Daggers disappeared around the corner. She needed to rest and each minute I gave her meant nineteen more stamina. I had lost a hundred and fifty HP, so I guessed I could give her one or two minutes if nothing went terribly wrong.
Naturally, just as I thought that all four of the close ranged fighters decided to run at us.
My hand found my high-quality purse and my fingers took one of the icebomb stones from it. It was like a never-melting ice cube. I aimed at one of the guys in full plate armor and threw.
He hadn't learned the lesson of magical worlds: if someone is throwing anything at all at you, even if it's a small stone, dodge it! The ice cube hit him in the chest and expanded.
It instantly grew and became an ice crystal full of spikes in all directions, the size of a man. It pierced his armor and his body, painting ice in blood and gore, tearing flesh and armor apart. He died instantly.
I had already seen the effect once when I used it on a merchant to test it, but it was fascinating all the same.
The remaining three of them looked among themselves, turned back and ran the other way. I couldn't blame them: they had just seen seventeen people, one of them in full armor, get slaughtered by three. Daggers, especially, had been in the middle of it all and survived. They probably thought she was a high-level NPC or something.
It was a little anticlimactic, to tell the truth. Well, better that than dying, I guessed.
Even with the loot restrictions, my treasury had gone up by about eighty gold, and that after sharing everything equally with Daggers and Eternal.
Evil paid off in the Underworld.
Low-Quality Copper Half Breastplate
» +30 defense
The same material and same defense value of both the vambraces and greaves. It seemed to be standard cheap stuff in the Inner Circle.
We cleaned the corpses of all their valuables. Accordingly to the party's loot policy, it was my time to get jewelry, and I got a sweet Necklace of Minor Strength. Daggers pestered me until I agreed to trade it for a Ring of Minor Charisma and some gold.
Eternal hadn't thought about trading and after a quick negotiation, I exchanged him the ring for a Belt of Minor Intelligence plus ten gold. Why the hell would a mage trade intelligence for charisma was beyond me, but I didn't care as long as I got paid.
Belt of Minor Intelligence
» +2 intelligence
Poor-Quality Training Magic Staff
» +1% effectiveness of spells
I didn't care about the staff. One percent effectiveness was useless to me. Sadly, the full armor went to Eternal, and he asked way too much money for it. For armor I couldn't even wear. My training equipment would have to do for now.
Now, only one thing remained: to prevent people from being magically resurrected, we had to cut their heads off. I took my sword out and proceeded to do some chopping.
I sat with my back to a wall and looked at the foggy area where the earthbound was. From time to time Tardas fired a new arrow there to keep the mist going.
Marbareus didn't want deathlords killed, and I understood his reasoning. He wanted the deathlords to fight among themselves, and always allowing the deathlords to live made the others more suspicious.
Plus, if the plan was ever discovered, all the First Lord would owe the deathlords would be money over some goods stolen, some unimportant people killed and some hits to his pride. If earthbound blood were spilled, amends would be much more expensive.
I smiled.
I shrugged.
I smiled at Eternal, ignoring Tardas verbal attack.
We talked some more until Daggers was full HP and stamina.
Tardas sent a last mist arrow at the earthbound bunker and started walking.
The moment he said that something marvelous happened.
Quest completed: Raid the Maze
[Obey the Resistance – Deception]
Random attribute points received:
» +1 agility
» +1 intelligence
Quest: Follow Tardas
[Obey the Resistance – Deception]
F- rank
The First Lord of the Sophus clan has told Tardas to check your completion of the 'Raid the Maze' quest before allowing you to leave the Great Maze.
After multiple failures, you finally completed the quest. It's now time to follow Tardas back to the First Lord's camp.
Conditions:
» Obey every order Tardas give you
» Cannot be denied
» Disobeying will lead to unfavorable consequences
I read the windows multiple times before deciding on my action.
When I got right beside the mist, I turned back to the ghoul, winked at him, and entered it. My view was completely covered by the thick whiteness.
/> It hurt like hell, but it was for a noble cause. Taking care of the three ways Tardas could have ordered me to stop – mind chat, ears and vision – I touched the earthbound's bunker and put it between myself and the ghoul's last known position.
Groping the shelter, I found the opening Tardas had created with his arrows. Then, I grabbed two of the three remaining icebomb stones and threw them inside.
The world turned upside down as I was forcefully pushed away by instantly forming ice spikes. My body ended tens of meters away from the big thick blood-stained ice spikes that were now visible piercing the mist from the inside.
600 ice + 200 frost + 200 piercing + 153 crush damage dealt to Earthbound Deathlord (1153 total)
HP: 0 / 1153 <?>
My ears were bleeding, my body was bruised from the spikes, and my head was hurting for hitting the floor. I still got up with a big smile on my face. It had been a long time since I had been so damn pleased with myself.
Eternal's expression was of wonder. Daggers was shaking her head slightly and slowly. Tardas was looking at me in complete disbelief. He tried to say something, but I didn't hear.
"Wait a sec," I said and healed myself. "Can you repeat?"
"You just got yourself killed. The runaways saw your face." I expected fury, but he was dead serious.
"The deathlords are already looking for me."
"Only part of them were. The firebound and their alliance. You just made yourself an enemy to the most powerful of them."
"Doesn't matter. I'm coming for them sooner or later."
He shook his head. "Going after the earthbound? This is ridiculous. Why would you even want to do it?"
"Because I do not forget."
"Forget what?"
