by Adam Horne
“They can’t stop me from entering the building since I’m a member of the guild. Of course, when they discover I’m inside, they throw me out. But when I’m bored sometimes, I’ll visit to see if anything interesting is going on. I was in the common room when I noticed Itrix, Brill, and two others sitting by one of the fireplaces. I crept up to a table near them without their noticing and listened to their conversation.”
“What were they saying?”
“Someone in the guild discovered a dungeon, and they’ve been trying to complete it. They’ve been working at it for nearly two days. I guess the final boss is giving them fits. They can’t figure out how to defeat it.”
Over the previous two weeks, a number of dungeons had been discovered in the area outside of Stockton. Kelath had played through two of them along with Througar, Galahad, Elora, and some of the other players in the guild. They were instanced, so only people in his party could enter the same dungeon, which meant they didn’t have to worry about a rogue trying to sneak up and kill them. They also had boss monsters with better than average treasure. He’d finished one of the dungeons and found a set of nice throwing daggers that automatically returned to him when thrown, meaning he never had to worry about running out. The second one was harder, and no groups from their guild had been able to figure out how to kill the final boss yet.
“So they found another dungeon,” said Kelath. “Big deal. There are lots of them around here we haven’t tried out yet.”
“This one’s different.” Througar’s eyes widened as he said, “The final boss is guarding a magic lamp.”
Kelath sputtered for a few seconds before he could speak. “You mean the same kind of lamp Itrix used to preserve his character after the beta?”
“Exactly, and I also overheard what he plans to do if he recovers it. He’s going to give himself the title of ‘king.’”
Kelath’s mind raced. Other games he’d played before had titles, and they were often given as rewards for finishing difficult or lengthy quests. It was a way to customize your character a little and show off your accomplishments. So far, he’d not seen anyone with a title in Genesis Online, but the possibilities worried him because of how seriously the game handled other concepts.
“Would having a title like that grant actual power in the game?” asked Kelath.
“Itrix seems to think so,” said Througar. “He’s putting all his resources into beating that dungeon.”
“We have to find the entrance and get the lamp before he does. Who knows what sort of changes to the rules he’ll make if he receives a title like that.”
“I don’t want to find out.”
“Did you overhear where the dungeon is located?”
“No, I think the four of them were the party he’s been working with to finish the dungeon. They all must know where it is because they didn’t mention how to get there. I did overhear a few details. The dungeon is an abandoned temple that’s been filled with undead. The final boss is a zombie minotaur, and apparently he hits pretty hard. They’ve only managed to get him to half health before being wiped out. They were planning on going there this morning to try again. If we watch their headquarters, we might be able to follow them when they leave.”
They exited the guild hall and headed down a side street with Througar leading the way. They stopped in front of one of the largest player-owned buildings Kelath had seen in the city, and he wondered how much it cost to purchase. The structure was three stories tall with verandas in the front on the top two floors. Members of the guild sat on wooden chairs and watched people moving about the street below. Hanging banners with the guild symbol adorned flagpoles that jutted out from the front of the building. Througar ducked into an alleyway across the street.
“I better go in alone and check to see if they’re still inside.” Througar told Bandit to stay in the alley. “If I take him in with me, they’ll notice me immediately and throw me out.”
“All right. Try to be unobtrusive. If they know we’re following them, they won’t lead us to the dungeon.”
Througar nodded then left the alley to rejoin the flow of traffic. He entered the building and was inside for a couple minutes before returning. Nobody threw him out the front door, which Kelath took as a good sign. Bandit’s tail wagged faster and he jumped up as his master approached.
“I saw Brill,” said Througar as he fended off his wolf. “Down, Bandit. He was talking to one of the other guys I saw by the fireplace. I couldn’t get close enough to listen to what they said, but I think they’re waiting for Itrix and the fourth member of their party.”
“That’s good.” Kelath pulled off his guild tabard and stowed it in his pack to draw less attention to himself. “We can wait here and shadow them when they leave. I’ll go in front, since I can hide if I need to. You should stay far enough back that they won’t notice Bandit, but try to keep me in sight.”
“Got it.”
They watched for ten minutes as random people entered and exited the building. Finally, Itrix came out with Brill and two others in tow. They walked away from where Througar and Kelath were hiding, heading in the direction of the east gate. Kelath exited the alley and discreetly entered the flow of traffic, keeping them in sight but staying close to other people so he’d go unnoticed. Occasionally one of them, usually Brill, would look around, but it didn’t appear they’d been spotted. He stayed as far back as he could without losing sight of their targets, afraid that if he got too close, the mod that kept track of player bounties would alert them to his presence. He stopped at the corner of a building when Itrix reached the gate to let Througar catch up.
“We’ll have trouble once they leave the city,” said Kelath. “There aren’t as many people on the road, and it will be obvious we’re following them if they decide to cut cross-country.”
“Maybe Bandit can help. He was able to track people by scent before.”
“He needs something to follow though, doesn’t he? How will he know who he’s supposed to be looking for?”
