The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds Book 1) (24 page)

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,”
Richter replied. “
Terrod
sent us here when I said I
wanted to learn some spells.”

“You do know that it is against the
King’s laws to learn spells outside of a registered guild?”

“We’ve been over that Leandra,”
Killik
said.

She gave another small laugh and
looked at
Killik
, “Well you are the one that always
told me to say it.” Looking at Richter she said, “My powers are focused in
Earth and Water magic. I have some spell books that can teach you some low
level spells, if you have the affinity and level to learn them.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,”
Richter said with a smile.

“Do you have any experience with
Earth or Water? No? Then you can only learn skill level one spells then, but
they should still help you.” She took three books from a shelf along the wall.

You have found: Book of
Barkskin
: This spell will increase natural armor by +2.
This is a spell of Earth. Cost 20 mana. Duration: 20 min. Range: self. Cast
Time: 1 second. Cooldown: N/A.

You have found: Book of Grease: This
spell will make a 10x10 foot area slick with grease. It greatly increases the
chance of anyone in the area falling down. This is a spell of Earth. Cost 15
mana. Duration: 30 sec. Range 25 feet. Cast time: 2 seconds. Cooldown: 10 min.

You have found: Book of Ice Dagger:
This spell will throw a dagger made of ice at your target. This is a spell of
Water. Cost 20 mana. Duration: 1 min. Range: 40 feet. Cooldown: N/A.

All the spells seemed pretty basic
and uniform. That didn’t mean they weren’t also wonderfully useful. He
especially liked the grease spell. In Richter’s experience, even high level
enemies could be affected indirectly by spells that changed the environment. He
remembered a tough fight from years ago. He had to kill a dungeon boss. It was
a death knight whose spell resistance was so high that no spells could touch
it. A mage he was playing with had created an icy floor though, that made the
knight fall on its back. Richter had been able to score an easy critical strike
after that and win the fight.

“I’ll take them all,” Richter said.
He was practically salivating thinking of increased capabilities.

“At two each that will be six gold
coins.”

Errrrrrch
! What was wrong with these people?
It seemed like they were determined to bleed him dry! He had to fight the
impulse to see if he bought two if he could get the third free. Six hundred
dollars for three books! Say what you want about massed produced crap back
home, it made things cheaper. He did have a thought though. Using Analyze on
Leandra, he had her stats

Female High Elf, Lvl 8. Health:
160/160, Mana 190/250, Stamina 110/110.

“Each of these spells seems like it
takes about 10% of your mana,” Richter said enjoying her shocked look. “I would
think that a way for you to be able to reduce the cost of your spells would be
valuable.” He withdrew the blue staff from his Bag of Holding. He handed it to
her, allowing a closer examination.

Leandra took the staff looking at
him, but then switched her gaze to the item in her hand. She focused, and a
white flare that looked like when
Futen
identified
items extended from her hands and surrounded the item. He look of surprise
switched to one of excitement and greed. She began muttering to herself. “Leg
bone of a frost giant… Steeped in waters of Great northern glacier… Must have
been enchanted by…” She came back to herself all of a sudden, seeming to
realize how transparent she was being, and tried to shift her features to
studied nonchalance. “It’s a nice trinket.”

A large wolf-like smile was on
Richter’s face, and he settled into some serious haggling.

An hour later the two companions left
the shop, and Richter had three new spell books and several restore health,
mana and stamina potions. He had even bartered to obtain the recipes to health,
mana, cure poison, and other useful potions for Sion, who assured him that the
ingredients were easily found in the forest. For all of these goods, he
ultimately gave her two gold and four silver coins.  He was even able to
secure a 10% discount on future purchases. Leandra didn’t seem to mind much
though as she lovingly held her new staff. He could swear she was cooing to it.
Before leaving the shop he opened and read each book. The same process occurred
as with the book of Charm, each crumbling to dust and leaving him with a new
spell. Reading them gave him two new corresponding skills.  There was also
a pleasing third prompt.

Congratulations! You have learned the
skill: Earth Magic. Increasing you skill will unlock more spells.

