The sound of footsteps echoed off the cobbled streets as we walked south towards Gabelten’s town square. The town looked to be almost as big as Orhu, though it lacked a castle. Wooden homes lined the streets, accompanied by a few random shops and an inn or two. People travelled in groups on the street, keeping to themselves and staring at us with curiosity. A majority of the population seemed to be Misawi which wasn’t surprising. The marshland suited them well.
We came here to recruit people to join the empire’s military, but it looks like we had a large obstacle in front of us. A five step quest! Whodda thunk it? Certainly not me. Looks like my dad drew the short end of the stick. This chain should help me level up quickly. Gamble grumbled uneasily but was hushed by a stern Oak. Redclaw looked ready to spring into action at any moment, eyeing the people wearily.
“At ease Redclaw. We’re here to help them, not make them nervous of us.” I attempted to calm my companion’s unease. Though I felt it as well. Hard not to when you’re walking down a stereotypical zombie apocalypse setting.
“Yes, Touched One. Redclaw obeys.” He nodded and took a deep breath to calm himself.
The town square was filled with NPCs trading their goods. I had yet to see another player around here. Perhaps I was the first to visit it? Not many people would choose to go to a marsh willingly. If I had to guess, I’d bet the Misawi Wetlands were sorely lacking in player strength. They’d be free territory for the country that took them over early.
But that was another worry for another time. Now I had to talk to the mayor of this town and find out exactly what is going on. A large wooden building sat off to the side of the street leading to the south gate. A large bronze hawk stood above the entrance to the mansion.
“Let’s not keep the mayor waiting, shall we?” Together we walked into the building. An overly skinny man sat a desk just past the entrance, ruffling through a bunch of papers and signing them after a quick glance.
“Hello, yes who is it?” The man looked up. “Ah, a group of adventurers perhaps? Yes we could use those. But no, no. You bear the mark of the Gerheld Empire!” The man rose from his desk and darted over to us to get a closer look. “Ah yes, good a patriot to our home! And a Touched One at that! My how the three gods watch over us in these dark times. Please, please, have a seat.” He motioned towards a set of couches that sat off to the side.
“Um, we’re on urgent business so-“
“Yes, yes. Business is always urgent. Got to stay on top of things yes? You’re here to see mayor Kashella? Very well, I shall go obtain her presently. Wait here and make yourselves comfortable.” The hyperactive man left us in a hurry.
“A mile a minute that man’s mouth.” Gamble snickered, “Barely let you get a word in Captain.”
“He must to enjoy his work here if he’s that hyper. Then again we’re probly the first new faces anyone has seen in an age. I’m surprised a marsh town is even this large.”
“It’s the herbs. Marshland is good for many various herbs for poisons and cures.” Oak said simply. “We Misawi pride ourselves on mastery of potions, though I know not the art.”
“That so? Maybe I’ll teach you a bit later one Oak. If you want to learn that is.”
“It would be an honor pack-leader.” He bowed his head in reverence.
It wasn’t long until the clacking of shoes and mumbling turned our attention to the two doorways that stood to the sides of the desk. The right door opened revealing a dark blue scaled woman wearing fine brown and gold robes.
“Greetings, I am mayor Kashella of the town of Gabelten. What may I do for you?” She looked us over once and grinned ear to ear. “Hasthil? Is that you? It is!” She approached Oak who stood and bowed to Kashella.
“Greetings to you brood-sister. You have accomplished much I see.” She embraced him in a quick hug. I don’t know if a Misawi could blush, it appeared they couldn’t. But if they could I’d bet a gold coin that our buddy Oak would be as red as a sunrise.
“Ah apologies, Hasthil, everyone.” She bowed to us. “Things have been bleak these past months. I have sent word to the capital but the emperor has sent no assistance until now. Though to be honest I was hoping for a full company and not a squad. But any help is better than none.”
“We’ll do all we can to help.” I spoke confidently, “Just point us in the direction and we’ll solve the problem.”
“Ah, you must be the leader. My pleasure Mr…” Her eyes widened as she looked closely at me. “Ah! Forgive me, Touched One. I didn’t see your mark at first glance.” She bowed in respect, to which I waved my hand.
“Its fine, the name’s Geo, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Any friend of Oak’s is a friend of mine.”
