Darkborn, p.8
Darkborn, page 8
part #1 of The Unbinding Series
I look around me again. The two columns could be due to the two dimensional nature of the drawing, but if not… I inspect the columns more closely. They seem to be made of segments, connected by a metal band at the very bottom of the pillar. I bet if I broke the band, the pillar would break too. I have no idea what would happen after that, but sitting around isn’t doing me any favours, and this place would easily kill me on it’s own if I can’t get my Mana back up. I begin kicking the closest band.
You have received 3% damage
Waah! Okay, new plan. My trusty old club. I smash the band with all my might, and am rewarded with a thunderous roar coming from above. I throw myself sideways, right into the coffin, just in time for a metric shittonne of rocks to land where I was standing.
“Okay then, wrong pillar. Maybe. Who knows!”
I carefully get out of the coffin and inspect the wreckage. The pillar has fallen, and with it a pile of rocks, and what looks like a vase. Or, it looked like a vase, now it looks like a broken pile of ceramics crawling with insects. No way is this a good thing. I hurry to the opposite pillar and smash it good, once again earning me a thundering applause from mother earth, and a rain of dirt. There’s a lot less earth this time, which I chose to take as a sign of picking correctly. Two more options, probably one more try, and those insects seem to be getting organised… a line of them are sort of .. climbing into the coffin.
I run to the lid again, there must be some more information on here. The pillars, and the braziers, and the sarcophagus. Maybe the relative position of the objects on the slab. Pillar, brazier, coffin, brazier, pillar. So the pillars left standing must be the first ones you see, before the braziers and the coffin. I go back to the entrance to make sure. From this vantage point I try to match up the picture with reality. As I’m squinting, my guts go cold as a hand reaches out of the stone box. My exhaustion is getting worse, and this feeling of panic isn’t helping. I finally see the pattern. If I read it correctly, I need to break the furthest pillar. If I was incorrect, it’ll be the closest one. I’m out of time now, so I decide to go for it. Expending a good chunk of my remaining energy, I dash towards the coffin, just as old Les sits up from his less than eternal resting place. He.. It looks right at me with It’s hollow eyes, black wisps of smoke trailing behind it as it moves. I know I won’t like the result, but I inspect him while I’m moving in it’s direction.
Moteling Revenant
Gee, thanks, informative. As I reach the furthest pillar, I get ready to smash the band, just as the revenant reaches out. A single blow lands before it grabs my arm on the backswing, casually pulling me off balance. I fall backwards down the pyramid, landing heavily at the bottom. My club comes sailing after me, landing right next to my arm. Les is staring daggers at me, and I get to my feet.
Health: 90%
Stamina: 20%
Mana: 00% *CRITICAL*
“Well fuck you too pal!”
It doesn’t react, just keeps staring at me with it’s corpselight eyes. At least it’s making me feel better. As I go back to the stairs, it follows me, never leaving it’s post. I look around, trying to push down the rising panic. The braziers? I push one of them. It’s not too warm to touch yet, and it moves, if a bit slowly. It’d cost me too much to carry it with me. I’ll have to try with my torch instead. Bracing myself, I go back up the stairs, approaching Lesiraxan, the guardian of his own grave.
“Hey, look over there, it’s a massive distraction!”
He doesn’t fall for it. Instead, I smack him as hard as I can with the torch, hoping for the best. My blunt weapons skill isn’t great, so he blocks it without a problem. The shower of embers that catch him on fire, however, is a great big problem. I kick him aside, returning the favour, and run towards the last pillar. On my knees before the metal band, I start smashing at it. After another few strikes, I am rewarded by another thundering roar, a falling sensation, and complete and utter darkness. As I’m falling into the void, I repeat a simple prayer.
“No more squid.”
There’s a splash, a distinct lack of air, and an exploding feeling of bitter cold. The world is once again pain as I try to orient myself underwater. The pitch black makes it so much harder. I find the surface after a few seconds, allowing me to breathe again, finally. As I do, I realise I’m being pulled along a current. I try to relax my body and just go along with the flow. It’s the closest I’ve gotten to a rest for a while anyway. Checking my status, I see my Mana is increasing again, giving me a boost in regeneration, stopping my body from consuming itself. This Undead thing has been a lot of negatives so far, and very little positives. Why do I still need to breathe, for instance! I let the thought go when I realise that the underground river has made the transition to an overground one.