“We’ll need to watch them in case they touch something. If they leave the road before then, we might be out of luck.”
“All right. They’re through the gate now. Let me go first again, and you stay really far back so they don’t detect your wolf.”
Kelath proceeded around the corner of the building and passed through the city gate. It was easier to follow without buildings and crowds of people getting in the way, but he was in more danger of being noticed if Itrix or his men looked back. He walked behind an NPC leading a horse with goods piled on its back, periodically peeking around to make sure Itrix was still ahead of him. After about a mile, the four men left the road and headed across the plains towards a line of trees. Kelath stopped near where they’d entered the tall grass and waited for Througar to catch up.
Througar pointed at the group crossing the open field. “Is that them?”
“Yeah, they turned off somewhere around here. Do you think Bandit can track them?”
“I doubt it. I think he’d probably need an item to smell first. I don’t know if he can understand what we’re looking for from their footsteps, especially with the other traffic passing through here.”
Througar led Bandit around, telling him to find the scent. The wolf put his nose to the ground and wandered back and forth. After several minutes, he hadn’t been able to distinguish the one they were looking for, and their quarry was almost to the tree line. Kelath was nearly ready to give up when, without warning, arrows shot out of the forest, falling around Itrix and his men but not hitting any of them. Kelath watched as the group engaged a pair of goblins standing guard there. The monsters must have been much lower level, because Brill cut one down in two swings and Itrix killed the other with spells before the rest of their party reached it. Kelath smiled when he saw Itrix take a few sips from a flask of conjured water then drop it on the ground before continuing.
“That’s what we’ve been waiting for,” he said.
Thr
ougar looked confused. “What is, the blood from the fight? I don’t think anyone in Itrix’s party was even hurt.”
“No, Itrix dropped a bottle. They take several minutes to disappear. Bandit should be able to get a scent from it.”
They waited for Itrix and his men to enter the trees before starting across the plains. Kelath took off at a run, determined to get there before the flask vanished. Througar and Bandit followed close behind until they reached the edge of the woods. Arrows stuck out of the ground where the fight had taken place, so it was easy for them to find the spot where Itrix had thrown his flask on the ground. Kelath and Througar stayed back while the wolf sniffed it so they wouldn’t contaminate the scent. After several seconds, Bandit circled around and followed the trail into the woods.
They travelled for several miles, Bandit leading them deeper into the woods. At one point, Kelath thought they might lose the trail when they had to cross a stream, but after a few minutes of searching, Bandit picked it up again. They travelled for a half hour before they reached a clearing. Gray stone foundations marked the locations of buildings, although the upper floors were in ruins. They followed the wolf through the remains of a town until they reached a decaying temple.
A number of white, marble pillars of varying heights still stood around the perimeter, but the roof had collapsed long ago. Rubble was strewn about on the floor of the building, although some of it had been cleared to reveal a set of stairs leading down into darkness. Bandit padded up to the opening then sat on his haunches, his tongue lolling to the side.
“Good boy, Bandit.” Througar pulled a few chunks of meat from his backpack and dropped them at the wolf’s feet. The wolf ignored the food and sniffed at the air. “That’s odd. He normally scarfs those down.”
Kelath opened his map to check their location and placed a marker so he would know how to get back here. He closed the map and was about to suggest they return to town when he heard chanting behind himself. He looked around at the same time an ice bolt slammed into his chest. A rogue jumped out from behind a pile of rubble and thrust a dagger into his back.
“Ambush!” he yelled in case Througar hadn’t realized what was happening.
He pulled a healing elixir from his bag and swallowed its contents, returning his HP to full. He targeted the rogue to deny him the use of his sneak attacks and pulled his dagger. They traded several blows, each causing poison and bleeding damage to the other. He expected Througar and Bandit to come running to his aid and looked around when they didn’t appear. Througar was fighting a woman in leather armor, likely another rogue. Kelath threw an ice bomb, hoping to freeze the two rogues so they could focus on the caster but didn’t get a critical hit.
The fight was going badly, with both of them below half health. Kelath threw a healing elixir on the ground, which healed them but not nearly enough. The second rogue switched her attacks to Kelath, and it was over in less than ten seconds. He collapsed to the ground and watched as all three teamed up on Througar, who died shortly thereafter.
You have been slain. Resurrecting at the nearest graveyard in 5 seconds.
* * *
Regaining consciousness in a graveyard had happened so many times by this point that Kelath barely even noticed it anymore. He immediately opened his map to see where he had ended up. He was still in the forest, about a quarter mile from the dungeon entrance. He figured it would take about five minutes to walk back, although that wasn’t his plan. When he closed the map, Througar had already respawned next to him.
“I never get tired of that,” said Througar, his tone sarcastic.
“Yeah, it’s a lot of fun.” Kelath paced around in frustration. “Itrix must have left some of his people outside the dungeon to ambush anyone who got too close.”
“He probably knows we’ve figured it out, since we arrived there right after he did.”
“Yeah, I wish we’d brought a full party of four to run the dungeon now. Then we would at least know what we’re up against. I wouldn’t be surprised if he adds more guards after this.”
