-Layer I-
-THE SHIFTING SANDS-
Marius
The snapping jaws of the little critter swiped down at him while he held it between his hands, feeling its long, scaled mouth cut into the soft flesh of his palms.
He was pinned here. His final moments of life were to be as meat for some yipping desert spider-crocodile that he couldn’t even inspect properly. He’d just been thrown in this shitty pit, and he was going to die as a level one Thief.
Even for Marius, such shame was too much to bear.
Then, feeling the thing’s barbed tongue flick out and scratch a gash in his cheek, his arms began to fail him. The thing’s teeth got closer and closer, till he could smell the putrid breath of its last victim oozing from its black throat.
Then, he saw it.
Dangling just underneath the thing’s abdomen – there they were: the family jewels, just as scaly and barbed as the rest of the thing’s body. He was no expert on the anatomy of the Everloftians, but he was going to hazard a guess that a dick meant this thing was a male. And there was one source of pain that could debilitate any male. Anywhere. Always. Since the beginning of time itself.
Sorry pap, he thought. You always taught me to fight fair. But, eh, when the chips are down…
He breathed in and diverted all the energy he had left to his right leg. Then he brought his boot up and kicked out, hard, at the dangling crocodilian groin. The creature’s maw flew to the heavens, and a shrill cry escaped from its throat. Just because it had pissed him off, he kicked it again and it fell to the side, kicking up sand and dirt.
Its balls aching with pain, it kept screaming, kicking its legs into the air as though it were stabbing some unseen specter. Marius wasn’t sticking around to watch - he quickly regained his footing and proceeded to sprint down the desert dunes towards the mouth of the dark cave he had found. A confined space was better than the open desert, where evidently any tremor was liable to attract these little fuckers.
But the creature was not done yet. He felt it on his tail almost instantly as he started running, and felt himself unconsciously begin to quicken his pace.
Hasty Retreat Activated
He suddenly felt his feet move faster than his body had been able to move on the surface world. To his horror they started to blur and practically disappear – becoming merely a mass of sand grains flying passed his torso. He looked behind him and saw the creature struggling to catch up. But still it came on, relentless in its pursuit.
He dove for the cave and found that, just at the moment of his leap, a sudden instinct took over his consciousness. A vision of the same blazing black font he’d seen just moments ago flashed quickly past his eyes.
Uncanny Danger Sense Activated
He then saw himself falling down a gaping pit just within the mouth of this cave – and even saw his own bloodied, mangled corpse lying at the bottom of this hole, left as meat for more of the crocodile-spiderlings.
And within this same vision swam his salvation: naturally growing vines that dropped from the ceiling of the chasm.
He then returned to reality and reached out a hand in the darkness of the cave, feeling the ground disappear under him.
He found a vine and gripped both hands round it tight.
It stretched beyond what boundaries should have been possible, but it held, and he was now dangling just above his death.
His little pursuer had no such qualms about self-preservation. It leaped with all its strength towards him and then suddenly found itself falling, its legs scrabbling in the dark cave’s esophagus, while Marius watched it fall. Finally, its life ended with a blood spattering thud.
Marius looked down as he dangled precariously over the mouth of the chasm.
"Look mate," he shouted down. "I’d hate to die with sore balls. But that’s karma for you! Better you than me."
Then once again a blinding light assailed his vision, and more information buzzed into his brain:
Crocharachnid (infant) vanquished
+10 EXP
"Hah!" he laughed. "That’s more like it, Everloft. You’ve rewarded me for a skillful strike at my opponent's unmentionables. But, come on, why do you keep making me sound like such a scoundrel? The kid came at me, I didn't want to kill him."
The only answer he got was the skittering of more of the creatures below him as they approached their fallen comrade. With a sneer of derision, Marius watched them consume the entire body of the dead creature with the exception of its jaw – evidently its serrated rows of teeth did not provide a delectable meal.
He felt the vine begin to give way, and decided that his best bet was to swing himself as far as he could towards the ledge he had stumbled over. Clearly this was no place for him.
As he swayed from side to side he started thinking: how the hell did those other rubes from the carriage make it past this? Was it possible the Everloft had spat them out at different spots around its First Layer?
And as usual, he’d just drawn the short end of the stick.
