The Greystone Chronicles: Book One: Io Online

by Dave Willmarth

  “Bah! Demons don’t taste good! I do like the arrow in his eye, though. Nice touch!”

  “BWAHAHAHA! I like this one!” Brick said “Can we keep him?”

  The captain laughed and said, “Once you’ve fed him, try and get rid of him!” He rose up from his chair. “Come, master dwarf. Sasha has told us of your penchant for decorating. Let us find a proper spot to mount your prize!”

  The two men headed toward the lounge area near the front entrance. Alexander amused himself by shadow-boxing with Rufus, who was standing on the arm of his chair. The squirrel was taking the challenge quite seriously, even working in a few clever spinning kicks.

  “Oh he’s so CUTE!” Sasha squealed as she entered the room.

  The squirrel noticed her attention and took a bow, probably hoping for more snacks.

  “Thank you, you’re pretty cute yourself!” Fitz actually looked up from his notebook and waggled his eyebrows at her.

  “Oh! Hello,” smiling at the old man, having not noticed him due to her immediate focus on Rufus. “I’m Sasha,” she shook the wizard’s hand.

  “You can call me Fitz. And that worthless ham of a rodent is Rufus. Whatever you do, don’t feed him. He’s getting too fat and heavy to ride on my hat!”

  Sasha giggled with delight as the squirrel leapt from Alexander’s chair over to the wizards and proceeded to scold him.

  “You are too!” Fitz poked his familiar in the belly. “Sasha, you must be Lydia’s apprentice. Well what are you waiting for? It’s time for lunch! Lydia’s in the kitchen, and being quite slow about preparing the food. The squirrel might be overfed, but I’m nearly starved!” He made shooing motions to a suddenly confused Sasha.

  “He called her on a magic mirror and ordered takeout,” Alexander explained. “She and the captain brought over piles of food, and she’s in the kitchen making lunch.”

  “Oh!” Sasha quickly made for the kitchen to see if she could help.

  “You see, boy? That’s how you do it. Never underestimate the value of a good cook. When you get older, you’ll learn to appreciate a full stomach as much as a pretty face to cuddle up to!”

  Alexander looked uncomfortable “Sasha and I… we don’t… we’re not…” he just shook his head and shrugged at the old wizard.

  “Ha! Does that mean she’s available?” Fitz asked. “I haven’t had a decent wife in more than 200 years!”

  “As if our young Sasha would even consider you, you ornery old ogre!” Lydia teased him as she entered the room. “And it has been at least 500 years since you last married. You never wed that poor girl you kidnapped from the ruined keep 200 years ago. She spent her whole life, feeding that endless pit you call a stomach and doing your laundry, and you never made an honest woman of her!”

  “What!?” Fitz spluttered and tugged at his beard. “How would you even know about her?”

  “Rufus told me. When I was 12 years old he heard me say that I wanted to marry you when I grew up.” She held out her hand and the squirrel ran up her arm to settle on her shoulder. “He said that a life of cooking and cleaning is no life for a princess, then told me all about poor Agatha,” she tickled Rufus’ belly and the damn squirrel actually purred.

  “Bah! I did not kidnap Agatha. I rescued her! The old baron had betrothed her to a slimy little weasel who was twice her age. She begged me to save her from a loveless marriage. Her father objected, and I had to destroy half of dire keep to get her to safety!”

  “And you were, what? Twenty times her age?” Lydia teased. “Still, Rufus says she was content looking after you. Speaking of which, Sasha is serving lunch in the dining room. Better hurry, old goat, or the food will be gone!” She smiled as the wizard launched himself from the chair and strode quickly toward the dining room. Alexander bowed slightly and motioned for Lydia to lead the way, then followed.

  They were just sitting down when Alexander was startled by a scream from the front of the house. Followed quickly by the sound of Max’s laughter. Ah. Max led a slightly shaken Lainey into the room. “Lainey just met Brick’s buddy the demon lord.” Max grinned.

  “BWAHAHAHA!” Brick looked quite proud of himself. So did the captain.

  Lainey threw Brick a dirty look. “What the fuck IS that thing, and why would you hang it there?”

