Odyssey (The Stork Tower Book 2)

by Tony Corden

  Wisp told them the story of the Bukalemun.

  Amy said, “Yep, I saw that, and had no idea where it was but didn’t connect it with you guys and I guess I should have. Like glue, you and us, like glue from now on.”

  A quick review of the various guides and forums showed the Mine at Gumus had nine levels and required a miner to be at Skill Level Beginner (7) or above. The mining skill had six skill levels, Beginner (10), Ordinary (10), Apprentice (10), Expert (10), Master (10) and Grand Master (10). Leah was at Beginner (5) but with over thirty unassigned skill points from both her characters. Zack was at Ordinary Level 1. A quick check revealed they would need to be at Apprentice Level 5 for Gold, Expert Level 1 for Platinum and a Grand Master could mine Adamantine. Even if Leah used all 30 Skill Points for mining, she would still need to mine like crazy to develop the skill enough to mine Adamantine because at the higher levels, it required two or more skill points to raise skill levels.

  Thad handed Leah and Wisp the potions they requested but refused payment saying the four of them had all chipped in and decided this was a gift for all the help Leah and Wisp had given them. He also handed over the various mining equipment she ordered; she'd ordered several of the best picks available and some specialist ore collection bags. Thad said he would need the money for these as they were expensive and had set him back 300 Gold; he had had to borrow from the other three to have enough money. Leah happily paid him the money.

  They agreed that experience was proportional to level; money and other loot equally split and unique items to those who needed or wanted them. Finally, when everything was ready, Leah equipped her armour, grabbed Merdiven in one hand and placed the other on Door 1.

  They faded and appeared in a large room filled with ten goblins, who were busy mining, and two overseers. There was stunned silence until an overseer saw the group and then it was a free for all. Leah attacked with Merdiven; Wisp and Jim began firing Fireballs; Amy used her bow; Zack waded in with a battle hammer; Thad struck with a five-foot-long two-handed sword. The fight was short and ugly. The mining goblins were at Level 40, the overseers at Level 42 and everyone, except possibly Wisp, was capable of dealing out the punishment. Wisp stood back and cast offensive spells and the occasional healing spell on someone in need.

  As soon as they finished the fight they all received a similar message:

  Level 3 Dungeon Achievement: First 1 (5, Ruby)

  Atherleah (Level 51), you have discovered a hidden Level 3 Area:

  Goblin Mirror Mine of Gumus

  You are the first player to access this area. This is your fifth, 'First 1 (Ruby)' achievement.

  Reward 1: 1000 x 51 = 61200 (+20%) Experience Points (52000/52000)(15090/54000)

  Reward 2: + 2% to all future Experience

  Reward 3: 5 x 1 Platinum = 5 Platinum

  Reward 4: Increased probability of valuable drop. Luck is increased by 5 whenever you are in this Cavern. During your first time in the Cavern, the probability of all drops is increased to 0.5.

  Fame: 500 Fame Points (16450)

  A Commemorative Plaque has been placed in your bag.

  Note: This achievement will be published on the Dunyanin achievement forum. Do you wish to retain your privacy?

  [Y] [N]

  “Yes.”

  Leah sent Amy to do a quick reconnoitre while she harvested the goblins. She set Zack to work on one of the walls where he started to mine low-grade silver ore. Leah asked the others to see if they could do anything with their low skill level. They didn't make a dent until she cast Changing Attraction on a section of the wall and then they made some slow progress. Leah cast the spell twice more before Thad extracted one piece of ore. When Amy returned, she explained that there were four similar rooms with the same number of Goblins in each; there was one path to a lower floor and no way up. After a brief discussion, they decided to clear the floor as a group before finish the mining.

  After clearing each room, Leah and Zack worked on raising their mining skills while Thad while the other three scoured the floor for hidden compartments. Leah and Zack quickly mined the twenty required pieces of low-grade silver ore but continued to work until the others returned. Thad finally extracted another piece of ore and raised his mining to Level 3. The hunters had found one small compartment with several pieces of ore and a few spare picks of good quality. If each floor were similar, then most of them would be near Level 50 at the end of this dungeon. After Level 50 the levelling became harder with 2000 EP required at each level rather than 1000. After Level 100 it went up by 5000 EP each level.

