Unforeseen path, p.40
Unforeseen Path, page 40
Item Quality: Uncommon
Item Type: Special
Attack: Ranged
Weapon Type: Bow
Damage 160-180
Weight: 3.0 kg
Durability: 300/300
+20 Haste
+15 Strength
+15 Agility
-Toxic Sting (Type: Poison) Adds twenty-five points of poison damage for five seconds to all arrows shot from the bow.
Now that was pretty damn sweet, I thought, silently hoping to win the roll as everyone’s names began popping below the item.
“Ohmygod … ohmygod,” Kevin giddily chanted as the automatic dice began to roll, “that’s the best bow that I’ve yet to see in-game!”
“Mama needs a ranged weapon,” Samantha exclaimed in the same tone as the Ranger.
I swear Kevin nearly busted out in tears as he rolled a two. Not that my roll of one was any better. C'est la vie, I thought with a silent shrug as the Ranger began swearing up a storm. It would’ve been funny if I didn’t understand where he was coming from, but this wouldn’t even be the thousandth time that I missed out on good loot. There was a joyous shriek from the defensive warrior as she won the roll for the bow while Kevin let out a sick groan.
“Ha, it’s not a plus thirty to Agility, but I’ll take this instead,” Samantha chortled as she turned to the pissed-off Ranger and singsonged back, “Woohoo, winner’s keepers, loser’s weepers.”
“God, you’re such a bitch,” Kevin angrily grumbled as the rest of us laughed at his reaction. Before he could say anything more, another blue item popped open before our eyes.
Cheliferidae Risso Spear of Leeching
Item Quality: Superior
Item Type: Unique
Attack: two-hand piercing
Weapon Type: Halberd
Damage: 140-160
Durability: 200/200
Weight: 1 kg
+10 Stamina
+10 Agility
+10 Spirit
*25 points of health leeched per second for 15 seconds on each successful strike.
That unique weapon immediately got everyone’s attention. Health Leeching bonuses weren’t common in The World from what I’d seen so far. Even if you weren’t a spear user, it was a damn sweet weapon. This time, it was Samantha that was excitedly looking forward to the next roll. I almost laughed when Kevin rolled a twenty-one. That was an automatic win and he was automatically announced as the winner.
I wasn’t surprised in the least to see Samantha sidling up to him to offer up the bow in exchange for the spear. As Neristhana stood up and tossed the last item to Töten, I barely noticed the exchange or the turquoise-colored text in the system window that popped open before my eyes.
Rune Stalker Chitin Reinforced boots
Item Quality: Exceptional
Item Type: Special
Slot: Feet
Defense: 460
Armor Type: Medium
Durability: 300/300
Weight: 1.07 kg
+15 Stamina
+15 Intelligence
+15 Agility
*Removes all root effects to the wielder and their summoned creatures.
*Silent Step - Regardless of the surface the wearer is crossing, they have a ninety-five percent chance not to make any sound when walking or running regardless of the terrain.
Instead of checking over the latest item, I was focused on trying to figure out what was happening to my Ghouls. From our shared link, there was something drastically wrong with my pets. A jolt of alarm ran down my spine when several of my Ghoul’s icon’s suddenly turned red on my HUD.
Around me, I peripherally heard the cheers from Neristhana and Nahimana as Helgath won the roll on the boots. Luckily for the rest of us, Kevin and Samantha were still deep in the middle of trying to make their trade and didn’t seem to care one way or another about the boots. From the sounds of it, the Defensive Warrior was trying to get the ring and the spear for the bow since it was such a high-quality item. Otherwise, they’d have probably been bitching. As it was, Alan was grumbling under his breath while Laura didn’t seem to care one way or another. Byrnwulf and Igtra were also indifferent to the Half-Orc winning. That was probably because Igtra had won a roll on the last boss.
“Umm, Star,” Phoenix worriedly said as she stepped up beside me, “What does it mean when my Ghouls’ icons turn red?”
“I don’t know,” I said just as confused as the Barbarian.
“It’s like they’re not listening to my commands anymore,” Phoenix muttered as she began messing with her interface.