  Lainey and Max were introduced to Fitz, and everyone took their seats. As they all ate their lunch, Brick and Max told Lainey the story of their dungeon run, and the First Kill achievement, as well as the gear they all got. Then Alexander and Fitz told them all about their plans to deal with any PWP who attacked the compound. Brick was enthralled, and he and the wizard spent the rest of the meal exchanging ideas and laughing at the horrible deaths that would ensue.

  “Thank you so much, Lydia, for feeding us again,” Alexander said as Max and Lainey cleared away the table. Fitz somehow managed to snatch any leftovers from the platters as they walked past. Hunks of cheese, slices of meat, and assorted fruit disappeared into his pouch.

  Eyeing his antics, Lydia shook her head, “You’d think the old goat would starve if he went an hour without food. But you’re most welcome, Alexander. I enjoy cooking, and it’s a pleasure to have so many mouths to feed. Even one as big as his!” she winked at the wizard.

  Fitz leaned forward and looked closely at Lydia. Then he leaned back in his chair and chuckled. “She’s nesting,” he said. “She’s expecting a little red-headed addition to the Redmond Clan!” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Well done, son!” he thumped a very confused looking Captain on the back.

  “Fitz!! How dare you!” Lydia threw a table napkin at the wizard. Rufus threw one too. “That was MY news to share, and you’ve ruined it!” She got up and headed for the door.

  The wizard looked crestfallen. “Wait, lass! I’m sorry. I didn’t realize. Please, forgive me?” he started to rise and follow Lydia into the kitchen.

  “Let her be, old man.” The captain, who had recovered his senses, got up himself. “She loves you like her own grandfather. Give her time.” He then quietly followed his wife. Max and Lainey came hustling out of the kitchen, looking alarmed. Sasha calmed them down and filled them in. The wizard wiped his eyes and drifted out to the lounge to take a seat and pull his notebook out. He looked thoughtfully up at the demon head on the wall.

  The others sort of drifted around the house, unsure how to deal with the awkwardness. Brick went outside to check out the utility building by the main entrance. None of them had gone in there when they first explored the compound the other day. Brick was looking for a place to set up a forge and anvil so that he could repair his armor and improve his blacksmithing skills. Max and Lainey hit the guild vault. Now that Lainey was level 10, Max thought there might be some better gear for her in there. Sasha puttered around the lounge, occasionally looking toward the wizard and clearly thinking hostile thoughts at the man who’d hurt her friend. Alexander decided to fill her in, and possibly diffuse the hostility a bit.

  “Sasha, Fitz here was the king’s mentor when he was growing up. He taught both the king and Lydia as children” Sasha didn’t look impressed, but she was curious enough to sit down and listen.

  “Aye”, said the wizard with a sniffle. He clearly regretted upsetting Lydia. “The old King asked me to step down as head of the Mages’ Guild to tutor his children. Lydia was just 5 or 6 at the time. The sweetest little girl, but oh, what a temper she had even then!” he smiled, remembering.

  “Wait, Lydia is a… princess?” Sasha gasped as the realization hit her. “Oh my GOD!”

  The wizard drifted off into his memories, smiling sadly to himself. Sasha was distracted as Rufus climbed up onto her head, then leaned forward over her forehead to look down at her and chitter in a questioning manner. Alexander couldn’t help but laugh at Sasha looking cross-eyed at the tiny squirrel face just inches from her own. Rufus jumped down to her shoulder and curled his tail around her neck. She reached up and scratched his belly with a single finger. The little rascal’s eyes rolled u
p in his head, and he made that purring noise again. Sasha was delighted.

  After several minutes more, Lydia and the captain emerged from the kitchen. She approached the wizard, snatched up his hat, and planted a kiss on the top of his head. She plopped the hat back down, and sat in the wizard’s lap, hugging him. “I forgive you, old man. But you must learn to think before you speak, not that an old dog like you is likely to learn to behave. But you must promise to try,” she said.

  The wizard nodded his head. “I am indeed an old dog. And a fool. I love you as if you were my own, little Lydia. I would never wish to upset you. I was so pleased that you are going to have a little one of your own, I didn’t think. I’m sorry.”

  “Enough of this!” the captain declared. “Unhand my woman, you old goat, or else!”

