Well, that was the mother of all extended flashbacks. Seriously, if I'd kept going on, I might as well have labeled it a prequel. Still, that was how we'd gotten from there to here. Here being standing before an enormous pair of golden doors at the top of a forty-foot-long stone staircase that had extended up to a tower at the top of Bloodmoon castle. The golden doors were decorated with stylized images of impaled victims while the staircase was open air, giving us a view of the massive structure. Beyond was Prince Radu the Impaler, the Vampyre King, Master of Castle Bloodmoon, and his prisoner, the Pontifex of Mithras.
Hopefully.
I didn't want to mention it, but I wasn't confidant of our chances to find Pope Joan I alive. The Dark Undermaster novels were among the darkest fantasy out there and took a particular joy in pulling the rug out from under any attempts at genuine heroism. Try and rescue someone? They were already dead. Try to do a good deed? It ends up worse than if you hadn't gotten involved. We were rushing here because Radu was a monster with a habit of treating both men and women in a less than gentlemanly way. Unfortunately, she'd already been here for a while and there was no telling, well, how bad it had been here. I wasn't about to put my faith in the Great Mother's proclamation that Mythras would protect her. After all, the man who put his faith in the gods to protect him was frequently disappointed when they expected him to save himself.
Our surroundings weren’t helping my mood either. Reality was out to holiday at the top of Castle Bloodmoon with the moon being super-large, blood red, and long over us like a malevolent deity. Giant bats hovered around the staircase, threatening us but never quite making a move to attack. Probably because they knew their master wanted to deal with us personally. The bottom was about two hundred feet down and I had to wonder what sort of crazy magic had been used to create this place. The wind was freezing cold and battering us even without the storm that looked to be coming in on us. I could even see Bald Mountain’s peek looming over the rest of the Death Mountains like Everest had been popped into the middle of Eastern Europe. While it didn’t have a malevolent red eye looming on top of a tower, a perpetual storm swirled around it that let me know Veles was in-residence.
"Okay, take a moment to breathe," I said, reaching the base of the entrance. "I really wish I'd invested more attribute points into CON."
"Yes, it's tragic for you non-flying types," Jon said, smugly. Mind you, he wasn't flying but just hitching a ride on my shoulder.
"Do we have any restoration potions left?" Ania asked.
"No, but I can REFRESH us," Agata said, casting the lesser magic on all of us and restoring our ability to move. Seriously, climbing up that had sapped a huge amount of our enthusiasm for attacking the Vampyre King and I had to wonder if the scream we'd heard had been a lure.
Sparky growled. "We should stomp him now!"
He was really into rescuing the pope and I had to wonder if it was because she was also, technically, a Princess.
"We're almost there," I said, trying not to look over the side of the stone staircase's bannisters. "We need a strategy, though."
"Yes, because our running away from everything strategy has worked out so well," Ania replied, annoyed.
"We used every bit of our magic to get this far," I replied, annoyed with her attitude. "We needed an army to take this place."
"An army would have just gotten killed," Bloodstorm replied. "Still, we could have used more of super-badass Ranger Aragorn than chatty introspective Aaron."
I glared at him. "You try leading then!"
Agata puffed up her chest, which was considerable. "I would happily take the burdens of--"
"No one asked you!" I snapped, once more feeling off. It wasn't like I was developing an urge to kill people but more like I was just perpetually irritated. It was like I was back in my cubicle at Epic DungoneeringTM and everyone else was an ungrateful a-hole.
It was not a feeling I liked.
"Listen, you dirty...peasant!" Agata said, searching for an insult.
"Hey!" Bloodstorm said.
"Err," Agata said, looking down at her feet in embarrassment. "Not that being a peasant is a bad thing. I mean, some of my best friends are--"
"How close are you to leveling up?" Ania asked, interrupting her sister digging a hole for herself. Which was impressive given we were this high up. "We need every advantage we can get against Radu."
"Lemme check," I said, glad for the distraction. I called up my bracelet's interface and looked at the experience log, which was something I rarely consulted. I recorded everything we'd done, said, and fought.
+ 20,000 EXP (Giant Flesh Golem)
+ 10,000 EXP (Mad Alchemist)
+ 1000 EXP (Drive Flesh Golem Mad)
+ 15,000 EXP (Deathrot Wights)
+ 5000 EXP (Vukodlak Lord)
+ 5500 EXP (Giant Spiders)
+ 2000 EXP (Diseased Merfolk)
+ 2500 EXP (Ghostly Ballroom Dancers)
+ 1000 EXP (Mimic Privy)
+ 4000 EXP (Demon Jester)
+ 1000 EXP (Defeat Demon Jester in Riddle Contest)
+ 2000 EXP (Cannibal Slimes)
+ 10000 EXP (Solve the Mystery of Castle Bloodmoon)
+ 2500 EXP (Lesser Vampires)
+ 2500 EXP (Lesser Mummy)
Level 8 to Level 9
100,000/135,000
"I'm going to say the Mimic privy is just cheating," Jon said, looking over my shoulder. "A mimic treasure chest? Fine. Let the dungeon looter beware. Something that eats you when you need to use the bathroom? That's just cruel, especially when they don't usually address that in the video games."
