“You really got to learn how to read the room, man. Shit!” blurted Margos.
“Yeah,” agreed Ashira. “That... was dark, dude.”
Nathan snickered. “Hey, you brought up the subject. My point is that it’s healthy to feel a little fear - here or in the real world. It keeps you focused.”
“How about we keep focused on this quest?” asked an impatient RedReaver, still facing away from the others. “The quicker we get this done, the quicker we’ll be back under the digital sky, reaping our well-earned rewards.”
“Yeah, fair enough. I’ll go first and scout for traps, same as above,” Nathan agreed and promptly proceeded with the task, trusting the others to follow behind.
He moved slowly and quietly –unnecessarily so, as the ones behind him made enough sound for all of them- and tried to scan the floors, walls and roof for any hidden dangers. It was harder here than above, as here there were a lot more tracks of activity, so potential traps weren’t as distinct. As a consequence, Nathan had the group stop multiple times as he checked an area in more detail. The grumblings increased every time he didn’t find anything, urging him on. He ignored them and was vindicated when he spotted an unusual color among a pile of rocks.
“Here’s something. Looks like a plastic box. Or a chest.”
RedReaver came up next and moved to his side. “A chest? Nice! Do you think it’s loot? Or a trap?”
Nathan pushed the rocks covering it to the side and looked at the uncovered box from all directions. “If it’s trapped, it’s a more sophisticated trap than anything else we’ve come across. So, probably not?” He gambled on being right and tried to open it. “It is locked, though.”
Ashira pushed her way forward. “Here, let me try.” She plucked 2 short pieces of metal and set to work on the lock.
“You know I'd never tried anything like this outside of the game, but it was mentioned on the forums as something high-dex people should try, and they were right! It’s almost as if I can see how the lock and tumblers look just by the touch. I could use some practice before I try a complicated lock, but this one should be fairly... There you go! Open, sesame!”
Margos whistled. “That’s a useful skill. Can you disarm traps as well? That’s the standard rogue skills, right?”
“In theory I could probably disarm stuff if all that is needed is a gentle or stable hand, but I have to know the right way to disarm it to even try. And I don’t. Besides, I probably wouldn’t find the traps to begin with. Let Eclipse keep that task. I prefer him taking the risk, anyhow,” Ashira explained as she opened the box and did a search.
“Anything good?” RedReaver asked eagerly. The group hadn't exactly been spoiled with loot so far, so even minor opportunities were exciting.
“There are some silvers, which is nice, and also 7 of these – whatever they are.” She raised her fist and displayed a 20 cm long small plastic tube with what appeared to be a red liquid inside.
“Chemical lights,” Nathan said before he grabbed it and took a closer look. “And not the cheap kind. Green. Looks to be unpunctured, so it should still be in working condition. This can be very useful.”
“How many silvers?” RedReaver asked, showing no interest in the lights.
Ashira did a quick count. “7 silvers, 4 coppers. I’ll keep them for now, and we’ll split the total take later. What do we do with the lights?”
“Take one each. Do you know how to use them? Snap it in the middle, give it a good shake, and throw it into the open. Should light up a tunnel like this for quite some distance.” Nathan stowed three into a pocket, kept one easily available, and distributed the rest. “Ok, we keep moving”.
He continued down the tunnel.
“Do you think we got the flares for a reason? Kind of like there’s always a save point or a health pack before a boss?” Margos asked behind him.
“A couple of flares isn't very helpful, and a far cry from a health pack or a save point. Probably just random loot, and bad loot at that” scuffed RedReaver.
“Chemical lights,” corrected Ashira.
“That’s what I said.”
“No, you said... You know what, never mind.”
They walked in silence for a while.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
At the back of his head Nathan had a feeling of being watched that he’d carried with him since they stepped off the elevator. At first, he’d blamed it on the ambiance and decided to ignore it, but he hadn't been able to fully shake it. Now, the feeling intensified, and it was not to be ignored no longer. He slowed down and strained his senses to their limit trying to get a feel for what lay outside the range of his torch.
“What’s up, boss man? Are you seeing something? Maybe another box full of flares, perhaps blue ones? We could really use some of those,” RedReaver asked quietly, the last part murmured with a sarcastic tone.
“Chemical lights!” hissed Ashira further back.
“No, I think we have reached our destination. Get ready."
Following his own advice, Nathan dropped his torch to one side, checked that his mace was at hand and pulled out the crossbow from his pack. When he had it reloaded and ready, he brought out one of the chem lights, snapped it, gave it a shake and tossed it as far forward as he was able to.
