Survival Quest (The Way of the Shaman: Book #1) (26 page)

The inner hamster fell on its back in complete rapture and its legs waving in the air. Scaling items were incredibly expensive, costing up to several hundred thousand gold. Only a handful of NPCs sold them in the whole of Barliona and they could not be sold to other players or NPC-traders. You could only throw them away. But what nutter would dump an item with stats that increase with each new level? Or an item that could be combined with others? If I wasn't mistaken, 'combination' meant adding drawings to the Tambourine to increase its stat bonuses, inserting some crafted Jewelry, adding enchantments to it or making something from the stick with the knob - I forgot what it's called again. There is a lot you can do with an item that could be combined with other items. I understood my hamster, whose legs were still ecstatically treading air, very well. Players would do anything to obtain such an item, and here it practically dropped into my lap. Though, truth be told, if not for the 25 pieces of Malachite for our guarding duties, we'd have never made it into the top five.

When we left the ogre, Eric immediately turned around and said to everyone:

"Guys, don't even ask me what I just got, as I won't tell you anyway. Sorry, but if the rumor spreads through Barliona that I have such a thing," he glanced at the shield, which he was still holding, "I'll never be able to level up my character in peace. Every PK-er (Player Killer) will see it as his duty to send me for a respawn, stripping me of part of the experience. I don't need this, so please just forget I was given anything. I advise you to do the same - the fewer people know what you've been given, the easier it'll be for you."

I was in complete agreement with Eric: although I was extremely curious what the others had got, I didn't really want to tell them about my Tambourine. It was just as well if no-one knew anything. No-one could look at the properties of my items without access, which I had no intention of granting anyone. But still, what on earth did they get?

The next morning we had another visit from representatives of five remaining groups. If you removed all the congratulations and other idle chatter, the actual essence of their request, and it was a request, sounded like this: please help with the Rats until the groups finish their mining. Each of us will get a Malachite piece daily and I, as the main Rat-hunting manpower, would even get two.

We all agreed and continued to work in the mine for the next five days. Each group smashed twelve veins daily, providing everyone with 3 pieces of malachite and me with level 12 in mining. The Rats did help me, after all, to reach level 12 and I spent 3 stat points on Stamina and 2 on Intellect; I also reached level 4 in the in the Bane of the Animal World. To top it off I was given two pieces of Malachite a day for my guard duty. So these five days were well-spent and I even managed to make a good profit. The only disappointment was that the Rats didn't drop anything other than meat and pelts. No alchemical goodies dropped either for me or any of the group. At least that's what they told me.

At last on the fifth day all the groups of prisoners completed the quest, leaving us two days for the trip to the cave and back. If the length of the mine was two kilometers and Rats were located at forty-meter intervals, we had to get through about fifty Rats. That was quite a lot, even for our currently strong group. In the end we did decide in favor of going after the boss.

"Well, have you decided?" asked Eric two days after we had received our rewards from the ogre. "We have to make our minds up faster: there's only five days left and I wouldn't want to go on the last day if we decide to do it after all. Otherwise we might get locked up here with the Rats and die for certain. With the little presents from the ogre we'd run there and back barely noticing the boss. We'll just knock him over as we're passing through."

"Well, that’s quite a snazzy getup they gave is, for sure" said Clutzer. "If there's more like it in the cave, we'd get totally decked out."

"Mahan, we can't go without your Spirits. You with us? Come, you've got nothing to lose anyway. So, we'll die, and you'll level up to 12 in a week. But this way we have a chance to gain something, possibly something really valuable."

"Eh, Eric. Do I have to tell you that I wouldn’t swap my Crafting for any potential bonuses from a level 15 boss? What other level would be there, if all the Rats are level 14? The boss would have to be 1-2 levels higher. Or even 3 levels; this means that the cave has a level 17 mega-Rat, just sitting there and waiting for us to show up, all dapper and smart, and take away all its goodies."

