Extra Credit

by J. Arthur Klein

  The innkeeper’s face split in a wide grin. “Amazing! And what of the lost goods? Were you able to recover them?”

  “Oh! Yes. We have the missing cloth,” she answered.

  “Perfect!” Skarvi replied, handing us each a small stack of six gold.

  QUEST COMPLETE: Trouble in the Northern Woods [D]!

  You have gained 200xp!

  QUEST COMPLETE: Eviction [D!]

  You have gained 500xp!

  Cedric has reached level 9!

  Kelikk has reached level 9!

  Leilani has reached level 9!

  The innkeeper continued, “Bring the cloth to Lord Bellwether’s warehouse on the west side of town, he should be there.”

  QUEST UPDATED: Stolen Goods [D]

  Deliver the recovered goods to Lord Malcolm Bellwether at his warehouse in Sommervale.

  Reward: 100xp, a 10% discount with the Telquist Merchants.

  “Congratulations once again!” I laughed. “What is that? Three levels for each of you from this dungeon? Pretty sweet progress!”

  Kelikk chuckled. “One to ten is pretty quick, as you’ve already seen.”

  “True. It did take me a bit longer to reach eleven though,” I said as I glanced my map. “You guys ready to finish the last one? I should probably log out for a little after that to eat or my body’s going to hate me later.”

  “Yeah,” Cedric said. “I wanna see what that bonus objective lands us!”

  Kelikk and Leilani just smiled and nodded, and off we went.

  The lord’s warehouse was a short walk across town. A bored looking guardsman met us at the door and directed us to wait in a small office while Lord Bellwether was apprised of our arrival.

  It was a pretty short wait. The lord was anxious to recover his goods and came as soon as he heard of our arrival. I unloaded the cloth and stacked it on the lord’s desk, watching as he examined each for signs of damage or tampering, muttering under his breath about fraying and stains.

  “Well then, adventurers, it seems you have done me and my house quite a service,” he said in a slight British accent. “It was quite a tragedy what befell my caravan. I had hoped that Baron Carmichael would have sent more guards, but from the rumors I hear, the ogre’s band was quite formidable.”

  I took the lead slipping the bottle of wine from my inventory. “It was quite a dangerous undertaking, my lord. I’m glad we were able to assist with the recovery of your cloth, but also glad we were able to recover this,” I said and held out the bottle.

  His eyes went wide as he read the label and the message attached. “Oh. This is truly a blessed day,” he said with a smile. “Did you know that there are only five bottles of this vintage known to exist? And to think, Baron Carmichael saw fit to gift one to me! Oh yes, you have done me a great service and I shall reward you appropriately. As agreed, you shall all receive the discount to my house’s wares, but I want to do something special for you if you can wait. Or I can give you each twenty-five gold now for your service? What would you have of me?”

  QUEST UPDATED: Stolen Goods [D]

  Choose your reward:

  1) 25 gold, 10% discount to house Telquist merchants, 100xp.

  2) 10% discount to house Telquist merchants, 100xp, Delayed Special Reward.

  My choice was easy. I was playing the long game. “My lord, I would love to see what special reward you would choose for me. I’ll wait.”

  Leilani opened her mouth to answer but Cedric burst in, “I’ll take the gold please!”

  Both Leilani and Kelikk chose option two as well, knowing that that sort of reward would be much better than coin.

  You have gained 100xp!

  Your name has been added to the House Telquist ledgers as a 10% discount holder.

  QUEST RECEIVED: The Long Game

  Lord Bellwether has promised you a special gift for your services. Await the delivery of that gift.

  Reward: A specially selected gift from Lord Bellwether.

  The lord flashed the three of us who had chosen to be patient a grin, then gave Cedric a disappointed look and handed him a small sack of coins.

  “If you will excuse me,” he said. “I need to see to my business. I will send a runner once I have decided on your rewards.”

  With that, the lord left the office and the guard escorted us out of the building.

  “I messed up, didn’t I?” Cedric asked when we got outside.