There are so many stars out now, filling the skies with diamonds. I get so lost in the view I almost miss the perfect place to get ashore. Scrambling towards the bank, I run my stamina down to 5% before I get there. I flip over, lying on my back, just breathing, and enjoying the sensations. I’m wet as a dog, nearly drowned, beaten and bruised and I’m sure there’s a couple of suckers left on my skin some places. But I’m still here. I’m still going, against all odds. The calm, invigoratingly fresh air is sweet and fresh. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath just to enjoy the thrill of survival.
I take a moment to myself to look at my recent messages and progress.
Skill discovered: Swimming
Skill increased: Swimming
Ability increased: Endurance
Nothing unexpected there I guess. My character sheet is beginning to flesh out a bit as well
Attributes
Agility 1
Curiosity 1
Endurance 7
Focus 4
Luck 2
Strength 1
Skills
Aim 4
Archery 2
Marksman 1
Targeting 1
Athletics 0
Running 3
Acrobatics 0
Climbing 1
Body Control 3
Dressage 2
Galloping 1
Swimming 1
Herbology 1
Illusionist 2
Light Manipulation 1
Improvised throwing weapons 1
Perception 1
Forest Perception 1
Stealth 2
Move Silently 2
Sneak attack 2
Tracking 1
Unarmed Combat 1
In my reverie looking at my wonderful stat progression, I notice few raindrops falling onto me, and it feels wonderful. Even the smell is intense, a smell of rotting cloth and …
My eyes pop open. Crawling over me is the animated remains of old Les himself. He’s somewhat scorched, moving very slowly, and the dark mote infestation seems to have been mostly washed away. That doesn’t seem to be preventing him from invading my personal space in a bad way. I scream, panic enveloping me again.
“Get off you dead piece of shit!”
His strength is so much higher than mine, and there’s nothing I can do to prevent him from positioning himself right on top of me, his head right in front of mine. The motes swirl around his gaping maw, and begin flowing from his body to mine, and with a deep sense of dread, I realise the most important thing I have in common with this guy.
We’re both dead.
Chapter 7 - Fungoid
Startled, I reach for my sword. The stream of motes keep coming as I manage to get my fingers around the handle. Drawing it, I start stabbing into his side. His body shudders from each strike, but I’m unable to throw him off. As the stream finally begins to thin, his strength seems to wane and I manage to toss the dry bones away from me. I grab a rock next to us, and unceremoniously smash his skull, bringing a definitive end to his creeper ways.
You have been infested with Dark Motes
And now I have elemental lice. Another physical embarrassment to deal with. At least it doesn’t itch, there’s no smell, no negative stats that I can see. Maybe the motes aren’t used to dealing with a sentient host. I get up and shake off some water. My health is regenerating, my exhaustion is going away, Mana is climbing. I feel much better. Gathering some branches from the area around me, I roll my shoulders and try to loosen up a bit. Building the fireplace lets me feel how bone tired I am. As I light the fire, a wave of soothing heat washes over me. While waiting for my clothes to dry a bit, I sit down and examine my loot.
Inventory
Makeshift Club 1
Bow 1
Dark Bronze Gladius (Lightstealer) 1
Decent Cloak 1
Poor cloak 1
Decent boots 1
Clothes XX
Firestarter 1
Feathered Locket 1
Bronze amulet Green stone pendant. 1
Weapon Maintenance kit 1
Field dressing kit 3
Soft leather pouch 2
Dry rations 3
Tent 1
Backpack 1
Soap 4
Scrolls (Unidentified) 4
Green potion 2
Red Potion 4
Enlightened core of Dark Elemental 1
Shattered Darkshard 1
Rainleaf 3
Sugarharness 8
Rotwood 1
Book (Unidentified) 1
Leather satchel 1
Dark Leather Boots 1
Leather box 1
Moonsilver roses 5
The gemflowers are beautiful. The crystal is almost clear, but when I look at the flames through them, I can see the tiny capillaries that let nutrients move through it. They feel hard, almost brittle in my hands, but there’s an undercurrent of power in them. I put them aside and focus on the boots. The quality is incredible. They look a bit small, but when I try them on they fit perfectly. Maybe a magical effect. I walk around for a bit without feeling any enhancements, but they are so much more comfortable than my old newbie footwraps or the cheap leather boots, so I decide to keep wearing them. The book is a large tome, about as big as an A4 piece of paper, leatherbound with rigid covers. By some luck, it’s not soaked from the dip in the river, unlike the scrolls I had. On the front is the symbol for the game, a sphere, with three orbs around it. I open it up, and as I do, I get a progress bar at the bottom of my view.