  The wizard smiled at Lydia as she stood, then sent a much different look at her husband. “Or else? Ha! No muscle-bound clod like you can threaten me! Why, I could turn you into a frog! Or a… a… platypus! Yes, a platypus! Ha!”

  Both men laughed.

  With that settled, Lydia and the captain said their goodbyes and left. Max and Lainey returned from the vault, having found her a few upgrades. They decided to get Brick and go explore the dungeon. The wizard was still scribbling in his notebook.

  “Fitz, will you be okay here if we go out for a few hours? We’re going to see how far we can get in the dungeon,” Alexander asked.

  “Yes, yes! Go kill things, make yourselves stronger. I’ll make myself at home and finish these plans. Before you go, though, you came to me for some training?” Fitz looked at him carefully.

  Mage: Alexander Level 10

  Build: Ranged magic/Melee DPS

  Health: 340 Experience 380/2000 Attribute pts avail: 5

  Mana: 200 Skill pts avail: 5

  Stamina: 4(9) Dexterity: 6 Armor: 140 Health Regen: 10

  Strength: 4(14) Wisdom: 19(23) Defense: 100 Mana Regen: 22

  Agility: 6(9) Intel: 19(29) Phys Attack: 25 Magic Attack: 3

  Luck: 10(11) Charisma: 9 Stam Regen: 2 Race: Elf

  “I see,” said the wizard. “Come here boy, time is short, so we’ll do this the hard way. This is going to sting a bit.” The wizard placed his hand upon Alexander’s head and focused. Alexander’s vision swam, and a dull needle began to dig its way through his brain. He clenched his teeth so as not to cry out, and focused on absorbing the pain. After all, he was no stranger to pain. It was a fact of his daily life. Once he had embraced the pain and set it aside, he could sense the knowledge building in his mind as sort of a warm pressure. He could feel a link between the wizard’s mind and his own. He began to explore that link, curious as to how it was formed, but before he could get a good look, it was gone.

  Fitz removed his hand and looked at Alexander, who was a bit unsteady on his feet after the experience. “You did well, boy,” he said grudgingly, “most would be on the floor whimpering or unconscious after half of what I just gave you.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a vial of blue liquid. “Drink this. You’ll feel better. Training in this way has drained your mana completely.”

  “Th-thank you,” Alexander managed to get out. “What… did you do?”

  “You hadn’t yet discovered the connection to your core. Something you must do to access your mana pool. We teach this to most first year students. So I made the connection for you. I also increased the potential of your pool quite a bit. As an elf, you have considerable magic in you to begin with. Now you have more!” the wizard grinned at him. “I also gave you the knowledge of how to cast a few spells. You can now cast a small protective shield. This can take different forms as you learn how to shape it. Initially it will form as a disc in front of you. Go ahead, try it.”

  Alexander held up a hand and thought shield!. A thin blue disc about the size of a manhole cover formed in front of him. The wizard pointed a finger and shot a small lightning bolt at the disc. It dissipated in a wave of energy arcs.

  “That’s cool!” Lainey exclaimed.

  Alexander smiled proudly at her, just as the wizard fired a second, larger bolt. This one caused the shield to disappear with a quiet ‘pop’ before striking Alexander in the chest, stunning him.

  “Don’t get too cocky, boy. That was to show you that there are limits to what that shield can do. Especially at your level. As you grow, it will get stronger, and you will learn to channel mana into it, renewing it as it weakens.”

  Alexander was not amused, but nodded his head at the wizard to show he understood.

  “I also gave you a bit of earth magic. Don’t try that in the house!” the wizard warned. “You also have a few offensive spells that should come in handy in the dungeon. I’ll leave you to discover those on your own. Now off with you! I’ve work of my own to get done here!” Fitz waved them all away and sat back down.

  The group headed out toward the dungeon. As they walked, Alexander examined the spell section of his skills menu to see what the wizard had taught him.

  Mana Shield: Instant cast. Conjures a mana shield that will absorb up to 120 damage. At higher levels the damage absorbed will increase. Cost: 20 mana

  Earth Sense: Channeled. Caster can extend his awareness into the earth below, sensing the density and composition of earth elements within.