  I felt a little sorry for the kid. He’d acted on his impulses as opposed to thinking the situation through, and had probably missed out on something much better down the line. At least in the game it would have a limited effect and maybe teach him a lesson or two for the real world.

  “It’s okay, Ced,” Leilani replied. “Twenty-five gold is a nice reward. The rest of us are still gambling, hoping we hit the jackpot, but Lord Bellwether could just end up sending us a fruit cake made with his special recipe or something.”

  “Right,” I added. “Sometimes the gamble doesn’t pay off. For twenty-five gold you should be able to find a great upgrade for your armor.” That brought a smile to his face.

  After a short discussion, we headed to a nearby clearing and sorted through the loot from the dungeon.

  All in all, there were thirteen gold and five silver pieces as well as several full sets of hard leather armor in various states of repair, a dozen bronze daggers, and a mixture of long and short swords, also bronze.

  Since they’d let me take the Cooking book, I decided not to mention the enforcer’s blade when it came time to split it all.

  After a bit of discussion, I added the studded leather Curley’d been borrowing back into the pot, and we split the pile four ways.

  I collected my cut of the coin and the looted gear and we broke for the afternoon. I took my haul to the local shop and sold the unnecessary items for a few gold and then seeing it was almost 2PM I logged out to get a late lunch.

  …

  37

  I made myself a sandwich, checked my messages, and did a bit of my actual schoolwork that needed to get done. I’d been neglecting it so far, but if I put it off too much longer I’d be scrambling at the last minute… much like many of my students would be for their next term paper.

  Lesson plans for the next marking period were due when I returned. Luckily, the standardized testing schedules required a standard format and plan amongst all participating schools. Unluckily, that standard format left little room to actually teach more than what was on the test.

  I could have banged out the required plan in under an hour, but I knew I’d likely be at it for most of the afternoon as I tried to squeeze some semblance of actual education into the nooks and crannies allowed by the standardized format.

  Hours later, I was interrupted by the rumbling of my stomach. I looked at the clock and realized it was dinner time. Damn, when I was in the zone, I was deep in the zone. So much for doing a little work and then logging back in.

  I warmed up some food and gave the wife a call, entertaining her with my adventures of the day and the likely impact on my mining venture. Adding another body to the plan would increase my yield by quite a bit. More ore meant more money.

  Diego was asleep in the background, completely tuckered out from his adventures with the grandparents.

  I tried not to be upset that I wouldn’t get to tell him good night, but I didn’t want to wake him. I blew them both a kiss and ended the call. It was time to learn some skills and make some money.

  …

  I logged into the game and headed straight to the guild. The Guildmaster was at his customary position at his desk and looked up as I entered. “Ahh, apprentice… or should I say potential Journeyman? I can see you’ve gained some power since last we spoke. Are you ready to begin the next phase of your training?”

  “Yes, please,” I said, looking at the trainer eagerly.

  He reached into his desk and removed two scrolls, handing the first to me.

  “The Miasma spell will allow you t
o extend the afflictions present on your enemy to others in a small area. As your ability in the spell increases, so too shall the area. First you must apply Rot, or another affliction to a single foe and then cast Miasma on it. Should the spell take hold, your affliction will be drawn forth and spread to all those within range of the spell. At first rank it will reach all enemies within five feet of the original target.”

  Scanning the scroll, I saw that the spell required rank nine Necromancy.

  I could have had this spell for the bandit den had I come here first. It would have been so useful in that dungeon.

  Damn it, I thought. From now on, go to the trainer EVERY LEVEL.

  He held out the second scroll. “So far you have worked with bone as your medium. This scroll will improve your Create Undead spell to allow for the animation of more… specialized minions: Zombies and Ghouls.”

  I smiled, excited at new options for my mini-legion.

  “Zombies are slower, less intelligent, and less able to adapt quickly to your orders, but they can suffer much more damage than a skeleton can,” he said. “And as a bonus, they can heal by devouring other organic material.”

