image [https://i.imgur.com/YSSD6xW.jpg]
Everyone studied the ascent to the top of the spire. We needed something to stop the weaver from electrocuting us when we climbed. I could Slipstream my way to the location, but I felt in no condition to fight—certainly not to solo it.
Fabulosa smiled. “Remember how I said a second ago that you could take a breather? Would you do something first? I want to experiment. Could you jump on the web and back to this limb before it electrocutes you?”
I gave her a wounded look. “Why me?”
“If it shocks and knocks you off the web, you can return with Slipstream. It’s an instant, right? You can cast instants while stunned.”
I hadn’t even thought of that.
Fabulosa continued. “I want to see if the electrical shock happens at the beginning or end of the clicking sequence.”
I grumbled about being a lab rat and followed her instructions. If I could time it correctly and each strand supplied on a different circuit, I could jump from one metal web to another. My robe threatened to catch onto the spurs, so I removed it. Cloth armor covered in sap would prove more of a liability than a protection.
I took a running jump onto the spire. Because of its thick webs, it didn’t shake when I landed, which meant I could maneuver. Performing leaps 70 feet off the ground wracked my nerves, but my wolfman stunt against the golem raised everyone’s expectations of what I could accomplish in battle. I didn’t want to back out of a challenge now.
When I landed on the shaft, the spider hissed in outrage, lowered its abdomen, and discharged voltage. A bright light flashed, illuminating its underbelly. The volume and abruptness of the sounds startled me, and I immediately jumped off the spire and onto a tree limb. I didn’t even use Slipstream.
Fabulosa clapped her hands. “Nice! I think we got this.” It would have been encouraging if she cheered for my heroics or safe return, but that wasn’t the case—she focused on the spider to learn its attack pattern.
Fabulosa pointed to the column. “Again!”
I hopped back and forth on the metal ladder and played dodge with the spider. The others listened for variations in the zapping sounds, but its consistent timing made predicting shocks possible. Jumping from strand to strand showed it needed two seconds before using its ability again.
The weaver protested my acrobatics with frustrated hisses.
Fabulosa held up her hand. “Okay, that’s enough. I’m not saving my power point for Featherfall. I’m spending it on Reverb.”
Charitybelle raised her eyebrows. “Reverb? What’s that?”
“My primal magic rank reached 14 while shooting Ice Bolts at Mr. Sappy, and then Reverb appeared. While Patchy hopped on and off his ladder, I studied the spider. It lifts its rear legs before releasing a charge—which makes me think it’s not immune to electricity.”
Fabulosa gave us the spell details.
Power (spell)
Reverb (tier 3)
Prerequisites
Discharge, Primal magic rank 14
Cost
40 mana
Cooldown
One hour
Cast time
1 second
Description
For 5 seconds, caster reflects the next primal energy attack to its caster.
Reverb offered incredible potential. It only reflected one attack, so wasting it involved risks, but it had many applications. I wished to unlock it myself without spending points on Lightning Bolt and Discharge. Discharge acted like a melee-only version of Imbue Weapon, but it didn’t scale well.
Knowing Reverb existed dissuaded one from stacking damage into a single nuke. And since spells like Lightning Bolt and Discharge applied to combat, I had to assume many players had Reverb.
I wouldn’t have learned about it without Fabulosa. It occurred to me that playing The Great RPG Contest side-by-side with other contestants enhanced my chances. Between Charitybelle’s foresight with Hawkhurst and Fabulosa’s heroism, their company had strategic value—as well as friendship.
Fabulosa didn’t have Featherfall, so we tied a rope around her waist. We needed to catch her if she missed Reverb’s timing or if it didn’t work as we expected. She jumped on the spire, cast Reverb, and shook the webbing. “Come and get me, sucker!”
The arc weaver sent a shock down the metal, causing Reverb to trigger. Stunned, the creature tipped backward and tumbled down the shaft, a 70-foot drop into the ground.
Everyone else lept onto the spire, climbed to the top, and back down after the spider. Weighted with sticky sap, I reached the webbing last and climbed down.