Througar whistled and Bandit came running out of the trees. “So what do we do now?”
“The enemies there were all hidden. We need some way to detect people despite stealth or invisibility.”
“I’ve not heard of anything like that.”
Kelath smiled. “Then I guess we’ll have to invent it. Let’s head back to town and try to figure it out.”
They turned west and plodded through the forest in the direction of town, both lost in thought. The wizard that had ambushed them was using the invisibility power gained at level ten. Kelath knew that games like this usually had a way to counter skills like stealth and invisibility, and while it was possible to reveal hidden characters with attacks that hit an area, nobody had discovered anything that let a character see through concealment. There had to be a way to do it, but the question was how to find it. He hadn’t come up with any good ideas by the time they reached the plain that surrounded Stockton.
They returned to the city and entered the guild hall. A few more members of the guild had logged in while they were away, and Zafira had returned from her quest. She was a rogue and would have a better idea how her powers worked and ways to counteract them. Kelath approached the table where she sat and tapped her shoulder.
“Hey, Kelath,” she said. “You should have come with us. A pair of fighters from Noblesse Oblige tried to ambush us, but they got more than they bargained for. We even found a nice set of wizard robes on one of them.”
“Sorry I missed the fun,” said Kelath. “I’ve got a few questions to ask you. Would you mind joining me in the office?”
“Sure thing, boss.”
She said goodbye to her comrades and followed him into the smaller room. Througar came in behind them and closed the door.
“We have a problem,” said Kelath. “Itrix has found a dungeon with a magic lamp that’s guarded by the final boss.”
Zafira gave them a blank stare. “You mean he might get a second wish?”
“Yeah,” said Througar, “and if he does, he plans on making himself a king for real.”
“He can’t do that…can he?”
“I overheard him say that’s what he’ll ask for if he gets another wish. Can you imagine the sorts of things he’ll do if he gets that title and the AI enforces it?”
Zafira shivered. “I don’t want to. He’s bad enough as it is.”
“Exactly,” said Kelath. “That’s why we have to get to the lamp first. The thing is, he’s set guards outside the dungeon to stop anyone else from entering. There were two rogues and a wizard that ambushed us when we followed Itrix to the entrance. I’m sure he’ll assign more sentries now that he knows we discovered its location. Most likely they’ll be rogues and wizards because they can hide. I need to figure out a way to counter stealth and invisibility.”
“That won’t be easy,” said Zafira. “Your bombs could flush them out.”
“Yes, but I’ll need to know where they’re standing first, or I won’t be able to target them. The area around the stairs leading down to the dungeon is too open, with many places to hide. Do you know of any way to see invisible people?”
Zafira thought it over then shook her head. “As a rogue, I’m not sure I’d want something like that. It would make my job a lot less fun.”
“Unfortunately we need something along those lines, or we can’t get inside.”
“What about making a potion with alchemy that will let you see them?” asked Througar.
“Possibly,” said Kelath, “but I would have to discover the recipe. I’d need to find an herb with that capability. That could take a while.”
“You could try the auction house,” said Zafira. “You might find the right ingredient there. Then you won’t have to travel around and pick it yourself.”
“That’s a really good idea, Zafira. Thanks.”
“No problem, although I’m not sure why I’m helping you create a new item that will make my
life harder.” She smiled and stopped Kelath when he started to apologize. “Don’t worry about it. If it exists, somebody will figure it out eventually. At least this way, you’ll have a patent and nobody else will be able to make it for a month.”
Chapter 22
Kelath ran out of the guild hall, getting strange looks from his guild mates as he rushed past. He found an available auctioneer and requested to see a list of the different herbs for sale. A number of new ones had been put up for sale since the last time he’d checked. He scrolled through and read the names, but none of them really struck him as viable for creating the effect he wanted. Througar interacted with the auctions himself, occasionally making a comment on things he found.
“Do you think catnip would work?” asked Througar.
“What? No, it’s just for cats. I don’t think it has an effect on people.”
“Okay, I thought it would give you the ability to see like a cat. Sometimes they do things like that for potion recipes in games.”
Kelath thought it over. “Actually, it’s not a bad idea. I don’t see anything else for sale that is even remotely close.” He searched for catnip and bought the cheapest lot he could find, six leaves for fifty silver, and took the envelope the auctioneer held out to him. “Let’s go to Reek’s lab. I’m not sure what I’ll need to make this, but all the right equipment is there.”
Kelath opened the envelope, which held some loose leaves that looked like mint. He stowed the herbs in his pack and hurried to the training building, weaving between the people on the street in his haste. The door to the laboratory was unlocked, and Reek greeted him when he entered.
“Good morning.” Reek eyed Througar and Bandit curiously. “Brought some friends with you today, I see.”
“Oh, yeah,” said Kelath, who was distracted from thinking about what sort of recipe he should attempt first. “This is Througar and the wolf is Bandit.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Througar shook hands.
“Are you going to show them how to make a potion?” asked Reek.