We paced our way through a different tunnel, one that was wider and roomier than the one we’d followed to the cave. There weren’t any signs, though we did see another tomb on the way. That one had a blue apron draped over it along with two pieces of something brown with tooth marks in them (overripe mushrooms, I thought), a pocket mirror, a chess piece, and a curved, rusty knife that looked particularly nasty. I wondered who could have been buried there, who would have left such an odd burial assortment, and why everything was in such an off spot. Nobody even made a move to grab the knife. Who knows what kind of curse it has on it?
Miurat marched on boldly, lost in his own thoughts. Our three companions were busy discussing what they’d gotten from the witches.
“Bunch of crap,” Jax said with a curse. “The daggers are nothing, there weren’t any other items—what’s up with that? Dorn, what did you get?”
“Nothing.” Dorn spat. “The amulets aren’t any good either. They could have at least given us a quest for them…”
I dug into my bag as we walked to see what I’d gotten from the witches. My account was basically the same: a basic dagger that wasn’t even rare, some kind of robe, and an amulet.
You unlocked Witch Marks.
Quest limitation: Your friendship with the Inquisition needs to be at least 11 for you to get this quest.
Task: Pull at least ten amulets off the dead bodies of witches, and give them to the College of Inquisition.
Note: The inquisition representative you give them to needs to be at least part of the second circle.
Reward:
2000 experience
1000 gold
One item of your choosing from the inquisition storehouse
+12 friendship with the Rattermark inquisition
Accept?
And suddenly I realized why nobody else had gotten a quest.
To complete the quest, collect 9 more witch amulets.
“Guys,” I said to the group, “you don’t really need those amulets, do you? Would you mind selling them to me?”
“What do you need them for?” Jax asked quickly.
I explained the situation, the rest understood what was going on, and five more amulets found their way into my bag. They refused money—it wasn’t what friends do, Jax said.
“I guess we didn’t check all of them,” I said. “Obviously, we wouldn’t have gotten anything from the one that exploded, though there should still be one more amulet.”
“Want to go back for it?” Miurat asked without turning around.
“No, it’s fine, I’ll just find another four witches later,” I replied.
Ten minutes later we found ourselves at the threshold of the mines, only to be met by the happy cry of a drogter.
“There they are, it’s the light side! Ah-h! Kill them!”
“Again?” Treville said in frustration. “It’s like déjà vu—we’re just going around in circles.”
“Ah-h!” the drogter replied. “Kill them! Cut them!”
The local orcs weren’t completely brainless, though their strength was right about on par with their low-grade intelligence. Soon I was happy to get another notification.
To complete the quest, collect 3 more orc necklaces.
“Okay, let’s go find the worms,” Miurat ordered. “Otherwise we’ll be here until dawn, and I have work tomorrow. Dorn, lead the way.”
The descent into the mines was pretty steep, and plenty of small rocks crunched underfoot, though, as we all know, nothing stops a hero. Soon we walked out onto a wide road that led deep underground. We were flanked by stone pillars holding up the roof above us, and there were some kind of phosphorescent mushrooms growing around the area.
“Interesting,” Jax said as he kicked one of them. “I wonder if we could eat them.”
“You can eat anything you want,” a wise Treville replied. “It’s just that some things you can only eat once in a lifetime, for the first and last time.”
“Very funny, very original,” snorted Jax. “But I’m talking about these mushrooms. Maybe they give you some kind of beneficial effect?”
“Are you serious?” Treville gave him a shove in the shoulder. “What kind of beneficial effect do you think you’d get from mushrooms down here? There are orcs above us, witches off over there, and worms straight ahead.”
“So?” Jax replied stubbornly. “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything. The mushrooms could be there to help you deal with all of that!”
“Listen, Jax,” Miurat said finally. He was still thinking about something—I was pretty sure I knew what that something was—and Jax’s chatter was getting in the way. “You really want to know what kind of mushrooms they are? Pick one and eat it. Then we can all see if you are right or not.”
“And if I’m not?” Jax asked dubiously. “What if they’re poisonous? Or hallucinogenic?”
“If it’s poisonous, we’ll grab your things and give them back to you later,” Treville assured him.
“And if they’re hallucinogenic, we’re all rich.” Miurat stopped, cocked his head thoughtfully, and looked at Jax. “That’s actually not a bad idea. Go ahead and eat one.”
“You guys eat one!” Jax said as he looked around at the group. “I’m not going to.”
“Eat one, I said,” Miurat replied, pooching his lower lip out. “You’re the one who got us all started on it, so go ahead. I said, eat one!”
Jax spat on one of the mushrooms before stepping forward briskly to overtake Dorn, who’d gone on ahead. The dwarf was too occupied tramping toward his lonely cocoon to hear the conversation with Jax. It hadn’t even occurred to him to stop.
I found myself with Miurat walking alongside me.
“Hagen, don’t be too mad at me,” he said with a sniff. “I just hate when there are secrets I don’t know—I get all nervous.”
