I had the skeletons place three of the bandit corpses in strategic locations in the woods around the kill zone and then unsummoned all but Chevy.
With an evil grin, I took Hoss’ skull and buried it in the middle of the clearing under a small layer of dirt. Chevy took up position in the trees away from the campsite, with the other two skeleton skulls nearby. The remaining bandits became my next trio of ghouls.
My kill zone prepped, I flew up into the trees again, making sure to keep all of my skulls, and pre-placed corpses within range.
Party time, I thought as I sent the ghouls in with the same orders as before. Within minutes I heard screams from the direction of the camp, followed by a loud voice barking orders.
My ghouls came racing back through the woods with a line of bandit enforcers trailing behind with their shields pressed together in a defensive formation.
They walked forward at a slow pace, eyes fixed on the ghouls who I had dash in to threaten their formation, but none took the bait.
Behind the line of four enforcers were two hunters, their arrows ready. And behind them was the Bandit Chief, watching the clearing with a wary eye.
The chief barked an order and two of the enforcers dropped to a knee as the hunters drew their bows and fired. The arrows thunked into one of the ghouls, piercing its heart.
Human Ghoul has been destroyed!
Good, good, I thought and ordered Chevy to fire on the archers. His arrow flew through the air but was intercepted by a raised shield as the kneeling men regained their feet.
I drew my ghouls further back, trying to draw the enemies forward. A few more steps and the line would pass over Hoss’ spot, and then we could begin the chaos.
The ghouls dashed in again, causing the front line to flinch, but a quick order from the chief straightened their backs.
The front line moved forward slowly as the archers tried to pick off my ghouls, who I had dashing and dodging around while Chevy continued to fire from cover, keeping the shield men on their guard.
The bandits took those critical steps forward as the enforcers tried to strike the ghouls with their long swords.
One blow clipped a ghoul’s arm, lopping off its clawed appendage and sending it skittering back in pain. The bandit took another step forward, trying to capitalize on his initial attack, and the entire line was forced to either abandon their overzealous friend or move forward to reestablish the line.
They moved forward, falling into my trap. It was time for some fun.
Chevy stepped back into the woods and was dismissed, his skull settling to the ground and relinquishing some of my minion pool.
At the same time, I summoned Hoss and watched as he solidified behind the shield wall and went on the attack, his mace and shield bashing into the backs of the shield wall.
The line panicked and turned to address the new foe as the chief bellowed to hold the line and lashed at Hoss with his own blade, but it was too late.
While the men were distracted by the zombie in their back line, the ghouls struck, their claws sinking into the enforcer’s flanks, their poison slowing the men’s reactions even further.
I pointed my staff at one of the strategically placed corpses and used a charge of Create Undead, raising another ghoul that immediately struck at the opposite flank.
The shield wall collapsed into chaos as bandits succumbed to their wounds or to the ghouls’ poison and the archers struggled to draw their blades.
The bandit chief was the only one to keep his cool, driving his blade into Hoss and snuffing out his unlife before turning on the ghouls.
Human Zombie (Hoss) has been destroyed! Your bound mana has been returned.
I cast Cripple on the chief and then started to cast a bolt when he looked up at me and scowled.
A flick of his wrist sent a dagger flying through the air faster than I could dodge. My Dark Shield flared and popped as the blade broke through, absorbing enough of the damage to spare me a serious wound. But physics was a bitch.
The force of the blow was enough to knock my off of my perch, sending me crashing to the ground and knocking off a good chunk of hit points and stunning me for three seconds.
Human Ghoul has been destroyed!
Human Ghoul has been destroyed!
I glanced up to see the bandit chief bearing down on me, the last of my ghouls doing its best to delay him. The man parried the ghoul’s blows and pressed onwards, a determined grin on his face.
I mentally reached out and summoned the amigos back to life, ordering them to attack and cringed as the last ghoul lost its life to a well-timed slash of the chief’s sword.
Human Ghoul has been destroyed!
The chief gave me a savage grin and charged me, blade raised to strike.
His eyes widened as his gaze slipped behind me, and he dove to the side as three arrows flew through the air where he used to be standing.
I shot a Necromantic Bolt at his rolling form and scored a glancing blow, dropping his health below fifty percent. He regained his feet and rushed at me again, swinging his blade in a broad figure eight which deflected the incoming arrows.
Bandit Chief uses Blade Shield!
I cursed and used my staff to blast him with another bolt, this one barely penetrating his shield and dropping his health a sliver.
His ability ended as he slashed at me, the sharp edge hitting only air as I teleported five yards behind him with my cloak.
I ordered the amigos to switch to melee and then discharged another Create Undead into a nearby bandit corpse, creating another ghoul to harass their leader.
The ghoul leapt onto the Chief who barely got his blade up in time, impaling the ghoul on its length, but not soon enough. The ghoul’s claws pierced the bandit’s armor and its poison took hold.