Congratulations! You have learned the
skill: Water Magic. Increasing you skill will unlock more spells.

Congratulations!  You have
learned the skill: Trade.  Bargaining has afforded you a better
price.  Increasing this skill will allow for better prices and open new
business opportunities. 

Leandra agreed to keep an eye out for
other spells books. Richter and Sion thanked her, and then hurried back to the
inn knowing not much time was left. Going inside, one of the men behind the bar
made eye contact with Richter, and nodded his head towards the back. They made
their way by the smiling patrons and entered the kitchen,
Terrod
met them and walked back into the alley again. Immediately cautious, Richter
and Sion slowed down, but
Terrod
kept walking without
pause to a sewer grate and climbed down. Having no choice, they followed him
in. They stayed to the side once they reached the bottom to avoid the stream of
foul smelling water flowing down the tunnel. The sewer was made of dark stone
with an indentation in the middle to channel the flow. They could stand
upright, but Richter only just.
Terrod
was ahead of
them, moving along the right side of the tunnel torch in hand. They hurried to
follow.

They took turn after turn until
Richter had no idea as to their current location. He guessed that was part of
the point though.
Terrod
finally stopped in front of
a ladder leading up. He climbed it and opened a trap door at the top, allowing
the sound of hushed voices to come though. They followed him up, and found
themselves in a warehouse filled with boxes. It had a dirt floor and straw was
scattered on the ground. There were twelve other figures there. Everyone
quieted upon seeing
Terrod
.

“Alright gents. I’m glad we are all
here. The two with me I vouch for. They will stay with me. Go back to what you
are doing. I will fill them in on the plan.” The men continued on with their
preparations and
Terrod
turned to Richter and Sion.
“Alright, the plan is relatively simple. We are going to strike just after
midnight. The Night Blades have a base on the wharf. That’s where we are now,
but all the way on the other side of the harbor. We have been told this base is
where they have our people. Now as you’ve already seen many of these buildings
are attached to the sewers. If we attack above, you can be sure they will bolt
underneath. So we have divided into two groups. You will be with me and we will
be in the group attacking underneath. We will try to disable anyone we find in
the tunnels quietly. When we hear the attack above, we wait a moment so it
draws focus, and then kill anyone attempting to flee. After that we move in,
and attack these bastards from behind. Do you have any questions?”

“It sounds like there is going to be
a lot of close fighting underneath. Sion should be in the above ground attack.
He is tough in a close up fight, but he is absolutely deadly with a little room
to wield his bow. Are you okay with that,” he asked his friend.

Sion looked at him somewhat
concerned, “Are you sure you don’t need me to watch your back?” His gaze
wavered to the other men for a moment, the implication clear that the Night
Blades might not be the only danger.

“This is going to require trust on
all of our parts. And I think it’s understood that there will be vengeance on
anyone breaking that trust,” Richter said looking
Terrod
in the eye.

The man didn’t seem offended by the
veiled threat, “I absolutely agree,” he said returning Richter’s gaze.
“Randal,” he said over his shoulder summoning a man to him. “The sprite is
going to be with you. Apparently he is pretty good with the bow.”

Randal looked at Sion with disbelief,
“Hey little man, you sure you can handle yourself,
urk
!”

An arrow was suddenly quivering in a
crate only an inch from the questioning man.

“I didn’t even see him move…,” Randal
said in disbelief. He continued in a respectful voice, “We will count ourselves
lucky to have you among our number sir sprite. Please come with me and we will
figure out the best role for you.”

Sion walked off with the man, leaving
Richter with
Terrod
. The reserved man look at
Richter, “The walk to their base by tunnel should take the better part of an
hour. We will leave at eleven bells. Take the time to center and prepare
yourself. We will be safe here until it’s time.” He walked away to confer with
the other men.

