Besides, it wouldn’t be wise to stay. She had friends not far behind. One of them had already caught up, but thankfully she seemed more interested in tending to the big-breasted elf than in attacking me. So, I made my quick escape.
I made it back to Mac and sealed the hatch behind me. Luckily the cleaning-obsessed AI hadn’t gotten to polishing the outside until it sparkled, and it still blended in reasonably well with the surrounding stone while the door was closed.
“Mac, there were elves down there.”
[Elves. Oh great. First you convince me to go to an elven brothel and now you drag me into a world where I’m stuck with the damnable things.]
“I lost both my weapons. No more bronze spear, and I’m stuck with half an iron sword. It will take we weeks to repair this thing.”
[I can give you another set of plastic blades. I think I’ve made the design a bit better this time around.]
I shook my head. “Save the points. We’re going to run low soon as it is. Oh, not everything was a waste though.” I reached into the pockets of my now thoroughly worn out pants. Out of one pocket I pulled a crushed beetle and out of the other I pulled the piece of crystal.
“Ah! Perfect. Let’s give those things a try. You should be getting a pop up any second now…”
Resources detected. Dismantle for points? Yes / No
I selected yes, and the two items vanished from my hands. “What’s the haul?” I asked Mac. His voice was no longer echoing through my head now that I was within the ship and able to talk in person.
“Twenty points for the crystal and twelve for the bug. Would have been more if the shell was intact. It brings your total up to one-twenty-four.”
I nodded appreciatively. “That’s actually really good, considering that you can make a plastic shield for what? Half a point? And simple tools for even less. It might be enough for me to risk going down there with a bucket and trying to grab a few dozen of those bugs.”
“Yes, maybe. Although I should point out that with the basic mana generator up and running, The Wanderer has massively increased its passive resources generation system. We now get a new one about once a day, and I speculate things will only increase from here.”
“Oh, speaking of, have any new options popped up now that we’ve repaired the command center?”
“Lots! There’re all sorts of things we can buy, take a look for yourself!”
Smith’s Workshop [200 points]
Personal Chambers [100 points]
Hydroponic farm [300 points]
Dimensional storage [200 points]
Alchemist’s Laboratory [200 points]
Medical Bay [400 points]
“Smith’s Workshop seems like it would be quite useful to us right now.”
[I know.] Mac said sadly. [As much as I’d like to have access to the many cleaning solvents that could be provided by an alchemist’s laboratory, I understand your fixation on metal. It makes sense that you’d have metal envy. After all, you humans are born with just a bit of iron in your blood and little else.]
“Haha, I assure you, I’m not jealous of the fact that you occupy a tiny immobile box.”
[Mind over body, my fleshy minion.] Mac said.
I spent a bit more time keeping Mac company before hunger forced me to leave. I wanted to be certain that the elves wouldn’t track me back to my camp.
I looked at the only one I could afford. “What will Personal Chambers give us?”
[Mostly what it sounds like.] Mac answered. [It’s a room with a bed and a closet. It comes with a few sets of clothes, although nothing spectacular. All these rooms require additional improvements before they become really interesting. Based on the files I’ve been reading, if you invested a few thousand points into Personal Chambers upgrades, you could build a bedroom fit for an emperor!]
“So just buying the room doesn’t give us the whole kit. It just makes room for additional upgrades. That figures. What about the medical bay and dimensional storage?”
[The medical bay is fairly highly priced, but it starts out with more than just basic supplies like the Smith’s Workshop. You get a rudimentary medical drone capable of keeping you alive through any reasonable injury. It won’t grow back any limbs but it will be able to keep you from bleeding out. Provided you can get to it soon enough.]