The weaver lay dead by the time I reached its underground lair. Charitybelle grinned at me when I caught up with everyone. “Can you believe it? Fab’s Reverb did tons of damage, and the fall caused the rest. We didn’t even have to fight it! You didn’t miss a thing.”
Fabulosa snorted. “Yeah, I picked up all the experience when it fell. I was the only one in combat. Sorry about that.” She disingenuously rolled her eyes and pantomimed an innocent shrug.
I turned my attention from my gloating friend to the arc weaver’s lair. The domed ceiling sprouted a thick crown of roots. Although the spider had freshly pruned them, a few still invaded its floor space. A shaft of sunlight tore apart the pit’s thin, dark atmosphere. The rays illuminated the arc weaver’s motionless body.
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I reignited Presence, which had extinguished during my long climb down. Its brightness somewhat spoiled the serenity of the earthen cavity. Dust particles lingering in the air glowed under my spell’s radiance.
Charitybelle inserted her hand into the spider’s mandibles, feeling for a core.
I crouched down beside her. “It looks like you’ve conquered your arachnophobia.”
Charitybelle hummed. “You know what’s funny? I think it’s only the little spiders that creep me out. Perhaps this thing’s size makes it less spidery.” She pulled out a core.
Item
Yellow Core
Rarity
Rare (yellow)
Description
Level 20 core
Boss Monster Bonus Clever
Fabulosa snorted as she examined the core. “It wasn’t undead. Unlike everything else here.”
Sorted piles of metal filled the earth’s irregular hollow. The weaver somehow ingested metal to repurpose it into new shapes. Mineral Communion’s duration hadn’t ended, but there wasn’t much to learn. I saw visions of the spider puttering about, consuming metal, and spinning it from its electrically charged abdomen.
Amongst the scrap metal, we located many noteworthy items.
The two non-magical finds included masterwork items. Fletcher picked up a suit of elven chain armor with historical significance. It counted as one of the best items in the haul, so he and Iris relinquished further treasure claims.
Charitybelle picked up an ornate helmet that didn’t diminish the effects of spells cast from any school. It didn’t give extra stats, but the extra armor mitigated incoming damage. None of us wore headgear, so it provided a solid upgrade. She cocked her head in various fashion model poses.
Fabulosa helped arrange Charitybelle’s hair so it wouldn’t get bunched up. “I like your new hat.”
Charitybelle adjusted the helmet. “Me too, but I think I want to get an undergarment for it. Like a cap, so it stays snug.”
“You should get something lacy. Maybe in blue. Do you like blue?”
“What about green?”
Fabulosa frowned at the suggestion. “I don’t know if green is your color, C-Belle.”
“It’ll blend in like camouflage, but lace would be nice. Maybe something frilly on the edges would be cute.”
Fabulosa picked up an amulet of +5 agility. She hoped it would help her wield her Phantom Blade, which had been causing more problems than it solved. I would have liked the amulet, but I had my eye on the weapon.
Item
Creeper
Rarity
Rare (yellow)
Description
Level 18 piercing/ranged weapon
+2 Strength
+3 Damage
Gives wielder 30 yards of infravision and keen hearing from the weapon’s spearhead.
At first, I didn’t understand the item’s description until I closed my eyes and concentrated on the spearhead—much like Charitybelle does with Chloe or me with Mineral Communion. My vision’s point-of-view moved around as the tip bobbed in the air. When I thrust the weapon, it looked as if I lurched forward. Its motion made me dizzy, and opening my eyes stopped the effect. Aside from infiltration or spying, I couldn’t think of ways to use it. It amounted to a +5 piercing weapon that bumped up my strength—an upgrade from the +2 damage from my Black River Cudgel.
Aside from Creeper, the lair’s moist earth rotted most items made of leather and cloth. It seemed a small wonder that the weaver hadn’t turned the rags into a golem.
Charitybelle found a usable pair of boots that gave +2 willpower and +2 agility. They looked so old that I doubted they’d survive the next rainfall.
Covered in sap, I hesitated even to put my robe on. Iris must have felt the same way. She rubbed soil on her armor to remove the sticky stuff. But it quickly became apparent she needed an agent to dissolve the sap, and she gave up.
