He scrambled back from the monster, still dizzy and disorientated. The cold blue flames of its eyes turned to him, the gaze intense, seemingly full of rage and hate. The skeleton strode forward, its heavy metal boots clattering on the cold stone floor. It raised the sword once more, readying its strike on the downed player.
A small icy claw flew in from the side, straight into the blue eye-flame. It dissipated with a hiss, and did only 3 hit points of damage, but it was enough to draw the monster's attention. It spun on the position Harriet was firing from, the floor of the next alcove across. It once again moved, ignoring Morgan to pursue its aggressor, striding towards the alcove. It once again readied its sword to strike, before Trip appeared on the pauldron of the skeleton, clawing ineffectually at its helmet. It rapidly bought its free hand up to swat at the cat. The black cat didn’t see it coming, or have enough time to blink away, and was swiped off the shoulder. He hit the wall with a crunch, falling to lie motionless on the floor. Scrap dashed over to his friend, taking him by the scruff with his mouth and trying to drag him away from the battle.
He could see from the interface that the cat was still alive, if barely. Seeing Trip get hurt, put a fire under Morgan. He got to his feet, watching as Harriet managed to leap away from the coming sword swing just in time not to get sliced in two. He channelled a healing ray into Trip with one hand and gripped his heavy sword in his other as he stalked towards the monster. He took his weapon in both hands, cancelling the healing, to ready a blow aimed at the point where the helmet met the neck armour and swung with all his might. The blow was solid, the force of the impact resonated down the sword, almost tearing it out of his hands, but he managed to control the blade.
The notification told him he’d done 5 damage. The cold realisation swept over him that he was truly doomed. Even if they could keep up distracting the skeleton, it would take hours of hacking away to defeat this monster.
The burning eyes turned to him again, the sword coming up once more for a downswing. Morgan backed up, the skeleton following with raised weapon ready to strike. He clutched his heavy goblin sword tightly in his numb hands, scanning the room desperately for something he could use. Besides the flickering torch in the sconce and the plinths with chests, there was nothing that stood out to him.
Inspiration hit him like a lightning bolt, energising his flagging steps.
“Tom! Get in the open chest!” he called across the chamber to the big ginger cat. The great sword came down as he rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the blow. As he sprang back to his feet, he could see Tom trying and failing to climb the smooth stone of the plinth. His leap took him almost to the top, but his claws found no purchase on the side of the plinth, and he slid down.
Morgan retreated some more to give himself time. He was back up and into the doorway when he focused on the plinth, casting the shelf spell that Dillan had shown him, placing it halfway up the stone side.
“Tom, again!” he shouted, as the skeleton quickly closed the distance. Tom bounded up, landing on the translucent air shelf before leaping the rest of the way, right into the box. A few displaced gold coins trickled out of the chest, clattering on the stone floor. The big ginger cat stated to dig frantically in the chest with his paws, causing more gold to cascade down the plinth.
The skeleton had caught up in the scant time the spell took and was once again poised to strike.
Morgan screamed out to Harriet as he dived out of the way of the heavy blow, “Harriet, get him off me!”
The white cat complied, sending an icy claw at the monster. As soon as the claw hit, the blue flames switched from Morgan to the cat at the other end of the room, and off it stomped.
With a small sigh of relief, he got up and dashed to the chest that contained the big ginger cat. He looked in to see Tom resting upon a pile of gold coins, his ears just poking above the edge of the container.
Morgan quickly addressed the small beast, “I’m going to shut you in, and then I want you to taunt the skeleton, ok?”
Tom blinked at him, which Morgan took as assent. He looked to Harriet and saw the skeleton almost on top of her. Shutting the lid, he ran back to the opposite wall. Toms muted growl caught the monster's attention, and once again it pivoted; closing in on the chest. Morgan got himself ready as the skeleton approached the box. Dropping his sword, he ran towards the towering monster. As it raised its great sword to the chest, he reached for the rusty helmet, and with a leap, pulled it up and off the skeletons head.
