“Am I really that comfortable? And just how big are you going to get?” I groaned as I pushed Inkler off of me the next night. Poor guy was getting even bigger, and I felt the bed groaning with the shifting of his weight. “Seriously bud, you feel that? We are too much for the bed, it’s going to break and then I won’t have as much money to pay for our food.” Whenever possible, negotiate with the stomach.
“Grrrrrmmm.”
“Was that a growl, an acknowledgement or a purr?” I asked with a chuckle, and got a raspy tongue to the face before Inkler casually stepped off the bed. Yeah, he was definitely mid chest now and closing in. I had managed one level to his three last night, putting us at 64 and 58. The level difference helped, but hunting djinni was not a fast way to grind. Damn solitary critters. After he downed a whopping three cassowack legs for breakfast, we headed out to see Mardigan.
“There he is! Didn’t look like you used the shop last night, everything ok?” Mardigan asked as we entered.
“Yeah, I was just a bit exhausted from running all over to hunt those annoying djinni.”
“Yeah, they’re a pain. But the important question, did you get the ingredients?”
“I did. Took hours since it’s such a rare drop. Mind if I look through your stock before we make this?”
“Take your time.” He said, as I was already wandering around. Some of it seemed like it was geared toward other areas, but one of his most popular judging by stock was the venom of those annoying scorpricans. I grabbed several upgrades to my health and mana potions, but nothing really jumped out as useful. Burning sands potion to unleash a localized firestorm would be useful for the lich, but I might be able to learn that one from Mardigan so I passed on it for now.
“Hey, what’s this floating phantom steps potion?” I asked, curious.
“You’ll need that eventually. The desert sharks hunt with vibrations on the sands, so you either have to be faster than them or larger if you don’t want to be attacked. This gives you a third option. Basically you get a few hours of a float spell, so you aren’t causing vibrations in the ground. In addition, it causes phantom footsteps to hit the ground thirty feet away from you. Very helpful in distracting those annoying things.”
Nodding, I kept browsing. Limb regrowth, hypershock, he even had one to boost your regen to that of a troll’s for half an hour. Oh? Pulling a crystal off the shelf, I asked about it. “What’s this deluge crystal?”
“Instantly summon 500 gallons of water in an area. Doesn’t really do any damage, but they are great for putting out forest fires and the like.”
“I’ll take it.” I said, adding it to my growing pile. Once I had paid for everything, we headed to the back to brew the potion to summon Einlorkis. “So, what do we have to do for this potion?”
“I’ll walk you through it. Start with the blue moon blossoms in oil, and wait for the potion to turn blue.” It only took a minute, but the vibrant blue was rather nice to look at. “Alright, go ahead and crush the dripping heart’s blood flowers one at a time. Wait at least a minute between flowers.”
After adding the flowers, the potion slowly turned a deep purple. “Alright, the last part is the trickiest. Lower the blasted winds in slow enough that you disturb the surface as little as possible, and don’t splash it. You also have less than two minutes to get all of them entered, so you know. Hurry up and be careful.”
The next two minutes were some of the most nerve wracking I had ever spent in the game. If I messed it up, it would set me back another day. Four in, and my hand started to develop a cramp from holding the tweezers so tightly. Grimacing through the pain, I managed to finish the potion, though my hand was shaking a good bit at the end. With the last bit, Mardigan popped a cork on immediately and the potion turned a bright pink.
“Not bad. Not bad at all.” He commented, and I examined the popup I had gotten.
Summon Einlorkis potion
(Average)
Potion used to summon the Lizard King, Einlorkis.
Alchemy skill increased!
For finishing an expert potion with at least an average strength, your alchemy skill has increased from advanced level 9.
“Wow, one potion jumped me up 8 levels in alchemy?” I wondered out loud, looking at the new potion.
“Heh, you were hitting above your weight class and came out on top. That’s when you make the best gains.” Mardigan said, slapping me on the back. “Don’t worry, I had enough stocked reagents to give you a second try if you failed. I just wanted, no, needed to see how you would react under the pressure.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” I said. “So, before we head out to take on the king of lizards, do you have any helpful hints?”
“Naw, you’ll be fine. Good luck.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Stupid blasted lizards and this stupid blasted sand! Why are we even here again Saren?”
