over the counter. He was a chubby drow with white hair. So far only the priests of the Temple had had different hair colors.
"A beer!" I also yelled over the noise in the room.
"Two silver!" He made a two with his fingers to confirm the price.
Remembering what the kid had said on the city entrance, I tried bargaining a little. "I asked for a beer, not liquid gold!" I took a single silver coin from my pocket and put on the counter.
"You asked for a beer, not piss!" The barman took the silver nonetheless and served a pint. It was not as full as the other pints going around, but it had been worth the barter.
"Thanks!" Taking a sip, I found it did taste like piss, no matter what the man had said. "I need some information!"
"And I need money!" Ignoring me, the barman began to take an order from another drow.
Great, no help there. I turned around, the pint on my hand, and looked at the wall of people immediately in front of me.
Twenty minutes later I was drinking my third pint and was no closer to finding the Resistance than when I entered.
Intoxication resisted
Undead can't get drunk
I was just wasting my money on the beer. It felt too awkward to not drink alcohol in a place like that, so I kept buying, even if I drank a lot slower. I was about to leave the inn when I saw a commotion.
Near the center of the inn a man was yelling and people around him were becoming silent. I soon could hear him.
"...level six in five days! That's plain shitty design! You idiots keep playing because of graphics, but I'm done with this shitty game!" He logged out.
For a few seconds everyone looked at each other in an awkward silence. Then, as one, we all raised our pints and roared before going back to drinking.
"That was a rightful jerk, if I ever saw one," a guy said to me.
"Yeah. I thought the Underworld was supposed to be played by people of age, but it's full of annoying children," I replied.
"You are right, man. You are right. So, what do you-"
I felt a pull on my waist and stopped listening. Looking down, I saw a hand trying to undo my purse's strings. I tried to grab the thief's hand, but it slipped away like a damn wet soap. When I looked back at the guy who had been talking to me, he was gone.
"Like I said," I said to no one, "it's full of annoying childr
en."
It was time to leave. I would just try to get the barkeep to talk once more.
"Hey!" I put five silver coins on the counter. "I really need information!"
Seeing the money, the barman approached smiling and took the coins away. "Why didn't you say so before? What do you need?"
"What can you tell me about the Resistance?"
His smile died and he frowned. "I know nothing about it! Now, leave my inn!" He tried to go away, but I held his arm.
"Wait! Tell me your price!"
"Go away before I denounce you to the Blackguard!" He yanked his arm away and went to the far side of the counter.
Shit. At least I know he knows something. Sighing, I took five gold coins from my purse and held four of them in the middle of my finger, raising my hand in plain view of the barman.
When he saw it, the drow came to me so fast he might as well have teleported. He was all smiles again and rubbing his hands, face full of greed.
"I think I just remembered something about the Resistance!"
"Good!" I took one of the coins and put on the table. "Why don't you tell me about it and we see how useful you are to me?"
"Yes!" The drow took the coin. "I know the Resistance has a place in the city! A place too well hidden for anyone to find it without the right instructions!"
"Good!" I put another coin on the table. "Where is it?"
"I don't remember!"
"Don't be greedy!" I warned but did give the man a third coin.
"Come with me!" He gestured for me to follow him behind the counter and into a door. We found ourselves in a typical kitchen, only it was full of crude stone and metal. A female drow was working there with an apron, making food. "It's better to talk business here," the barman said.
"So, where is it?"
"I might remember it-"
"Just tell me your price, dammit!"
"Not everything's about money, deathlord." The drow seemed surprised to have said that. "Not always, anyway. I need a favor."
"What? I gave you three gold coins so you could ask me for a favor?"
His smile disappeared. "Listen, I don't need to help you; you're the one who asked for my help. You want something from me, and I want something from you."
"I gave you money!" Three gold coins, while all my common loot had amounted to eighteen silver.
"And that allowed you in here. I know where the Resistance is and how to contact it without getting killed. It's your choice, but I'll not simply sell the information." He crossed his arms.
As annoying as it was, I didn't really have to think about it. If Shai was coming for me, I needed to find the Resistance as soon as possible. "Shit. Alright, what do you need?"
He pointed at a different door from the one we had come from. "My basement has spiders. Every now and then I have to get in there and kill a couple, or send some Traveler like yourself to deal with it. The problem is that the spiders prevent my wife from getting into the basement, and paying someone to get in there every time she needs to get in there is costing too much money. Find out how they are getting into my basement, get into their nest and kill them all. If you do, I'll tell you everything I know about the Resistance."
Quest: Destroy the Spider Nest in the Basement
B rank
The owner of the White Spider inn has asked you to find and destroy the spider nest that is infesting his basement.
He promises to tell you everything he knows about the Resistance if you succeed.
A quest with B difficulty. Didn't seem that hard. "Ok, I'll do it."
"Good." He gave me a key. "Now get in there and kill those damn spiders." He left without further words.
I looked at the wife but she just ignored me as she created a fire sphere and manipulated it under a pan. I supposed it made sense that in a magical world people would use magic for mundane tasks.