Richter decided to spend his time
using his new powers. He started with Ice Dagger, mostly because it sounded
coolest if he was being honest. Focusing upon the spell, he immediately felt a
chill in his hand. Strange, he thought. He let go of his focus and the
sensation disappeared. It hadn’t been painful or unpleasant, just surprising.
Looking at a crate against the wall he invoked the spell. His arm shot out of
its own accord and a one foot dagger made of ice sprung from his finger tips
and struck the crate. It penetrated the wood and stuck there. He walked up to
it and examined the blade. It had a simple spiral handle with no cross guard.
The “blade” was a cone coming up from the hilt. He wrenched the blade to the
side, but it did not snap in two, apparently the ice that comprised it was
extremely dense. He was able to pull it out of the crate and saw that it ended
in a wickedly sharp point. It also remained solid in his hand and he was able
to slam it back in the crate, leaving it stuck there. He hadn’t counted one
being able to use the dagger after it was “thrown.” He would never be without a
weapon again!

Next he cast
Barkskin
.
His skin grew rough, and the sensation in his fingertips decreased slightly.
Drawing the dagger from the crate he scraped the point along his skin with
little effect. He pressed lightly and then somewhat harder before it was able
to pierce his skin despite its sharp point. He was clearly not impervious, but
the spell was a large improvement to the unarmored parts of his body.

Last he cast Grease. The floor looked
slightly shinier and dark in the torch light, but otherwise there was no real
effect. He was wondering how to test it, when on the men to his right fell with
a loud curse. Another fell trying to help him. They looked around with
irritation until seeing Richter’s sheepish expression. The tirade that followed
convinced him to sit quietly and wait for the operation to begin.

Richter,
Terrod
and two other men, Jason and Jeremy, made their way along the tunnels. The two
men were in front checking for traps as they were nearing the Night Blades
hideout. They had already led their group past two tripwires. A shuttered lamp
provided the barest illumination. The lead man, Jason, held up his hand and
gestured around the corner. “They are right around the corner,” he said softly.
“There are two of them. Now I can take one from a distance. The question is,
are you any good with that,” he asked indicating Richter’s bow.

“I can handle myself. I can’t
guarantee a silent kill though. I’m assuming quiet is what we are going for.”

“As long as we can kill them quickly,
and keep them from getting back into their lair we should be safe enough.”

Richter snuck a glance around the
corner. He could see two vague shapes standing about 5 feet apart. Unlike their
entrance to the tunnel, it appeared that there was a door built into the side
of the sewer tunnel. The closest was about 30 yards away.

“I am pretty sure I can get a chest
shot on the closest one,” Richter said.

“Okay then, I can sneak relatively
safely another 10 yards down the tunnel before they should be able to detect
me,” Jason said cocking a crossbow. “After I go around the corner, count to ten
and then take your target out. If you hear shouts come around the corner
immediately before these motherless
trogs
kill me.”
With a nod at
Terrod
, he went around the corner.

Richter counted silently.
Unfortunately he had only gotten to five when the screaming started.
Terrod
and Jeremy went around the corner immediately.
Richter was only a half-step behind. Jason was on the ground, blood freely
flowing from his left foot. The thief that had been closest to the door had a
small crossbow out, and was aiming at the downed man. The other thief was
turning to the door, clearly about to enter and sound the alarm.

Richter took in all of this in an
instant. In even less time he choose his target, aimed and fired. The closest
thief was shot through the chest and his crossbow discharged harmlessly into
the sewer floor. The other one was able to make it through the door and raise
the alarm, though. Though he did not notice, a message indicator appeared in
Richter’s side view.

The man on the ground held up his
hands and shouted “Stop! Don’t step in the puddles, they are studded with
spikes!” A trip wire was seen across the length of the tunnel. Jason must have
stepped over it, but had then stepped into a pool of water on the other side
and impaled himself on a concealed spike.
Terrod
went
to him and bandaged the foot quickly, stemming some of the blood flow. He
murmured to the man who nodded with a pained look on his face.
Terrod
looked at Richter, “We keep going. Our men above
will be slaughtered if they attack alone. It’s just that now we will bear the
brunt of the attack, and they will attack from behind. Are you with me?”