We also found a leather belt that gave +4 damage against humans. My Dark Room rope occupied my belt slot, so I couldn’t take it. It would be great against other contestants—at least those who played human avatars.
Charitybelle wrinkled her nose at the belt. “The +4 damage against humans sounds a bit dodgy—like it might be cursed or evil.”
“I’ll wear it then.” Fabulosa snatched the belt, wrapped it around her waist, and pantomimed a feral snarl. She wriggled her fingers threateningly at Charitybelle.
“You’re weird. Get away from me.” Charitybelle waved her friend away—who burst into snorts and giggles.
The rest of the nonmagical bounty included scrap metal. Half-dissolved items, ingots, and metal nuggets comprised the bulk of the subterranean junkyard, and we added the amassed iron, copper, and brass to our inventory. We collected about 18 coins’ worth of gold and found abundant silver in coins, silverware, utensils, cups, and bowls. We could use it in Hawkhurst or appraise it on our return to civilization.
When we returned to the forest, we picked through the golem’s remains for cores or treasure. We found nothing except another cracked core. Before we left, we swept through the surrounding grounds for stray undead before continuing to Basilborough. We found a few harmless stragglers caught onto trees, and the spy weavers made no objections to dispatching them. Perhaps they’d remain as forest firefighters or grow into arc weavers one day in the far future. For now, they remained benign witnesses to our passing.
It did not surprise me that Glenn and Oscar had stayed in the Dark Room all day. They slid down the rope upon our return, joining us at the campfire. We cooked dinner and regaled them with our adventure. The sap damage to my gear plagued me. Iris wore leather and metal armor, so she planned to boil, steam, and polish it when we returned to Basilborough. My cloth cassock looked in a terrible state. The sleeves and folds stuck together, and sap worked into the fabric, making it unwearable. Having no spare suits of armor on us, I donned some traveling clothes and planned to be less aggressive if we encountered more trouble. Fletcher’s chain mail made him an excellent tank.
A goblin ambush interrupted our journey to Basilborough early the following day. They picked their moment with care. After we piled out of the Dark Room, ate breakfast, and prepared for the day’s journey, a net fell on us as we filled our waterskins at a brook.
Before it scooped us off the ground, I used Slipstream to escape. Ropes hoisted the rest of our convoy off the ground, and a dozen level 10 goblins attacked from the bushes.
Name
Goblin Hunter
Level
10
Difficulty
Easy (green)
Health
200/200
The goblins must have tracked us, waiting for the perfect opportunity to net us together. None of us had cast major spells since leaving the weaver area, so they wouldn’t have known about our spellcasting—otherwise, they wouldn’t have bothered. Netted spellcasters presented quite a dangerous quarry, and my escape meant they couldn’t stab their catch with impunity.
Volleys of Scorch and Shocking Reach bombarded their leaders while I defended the net. A spellcaster and a ninja-looking fellow wearing black leather commanded the goblins. We hoped killing the pair might end the assault, but the ambush persisted after their leaders dropped.
I fought without armor, using my new spear, Creeper. Without my stamina shield or robe, I felt vulnerable. However, my allies’ healing spells more than compensated. It had been so long since I fought against humanoids I’d almost forgotten the advantages stances created against armed opponents. Moving through their defenses as the academy taught, I inflicted damage on my opponents, who possessed no ability to read my attacks.
Fletcher and Iris sawed through the net with their blades while I fought.
With multiple Rejuvenates fortifying me, I had the luxury of withdrawing whenever my health fell. I alternated between defensive withdrawals whenever I needed heals and attacked when opportunities presented themselves.
When Fabulosa’s Lightning Bolt tore through a trio of goblins, I used the distraction to Charge without receiving retaliatory strikes. I even cast Compression Sphere to break my opponents’ formation.
The four remaining goblins broke off and fled. I chased until it became clear their ability to evade surpassed my ability to pursue. The four escaped. The net hung in ruins when I returned to my friends, who rested on the riverbank, waiting for me. Chloe sat on Charitybelle’s arm, swallowing small pieces of meat. The victory raised our spirits, putting a little spring in our step for the last leg of our journey.
It counted for our last bit of excitement before reaching Basilborough and the safety of civilization.