[As for the Dimensional Storage? I’m particularly interested in seeing that in action as well. From what I understand, this ship doesn’t move through any propulsion mechanism. Rather, it travels entirely through folding and weaving its way across space time. The Dimensional Storage room is a more utilitarian application of this ability. It’s simply a room with folds in space that allow you to store vast amounts of materials in a tiny space. Apparently there’s even an upgrade that will allow you to keep a tiny portal on your person, so you can store items on board the ship without even having to visit in person.]
Eventually I was ready to leave. I wasn’t willing to throw my points away on unlocking the Personal Chambers, though I was tempted to. I’d ended up shattering one of the glass cylinders that seemed more disposable. Now that more of them were growing like plants I didn’t feel so bad about breaking them. With Mac’s 3D printing skills, we made a decent glass-tipped short spear and a short dagger. I still had the lower half of the iron short sword I’d made before in its sheath as well. I figured I’d grind it down and make it into a knife.
Camp was just as I left it. I looked around, but I wasn’t the best tracker. It didn’t seem like there were any footprints beyond my own.
Eventually, I made my way to my fish traps and got some food. I’d start panning for more metals tomorrow and make one last dive to collect a few blue beetles. Mac assured me that he hadn’t seen a group of armed elves like that during any of his previous scans. It was probable that I’d just gotten very unlucky by running into them.
Still, the place where I met them wasn’t too far from the Mac’s location in the cave system, so I’d like to seal that area off if possible.
***
I was getting a bit of work done collecting more magnetite when I heard a rustle in some nearby leaves. I was still on my guard from the confrontation with the elves early that morning, so I dropped the prospector’s pan instantly and reached for my weapons.
Nothing happened. I waited and listened, but I heard nothing but the ordinary sounds of the forest.
I shrugged and went back to work. Or rather, I pretended to go back to work. In reality, I was keeping a close eye on the brush just on the other side of the creek.
There was another similar sound to my right, and I turned to take a closer look. Maybe a thrown stone? That was a mistake. The moment I was facing away from the brush, a purple-haired leaf-clad figure leapt from the undergrowth and soared clear into the air. It was a jump I wouldn’t have thought possible for anyone who wasn’t an Olympic athlete, but this elf managed it with ease.
She was smaller and lither than the blue-haired ones, and her face was covered in dark green paint to obscure her features. Her hair had twigs and leaves woven through it, but its deep purple color was still the easiest thing about her to make out.
The purple haired elf threw something at me. Some sort of dart it looked like. Luckily, I was still feeling paranoid and so had kept the shield Mac had printed up for me close at hand. The dart sunk into the big round piece of plastic rather than my flesh.
That’s when I noticed she wasn’t the only attacker I had. She had a partner flanking my other side, and this one was wielding something that looked like a net. She threw it at me expertly, spinning the net as she threw it, so the weights would spread out and entangle me. The string was light and coarsely woven, way too big to catch a fish but plenty tight enough to trap me. Clearly, it had been made with the intention of catching people.
I dodged as best I could, holding my shield up high to keep me from being completely entangled. I was partially successful, as most of the net trailed on the ground at my left. I wasn’t completely fr
ee though, and I still had to waste precious seconds reaching over with my right hand to pull the net off me. Untangling myself cost me precious seconds, which the elves used to close the distance between me and them.
One of them was wielding a piece of that gray, metallic wood. I recognized it as the same material those blue-haired elves favored for their weapons. The other elf had two fist-fulls of darts clutched in her hands like ninja stars. Both of my assailants were young and incredibly attractive. I was beginning to suspect that the vast majority of elves were beautiful, feminine creatures.
This purple-haired bunch fought differently from the blue-haired ones. They were less aggressive but trickier fighters. This was reflected in their slimmer, more agile build. Where the blue-haired elves had been muscular Amazons, this purple haired bunch was lithe and thin. Unfortunately, they were faster than me, and weren’t engaging me directly. I couldn’t use my iron blade on them, especially considering the vastly shortened length. By the looks of their coordinated movements, they were trained and practiced at this sort of thing. This was a bad match up and I didn’t dare hope I could beat them in a fair fight.