From the sounds of fighting coming from inside of the inn, the battle was really heating up. Oddly enough, my handful of remaining green-colored Ghouls seemed to be alarmed at something but I couldn’t figure out why. None of them were taking any notable damage. Turning towards the double doors of the inn, I ordered the Ghouls to fall back and drew my Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty from my belt while unslinging my Black Coral Iron-reinforced Defender.
Congratulations! For completing fifteen common structures your fortress has reached Settlement Level I.
As a reward, a Town Stone has been formed and must be placed inside the settlement. Town Stones automatically create a Town Hall when placed. Town Halls are important for your community. Depending on the level, Town Halls allow for the establishment of diplomatic relations with other civilizations, species, cities, clans, the formation of formal alliances with non-players, the establishment of trade routes, and the ability to officially declare war. Further information is now available to you in the in-game wiki.
Additionally: Once you’ve reached Settlement Level I, you can see other Settlements and their Town Stones. To take over a Town Stone, you have to have been granted ownership of the Settlement or remove it from the town. Upon the removal of the Town Stone, upper-level diplomatic relations, extra bonuses, and other special features and builds unique for that Settlement will be unavailable until the mana and resources needed to construct a replacement Town Stone have been gathered. These penalties will remain until the Town Stone has been replaced. Also, the loss of a Town Stone can demoralize the Settlement and make it easier to conquer. Acquired Town Stones can be used to upgrade your own Settlement, increase your stronghold or keep level, the ability to establish a new town, or add unique buildings or special features. Further information is now available to you in the in-game wiki.
*If you raze or steal a Demi-Human, Humanoid, or player’s Town Stone, your people and players will be marked purple over their names for a week. This mark is similar to that of the red PKer mark players get when initiating PVP, but will only be visible to other Settlement owners. If another Settlement Owner attacks you during this period of time, they will not be similarly marked if they successfully take your Town Stone.
“The fuck,” I grunted, waving my axe to dismiss the pop-up window that suddenly blocked my vision as Phoenix glanced my way. With a dismissive snort, I explained, “Pop-up window.”
“Hey, Star, there’s something strange going on with my Ghouls,” Neristhana said, hurrying over to my side, “All of them just turned red!”
‘Mine too,’ Helgath sent with a tense undertone to her thoughts. As she finished putting on her new boots and rushed to my side, everyone else began glancing our way wondering what was up.
“What’s wrong?” Töten asked in alarm as he noticed the four of us facing the double doors to the inn with our weapons drawn.
“Is there something going on with the boss fight?” Zeven asked, defensively bringing his polearm across his chest. As Bright Claw swiveled his mass around to face the doorway, the pick-up members of our group glanced at each other worriedly.
Before any of us could explain, the three Orc Warrior Ghouls that I’d recalled suddenly crashed into the doorframe. As the rest of the group nervously backed away from the entrance in alarm and drew their weapons, I saw the red-tagged Orc Warrior Ghouls struggling to hold the green-tagged ones in place. What the hell was going on? Why weren’t the green-tagged Ghouls using their weapons to attack the red-tagged ones? I wondered, even as I tried to order the red-tagged Ghouls to stand down when a clawed hand urgently grabbed my shoulder.
‘Look at the sides of their heads!’ Helgath mentally shouted.
I immediately saw what the Half-Orc meant. There was a thick fleshy tentacle sticking in the sides of the red-tagged Orc Warrior Ghouls’ heads. Not only that, the tentacle seemed to wrap completely around the red-tagged Ghouls’ necks. Had those tentacles somehow taken control over my undead pets? Was that why my green-tagged Ghouls were not fighting back? As I commanded my Ghouls to slaughter the red-tagged ones, I saw what must have happened to my undead pets as the Matriarch’s grotesque face suddenly appeared behind the struggling Ghouls in the doorway and rammed her mouth tentacles into the three-remaining green-tagged Ghouls’ heads.
“That fucking hag is taking over my undead pets!” I shouted in outrage as the old woman’s head atop the monstrous gaping maw gave me a hideous grin.
“If you lovely meat sacks refuse to come into my lair,” Dread Maw the Ravaging eerie human voice playfully called out as I quickly cast an Identify, “then I’ll have to send my new toys out to bring you to me instead!”