“Oak? Ah so Hasthil has a nickname does he?” A grin crept upon her face, “It suits him well, please take care of “Oak”; we have much to catch up on.” Her head shook sadly, “But catching up can wait; right now we face a crisis. Before the undead shambled about in the marsh aimlessly, now they seem to be almost organized. We’re assuming this change to be the local necromancer’s meddling. Hunters have gone out for food only to never return. Our settlement can barely afford food from the north due to being unable to gather plants for potions to sell or trade.”
“So our main objective will be to see if this necromancer is responsible for this dilemma. And if they are to eliminate them?”
“That would be appreciated, yes. And if you kill any undead that would also be greatly appreciated. Any blow to their numbers would be a boon to our settlement.”
Reward received: 500 experience, +Gabelten Reputation.
-Quest Updated-
The Marsh of Bones (2 of 5)
Mayor Kashella has asked you to investigate the necromancer residing in the ruined tower to the south of town.
Reward: 1,000 experience, +Gabelten Reputation.
Bonus: Undead killed while on this quest give an additional 100 experience per kill.
My eyes widened at that bonus. I don’t know how much experience an undead gave. But flat out increasing each kill’s experience gain by 20 per squad member was awesome. It was grinding time.
“We’ll head out after we’ve had a chance to prepare, could you direct us to a good inn?”
“Ah, yes. The ‘Water Lily’s Thorn’ is the finest inn we have in town. They’re located just off the southern road before the gate. Tell them to send your bill to me. I’ll cover your expenses while you’re here.”
Oh this could not get better. “I thank you for your generosity.” I stood and bowed, “Let’s get rolling Rumblers.”
“I shall join you shortly pack leader, I must speak with Kashella.” Oak replied, staying seated.
“Alright, take your time Oak. We’ll be heading out in an hour.” I bowed my head and said a quick farewell to Kashella before turning to leave.
*************
With a single eye Oak watched the group exit the building. His tongue flicked into the air a few times before turning to Kashella. Her face scrunched in anger, “I didn’t expect to see you back here so soon Hasthil. And at another’s command at that! Has the Thashanam tribe’s leader fallen so far as to lick the boot of one who should be beneath him?”
“Ease, brood-sister.” Oak cooed in an attempt to calm Kashella.
“No Hasthil, I shall not ‘ease’. Too many moons have the dead walked our marshes. Too many have fallen these past months and not even a word of response from an emperor sworn to protect us! The dead are now at our doors and all we have received in support is a small squad!” Tears rolled down her face as Oak embraced her. “We won’t last another week if this keeps up.”
“We shall not fail you brood-sister.” Oak spoke confidently.
“How can you be so certain Hasthil? What brings you such faith?”
“Pack-leader Geo gives me faith. Thousands of Touched Ones have descended in Orhu. Yet only he and another immediately joined the empire. Before I could ask pack-leader for assistance we found our way south. To our home.”
*********************
After entering the inn Kashella had recommended and getting my squad situated I logged off. First I hit up my apartment’s bathroom as I really had to go. “A man does his best thinking on the throne.” My dad once said to me, so as I sat I thought of the situation facing the town.
First was the immediate threat, the undead. It sounded like they roamed in groups. The question was, how many per group? We’d find that out firsthand after a quick scouting operation. Know your enemy and all that.
Second was a problem facing the town; starvation. Kashella had mentioned that their hunters were unable to go out and gather food or else the undead would take them. Any wild animal found would have to be killed or captured and brought back to the town. Oak had said the spider meat was good so we could do a bit of spider hunting.
Third were the town’s defenses. When I had played Legend of Xidamt a town would have an early warning system such as a bell tower or a signal fire which would signal when the town was attacked. When I had glanced around the town I found no such thing. That would have to be rectified quickly so that a defense could be mounted in case of an attack. The town also looked to have very few defenders. That meant organizing a bigger militia than what they currently had.
Fourth and finally was the necromancer in the marsh. He or she would have to be eliminated at the first sign of controlling the undead maliciously. If they are responsible for this mess then we’ll kill them plain and simple.
I snacked on a few granola bars and chugged down a soda before popping my headset back on. It was time to put the dead back in their graves, scorched earth style. I lay on my bed and opened Reckoning.
My eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light in the deathly quiet inn. My squad had stayed sitting at the same table I had left them at when I logged out. They stood at attention as they noticed my return. Looked like Oak had rejoined us as well, good.
“At ease Rumblers, we’ve got work to be about. First I need to pay a quick visit to Kashella. While I’m there I need each of you to gather as many people in this town as possible in the town square for a meeting. Redclaw, Oak, and Gamble split up and do your best. Ice you’re with me seeing as you’re the silent type.”
“Aye Captain!”
“Yes pack-leader.”
“As you will, Touched One.”
They quickly conferred among themselves before heading out of the inn.
“We shall assist you.” The few Misawi who sat around the inn chimed in before racing out with my squad. Objective one was well under way. Now I had to meet with the mayor again. “Let’s go Ice.” Together we headed out into the foggy streets.
“Kashella, we need to talk.” I spoke as the desk attendant led me into the mayor’s room. A sparse room with scant decorations aside from the occasional charm and hunting trophy such as a bear’s head mounted on the wall.
“Yes Touched One, my ears are yours.” Kashella responded, rising to greet me.
“Does your town have any form of early warning system in case the undead attack?” I cut straight to the issue, no use tip-toeing the issue.
“The undead have never attacked the settlement directly, Ashan’dahlia be praised. No we have no such system.”
“We need to correct that then. Are there any bells, gongs or whistles in the city? Hell, anything loud will do just so long as it can be heard far enough away.”
“Well…we do have a few gongs but they are tribal heirlooms that haven’t been used in many years…”
“Well it’s time to wipe the dust off of them. We’ll need the moments an early warning system can provide to mount an effective defense.”
“Are you certain it will be necessary? They have never struck the town…”
“That’s precisely why it’s needed now more than ever Kashella. That necromancer has everything in the palm of their hand right now. You’re choked off from hunting for food and can’t make potions for trading. Right now they’re biding their time and letting you die slowly.”
I’d used this very same strategy before, effective on large castles but very costly time-wise. Except this wasn’t a castle with stockpiles of food, just a small town that lived day by day; far easier and faster to starve.
“The gongs shall be set up at the north and south entrances to the town Touched One. But I still do not think they will be necessary.” Kashella spoke, crossing her arms stubbornly.
“Normally it wouldn’t be necessary if things kept as they have been. The undead would have been content with merely boxing you in, conserving their numbers. We're about to throw a monkey wrench in their plans by adding me and my squad to the mix. What we’re going to do is going to make them desperate, possibly enough to attack the settlement outright. Which brings me to my next point; the town barely has any guards. “
“Of course, those guards we have are volunteers. But everyone would defend their homes were we attacked. Of that I am certain.”
“Then it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. My men and a few volunteers are gathering people into the town square for a meeting. From there we’ll announce a need for more volunteers to help defend the town. Does this town have a blacksmith that produces armor and weapons?”
“No blacksmiths. We’ve never had the need for anything more than spears, bows, arrows and leathers.”
“Damn, an armored line would help.” Kashella gave me a puzzled look. “Never mind, thinking out loud. Alright, I think I’ve got a decent defensive plan in mind. I just hope everyone is as patriotic as you think.” I motioned towards the door, “Shall we go to the town square?”
Together, Ice, Kashella and I approached a once empty town square that was now bursting with commotion. Judging from the amount of people, it looked to be everyone in town had come for the meeting without knowing the details. Rumors were sure to be abound, probably about retreating to Orhu or Talenwood. That was plan B of course. When all else fails, retreat.
But it wasn’t time to retreat. This was a time to hold the line.
“Attention citizens of Gabelten!” I called out to the crowd, murmurs ceased as all attention focused on me. “I’m not too good with speeches so I’ll make this brief and straight to the point. The undead have you boxed into your town. As you are, you’re fucked. Well and truly fucked.” Shouts rung through the crowd, I raised a hand expectantly.
“Do not worry, my squad and I are here to get you unfucked. Now I have learned from your mayor here that nearly every family in this town has an assortment of spears, bows and arrows. I’ll need each and every one of you to return to your homes and obtain every weapon you can. We’ll also need shields so if you have a spare stool or whatever that can be made into one, bring that.
