Chapter 49 – A New Path
My lungs deflate as I stare emptily at the ring in my hand. Really, it’s an insanely powerful item. One that I will most likely keep for as long as I play the game, but I just can’t help but feel disappointed.
The whole reason I went through this quest was because I needed a special ability to help me defeat the Plaguebringer. It may have been naive of me to think the game would offer me such a convenient way to overcome my troubles, but the timing of the quest just felt too perfect. I suppose it’s my own fault for treating this too much like a single player game where there is always a readily accessible solution within reach. The reality, however, is always a lot harsher.
…
I just really thought this would be the answer.
I sigh. So, what is my play from here? I sort of put all my eggs into the hail-mary basket on this one. There are several things I could attempt, of course, but none of them have any high chance of succeeding. Fighting the Plaguebringer is a certain death sentence and I don’t really have high hopes of baiting him into a trap. Not even a ten-times overcharged GoD trap would be able to create a noticeable dent in such a high-level character’s health bar. My only realistic options to solve this problem is to either stick my head in the sand and allow this guy to murder half the NPCs in the city, or tell Anna that the sewers are no longer a secret, effectively surrendering my personal hunting grounds.
I don’t want to choose either option, but when it comes down to it, I suppose the latter is the preferable one. Turning the city on its head will introduce an element of chaos, and I’m not sure what the repercussions will be. I also don’t want a pissed off high-level Plaguebringer on the loose. Nah, fuck that guy. I’d rather take him down out of sheer spite than allow him to succeed.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I release a deep breath. Damnit. How did it come to this? I’ve become so reliant on the sewers, I really can’t imagine proceeding without it. I need to come up with a way to grind levels without going down there. Sure, I could still use them, but then I would need to expect to run across the occasional player every now and then. Sooner or later, that would result in my death.
I sigh once more before I shake my head. There’s no need to worry about that right now. I’ll come up with something. I always do. Right now though, I could really use a break. Maybe go for a run. It’s been some really hectic days lately and I’m mentally exhausted. First of all, though, I need to finish what I started. I need to notify Anna.
[Rynorn Stabberton writes: Hey, Anna. How are you doing?]
The response comes almost immediately.
[Anna’el Windrider writes: Hey Ryan! *grin* I’m doing great! Just wrapping up a quest and then I’ll head back to town with the gang. How’s it going with you? *winkyface* I was afraid my sister scared you off the other night (lol).]
[Rynorn Stabberton writes: Haha. I’m good. Your sister looks like a handful, but I can tell she cares a lot about you. You are lucky to have her.]
[Anna’el Windrider writes: Tssk. Yeah, I know. But she can be a little bit too much sometimes... Anyways, you want to meet up later? We’ll be back in town in around two hours. The gang really wants to meet you, you know (Since Brian can’t seem to keep his big fat mouth shut for a single second). Wanna join us? Drinks are on Brian!]
I smile while shaking my head. That girl is just way too optimistic and carefree. She’s a lunatic, but at least she’s a nice lunatic. She deserves to be treated better though. I still feel kind of rotten for just stringing her along with a lie. She’s been nothing but nice to me, even giving me a few gold coins when I just started. Hmm. Yeah, I should probably pay her back. It just sucks that gold is so damn sparse around here though, and I have that damn Plaguebringer to blame. He’s really messing with my livelihood here. What’s even more annoying, is that I won’t even get a chance to loot all his valuable ingredients after Anna and her crew kills him. I’m pretty sure they won’t leave behind anything of value.
…
Hold on a minute. Why do I have to surrender both my hunting grounds and all his stuff? I may not be able to end the guy by myself, but I sure as hell can rob him blind first. There’s only one of him and nearly a dozen of me. Robbing him shouldn’t be too hard. Hell, if everything works out all right, I might even be able to disrupt his entire plan! I’ve watched enough cartoons in my life to know that sensitive magical concoctions tend to blow up once you add the wrong ingredients. Shouldn’t that be possible here as well? I don’t see why not. I only need to separate the Plaguebringer from his Cauldron for a few minutes. Should be easy enough, right?
[Rynorn Stabberton writes: Yeah, I can probably meet you guys. I came upon a lovely little restaurant around the southeastern corner of the Market District. Do you know it?]
[Anna’el Windrider writes: Uhm, no. But we’ll find it, no problem. We meet up at 5 AM then?]