“Ah, forget it,” I said honestly, as I really wasn’t angry about him grabbing me a few minutes before. It was just the type of thing you note and file away for later. Anyway, I wasn’t unlike him myself, so I got how frustrating it was to be that close to figuring the puzzle out. I was annoyed, too: I really wanted to know who and what those beings and lords were. The lords were what I was especially trying to figure out—how many were there? “Several” is at least three… I wasn't even sure if the “beings” and “lords” she’d talked about were the same thing. And who is that challenger to the throne?
“Well, good, so long as you aren’t lying,” Miurat replied. He eyed me closely.
“Oh, calm down,” I said, giving him a friendly punch in the shoulder. “It’s fine. I mean, except for the fact that I don’t have any idea what’s going on either.”
“I’ll talk with some people in the clan—we have a few who are specialists in the game’s mechanics,” Miurat promised. “Maybe they’ll have some insight.”
I nodded in agreement, though it was in that moment that I realized how difficult my trip to their clan would be. They were sure to push me as far as I’d go. I only hoped their efforts wouldn’t get physical… With that said, I didn’t think they’d be looking to kick up a conflict, especially right then. Most likely they’ll just keep an eye on me from a distance and keep harping on how I should join them.
“Is it far to the lake?” panted Jax, who was clearly tired of walking across the gravel that covered the road.
“No, we’re almost there. See that green puddle?” Treville pointed at some noxious green liquid. “That’s slime from the worms. We’re not far.”
“Phew,” Jax replied with a grimace. “So they’re poisonous?”
“Obviously.” Treville didn’t disappoint. “All the way, with cumulative effects to boot. Does anyone have empty containers with them?”
“No,” Jax said, perking up. “Why?”
“It’s fine if you don’t,” Treville clucked. “I grabbed some, because you can get a few vials full of high-quality poison from freshly killed worms. Alchemists pay good money for it.”
; “And you couldn’t tell me that earlier?” Jax cried indignantly. “Some friend you are!”
“You saw me buying them, and you didn’t bother to ask why. You only have yourself to blame.”
Jax sulked quietly.
Dorn stopped where the road took a left-hand turn and held up his hand.
“Okay, we’re here.” He pulled out his axe. “The road to the Salt Lake starts around this bend, and that’s where the worms will be.”
“Where did you die?” Treville asked as he gave his ear a tug. “How far did you get?”
“I was almost to the entrance to the lair,” Dorn replied with a sigh.
“That’s a shame,” Treville said. “I guess, if we're going that far, we'll have to take out the queen.”
“How long will that take?” Miurat cracked his knuckles.
“Half an hour to get to the nest, twenty minutes there, another five or six minutes to the queen…” Treville said, counting on his fingers. “It’ll be about an hour if we’re smart and nobody dies. If we don’t work as a team and start trying to one-up each other, it’ll take even longer.”
“We won’t,” Miurat assured him. “Kids, I’m going to have to leave if this takes more than an hour—no offense. I know what I said before we came down here, but I’m in a tough spot: tomorrow’s going to be brutal, I have a meeting with my boss to worry about. Treville, I’m going to put you in charge, so lead on.”
Miurat made Treville the leader of your group.
“Papa, no!” Jax sniffed, wiping away an imaginary tear.
“And to think I once respected him,” Dorn added loyally.
“Done with all your joking?” Treville asked. “Okay, we’re going to be in a narrow wedge. I’ll be at the tip, Miurat will be to my left, Jax will be to my right, and we’ll get things started. Hagen will be on the left in the second row; Dorn will be on the right. Fattah, I want you to stay protected in the middle of the second row. If he dies, it needs to be over your two dead bodies, got it? We have no shot at the queen without him. So Fattah, keep your head down until we get to the lair. We should be fine without you.”
“Got it,” Fattah replied. Everyone else nodded.
“As far as tactics go,” Treville continued, “the worms come out in pairs, every once in a while, three at a time. It’ll be fine, and we should be able to make short work of them, but remember how many of them there are. They don’t slither out all at once, though it’s easy to trigger the rest of them if you’re clumsy. If that happens, we’re done.”
“That’s exactly what happened to us,” Dorn sighed.
“They aren’t too hard to take out; just watch their heads and what they’re doing. Once a minute, they can spit poison, and that’s what we need to be careful of. It’s easy to tell when they’re getting ready, though: they rear up on their tails first. If you see one of them getting ready to spit, just yell ‘poison left.’ Or right, you know, depending on the situation. Then stay on your toes—especially the second row. When one of them is getting ready to spit, we’ll spread out a little, though not too far. As soon as they finish, we form back up. Got it? Really, just kill them before they have a chance to spit.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Dorn said as he peeked around the corner. “There are two of them—let’s go give it a try!”
Twenty steps away were two white, fat, disgusting worms, each at Level 55. Both their color and their shape reminded me of overgrown maggots. It was a foul sight.
“Oh, that’s gross,” Jax spat. “Phew.”
“Form up,” Treville ordered. “Let’s go.”
We’d gotten to within five steps of the worms when they finally perked up and turned their…well, what I guess were their heads, given that that was the body part they were turning.
“We’ll kill one; let the other one spit, just watch out for it,” Treville barked.
A bubbling sound broke out after the first couple strikes squelched home. The first worm, I assumed, was dead.