  They headed down to the next level with Amy leading the way. She reported that most of the miners were at Level 41 and the overseers were Level 43. Wisp and Leah shared their experience with sneak attacks, so they snuck in to deal with the overseers. Leah chose one of the Ant Warrant Officer' Swords and used Hidden Quietness to sneak up on her prey. She was slow and precise, taking great care she waited for the pre-arranged countdown to reach zero and then performed a form she was learning in Dark Moon Duel. The goblin was just the right height, and Leah removed his head in a single stroke. As soon as she attacked, Amy and James engaged from a distance while Thad and Zack approached for close quarters combat. After killing her Overseer Goblin, Wisp joined James and Amy leaving Leah free to attack a nearby miner. Using the four forms she knew, she easily blocked all his strokes, but she struggled in attack. The room around her went quiet, and she realised the other goblins were all dead and her friends were standing and watching her fight the goblin. At the next opening, instead of using one of the sword forms, she stepped backwards and shot the goblin with a mana dart, threw a Webspinner trap at him and as he fell she killed him with the sword.

  Turning to face the others she said, “Don’t laugh! I needed some practice, and he was helping me out. You made him nervous, so I had to kill him. Next time have the decency to let me practice my skills in peace.”

  After everyone had finished having a good laugh they cleared the rest of the floor in the same manner although Leah used her knives, bow and Merdiven for everything except the first Overseer. With him, she kept practising her sword forms. They approached the cleanup the same way except on this floor they had to find Medium Quality Silver Ore. Leah used Changing Attraction several times while Thad worked at gaining some mining skill. Amy and the scavenging group had no better luck on this level so after Leah and Zack had mined 20 pieces of Medium Quality Ore Amy went to reconnoitre the next level. On her return, she reported that the Miners were all Level 42 and the one room she looked in also had two armed level 43 Goblin Guards and two level 44 Overseers.

  Leah and Wisp targeted the Overseers and Amy attacked one of the guards first, then shifted to the other before attacking the miners. Thad and Zack headed for the guards and found that the guard's fighting skills were much better than the miners. Toward the middle of the battle, they were surrounded by three attackers and were steadily losing health until Leah and Amy attacked from behind while Wisp and James provided some badly needed healing spells. For the next few rooms, they tried various strategies trying to find a way to keep Zack and Thad from being swarmed. They could succeed at this level but not if the guards' levels improved. Thad equipped a smaller sword and a shield instead of the two-handed sword, and this helped.

  At Mine Level 3 the miners had been digging Medium Grade Silver, and one overseer had a small bag with a piece of Malachite. Leah and Zack began working the rock face and even with the 20 Luck Leah had it took 50 pieces of Medium Grade Silver before they found one piece of Malachite. Meanwhile, the scavenging group found a hidden room with a chest filled with 60 copper coins all minted with the image of a goblin on one side and a miner on the other. The inscription read 'Goblin Silver Mine at Gumus'. Each member of the group received ten of the coins.

  Amy scouted the fourth floor and explained there were only eight miners in each room with four guards and one overseer. The Overseer was Level 45, and the rest were Level 43. Leah took the Overse
er and Wisp one of the Guards. Thad and Zack took a guard each, James and Amy focused their attention on the final guard. With the changing of strategy and weapons, they were even more successful. Leah had been tempted cast Circle of Sloth but realised she needed to keep that for later. After clearing the floor, Leah and Zack got busy mining Intermediate Grade Silver Ore. Thad used the skill points he'd gained on the Mining Skill. Leah cast Changing Attraction so Thad was again able to help. He produced several pieces of ore and raised his mining level even higher. Both Zack and Leah resisted the temptation to raise their level by adding skill points because working at the minimum level for an ore raised levels at a faster rate. Unfortunately, it took a good chunk of time. Each floor was taking just over an hour to complete, and they had five more to go.

