Bandits Folly

Quest description: Bandit Bob tells you about a hidden tomb deep in the Dark Forest. The tomb belonged to a very influential man, who right before death – ordered the construction of the eternal resting place. Many say, that he hid most of his valuables there, together with his own remains. Help Bob reach the end of the dungeon - Tomb of Borelus.

Difficulty level: C

Requirements: At least 50 negative reputation. Intimacy with Bob the bandit.

Reward: Unknown.

Penalty for failure: Relations with the local bandits will be significantly reduced.

Penalty for refusing: Bob won’t hang out with you anymore. Intimacy will be lost. Relations with local bandits will be reduced by 20.

A quest from bandits! Wail struck gold. His mother once told him, that those that don’t give up will eventually be rewarded. A moment of truth has finally arrived.

“Of course, I’ll gladly help you with this venture!” – He quickly replied, without giving it much thought. A wide, rotten smile plastered on the face.

Quest accepted!

+10 Fame.

“But you’ll have to share the loot with me, buddies” – He soon added, giving a friendly nudge with his elbow to the nearest bandit. As a bonus, he even added a few cliché winks.

Intimacy with the bandits reduced.

…

Wail should have known. Their strong bond came from a common interest or purpose - greed for money and power. Luckily, things didn’t fall apart and the bandits agreed. Though his attempts at breaking the ice failed, which did make him slightly sad. Socializing is hard even with computer programs.

Bob and his bandits have joined your party:

All experience gained will be shared

Current experience gain from kills made by you or your party members – 20%

*Leadership increased by 5

*Charisma increased by 1

*Luck increased by 1

*Intimacy with the bandit group slightly increased.

Now that the bandits joined his party, Wail would be getting reduced experience gain, which was quite a shock. But! His new colleagues were the same or even of a higher level, than Wail. Which in turn meant that the speed at which creatures full of delicious experience could be hunted, will increase. A lot.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Thus while on the way to the dungeon, Wail made sure to thoroughly clean up the neighborhood.

High intimacy, 16 Leadership and similar levels - Wail could order around his new lackeys with barely a single dissatisfied grunt thrown at his direction. Due to all that – new opportunities opened up. Larger wolf packs. Spider nests. Groups of your generalized killable monsters.

Spider nests were particularly fun to attack for Wail, since he simply set it on fire and watched the spreading inferno. Previously - when he tried something like that, the escaping spiders almost overwhelmed poor Wail and he barely escaped alive. Now? His beloved meat-shields successfully managed to hold off any escaping spiders. Though how the situation didn’t turn into a large forest-fire was beyond Wail. By now, he speculated that the game had some sort of an environment protection program initiated. Just so that the players wouldn’t destroy the whole continent. Power was a hard thing to manage after all. Especially to frustrated, awkward people who could not or would not fit in with their peers or the world in general. Of course, that sounded absolutely nothing like Wail.

Due to all that, the inevitable happened…

Due to constantly tormenting your foes with wide-area fires, you have learned a new skill!

Inferno – Beginner level 1 (0.00%)

Description: Sets fire to a large area, dealing fire-damage and lowering the morale of anyone caught in its blazing fury.

Base area damage – 25-40

Damage over time – 10 damage/sec

Mana cost – 70

Casting time – 5 seconds.

Cooldown – 15 seconds.

*Damage increased by 3% due to Wisdom.

*Mana cost reduced by 4% due to Intellect.

*Casting time reduced by 4% due to Intellect.

Again, Wail’s hard worked paid off. He got a new skill without spending a single dime. Not only that, but quite a useful one as well. His “Fire Mastery” and “Fireball” finally reached intermediate level as well. The instant bonuses both spells got were extraordinary. First of all – Fire mastery got an increase in damage by 10% and a reduction in mana cost by 5%. Fireball on the other hand got quite a chunk of bonus damage, with reduced casting time, increased over-time effect. Only good things seemed to be happening after joining the bandits.

As the party neared a mountainous area – every now and then they encountered small groups of goblins. Ugly little things - green skin, bloodlust beady eyes, disgusting bald mugs for heads. They were short little creatures, only half the size of Wail. Usually with no armor and crudely made weapons – mostly made out of stone and wood. Though every now and then they carried around weapons stolen from humans or other players. Surely, if they knew how to use those weapons properly, they might prove quite dangerous.

Some would say - them running around half-naked was already something dangerous, in a different manner. Cases of temporary blindness have been recorded.

It was local knowledge, that goblins only posed a real threat when in large numbers. Groups of three-four level 42 goblins barely slowed Wail down.

By now, the average level of the group was 45. Wail was level 48 already, with Bob just one number behind. Things were going really well. Too well, the fearless leader was starting to feel uncomfortable.

“This is the place, the entrance should be somewhere here” – Bob suddenly said, as he ran to a cliff-side, carefully feeling the rock, like some sexual deviant. Of course, unsurprisingly, Bob found what he’s been looking for – a hole.

“Here, found the keyhole. We’re a few steps away from being rich!” – He continued, while taking out a small silver key.

“Wait!” – Wail suddenly stopped Bob – “Surely, before entering such a dangerous place, we must first rest up. After all, big challenges should best be taken while in top condition, don’t you agree?” – He asked the group, eyeing everyone with absolutely honest concern. Straining his acting abilities to the maximum.

Suspicion took hold, as the bandits exchanged a few unsteady glances. Luckily, the high intimacy and bond of trust Wail managed to build up prevailed.

“Dang, you’re right. Let’s build a bonfire and rest up. You better share some of that bread with us again!” – Bob replied with a laugh, followed by the positive mumbling of his fellow criminal.

Success!

The truth of the matter – Wail needed to get some sleep. He’s been online for at least 8 hours real-time, now. If the dungeon is indeed unexplored as he guessed, staying online for another 42 hours, to reap as much benefit as possible - would be simply insane. Even he didn’t have that in him. Thus regrettably - he decided to log off, after bitterly giving his fellow outlaws one loaf of bread each.

Wail didn’t mind sharing his food, but if he squandered his fortune like air, he’d be broke before the day was over. One loaf might cost just 2 coppers, but he already gave away 5 loafs. That’s 10 coppers. Until now – that wasn’t an issue. But! He was forced to give away another 5. That’s 20 copper coins overall – the loss was pilling up. Wail was walking on thin ice.

With these thoughts in mind, he disappeared from Alternative Reality and came back to his small, dark apartment. Preparations were needed. Luke felt excited.