But maybe I should stop thinking logically? If we don't go to the cave, what is the probability that I would really regret it? It's substantial, quite substantial, even. Well then, maybe I should just tell logic to get lost? It's not making life any easier. Do I want to go? Yes, I do. Then what's the problem?

"I agree. It would be good to go and have a look at what's there. Maybe there isn't even any cave and you were just seeing things," I said. "We'll go as soon as we finish helping the others get the Malachite."

Come what may, I decided then and there the time for our expedition had come. When they heard about the Boss and that there was a chance of dying none of the other prisoners agreed to come with us. We were fine with that - all the more loot for us.

I stocked up on Fried Rat, in case I needed it to restore my health - what if my mana ran out and my Hit Points were close to zero? Anything can happen. No such luck with water - we didn't have any canteens or any other large vessels. Even Lish didn't have any for sale. However, from what I understood of the local rules, even if we had some, they could only be used by their owner and no-one else. Never mind, we'll just have to hope that my mana restores quickly enough.

And so, on the morning of the sixth day, after selling all the remaining meat, skins and ore to Lish to free up bag space for potential loot, we headed for the mining section. Our objective could be spotted on the horizon, but first we had to try out the items we received from the ogre in the field. I didn't summon the Lightning Spirits on the first three Rats and was essentially watching from the sidelines how the group quickly dispatched the poor animals. While they were at it, the Dolma mine saw the emergence of three more fearsome Rat vanquishers. Eric, holding the pick in one hand and the shield in the other, took hardly any damage and the Rat's Hit Points started to fall very quickly when Clutzer and Leite went at it from the sides. Judging by their pleased faces, everyone in the group liked this method of attack and so we split into two parts - they dealt with one Rat, while I went ahead and pulled the next one that stood in our path. In just an hour we arrived at the spot and were faced with the standard shimmering veil of a Dungeon entrance/exit. Eric was right - our section did have a boss and we were standing before the entrance to its lair.

"Right, let's agree on the way we’ll go about things from the start," said Eric. "Since no-one except for Mahan has ever played in Barliona, I'll go through the main rules of fighting a boss. We come in together, then I immediately go a couple of meters ahead and you stay put and see what's going on. Mahan, you're in charge of immediate support: summon the Spirits as soon as we come in. Who knows what's on the other side, so it's best to play it safe. Next. Clutzer and Leite - attack only on Mahan's command and only targets which I'm already hitting or those called out by Mahan. No attacking things at random and don't even bother with the other mobs that'll be swarming around - it's my job to pull them all to me and keep them there. And remember: I don't have taunt yet (tank ability to take the mob's attention on himself), so if someone suddenly goes for you, crouch, cover your head and take the hits. You can scream something if you like, but on no account hit back. Or I won't manage to get it off you. Mahan, you stand a short distance away from me. Healers often generate aggro, so be prepared to call a Lightning Spirit and command the others to hit your mob. That's the first part. Any questions on this?"

"What kind of a boss do you think is in there?" I asked Eric.

"The question is off-topic, but still relevant. Most likely it's a level 18-20 Rat in there, with some unpleasant abilities. So, if there are no questions on the first part, I'll move to the second. All bosses have special abilities, which they use to hit either the tank or the whole of the group; so it is essential that Clutzer and Leite listen to what Mahan says. And you," Eric looked at me, "need to make quick decisions - whether we stand together to spread damage between everyone or scatter in different directions. There is no guide for this boss, so we'll proceed like when gaining the "First Kill" achievement: at our own risk. I know this about Rats: they like using poison on anything crossing their path. If this boss also uses poison, we're not going to have an easy ride. We don't have any antidote and if there is no time limit on how long the poison lasts we could end up kicking the bucket. So, Mahan, your mana regeneration is our only hope for making our way to the mine exit through all the Rats. I think they'll respawn by the time we kill the boss. Another point - all poisons have a serious weakening effect, so there is a chance that the boss will start bouncing around the rest of the group. Be ready for that."

"The boss will start to do what?" asked Leite in incomprehension.

