Extra Credit

by J. Arthur Klein

  I sighed as his rotting form jumped between me and the enraged orc and smiled when my Dark Shield was refreshed by an attentive Healz.

  Martin and Steve switched over to their mauls and were in the process of finishing off Banzai’s original target.

  As the zombie squared off with another orc, a cloud of darkness surrounded him and his damaged flesh knit itself back together under the tender ministrations of our Skeletal Magus.

  Two orcs were down with four remaining, and it was time to turn the tables on the foe.

  I pointed my staff at one of the fallen mountain orcs and used a charge of Greater Create Undead to raise it as a ghoul and sick it onto its brethren, its slavering form leaping onto the back of its former ally and biting through its neck to finish it off.

  I almost felt bad for the remaining three orcs as I set their former clanmate on their restrained forms and had my warriors fill them with arrows, ending the small orc party once and for all.

  You have killed 6x Mountain Orc Unblooded! You have gained 900xp!

  Unblooded…. Well, at least they were manageable. I looted the bodies, finding a bunch of relatively useless leather armor bits and crude weapons and some coin.

  I sent the ghoul deeper into the cave to scout a bit, and then started dissecting the bodies, liberating the skeletons from all but one body which I left intact.

  I called Healz over and removed my spells holding her together, severing the animation magic. I gathered the elven bones and then turned to the orc body that I’d saved to become her replacement.

  I set my minions up to defend from both directions and started casting Create Greater Undead, raising the orc as a wight fueled by the soul I’d collected from the gnoll commander.

  A few minutes later, a wight magus arose in its place. The orc’s ruddy skin and muscular form shrank as its flesh lost all color and turned dry and leathery.

  I bound the wight and named it Walker, since the thing now looked like the enemies from a popular TV show when I was young. I cast Dark Blessing and was surprised to see that it already had two spells of its own.

  The first was a short-range channeling spell called Mana Leech which would allow the wight to drain mana from its target. The other was Necromantic Bolt.

  It would be nice having another ranged DPS caster in the party, as well as a healer. I used Dark Blessing to imbue the wight with Mend Flesh and Bone and Dark Shield, giving it a good range of support as well as its innate offense.

  I handed the new wight a pile of my old caster armor and accessories and watched its mana pool grow.

  My party complete once again, I directed the wight to heal the remaining minions and headed deeper into the cave, finding a spot far enough from the surface to minimize the potential for mountain orc interruption.

  The cave went deeper into the earth, spiraling downwards before opening into a small room lined with broken and rotten racks containing the rusting remains of old mining picks and shovels.

  This must be the place, I thought.

  There were only two ways into the room, so I stationed Banzai and Chevy at one path and the other two amigos plus my ghoul at the other. I sat down and pulled out the Queen’s Domain potion and drank it down, letting my senses expand.

  A creeping sensation washed over my skin and my Perception split into a hundred separate views, tiled like I was in a Google hangout or old school Zoom call.

  Each of the viewpoints took off in different directions, following every pathway within the cave complex and filling out my minimap for the area. As the probing went deeper, I saw more and more undead roaming around, guarding a dwarven-looking ruin.

  Further and further they went, mapping out the entire cave system and then snapping back to my sitting body.

  I blinked away the remnants of the strange sensation and looked at my game map interface, seeing that the entire mine and the underlying dungeon were entirely mapped out, complete with notifications of what enemies could be found where. It was definitely worth the price.

  I found a section of the map that seemed promising for my mining operation, but there was a problem. Between my current location and the mine I wanted was another camp of orcs.

  My map showed three creatures, but I had no way of knowing what kind of orcs they were until I got close enough to see them with my own eyes.

  Better safe than sorry, I thought as I replaced the expended Undead Creation charge in my staff with one of Spectral Field. It was much harder for the enemy to murder your face if they were tied up in shadowy tentacles.

  I followed the tunnels deeper into the mine, senses alert for any wandering creatures the potion may have missed. As we neared the orc camp, I ordered my minions to halt and crept forward, making full use of my Stealth skill.