  He paused and gave me a pointed look. “That means living things, or corpses. They aren’t picky.”

  I nodded and he continued. “Ghouls on the other hand are quick and cunning, but quite fragile. Their claws and teeth excrete a paralyzing poison that is quite useful against living targets.”

  He gestured to me and continued. “And now that you have reached… nay, surpassed rank ten in the Necromancy spell school, you are ready to select a specialization.”

  I grinned as he continued, “There are two paths forward for those of our art. The first is the Path of Bone. Necromancers who choose this specialization focus on the physical. They learn to enhance their minions’ corporeal forms, making them stronger and tougher, and at higher ranks one can even build upon their minions, shaping the bones to their whims. Unfortunately, that comes at the expense of some of their mental faculties.”

  It definitely sounded interesting. Having tankier minions was definitely a draw, but the last part about losing mental abilities worried me.

  “What do you mean by losing mental abilities, Guildmaster?” I asked.

  He looked down at me and shrugged, “The enhanced minions are more powerful, but have trouble following complex instructions, or adapting to change.”

  I nodded and he continued, “The second option is the Path of the Soul. Many have the strength of will to master the manipulation of flesh and blood, but only the strongest of will have the ability to manipulate the soul.”

  “Necromancers who specialize in this path harness the escaping life force of the dying and use it to both fuel their spells and enhance their minions. Where the Path of Bone enhances the minions physical form, the Path of the Soul increases their mental capacity. But be warned, some minions may have some… quirks.”

  He smiled at me and held out two small vials, one in each hand. “Which will you choose? The Path of Bone,” he said and lifted his left hand, “or the Path of the Soul,” and lifted his right.

  I considered the choice, weighing the pros and cons of each path in my mind, but in the end, I couldn’t risk the mining potential of my minions. While strength might make them more adept at smashing rocks, if they were too dumb to hit the target, or if I had to spend the entire night micromanaging them I’d probably lose my mind.

  “I will follow the Path of the Soul,” I said and took the vial.

  He tucked the other vial away and gestured towards the door. “Travel to the Sommervale cemetery and find the mausoleum of Kelveraath Vel’dim. Drink the potion while within the tomb and the trial will commence. Should you triumph, the art of Soul Mastery will be yours.”

  QUEST RECEIVED: Trial of the Soul

  Travel to the mausoleum of Kelveraath Vel’dim and drink the potion given to you by the Guildmaster. Undertake the Trial of the Soul.

  Rewards: Soul Mastery (Rank 10 Necromancy Specialization), 200xp, Journeyman’s Robes.

  Interesting. So, the lower ranks were focused on the body, and rank ten introduced the soul. I couldn’t wait to see what that held in store… but it would have to wait until tomorrow. Kid’s got to eat, so Daddy’s got to mine.

  “Thank you, Master. I’ll return when the trial is complete,” I replied, clutching the scrolls in my hands as I left the guild house.

  As soon as I was outside, I used both scrolls.

  You have learned “Create Undead.”

  Minor Create Undead has been upgraded to Create Undead

  Range: Touch

  Type: Animation

  Requirements: Somatic, Verbal, Material (Required): See Below

  -Animate Skeleton: Animate the skeletal remains of a creature of size or less to serve you for a short time.

  ---Special Abilities: Versatile.

  ---Required Material Component: Skeleton

  ---Minion Pool Required: Small[1], Medium[2]

  -Animate Zombie: Animate the remains of a living creature of size or less to serve you for a short time.

  ---Special Abilities: Damage Resistance, Cannibalistic Healing.

  ---Detriments: Slow, Low Intelligence.

  ---Required Material Component: Fresh Corpse

  ---Minion Pool Required: Small[2], Medium[3]

  -Animate Ghoul: Animate the freshly killed remains of a living creature of size or less to serve you for a short time.

  ---Special Abilities: Nimble, Paralysis Poison, Cannibalistic Healing.

  ---Detriments: May not wield weapons, fragile.

