Arthur came back outside. It felt like early spring, the air was crisp but he still felt the warm sunlight on his face. The tan colored, soft fabric he wore felt just as nice on his skin. He didn’t think of it until then, being on the edge of fight or flight since waking up in that worn-down hunting shack. His clothes seemed a bit finer than the other simple clothing he had seen. Arthur felt grateful that they didn’t have the texture of a potato sack, especially the pants. Euld downed his mug of ale at a speed befitting a man of his stature; Mung had expected this and had another ready for him in no time flat. Euld sipped at as his refill to appreciate the taste more. Arthur thought that this was a lot of drinking to be doing so early. Then he considered the circumstances, and the bottle gripped in his hand. He realized that it was a good morning to drink.
His quiet introspection was once again interrupted when he noticed Vulwin levitating back towards them. The proud mage was at an odd angle as he floated, dragging something heavy behind him that left a trail in the old gravel path. Arthur sniggered, the strained look on the elf’s face was great. Vulwin was panting after he landed a few feet away and dropped whatever he was carrying. When he stepped aside Arthur saw that it was a big club. It was as long as Mung was tall. The shaft was dark and had the look of pig iron, it tapered out from the handle and was as thick as Arthurs thigh at the widest part. The handle had a tightly wrapped spiral of leather around it and the pommel reminded him of a classic baseball bat. The length had shiny metal balls embedded down each side, all equally spaced apart. Arthur got a comforting feeling when he looked at it. He set his bottle carefully on the ground and grasped onto the handle with both hands. He straightened his legs and hefted the club in his hands, the weight of it felt great. He realized that muscle memory probably caused the odd familiarity he felt with the weapon. As he gazed upon it, a light blue description appeared.
Bashie
Rare Heavy Great Club
An uncommonly large club, forged so dense
that the weight pushes the limits of anyone foolhardy
enough to wield it in battle. true-silver studs are particularly
deadly to undead, demonic, and corruption-type enemies.
Durability: 2659/3000
Strength requirement: 40 / Dexterity requirement: 20
Enemies killed: 1537
Arthur gawked at the description. Seeing why Vulwin was having such a hard time just dragging it by the handle. This thing was pretty much just a giant lump of metal. The effect of true-silver made him weirdly excited. Knowing that undead existed opened up the possibility of seeing a reanimated skeleton. Ever since Arthur played his first classic real-time RPG he had a weird fantasy of going into a dungeon and smashing a living skeleton into a pile of bones, watching the skull roll hilariously down a slight ramp. Maybe he could even find a friendly skeleton man. Arthur imagined getting a skeleton to play some kind of instrument, whatever was available. Hopefully a horn of some kind. His dumb grin faded. The knowledge that he might face off against demons of some kind frightened him. Arthur wasn’t sure what to think when he read a literal kill counter that was attached to the weapon. He hoped dearly that none of those deaths corresponded to human life. Especially considering the downright silly name.
Arthur jumped and almost dropped Bashie as Vulwin cast a spell. Folding his fingers in while raising his hand over his head; the result being a rough stone pillar violently popping out of the earth. Throwing some dirt in Arthur’s face, and causing Euld to curse as some landed in his mug. He poured it out as Vulwin began speaking, the mage ignoring the glare of the warrior. “Strike this pillar with your club. Do it as hard as you can.” Arthur lifted the club to his shoulder, turned his body, and bent his knees, facing his target. He had spent a lot of time as a teen on a baseball field, so this stance was the most natural for him. “I always do.” and smirked at Vulwin, who looked back with a scowl. Euld and Mung snickered at his childish joke. Arthur swung into the pillar, and a section of stone fractured and fell off the side. The club also fell from his hands with a grunt of pain as he shook them.
The warrior and brewer burst out laughing, while the elf just studied Arthur blankly with his pretty pale blue eyes. He just wasn’t used to the force that he was able to put into his swings. His elbows felt sore from just one strike. “Good, one more time.” Arthur squinted at Vulwin, and lifted the club again. “C’mon, what’s the point of breaking a rock?” He made excuses to protect his hands and the joints in his arms. Vulwin tried a new tactic, sneakily positioning the pillar between himself and Arthur.
