Worms came after us, but Treville had been right that there’d only be one of them at a time. The high-level players up at the front had little trouble dispatching them. We did have to deal with one in the back, as it popped out of a gap in the wall and ran smack into Jax as he walked by. The poor thing didn’t even have time to climb out of its hole.
Ten minutes later, we stopped by a large, round opening in one of the walls.
“We’re here.” Treville rubbed his chin. “Fattah, you head into the corner on the left and wait there—you remember what to do. I’ll yell to remind you, as well. The rest of us will attack, with me grabbing her attention and the rest of you jumping in. If I need someone else to attract her, I’ll yell out a name. And remember: watch out for her debuffs, keep an eye on her head. Oh, and aim for her head in general. You’ll see why in a second.”
He walked into the opening.
The room was large, empty, and dark, the kind of place that weighs on you from the minute you enter. The very low ceiling finished off the look. Most striking, however, was how empty it was: the only thing in the room was a large pile of some kind of gray trash along the far side. There were also parts of skeletons littering the floor—bones, skulls, some stray bits of fabric… I had to figure there were plenty of unlucky adventurers who’d gotten in and weren’t able to get back out.
I started looking around at the walls, expecting a large white worm to crawl out of one of them. Just then, however, what I’d thought was a pile of trash twitched. Crap! That’s not a pile of trash; it’s her! The large hulk with its mustachioed face and tiny eyes straightened out and started moving toward us. A name appeared above it.
Worm Queen Tressika
She was enormous, covering just about the entire far wall. In fact, she looked like a blimp outfitted with a health bar that went on practically forever. How are we supposed to kill that? Our swords are going to be like pin pricks if they don’t just disappear into her altogether…
“All right, boys,” Treville yelped, “let’s dance! And remember the tail.”
He ran up to the creature and landed a hit somewhere around the mustache. I giggled involuntarily. A mustachioed queen? Cool. Jax heard my giggle, raised an eyebrow, and dashed after Treville. I followed suit.
We danced our tango around the queen for a few minutes. A bunch of swings struck home, her health was dropping, and Fattah did a good job knocking her akilter when she tried to cast a spell. I was starting to think it wasn’t going to be as hard as I’d thought.
“She’s casting,” Jax yelled. “Fattah!”
An arrow whistled by and thudded into the queen, and she immediately twisted around and swayed toward the archer.
“Miurat, distract her!” Treville shouted. “Hurry, I can’t do it. Don’t let her get to Fattah!”
Miurat jumped in front of the queen just a few steps away from the archer and gave her a backhand slash with his sword. Her response was swift: a sweep of her head sent Miurat flying to the side, where he smashed into the wall. Half of his health melted away just like that. And then, before he even had time to react, the queen smacked her tail into him twice. He froze, and a few seconds later a green cloud enveloped him.
“Ah, damn it!” Treville whipped his sword into the queen again and again. It sank into her body a few times. “Stay away, I need to get her away from the archer.”
We ran off to the middle of the room and watched the queen’s hulk crawl off after Treville, who kept moving toward the far wall.
“Man down,” Dorn called above the racket. “Miurat’s cooked.”
A cocoon with a greenish cloud wafting above it was all that was left of him.
“Unbelievable!” I headed toward the queen.
Treville was doing everything he could to turn her head away from Fattah, and it was only once he was finally successful that he missed a swing of her tail. Off he rolled along the floor.
I was closest to the queen, so I threw a strike near her neck. She spun around and hit me so hard I saw stars when I hit the ground. Hanging over me, she paused to send a debuff my way. Thunk. I heard the arrow slam into her eye, turning her health yellow. From my position on the ground, I was able to slash away at her mustache a few times before something gray flashed in front of me…
It was dark outside, though the clouds had parted above the mining village to reveal a starry sky.
You died, and therefore lost part of the experience you’d earned.
Thanks, I got that.