Richter simply said, “I finish what I
start.” He cast Haste upon himself and readied another arrow.

Terrod
raised his mace and pulled open the
door. He slammed it shut again immediately as two thuds were heard and the door
quivered. A third thud was punctuated by a crossbow bolt piercing the door. He
smiled wildly, “Two on the left and one on the right,” and then he opened the
door and dove through Jeremy right behind him. Richter stepped up to the door
and scanned for enemies.
Terrod
was fighting one and
Jeremy was on the left fighting the other two. There was no way for him to have
a clear shot, let alone imbue his arrow. The blast could easily damage his two
fighters. Worse he could hear feet on the stairs at the back of the room, the
steps quickly growing louder. Left with no other choice he cast Grease.

What happened next would have been
funny if it weren’t a life or death situation. All five combatants started wind
milling their arms as they struggled to keep balance.
Terrod
went down first and Richter shot his opponent in the shoulder dropping her to
the ground. Jeremy managed to collapse into a chair, his two opponents falling
on the floor. Richter felt bad for a moment ending the lives of men that could
not defend themselves, but then another thief came down the stairs. The thirty
second duration of the spell hadn’t ended yet so he fell flat on his face upon
entering the small room. Richter placed an arrow in the chest of both of
Jeremy’s opponents in quick succession. He then imbued an arrow and shot it at
the thief who had come down the stairs. The man had managed to climb to all
fours and took the arrow in the head. The force of the blow sheared away most
of his face, splattering blood and flesh over the floor. Nocking another arrow,
he saw
Terrod
drive a knife into his enemy’s throat.
One of the other thieves had not moved, Richter’s chest shot coupled with the
thief’s prone position allowing for a critical strike and instant death. The
last thief had turned over a table and was hiding behind it. Breathing a deep
sigh, Richter knocked another arrow and charged it for several seconds before
firing at the table. It struck the table top and exploded it inwards. The thief
was thrown against the wall stunned. Jeremy carefully walked forward and then
stabbed him in the heart.

Amazingly, all three of them had made
it through the fight unscathed. Other than some bumps and bruises that is. Not
wasting their initiative they moved to the stairs.
Terrod
looked at Richter, “Shoot up the stairs with your power arrow.
Clear’em
out.”

Richter peeked up the stairs which
were mercifully clear. He nocked an arrow and held the charge until the black
flashes ran over the gold aura then released. The arrow struck the wall at the
top of the stairs. The resultant boom in the confined space made all of their
ears ring, but judging from the cry of pain at the top of the stairs, the thief
that had been hiding at the top suffered far worse. Jeremy and
Terrod
rushed up the stairs.

Richter recast Haste, not wanting the
spell to run out in the middle of the fight. About a third of his mana was
gone, but his health was full and his stamina had only decreased by a tenth
from his exertions and limited use of Focus.

He followed behind the others. At the
top of the stairs,
Terrod
and Jeremy turned left and
immediately started swinging their weapons. Richter looked to the right, but
saw nothing except a darkened hallway. He turned to cover his comrades, and
immediately felt an intense pain in his lower back! A warning indicator showed
massive damage and his health dropped by one hundred points! Turning his head
he saw a man behind him. The thief had had stabbed him with a dagger in low
back at the break between his chest plate and armored pants. The bastard must
have been
stealthed
and then
crit’d
him! Muffling a scream he threw his elbow in the thief’s face, and heard the
crunch of a nose. He lost his bow in the process, but the blade came out of his
back as he got a couple feet of space between him and his attacker. He invoked
Ice Dagger, but his cast was off and it failed to pierce the leather armor the
thief was wearing. The thief lunged with his dagger and Richter twisted to the
side, the blade slicing into his pants. Luckily their reinforced nature kept it
from biting deeply into his skin. He grabbed the thief’s wrist with his right
hand. They strained for a moment, Richter struggling to control the thief’s
blade hand. His increased strength was apparently just enough to keep his
opponent from gaining the upper hand. Richter drew his sword across his body
with his left hand and slammed the pommel into an already ruined nose. The
first strike caused a soft sound like slamming a hammer into meat. The second
pommel blow caused a deeper crunch than the first as the delicate bones in the
face crumpled under the steel ball at the end of his hilt. The man screamed in
total agony. Richter used the man’s disorientation to wrest the dagger from his
hand. He plunged the thief’s own dagger into the man’s neck. A spurt of
arterial blood sprayed across the wall and Richter’s face when he withdrew the
blade.