“Our first step in this plan of ours is to fortify your town. Fortifying the town’s gates, blockading the streets and so on. So we’ll need anything you can spare, tables and large boxes or anything big and heavy. We’ll get the details down as we find out what we have to work with. Now I know the undead haven’t attacked your town in force yet and I’m not sure why that is. But they will soon enough. I can almost guarantee it. Now please, do as I’ve asked and I’ll see your town survive into the future.”
Not a very inspiring speech, but they did listen. I watched the crowd disperse in a hurry as men and women shouted for assistance for moving heavy furniture.
“Got a plan Captain?” Gamble questioned as he fell in beside me.
“Outline of one.”
“Playing it by ear, eh?”
“You got it.”
Soon enough people began to bring spears, quivers of arrows and bows into the town square followed by small stools and tables. I ordered the weapons to be placed into one corner of the square while the small furniture to be repurposed into shields into another. Kashella had brought me a map of the town just as the big furniture was being lugged into the square.
The settlement had two gates, a north and a south. Wooden walls made a large circle around the buildings contained within. One main street ran straight through the town with small side streets filtering off the main one. The side streets were almost always linked together so that was an advantage we could use. Funnel the enemy into the main street and strike from the sides.
I had that same tactic used against me more than a few times, I was happy to finally be able to use it myself. First I sent Kashella ahead with the gongs to the north and south gates with orders for the guards to ‘bang the hell out of them if they see any undead approaching’. I then sent Gamble to grab some people to repurpose the little furniture into makeshift shields. Next I had Oak gather people familiar with hunting using bows. They were given bows and arrows to use in the event of an attack.
As for the large furniture, Redclaw, Ice and I saw to its placement along the side streets. The barricades were built just high enough so that archers could shoot over them before retreating if the undead tried to break through. In the main street was a large blockade of couches, boxes and such. The southern blockades were assembled better than the northern ones, as I assumed the majority of the dead would come from deeper in the marsh.
When all was said and done, the town of Gabelten with a population of just over five hundred now had a standing militia of 160 bowmen and 210 spearmen. The rest were children and elderly, unable to fight effectively. The majority of the bowmen were assigned into small squads that would run through the side streets and open fire into the funneled enemy in the main street.
They would be accompanied by small groups of spearmen just in case the dead broke through a barrier or two. The rest of the bowmen would stand at the main barricades and rain down death from the front. I just hoped bows, arrows and spears would be enough to stop the walking dead.
“Come and get it boys and girls, drink up!” A portly human man yelled as he rolled barrels into the main square. I recognized the man as the innkeeper of the Water Lily’s Thorn. Even he was doing his part to keep up morale it seemed, as crowds of happy faces surged towards the man.
“What would we do without ya Het?” Men called as they slapped the man good naturedly on the back as they took a filled mug and drank deep. “Ah your home brewed ale hits the spot!”
Wait, ale? I approached the portly man whose whole body shook as he laughed. “Drink up fellas, more than enough to go around!”
“How many barrels of this stuff do you have?” I asked the man. He turned to me, rubbing his chin in thought.
“’Bout fifteen or so barrels? Also got a few barrels of northern wine and some mead. Why ya askin’?”
I smiled. Perfect.
*********************
Kashella could hardly believe her eyes as the townsmen and women moved about her town with purpose and passion she had never seen before. In a few hours they had turned this humble town into a makeshift fortress. It was unthinkable, preposterous! And yet, deep inside she knew that it was exactly what was needed.
“Now you see my faith in this Touched One.” A familiar voice spoke softly next to her.
“Yes…” was all she could manage as she watched holes being punctured into empty barrels and then plugged before they were filled with alcohol. What was this man up to? Just earlier Geo had asked her questions about the undead.
Were they only zombies or were there skeletons and ghosts as well? No just zombies. He seemed relived at that answer. Do they hunt in groups? How many per group? Questions she had never thought to ask were answered by hunters who had dared to head out into the swamp for food. It seemed they hunted in groups of three to ten.
“Your captain is acting more like a general than a squad leader.” She noted, watching him order a group of people with bows to shoot at targets to gauge their accuracy. The dwarf he had brought with him was lecturing people who had spears and stool-seats or table parts for shields about forming a ‘tried and true Dwarven shield wall’.
People she had never thought capable of such things were now looking like a true military. The only break to that illusion was their equipment. Old spears, tabletop shields and old leathers for armor among people who even had leathers. The rest wore their clothes.