  Flickering torchlight from ahead forced my sight back into the visible light spectrum, and revealed the first of the mountain orcs.

  < Mountain Orc Berserker >

  I grimaced when its name appeared in yellow, but with my legion behind me I should be able to handle it.

  A quick peek revealed another two mountain orcs, both yellow as well but of a different variety.

  < Mountain Orc Warrior >

  The berserker had a pair of axes hanging from its belt while the others each carried wicked looking swords that looked just different enough from the orcish weaponry from the Lord of the Rings movies to avoid a copyright suit.

  I started to back away slowly, focusing on stealth but something must have given me away. The berserker stiffened and raised his porcine nose to sniff the air.

  A low growl emerged from his throat, and he turned in my direction, the other orcs soon joining him.

  I froze, hoping things might settle down. I was fully concealed in the darkness and I wasn’t making any noise. There was no wind to carry my scent to them either, so I hoped that whatever had set them on edge had nothing to do with me.

  After a moment the orcs seemed to calm down and I breathed a sigh of relief. The tunnel was barely wide enough for a Banzai to fit and I didn’t want the amigos to be out of the fight.

  I made my way back to my minions and prepared for the battle to come. I didn’t think we’d have trouble with three orcs. We had the numerical superiority, but any additional advantages would be good.

  Each minion got their own Dark Shield and, after regenerating my mana, I activated Aura of the Grave and moved us towards the orcs as quickly as Banzai’s rotting form could jog

  The orcs must have heard us coming as they met us in the tunnel. The berserker snarled and started to foam at the mouth as he charged, a soft red glow emanating from his muscles as his speed seemed to double.

  My ghoul rushed forward at my command. I hoped the fast moving undead could stall the orcs long enough for the rest of my minions to push into the room, but with a casual flick of its axe, the orc separated the ghoul’s head from its body and continued its charge undeterred.

  I ordered Banzai to drive through the berserker. We needed to get out of the corridor and into the room to give the amigos room to fight.

  Banzai intercepted the berserker’s charge with his shield and pressed the orc backwards. Even the berserker’s enhanced strength was not enough to resist the fully armored gnoll zombie’s momentum.

  We burst into the room, Chevy and Martin taking the flanks while Steve and Walker stayed in the backfield with me.

  I put Walker on healer duty as Steve pulled out his bow and took aim at one of the orcish warriors.

  The berserker’s frenzy had only increased since his encounter with the battering ram that was Banzai, and he seemed to be gaining in power as the fight progressed.

  I hit the glowing orc with Cripple, the cracking of the spell’s leg bone component accompanied by a pulse of magic that slowed the rabid creature and lowered its resistance to necromantic damage.

  Martin and Chevy each engaged a warrior, barely surviving the blows of the orc’s massive swords due to Walker’s healing.

  A glance at the
wight’s mana bar showed he couldn’t keep it up much longer, so I ordered Steve to switch to melee and help out his brothers.

  I cast Rot on the berserker and then Miasma, spreading the afflictions to the rest of the orcs and then switched to Necromantic Bolts.

  With this many minions up my mana pool was already hurting, and the rapid fire debuffs really did a number on the rest.

  The berserker, even slowed and rotting, was like an avatar of destruction. Banzai’s shield had been reduced to a wooden ruin and the zombie wasn’t much better. The massive zombie’s health was below half, but at least the berserker wasn’t in any better condition.

  A crack to my left drew my attention as Martin scored a massive blow to his opponent’s face, knocking him stunned to the floor.

  I ordered him to finish the creature off, but as his maul smashed down a glowing red shield appeared, intercepting the blow.

  Instead of caving in the orc’s chest, the skeleton’s own chest glowed to match the shield and caved in. Martin’s health bar dropped to zero and he collapsed into a pile of ruined bones and armor.

  Orc Skeleton (Martin) has been destroyed! Your bound mana has been returned!

  “What the hell!” I yelled as my mana pool jumped.