Wait, she was using fire magic! It was my chance to learn it and put my ring to good use. I neared her, a smile in my face. "Miss-"
"No." She cut me without looking up. "Whatever it is. Not even if you pay me. Go away."
"But-"
She looked at me, and her face was furious. "Listen to me and listen closely." She pointed a big spoon at me. "You are in my kitchen and you are an undead. I dislike intruders just a little less than I dislike your type. Now, pretend you are smart, connect the dots and get. Out. Of. My. Kitchen."
I raised my hands. "Okay, I'm sorry." I unlocked the door and entered the basement.
These damn game characters are so full of attitude.
The basement door led to a short stair, which I climbed down. The room I came into was about half the size of the inn by my estimate and full of sacks. A heavy smell of mushroom and salt impregnated the place.
On the other side of the room was a doorway and that's where I saw the giant spider.
It was hairy, brown and half my height, with eight thick legs. Its head had multiple black eyes and large intimidating chelicerae which it was almost silently tapping together. As soon as I looked at it, the spider shrieked.
It stood, four legs remaining on the floor and the frontal four raised, clearly meant to be used to attack me, should I approach. It was scarier than I cared to admit.
It was a good thing I was not planning on going anywhere near it. A darkball flew directly into it, closely followed by a second one; my third sphere was death magic and I chose to save it for healing, if necessary. They were still flying when I began to create new ones.
19 darkness damage dealt
19 darkness damage dealt
My magic should have done more damage than that. I did the math.
About thirty percent darkness resistance. Just my luck.
It shrieked loudly when the first sphere hit it and began to come at me. I took my sword from my waist and my shield from my back – hating myself for not getting better equipment – and attacked with more magic.
It tried to dodge my magic, but I redirect it. It was almost on me when my sixth and final darkness sphere hit it. With a last shriek, it died, falling with its back on the floor it's legs curled inward as it balled up in death.
That was a damn hard to kill spider. I was focusing on the glow of its pincers when an impact hit the side of my face, followed by a sharp pain.
60 acid damage received from Unknown Enemy
HP: 175 / 235
You left eye has melted
Status effect received: Complete Left Eye Blindness (level 10 – max)
Until you are magically healed, you'll:
» Be unable to see with the left eye
» Have no sense of depth
It took me a few seconds to notice that the screams I was hearing were coming from me. My hand also hurt as I put it over my face and I took additional damage.
Looking around, I saw another spider halfway through the room coming at me. It was not brown, but black. It had also a lot more hair and was at least half again the size of the brown one. Plus, its pincers were covered in a green goo.
I was blind in the left eye, had no darkness sphere ready, and that big monster looked like a tough son of a spider. I climbed the stairs as fast as I could and locked the door behind me.
The cook only spared a curious glance my way, probably because of all the screaming I had done; I was still grunting loudly. I sat with my back to the door and closed my eyes.
I was alone in the mind's eye vision, so the spider hadn't followed. First I used death magic to heal myself – which also regrew my eye –, then I rested until both my HP and MP were full again. I descended the stairs with a hurt pride and three death spheres hovering above my head.
Big black spider had taken the brown spider body away and was waving a web around it in the far corner of the room. I sent death down on it as soon as I saw it.
76 death damage dealt to Black Giant Spider
76 death damage dealt to Black Giant Spider
76 death damage dealt to Black Giant Spider
HP: 0
/ 228 <?>
They hit, the dark gray smoke covering as much of the spider body as it could and leaving a slightly lighter color to the spider hair where it touched. With amazing two hundred and twenty-eight damage dealt in less than two seconds, the spider died in a loud shriek. That felt damn good.
It took me almost ten seconds to create three more death spheres before crouching and walking as silently as possible to the doorway.
On the other side of it I saw a room the same size as the one I was in. Two black spiders were inside, in a protective position over a few dozen eggs the size of my leg.
I had barely put my head inside to see the room when two green balls of goo flew my way. I dodged in time and they splashed on the wall.
Alright, I could kill one of them in one go, but then it would come to sword and shield. Or I would need to run away. Taking a deep breath, I rushed in.
More goo came flying but was nowhere near hitting me. My death spheres flew to the spider on the right, one by one. It tried to dodge, but I changed the spells path and the spider died with the usual shriek.
I created a darkness sphere and attacked the remaining spider with it.
9 damage dealt to Black Giant Spider
HP: 219 / 228 <?>
Crap, it had about double the resistance to darkness magic of the brown one and without three seconds to stay still with my eyes closed I couldn't use death magic. It spat more acid and I dodged. Then ran to it.
Closing the gap was easier said than done. Rolling on the floor and running diagonally were the way I found. It made me remember deathlord Shai's spears.
Thankfully the spider couldn't spit like a machine gun and I was able to get close to it. That's when I discovered giant spiders hit like little kids. It attacked with one of its legs and I raised my shield just in time to defend myself.
2 shock damage received from Black Giant Spider
HP: 232 / 235
The thing is, it could attack with four legs. As I defended from one of them, three other hit my body for additional four damage each. My cotton shirt's single point of defense didn't apply: the spider dealt damage of the blunt type, which could ignore some defense.
Unbound Deathlord: Challenge Page 16