Our footsteps tapped gently across the slate roof tiles as we traversed the city, keeping out of sight of anyone at street level. We leapt from building to building, and I thanked my lucky stars that Fenrock was a cramped and crowded city; while Val and Corminar might have been able to leap much further, I would have been in danger of going splat on the hard ground below.
We approached the building Corminar had pointed us at, the strange cross-shaped complex, doing so from the north side, just as the ranger had planned. There hadn’t been time to question his plan of attack—I had a Player coming for me, after all—but I couldn’t help but wonder if my brain for heists was better than Corminar’s. It was too late now, anyway.
Corminar and Val leaped across to the roof of the warehouse on the northern side, landing hard on deteriorating tiles. The sorcerer caught a particularly disintegrated piece of slate, and when she released her foot from it, it began sliding down the sloped roof.
‘Ah,’ Val said.
I reached out, instinctively beginning my Local Portal spell, not quite sure how I was going to stop the tile from smashing on the ground and alerting others to our presence—after all, it would need to land somewhere. I was beaten to it, though, by Corminar, who suddenly had his bow in his hand and released a couple of shots. The two arrows pierced the slates below the sliding tile, catching it before it could reach the edge of the roof.
‘Val…’ the ranger said, screwing up his mouth.
‘What? Stealth isn’t exactly my thing, you know?’
I leapt across the void, landing firmly on the warehouse roof, but Val reached out to grab my arm anyway. It was a nice—if very patronising—gesture.
‘Join my side,’ Corminar whispered, nodding to the edge of the roof at the other side, peering down over it. ‘It is just as planned: there is an open window.’ He turned to me. ‘This “heist” business is hardly the most difficult of tasks, is it.’
Val and I made eye contact, communicating silently with each other just what we thought of this particular comment. Neither of us had a chance to say anything to Corminar before he crouched, grabbed the rim of the roof, and swung himself down and—presumably—through the open shutters.
The sorcerer shrugged, then followed suit, and suddenly it was my turn. This sort of acrobatics wasn’t exactly in my wheelhouse right about now, but in absence of any other choice… I copied the two Player Slayers who’d gone before me, grabbing the rim of the roof tiles, and then threw myself over the edge.
Except… part of me hesitated in the final moment.
I stumbled, not swinging quite as much as I needed to, but the force still pulling me away from my grip on the tiles. As I began to fall, my heart skipped a beat. I reached out for the open window, and… Two arms reached out to yank me in.
‘Told you he’d do that,’ Val said, her and the ranger standing over me where I’d fallen on the floor.
Corminar, visibly annoyed, passed the sorcerer a copper piece.
We passed through the upper rafters of the warehouse building silently, each of us making a concerted effort not to alert the workers we could hear milling around and shifting crates below us. I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding when we reached the other end of the building—in a small room from which a balcony overlooked the central courtyard.
Stealth — +100xp
Stealth increased to level 2!
Base Points gained — +1 DEX, +1 WIS, +1 Free Point (DEX/WIS)
Finally, I thought; I’d forgotten how long it took to level up this skill. Still, at least it wasn’t required for any of the basics—even Val, who as far as I knew didn’t have this skill at all, could keep out of sight, and her footsteps quiet. Only when it came to stealth combat did this skill come in handy. So far, my only ability that scaled with either Dexterity or Wisdom was Basic Identification, which used Wisdom, so I put the extra point in that.
The three of us slowly peered our heads over the edge of the balcony wall that looked out onto the courtyard. Across the way was another identical balcony, facing us. Through there, we’d find what Corminar was after.
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‘Alright,’ I whispered, preparing myself to create a portal. ‘Here we—’
Val snapped her hand up, grabbing me by the wrist. I shot her a question in the form of a furrowed brow, which she responded to with, ‘They’ll see the glow. If not from your hands, from the portal.’
Remaining still, I heard what she was worried about—two voices growing louder beneath us. Guards entering the courtyard.
‘...in the Reaches, yeah,’ one of the approaching voices said. ‘As far north as Garnokk.’
‘Garnokk?’ the other replied. ‘You been on the doomsake again? Ain’t no way the queen’s been sending her troops up this way.’