The angry human mage flailing and complaining explained the ease with which we had arrived. It seems they had been hunting lizards as well.
“The lizard king should spawn somewhere around here, and I want to take him down. We’ll be the first guild to take down every single boss in the game.” A dwarf tank answered. There was a third member of their group, but I couldn’t tell their race under their cloak. I left them to their area, moving around to start clearing out some of the remaining lizards. I still needed 548 superior plates to finish what I needed to make Inkler a variant.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” I heard a shout from across the way. I watched as the group walked towards me. They tried to swagger, but it didn’t really work with the sand. Ignoring them, I started toward the next lizard before a fireball cut me off.
“I asked what the hell you were doing?”
“Cleaning up the small fry.” I replied, subtly signaling to Inkler to spread out a bit. No need to let them get both of us with one shot.
“Yeah? Too bad, this is our area.”
“Huh.” I said, making a show of looking around. “I don’t see your names on it. Are you sure you aren’t lost? Perhaps suffering from heat stroke?”
“Smartass, I’ll burn you to a crisp.” The mage started to conjure a fireball when the dwarf knocked him off his feet, interrupting the cast. “What the hell Saren?”
“Let me talk.” He ordered, before stepping forward a bit. “Sorry for my friend, he gets a little hotheaded sometimes.”
“No worries, happens to the best of us.”
“So, are you out here for a reason?”
“Probably. I think we are hunting the same thing. You after Einlorkis?”
Wincing, the dwarf nodded. “I was afraid of that. How are we going to go about this then? You’ve got pretty much the same chance as us as finally spawning the bastard.”
“If it were a normal boss, I would agree. Killing lizards just makes the fight easier, it won’t summon him.”
“Damnit, I told you!” The mage yelled. “We wasted three days out here already, and doing it at night isn’t going to help!”
“Ugh, I’m sorry. He’s a little frustrated.”
“No problem, it’s understandable.” I said with a chuckle. “What do you say to making a deal?”
“Sure. What do you have in mind?”
“Help me clear out these lizards, and let me have enough of their plates to finish what I’m up to, and I’ll show you what you need to spawn him. I’ll even let you watch the battle so you can take him down tomorrow night.”
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“Take the deal.” The rogue materialized right behind the dwarf and said in a raspy voice.
“Gah!” Jumping, Saren looked like he was ready to use his axe on the rogue, before he calmed down. “I guess it’s settled. We’ll give you the plates, they’re pretty worthless anyway. How do you want to do the exchange?”
“Let’s kill the lizards, then give me the plates. I’ll summon the boss after that and kill it, and show you what I use right before the summoning so you know it isn’t a trick.” Shaking hands, the group set off to do their bit of clearing. It still took the better part of an hour, but in the end they managed to kill quite a few more lizards than I did.
“Ugh, so just how many of these worthless plates do you need again?” The mage complained as they approached.
“About 550 of them if they are superior. Much more if they are less than that.”
“Let’s see here, we only have 60 of the superior. How many of the high quality would you need with that many superior?”
“With the 60 of the superior, I would need 4,900 of the high quality ones.”
“Oh goodie, we have more than enough.” The mage said, “Go ahead Saren, let’s get this over with.”
“Here, trade window.” The dwarf said, initiating the trade. There were enough of the plates, so I dropped the potion in the window for a second.
“I’m not trading the potion, just showing you what you’ll need to get in order to summon him. After the battle, I’ll tell you how to go about it.”
“You’re a good monster Angus.” The dwarf replied, getting my name from the trade window. I removed the potion and accepted the trade, nodding to him.
“Thanks. You guys are better than some of the other light siders I’ve come across. Make sure you’re at the top of the dunes there, we don’t want you accidentally drawn into the fight.” As the group walked up to the dune to observe, I spoke to Inkler. “Let’s try not to let them see reality slash, but if you are in physical contact feel free to use it. They’ve played it straight up so far, but we don’t have to show all our cards, no?” I said, rubbing his head. “When it starts getting out of the sand, I’m going to try and slow him down and let you get on top. Do what you do best, ok?”
Once everyone was in place, I uncorked the bottle and dropped it on the sand, backing away. Pink smoke started shooting out, far more than what the potion could have possibly contained. As the smoke swirled around, the ground started rumbling. Einlorkis’ head emerged, swallowing the potion vial.