“Pack-leader says we will leave soon. Find this necromancer, kill them. Hopes town won’t come under attack then. Best prepare for the worst though.”
“Don’t go Hasthil, stay and protect your tribe.” She pleaded. He smiled in response,
“Cannot stay, pack-leader needs me. Protect tribe in own way, perhaps save everyone this way. Have faith brood-sister.” He walked away, towards his squad leader.
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“You have my faith. May the great hunters watch over you.” Kashella whispered.
**************
Together my Rumblers and I exited the town through the south gate. The guards stood at attention as we passed, they had been informed of the plan long ago. First sight of approaching undead and they’d beat the gongs signaling everyone to get ready. They’d then retreat to the barrier and help the citizens defend the town. I gave them a quick salute before walking into the wooded marsh once more.
I would have liked to leave one or two of my squad back in the town to direct things, but I just couldn’t afford it. They were on their own should the worst happen. I just hoped our preparations were enough to keep them alive. Shame I didn’t have any information about the amount of undead lurked in these marshes. It could be anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand. I didn’t want to think of there being any more than that.
After slogging about in the marshland for a few minutes we encountered our first group of undead. Four shambled through the marsh, groaning unintelligibly. Looking closely at them I could see the distinction of on being human while the other three were Misawi. I checked their health after selecting one as a target, 325 hp per zombie, durable monsters. I signaled Ice to prepare to fire as I charged a lightning bolt. As the lightning shot from my hands Ice let loose an arrow.
Zap!
Thunk!
Direct hits! The group of zombies groaned as they turned towards us and began shambling at an increased pace. Energy tickled my fingertips as I threw another ball of lightning at a zombie, quickly accompanied by a rock thrown through the air. With Ice’s combined focus fire we quickly killed a zombie long before it could reach us.
Gained 60(300) Exp!
Damn that was a nice chunk of experience. 200 baseline experience plus an additional hundred per kill! Oh yes, it was farming time indeed. I fired off another two lightning bolts before drawing my sword and charging into the fray with Gamble, Oak and Redclaw. The zombies slowed as we closed and drew their arms back for a swing at us. I raised my shield just as an attack came my way.
-24 Health.
Damn, even blocking an attack couldn’t stop all the damage. I struck out with my sword, stabbing the zombie in the neck as it moved in for a bite. A groan escaped its mouth as it pulled itself off of my sword and resumed the attack. I jumped back just in time to dodge one of its arms. Oak had chosen that moment to jab his spear into the living corpse repeatedly. It turned to him, ignoring me for the moment.
Fatal mistake, with a lunge I stabbed my blade into the back of the zombie’s head. As I ripped my blade free it fell to the ground with a gurgle but did not move, lifeless once more. Digging my heels into the wet marshland I pushed myself like a bullet to immediately help Gamble with his target.
The zombie lunged towards Gamble in an attempt to bite him but was greeted with a shield to the face. “Quick Slash!” immediately my blade slashed the side of the zombie. It groaned in frustration at my intervention and turned towards me with a swing of its arm. My arm rung with the impact of the swing that I blocked with my shield. As I moved to retaliate with a slash of my own the zombie fell to the ground, a fresh arrow embedded in its skull.
Oak and Redclaw had managed to defeat the last arrow-studded zombie a few moments after Gamble and I killed our own. We had killed our first group of the walking dead. Gamble worked his sticky fingers, grabbing a few pieces of copper and a pair of leather gloves. One group down, countless more to go.
**************
SkySaber covered his nose as he travelled along the road far south of Orhu. Behind him were three other players who had banded together to hunt groups of wolves away from the masses of solo players. After joining the Gerheld Empire for free gear they had decided to move on from the starting city to another as they were at level five each.
The decision to head south was made quickly, as many other players began to head east towards the large city of Bredicht’s Crossing. None had headed south towards the marsh. ‘Who in their right mind would?’ Sky thought to himself as he tempted another whiff of the air, only to curse silently at himself.
“Ugh, smells like rancid meat down here. And you can barely see through this fog, why’d we have to choose this muck-hole to go to?” A buff, tanned elf asked.