He stretched out a grimy hand to reach at the rocky ledge and was just about to make it when the vine snapped above him. He let out a scream as he tumbled down, trying to slow himself on the side of the jagged chasm wall and find a foothold.
Success! His feet managed to slow his descent and find a small stalactite to balance himself on. To his surprise, he found himself adept at maintaining his stance atop the tiny outcropping. It was like his body suddenly knew, on instinct, just how to shift his body weight, keeping his arms out to achieve the perfect equilibrium.
His list of ‘attributes’ flashed through his mind again, and he found himself drawn to the ‘Reflexes: '20’ entry. Evidently, this governed his movement and nimbleness. He supposed it made sense for a thief to be dexterous in nature.
But how the hell does it help me against an army like that? He thought, as he inspected the spittle-filled mouths that pointed up at him.
Then his eyes flew to the darkest spots of the room – the little holes, nooks and crannies, tiny out-of-reach spaces where even the most discerning eye would have trouble interpreting movement as anything more than a shadow. He sidled across his stalactite, jumped to the other wall and found a grip in its side as he slid down. He felt his hand blister as he descended and scraped his hands across the rocks. But within his mind, one thought dominated: be silent. Be quick. And be still after each movement.
How he knew it, he couldn’t quite interpret. But he knew that these thoughts meant something. They were his weapons, not his feeble hands.
Sand Crocarachnid perception: 12 (Base REF) + 5 (Synergy: Horde)
Stealth check: 20 (Base REF) + 10 (Stealth skill bonus)
Stealth check: successful.
Marius nodded as if he understood all the information that flashed like a lightning bolt before his eyes. But truthfully, for now, he didn’t have to understand the strange logic that faced him. Right now, he had learned two things: 1) That despite failing his ‘Appraisal’, the Everloft’s necessity to deliver precise information had told him what name these little beasties went by (Crocarachnids) and 2) his ability to conceal himself trumped their vision.
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Even now as he kept himself still, hugging the rocks that pierced him, he could see the critters skittering away with the limbs of their fallen brother. They slunk away to their holes in the corners of the cave, and he distinctly heard the sounds of crunching bones as they cannibalized the dead Crocarachnid.
He sidled down the wall and dropped silently onto the cave floor. He realized that this place, though covered with these crawling horrors, was his safest bet for survival. Running and hiding in the dark were the specialties of his ‘class’.
Well, he thought. I’ll take it. It’s pretty much no different than my life upstairs. But that alone ain’t gonna cut it. I need me a shiv.
Apart from the center of this cave, there were three different tunnels that winded down into even darker depths. North, West, Southeast. He committed the exits to memory. Then his gaze lighted on the fallen beast before him.
He kept to the shadows, stalking towards the dead creature’s corpse. He’d had an idea.
Its glinting teeth were still there, wedged in its skull. Looks like its buddies didn’t like sharp things bouncing around in their scaly stomachs. Marius had always believed in the old adage of ‘waste not, want not’ and, thus, he steeled himself and reached into the mouth, gripping his hand round one of the creature’s bleeding fangs.
He kicked at it to dislodge the thing from its gum, and finally it came loose, knocking him back and leaving his arm with a cut as it grazed another tooth. Pain radiated up his arm and sent a shockwave through his brain. Then the lightning stuck his mind and he saw another block of text:
DMG: 2
HP: 8/15
"Shit!" he whispered, inspecting his cut arm, blood dripping from the gash. The pain wasn’t exactly intense. But the way it stung in not only his body but his head turned his stomach.
He looked down at his newest acquisition: the tooth was definitely sharp enough to do some damage, though it looked like it was minimal. He pocketed it in his prisoner fatigues.
Item Acquired: Sand Crocharachnid Fang
Weapon Type: Short Blade
DMG: 1-4
"Alright, shut it!" he shouted in the middle of the cave. "You’re throwing so much crap at me that means literally nothing. The hell’s a ‘DMG’?"
The only answer he received was the low collective growl of the Crocorachnids that had finished their meal and now focused their four-eyed slits on him from their lairs. He saw pincers strike out and their snarling forms crawl towards him.
Stealth Check: Fail.
"Fuck you too, Everloft!" he shouted, and then darted down the tunnel to the North. The horde followed him, knocking against the walls like a single living mass of teeth and stabbing pincers. He felt himself expend the same kind of power as before, his legs carrying him through rocky outcroppings and jutting stalagmites with relative ease. He could barely see in the dark, but he followed the winding path that spread out before him, keeping his gaze forward, only at times casting a glance back to see the little bastards following him – covering the entire tunnel.