With a lurch, the bandit pulled free and took a step back, the ghoul falling lifeless off of his blade as his muscles started to seize.
Human Ghoul has been destroyed!
The chief was now paralyzed, having taken one too many wounds from the ghoul’s poisoned claws.
I was still injured, so I ordered my skeletons to hold off their attack as I cast Drain, siphoning the rest of the bandit’s health to heal my wounds.
Utter hatred filled his eyes until the end.
You have killed 4x Bandit Enforcer! You have gained 400xp!
You have killed 2x Bandit Archer! You have gained 100xp!
You have killed a Bandit Chief! You have gained 250xp!
CONGRATULATIONS! You have reached Level 13!
You have gained 2 Intelligence!
You have gained 3 Attribute points and 15 Skill points!
Your Hit Points, Mana, And Endurance pools have increased!
***
45
When the flash of bliss that accompanied leveling was over, I looked around the field at the carnage I had wrought and grinned, glancing down at the former bandit leader.
Seconds later the chief rose again, this time as a Zombie Warder. I cast Bind Minion, naming him Chief in honor of his former glory.
I ordered my new tank to hand over all of his valuables, collecting eleven gold in coin, a small iron key, three nicely cut aquamarines, and a magical throwing knife that I’d identify later.
I cursed when I found the gems since the window for capturing the bandit’s souls had long since expired.
I sent Chief over to Hoss’ remains to swap out his tattered leathers for the slightly less tattered bronze chain and plate and directed the rest of the squad to start piling the bandits in the center of the clearing.
While they played cleanup duty, I took a seat against a tree and opened up my character menu to spend the points from my new level.
The stat points went to the holy trinity of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Fortune as always. Then the five core skills got their due, leaving me with ten to round out the rest.
Getting skills up to rank ten was really a priority at this point, so I decided to aim for that. There were several c
andidates for the bump, but the spell I used the most was Cripple. I dumped five points into it, bringing it up to the magic number.
You have reached Rank 10 in the Cripple Spell!
This spell no longer requires a material component for its base function. Now, when the component is utilized, the spell gains the additional effect of reducing the target’s resistance to necromantic damage by 10%.
Dark Shield had saved me there at the end, so I decided to make that one of my core skills going forward and raised it to the cap for three points.
The final points I put in Create Undead and Drain. That one extra minion point would put me at sixteen, allowing me to run four ghouls at once for maximum carnage.
That complete, I reviewed my current stats.
<><><> General Info <><><>
Name: Kababala
Race: Kobold
Class: Necromancer
Level: 13
Experience: 11907/13700
<><><> Pools <><><>
Hit Points:78/78 [100%]
Mana:1972/1972 (2465) [100%]
Endurance:924/924 [100%]
<><><> Attributes <><><>
Strength:10
Agility:10(11)
Constitution:10
Intelligence:56(79)
Wisdom:27(37)
Charisma:10
Fortune:27
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Unused Attribute Points:0
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><> Racial Skills <><><>
Darkvision: N/A
Natural Weapons:1
Scavenger:13(15)
Stealth:1(2)
<><><> Class Skills <><><>
Cloth Armor:1
Dissection:13(15)
Necromancy:13
Simple Weapons:1
<><><> General Skills <><><>
Perception:3(11)
Survival:1
<><><> Spells <><><>
Aura of the Grave:1
Bind Minion:10
Control Undead:1
Cripple:10
Dark Blessing:11
Dark Shield:13
Drain:2
Mend Bone:2
Miasma:4
Necromantic Bolt:13
Psychometry:1
Rot:13
Create Undead:12
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Unused Skill Points:0
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><> Crafting Skills <><><>
Alchemy:1[0/500xp]
Herbalism:1 [0/200xp]
Mining:12(14) [2399/2400xp]
Runecraft:1 [0/500xp]
I smacked myself on the forehead as I read through my skills. I had completely forgotten about my new aura spell. That could have made things a bit easier, although might have gotten me killed since I would have needed to be closer to the fighting for it to work.
Continuing to read, I stared at my crafting skills. I hadn’t touched anything but Mining, and I still had a Cooking primer in my bag waiting to be used. The game had way too many things to do, and I wanted to do them all.
Originally, I wasn’t quite sure that I’d enjoy actually playing the game, but this was actually turning out to be pretty fun. It brought back memories of World of Warcrack and other MMOs I’d spent way too many nights playing in college, back when I had loads of free time.
I shook my head and chuckled. My minions had finished collecting the corpses, so I headed over and looted the pile. I collected all the coin and a few iron weapons that might be worth something and headed out with Chief in the lead.
We moved through the now abandoned camp and headed towards the main tent. My minions ripped open the smaller tents as we passed to make sure there were no enemies hiding within.
It was glad a good thing too. Tucked under one of the former bandit’s bedrolls was a small bag, shining with the telltale glow of something that could be salvaged.