“Easy Bremos, less players means less competition and more experience for us! Even if it does smell like gran-mum’s place.” A purple toned Aqamari responded, her face scrunching with disgust at the smell.
“Wait, your gram’s place smells like rancid meat?” A red haired dwarf who wore no armor besides his pants inquired with a raised brow as he scratched his overly large beard.
“Yeah…when she came to visit us for a week she left some stuff out. When we came back to stay with her for the weekend the whole house reeked.”
“Nasty!” The dwarf guffawed, “Still, rather deal with that than when my young cousin came to visit a few years back with his family. Boy wasn’t potty trained see, and he loved to finger paint.”
The whole group chuckled at the dwarf’s past misfortune. A loud groaning further in the fog knocked them from their reverie. “The hell was that?” The Aqamari asked with a shaking voice.
“That, dear Opal would be the musings of a college graduate who majored in Liberal Arts and had just entered the job market.”
“Oh ha-ha, very funny Sky.” Bremos rolled his eyes, “Sounded like some zombie from a cheap horror flick.”
“Marsh zombies? How cliché.” The dwarf remarked as he brandished his bronze great axe.
“Hey Kraom, clichés are fine. They’re tried and true methods of success. Like re-releasing a slightly upgraded phone every year.” Opal joked as she twirled her oak staff in her webbed hands.
“Chat to a minimum everyone; we don’t know how strong they’ll be so let’s be cautious about this.” Sky said as he drew his sword from its sheath and checked his shield. Together they crept forward towards the direction the groan came from. Soon the sound of loud sloshing through the marsh was in front of them. Silhouettes were vaguely seen in the thickening fog. Sky could swear his eyes were playing tricks on him. What were a few silhouettes became a wall of shadow.
The fog began to break in front of the group, revealing over twenty zombies shambling slowly south.
“Damn.” Bremos remarked, “Think we can kill that many?”
“If we can pull a few at a time, sure, easy.” Sky spoke before nodding to the Aqamari, “Do the honors Opal?” She grinned in response,
“Easy experience here we come!” A fireball flew from the head of her staff and blasted against a zombie in the back of the group. About five zombies turned to find who attacked them and rapidly shambled towards the group.
“Here we go! Come to papa!” Kraom yelled as he raised his axe to strike the first zombie to come his way.
******************************
My head pounded against my skull as I sat upon the mushy ground. I had forgotten how many groups of zombies we had killed since we left town. All I knew was that I was now level 5. Ice, Gamble and Oak were level 4 and Redclaw had just hit level 3. As I had planned, I dumped all 5 stat points into endurance.
Name: Geo
Level: 5
Experience: 1215/5000
Health: 300 (+100)
Mana: 200 [20]
Energy: 100
Strength: 17
Agility: 10
Endurance: 15 (+5)
Intelligence: 20 [2]
The circular brackets next to the stats signified how much they increased recently while the box brackets signified increase from gear. ‘A nice clean system’ I thought to myself as I stared at the stat screen. I was knocked from my stat-gazing by another set of groans to the left. Blech, we had been killing so many zombies that if I never saw another ever again it would be too soon.
But we had a job to do, another dead set of zombies meant another set that wouldn’t be attacking the town. So once more I rose, accompanied by my squad and rushed into battle by firing off another set of Lightning Bolts and a Stone Strike as soon as I could see the group of five zombies in the fog. Like a well-oiled machine we struck our targets without a need for me to call out targets. A few moments of slashing and bashing later and another group had been eliminated. It felt great finally getting into some combat after a few hours of preparations.
As we slogged through the marsh ever southward a light shone in the distance, barely glowing through the thick fog. I looked at my group who noticed the light as well. Motioning towards the light only brought shrugs so onward we went. As we neared the light a large black shadow rose behind it in the fog. Large moss-covered stones littered the ground as we approached the light until the fog parted. Torches lit on the side of a tower covered in vegetation and cracks.
The ruined tower, our destination.
The sound of humming came from within the ruins of the building that in its prime was sure to dwarf any tree in the marsh. A large wooden door that had seen far better days stood in the single doorway. “Stay back, if you hear sounds of a fight bust in swinging.” I whispered to my squad. They nodded in response, weapons drawn.