Note to self: don’t shout when you’re being stealthy, idiot! Even if you feel like you’re due some righteous indignation. Just smile, remember? Just smile.
He suddenly found himself in another section of the cave that curved down into a pit filled with what looked like healthy green vegetation and spotted mushrooms. Growing here. In the middle of complete darkness.
Alright. I’ll bite.
He dove into the veritable jungle of vines and grasses at the pit’s bottom and lay still, prone, trying to control his breathing that, somehow, couldn’t be regulated no matter how hard he tried.
Oh, come on!
Despite the odds that were stacked against him, he kept low and watched the Crocarachnid horde enter the pit’s mouth and line themselves around its perimeter. They could see him. They knew he was down here.
And yet, for some reason, they waited above.
Then, one by one, they simply scuttled away, leaving their prey to stare wide-eyed at their retreat.
And the reason for their hesitation soon became abundantly clear to him.
From above, Marius heard a sharp snap, and felt something fly over his head like an ethereal wind.
When his eyes caught up with the rest of his senses, he saw a vine had shot out from somewhere above his head and snatched one of the wailing Crocarachnids like it was picking up a crying babe. With a sickening twist, it ended the thing’s life and let it fall in front of Marius as the rest of the little yipping demons sprinted now back down the corridor.
Marius gulped once before slowly looking up to behold a towering mushroom staring down at him.
It’s spore-like green eyes blinked twice before a voice boomed from somewhere on its body.
"Ah!" it croaked, bearing the raspy tone of an elderly woman of about eighty five, possibly with smoker’s lung. "Another human!"
A vine crept up from below and coiled round Marius – wrapping him in both its embrace and a slippery mucus that coated his bare arms and stung his face. He gargled, flailing in shock and horror, before the thing just stopped and suspended him in the air before its blinking eye-spores.
"Tell me, human," its aged voice grumbled. "Be ye an affiliate of the last young man that came this way?"
Whatever, Marius thought. It’s a talking mushroom. It would be rude to seem surprised. Might as well just go with it.
Marius spat the mushroom’s dripping mucus from his mouth.
"Call me Marius," he said. "Enchante, madame."
The mushroom, quite entertained it seemed by his response, gave a throaty chuckle that ruffled some of the inanimate plants around her.
"Well then," she said (let’s tentatively call her ‘she’). "You may call me Raava, and I must say you’re by degrees a much more polite little morsel than the last one that came bumbling into my lair. How did you come to find your way here, little man? Speak!"
It shook him with vigor, clearly enjoying the power it held over his tiny form.
"Madame," he said with as much calmness as he could muster. "I bravely ran here very fast. I like being alive, and the little friends that followed me here aren’t really conducive to that idea."
The mushroom wiggled with laughter. ‘Hah! An entertaining little thief! Have ye come to pilfer Raava’s beauteous flower bed?’
"Madame Raava," Marius replied. "I confess I don’t know where the hell I am."
She blinked again. "Why, my lad, you’re in The Everloft!"
"I mean like, specifically."
"Oi, surfacers," Raava mused. "Well, you’ve decided to wander into my home – Dryroot Cavern. A relatively harmless place for the seasoned adventurers – not so harmless for the new blood that make their landing here. This place is home to rabid desert Crocarachnids and beautiful fungi such as myself. Though I must admit that my sisters have been rather under the weather as of late."
The Mushroom’s eyes wandered over its inanimate ‘sisters’ – featureless and plain.
"You don’t say?" Marius said, spitting more mucus out of his throat. "Mistress, I thank you for your kind welcome to your domain. However, I must confess that us humans feel a certain fondness for solid earth beneath our feet. Might I request –"
"That I let you go, my little thieving morsel?" Raava asked, moving her prey closer so Marius could practically smell the fungal stench of her flaccid stalk. "It’s been some time since I’ve ingested human, and you did wander so willingly into my lair, as you said. I could certainly use the nourishment. So, what’s to stop me from feeding on you right now?"
As Marius closed his eyes to dispel the vision of the sneering shroom from his sight, he felt again that stab of lightning pierce his mind.
Unique dialogue options available. Persuasion check needed.
