Rare Quest Accepted: The Witch’s Trapbox!

Objective: Survive.

Reward: ??

Failure Penalty: Death.

Decline Penalty: This quest cannot be declined.

I said.

Ezzie said, snorting a little.

Ezzie repeated, laughing in earnest now.

Ezzie said. The Constructor bobbed out through the door, then returned.

I said, as I tried to jerk my hand free yet again.

Ezzie said.

Ezzie said.

Ezzie said.

She snorted again.

I tried, and my arm sank in up to the shoulder. And when I tried to pull back, I was stuck up to the shoulder, too.

I probed the outer reaches of the box, then screamed as my fingers bumped into something smooth and slick and red-hot.

Ezzie mirrored my scream with one of her own.

I said.

Ezzie said.

The fire beneath the cauldron roared up and a layer of green foam rolled over the cauldron’s rim. The foam hissed as it hit the floor, eating away at the wood and sending plumes of dark smoke rising to the ceiling.

Ezzie said.

I said, as I reached out and closed my fingers around whatever the hot object was. I tried to pull it out, but the object wouldn’t budge, and the pain was screaming up my arm, as if molten metal had been poured over the entire limb.

I gritted my teeth against the pain, and tugged once, twice, then my shoulder popped free and I stumbled backward, flinging the object across the room.

Ding!

You found a rare weapon!

{Witchflame Hammer} has been added to your Constructor!

Ezzie said, urgent now.

I dashed out the door and vaulted over the railing, splashing inelegantly into the warm water below. Something enormous was rising far beneath the waters, coloring them ink-black as it drew closer to the surface. I swam as fast as I could, then ran as soon as my feet touched the muddy bottom, but the willows made me pull up short.

They were covered with vultures. Hundreds of them clustered about the dark trees, roosting so thickly that the branches were groaning beneath their weight. They watched me with dark, beady eyes, their heads tilting to follow me as I drew closer to the trees.

Ezzie said.

Something massive exploded out of the water behind me, throwing up a huge wave that scooped me up and tossed me head over heels. By the time I regained my feet, the vultures had scattered, and were flying in massive circle far overhead.

And the creature was striding across the water on thin legs that flattened the water beneath them into disks, but never broke the surface.

{The Witch’s Plaything} (Level ?? Monstrosity)

HP: 135,000/135,000

The spider was huge, easily twenty feet tall, with eight thin legs supporting an abdomen that was a cage of bone, the gaps joined by leathery skin, and the mandibles were jawbones fitted with razor-sharp teeth.

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The creature blinked a series of green, gem-like eyes at me—its eyelids closing sideways—then screeched and charged forward, skittering atop the water.

Ezzie said. I could feel her revulsion through the link, so strong that it was almost physical, that I had to fight down the urge to heave right on the spot.

I dashed between the willows, trying to put as many obstacles between the spider and I as possible, but the creature smashed right through them.

Still, the trees were definitely slowing it down, so I kept to the wooded area that ringed the witch’s cabin while I tried to come up with something that faintly resembled a plan. And failed.

The damn thing was too fast; if I’d have been on solid ground, I’d have had at least chance of outrunning it. But here, where even the shallowest parts of the swamp reached up to my shins? And where a thick layer of mud lay beneath? No chance. So I just kept circling through the trees as the spider carved a line of deadfall into the swamp.

I said.

Ezzie said, as she deftly navigated the Constructor through the trees.

<…and?>

I said.

The Constructor zoomed ahead, weaving between the willows. I followed close behind, gaining a little bit of ground on the enormous spider thanks to Ezzie’s positioning.

I burst out of the willows and found a pile of black rocks just a few feet away, the Constructor hovering just above it. I leapt, planted a foot atop the pile, and jumped for the next one, which Ezzie had already directed the Constructor to. With each successful leap I made, the golems stirred more quickly, until the piles were shifting even before I landed on them.

Ezzie said.

I just kept running, focused on getting decent footholds to keep myself above the water. One final leap sent me onto solid ground, and I wasted no time in dashing up the ramp into tiered, dry area of the quarry.

Ezzie said.

I said, wheezing a bit.

I threw a glance over my shoulder and found that Ezzie was right; the spider was still mirroring my movements, but it didn’t seem capable of stepping onto dry land.

Ezzie said.

I said, as I dropped onto the ground ass-first.

Ezzie said.

I said.

Ezzie said.

She cut off as I started back up the ramp, and the prompt we were after finally resolved.

Rare Quest Completed: The Witch’s Trapbox!

You gained 500 Experience and 1850 Renown!

Congratulations, you reached the rank of Unheralded!

Progress to Recognizable: 50/3000

Ezzie said.

I said, grinning into the Constructor.

Ezzie said.

Ezzie said.

I let out a relieved breath.

Ezzie said, laughing.

I said. I did as she’d asked, and the spider whirled and charged straight at me, though it was far enough away to not merit much of a concern. As soon as I set both feet back on solid land, the spider gave up the chase and headed deeper into the swamp.

Ezzie said.

I said.

{Witchflame Hammer} (One-handed Mace)

Grade: E

Item level: 15

Damage type: Blunt

Quality: Rare

Physical Attack: 20

Magical Attack: 13

Speed: Medium

Primaries: +2 Strength, +3 Constitution

Effect: As long as this hammer is equipped, player is granted the ability {Witchflame Burst}.

Durability: 45/45

{Witchflame Burst}

Description: You smash your hammer into the ground, causing a burst of Fire damage to ripple outward in a frontal cone, instantly dealing 90% weapon damage and an additional 50% weapon damage over 20 seconds.

Cast time: Instant

Cooldown: 30 seconds

Cost: 15 Stamina

I said. I held up my sword for deprinting.

Ezzie said.

I said.

Ezzie said, as the Constructor dropped the finished hammer.

I snatched the weapon up by the hilt before it could hit the ground, and the weapon’s weight almost pulled me off my feet; the hammer weighed at least triple what my short sword had.

The haft of the weapon was a single curved bone about the length of my forearm, its grooves filled with some kind of shiny, silver material. A wicked metal spike sat beneath the handle, and the head of the hammer was a pair of human skulls, the backs of which had been fused together. It was, all in all, a little grotesque.

Also awesome.

“Lecherous Strike,” I said, as I held my new weapon out, and the hammer began to glow with an eerie purple light. “Witchflame Burst!” I drove the hammer into the ground and a wave of green fire splashed outward, the emerald flames edged with violet.

Ezzie said.

I stifled a yawn.

I said, as I left the quarry behind.

I winced.

Ezzie said.

Ezzie said.