[Rynorn Stabberton writes: Sounds lovely. I’ll see you there.]
[Anna’el Windrider writes: It’s a date! *grin*]
Hehe. My plan is coming together. I don’t really know if there is a restaurant around that area, but there probably is one. The Market District is crawling with them, and I’ll be really surprised if there isn’t one nearby. The main reason I want them at this particular location is because the sewers’ entrance that’s closest to the Plaguebringer’s lair is in that general area. If things go to hell during my little heist, then I’d rather have the punishing-squad close enough to bail me out on a moment’s notice.
But damn, I only have two hours. I really need to make this count. I have a lot of preparations and planning to do. First of all, I have to-
My thoughts are interrupted by Ulf who clears his throat with exaggerated vigor. Oh, shit. I completely forgot I was still in his shop.
“If ya are done zoning out, boy, then I’d like ya ta leave my store. Ya are interrupting ma business.” He grunts, scowling at me.
“Ah, shit. Sorry about that. I’ll leave.” I say, nodding curtly and start making my way towards the door. Before I can reach for the handle, Ulf grunts once more.
“Tha organisation really appreciates ya assistance with this matter, boy. I was told to inform ya tha we will contact ya in a few days ta have a little talk with ya.”
“Huh, what? Meet me?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Yes. Now get ya arse out of here. I have customers waiting.”
With that, Ulf shoos me out the door and slams the door shut behind me. Blinking with a dumbfounded expression on my face, I move my head slowly from right to left, looking up and down the street. “What customers?”
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The next hour goes by in a flash. I spent a few minutes pondering what Ulf meant about ‘a meeting’, but I ended up just postponing that particular headache to a later date. If it’s about the Silver Saints, then it’s probably nothing too dangerous. Hopefully.
To prepare for my daring heist, I start by heading north to the Crafter’s District to pick up a couple new schematics. I can probably make due for another while with the basic schematics I already have, but more powerful schematics will lead to more powerful traps, which is exactly what I will need in the near future. I also swing by an alchemist shop on the way back, purchasing an assortment of oils and potions that I already know will be effective for what I’m about to attempt. Utilizing traps have become the lynchpin of the majority of my battles so far and I would be wise to keep practicing my craft.
I have a million things to organise, so it almost feels like a godsend that I managed to acquire myself a fully functioning secret lair. Gathering my resources in a secure place is never a bad idea, and I can shave valuable minutes off my preparations this way. On my way back from my shopping spree, I decide to visit the inn to cancel my rent agreement as well as picking up my Poisoner and all the valuable resources I left behind. I have to say, I’m rather happy that I will no longer have to rely on using inns as a safe zone. They are definitely not secure areas, and I risk losing everything I’ve stored in there if I delete my character or forget to pay rent. Securing everything in a hidden location that I own is going to relieve me of most of my fears.
Safely tucked away in my Hideout, I start producing as many glue traps as I can. They are the most effective traps I can use during the mission and I will certainly need a lot of them. I’m not going to try out any of my new schematics as of yet since I don’t really have time to experiment with something new, but it will definitely come in handy sooner rather than later. I also throw out a few quick orders to Cobra while I work. Since this is a mission where speed and deception is priority number one, I decide to have my underlings only equip basic equipment. The chance of my underlings dying is high, and I don’t plan on doing any actual combat. I’d rather get the mission over with as quickly as possible without risking my most expensive stuff.
While I work, I spend a lot of time considering what to do with my recent level up. With my recent epiphany about the glaring faults in my combat strategy, I’ve been spending a considerable amount of time trying to think of the best way to develop my character going forward. I threw my strategy of creating a powerful and balanced fighting force right out the window, and I now need to figure out how to fight as unfairly as possible. Focusing on using traps is a good start, but the majority of my fights always come down to my underlings in the end. I regret recruiting this many Thugs, but that’s a minor worry. Sooner or later I would have needed more of them anyway. It’s never too late to change tactics.
Gaining the new sword and ring has positively affected my stats, and I have gained a considerable amount of Charisma and Luck. I already have enough points to recruit another underling, and I’m only three points shy of getting a second. I know I had decided to invest most of my future points into Luck, but it’s hard for me to prioritize buffing my skills when I can gain two more underlings in one go. I should also consider putting a few points into Endurance since I’ve had a few close calls lately. In the end, though, pragmatism triumphs and I dump all three of my new attribute points into Charisma, raising the stat to sixty-five.