Success chance: 65% (Base CHA + PER skill bonus)
Attempt persuasion?
Marius barely had to think twice. It was his first conversation in this new realm, and he wouldn’t exactly say that it was going well. 65% was better than being ingested by an old, shriveled mushroom well past its prime.
He steeled himself and shot her his most charming, come-to-bed smile.
"Madame Raava, my moist and mercival host, I see that you are grieving over your lost sisters. You have a great supply of food in these Crocarachnids that inhabit your cave, and yet you do not seem intent on hunting. The pain of a plant is its lack of mobility. But I, as you have seen, am a tiny, nimble thief. I can hunt for you. I can find a cure for what ails your sisters. Quid pro Quo, my saucy shroom. You let me go, and I will serve you well."
He felt the mushroom consider his words, swaying him gently before its face.
"The honeyed words of a thief," she muttered. "I rather liked the muscles of the other one more."
Then laughter erupted from her stalk and echoed throughout her dusk-filled domain.
"Hah! Such entertainment in one day! Why not – the situation could prove to be more fun this way."
While he wondered what the hell this creature was talking about, she lowered him to the ground and unwrapped her tendril round him.
Persuasion: Success
He shook himself slightly, shaking off excess mucus. He committed this to memory too – conflict could be solved with words just as well as the sword. Looked like The Everloft, so far, wasn’t too distinct from the world outside.
Though he admitted that elderly mushrooms with a penchant for slimy bondage didn’t feature prominently in the stories adventurers told on the surface.
"You speak well, thief. For you see – my sisters and I have for eons been at odds with the creatures that dwell in these tunnels. They do not dare attack us directly, and we allow them their pitiful existence at the entrance to our dominion – they are like dutiful little guards. Yet, recently they have broken our alliance. Their leader has taken our source of light – the Lux’Agathiel – or ‘Light Pearl’ in your tongue. If you wish safe passage through our realm, you must slay the Crocarachnid Matriarch and take our light back."
Marius pondered the request, though he doubted he had a choice in the matter.
Hmmm. An assassination. Not exactly my forte, but then again, I’m learning to live with a lot of changes. Still, she seems like a senile old coot for the most part. Why not push it a little?
"I’m, eh, not exactly equipped for battle," Marius said. "If I’m to be your champion, Madame, I’ll need something that gives me a fighting chance."
The mushroom sighed heavily, letting its vines drop to the ground and tap impatiently.
"You ask a great deal for a puny little thief," she groaned. "But, very well. I can’t very well have my entertainment cut short before it truly begins."
A moment passed, during which Marius assumed she may have just outlived her voice. Then, a gargling sound rumbled through the mushroom’s stalk and a sickening, squelching liquid began bubbling from the thing’s tip. Then, without warning, a skeleton wrapped in leather armor was shot into the air and fell in front of Marius with a wet slap.
"There," Raava chuckled. "Equipment fit enough for your small body. He certainly won’t be needing it anymore."
Marius swallowed his horror and began dismantling the leather pieces from the skeletal corpse. It was better than nothing, even if it clearly hadn’t helped this poor sod.
There was a warning implicit in this little apparent act of charity too: Don’t betray me, human, or I’ll ingest you just as easily as I did him.
Out of the corner of the room, a wall of foliage then suddenly parted to reveal another tunnel leading deeper into the dark.
"The way is open to you, Marius the thief," the mushroom said. "Do not fail me."
"Wouldn’t dream of it, Madame Raava," he replied, and set to clothing himself with the armor his benefactor had so graciously bestowed on him.
QUEST ACCEPTED: The Lux’Agathiel
Recommended LVL: 2/3
He brushed aside the odd announcement. It probably wasn’t important.
Truly, he’d expected to be dead by now. But it seemed there were benefits to living like a tunnel rat for his whole life. The Everloft had chosen exactly the right profession for him, and he knew now that the strength of his cunning would be his greatest tool of survival.
The stories had always told of the great treasures the Everloft held for the brave adventurer who entered it. No, he was no glorious knight, but he was someone who knew the allure of gold just like any man or woman. Maybe this talking shroom was just the beginning? Maybe there was a life to be made down here after all.
Marius made up his mind, then and there. He’d approach the dangers of the Everloft the same way he approached every dangerous situation in his life: he’d cover himself in leather and hope for the best.