  A fourth orc shimmered into existence near the back of the room, this one clad in furs bedecked with gruesome of bone talismans. Its name came up white.

  < Mountain Orc Bonecaller >

  I cursed and sent a bolt in the newcomer’s direction and scoring a hit that dropped its health by a decent chunk.

  Chevy and Steve finished off their opponent and turned on the berserker who’d managed to reduce Banzai to ruin.

  I cursed and cast my repair spell on the zombie, instructing the wight to switch targets, draining the orcish caster instead.

  The downed warrior regained its feet and moved to help its raging companion, chopping into Steve’s back with a mighty blow of its blade, dropping the skeletal warrior to a sliver of health.

  I started to dismiss him back to dormancy but a savage backhand from the berserker ended him before I had the chance.

  Orc Skeleton (Steve) has been destroyed! Your bound mana has been returned!

  Banzai lashed out to take advantage of the berserker’s distraction and cut deeply into the orc’s forearm, nearly severing its hand.

  Cursing I blasted the injured warrior with another Necromantic Bolt, scoring a critical hit that sent it scrambling to be met by an avenging blow from Chevy’s maul.

  Two down, two to go.

  The wight closed on the bonecaller and raised his hands. Tentacles of blackness shot out of his fingertips and collided with a glowing barrier around the orcish caster, scrambling over the transparent dome and attempting to find purchase.

  The bonecaller flashed a chilling smile, pulled a fetish from his furs, and tossed it onto the ground at the wight’s feet.

  The small object skidded across the stone and then burst into a cloud of purple energy that engulfed the wight.

  When the cloud disappeared, all that was left was an unanimated corpse that toppled to the ground.

  Orc Wight (Walker) has been dispelled! Your bound mana has been returned!

  A flash of red in my periphery drew my attention back to Banzai’s health bar as it dipped below ten percent. The berserker koala hugging my tank, the jagged bone of its mangled wrist embedded in the zombie’s chest and its teeth sunk into his rotting shoulder.

  I didn’t have time to cast healing and didn’t want to lose my main meat shield so I dismissed the minion, sighing as he disappeared and dropped the berserker to the ground. Chevy was quick to take advantage of the opening and caved in the orc’s chest with a meaty crunch.

  Gnoll Zombie (Banzai) has been dismissed! Your bound mana has been returned!

  I looked back towards the orc just in time to catch a spear of bone to the stomach, losing a third of my health bar as the magical projectile blasted through my Dark Shield and pierced my flesh.

  Clenching my jaw against the pain, I directed Chevy to attack the caster and quaffed a healing potion.

  The skeleton smashed his maul into the bonecaller’s shield, crashing through the barrier and knocking the orc backwards, but before he could follow up on the attack, the caster tore another talisman from its furs and tossed it at the skeleton’s feet.

  Orc Skeleton (Chevy) has been dispelled! Your bound mana has been returned!

  I snarled and smashed the bonecaller with another Necromantic Bolt, dropping it down to twenty percent as I dodged its answering Bone Spear, barely avoiding being skewered.

  Mid-leap I blindly shot the Spectral Field from my staff in the orc’s direction, barely catching it within the spell’s area to minimal effect.

  The purple tendrils wrapped around the caster but couldn’t seem to find purchase, leaving the enemy free to move unhindered.

  I growled and regained my feet, glaring at the grinning bonecaller.

  I started casting another Necromantic Bolt to wipe that smug look off of the bastard’s face but he finished his spell first.

  A rush of force washed across the room and swept up the fallen bones of my minions, transforming them into a solid mass that wrapped itself around my body, trapping me up in a cocoon that left only my head free.

  You have been affected by Bone Prison! You are imprisoned!

  Well, shit, I thought, unable to move my arms, legs, or tail.

  I triggered my cloak, but instead of teleporting free I was met with a very unwelcome message.

  Mistwalk failed! Bone Prison prevents all type of movement.