Making these kinds of decisions are not easy, and my next one isn’t getting any easier. Allocating my attribute points is child's play compared to allocating my newest skill point. There are still so many skills I would like to get, and my recent change in tactics only further stirs the pot. Initially, I was planning on capping out all my essential class skills as they are remarkably more powerful than anything else available. Now though, the picture has become a bit more unclear. Considering my recent change in tactics, development paths I had previously discarded as unnecessary now look much more appealing. While I am perfectly content on taking a back seat during all our engagements, I still wish I could do more. Throwing out a few Illusion spells only gets me so far, and I should really think about expanding my spell repertoire. There are several different lesser schools of magic that are available to me, and I do have a few interesting ideas. Sadly, none of them are achievable for me with only a single skill point. I do, however, know where I will focus my future efforts. Right now though, I should probably pick up a few more essential class abilities.
I bring up a list of all the Thief Lord basic abilities I have yet to acquire.
Gang Up - Gain increased damage when fighting 3 to 1 by 0,5 Luck + 0,5 * Skill level.
Bail – All troops escape and evade. Evasion increases by 1% * Skill level, Movement speed moving away from enemies increases by 2% * Skill level. Duration 30 seconds + 0,5 seconds per Skill level. Cooldown 60 min - 15 seconds per Skill level.
Rush – Increases movement speed by 0,2 Luck + 0,2 * Skill level percent for 30 seconds + 0,5 seconds per Skill level.
Cooldown 20 minutes - 5 seconds per Skill level.
Disarm – Makes Underlings disarm an opponent. Chance of success: 0,5 Luck + 0,2 * Skill level per Underling. Stackable.
Cooldown: 5 minutes - 5 seconds per Skill level.
Bountiful – Increases yield of successful jobs by 0,5 Luck + 0,5% * Skill level.
Incite Crowd – Causes NPC’s to actively distract and obstruct enemies for 0,1 Charisma seconds + 0,1 seconds per Skill level.
Cooldown 60 minutes - 15 seconds per Skill level.
Cheat Death - Upon taking fatal damage, clear all status effects and turn invulnerable for 0,1 seconds per 0,5 Luck and instantly heal for Luck + 5 * Skill level.
Cooldown: 24 hours - 5 minutes per Skill level.
I once again take in the raw power of a Villain’s arsenal. These abilities only appear more powerful every time I see them. They are all-powerful in their own way, and selecting just one of them is incredibly tough. If this had been the me of yesterday choosing, I would probably select ‘Cheat Death’ in a heartbeat. I’ve been putting it off for far too long already.
The problem is, there are so many other appealing options. Both ‘Bountiful’, ‘Cheat Death’, and ‘Incite Crowd’ are all good options, but they are either not immediately helpful, or too situational dependent to be of much use. Especially in the short term. No, I have to stay true to my choice. I want to fight like a coward and to do that, I need mobility. Both ‘Rush’ and ‘Bail’ have great potential, whereas ‘Bail’ is more overly powerful, while ‘Rush’ is more flexible. The decision is tough, but I ultimately decide to pick up ‘Rush’. The ability to run away is highly valuable, but running after someone can sometimes be just as important.
Yeah, I know. My arguments for not choosing ‘Cheat Death’ for the umptenth time are growing thinner by the second. I have a skill book now, so the skill finally has some good merits. The problem is that I always end up having a more immediate need for something else. Surviving a deadly strike means little if I can’t escape afterwards. I have a lot of skills geared towards defending myself, almost all of them more versatile than ‘Cheat Death’. My philosophy is that only a really powerful enemy are capable of one-shotting me, and ‘Cheat Death’ wouldn’t be enough to survive against a high-level player if I were to meet one without a way to get away afterwards. High-level players are faster than me. I know I will get more value out of choosing ‘Rush’. I promise myself that no matter what, my next skill chosen will be ‘Cheat Death’. Cross my heart and hope to die.
I rub my temples as exhaustion is starting to set in. Really, I shouldn’t be making these kinds of decisions right now. It’s amazing I can even manage to finish assembling these traps. My exhaustion is so severe, I even had to start making all the individual parts of the trap separately which I’m sure would have caused Odin to pop a blood vessel if he ever found out.
Just one more hour and all this will hopefully be over.