  On the fifth floor, there were again eight miners, but they had seven guards and an overseer. The miners were all Level 44, the guards, Level 45, and the Overseer was Level 46. Both Thad and Zach expressed concern that they were close to their limit and everyone tried to think of different ways to deal with the scenario. In the end, Wisp and Leah took out the Overseer and the furthest guard. Leah headed to help Wisp while Zack and Thad took only one step into the room. Amy and James stood behind Zack and Thad and attacked from a distance. Zack and Thad stood side by side, and the goblins couldn't swarm them as they were forced to only attack from the front. Amy attacked goblins deep into the room and tried to draw them away from Wisp and Leah. James healed as needed. Leah protected Wisp from direct attack and Wisp helping to protect Leah from being flanked and provided close healing support if necessary.

  Leah’s health never got below 75%. Wisp and Leah had dealt with an overseer, three guards and four miners when the attacks on them stopped. Thad and Zack still had two guards, and a miner left so Leah and Wisp joined in from either side finishing the fight. Leah needed time to recuperate as she'd used over half her mana, so while the others checked the room and discussed tactics she sat and meditated. All in all, everyone felt confident to try a similar approach in the next room.

  The next four rooms progressed similarly with Leah and Wisp fluidly moving about the room and the others holding the tunnel entrance. The miners had been mining Intermediate Grade Silver Ore, and one overseer a Topaz gem. Leah, Zack and Thad got busy, and it wasn’t until the sixtieth piece of ore that a Topaz dropped. The scavengers and found a chest this time, it had twenty-four silver coins all minted with the image of a goblin on one side and a miner on the other. The inscription read ‘Goblin Silver Mine at Gumus’. Other treasure included a pick with diamond shards on the tips. It had twice the durability and base damage as the pick Leah was using. They gave this to Zack as he was only two levels away from being able to use it and Leah still had far more skill points free to use.

  They finished both the sixth and seventh floors in a similar vein although the fights were longer; twice Leah finished with her health below 50%. On the seventh floor, both Zack and Thad were reduced to less than 25%, and it was only Leah and Wisp attacking from behind which saved them. Both floors produced High-Grade Silver Ore with the seventh also dropping a Tourmaline gem. This time Leah suggested that the scavengers not open any secret compartment but to let her drink a luck potion, which coupled with her fifteen points and the fifteen reward points would give them 40 luck. When they opened the secret compartment they received:

  You have opened a secret miners storage compartment:

  12 Gold Coins minted with an image of the Goblin Silver Mine at Gumus

  12 Silver Coins minted with an image of the Goblin Silver Mine at Gumus

  12 Copper Coins minted with an image of the Goblin Silver Mine at Gumus

  1 Key to the Main Storage Shed

  1 Earth Spell - Mine Blast

  6 Bottles of Goblin Beer - ‘Can’t Walk Straight’

  6 Bottles of Goblin Beer - ‘You’ve Got Two Heads’

  1 Mine Overseers Steel Whip

  They all suggested that Leah have the Mine Blast spell as neither Zack nor Thad had much Mana, and the spell required the caster to have a Master Level in the Mining Skill. However because no one could yet use it, they put it aside. They cast lots for the whip and Thad won it, but he gave it to Leah in exchange for her share of the beer.

  They had been in the game for nine hours and decided to log-out for two real-time hours before continuing. Leah reminded them that they couldn’t miss the log-in time by more or less than ten minutes.

  Leah had a quick lunch and dove back into the pod for a class with Master Ning. After Tai Chi, she had a two-hour lesson with Master of Blades Farron who introduced her to two more sword forms; Master Farron complemented her on mastering the initial four forms so quickly. Leah just had time for a snack and a quick shower before heading back to the mine.

  Everyone arrived at the same time, and while Amy headed down to the eighth floor, they discussed tactics. By the time she returned, they had also checked their levels and assigned characteristics.

  Amy said, “The first room has only six miners and six guards, all are Level 51. Also, there are two overseers and one Mage, all at Level 53.”

  Leah said, “If Wisp attacks the Mage, I’ll deal with the two Overseers and cast Circle of Sloth. Amy, you and James try and draw the guards toward Thad and Zack. Wisp are you ok with handling a Mage 14 Levels higher than you?”

  “I think so, head and heart right, head and heart.”

