by Tony Corden
She had made some headway and saw the bar above him show his health at seventy-five percent. He suddenly stepped back and threw a crystal on the ground. A circle of mist ran across the ground and with it a force that threw every back except the head Guard and Leah. The mist rose from the ground and formed a barrier no one could cross. Leah’s group finished the other guards then stood pushing against the mist, but they could not enter. The bar above the Head Guard began to climb, and he was soon back to full health. He opened his mouth slightly and hissed before his tongue suddenly shot out and grabbed Leah by her right wrist, jerking her toward him.
She was taken by surprise but had learned that taking the path of least resistance allowed better opportunities in attack, she not only allowed herself to be brought toward the Guard but fell forward and turned it into a roll. She looped the suddenly loose tongue around her hand and stepped inside the claw range of the Guard. She shoved the spike in her right hand into the guard’s mouth and drove the left-hand spike into his abdomen. He raked his front claws down her back, but they caught on the harder leather of the cuirass and jerked her off her feet. As she fell the claws cut deeply into her scalp, she activated her Ki Heal, and her KP began to plummet, but her health was out of the red. Before the Guard could stomp on her, she grabbed a belt knife and cut off the loop of tongue she had in her right hand. The guard reeled backwards and grabbed at his mouth. Leah equipped her bow and shot upwards through the Guard’s neck and into his brain. As he fell backwards, the mist evaporated, and Wisp rushed over to heal Leah as much as she could.
Once Leah was restored she had all the guards dragged over to near the head guard, she drank a Luck potion and harvested them all. The guards all gave similar rewards as previously although a greater number of swords and some even had some silver coins. The Head Guard gave the following:
You have harvested:
2 Vials of Death Poison*
1 Bukalemun Skin**
20 Bukalemun Quill ***
4 Crystals of Isolation****
1 Key to the Prisoner Cells
1 Key to the Torture Table Safe
8 Silver Coins minted with an image of Zerten Zele, Last Overlord of the Bukalemun
* Note: These are highly prized for use by Alchemists and Assassins.
** Note: These pelts may be used to make camouflage clothing.
*** Note: These quills may be used by Scribes
**** Note: When crushed these isolate the one who crushed them and their main opponent; neither may leave until the other is dead.
She quickly ran to the table and saw a keyhole highlighted in green, she put the key in the safe and turned with just two seconds left on the Luck countdown. Inside she found the following:
You have harvested:
1 Map of the Dark Bukalemun Realm
24 Crystals of Torture*
2 Vials of Elemental Darkness**
20 Copper Coins minted with an image of Zerten Zele, Last Overlord of the Bukalemun
8 Silver Coins minted with an image of Zerten Zele, Last Overlord of the Bukalemun
*Note: These contain the agony and pain of one soul’s torture. They can be used by Necromancers and other practitioners of death magic.
**Note: These are highly prized for use by Alchemists, Enchanters and Master Smiths.
Opening the map, she could see the path they need to take. She called the two friends of Salak over and gave them a key to his cell. She showed them the map and then made them promise to wait ten minutes before releasing him and leaving. They promised. She gave them a sword and shield for Salak and then she led Wisp, Yabin, Sarisin and her group of released prisoners out of the door.
Once they were in the tunnel, one of the elves by the name of I’tinal, a trained scout, stepped to the front and led the way. Leah followed with Yabin, Wisp and Sarisin brought up the rear. According to the map, when the tunnel next branched they needed to take the right-hand turn. The tunnel would then begin to dip downwards with occasional openings on either side that were old parts of the mining operations. The map showed the tunnels as mostly straight, so the section they headed down appeared like a fern frond, a central axis with leaflets branching off to either side and sub leaflets on each of those. Even though she expected to find nothing, Leah stopped at the first branch and with Wisp did a careful check down the full length, some 200 metres, checking each side tunnel. She did this partly because she didn’t want any surprises coming toward her and secondly because she wanted to check them for loot. Together they collected several old picks, a few old torches and a small rusted chest which eluded her attempts at picking the lock. The side trip had taken ten minutes, and Leah knew they didn’t have time to check every tunnel if they continued at this pace.