“Ah fuck,” Byrnwulf cursed, “I fucking hate intelligent bosses!”
“What the hell!” Samantha swore as the remaining last green-tagged Ghouls on my HUD turned red.
Not that I was listening to the Defensive Warrior bitch as I saw the Matriarch’s information appear over her head before she could step away from the doorway, Dread Maw the Ravaging Matriarch, level 63 Elite Cheliferidae Risso. Not only that, I saw that her health was down to sixty-five percent. At least, the old hag didn’t take over my Ghouls without taking some serious damage, I savagely thought. As the Ghouls came charging out through the double doors, I pointed the head of my axe at the group and dropped a Light Word of Censure on top of the stairs leading up to the double doors.
That worked like a charm, I laughingly thought as the Ghouls hit the golden runes and instantly crumpled. Due to the combination of their velocity and the flight of steps, the whole mass came to a crashing stop on the ground before the stairs in a dogpile. While the ground here wasn’t part of the Light Word of Censure area of effect, Helgath had been perfectly in synch with my plan and was already dropping Zombie Hands. Before any of the Ghouls could climb to their clawed feet, undead claws pushed up through the ground to grab a hold of them as I stepped forward with my Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty swinging.
“Focus on chopping their heads off,” I shouted as the Decapitation Special proc’d, beheading the first downed Orc Warrior Ghoul with one hit.
Next to me, Neristhana’s hand axe was already chopping through another Ghoul’s neck. Phoenix didn’t hesitate either as she leaped into the scrum with her two-handed battle axe swinging. As I was hacking through the next helpless Ghoul’s neck, Zeven, Bright Claw, Neristhana, and Töten joined the slaughter. We had fifteen seconds to drop the twenty Ghouls before they could climb back to their feet.
After slaughtering the undead on the top of the pile, we began going after the ones deeper down. Even though it was somewhat difficult to get a clear swing through the corpses and grasping limbs, we were whittling the pile down quickly, when a shout from Samantha and Kevin sent a spike of fear running down my spine.
“The swarm found a way through the fire!” the Defensive Warrior warned as the sound of fighting came from behind us.
“Ohmygod!” Alan shrieked, “the entire swarm is pouring into the courtyard!”
“I’ve got this!” I shouted to my friends, seeing that there were only five Ghouls left in the pile, “Go help the rest of them-”
My voice instantly faded away as I glanced over my shoulder to see the rest of the team being assaulted by the still-living mouth tentacles. Töten was fighting against five of the yard-long slugs as they tried to get underneath his armor. Phoenix already had two burrowing into her chest as another latched to the side of her head, while Neristhana was struggling against two others. Zeven and Bright Claw weren’t in any better shape. Four of the suckers were already eating into the Badger kin’s legs, while another two were assaulting his head. The Grizhawk had another five chewing into his exposed furry hide.
I didn’t even bother looking to see where the worms were on me as I saw Helgath fighting off the three that were struggling to burrow into her green flesh. If not for her magic shields, they would have already invaded her body. Knowing that she was probably the only one that could save us, I ignored the worm-like slugs that were already crawling under my helm and began launching Pyroblast at my soulmate.
‘Save us,’ I urgently sent as agony shot through my neck and throat.
Ignoring the pain and the worm-like slugs that began attacking my face, I cast Bone Fangs and turned back around, focusing on decapitating the remaining Ghouls. The agony was intense. It felt like the mouth tentacles were eating me alive. If not for the Helm of Inaxidor protecting my head, I had no doubt they would’ve easily taken over my body. As I decapitated the last Ghoul in the pile, I felt the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty slip from my numb fingers as I collapsed to my hands and knees while my health bar began to shrink.
Fuck, I gagged, feeling a monstrous presence invading my thoughts. It felt like I was a prisoner in my own body as my arms and legs stopped responding. I swear, I could hear Dread Maw the Ravaging Matriarch’s hideous laughter echoing in my mind as the worm-like slugs’ tentacles dug deeper into my skull.