  Wisp and Leah ghosted in using the Cloak of Invisibility and the Spell of Hidden Quietness. Wisp was ready but before Leah made her move the Mage shot a fireball in Leah’s direction and shouted a warning. Leah dodged the fireball, but she wasn’t in a good position and only succeeded in wounding the Overseer, who lashed out catching her with his arm and knocking her over. Wisp’s attack on the Mage was flawless and the second Overseer charged toward her. The wounded Overseer stomped down with his foot trying to squash Leah’s head, but she twisted away and brought her knife around, raking his leg. She cast Chain Lightning which not only stunned him but arced to other overseer who was chasing Wisp. Leah dealt with her wounded goblin and Wisp attacked the second overseer until she had to run away from two miners that headed toward her. The battle continued for several minutes until Leah, and the group finally got the upper hand. Wisp was low on MP and HP, as was Leah. Both Thad and Zack had less than 40% HP.

  When Leah harvested the mage she discovered what had tipped the first mage off:

  You have harvested:

  3 Gold

  1 Ring of Sight

  1 Piece of Pure Silver

  When she checked the ring:

  A Goblin Ring of Sight

  This ring was made by Goblin Master Smiths When equipped it allows the wearer to see the use of magic within a four-meter radius.

  Only for Goblins and Trolls

  They discussed how to adapt to the situation, and in the next four rooms, they waited until the mage and one of the overseers separated by five meters. Once, Leah had to stand back several metres and fire an arrow into the overseer. Leah, Zach and Thad got to work mining for Pure Silver while the rest of the team hunted for loot. Leah's Mining Skill was now at Ordinary Level 10 while Zack had just progressed to Apprentice Level 2. Zack's character had little invested in Intelligence, which slowed his skill growth. The group had discussed this but felt there wasn’t a great long-term benefit in moving from his chosen development plan and though he put only a few extra points into Intelligence he worked non-stop to develop the skill by breaking more rock than anyone else. Fortunately, being a dwarf helped with mining.

  It took over an hour to mine the Pure Silver Ore and at times Leah almost resorted to using Changing Attraction, she had to keep reminding herself of the long-term benefits. When Amy came up from the final floor, she announced that there were again six miners, but now each room held ten guards, all at Level 53. In addition to the two overseers, there were two Level 55 Mages in each room. After talking it over as a group, Leah finally said, “Well there is nothing to it,
except to go all out, to win. I’ll focus on one mage as will Wisp. Wisp when you’ve killed your mage run to me, and I’ll cast Disc of Death. You try and bunch up the attackers at the entrance while I deal with whoever is inside the spikes. The rest of you should probably keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

  Amy said, “I’m not sure it will work. I’m fairly certain one of the mages is hovering within four metres of the tunnel Entrance.”

  “Ok, Wisp, you take the Mage furthest from the entrance, and I will stand in the entrance and target the closest Mage with James and Amy. I’ll then rush to finish her off while you rush toward me. When we are close enough, I’ll trigger Disc of Death. Any other suggestions?”

  After they all agreed, they headed for the final floor.

  As the countdown hit zero Leah fired her arrow at the closest Mage but her arrow veered mid-flight, and instead of piercing the mage’s heart it just grazed his shoulder. At the same time, a fireball from James and the second arrow from Amy were also deflected. The Mage hesitated, which gave Leah enough time to drive Merdiven into his stomach, folding him in half. Wisp was getting close so Leah cast Disc of Death. One guard was impaled by the spikes. Leah, Wisp, one Overseer and a Mage were caught inside. Leah called ‘Mage’ to Wisp and attacked the Overseer. Wisp killed the mage with her sword and began to cast firebolt after firebolt at the entrance. Several miners began hacking at the spikes, and it was clear they would soon break through. But before that happened Leah dispatched the Overseer and engaged a guard who had entered through the opening. As Leah killed the guard three of the miners broke through. Wisp stepped close to Leah and cast Wave of Fire. Leah cast Chain Lightning which jumped from goblin to goblin before finally petering out. While the goblins were stunned, Leah equipped her sword and moved through her practised sequence of forms, dispatching three miners in as many seconds. Wisp and Leah still had an Overseer and two guards moving toward them, the other surviving goblins Zack and Thad. Leah yelled, “Kite a guard” and then attacked the Overseer.