The pain that he had been able to
ignore for a few seconds slammed back to the forefront of his consciousness
making his vision dim. He invoked his healing ring, which took the edge off of
the pain. Reaching into his bag he pulled out a health potion. The sounds of
pain coming from the other room let him know that he didn’t have time to waste.
He cast
Barkskin
, castigating himself for not casting
it prior to coming up the stairs. Shoving the thief’s dagger through his belt,
he sheathed his sword and picked up his bow. Placed an arrow on string, he
hobbled into the next room. The sight that greeted him was not a welcome one.

Terrod
had said the Night Blades were a
gang about forty strong. An informant had told him that normally only ten to
fifteen were in the hideout at night. The rest were out conducting various
business and nefarious activities. After all, nighttime was worktime for the
thieves. Counting the five that had already died and the few that were on the
ground, the dozen or so still standing meant that about half the guild must
have been present during the attack. Not counting
Terrod
,
Richter or Sion, there were only six fighters left fighting the rogues tooth
and nail.

The only thing that seemed to be
preserving his group was that the thieves were fighting cautiously to keep
themselves away from the door to the outside. When one crossed in front of the
door, a blue streak struck her in the leg causing an audible snap. Well that
explains that Richter thought. The thieves were positioning the fighters as a
shield against Sion. It wasn’t a bad plan as they had greater numbers and would
wear down the band of inexperienced fighters down soon enough. Then they could
rush the sprite
en
-masse and overcome him. That
didn’t even take into account the reinforcements that could arrive at any time.
Richter decided it was time to ruin their day.

Drawing his bow, he imbued an arrow
with minimal force and shot at the closest thief. Not waiting to see results he
switched to the next and the next. Over the next few minutes, Richter and Sion
took shots of opportunity and their punishing fire broke the will of their
opponents. The thieves began throwing their weapons down and falling to their
knees. A couple tried to run out into the street, but an arrow from both Sion
and Richter landed critical shots in their backs and ended their concerns for
the matters of this life. Unfortunately, two more of their group had been killed
in the time it took to subdue the thieves. It meant nine of the attacking group
had been killed or injured.

They were left with four fighters
plus Richter and Sion now guarding three thieves. Two of the standing fighters
were wounded with a leg or arm severely hampered.
Terrod’s
left eye was swelling shut. The potion and the healing magic of the ring had
restored the majority of his health, but Richter’s constant movement had
reopened the dagger wound in his back causing a small bleeding status. He
placed several healing herbs into his mouth and handed a few out to his
comrades.
Terrod
was shouting into the face of one of
the prisoners.

“Where are they? I know they haven’t
left this building yet so where are they.” The thief stared back insolently.
Terrod
struck him in the face and then repeated his
question. No response.
Terrod
kicked the man in the
chest knocking him down. When he yanked him back up and repeated the question,
the man just glared and then spit on the floor.

Richter’s mana was almost completely
depleted at this point, and continual use of Focus to avoid hitting his allies
had left him with only 20% of his stamina. Neither was refilling quickly. He
had to invest more into Wisdom, especially if he was going to start expanding
his spell base. Knowing that even a relatively small force of thieves would
wipe them out in their weakened state, Richter stepped forward, “
Terrod
, let me try.”

Looking at the prisoner, “Look. I
know you don’t want us here. We don’t want to be here. There has been blood spilled
on both sides. Maybe we are all at fault, but that doesn’t matter. What matters
is that we work together so that we may all see the sunrise. I could continue
to let fire fly between you and my friend here, but I don’t have the time.
Please just show decency and tell us where the captives are?” Richter’s tone
was full of calm and serenity.