"I mean it will stop gnawing me and go after everyone else in turn. In that case we'll follow the plan I just described - you sit, shout and stop hitting the boss. I'll keep the boss facing away from the entrance. Don't approach it from the tail if it's a Rat, or any other boss we might get, for that matter, we don't need to take any avoidable damage. Only hit it from the sides. With the loot, I think we will each pick up our own, but if something happens and loot becomes shared, I propose we can agree now how we split it. I know we shouldn't count our chickens and all that, but I don't want to start a job without talking through all the details."

"I propose a simple solution," I said. "If an item has an Intellect bonus, none of the others here would it find useful, so it will go to me. If something will add Rage, naturally, it's not something I'd even look at. Again, with bonuses to dodge, parry or armor it's clear that that thing should go to Eric. If it's Strength or Agility, then Clutzer and Leite will have to draw lots. If an item would suit all or none or if some alchemical or other useful items drop, we'll choose the owner by casting lots. Everyone knows 'Rock-Paper-Scissors'? We'll use that, since we don't have any dice. We could, of course, toss coins, but that would take longer. There are four of us, I always play with Eric, Leite and Clutzer. Then the winners will play amongst themselves. I think it's a good idea for sharing the loot."

When all agreed, Eric continued:

"And now, the last point. I don't know how the fight will play out, perhaps the boss will kill us all and we'll each return to our own mine, so I propose that after we get into the main gameworld we find each other and form a clan of our own. I'd add you in my friends list right now, but this function is currently disabled - until the moment of our release, as far as I understand. We seem to play well together and each has a unique bonus; either way, I still have four years of time to do, so I have to sort out my life in the main gameworld. That would be easier to do together. Near Anhurs there is a tavern called 'The Jolly Gnoom', the innkeeper there is a gnome named Rothfronda and we can meet at her place. If Mahan has to be stuck in a settlement for three more months, after that time I'll be waiting for you at the tavern every Tuesday and Thursday. You need about five thousand gold to create a clan, but with Mahan's rings I don't think that should be a problem. We could buy the ore - though it's better if we mine it ourselves at the free mines - and Mahan would make rings and neck-chains. It shouldn't take us more than a month to come up with the money. In a Jewelry shop ordinary +2 Bronze Rings cost around 30 gold. Silver +5 rings are about 60 gold each and gold rings, which give +10 to a stat and can have enchantments put on them, cost a few hundred."

"Strange, I always thought that being a Jeweler wasn’t exactly popular in Barliona. If making rings generates so much money, why aren't half of Barliona's population Jewelers?" I asked Eric, surprised.

"Try figuring this one out for yourself. For example, I've been playing for several years, but I never heard about such a thing as Crafting; and the fact that it allows you to increase the number of stats in the crafted items is huge. This will sell; and, going back to Jewelcraft, even +10 rings are very useful up to level forty. However, from level forty onwards, when you have two hundred stat points, the 40 points you can get from gold rings don't make that much difference. They will be a drop in the ocean and the result wouldn't be as noticeable as it is now. With each level the effect of the rings diminishes. Of course, the clans that go on raids or capture other clans' castles take great care to be better even by +1, so that's where people tend to level up in Jewelcraft. For the majority of players though, being a Jeweler is just a low-level diversion. In my old clan the people levelling up in Jewelcraft usually got as far as making bronze items and then gave up, because Silver Ingots are already expensive, to say nothing of the Gold ones: with just a couple of free mines producing these metals making rings is simply unprofitable. Thus everyone is just saving up to buy some gold rings once and for all and be done with it. Mithril rings and above are the prerogative of the top players and clans - I don't even know where you can buy these. So your +4 Copper Rings will sell like hotcakes, and if you make your way to Silver, you'll have buyers queuing up."

'Right, so when they were putting me in the capsule they didn't give me such a bad profession after all,' I chuckled to myself. I had to reach the level where I could make Silver rings. So far I haven't told anyone that in my case rings and chains turned into combined items into which stones could be inserted, but if we formed a clan I'd have to show my cards. This would mean that everyone would have to be made the same kind of gear as I have. Still, that could wait - now we had a boss to get through.