To his surprise, the skeleton didn’t even seem to notice as its ivoried skull was exposed. To his horror, the great sword came down on the chest. A heavy clang resounded around the chamber as the blade met the iron strips that bound the top of the chest. It dented slightly, but to his great relief the cat inside was safe for now.
He grabbed his goblin blade once more and bought it down on the skeletons head with as much force as he could muster. The skeletons head jerked as it did when Elaine attacked it, but Morgan was ready for it. With a crunch, he hit it in the temple, a few bone chips flying from the impact that peppered his face, shocking him more that doing real damage.
[Crit - Head - 216 HP]
The skeleton whirled on him instantly, its blade just a couple of inches from his face. Tom growled, and the skeleton spun back. He hit it again.
[Crit - Head - 212 HP]
The player and the cat in the box kept this up, the skeleton switching between targets like a clumsy automaton. It took eight more agonising blows before the monster pitched over; its skull finally crushed.
[You have killed Cursed Bones : Level 25 : +2500XP]
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Blood from the bone chip scratches ran into his eyes. His arms ached, and his hands were so numb he couldn’t feel the sword he was holding. Letting it slip from his grasp, he looked over to where Trip lay broken, but alive. He channelled the healing beam into the brave creature as he sank down to sit on the ground.
Ivycat sprung onto his head, and Harriet padded up beside him, tail swishing. Scrap was still with Trip as the healing beam refilled his health bar. With a groan, he got up, went to let Tom out of his box. The dent made it hard to open, and he had to use his sword to lever it. Tom awaited inside, casually laying on the bed of gold coins. He stood, arching his back in a stretch before looking up at Morgan, looking down to the distant floor, and looking back to Morgan. The player rolled his eyes and held his arms out for the cat to jump into. With all the cats assembled, he took a seat with his back against the plinth and closed his eyes.
The cats gathered round; Trip having made a miraculous recovery thanks to the healing skill. They curled up round him and started to purr. He sat there for a while, eyes closed and thoughtless as the sea of purrs calmed his soul. Eventually, he thought about his notifications, and they swam into view.
[You have reached Level 12]
[You have reached Cat Herder : Level 12]
Quite a leap, he thought to himself. Not that it really mattered now. He was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and now his future was looking short and miserable. He had no idea what time it was but knew in the depths of his soul that he’d never make it back to Caslon before his quota was due. The passage back was blocked, and the way forward was unknown, and likely full of horrors like the ridiculously tough skeleton.
He forced himself onto his feet, the sudden burning desire to see what was in the four chests overriding his need to mope. He started with the open chest, treading through the coins that were littered around its base to look inside. He started shoving fistfuls of coins into his satchel. A haunted smile fluttered across his face as he thought that, if he was going to be taken out of this world, he’d go like an ancient Egyptian ruler, surrounded by riches.
There were hundreds of solid gold coins and checking his inventory once he’d cleaned the chest out, he saw he had 670 gold. He didn’t know how to feel about that. Remembering scrambling about to raise 5 gold, and now to find such a hoard when he had no way to use it. He still picked the other 64 coins off the floor.
He hesitated for a moment before opening the next chest. Perhaps there was a skeleton per box? Either way, he was doomed, so he moved the latch and opened it up. The clunking sound the first chest had made repeated, and he stood alert and still, listening for any movement. After a minute of tense stillness when nothing presented itself, he reasoned that they all opened that same door.
The chest contained a pair of gently glowing rings that sat on a faded velvet cushion; one silver with a gold streak that spiralled around it, the other its inverse, gold with a silver inlay. He picked the gold one up and identified it.
[Identify – Ring of the Sun]
[Adds half base damage +30 fire damage to weapons held in ring equipped hand.]
[Use: Cast a fire nova centred on the caster. Deals 300 damage in a 5-meter radius. Cool down: one use per day, resets at sunrise.]
Slipping it onto his right-hand ring finger, he briefly wondered how it activated, and imagined accidentally casting a nova and setting all his cats on fire. With a shrug, he set his attention back on the chest and repeated the action with the silver ring.