“She got you, too?” Miurat asked gloomily. “It really is incredible.”
He was sitting on a rock near the respawn point dressed resplendently in his underwear, his feathers ruffled, and angry.
“Incredible!” He stared at me. “Mirron, Nordsfel, Trian…not a scratch. I took down Klatornakh in a raid, and just about everyone died—not me, though. But that fat old thing, barely a boss, did me in. What if the rest die, too? We’ll have to go back for our things! What a nightmare… What a day. First that idiot inquisitor, and now this. What am I, cursed?”
I shrugged silently, not thrilled about the whole thing either. My things, my experience…
The minutes stretched on, one after another. Miurat didn’t say anything, though he spat what looked to be an awfully potent poison into the ground every once in a while. A couple of times I saw some muscular and armed gentlemen walked by. I assumed they were the local night watch, though one glance at Miurat was enough to keep them from asking questions.
One part of me wanted to make good use of the time by finding the inquisitor, though another part was afraid to leave Miurat alone. I wasn’t sure what he was capable of in that mood.
You completed a quest: Worms!.
You completed the additional quest: Destroy the worm queen.
To get your reward, talk to the old man in the mining village.
“Ah-h,” sighed Miurat. “Thank heavens, I’ll get to sleep five hours at least. We don’t need to go back for our things.”
You unlocked Level 62!
Points ready to be distributed: 5
“Congratulations.” Miurat waved at me. “At least someone got lucky…”
The rest of the group soon appeared in the square. They were ragged and doused in some sort of brown muck, though they looked very pleased with themselves.
“You should have seen her blow!” Jax started off. “She exploded, sprayed me and everyone else, too.”
“She isn’t that hard of a boss,” Treville said, also looking very happy. “But man, does she have some health.”
“You really shouldn’t go after her without a healer,” Dorn said, tugging on his beard. “I mean, unless you have a bunch of high-level players.”
“Yeah, we wouldn’t have had any trouble with her if we’d had a healer,” Jax agreed. “Though it wasn’t too bad this way.”
“Agree to disagree,” Miurat coughed. “Who has my things?”
Treville raised his hand.
Dorn walked over to me.
“Open your exchange window.”
My bag suddenly got a little heavier, and soon I was back dressed the way I was used to being. With that said, I noted with annoyance that my wallet was about to get a bit lighter: my equipment was in serious need of some repairs. Also, one of the items wasn’t mine.
Belt of Intransigence
+32 to strength
+16 to stamina
+4% attack strength
+5% chance of doing fire damage
+8% chance of successfully counter-attacking
Durability: 427/550
Class limitation: warrior
Minimum level for use: 60
“That’s not my belt,” I said to Dorn. “I didn’t have anything like it.”
“Oh, it’s yours all right,” Treville replied, coming over. “You earned it, so wear it proudly. We got it from the queen.”
“So why do I get it?” I still didn’t understand. “Why didn’t you put it up for everyone?”
&nb
sp; “Two reasons,” Miurat said, in better spirits after getting dressed. “Three, even. First, nobody really needs it—the level is too low, and so on. Second, you earned it fair and square. Third, they’re being generous. Did I miss anything, Treville?”
“You did.” Treville didn’t want to point out the irony in what Miurat said, though Jax and Dorn both frowned. “Hagen gave me the chance to finish off that beast and take back the life she owed me. You know how much I hate leaving things unfinished. By the way, open up your exchange windows—I promised you each a vial of poison.”
“Poison for everyone!” Jax smiled. “In commemoration of our great victory.”
“Okay,” Miurat said when he got his vial, “I’m off. Hagen, you remember, right? Monday at 6 p.m., Moscow time.”
“I’ll be waiting in Selgar for whoever comes,” I replied with a nod. “My word is my bond—if I said it, I’ll do it.”
“I’m going to come myself,” Miurat said flatteringly before he logged out of the game.