At the next side tunnel, she set Yabin, Wisp and a couple of others to check it, then she and the others moved on to the next one, where Leah and two others checked the tunnel. Once Wisp finished her tunnel they caught up and moved on to the next. In this manner, they were able to keep moving at a reasonable pace. It was in the second tunnel she had done without Wisp, so the fifth side branch that she was surprised when a Bukalemun dropped on her from directly overhead. She hadn’t seen through his camouflage, and the first she knew was when she was driven into the ground, his back claws raking the back of her legs as she fell forward. The two ex-prisoners quickly attacked and had drawn off the attacker by the time Leah stumbled to her feet. She joined the fray, and it was soon killed. All three needed healing, and then Leah harvested the dead lizard. She identified it as a Level 30 Dark Bukalemun Miner.
You have harvested:
1 Miner Pick
1 Bukalemun Skin*
10 Bukalemun Quill **
2 Pieces of the Mineral Rhodium***
5 Copper Coins minted with an image of Zerten Zele, Last Overlord of the Bukalemun.
* Note: These pelts may be used to make camouflage clothing.
** Note: These quills may be used by Scribes
*** Note: This is a rare mineral used by Master Smiths and some dark Alchemists
Altogether it took them one and a half hours to check every branch. They had four rusted chests and had been waylaid by five more miners. Leah and Wisp had been in-game for almost six hours and only had three more before they needed to have a forty minute real-time break. According to the map, the resurrected Army and Training Barracks was just ahead. Before they could move, they heard a soft shuffling of feet coming up behind them. As a group, they turned ready to kill whoever came into sight. It was the four ex-prisoners who had left to be on their own. It turned out that they had been set upon by two Bukalemun and had almost been killed dealing with them. They had backtracked, wanting to join the group.
Leah couldn’t afford to expend all her MP to read their thoughts, so she nodded and put them in the middle of the pack. The map showed the Barracks to be eight rooms, four on either side of a long hallway. At the end of the hallway was an open area for food preparation, eating meals and an ablutions block, then a large cavern used as a training arena. Wisp volunteered to sneak through and see how many Bukaleman there were.
Sakin explained that it required one death to resurrect one ancient soldier. The sacrifices had been offered each month over the last twenty years. It was possible there were over 196 soldiers. Leah thought that some were probably guarding the crypt and hoped some were elsewhere as the number seemed too many for her twenty-eight strong force. When Wisp returned, she said there were twenty soldiers in the kitchen area and over thirty in the Arena. Seven of the Barracks doors were closed. Through the open door, she had seen twelve soldiers exercising, sleeping and chatting in the room. Leah wondered what the aggro distance was and if one soldier would raise the alarm causing a chain reaction of hostile soldiers. She thought it best to check with the soldiers in the Barracks. If they raised the alarm, then they only had a narrow tunnel to defend.
Yabin volunteered to draw them out, and he wandered down the hall until a soldier saw him. He ran back
to the group followed by the soldier and everyone in the room. None of them stopped at the other barracks or raised a general alarm. They followed Yabin into the tunnel. Everyone except Leah had moved back about thirty meters and were being hidden by Wisp. As Yabin reached a line drawn on the ground he dropped into a crouch, and the group suddenly appeared, they fired arrows into the soldiers. Leah, who had been hidden behind a Trapdoor as the soldiers ran past began to shoot at the rearmost soldier. By the time the ambush was fully sprung she had killed three soldiers and was aiming at the fourth. She took the shot and then using her Freeze spell, and several mana darts took out two more.
Next, Yabin went to a barracks with a closed door and flung it open. Inside were twelve more soldiers. The result was identical and with the same result. It took forty minutes to empty the barracks and reduce the enemy by ninety-six soldiers. Leah harvested everything from the soldiers; all were classed as Ancient Bukalemun Soldiers. Each one gave almost identical loot.