“C’mon.” He repeated, his rich pompous voice exaggerating the sarcasm he conveyed. “Don’t be a bitch.” Arthur raised an eyebrow at the mage. “Are you really trying to provoke me just to break something?” Both Euld and Mung got very quiet. This time Vulwin smirked “The specialty of a berserker is breaking things" and raised his shoulders in a shrug, holding out his open palms. “Unless all you're good for is getting fucked by any man taller than yourself?” Arthur ground his teeth together so hard that everyone there could hear it. At this point, Mung had already taken cover behind the armored man while peeking out from around his waist.
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Rage Activated
Arthur swung his club down on the top of the pillar. The blow turned the stone into pebbles, with just the stumpy base remaining. Fragments flew at Vulwin and plinked off a greyish transparent barrier.
Vulwin has cast Minor Psychic Shield
HP:498/500
Arthur wasn’t done swinging. He decided at that moment that this pompous prick deserved a good beating. “You got a fucking problem with me, huh!?” And bashed at the mage’s shield. “I’ll show you how well I can break shit!” Picking up more speed as rage took effect and his natural adrenaline started flowing.
67 damage done to Minor Psychic Shield
71 damage done to Minor Psychic Shield
69 damage done to Minor Psychic Shield
Vulwin now had a more panicked expression that looked out of place with his fine elvish features. The mage saw that more than a third of his shield hit points were gone in just a few seconds. He looked at Euld for help. The big man didn’t look like he wanted to get near the man wildly flailing a heavy piece of metal around but slowly stepped up behind Arthur. Trying to yell at him in a failed attempt to calm him down. Arthur couldn’t hear him through the haze of anger.
He brought down another three overhead swings down on the barrier as he did with the stone pillar. The studded bat was almost a blur as he moved it rapidly.
86 damage done to Minor Psychic Shield
90 damage done to Minor Psychic Shield
84 damage done to Minor Psychic Shield
The blows caused the shield to visibly wobble and ripple in a way that was similar to a rock being violently thrown into a still pond. Euld lunged at the rager when he saw the magic shield was about to break, but before he could grapple him Arthur struck it for the last time. Instead of aiming for the head, he swung in a wide satisfying arc that dipped low and broke through the barrier like it was thick glass. It connected with Vulwin’s upper thigh and sent him sprawling to the ground. He yelled and grasped at the source of pain. The barrier broke a lot of the momentum before it hit the mage; but could not negate the sheer amount of weight behind it.
You have dealt 78 damage to Vulwin Raebon
You have inflicted
Vulwin Raebon
with Hairline Fracture
Arthur didn’t get any more time to enact petty revenge on a very new acquaintance. Euld then had him wrapped in a solid choke hold, his stature making it easier for him. Arthur flailed and growled for about a full minute until he began slowly coming back to the present moment. The red tinge that he hadn’t even noticed before on the edge of his vision vanished in a few blinks.
Rage Deactivated
“Are you done?” Euld warned with just a touch of iron in his voice. Arthur nodded and strained to breathe. “Yes. I’m good. Calm.” and wheezed a bit when Euld broke away. He winced when he looked down at Vulwin as he held his immobilized leg and whined. To his surprise Mung had walked over and was making a motion with one of his talon-equipped hands. This was also the first time he had heard someone speak as they casted a spell, saying two short words in a language he had no chance of understanding. “Relthm, Thuuor.”
Mung has casted Minor Mend
Though it was plain to see that it still hurt badly, Vulwin eased up a bit after Mung casted his healing spell. ”This will help, just don't walk on it until you get to a real healer.” Arthur’s face creased up in confusion “ I thought you said magic was beyond you?” Which elicited a smug grin from the brewer. “Mostly.” Arthur noticed that the bottle he had set down had been knocked over. He watched the syrupy liquor get soaked up by the earth, and deeply sighed.