  ---Required Material Component: Fresh Corpse

  ---Minion Pool Required: Small[3], Medium[4]

  Minion Pool: 11 (4 + Rank)

  You have learned “Miasma.”

  Miasma

  Range: Long

  Type: Special

  Requirements: Somatic

  Spread the debilitating spells in effect on a single target to all enemies within the spell radius.

  Radius: 4 feet + 1 foot per 5 Ranks.

  Damned if it wasn’t making spending my skill points even more difficult. Skeletons were by far the best choice for my mining bots, but the other undead types would likely serve a lot better in battle.

  If I could store the animation spells in my staff, I could create some ghouls on the fly if I had enough points. Keeping them bound wouldn’t serve me in the long run right now.

  A zombie on the other hand would make a pretty good tank. No more risking my dwarf bones in battle. But first I’d have to find a suitable corpse.

  Ok, I thought. A new skill to rank up, and an oldie but goodie that had been upgraded. Time to make some choices.

  Currently I had eleven points in my Minion Pool, so I could have up to five medium skeletons, or one zombie and four skeletons, or one zombie and two ghouls… So many options.

  In combat, having a zombie tank and then a mix of skeletons and zombies would probably be optimal, but I couldn’t sacrifice my bound skeletons in order to keep ghouls ready.

  I’d need to up my skills at least a little to be able to bind one more minion in order to keep a zombie tank in my pocket for combat situations, while keeping my four mining skeletons. The ghouls would have to be on the fly.

  I put two points into Bind Minion, bringing my total available bindings up to five and allowing for me to add a zombie without sacrificing any of my workhorses. Ah what the hell. I added another point to bring it to ten to see what improvement It would unlock.

  You have reached Rank 10 in the Bind Minion Spell!

  The amount of mana required for each bound minion has now been reduced by half. In addition, you may now re-summon minions within 20 feet, +2 feet per rank above 10 in this skill.

  It was definitely worth it.

  Cripple was lagging behind in terms of level, and with Miasma able to spread the love to nearby opponents it was high time I invested more in the skill. Dark Shield was a
lso behind the pack, and it had saved me from death several times, barely.

  With that in mind, I decided to split my remaining points between those three skills, adding in Drain to the mix at the last second, putting three points in each.

  Leveling complete, I took a short trip out of town to do some minion management, collecting the gear in need of repairs before dismissing them and heading back to town.

  A quick stop at the blacksmith and a couple of gold later, and I had a brand-new pick for my fourth mining minion.

  The trip out to the mine was uneventful. The local wildlife was much lower level so did its best to avoid me, and I had no interest in chasing down animals for minimal loot.

  I cast Dark Blessing on the three stooges, giving them Mining and adding Scavenger as their second skill. Go, go, tenth rank perk!

  I was afraid it wouldn’t let me assign Scavenger since it was a racial skill, but the system didn’t seem to mind. I added it to Gimli too, completing my mini minion mining menagerie before descending to the tin mine.

  As I performed my first prospect of the day, my Mining skill increased, an occurrence I should probably get used to due to the way the gathering skill caps worked in the game.

  Mining Skill Check (Prospecting) Success! You have gained 10 Mining XP!

  You have gained 100 Mining XP from a reserved quest reward [Tools of the Trade].

  You have reached Mining Rank 10! Your prospecting radius has been increased by 25%. Durability loss on mining equipment is now reduced by 50%.

  I searched the mine until I found a good spot with a group of veins close enough together to maximize my minions. I didn’t want to spread out too far and invite attacks from the elementals, but they were bound to occur anyway.

  We put in a solid eight hours of manual labor with only three breaks to deal with some angry elementals. Each of the creatures dropped an Earthheart, which was more than enough to forgive the interruption.

  I’d hoped to use my fourth minion to mine an additional vein, but the mine didn’t have enough nodes close enough together to truly maximize its potential. Having him assist with one of them worked for a while but tended to deplete that vein sooner than the rest.