"You look like a four-day-old carcass that even the vultures won't eat, son. What the hell did you get up to? Not that you have to tell me, you being in charge and all. Old Joe just gets a might curious as he works here in the pit while you go galivanting off with dwarves, bugs, and strange women."
"Not with the women again. Ben gives me enough shit as is. Not my fault that barbarian was drunk and horny."
"Barbarian? I was talking about the out-worlder serving drinks in the tavern."
"Out-worlder? Suzette? What are you talking about, Joe."
"My bad, you don't want to talk about women? I'll be quiet. But how'd you lose most of your clothes and get so chewed up if it wasn't a woman?
Ozzy was too tired and completely unarmed for any battle of wits. He leaned back against the edge of the pit, soaked up a little heat, and told Joe about the latest foray into the dungeon. Joe whistled as he told him about the enhancement points they'd earned.
"A level 10 Elite? Oh, that will kick you up to Tier 2 for sure. Nice, very nice. The deal with a Dungeon Lord is sweet too. You're learning. You have any ideas on how you're spending those points?"
Ozzy was about half asleep by this point. "Nope. But I bet you do. Tell me about Pitmaster some more."
"Now that's a good thing to ask about. Lots of butchers make charnel pits. They burn the souls of the things they slay and butcher, then feed the power to whoever they serve. A Pitmaster is more independent. A lot of their focus is on cooking what they kill and turning it into various types of food with magical effects. Many large armies try to hire a Pitmaster. Having food that increases the mana generation of your mages or gives your fighters more health can be a damned nice advantage to have. That Legion Centurion isn't interested in you just because you're big and strong. He can find a hundred guys as big as you if he needs to. An independent Pitmaster is a lot harder to come by."
"Huh, hadn't really thought about it that way. Magical meats? Is that most of what I could do at Tier 2?" Ozzy had always enjoyed the times he spent in a kitchen. This might turn out a lot better than he'd imagined.
"Mostly. But there's also The Smoke." Joe looked at the fire and suddenly all the smoke condensed and swirled around his hand. "Smoke magic can be subtle and take your breath away, or it can lunge at you like a wild animal, bringing with it the heat of the fire that made it." The smoke took the form of a wolf with huge teeth and jaws that dripped fire. It lunged at Ozzy but burst back into a cloud of smoke before it got to him. He took a deep breath. The damned thing had looked alive!
Ozzy was wide awake now. The wolf was an amazing thing, both insubstantial and deadly. Like smoke. He was starting to understand. "You're saying I could learn to do that?"
Joe pointed at a mostly uncooked sedge beast carcass, reformed his wolf, and sent it off to play with the meat. The smoke and flames from the creature wrapped around the carcass and Ozzy could hear it start to sizzle like it was on a grill. "Maybe. Depends on a few things. You need some fire and some darkness in you to understand smoke like I do, but there are other ways to get its attention. Air and Fire will do it, but I don't like to do it that way. Air doesn't bring the fuel that the dark mana from corruption does, and doesn't quite have the subtlety. More hot wind and flash."
"But that's up to you son, don't let an old smoke elemental tell you what to do. If you like the bar-b-que, nothing wrong with just doing that. But if you want to have fun and pick up a little power, you let me know how I can help."
Ozzy was looking at the skills he could buy. "I'd guess that picking up the skill Playing with Fire would help? That would give me the aspect of fire. Suzette says it's the key to gaining spells."
Joe hid a small grin, he felt like a fisherman reeling in a whale. "Yup, big help there. Then a few points of corruption to sweeten the deal, and you'll get the Old Smoke's attention for sure. I'll even put in a good word for you." Joe hoped Old Smoke wasn't still pissed at him. But sometimes you have to take some chances.
Ozzy looked at his options. "COR? Hmm, I can buy some with enhancement points. But I don't have any skills that use COR so I can't get it that way. But I can use some of that 1500 Boss Experience we just got for it. How high do I have to get it, Joe?
“Oh, any amount might give you a chance. But the more the better. Especially since you have that spark of radiance in you. Not sure how that will work.”
Ozzy considered; he liked the idea of balance, keeping his COR and RAD equal. At the same time, he didn't want to miss out on getting an aspect of magic and some spells. “What are the repercussions of having a lot of COR, if it's going to push me towards the dark side I'm not too keen on the idea?”