Einlorkis
Armored lizard king
Level 85
This creature fears nothing upon the sands, especially not some morsel that dares to summon it! Beware his poisons and his fangs, though don’t believe for a second that those are his only weapons.
Swiftly reading through popup, I threw the deluge crystal at the beast. Once the crystal shattered, a rather impressive amount of water soaked the surrounding grounds. Once the sands were wet, they behaved much more like the earth I was used to. “[Stone grasp].” I snarled, using the weighted wet sand to form a hand around the back of the creature. It was right at the edge of my ability, but the three seconds I managed to hold the beast let Inkler scamper up its tail and weave his way among the waving plates up to the neck.
“Time for an eye exam.” I muttered. “Arrow of darkness, cleave your way. Beware the danger, of arrows that pierce the day. [Dark bolt].” The bolt of darkness flew true, piercing the left eye of the boss and enraging him. Inkler managed to hang on for dear life, as Einlorkis’ violent shaking sent sand and blood flying everywhere. It’s roar of anger vibrated within my chest, bringing a smile to my face.
“That’s it, show me what you got.” I snarled, thoroughly enjoying his reaction. Fighting an armored beast who could eat me in two bites, this is what gamer’s loved. I charged in, trying to circle in his blind spot. His massive size let him turn and keep me in his sights, and he exhaled a cloud of poison in my direction. Just what I was waiting for, I fired a bolt straight into the roof of his mouth. It didn’t have the power to pierce it like the smaller lizards, but it pissed him off!
Turning to give me a glare with its good eye, Einlorkis swiped at me with a paw, ignoring Inkler savaging his neck. The blow sent me tumbling, shaving off a quarter of my health. “[Binding shadow chains].” I cast the spell, sending the chains circling around Einlorkis’ snout, muzzling him and distracting him from Inkler. As he was clawing at the chains, I reloaded my arbalest.
I saw Enlorkis’ health drop as Inkler activated [reality slash] inside his neck. I’ll never know if it was that or breaking his chains, but Einlorkis gave a massive bellow. One so loud the sands were dancing from its force. Glowing red veins creeped into his eye. Pissed. We had one pissed off boss, and he only had Inkler in range to vent his rage upon. I charged in frantically, as all the armor plates in a row at the bottom of his legs suddenly stood at attention.
“Inkler! Get outta there!” I frantically called, as a green miasma came pouring out. Einlorkis was also pumping a poisonous fog out of his mouth. If Inkler hadn’t been in such danger I might have stopped to admire it. Green gas would geyser up on occasion, and between bursts tendrils of fog would drift from the corners of his mouth to merge with the growing cloud by his feet. Once I was within throwing range, I started launching the last three crystallized blasted winds I had taken from the djinni.
They shattered against his scales, and just as I hoped released a blast of heated wind in all directions, clearing the miasma.
“Front left leg! Escape route!” I yelled, and smiled as Inkler saw what I had done and scampered for his life. I dashed in and stopped below the boss’ neck. Wanna poison my friend? Let’s see you do it without a throat! The sands by Einlorkis’ feet were still wet enough to launch me skyward with a pillar, but I didn’t quite think the physics through in my rage. I stopped the rapidly rising pillar when I was next to the side of his neck, but I kept going when the pillar stopped. The top of my arch gave me a great view, but I could tell I wouldn’t be able to hit the boss. Time for chains. Firing one that was wrapped around my wrist, watching as it blasted into the hole that Inkler had torn. Smiling in anticipation, I used shadow manipulation to drastically shorten the chain, pulling myself into the wound. A savage smile lit my face. Whipping up manipulations on the fly, I loosed a second chain that fired into the shadow directly below the neck.
Balancing the chains pull, I lowered the shadow from my arms to my torso. One final strand of shadow bound my blade to my hands, as I didn’t think that they would be able to withstand the forces. “[Cold grasp of death][Reaper’s edge][Rocket slash]!” Just before I struck, I activated all three skills with the last of my mana. I would have to get the video from the people watching, as this was going to be epic. Poor Einlorkis. Not even your skin can hold against such a combination of skills. Momentum from the pulling chains, guiding me along the side of your neck. Cold grasp of death holding you in place so you can’t evade. Reaper’s edge getting a boost from rocket slash to effortlessly part skin and flesh. The blade was buried to the shaft in his neck. As I finally cut through his neck, I landed in a three-point pose as hot blood showered the sands around me.