Blood ran from my eyes as I defiantly lifted my head to see Neristhana, Töten, and Phoenix who were still in my line of sight. All of them but the big guy were laying on the ground convulsing in agony as the worm-like slugs burrowed deeper into their bodies. As I caught the rebellious look in Töten’s red cat-eyes, a feral grin came to his bloody lips as he managed to cast one last spell.
The results were instantaneous. Instantly a hellish-red glowing aura appeared around all of our bodies. A split second later, the magic pulsed as the worm-like slugs were suddenly set on fire. Even though it felt like lava had been poured into my open wounds as the monstrous parasites went berserk trying to tear themselves out of my flesh, I relished in the agony shooting through my body. Their bodies burned so hotly that my hit points dropped another four hundred points as a howl of agony ripped from my lips.
Even as my vision blurred, I saw the yard-long tentacle slugs writhing and flopping around in agony on the ground visibly burning. There were twenty of the fuckers in all. One for each of our Ghouls. As the hellish-red aura pulsed again, the worm-like slugs turned to black ash before my eyes as the spell incinerated them. Before I could collapse on the ground, a refreshing wave of healing energy washed over my abused body as tender clawed hands cradled my head into leather-clad breasts.
‘It’s over,’ Helgath softly murmured again and again as my head began to clear, ‘Töten’s Abyssal Ground aura cleansed the monstrous parasites from our bodies.’
‘Neristhana?’ I croaked out, hugging the Half-Orc to my chest with one arm while my other began blindly searching for the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty that had slipped from my grasp.
‘She lives,’ Helgath assured me as the sounds of the Red Draconian-Human’s Flame Breath attack roared behind us over the chittering shrieks of monstrous insects and the sounds of battle.
“Fuck,” Phoenix painfully grunted, climbing to her hands and knees next to me, “Did anyone get the plates of that truck that ran me over?”
“No time for jokes,” Töten groused, lifting Phoenix up to her feet with a forearm, “We’ve gotta move!”
“Gah,” Phoenix wordlessly moaned as she puked the contents of her stomach out onto the ground.
“Those insects are everywhere,” Zeven painfully groaned as he climbed to his clawed feet beside the pair with a moaning Grizhawk, “If we don’t get moving, they’ll eat us all.”
“At least, they’re all burning,” I grunted as my hands wrapped around the hilt of my axe. As Helgath helped me to my feet, my eyes swept the courtyard trying to get a handle on the situation.
Standing behind us in a semicircle, the rest of the team was doing their best to stanch the monstrous swarm that was pouring through the roaring flames but there were too many of them already loose in the courtyard. From the look of things, once the adolescent hatchlings had found the portions of the courtyard that Helgath and I hadn’t been able to seal off during the mini-boss fight with VaporStrike the Ravenous, they’d begun to flood through en masse.
Watching the shrieking monsters force themselves through the raging fire, it was almost like they were being forcibly summoned by the Matriarch. Every adolescent hatchling coming through the flames was already half dead even as Samantha, Byrnwulf, Igtra, and Nahimana advanced to meet them. And while Kevin’s and Alan’s ranged attacks were momentarily keeping the swarm’s numbers down enough for the others to hold them back, once Alan ran out of mana or the Ranger went through the last of his arrows, it would be game over.
“Any ideas where we should fall back to?” Zeven called over his shoulder as he hurried forward to give Nahimana a hand with Bright Claw.
“I wouldn’t recommend the front door again,” Phoenix said, pushing away from the big guy to stand on her own. Shouldering her battle axe, she switched to her short bow and groused, “Not unless you want tentacles shoved into your head again.”
“Not on your life,” Neristhana moaned as she weakly climbed to her feet next to me.
“We have fifteen minutes left to take that bitch down,” Töten said, glancing back at the inn, “or we’re all dead.”
“Maybe we can set fire to the front of the inn and then climb up the backside by the kitchen,” I said nodding to the one-story addition sticking out from the side of the building as Helgath and I began rebuffing everyone in the group, “and try climbing in through the second story’s windows.”
“If you and Laura could keep us healed, my fire resistance is high enough that could work,” Töten harrumphed as his eyes studied the outside of the building and the slanted roof that ran to the top of the inn, “and I might have a better way to enter the main room.”