“Mac! I’m in a bit of a rough spot here!”
There was a moment of static before the AI answered.
[What’s the issue? I’m in between scans right now, give me a minute and I can fire another one off.]
“I don’t have a minute Mac! I’m under attack. Two elves snuck up on me, different from the ones in the caverns below, but they must have spread word somehow. I’m beginning to suspect that these elves aren’t very friendly to strangers. Do you have anything I can use?”
[Hold on. I’m scanning through The Wanderer’s files. There’s got to be something in here about combat… Ahah! Here’s something! It says as the owner of this vessel you should have access to the local magic!]
“Avada Kedavra!” I shouted out loud. Nothing happened. “Nothing is happening Mac!” I replied anxiously.
[Not that kind of magic! I’m looking for instructions… okay, it looks like it has something to do with zeal floating around in the air. You use your will to gain control of it, then you weave it into spells.]
“Focus… and make spells. I can do this.” I whispered to myself, trying my best to make magic happen. If only this were a video game, then I’d be able to just press a button and make it happen. An idea came to me, and in that instant I was greeted by another message. My excitement built, until I read the messages contents.
Error. You do not have the prerequisite skills or spellheart to use the Fireball spell.
Damn it! I guess I’d just have to do this the physical way.
I blocked another two darts, which forced to block my own vision with my shield. That’s when a tricky dart came in from below, hitting me in the leg. Luckily there was enough cloth left in my ragged pants to turn the dart into a scratch instead of letting it sink deep into my flesh.
The other elf wasn’t idle while this was happening. Having gotten rid of her net, she pulled out something that looked like a willow branch with thorns. She had a vicious gleam in her eye as she cracked it in the air, and I only just managed to block it with my shield.
I backed up to the tree where I’d set my glass-tipped spear. I should have brought it with me to the riverbank, but it was still hear by.
I turned and ran, which exposed my back to both the whip and a dart. The whip cracked against the plastic armor Mac had made, which kept it from doing any real damage. The dart on the other hand managed to weave its way through the mesh of plastic and sink into my left shoulder blade. Instantly, I felt a numbing sensation spread to cover that entire area. They elf must have been using poisoned tips.
I ignored the feeling as best I could, though I would definitely have some lost control over my shield. I picked up my spear and started getting more aggressive with my counter attack. I could feel the poison making my body sluggish, so time was against me.
I dove forward with my spear, lunging downward. The whip-wielder realized that she wouldn’t be able to block my spear with her whip and dropped the weapon in favor of the gray wooden sword she’d been wielding before. She tried to parry my sword but was far too slow.
My spear landed directly in the middle of her bare stomach, piercing her flesh and sending droplets of blood spilling to the ground. The elf fell to her knees, clutching at her belly with an expression of shock on her face.
“Eltiana!” came a cry from the distance. There was another elf who had been there, not too far away. I hadn’t seen him thus far because he stayed back, but this one seemed a great deal more masculine than the other elves, though by human standards he’d still be considered effeminate. The look on his face was not like the others. There was no lusty expression there. Only contempt, followed by rage. He reached to his hip, where a large wooden crossbow rested by his feet, already strung with a wicked looking purple-tipped bolt.
He brought the crossbow to his shoulder and stared me down through the sights. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the dart-thrower ready to throw her last three darts, but I ignored her. I was already poisoned, so dealing with more of those darts was lower priority than dealing with the crossbow wielder. Based on the thickness of those limbs and the size of those bolts, that weapon was built for punching holes the girth of my arm. Those bolts would be the end of me if I got shot.
I brought my shield up just in time to block the wicked looking shaft as it spiraled through the air. My shield held strong, for a moment. While Mac’s plastic couldn’t hold an edge, it was tough stuff. Tougher than an equivalent sheet of hardwood. Even so, this crossbow cut just to the left of the thick dome in the center of the shield and embedded itself into my left forearm. I was just barely able to see the tip of the crossbow bolt sticking out the other side.