Finally released from my skill, Einlorkis backed away from me but the damage was done. Blood gouted out with every beat of his heart. Six beats later and he was done. Falling to the sand with his tongue hanging out, the force dispersing the last of the miasma that had stuck around. Inkler had snuck up behind me as the boss died, and pushed his head under my hand. I took a few relaxing breaths while scratching behind his ears. “Glad you’re ok bud.” Rubbing one last time, I headed forward and looted the body.
Leather plated pants of the Armored Lizard King
Set item (1 of 5)
Crafted from the skin of Einlorkis, the armored plates have been arranged to give proper coverage while still maintaining maximum mobility.
Defense: 45
Durability: 7,500/7,500
+15% resist magic
Increased defense
Leather armor of the Armored Lizard King
Set item (1 of 5)
Crafted from the skin of Einlorkis, this armor has retained some of his essence. The wearer gains a sense of invulnerability, and knows no fear.
Defense: 300
Durability: 10,000/10,000
Immune to fear effects
+50% resist to taunt effects
Fanged helm of the Armored Lizard King
Set item (1 of 5)
Crafted to resemble Einlorkis, none who gaze upon it will doubt the skill required in obtaining such a piece.
Defense: 120
Durability: 6,000/6,000
+20% chance to cause fear (doubled if insectoid)
Decreases chance of lower level creatures or NPCs attacking
In addition to the three set pieces, which I immediately put on, I also received ten platinum coins and two perfect armor plates. My level jumped up by three, and Inkler gained five. Slowly closing the gap.
“Holy crap, that was spectacular!” I heard the mage yell as the group walked up.
“You guys didn’t happen to vid capture that fight, did ya?”
“I did.” The rogue replied. “Do you mind if we post it?”
“Sorry guys, but I am getting paid as a streamer. Tell ya what, let me send in to my contact your info, and have her reply to you directly. That way you guys can get credit for the camera angles, and the people who run the stuff for me can add it in to what I’ve got. You can negotiate for whatever you want.”
“Sounds good.” SilentSteps replied. Not a bad name for a rogue, I guess. Taking all their info, I fired off a quick email to Emily. Hopefully these guys will get a good bit of compensation.
“So, any tips for handling the beast? I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not in a hurry to try and tank that.” Saren chuckled.
“Yeah, did you guys notice that green fog? Poison miasma, so you best have something to blow it away with.”
“Speaking of that, I noticed you threw something to get the job done. Some type of special potion?” Pyrospark asked. It was nice to finally get a name for the mage.
“Just some of the blasted winds the djinni deeper in the desert drop. You’ll need to farm at least five of those, but definitely grab a few more. Do you guys have someone with the butchery skill? Or animal harvesting?”
“Yeah, I got animal harvesting.” Saren replied. “Really helpful when you want to craft your own weapons and armor.”
“I see. Well, then you can grab all the reagents you’ll need for the potion to summon Einlorkis. Two vials of oil from the beetles, five blue moon blossoms, three dripping hearts flowers, and five of the blasted winds. If you see Mardigan the alchemist, he might brew the potion for you. Especially if you have all the ingredients.”
“Thanks Angus.” Saren said. “I appreciate all the help. I feel bad that we only gave you a few worthless plates. You don’t even wear plate armor, what could you be using them for?”
“You saved me from a day or two of farming lizards. Inkler here is going to become a variant with those plates. I can’t tell you how I’m going about with that, but thanks. I actually really hate grinding, and two days of killing lizards would have bored me to death.”
“Variant? Sounds cool. Anyway, we’re heading out to gather some water from the oasis around here. Catch you later.”
“I’m glad they’re leaving.” I whispered to Inkler as we turned and headed back to the city. “They’re going to be hurting pretty bad in that fight with no healer.” Inkler chuffed his agreement. The aftereffects of the battle were already subtly making themselves known, as any armored lizard scuttled off as swiftly as their legs could carry them. We spent a leisurely hour making our way back, stopping to fill up with some more cassowack legs.