I paused our advance and reached into the tent, collecting my bonus loot which turned out to be three vials, conveniently labeled as Agility potions. I tucked them away as we continued our venture to the leader’s tent.
I pushed aside the flap and heard a gasp from the left. The young woman was seated in the corner, her wrists bleeding from where she had tried to free herself from the iron shackles binding her. A thick chain connected the shackles to a large wooden stake driven deeply into the ground.
On the other side of the tent was a small wooden desk with a small chest resting on top, beckoning me with the promise of more loot.
I ignored the chest for the time being, approaching the merchant’s daughter with hands held out unthreateningly.
“Your father sent us to rescue you. We’ll have you home in no time,” I said to the girl, moving closer and holding out the key that I’d taken from the bandit leader.
Tears began streaming down the girl’s cheeks as she sobbed. “Th-thank you! That horrible man! He said he was taking me to m-m-marry someone and t-take my f-f-father’s business!”
I patted her arm gently, unsure if my clawed hands would be of any comfort but still compelled to try. “What’s your name?” I asked and used the key to unlock her shackles.
The next thing I knew she was clinging to me, sobbing into my robes. I awkwardly patted her on the back and let her get it all out until she calmed down and took a seat on the floor.
“My name is Dove,” she said, sniffling. “I was coming back from visiting my grandmother in Mountainside when they came out of nowhere! We only had a few guards, and they all died before they even knew what was happening.”
“And then they killed Mara too,” she said with a sob, breaking down once again and soaking the front of my robe with her tears.
Once she had calmed down, I headed over to the leader’s desk and opened the box. Inside was a stack of letters and a pouch containing two nicely cut emeralds. I opened the letter and started reading.
Derin,
Contained herein is partial payment for services rendered. Please deliver the package to the agreed upon location as soon as possible. The remainder of your payment will be rendered upon delivery.
VK
QUEST UPDATE: More Bandits!
You have rescued the Master Herrington’s daughter from her captors, destroying their little band. In the leader’s quarters you discovered a twist to the plot, revealing that the bandits had been hired to abduct the merchant’s daughter and deliver her to an unknown location.
Criteria: Deliver the letter and emeralds to Master Herrington (Optional)
Reward: Unknown
I warned the girl about my minions before we exited the tent, not wanting to scare her any further.
She seemed a bit shaken but handled it rather well. I led her through the woods and back towards Sommervale, keeping a watch on our surroundings.
The trek was relatively uneventful, and we made our way back to the city with only a few stops along the way for the girl to rest.
I dismissed my minions as we approached the gates, and Dove took the lead, guiding me towards her father’s home.
***
46
Dove’s father’s home would more accurately be described as a mansion. It was a huge, sprawling affair with several outbuildings, all enclosed within a small walled off estate on the northern edge of town.
She led the way through the main gate, each step gaining speed until she was running for the door, calling out for her father.
I had to sprint to keep up, taking at least two steps for each of the human girl’s.
The door opened as we reached the front stairs and an older man stepped out, his salt and pepper hair framing a hawkish face. His eyes widened when he saw Dove, whatever he’d been holding in his hands forgotten as he rushed forward to meet her with open arms and cried, “Little Bird!”
The girl dove into his arms and started weeping hysterically as she clung to his chest. I stood by awkwardly as the two wept, lost in their reunion.
When things settled down, the man glanced up and looked at me curiously. “Are you the one responsible for rescuing my Little Bird here?” he asked.
Dove looked up and pointed my way. “Daddy, this kobold came and killed all of the nasty bandits! Their leader said they were taking me away to be married so someone could take your business!”
The man got a thoughtful look on his face and beckoned for me to follow as he escorted his daughter back inside.
“Dove, why don’t you head upstairs and get cleaned up,” he said with a forced smile. “You look like you could use a nice bath with lavender oil right now. I know I sure could.”
The girl hugged her father again. “That does sound wonderful. A nice bath and my own bed. I think I could sleep for a week,” she said with a yawn and headed for the stairs where a woman dressed in servant’s garb waited to assist her.
When she was gone, Master Herrington let the smile slip. “Please accompany me to my study so we can discuss your reward,” he said and then led the way further into the house.
I looked around in wonder. Every room was full of fancy, and expensive looking furniture and artwork. Herrington was really rolling in the dough, and wasn’t afraid to show it.
His study was just as impressive. The walls were lined with shelves full of books and other curios. The centerpiece of the room was an intricately carved mahogany desk with chairs to match. He took a seat behind the desk and motioned for me to sit.
I settled in and sighed. Not only was the furniture beautiful, but it felt like sitting on a cloud.
Herrington gave me an appraising look. “Thank you for rescuing my little girl, adventurer. As promised, here is your reward,” he said in a serious tone, setting ten gold coins on the desk in front of me.
“What I don’t understand is all of this talk of marriage. Dove is only fourteen, and I won’t even consider requests to court her from the local boys, let alone marriage offers. And why would bandits even claim such a thing?”
Extra Credit Page 33