“Hard to say. People get all upset when you take a side. Of course, they get mad when you don’t take a side. Having high RAD or COR is sort of a flag saying who you might fight for, and how strong you are. But it’s less of a problem for mortals. A monster with high COR or RAD is going to be influenced by it a lot more. They have a story to play out or are part of a quest, or it's just in their nature. Intelligent creatures make more choices and have a lot more freedom. You’ve got some COR now; I don’t see it causing a problem with either of your friends who have all that RAD burning inside of them.”
“Good points. I’ll have to take a chance on it. I like the idea of smoke magic. And I've got an idea, but it might bring us some trouble. I'll need you to help out in case something happens. Give me some time for a nap, and another couple of healing potions. Then we'll toss out some bait."
"Going fishing? You'll look awful funny trying to use a pole with broken arms." Ozzy turned his head and saw Ben walking up, a tankard in his hand. Here, I brought you some liquid refreshments. I've got something to try, and this is about the only painkiller we have." Ben set a full mug of ale by Ozzy.
"I'm hoping that this might help you out. I picked up a new healing spell. Hold still." As soon as Ben put a hand on Ozzy's shoulder, he started to relax. The pain was going away, no beer was needed. Muscles held tight against the pain and strained tendons suddenly felt better. After Ben cast the spell several times he was feeling much better."
"Damn, I like that spell. I don't think I could have even lifted that mug of ale before you healed me. No pain by the way, not even when bones moved into position. I think it has a numbing effect."
Ben had dumped the rest of his mana pool into Ozzy, and the change was very apparent. Ozzy looked healthier and more relaxed. "That should help with those broken bones a lot, but be careful, they aren't fully healed. Taking a nap is still a good idea. The general has me running around, but I'll try to be around this evening and heal you up again when I get some mana back."
"Thanks, Ben, thinking on that myself. I'll take your advice on that nap."
Ozzy laid back and was soon asleep. Joe looked at the butcher he was not technically bound to. The boy was getting stronger, and it was obvious he was picking up some points of CHA. That would help a lot. But it sounded like they were both fishing for something today. What the hell was the boy trying to pull in? He'd just have to let him have his nap and see what he had up his sleeve.
----------------------------------------
Ozzy woke from his nap. He'd mostly daydreamed and thought about how to spend his points. STR was no problem to get to 10, hell, he was close to 15. With almost all of his skills giving STR experience, and the chunk he got the night the players blew up the corral, he was at Rank 10 if he paid the points to uncap. And while he might only need 10 for the milestone, the damage from his Billhook, Caber, and Fists all benefitted from STR.
Of course, he needed to get his CON as high as he could to match it or he was going to break his arms again. He finished buying the last point of Spirit of the Bear, giving him +3 points from that enhancement. He had +1 from Heritage and could use the 2 free stats from Pitmaster. That meant he needed to get CON to Rank 7. He still hadn't done anything with his points from fighting Root. Things were moving fast and he'd wanted to spend time at some point on the player forums to figure maximize his options. Not much time for that now. But if he needed CON, then picking up Acid Resistance would be nice, and he could put some of the experience from that fight into it. After spending 5 enhancement points and a thousand Boss Experience, he was Rank 5 in Acid Resistance. Between that and the Giants Ring, getting rid of the rest of the weeds for Makken should be a lot easier. Dumping the other 500 into CON brought him up to Rank 7. Keeping his CON and STR equal seemed like a good thing if he wanted to avoid injuries like he was suffering from today.
CHA could get to ten. Pit Alchemy gave him 5 points. That had leveled fast as he continuously cooked sedgebeast and upgraded his pit. Pitmaster would give him two points and he could buy three more for six enhancement points.
That left corruption. He thought he had a way to do it. He could get COR to Rank 5 with his last experience points. With the one point he got from his court case, he needed three more. He thought through the plan again. A little risky, but he really wanted Smoke Magic. He yawned and went back to sleep. Best to not put this plan in motion until he was well rested.
Sometime later, Ozzy stood at the top of the pit. The fire below had been refueled and was burning hot. He'd told Joe his plan and the old Smoke Golem just chuckled and said to count him in. Ozzy brought up the Enhancements list and selected one of the stranger ones.
Demonic Bargain: The Devil is in the Details. Cost: One Bargain. Increase COR by +1.
Immediately, a woman similar to one of the hellions he'd seen before showed up. She rose from the fire of the pit on bat-like wings, wearing what amounted to a French bikini made from dragon scales. The red scales went well with her tanned skin and dark hair. Ozzy wondered if there was a CHA requirement for Angels and Hellions. Every one of them he'd seen so far could have gotten work as a fashion model.