[Identify – Ring of the Moon]
[Adds half base damage +25 cold damage to weapons held in ring equipped hand.]
[Use: Cast an ice nova centred on the caster. Deals 250 damage in a 5-meter radius. Cool down: one use per day, resets at sunset.]
As he placed it next to the other ring on his finger, a new dialogue popped up.
[Set: Rings of the Eclipse.]
[Set items: Ring of the Sun and Ring of the Moon keep their individual stats, boons and abilities. A new ability is added.]
[Use: For five seconds, any who look upon you have a 75% chance to be blinded for 10 seconds. Cool down: One use per day, resets at midnight.]
Morgan’s eyes widened as he read the information. This was the best magic gear he’d seen; that he probably ever would see given his impending departure from this game. He vowed to at least try it out before he was forced to go.
The next chest contained scraps of mildewed parchment. A couple of intact scrolls lay under the scraps, but they disintegrated as soon as he touched them. Disappointed, he turned to the last chest and opened it up. Within, was an amulet wrought of dark metal, a dark green gem at its centre.
[Identify – Amulet of Menincles]
[Aura of protection. All allies within 50 meters gain an arcane shield for 500 points of damage. Shield will reset 6 hours after depletion.]
[Use: Up to ten allies within 50 meters will enlarge by 30%, and their stats will be boosted by 25% for 5 minutes. Cool down: One use every 24 hours.]
Picking it up by the dark metal chain, he put it over his head to lie on his chest under the Bag of Cats. As soon as it was equipped, he saw a purple shimmer surround the five cats. He examined the amulet, looking for some kind of trigger. With none apparent, he let it fall back to his chest and wondered what to do next. As he was pondering, a message appeared, and he opened it up.
[Stack: Your quota is due in six hours. You better be quick, or this is the end of the ride for you.]
Stack, the goon from Eleos. Perhaps he could reason with him for an extension?
[Morgan: Hi Stack, through a series of unfortunate events I’m trapped away from Caslon and will not be able to return with the quota just yet. I have the quota on me, but it’ll take me an extra day to get back.]
He wasn’t sure if he could make it back given an extra day, but it was worth a shot. The reply was immediate.
[Stack: Not our problem. Six hours. No more. The baron will be waiting.]
With a curse, Morgan spat on the ground. Six hours left until his plug was pulled. He’d have to try, even if it was neigh impossible.
While looking through the pile of gear Elaine had dropped on her death, he found his bandolier. She’d hung on to it for some reason, though she hadn’t been wearing it. After putting on his old armour he equipped it and filled the pouches with other items she’d dropped. After gathering what he could, sticking her sword through his belt next to the other short sword and slinging the bow on his shoulder, he picked up her pickaxe and moved on, now armed to the teeth. He started out to check the room the skeleton had been unleashed from, just in case there was an exit.
The corridor led him to the same door as before, but it had been swung open. Inside was what looked like a closet, with shelves lining one wall. A large tower shield emblazoned with a gilded image of a sun and moon sat against the other wall. He picked it up. It wasn’t magical, but it was a huge shield, so he decided to hang on to it for now. It had a strap that fitted his arm, but after equipping it he realised he was becoming dangerously overburdened and put it back. He could always come back for it.
Half buried in the dust on one of the shelves was a leatherbound book. Dusting it off, he uncovered the title. It read: Primal Mana Manipulation. He flicked it open to a random page, and saw it was full of technical terminology and diagrams that he didn’t even begin to understand. He took the book anyway, placing it into his satchel.
Turning back with cats in tow, he proceeded back through the treasure chamber, exiting through the doorway on the far side. Once again, he was faced with a long, dark corridor.
He turned to the cats, whispering to them quietly. “Can you guys scout ahead?” The cats stared back, unblinking for a moment, before all turned to face Trip. Trip met each gaze, yawned, and then moved to head down the tunnel. Morgan gave him a minute to get ahead, and cautiously started following.