  Earth Mover: Channeled. Allows the caster to physically alter the earth around them. Cost: 5 mana/second

  Magic Bolt: Instant cast. Fires a bolt of condensed magic at a target. Base damage 25. Effective range 30 yards. Cost: 10 mana

  Wizard’s Fire: Instant cast. Causes target to catch fire and burn for 1 minute. Initial damage 30. Burn damage over time 2/second. Wizards fire will not be extinguished by water or other liquids. Cost: 40 mana

  Whoa! This is totally worth the pain! Alexander thought to himself. He checked his main stats again, and found that his mana pool, which had been 200 before the wizard had touched him, had now grown to 300. Though he automatically received 1 point in wisdom and intel with each level, he had been thinking of investing his free attribute points into wisdom in order to increase his pool. Fitz had just made that unnecessary. Instead he decided to put 2 points each into strength and stamina. Combined with the stats he picked up from his gear, he should be able to effectively use his shield and do some decent sword damage. He saved his last point for later.

  The dungeon entrance was located in a crypt, situated at the center of the city’s cemetery. The friends exited the east gate and walked quickly up the hill to the cemetery’s gate. Following a gravel path, they soon found themselves at the crypt entrance, which was guarded by two of the city militia. They were not posted there to keep adventurers out, more to provide warning if the undead inside tried to escape. Each of them carried a teleport scroll to be used if there was a need to alert the king, or if wounded adventurers emerged needing urgent medical care.

  The two guards sprang to attention and saluted the group as they drew near. Alexander’s rank of Knight-Advisor to the king was visible to them, and required no less.

  “Please, be at ease, gentlemen,” Alexander said.

  “Thank you, sir. Headed into the crypt, sir?” the left hand guardsman asked.

  “We are. We thought we’d clear the first couple floors,” Alexander replied.

  “Begging your pardon, sir, but this dungeon is no easy stroll,” the guard ventured. “It has claimed the lives of many who entered at higher levels than your own. No offense, sir.”

  “None taken, and we appreciate your concern. But we have been here before, so we know what to expect. We have obtained some gear that should protect us enough to complete the first floor or two.”

  “As you say, sir. Good luck to you, then!” the guards both saluted again as the group proceeded inside.

  The crypt was simply one large room and one flight of stairs down from the entrance. In the center of the room was a 10-foot wide swirling disc of purple and black that rotated on its edge just above the floor. Alexander withdrew his staff, leaving the shield
in his inventory. The group all checked their gear one last time, and then stepped through the portal with Brick leading the way.

  The first room inside the dungeon was a simple stone “safe room” where adventurers could gather themselves before heading in. Lainey and Sasha took a moment to cast haste and wisdom buffs on the group. Brick had learned one as well when he went for paladin training that morning. He cast ‘Light Aura’ on the group, which for an hour would increase their resistance to dark magic by 20%

  They decided that in the close confines of the corridors, their formation should be Brick in the front, followed by Alexander and Sasha, with Max and Lainey in the rear in case of ambush from behind. On the lower levels, they’d need Max out front to detect traps. But there were none of those on these first two floors.

  Brick set out down the corridor. This entire dungeon was carved right into the stone, much like the lower levels at Olympus. The floors were chiseled smooth enough that they posed no trip hazards, though there were some low spots where puddles gathered and fungus thrived. The walls and ceilings sported patches of hanging moss and mold. Just ahead was a patrol of 3 skeleton warriors, level 15. Each of them carried a rusted short sword. They wore no armor except molded and decaying bracers, and one of them sported a metal helm with a massive dent in it.

  “Ok Lainey,” Sasha said. “This is a little different from the fights we’ve had so far. We’ll use the environment to our advantage when we can. Keep an eye out of random mobs coming in from the rear or from side passages during fights. The noise echoes in here, and our tank is quite the noisemaker” she winked at Brick, who just grinned. “For now, stay ranged. With three skeletons, it’ll go like this. Brick will taunt them. Give him about 5 seconds to make sure he has aggro, then follow Max’s lead and hit whatever he’s shooting at. We’ll focus on them one at a time, and just burn them down. Ok?”

  “Got it. Easy day!” Lainey said. She was excited to be in her first dungeon.