"The look on the slave's face who asked me if I should order her to beg for a beating. The talk of even more punishment being received by sex slaves. The lives squandered to appease monsters in the plantations as if they were worth nothing. The lack of concern from everyone as they saw people become monster snacks and selected others to be sacrificed. Slaves turning on slaves because their masters broke them enough for them to forget what sympathy means."
"What do the earthbound have to do with it?"
"Everything, Tardas. Aren't the earthbound the most powerful deathlords? That makes them the ones with most responsibility, too. And, of course, I did it to piss Marbareus. I wish I could do this to all slavers, but he is the easier target."
"But he is not like the others!" Eternal said.
"Really, Eternal? Had you ever got enough trust from a slave for him to tell you what he really thought? I did. Marbareus is a monster."
"No, he is good to us! I swear!"
"Eternal, hear yourself! You consider yourself a real slave! You are an Earthen, wake up! You know why your character growth is so slow? Because Marbareus wants you meek and docile as he grows you to be his faithful hound. He wants you to owe him!"
"He doesn't! Stop saying that!"
"Gods, you are clueless. Whatever; it is done."
"It is done." Tardas agreed, and his tone went back to butler-mode. "Are you done now, Mister Thorn? Can we go?"
I could say no and keep being annoying, but I had done all I could in that cave and without Tardas I wouldn't be able to leave the damn place. "Sure. Party me up."
You have received a party invitation from Tardas.
Accept or refuse?
I accepted, and he transferred leadership to me.
It was a shame that the two icebombs combined shredded the deathlord's armor and items, only scraps remained here and there. I wanted to look around for loose change, but I doubted I'd find enough to justify the arrows Tardas would pepper me with.
On the other hand, it was now time to see how much I had affected Marbareus.
Man, what a pleasant day!
* * *
Marbareus didn't look angry, but tired. This reaction from both him and Tardas was more disconcerting than anything.
As I entered his tent in the camp and got the 'quest completed' message, he just threw a map on the desk.
"There is a cave marked on the map, and I have received reports of specters inside it. As you will see, it is too close to Margs Market and has made Manhart wonder if the specters have new ties to Dakar. He wishes a quiet inspection of the place, but I have a better idea. Get in there, explore everything inside, and kill anything in there. You are forbidden to hide unless it is to make the killing easier. You are also forbidden to let anyone leave the cave or survive. Do you understand?"
Quest series completed: Deception
[Obey the Resistance]
You have not participated until the end, but your assistance was still valuable.
You will be rewarded accordingly next time you talk to Manhart.
Quest: Clear the Cave
[Obey the Resistance]
D rank
You will be rewarded accordingly next time you talk to Manhart.
Marbareus has ordered you to explore a cave and kill everything inside it.
Conditions:
» Leave no survivors
» Do not hide unless it makes for an easier kill
» Cannot be denied
» Disobeying will lead to unfavorable consequences
"Can you repeat the part where you tell me how smart of me it was to kill the earthbound?"
He ignored the question. "Take the map and go. Try not to get yourself killed for having it."
He wasn't even hiding he was trying to get rid of me anymore. What the hell is going on? That surprised me so much that it put me off-balance.
"Time limit?"
"None. Just get out of here."
"Can I take Daggers and-"
"No, deathlord!" He finally exploded. "You can take no one, you can take nothing, you can do nothing, you don't even have to come back. Just get out! Now!"
When I touched the map, it disappeared. At the same moment, a minimap appeared on the top right edge of my vision. I wanted nothing from Marbareus, but maps were expensive, which meant he would become a little poorer because of it.
Yeah, right. Worst rationalization ever.
Truth is, I wasn't about to reject it, no matter how I felt about the guy. "Thanks for the gift," I said, as the educated gentleman I was, and left.
Eternal and Daggers had logged off after Marbareus had talked to them in private before me. I would have waited for them if Tardas hadn't told me he had been ordered to kill me on sight after twenty minutes.
Speaking to them using the party chat would be enough. Unfortunately, when I was about a kilometer away, the party disbanded because of the distance.
Nothing to do about it. I kept going.
Playing with the map, I discovered I could zoom in and out and move it around just by willing it. I could also make the map bigger or smaller in my vision. There were few areas charted, mainly the ones around Sorina, a path leading to the target cave and a path to Ter'nodril. Everything else was black.
A cool feature was placing waypoints on the map. It allowed me to discover the distance in a straight line between waypoints and estimate time of arrival accordingly to how fast I was moving.
I was instantly in love. That map was the most useful thing I had received since starting Valia. I tried to feel disgusted that I had received it from Marbareus, but I just couldn't.
With that settled, there was only one thing left to do, other than walking.
I laughed in
my mind. It was a weird experience.
Girls didn't come much crazier than that one.
* * *
It was just as well that she didn't accept my invitation. I was still halfway from the cave when an exclamation point appeared.
Quest cancelled: Clear the Cave
Just like that, no explanations provided at all. Four hours of boring walking thrown in the trash.
"Ahhhh!" I let out a scream of frustration.
Marbareus had done it.
I'd kill the bastard.
Or die trying.
Jack Thorn
Unbound Deathlord
Legendary Spotter, Hedge Wizard, Pioneer, Dark Archmage
Level 14
Hit Points:425 / 425
Mana Points:695 / 695
Stamina:250 / 250
Attributes:
Strength:10
Agility:12
Dexterity:7
Constitution:11
Intelligence:16 + 2 [Items]
Perception:8 + 10 [Items]
Willpower:11
Charisma:8
Traits:
© Adept Controller:21
Unbound Deathlord: Challenge Page 39