“Be safe pack-leader.” Oak whispered as I approached the rotted door. The sound of humming just beyond the door. I reached out with my hand slowly and pushed the handle. With a loud ‘CREEEAAACCKKK’ the door opened before the hinges that held it up snapped, sending the door colliding onto the stone below.
Not a very stealthy entrance.
The humming had immediately stopped. “Ah…visitors…at long last…” A raspy voice spoke. I looked towards the voice. A dark-robed human with far too skinny looking arms sat before a lit fire. All around the floor were markings made in blood.
“Are you the necromancer causing the dead to rise?”
“Necromancer…no.” They started shaking and breathing heavily. “Came…to stop…” The body collapsed to the ground. A small dagger clinked on the stone as it fell from their hand. I rushed over to their side to assist them. Scars dotted along their arms and hands, each looked to be cut evenly. Fresh blood dripped from their left hand. I looked into their hood. They had long silver hair and far too skinny female’s face, almost skeletal.
“What the hell…” was all I managed to say. Her skin was so pale as if all the blood had been drained from their body. Judging from the amount of blood markings around, I probably wasn’t far off the mark. A light cough brought me back from observing the surroundings. “Drink this!” I yelled, pulling a health potion from my pack and pouring the contents into her mouth.
Forcing the healing liquid down her throat caused the woman to cough a few times before some color returned her face. Her body shook as she began breathing rapidly for a few moments before beginning to calm down. She slowly opened her eyes; silver irises stared directly into my own.
“I’m…alive...”
“Welcome back to the world of the living.” I gave her a thumbs-up.
“Praise the gods.” She spoke, barely more than a whisper. “A Touched One…”
“Captain, we got problems!” Gamble shouted as he barged over the fallen door. His face changing from one of worry to one of surprise instantly. “Oh, ‘scuse me.” He turned away with a wink my way.
I sighed and helped the weak woman sit upright. “What is it Gamble?”
“The dead have started moving north.”
“Ah shit.” I said. The woman next to me fell to the ground. I turned sharply to see her reaching for her knife. “What are you doing?” I asked, kicking the knife farther away from her grasping hand.
“No…must stop them!” she cried.
“Huh?”
“Magic in my veins…can make runes to stop them…” she sobbed onto the stones. “Must save them from him.”
“From who?”
“Zechs, the lord of the dead.”
I rolled the name around in my head wondering why it was so familiar. Then it hit me, Zechs was an undead dragon that ruled over all the dead in the world from his citadel on the Isle of Bone.
“What is Zechs doing with an army so far from the Isle of Bone?”
“He seeks…Tahlmiarah, a stone of the gods. Thinks the town has it…so wrong. So wrong.” She pointed towards an overturned clay cup in the corner of the ruined room we were in. A light blue glow escaped from underneath it. I walked to the cup and lifted it from the ground. The glow brightened to be almost blinding but did not escape the room. Within the glow was a pebble that looked as if it surged with power.
“Zechs craves…its power. Destroy it! Destroy it! Destroy it!” The woman rambled at me. “I couldn’t. Had to…contain its energy…keep town safe.” She motioned to the large runes that had been drawn on the walls in blood.
“You used your own blood to contain this stone and keep the undead from attacking the town?”
“Yes, no choice. Cannot let Zechs have his way…will end all life…”
I picked up the stone, “Not on my watch he won’t.”
You have received the Tahlmiarah!
I inspected the small stone that I held in my hand.
Item Name: Tahlmiarah
Item Class: Artifact
Description: A legendary stone of power, said to be a tear of a god.
Effect: When used allows the user to create a unique ability or piece of equipment.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Such an item in my hands would be worth…countless amounts of gold. Players and npcs would wage war over an item such as this. Hell, one already had. The woman looked at me with pleading eyes as she whispered ‘Destroy it’ over and over.
Reward received: 1,000 experience, +Gabelten Reputation.
-Quest Updated-
The Marsh of Bones (3 of 5)
The Witch of the Gabelten Marsh has asked you to destroy the Tahlmiarah so that none may use its power for evil.
Reward: 10,000 experience.
Bonus: Undead killed while on this quest give an additional 100 experience per kill.
“How would I destroy this stone?” I asked the tearful woman.
“Ruined temple…farther south. Smash on altar…”
Oak walked into the room with Redclaw and Ice. “The dead have all gone north pack-leader.” His eyes widened in surprise at the stone I held in my hands.