“I don’t know if he was trying to cheer me up or scare me,” I said with a sigh.
“That’s Miurat for you.” Jax smiled. “I wouldn’t show him my backside in a banya.”
“These days it isn’t worth showing anyone your backside in a banya,” Treville said instructively before turning to me. “So they’re trying to get you in front of our clan leadership?”
“Something like that,” I responded. “They want to see me.”
“Don’t worry, kiddo, they won’t eat you,” Jax said. “We’re not all like Miurat—he’s a special case, and his thugs, too. In general, it’s a fine clan, just maybe not quite like all the rest. We’re pretty closed off, but it’s fine.”
“Jax,” Treville said, throwing a loaded glance in his direction. “Your tongue is going to be the death of you one of these days.”
“Oh, come on.” Jax waved him off. “The worst they can do is kick me out.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” Dorn said, tugging on his beard. “Life sucks when you don’t have a clan. If it weren’t for Hagen and you all, my things would still be rotting in there by the queen. But it wouldn’t have been a problem if I were in a clan—finding people would have been easy. Hey, Treville, can I join you guys? You’re both cool, and–”
“Sorry, my good dwarf,” Treville said with a shrug. “I’m a veteran, but I’m not even in the clan council—my word means nothing. Send them an application, and they’ll look it over. You can tell them to talk to me, though. If they do, I’ll let them know what I think.”
“Have them talk to me, too,” Jax chimed in, nodding.
“But don’t count on it,” Treville continued. “It’s really hard to get in: tests, obstacle courses, duels…”
“Damn.” Dorn pulled on his beard again. “Then screw it, I’m better off without a clan.”
“Up to you,” Treville replied. He held a hand out to me. “It was nice meeting you—and not for the last time, I’m sure.”
The goodbyes out of the way, Jax opened a portal and the two warriors left the square.
The dwarf sighed, clearly annoyed that he, far from a noob in the game, had been turned down like that. It was tactful, but it was still a rejection.
“Oh, come on,” I had to say. “What are you wheezing like some old lady for? Let’s head over to the mailbox—someone wrote me, and it might be about you.”
The letter did indeed turn out to be from Gedron the Elder.
Hi, Hagen.
I wouldn’t say your recommendation is the one I value most in the world, though the warrior you suggested doesn’t look too bad. Our people looked into him, and it sounds like your protégé would be a solid addition to the clan.
Have him drop by the bar in Holfstrig tomorrow around 5 p.m. It’s the only one there, so he won’t get lost. I’ll have a chat with him, and maybe we’ll come to an agreement. And if I can’t come myself, I’ll send one of my officers.
And a quick note about you. Have you thought about my offer? I’m not promising you a spot on the council, you won’t get any special privileges or status, and nobody will recognize you as some super hero, but we’re a good clan to be part of if you don’t mind being on an even footing with everyone else. I can assure you, we’ll be back on top sooner or later.
Gedron the Elder
“And here you were all upset,” I said to Dorn. “Gedron would like to chat with you about joining the Wild Hearts. It’s a decent clan, and he’s a good guy, though I already mentioned all of that. Tomorrow at five in the bar in Holfstrig. It’ll be either him or one of his people.”
“Yeah, I thought about it, and why not?” Dorn rubbed his palms together. “You just remember what you promised me.”
“I will,” I replied seriously. “Believe me.”
It didn’t sound like that was a promise he was going to let me forget.
The old man wasn’t thrilled to have me visiting so late, but he handed over the reward.
You completed a quest: Worms!
Reward:
1400 experience
1200 gold
Anthracite Sword
+8 to your reputation among the miners in the West
You completed an additional quest: Destroy the Worm Queen.
Reward:
900 experience
Worm Queen’s Left Eye
Worm Queen Slime
Underground Fire Earring
I couldn’t even figure out what I wanted to do with the Anthracite Sword when I checked it out—was it worth taking to a vendor or should I just toss it in the nearest trash can? It had been a while since I’d found something that worthless. The earring, on the other hand, was much more intriguing, especially since I hadn’t gotten many of them. At least, not since the good old days before I’d ever heard of the gods or their little sidekicks.