Damn it. My arm had only just healed from the rat bite.
I had to act quickly before he could get another shot off. I ran up to the dart throwing elf and tried to slash at her with my sword, but she was too quick. She ducked under my blade and slid between my legs only to emerge behind me, where she planted four more of her remaining darts in my shoulder.
Clearly, she’d expected that to take me down, but I was able to shrug off the effects off the effects of whatever it was she’d injected into me. Thanks to that, I was able to swat her in the side of the head with the back of my spear. She collapsed to the ground, seemingly unconscious, though likely she just had a bad enough concussion that she’d be too dizzy to stand back up.
The elf with the crossbow nearly had his blade loaded and ready. I wasn’t going to reach him before he’d have the chance to fire. Not unless I slowed him down.
I hopped on one leg, heaving with my body and shoulder. I threw my spear like a javelin, and it soared through the air. Its course stayed true, until it embedded itself in the shoulder of the male elf.
Unlike my metal sword, the bronze tip on the spear did not cause the elf searing agony. As the spear impacted his shoulder, he grunted in pain. I would have expected him to collapse immediately from the weight of my weapon sticking out of him, but he stood firm. Even wounded as he was, he had just finished cocking his crossbow and loosed his bolt at me. I’d been closing the distance, and I was already far too close to dodge. In a panic, I thrust my broken sword at his harm to throw the bolt off course, but the elf still managed to pull the trigger a moment before I took his hand off with my broken sword. The iron passed through the elf’s wrist far easier than I’d expected, but the crossbow bolt still hit my thigh, passing most of the way out the other side.
This time the pain was even more excruciating than the one in my forearm. Maybe it was just because I’d grow accustomed to having that particular limb pierced to the bone, or maybe the one in my leg hit a particularly important spot. In any case, I needed medical attention soon.
Still, I managed to bring my broken sword up a final time and cut the male elf’s throat. He collapsed to the ground with a whimper, and as he did, his body started to age
visibly before my eyes.
In seconds, he became nothing but dust, which blew away in the wind. In the place where he’d been standing was a finger-sized wisp of light, glowing the same deep shade of purple as the dead elf’s hair.
Enemy defeated. 125 points awarded.
The wisp orbited the site of the elf’s death for a few minutes before drifting off over the creek.
I grabbed the crossbow and tossed some of the other elf’s clothes over my shoulder. I’d need every scrap of cloth to bandage my new wounds soon. If I didn’t collapse from the pain or bleed out in the next few minutes.
With reserves of strength I didn’t know I had, I plucked the darts from my leg out and all the ones I could reach from my back.
The numbing feeling stopped spreading, but by that point I wondered if I was better with that anesthetic than without it. If I was feeling this much pain despite the effects of whatever drug had been in the darts, surely, I’d have long since collapsed into unconsciousness without them.
Slowly, I trod over to the dart-throwing elf. She’d since clambered to her feet and was desperately doing chest-compressions on the dying elf I’d stabbed in the stomach. Her hands and clothes were covered in blood and she had tears in her eyes.
I held out my iron sword and moved towards her. She scrambled back but was obviously still disoriented from my blow to her head as she quickly collapsed to the ground.
I lifted my good leg and pressed my foot against her stomach, pinning her to the ground. She was a quick one, but not nearly as strong as the blue-haired elf I’d fought before. Now that I had her at my mercy, she was practically helpless.
Logic said I should slit her throat. If she lived, whoever sent these elves would know where I was. And it wasn’t like issues between me and whatever group she belonged to could just be peacefully resolved now. Even if the other female elf lived, which was unlikely, the male elf had clearly been killed by my hand. That wasn’t something that their group was likely to let go of easily. Sparing an enemy today would mean I wouldn’t be safe in this area any longer, since they were certain to come back.
Zeal of the Mind and Flesh Page 8