"I shouldn't have eaten before we left, I know," Bloodstorm said, looking guilty. "However, I was trying to show the cooks at the tree how to prepare an exotic dish I learned in your world: the burrito."
"Meats and vegetables wrapped in bread have actually existed since the Bronze Age," I said, momentarily once more back in a mindset where such things were relevant. "Yeah, I'm still a long way from Level 9."
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
I was dramatically overpowered for a typical 9th level character with a lot of endgame equipment and bonuses from my Divinity score. However, that didn't really close the gap between me and my companions. They were far more experienced than me, literally, and were constantly facing things beyond our level.
The "game" as designed by Weis and Veles was meant to be played slowly with months of content. The problem was that real people were dying and the scales was weighed heavily in favor of evil. Worse, we were in a world where you only got one life and failure was not an option. Resurrection coin notwithstanding.
"So, no chance of leveling up before we face Radu?" Ania asked.
"Sorry," I said. "I would have thought the riddle contest would have put us over the top."
"Kudos on that one, Aaron," Jon said. "I never thought the answer to 'Why did they bury the Old King of Ledziania in a gold coffin?' would be, 'because he was dead.'"
"Why else would you bury him?" Sparky asked, confused.
Solving the Mystery of Castle Bloodmoon had been free EXP as we already knew that Radu had murdered his brother, made a pact with Veles, and tried to steal his future sister-in-law. It was written on his Undermasterpedia entry. I'd just had to pretend to follow the clues at the wedding chapel and crypt. Still, it had laid to rest his brother's spirit and unlocked the secret passage through the clocktower.
"We can't wait any longer," I said, pausing. "We'll just have to go in there at our present level."
"Did you finish upgrading the Dragon Pit?" Ania asked, surprising me.
"What?" I asked.
The Dragon Pit was the sole remaining upgrade we hadn't purchased for Dragon Keep. It cost 50,000 GP and that was enough to field a small army. Dragon Keep had originally been the home of the Ledzinian royal family's dragon keepers but that had been centuries ago. All the current dragons were either the victims of curses or descendants of the people supposedly transformed by Roman alchemists. Still, having killed Chernabog, we had the money. Dude had come with a whole hoard.
"Maybe that will put you over the top," Ania said.
I was about to argue with her that I wouldn't have forgotten something so basic. After all, completing Dragon Keep's repair was part of the main quest. There was no way for the headquarters of the Dark Undermasters to be able to host the armies necessary to defeat Veles unless it was fully restored. That was the reason why Veles' forces kept attacking it. I also didn’t recall any rewards listed for finishing the quest, but the interface wasn’t exactly accurate all the time either. It was less like a properly made computer program than a living organism pretending to be a computer program. Perhaps trying to communicate with me in a shared language between us.
I checked the interface. "Huh. It seems I didn't finish upgrading it."
"Seriously?" Agata asked.
"I've been busy!" I snapped.
"Seriously, Aaron, you need to take some fantasy valium," Jon said. "Ask Ania to give you a hand job."
"A what?" Sparky asked.
"After," Ania replied, once again showing it wasn't just the men in the party who were crass.
"I'll give you one if it will help," Agata muttered.
Ania glared at her sister.
"What?" Agata asked, confused.
I pulled up the interface and spent the money. I was very glad that it didn't count toward my weight limit.
UPGRADE DRAGON KEEP Y/N?
I hit Y.
Almost immediately, there was a triumphant fanfare that I could barely hear over the howling winds. A storm of freezing rain began pouring down on us.
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED - Home Sweet Home
50 (A) - Fully Upgrade Dragon Keep
MAIN QUEST COMPLETED - Upgrade Dragon Keep
Reward: 50,000 EXP, potion of dragon transformation [permanent]
Level 9 to Level 10
25,000/250,000
"Yes!" I said, feeling myself hit a new level. It was a bit like an electrical charge to the butt, a sudden jolt that caused you to sit upright.
NEW MAIN QUEST ADDED: Upgrade Crossroad Village (0/15)
* Hire Militia (cost 10,000 GP)
* Upgrade Militia I (cost 20,000 GP)
* Upgrade Militia II (cost 30,000 GP)
* Upgrade Militia III (cost 50,000 GP)
* Upgrade Town Walls (20,000 GP)
* Restore Fort (cost 50,000 GP)
* Upgrade Blacksmith (5000 GP)
* Upgrade Armory (5000 GP)
* Upgrade Fletchers (5000 GP)
* Upgrade Livery (5000 GP)
* Construct Clocktower (5000 GP)
* Construct Alchemical Refinery (10,000 GP)
* Construct Aqueduct (10,000 GP)
* Construct Sewer System (20,000 GP)
* Construct Academy of Magic (50,000)
"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me," I muttered. "They want me to gentrify Crossroad Village?"