A large pen and several pages of parchment were in her hands. "Ooh, now that's a nice fire you have going, big guy. Got me warmed up are rarin' to go. What did you have in mind? Some type of reward for doing bad things? Or did you maybe want to play around a bit first? I'll throw in some play time for free. Call me Lilibeth, or just Lil for short. Hell, call me anything you want." She moved towards Ozzy and he found it hard to look at her face and not her heaving chest that was doing its best to escape the top of her bathing suit.
"That's a generous offer Lil, but let's do a bit of business first."
She nodded and put on a pair of glasses. "Business first, I like that in a man. Just sign here and we'll fill in all the details. What were you thinking about? Revenge? Power? Wealth? We've got a special this month for would-be Warlords. A lot of land is up for grabs. If you're up for some conquering and pillaging we can set you up with a small horde of minions. "
Ozzy pointed at the pit. Keeping a straight face, he said "I'm actually looking for a Long-Term-Extended-Warranty. I'm worried about anything happening to my pit now that I've put a lot of work into it and it's my source of income."
Lilibeth felt herself go weak in the knees. She leaned against the mortal and couldn't help thinking about what she was going to do with him later. An Extended Warranty? Long term? No one signed a warranty out of the blue! This was her chance to really move up in the ranks! She could bill him every year, and corrupt his soul until he became one of her minions. She'd enjoy having him around her office in a couple of decades. And it didn't cost her anything! What in hell or heaven could damage a charnel pit? The things were nearly indestructible!
She heard the sound of wings and too late she realized her mistake. She'd wasted several seconds swooning at the thought of getting a contract from this man and forgot what might be triggered by the mortals’ words.
"HOLD HARLOT! I'll not let you entice this mortal into a worthless warranty that you'll void as fast as you drop your knickers!"
An angel had appeared, wearing white robes with a beer stain on the front, and holding a flaming sword. (A very short flaming sword. Sort of a flaming knife. He'd been out eating with friends when the call came in and this was the most dangerous weapon he could find on short notice.)
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
He also had a long scroll in his hand. "I have here a much better Long Term Extended Warranty used by all the finest Pitmasters in creation. Just back slowly away from the strumpet and we can get you signed right up." The angel knew this was going to be tricky. She'd gotten here first and probably had the mortal under her influence. He had to admit that even he was having trouble looking away from the goods she had on display. But any mortal dumb enough to go for an extended warranty would be easy to sway with a superior angelic product.
The Butcher spoke up, "Sorry buddy, but me and Lil here were just working out some details. I'll have to say no to whatever you’re selling. You can leave now."
"But sir! This is about your immortal soul and getting the best insurance policy you can, I'm sure....."
Ozzy interrupted the angel, and turned to Lil, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Hey honey, do you mind putting your hands above your head, and jiggling around a bit for me?" Lil was delighted to do just that. She knew she had him now, and better yet, the stupid wingding couldn't take his eyes off her either. Could she corrupt them both?"
Ozzy spoke harshly to the angel. "I guess they don't teach you guys from heaven that 'No means No.' You were told to not bother me."
The angel made one last try, "But, sir, if you only give me a moment.."
The smoke golem took that as his cue.
Heavy chains of smoke wrapped around the angel, smothering him. Joe, in his elemental form, pulled him down into the pit. The angel tried to sever the smokey bonds holding him, but you don't burn smoke with fire. Or a butter knife. Within seconds Joe was stuffing him into the fire pit, and burying him with heavy logs and coal. Muffled screams could be heard coming from the pit.
Lilibeth was stunned, and then very afraid. She realized that she'd been a fool, going after a 'too-good-to-be-true' deal, and tempted by a mortal with bulging muscles. A classic set-up. And now she was going to pay the price. Just like the angel had already paid. The mortal had his arm lightly around her, but she could feel his strength. He was far more dangerous than he should be, and she was just beginning her apprenticeship in the Infernal Contracts Bureau and no match for him. And twinkling inside him was the radiance she'd missed at first.
She turned and pressed herself against him, actually afraid. "Please? I'll do what you want. No contract is needed. I'll even tell you my true name and let you bind me. Just don't do to me what you did to him."
[You have slain an angel! (Well, hurt him some, and he's a little singed...) What despicable, foul, and horrible sort of being are you that you do such a thing?
Your soul is corrupted with darkness!
+1 COR
(Look, we'll cut you a deal. How's that? Toss the bat bimbo in the same spot you threw Arnie, and we'll call it even and give you a point of RAD to balance it all out.)]