You have harvested:
2 Vials of Crystallised Bukalemun blood*
1 Bukalemun Skin**
10 Bukalemun Quill ***
1 Bukalemun sword
1 Iron Shield
3 Copper Coins minted with an image of Zerten Zele, Last Overlord of the Bukalemun
2 Silver Coins minted with an image of Zerten Zele, Last Overlord of the Bukalemun
* Note: These may be used in potions to aid in camouflage. As it has been reanimated, some potions may aid in hiding from undead such as vampires and wraiths.
** Note: These pelts may be used to make camouflage clothing.
*** Note: These quills may be used by Scribes
The group used a similar tactic to attract the twenty soldiers in the kitchen area. Unfortunately, one soldier ran into the arena; most likely, to raise the alarm. Leah saw this, and after shooting at the rear three soldiers, she ran across the kitchen and waited, several metres inside the doorway. There was shouting from the training area and just as the connecting door opened Leah cast Disc of Death. She had aimed the doorway so only one person at a time could come through the gap. She fired arrow after arrow into the gap and kept the soldiers at bay. Eventually one of the soldiers managed to get through, Leah quickly cast Circle of Sloth and began to defend herself with a stick in one hand and the scythe in the other. She was soon facing three soldiers at bay; still they cut her health to seventy-five percent, and she had several bleeding debuffs. Suddenly, two soldiers she was fighting were shot with arrows, and the other received a fire-bolt to the face. The tide of the battle turned as Leah’s force drove the soldiers back, step by step. Leah stood back and watched for several minutes as she waited for her health and mana to replenish. Suddenly, the opposing force sounded retreat and ran back into the arena. Leah followed, and she saw the enemy soldiers; or the ten that were left, all standing in front of a corridor which she assumed headed to the crypt.
One of the soldiers was a head taller than the rest. He stepped forward and said, “One of my soldiers has gone to warn Mage Hayalet that you are coming. You have stopped nothing, only postponed it. You may defeat us, but the best soldiers are protecting the Overlord. Even with your numbers, you would fail against them. Flee now, and maybe you will escape, but you will not succeed.” He ushered his soldiers through the door behind him and stood resolute in the gap.
Ancient Bukalemun Captain (Level 37) 3500HP 2900EP
He said, “So who is your leader?”
Leah stepped forward, and the Captain held out a palm with a crystal in it. He said, “Do you know what this is?”
Leah nodded, “A Crystal of Isolation.”
“Yes, and I have enough for all of you. I’ll use them one after another until you are all dead. Do you want to go first or do you want to watch your people die?”
“I’ll go first.”
The Captain threw the Crystal against the floor, and while it was still falling, he used his tongue to grab Leah’s ankle and pull her feet out from under her. As she fell she sliced the scythe down toward his tongue but he had already retracted it and was stepping forward to slash his sword down at Leah from above. Instead of rolling away from the sword she rolled toward the side which had the sword, allowing it to run along her back. She brought her leg around to kick his legs and raked them with her boots. She didn’t rise but rolled and began firing mana darts at him from the ground. He used the sword to deflect some, he dodged a few, but two got through and hit him on the shoulder. As he reeled backwards, Leah got to her feet holding a knife in one hand. He smiled and extended his claws on the free hand not holding the sword. She fired Freeze toward his head but his sword was quickly raised to block it, and the sword froze in his hand. Leah had anticipated the action and had thrown her knife to follow the spell. As he brought his hand down the knife struck him in his right eye causing him to flinch and grab the knife. Leah had followed the knife in, and as he staggered, she brought the knife she kept behind her neck and buried it in his armpit. She placed her other hand under his jaw and cast Freeze again; it froze his head solid.
Yabin said, “Typical, princess, bloody typical. One good fight and you hog all the action. Next time they ask for a leader, it’s my turn. Just to let you know, one of the signs of a good leader is to delegate. You need to learn the skill.”