Underground Fire Earring
+18 to stamina
+13 to wisdom
+9% chance of doing fire damage
-7% fire damage done to you
+5% chance of discovering fire traps
Durability: 380/400
Minimum level for use: 55
At least it hadn’t been a wasted trip—the earring was a good find. It got an express ticket to my ear, especially since it was smaller and would attract much less attention than my old one.
“Excellent,” Dorn said. “All’s well that ends well.”
“What am I supposed to do with all this crap?” I asked him. “The slime, the poison, all of that. Should I take it to a vendor?”
“Are you kidding me?” Dorn’s eyes just about fell out of their sockets. “Sell rare reagents and consumables to a vendor? What a noob!”
“I don’t do crafting, so I don’t need it,” I replied indignantly. “And I’m not planning on starting—I don’t have time to go picking weeds and forging brass rings. I have things to do and money to earn. Could you just tell me what I should do like a normal human being? Oh, um, like a normal dwarf being?”
“Sell it at the auction, give it a couple days there. Your starting price for the reagents shouldn’t be any less than a thousand gold. You’ll probably pick up a good five or six grand for everything.”
Yep, a vendor would probably have given me three hundred, if that. Live and learn. It turned out I was still a noob, which stung a little…
“Thanks again!” Dorn puffed out his beard. “If you ever need anything, you can count on me. I’ll come and help save you.”
“There’s already something you can do,” I replied. He wasn’t getting off that easy. “Take me down to the lower levels tomorrow. You said there are people living there, and that they have a steamboat, right? Or you can just send me down in a portal if that’s easier. I’ll give you the scroll.”
“Yes, there are, and I’d be happy to use one of my scrolls,” Dorn said, nodding. “The problem is that I haven’t been there. Some people told me how to get there, but that’s all. What time are we going? I have to be in the N
orth at five, remember, and it’s a three-hour trip.”
“Let’s go in the morning, around ten,” I suggested. “That way you’ll definitely have a cushion to make sure you aren’t late.”
“Sure,” the dwarf replied as he scratched the back of his neck. “But how am I supposed to explain that to my professor? I have an advanced math class at university tomorrow.”
I stood my ground. “But it’s not an exam right?”
“Ah, whatever,” Dorn said with a wave of his hand. “It won’t be the first time. Okay, tomorrow at ten.”
“Almost today,” I said, checking the clock. “Sounds good.”
The dwarf logged out of the game, though I still had one more thing to do: I needed to visit Gilles de Blassi and get my beads and amulet. I didn’t think they’d be all that valuable, but still. I’d earned them fair and square.
The inquisitor was in the tavern drinking diluted wine. He saw me, got up, and came over to greet me.
“My friend, I heard the whole story. My students came and told me all about your bravery—you did the impossible, killing those witches!”
“What about Arbois? Is he back yet?”
“No. Sadly, he will remain there in the caves forever.” De Blassi’s head drooped. “He was a strong, courageous inquisitor, but courage and strength aren’t always enough to survive. To be honest, I thought you had perished in there, too.”
“Oh, I’m very much alive, as you can see.”
“Glad tidings, indeed.” The inquisitor smiled broadly. “Let’s go have a seat—you can tell me all about it.”
I gave the inquisitor the short version of the story, only including the part about how we’d freed his students. He didn’t need to hear about the rest of our adventure.
“One thing I still don’t understand is what that creature was,” I said as I wrapped up my tale and looked into de Blassi’s glowering face.
“You bring me bad news, my friend, very bad news.” De Blassi pulled a string of beads out of his pocket and started clacking them together. “I mean, nothing about you; just the fact that the old witch is teaching her followers to summon Heliana into this world is…”
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