Ozzy smiled, that's what he was waiting for. That was one point of COR, now to bargain for some more. He looked down at the terrified hellion and wiped away her tears. She was a cute little thing. But this was business. There was a war coming and he needed to be ready.
"Actually, I do need that warranty. I'm thinking you can give me 99 years of coverage on my pit for 1 gold a year. How about it Lil?"
Lilibeth recovered quickly. Fear melted away as they got down to bargaining. "What? 1 gold? I'd need at least a 100 a year, and a point of corruption to go with it!"
"Well, I might take on a bit, but only if the price was right." They got down to bargaining and Ozzy was glad Joe had coached him on what to expect. Eventually, Ozzy got a deal for 7 gold a year, +3 COR, and a promise of a date with Lilibeth. She had been firm on that last part. It was required of all contracts with a Hellion. In exchange, any damage to his pit from any source would be repaired. She was a bit disappointed when instead of signing, Ozzy handed her a card for Coppertwist, Fellrock, Kindfeld, and Bumplasonek. Lil might be cute, but he saw the cunning in her as well. Having his lawyer take a look was a good idea. She gathered up the contracts, somehow tucked them into her clothes, and made a rude gesture at the Angel in the pit.
As she started to fly off, she turned and leaped at Ozzy, her legs wrapping around his waist, and kissed him hard. This went on for a half minute until he heard a growl from behind him. Lil looked over his shoulder and disengaged. "Oops, got to go, be seeing you. I'll be back for our date." She waved to someone behind him and evaporated into the fire.
He turned to find Suzette staring at him, holding a plate of eggs and bacon. Before he could say anything, his breakfast was scattered over his face and chest, and she was walking angrily away.
Joe was tending the fire as the fuel burned down and the screams continued. "You really have a way with the women folk, don't you son?".
Ozzy managed to salvage the bacon. He'd have to grab a couple of muffins at the morning meeting. And then see about apologizing to her. She'd brought him breakfast and found him with a bat-winged, mostly naked woman, his pit belching fire in the background. He didn't blame her for being upset. They weren't in a relationship, but they weren't just friends, either.
Joe continued laughing while he enjoyed the Angel's screams. This was going to make some nice Screaming Charcoal and then some great sausages. "I'll admit that I don't like these guys, but I'm wondering why you're pissed off at them?"
Ozzy shrugged. "They just annoy me. They try to take away people's choices and sign them up for their little armies. He didn't have to show up here. And when I said no he could have left. But his type don't take no for an answer."
Joe said, "Well, I appreciate it. The winged guys make great screaming charcoal. Excellent screamers. But I suspect you did it so you could pick up a point or two of corruption?"
"Yeah, I picked up a point for the charbroiled angel, and then another big chunk of corruption for free when I signed the deal with Lil. The cost of the warranty is steep, but you can buy it down with points. I had one point from before, this deal gives me five more. I used some experience from our dungeon crawl to bring my COR stat to 5. So I'm up to 10. And I don't have to worry about this war doing damage to my pit."
"Holy roasted goblin on a stick! Did you pick up nine points of corruption all at once? Nine?! What were you thinking?"
Ozzy chuckled, "Well, I was thinking that I could get a cheap warranty, and the points I need to get smoke magic. The angel was a bonus. You're worried though. Why? I don't feel any different."
Joe nodded, "Oh, you never do. Things will seem normal, that's the horror of both the light and the dark. You might not even notice the changes. Then one day you're burning a city and it seems natural to you. "
"But mortals don't need COR or RAD to do unspeakable horrors. They can be saints or devils all on their own. A lust for power or control can change you just as easily. Or alcoholism. Drug addiction. Sex. Lots of ways to go bad that don't involve getting caught up in a struggle between minor powers of light and dark."
"Still, you should be feeling something. Are you angry at all? Depressed?"
Ozzy stretched. "Just tired as hell. But I suspect that some of ACME's tinkering is coming in handy in ways they didn't think about. I'm happy as a clam most days, even working a double shift and only eating groat muffins. COR has to work hard to get through that Endure ability that they gave us."
"And I bet you were planning on that all along. I'm curious now, you have a bunch of points and didn't have to spend it on corruption, what did you pick up instead? "
"Some good stuff. Another level of mitigation, magical sense, and I got Yo' mama is ugly to the second rank and the same with Don't mess around with Jim. And increased my damage with my fists. I actually, sort of wish I could fight in this war."
"Oh, spoiling for a fight, are we?" Joe turned away, messing with the fire, smiling. The young ones always wanted to run out and fight when they got new abilities. That never changed.