She grinned and said, “Sure thing Yabin, the next job is yours. Please drag all the dead bodies over here so I can harvest them. How is that for delegating?”
After taking a 'plus-ten' luck potion, she harvested the twenty soldiers and the captain. The soldiers gave more coin with the additional luck as well as some who dropped gold. The captain had been telling the truth and dropped twenty-nine Crystals of Isolation. In total he dropped the following:
You have harvested:
3 Vials of Crystallised Bukalemun blood*
1 Bukalemun Skin**
10 Bukalemun Quill ***
1 Bukalemun Captain’s Sword
29 Crystals of Isolation****
2 Vials of Elemental Darkness*****
32 Copper Coins minted with an image of Zerten Zele, Last Overlord of the Bukalemun
12 Silver Coins minted with an image of Zerten Zele, Last Overlord of the Bukalemun
4 Gold Coins minted with an image of Zerten Zele, Last Overlord of the Bukalemun
1 Ancient Map of the Realm of Zerten Zele, Overlord
1 Key to the Captain’s Personal Chest
* Note: These may be used in potions to aid in camouflage. As it has been reanimated, some potions may aid in hiding from undead such as vampires and wraiths.
** Note: These pelts may be used to make camouflage clothing.
*** Note: These quills may be used by Scribes
**** Note: When crushed these isolate the one crushed them and their main opponent and neither may leave until the other is dead
*****Note: These are highly prized for use by Alchemists, Enchanters and Master Smiths
Leah asked the whole group to quickly search the rooms to see if they could find the Captain’s Personal Chest. Some of them also went back and checked each of the barracks. Altogether they collected twelve gold, forty-eight silver and 104 copper. Leah offered some to the group, but they all declined and said that Leah should have it. Finally, when all was done, and they hadn’t found the chest Leah called the group to come close and then said, “We have one more section to empty before I can send you to freedom. Before we head to that section both Wisp and I need a rest. We are travellers and so when we sleep we travel in our sleep to another realm. We are going to lie down over there and sleep. There should be some food in the kitchen for you all to have a meal while you wait. Sarisin is in charge while we rest. Please listen to him and Yabin, unless Yabin wants to go fight without us, then ignore him.”
Leah and Wisp then went to a corner of the room, made themselves comfortable and logged off.
Leah only had forty minutes as she exited to the apartment. She showered and had an early breakfast with a cup of coffee. S
he stretched and did some Tai Chi before another quick shower. She stepped through into Dunyanin and waited for Wisp who was only a minute behind. Leah had gained several levels and quickly distributed her points. She continued to place most of the points in agility. The ‘plus-twenty’ strength from the ants and the ‘plus-fifteen’ from rings pushed Strength above her Agility. Because she played freeform, she wasn’t sure how much the numbers meant anyway. Agility increased her KP and SP, and she needed those. She added eight skill points to her spell Hidden Quietness.
She checked that everyone had enough rest, had eaten and was fully healed. She re-checked the map and talked through several strategies with Wisp, Yabin, Sarisin, Sakin and I’tinal. This time, Leah would lead though I’tinal and Yabin would be only two steps further back, just in case of ambush. Wisp and Sarisin were another five metres behind and ready to come to the aid of the others if needed. The map showed a straight run with no branches or path deviations.
They walked cautiously to the area set aside for mages, and the 500-metre journey took them almost fifteen minutes. Leah stopped fifteen metres from the opening. Wisp faded from sight and snuck into the room to check the layout and the number of mages and soldiers. When she returned, she explained that there were five mages that she could see and twenty soldiers. Four of the mages were Level 35, and one was Level 38. The soldiers were strung out around the room and watched the doorway. Leah and Wisp decided they would each take out a mage from stealth. Leah thought the soldiers would then turn to help and the group could attack from behind. Both Wisp and Leah felt they were able to hold off an attack for long enough for help to arrive. Leah had all those with arrows carefully dip the ends in some of the ‘death’ poison.