“Great spirit…” Redclaw gasped, even Ice looked shocked.
Even if we were to act quickly to destroy the stone, we wouldn’t be able to return to Gabelten before it was attacked by the undead.
“How many dead did you smell Oak?” I asked,
“Many, pack-leader. Too strong a smell to count.” He said solemnly.
“Zechs has raised the whole marsh now that my bindings are broken…Please, you must destroy the stone. Don’t let their sacrifice be in vain.” Abandon the town that trusted me to protect them? Never. I had made my decision.
I clenched my fist around the stone and found myself engulfed in blue light. Screens popped up around my vision, flooding my screen in an overwhelming torrent. Screens for ability types from summoning to weapon strikes, buffs and debuffs the whole shebang. With the amount of options available at my fingertips I could make meteors fall from the sky, or cover the land in ice in a large radius. Or create an item of unrivaled power.
I held the power of a god in my hands.
But there was a drawback to creating a spell; the mana cost would become astronomical. I could never reach those limits immediately. No matter what type of spell I chose the mana cost was through the roof. Though it was cool designing a spell that would rip the ground open and spew lava in a large area.
A spell was out of the question, I needed to make an item.
I changed the spell tabs into item ones. I had to act quickly wondering what item to make. A piece of armor would be nice but not what the moment called for. I slid the selection box to weapons. A sub selection box then appeared underneath with hundreds of weapon types. From two-handed swords to fist weapons, even tridents were listed. But none of those fit my taste.
I selected Two-Handed Mace. From there another screen popped up next to my selection showing a preview of the item that would be created with the ability to customize the look. I grinned at all the options I could use to change the look of the object. I immediately got to work, molding it to my tastes.
Time slipped away as I put the finishing touches on my new weapon. When I finished one final popup appeared.
Please name the object you have crafted.
I already had a name picked out for my new weapon. Tectonic.
Taking a deep breath I hit accept once more. Within the blue that surrounded me, earth and fire rose. Slowly the rocks surrounded the flames, containing the flames within, forming a large two-handed mace. The blue light surged to white, blinding me. I could hear the woman yelling and Gamble cursing. Oaks prayers aloud to the gods were as clear as if he stood beside me. Redclaw’s howl was accompanied by a dragon’s roar.
No sound was uttered from Ice, but I could feel her fear. I could feel it from all of them, who wouldn’t be afraid of the person who had just claimed a god’s power? Inside the light I could feel energy condensing in front of me. Minutes passed until the light subsided leaving me standing in front of a group of silent onlookers. A hammer of stone and flame held in my hands.
-Quest Failed-
The Marsh of Bones (3 of 5)
The Witch of the Gabelten Marsh has asked you to destroy the Tahlmiarah so that none may use its power for evil.
Reward: 10,000 experience.
Bonus: Undead killed while on this quest give an additional 100 experience per kill.
I didn’t give a damn about that. I held a weapon that would never be replaced.
Item Name: Tectonic
Type: Two-Handed Mace
Quality: Artifact
Damage: 250
Armor Penetration: 30%
Effect: Every attack deals 20% additional Fire damage.
I shouldered the hammer of rock and flame with a barely-contained grin plastered on my face.
I held a true Geomancer’s weapon.
None said a word as they stared at me. The hammer felt heavy, but I knew I could swing it forever if I had to. I’d get to put that knowledge to use shortly, Gabelten would need our assistance. We needed to leave now, but I refused to leave the weakened woman behind alone.
“Oak.” I spoke, almost not recognizing my own voice. Had I always sounded so confident?
“Yes Sasthalamissan?”
“What…never mind. I need you to stay her and watch over this woman. Get her something to eat. Poor gal looks as if she hasn’t had a bite in months.” Oak bowed.
“As you command.” He sat next to the woman and opened his pack to bring out supplies.
“Everyone else, follow me.” I moved towards the collapsed door to head out into the fog of the marsh.
“Where are you going?” the woman whispered in fear. I kept walking towards the marsh when I answered her.
“We’ve got a town to save.”
*****
Free talk zone
So yeah, this chapter and the next chapter Im going to write were originally going to be one chapter buuuuuuuuut that'd be too big for one chapter imo. So the next chapter will focus on the battle of Gabelten.
Enjoy!