The plastic tube started to emit a dull green light almost at once when the chemical ampule inside it was punctured, but in the beginning, it was subdued. Even though it was clearly visible as it hit the ground outside the range of their torch, its surroundings were still shrouded in darkness. But as they watched, the light got more intense for every second until they were bathed in green. While the light wasn’t blinding, as it illuminated their surroundings, it made them aware of just how exposed they were standing in the middle of the tunnel with some small rocks as their only cover. The fact that they could see a group of kobolds further down the tunnel -on the other side of the chem light- behind what looked to be a couple of makeshift barricades didn’t help.
It was hard to say for sure from this distance, but the lizards didn’t look surprised. If anything, they looked disappointed. As they watched, smaller kobolds with slings moved a bit further back, while a new type of kobold with spears and random bits of armor took their place.
“You know what, I’m starting to come around concerning these flares,” RedReaver declared. “In the right circumstance, I can certainly see their value.”
"I’m less sure about your value,” Margos needled, but his heart wasn’t in it. “I suppose you’ll get your chance to show it momentarily.”
Ashira shifted up beside Nathan. “How many do you see?”
“Eight with spears –four of them armored- and another 4 slingers.”
“Three each, then. Can we take them?”
“It looks like they are happy to wait for us to come to them, so we are outnumbered and have to approach without any cover. Honestly, I’m not thrilled about our prospects.”
“At least we have a reach advantage. Those small assholes don’t even reach up to my neck,” added Margos.
“Pretty sure their spears do, though,” mussed RedReaver.
“Aye, there is that” agreed Margos solemnly.
“I don’t suppose any one of you has any grand items or weapons you were hiding for a rainy day? A holy hand grenade or something like that? Because it’s gone be pouring any minute now. No?”
He hesitated for a moment, remembering that he had the Shearer heirloom tucked away in his pouch. The rifle could make a difference here, for sure, but he didn’t have a lot of ammunition for it, and for some reason it felt like a waste to use what little he had against kobolds. The irony of it wasn’t lost on him considering what he’d just asked the others, but he didn’t mind being a bit hypocritical every now and then. “Ok, then we have to do this the hard way. Gather around.”
They all grouped up next to Nathan, giving him most of their attention as he sketched out their situation in the dirt, while also throwing a nervous look or two toward the kobold barricade every now and then.
“Red, you're gone go first. With your shield up, run in an ecliptic line to throw off the aim of the slingers. I want you to end up around here.” Nathan indicated a point on the left side. “Move around the barricade and try to get the attention of how many as you can.”
“Just charge the whole crew? Alone? Will you guys cheer for me, at least?” RedReaver grumbled.
“I will be running right behind you most of the way but will go to the right side. You two,” Nathan looked at Margos and Ashira, “are to wait until we are halfway across and have their attention before you are to follow. Margos, you should run to the middle. Hopefully they are all dumb enough to focus on Red and me, and you’ll get some good opportunities for easy hits.
“Ash, I want you to take that agility you’re bragging about all the time and put it to good use. I want you to go straight over one of the barricades – your choice which- and engage the slingers. You think you can do that?”
Ashira gave the barricades a calculating look. “I should be able to vault over those fairly easily. Probably won't even need to use my hands.”
“Good. Hopefully the slingers panic, but if not, I need you to dance around and keep them busy. Here, you take my crossbow. As you go over, just fire it into the biggest group you see, and toss it to the side. I’ll go with my spear, so I won’t have the chance to use it. In fact, come to think of it, I have some extra armor as well.”
Nathan checked his bag and pulled out the hide armor he’d taken from the thief he’d killed in Shearer's cabin. Or was it the brute’s? No matter.
“You know, I could have had use of this in our last fight.” Ashira pointed out as she donned the armor.
“Perhaps, but it will probably limit your movement somewhat, so I didn’t know how helpful it would be. However, outnumbered as we are, I think the extra protection will be worth it in this fight. I’ll tell you what; survive, and I’ll even let you keep it.”
“You sure? This costs like one gold back in the village.”
“Mine cost me 1 gold and 3 silvers,” clarified RedReaver.
“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll probably only get 2 or 3 silvers for it if I try to sell it, so it’s all yours. Besides, you have to survive first, and right now the odds of that happening are not in our favor.”
“Well, thanks, I guess. I’ll survive. Worst case, I’ll just ditch you guys and run out by myself.” she said with a smile.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Right, before we do this, eat something. The health regeneration it gives should give us an extra hit point or two, and that can make all the difference.”