"Yeah, I am. Those Famco idiots have been causing problems for weeks. A few broken skulls might teach them some lessons."
Joe asked, “How often do you just decide to go bash in people’s heads.”
Ozzy had to think about that. “I don’t, not like that. I get even if someone screws with me, or my friends. But I don’t just go to town to pick a fight. Why am I thinking that way? Is this the corruption?”
Joe nodded, “Or not sleeping all night, getting torn up in a dungeon, and breaking your bones. Let's add dealing with a pushy angel, and a girl you care about getting pissed and decorating you with your breakfast. Then add in dealing with a Hellion, who I might add specializes in messing with your head, and the added stress of this little war. You’ve got a lot of things to make you mad and want to lash out.
"And then the corruption comes along and whispers in your ear. Let’s say you did go get in a fight, blow off some steam, and feel better. Then the next time you get upset, it’s easier to go do the same thing. Soon it’s a habit and you'll look for a reason to be pissed off so you can go hit people.”
Ozzy stared at the smoke golem. “And you recommended me taking this on?”
“I just told you about Smoke Magic and how to get it. Ultimately, it was your decision, not mine. But I wasn't worried before and I'm not now. I figure you can handle it all right. And with that spiffy mental protection you have going, you should do ok. Even with nine damned points at once! Just stop and think about things when you get mad or feel bad. Ask where the feeling is coming from. And if that doesn't work I'll hit you in the back of the head with a shovel and tie you up for a bit until it passes."
That made sense to Ozzy. It was just another thing he needed to control in his life.
“Thanks, Joe, that puts things in perspective some. I'll do some thinking on it. I’ll be back later and start on the next round of carcasses. Got some stuff to do."
First things first. He needed to go apologize to Suzette, then clean up and get a couple of hours of sleep. Get a handle on this tendency to get angry before it gets him in trouble.
And then deal with this War that was coming to town.
Name: Ozzy
Height: 7' 2"
Weight 300
Heritage: Human 90 (+3 STR, +1 CON)
Creature Type: Contract Worker
Class: Contract Worker: Butcher Level 5
You have a role to play in the village of Sedgewick.
Health: 1570
Stamina: 1610x3= 4830
Mana: 1495
STR: 15 (+20 Stamina, +10 Health, per point.)
CON: 11 (+10 Stamina, +20 Health, per point.)
DEX: 2 (Increased chance to hit in combat.)
AGI: 0 (Increased avoidance in combat.)
WIS: 0 (+15 Mana per point.)
INT: 5 (+15 Mana per point.)
CHA: 8 (+15 Mana per point.)
PER: 0 (Decreased chance of ambush.)
COR: 10
RAD: 1
Skills:
Chop Bone (STR): Rank 5
Hack Meat (STR): Rank 5
Slaughter (STR): Rank 5
Hack Undead (STR): Rank 2
Caber (STR): Rank 5
Minor Poison Resist (CON):
Tool Repair (DEX): Rank 2
Fire Eater (CON): Rank 1
Resist Torture (CON): 1
Active Fire Resistance (INT): Rank 5
Demon Slaying (RAD): Rank 0
Billhook (STR): Rank 2
Enhancements:
One Fist of Iron 3: Your mighty right fist can hit with the strength of iron.
Base Chance to hit: 50% + (5% x DEX) + (10% x Level) – Target’s Evasion.
Damage: 40 + (5 x STR) + (10 x Level).
The Other of Steel: You can attack with both fists each round.
Endless Breath1: You may hold your breath for 3 minutes of normal activity.
Minor Acid Resistance: Gain mitigation from acid damage. The total mitigated is 5+5xRank.
Dark Vision 1: Gives monochromatic vision to a distance of 20' when there is at least some light.
Yo' Mama is Ugly 2: Increases Hate in all tier 1 creatures around you that can hear you as you taunt them and encourage them to fight you.
Don't Mess Around with Jim 2: You have an intimidating aura. Most Tier 1 creatures will not attack you unless they have 3 to one odds, are elite, or are mindless.
Mitigation 2: You take less damage from physical attacks. 20 less damage, total of 30.
Contract Worker - Pitmaster (apprentice)
You have slaughtered tasty critters and cooked them in your pit, created a smoke golem, and learned to resist the flames. The Pit Master class enhances your skills as a butcher, adding magical skills and recipes that will let you kill a horde of creatures and then cook them up to feed an army.
+2 CHA, +2 CON +2 free stat points.