  The orc chuckled again and limped in my direction, saying something distinctly unpleasant sounding in some language I didn’t understand.

  I struggled against the prison, trying unsuccessfully to break free of the bones of my former minions.

  The orc pulled an ornately carved bone knife from within his furs and started chanting, the runes on the blade glowing more brightly by the second.

  The shaman only had about twenty percent health left. I’d almost had him. Another bolt probably would have done it too.

  I snarled and bared my teeth. Screw this guy. I thought. I’m not going out like this. No stupid orc is going to gut me like a pig. I’ll bite his face off before I let him ruin this for my family.

  The orc shuffled closer, almost within range of my teeth. The glow of the dagger was bright enough to rival the light of the torches in the room, brighter than the light of the fire.

  FIRE! I thought, baring my teeth in a wide smile that caused the orc to pause for a second in confusion before raising the knife to strike.

  I’m a motherfucking dragon, bitches! I thought and triggered my racial ability, breathing a cone of dragonfire right into the bonecaller’s face.

  It screamed as its flesh began to melt, stumbling away from my fiery onslaught. I kept my breath weapon trained on it and watched as its health bar drained down to nothing.

  You have killed a Mountain Orc Berserker! You have gained 250xp!

  You have killed 2x Mountain Orc Warriors! You have gained 300xp!

  You have killed a Mountain Orc Bonecaller! You have gained 200xp!

  I sighed as my breath ran out, leaving me exhausted… and still imprisoned.

  It took another four minutes for the spell to wear off, the force holding the bones in place disappearing suddenly.

  I pulled myself out of the pile, kicking the traitorous skulls of the amigo’s out of the way before rushing over to the caster’s corpse and trapping his soul in one of my better gems.

  Looting the bodies yielded a few coins and some shoddy weaponry which I tossed to the side. It wasn’t even worth lugging around in hopes of selling. The bones of the warriors and berserker though, those were welcome additions to my collection.

  I had to repair the berserker’s wrist, but once that was done it was primed and ready to replace an amigo. I tucked the rest of the components I’d harvested from the berserker and warriors in with
the rest of my loot and handed the meat to Banzai to devour once he’d reformed.

  The corpse that had been my wight was no longer fit for any type of service, so I stripped him of my caster gear and left him to rot.

  Once my mana recovered, I used the bonecaller’s body to replace the wight it had poofed, keeping the name Walker, assigning him the same skills with Dark Blessing, and equipping him with my old caster gear.

  None of the trinkets on the orc’s furs had been magical, so I tossed them and the rest of the trinkets into the corner with the rest of the refuse.

  I raised the three melee skeletons to replace the amigos, keeping the names and skill loadouts. It took a little time to rebuild and reequip my legion, but I didn’t want to go further into the mine without them at full strength.

  With the final (I hoped) obstacle between me and my goals eliminated, I headed out.

  Luck was with me and I reached my intended dig site with no further issues, pulled out my journeyman’s pan, and got to work.

  Mining Skill Check (Mineralogy) Success! Iron Identified!

  Mining Skill Check (Prospecting) Success! You have gained 25 Mining XP!

  My minimap had quite a number of Iron Ore veins marked out, so without any time to waste, I summoned Gimli and got to work. The sound of picks hitting stone ringing throughout the cave system attracted some attention from the enemies below.

  Occasionally, a wandering zombie from the dungeon below would be drawn towards the sounds of mining, or maybe it was the life-force that still beat in my living chest that called to them. Either way, the one or two that did make it all the way to our current work site were easily dispatched.

  First, I’d attempt to control them, and if successful would have them attack their allies, or stand perfectly still while the other minions put it out of its misery.

  Even with the interruptions, I made good progress, and at the end of the eight-hour test run, I had gathered over thirty-two hundred iron ore and forty-nine uncut sapphires.

  Each iron bar was currently priced around three gold, so with smelting times, the auction house’s cut, and the willingness of the playerbase to purchase, I’d brought in just under two hundred and fifty dollars’ worth of iron during the current session.