You unlocked Annelid Threat, Level 1.
To get it, destroy another 99 aggressive worms or larvae (any kind).
Reward:
+3% protection from poison
Ability: Fisherman, Level 1
Title: Bait Expert
To see similar messages, go to the Action section of the attribute window.
“Poison right!” barked Jax.
We all looked to the right, where the enormous maggot had gotten up on its tail and was wiggling its head. We could see where it was going to spit, so we split up. A green ball of slime splattered into the ground right where Fattah had been standing.
“Fo-o-orm up!” Treville yelled, and we fell back into order. Thirty seconds later he’d filled up his first three vials.
“If we take out the queen, I’ll give you each a vial,” he promised. “But that’s if you behave yourselves, don’t get too fancy, and listen to old Treville.”
Teamwork is power, and I was convinced yet again how true that is. Our formation easily made its way around Salt Lake, which was fairly wide, taking out groups of worms with nary a scratch to show for it. Treville gave us orders, the worms died, and Dorn and I in the second row barely had to do anything. Only once did a pair of worms try to take us on, and we quickly dispatched them. Okay, to be fair, Dorn did most of the work.
“My things are right over there,” the excited dwarf said, pointing at a pile of rocks that turned out to be the entrance to the queen’s lair. “I hope nobody’s gotten to them.”
“We’ll see in just a second,” Treville replied cheerfully. “Let’s go.”
They did turn out to still be there, though the worms had gotten their slime all over them. Dorn cursed out every kind of worm he’d ever heard of when he saw his behterets and bracers covered in it. Even the axe had gotten a full dose: the wooden handle was eaten away by the green acid, and he dumped the whole lot in his bag until he could find a blacksmith. Or do you have to get a carpenter for that? I didn’t bother thinking too hard about it.
“Onward into the lair?” Treville looked us over.
“Guys, let’s just forget it,” Miurat replied. “The reward really isn’t that much, so let’s just go home.”
“Miurat, stop whining,” Treville shot back. “We’re already here, and leaving without taking out the boss would be ridiculous. I wouldn’t be happy, and neither would anyone else. Let’s go—those things are going to start respawning soon. I’ll give you instructions when we get inside.”
And with that we marched single file into the worm queen’s lair.
Chapter Nine
In which the hero leaves the Neilozh Mines.
“Yeah, not exactly a royal mansion,” Jake said as he looked around the small area with its low stone ceiling.
“It wasn’t made for people,” Miurat replied grouchily. “Let’s go already!”
“Hold on,” Treville said, stopping him short. “Okay, here’s how it’s going to go. We aren’t far from the queen, and there will be some worms along the way. Not too many though—and just one at a time. We do need to take them out quickly, however, since there’s no room to dodge their spit in the tunnel. Miurat, you and I will be in charge of that. Hagen, Jax, Dorn—you three are our wingmen, so you need to keep looking behind us to make sure no worms come at our backs. There are tons of little holes everywhere, so expect anything and everything.”
“Got it,” I replied, nodding on behalf of the group.
“Now for the queen,” Treville said, his face darkening. “She’s a beast, mostly because she has tons of health. The developers didn’t really skimp on her strength either, which is why she got an additional quest all to herself. And she can throw a bunch of debuffs at us: poison, Stupor, and Brain Fog.
“In English?” I replied. “The poison I understand, but what are the other two? I have an idea…”
“Stupor is when you can’t move. It usually lasts forty seconds,” Miurat explained. “It’s bad, but it’s nothing we can’t hand
le.”
“Brain Fog is where it gets rough,” jumped in Treville. “You lose control of your body, attacking anyone who comes within reach. It lasts for a minute. We’ll be fine if you get hit with it, for example, but if it’s Miurat or me…”
“Right,” I drawled, realizing how much havoc a serious player could wreak if they didn’t know what they were doing.
“So we’re not going to give her time to concentrate. Just watch her body language to see when she’s getting ready to cast a spell: she’ll freeze for a few seconds, and we can break her concentration if we land a shot to the head right then. Fattah, that’s your job. Keep your eye on her—forget everything else. As soon as she freezes, shoot.”
“Will she summon other worms to help her?” Fattah asked cautiously.
“Nope,” Treville replied. “We checked. Oh, and watch out for her tail. She can use it as a weapon, and it’s brutal. She sure caught me with it last time…”
“Ah-h!” Miurat said with a clap. “And here I was wondering how you know all this.”
“Yes, I’ve been here before,” Treville said frankly. “We weren’t able to take her out though, and we didn’t go back. Everyone else in the group had better things to do. Okay, is everything clear?”
We nodded, and Treville gave us the command to move out.
This was only the second boss lair I’d seen. The first was when I took on Sviss, the naga king, and that had pretty much been it. I’d taken on monsters and epic beasts, not to mention odds and ends like Fomor, but no other bosses. And really, I liked the spots where I’d come across epic unpleasantries much more than where the bosses lived. It was the same both with Sviss and with the worm queen: close quarters, nasty, and uncomfortable. The kind of place nobody in their right mind would go. Sure, it was made for slithering rather than walking, but still. And it stank…
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