‘That’s what I heard, is all.’ The voice began to grow quiet again. ‘I ain’t saying I seen it or nothing, but that’s what others told me.’
As we waited for them to pass, I took the opportunity to ask Val a question which had been weighing on my mind. ‘How come your spells don’t create a glow, then?’
Val pulled something from her pocket, uncupping her hands from it just enough so I could see a gem inside, glowing green. ‘An obscurem. Hides the source of your magicks.’
‘Stupid name,’ I whispered. ‘Where do I get one?’
Val waved me down; this wasn’t the time to have this discussion. Fair enough, really; I was just a bit excited to have some accomplices on this job. I never got to have accomplices.
Once we were satisfied that the courtyard was clear, we stood, and I held out my hand, beginning to imagine a portal both next to us and on the balcony opposite. ‘We ready?’ I asked. ‘Cos we gotta move fast.’
Taking a leaf out of Val’s book, I didn’t wait for a reply, and opened the portal. Corminar—surprisingly trusting in my ability—hopped through first, followed by Val, followed by me. All in all, we were through in under four seconds, my mana bar not yet half-drained, and—judging by the lack of shouting—thus far unseen.
A success, if I said so myself.
Worldbending — +50xp
Worldbending increased to level 4!
Base Points gained — +2 INT, +2 Free Points (INT/WIS/CHA)
I quickly dumped both free points into Intelligence—I needed the mana reserves, after all—and then nodded to the rest of the team. We turned our attention to the adjoining room, and something about it made my stomach twist uncomfortably.
In the centre of the otherwise entirely empty room—not so much as a wall decoration in sight—was a single crate. Judging by Corminar immediately hurrying over to it, this was what we were after.
‘Are we sure…’ I started, not quite knowing what the rest of this sentence was going to be.
Val halted, her apprehensive body language suggesting that she, too, felt that something was off about this scene.
‘Corminar,’ I said, forcing a serious tone. ‘There’s something wrong here.’
‘Should I understand this to be your expert burglary knowledge emerging?’ the ranger said, eyebrow raised to show that he thought little of it.
‘No. Maybe. I don’t…’ I gulped. ‘Look at the room. There’s nothing else here. The absence of anything else, in this room, is a choice.’
‘Perhaps they’re decorating,’ Corminar suggested. ‘They could do with a feature wall in this room, perhaps a floral print wallpaper on the—’
‘He’s not joking, Cor,’ Val said. ‘Something’s wrong, here.’
‘Then I ask: does it matter? Our job—’
‘Your job,’ Val corrected him.
‘—is simply to collect the cargo by any means necessary. It is not up to us to wonder about the state of the room, nor the style of wallpaper best suited to its containing room. We do not ask questions, Val. Understand?’ With that, Corminar continued on into the room, and put his hands on the edge of the crate. He heaved it up off the floor, accompanied by a grunt that suggested it was as heavy as it looked—if not so heavy that one person couldn’t carry it—and then…
Something growled.
Three pairs of eyes stared at the crate.
‘Cor…’ Val said, ‘Just what in the hells is in that thing?’
"Styk"
Level 6 Novice Bladespinner
Base Stats:
Vitality — 10
Intelligence — 23
Dexterity — 15
Strength — 27
Wisdom — 10
Charisma — 0
Skills:
Knifework — Level 12
Identification — Level 5
Worldbending — Level 4
Stealth — Level 2
Abilities:
Slice — Slice the enemy for physical damage worth weapon’s base damage and additional damage scaling on [STR].
Stab — Put your weight behind your wielded blade and force the tip through tougher hides and armour. Damage scales on [STR].
Closed Reach — Bend reality to narrow the gap between blade and target by up to 8 inches. Uses mana.
Local Portal — Create a portal to another location within current range of sight. Uses mana/second.
Basic Stealth Attack — Passive. 10% boost to damage when unnoticed by enemy.
Basic Identification — Discover basic attributes for a particular object or person. Ability scales with [WIS] + [INT].
Active Effects:
Legacy of Sisyphus:
XP gain increased by +400%