"You disgust me, Aaron," Jon said. "You do any of this and you know they're going to kick out the dwarves to build the aqueduct."
"Not necessarily," Bloodstorm said. "They could do what they did in your world and build nice country estates for the humans outside of the village while building the aqueduct over the dwarf parts of town."
“Can we focus on the leveling up?” Ania asked. “Please.”
I nodded. In the end, I made a choice to level up my WIS out of fear that the Blades of Chernabog were influencing me. I also noted that I had access to the Ranger spell, SUNSTRIKE, that was one of the best weapons against the undead. I could have chosen REVIVE DYING or SUMMON PLANAR CREATURE, but I felt this was the best option right now. After all, if you weren’t going to survive your next fight then you shouldn’t be thinking about the ones thereafter. I also noticed my Lesser Magic list was maxed out, which told me that I needed to raise my intelligence further. I had to wonder what my limits were as a demigod now.
ARAGORN “AARON” BARTKOWSKI
LVL: 9
CLASS: UNDERMASTER SORCERER (MASTER RANGER)
ALIGNMENT: GRAY
AGE: 34
SEX: MALE
RACE: HUMAN (Demigod)
STR: 12 (19)
AGI: 10
CON: 11
INT: 20
WIS: 10
COM: 15 (16)
CHA: 13 (14)
ARMOR CLASS: 27
ATTACK: +5 (+15 to ATTACK, 1d10+10/14 [Undead] DAM, Sword [Bleed])
HEALTH: 48
DIVINITY: 3
FEAT: Taunt, Sword and Shield, Two Handed Fighting, Tracking
SPECIAL ABILITIES: ARCANE FIRE (1d6+6 INT bonus, Eldritch Damage), BLOCK (requires shield), LESSER MAGIC (unlimited times per day), COUNTERSPELL
SPELL LIST (MAX/4/3/3/2/1):
LESSER MAGIC EFFECTS: CLEAN SELF, CREATE FOOD, CREATE FIRE, CREATE WATER, MINOR ILLUSION, REFRESH, TELEKENESIS (1 Kilo per INT bonus), VENTRILOQUISM, MEND, TORCHLIGHT, SILENT WALK, IDENTIFY MAGICAL OBJECT, LESSER SENDING (Party Only)
[1] PUSH, CURE, JUMP, ARMOR
[2] WEB, ANIMAL SUMMONING
[3] SUGGESTION, LESSER CHARM, CURE (II)
[4] POLYMORPH OTHER, DIVINE BOW
[5] SUNSTRIKE
STATUS EFFECTS:
* Alchemical Stone (Red): +50lb carrying capacity
* Blessing of Mokosh: +1 to COM, +1 to CHR
* Ring of Ogre Strength: STR is 19 when wearing this
* Boots of speed: Double Movement Speed, Dodge Roll Bonus
* Ranger’s Mark: +4 to hit/damage against Undead
* +2 to all Saving Throws [Divine]
“There we go,” I muttered. “I no longer have low WIS, just thoroughly average wisdom.”
“Don’t worry, Aaron,” Jon said. “You’ll always be an idiotic idealist to us. You know, unless you go full Anakin Skywalker on us. Then I’m sure Ania will kill you.”
“Oh, no, I’ll join him,” Ania said. “Anakin is the evil knight who betrayed his order, right?”
Jon did a double take.
Before I could respond, the golden doors slowly began to open with an enormous creaking noise that was straight out of a horror movie. I couldn’t see beyond an unnatural darkness that seemed to congeal in front of the door.
“It seems Radu got tired of us waiting,” I replied.
“He gave us a chance to rest,” Bloodstorm muttered. “How sporting of him.”
“The hunt is everything to him,” Agata said, disgusted. “Whatever was a decent person and defender of his people, if such a person ever existed, died centuries ago. He’s just the Son of Veles now and Lord of the Vampyres.”
“Real vampires are elves,” Bloodstorm corrected. “They refuse to die when their spirit tree dies and become a person who feeds on the living to survive. Radu is just a wannabe that made a pact with his daddy to become one. An imposter or, as they call them in Aaron’s world, a wannabe.”
There was a crack of thunder in the air nearby, as if the very elements didn’t care for Bloodstorm’s insult.
“Let’s go have a chat with the dungeon’s boss,” I said, lifting my swords in front of me and walking forward.
Right into the lion’s den.