0% complete.
I guess it’ll keep my position as I read it. The words make absolutely no sense to me. I can read them, but it’s mostly gibberish. I try to get through a few pages, and notice the progress bar increases. About 5% per page. I decide to keep going, it’s only a few minutes of gibberish per page anyway. As it reaches 100%, the progress bar blinks and fades away
You are attempting to learn a new skill.
Grade: Special.
Difficulty: Hard.
Chance of success: 10%.
Do you wish to proceed? (Note, critically failing the check might result in the book being destroyed. Chance of destruction: 0.1%)
Oooh… Special skill, eh? Squiddomancy? Dark Elemental Control? As I approve the attempt, I scratch an imaginary itch that appears when I think of the motes.
Failure.
You did not learn the skill.
Your chances of learning the skill have increased.
The chances of destroying the book have increased.
New stats: 20%/1%
Hmm. Double the chance of success, ten times the chance of failure. I try again, reading the book from the beginning. This time, the progress bar moves much quicker, and I get through the book much faster. The same popup is displayed, and I approve.
Success: You have learnt a skill from the manual.
Skill discovered: Planar Shifting.
Failure: The book has been destroyed
The book crumbles in my hands as I take in the information. I got the skill at least. I wonder what it does.
Planar Shifting
The ability to exploit the thin places between planes. Higher levels allow the user to access different planes.
This skill is part of the composite skill Planeswalking. Unknown number of skills remaining in the set.
I guess I can only use it in certain spots. Even if I don’t know how to find those locations. It’s still a pretty cool skill to have. I think. Stretching as I stand up, I try estimating how long I’ve been inside this time. The thought of logging out doesn’t appeal to me right now, so I search the area around me for a safe place to set up camp. Settling on a secluded spot between some trees, I do battle with the tent until it’s reasonably stable. I climb inside to settle down for the night.
Do you wish to go to sleep? Chance of random encounter: Low
I approve the message, and the world fades to black. After like 20 seconds, everything fades back in, and I open my eyes. It’s really creepy how that works, but it was a very satisfying sleep. I stretch, yawn and sit up slowly, considering my options for breakfast.
“Don’t move, abomination!”
A sharp pain in my chest makes brings me out of my sleepy state and into reality. In front of me is what I can only call a hairy hobbit. He stands less than a meter tall, holding a spear as long as he is in his hands and wearing a scowl that would make a habitual liar sweat.
“I don’t know how you got into valley, but when the elders are done with you, you’ll leave in small bits!”
His voice goes a bit shrill at the end of the sentence. I consider attacking, weighing my chances of success, but decide against it. My sword it too short, and I’m not skilled enough at combat. Probably best to follow his orders for a bit until I figure something else out. Hopefully these ‘elders’ aren’t quite as mean as he makes them out to be.
“Can I stand up at least? This position is really uncomfortable.”
He’s visibly uncertain at this, scrunching his face up in thought. In the end, confidence wins out.
“Okay. Stand up, get your stuff. No need for it to go to waste.”
I shrug and begin packing up my tent.
“So what’s your name, little fella?”
I try to feel him out, a casual tone might put him at ease.
“I’m not little!”
Whoa, bad call. He’s practically foaming at the mouth.
“I’m the biggest the Weke has ever seen! Who are you, smelly girl!”
I stop what I’m doing, turn around and look at him, incredulously.
“Smelly?!”
I walk to him, pushing his spear out of the way as I get closer. He seems staggered at my audacity.
“I’ve been prodded by squids, choked by shadows, damn near squished by boulders and infested with motes, but I am not smelly!”
The last few words were screamed into his face. He had already backed up to a tree, and it seems like he was trying to climb up it using his shoulder blades and knee pits. Sadly, that put him in a perfect position for a right verbal bollocking.
“I try to have a quick nap before I go on with this comedy of errors that is my life, I set up camp, I break my book, and to top it off I’m woken up by the love child of Harry the bigfoot and Frodo Baggins!”
His eyes are watering now, almost crying. I can feel my rage subside a little, replaced by a feeling of sheer joy at his discomfort.
“Now you listen here, you communal bathroom drain escapee! You pick up my stuff, carry it respectfully, and take me to your elders, and I will let them know exactly how you treat friendly outsiders. Then I’m going to spank you in front of everyone you’ve ever known!”
When I started that sentence, I had no idea where I was going with it. By the time I was finished, the forest had gone completely quiet, leaving us in the most awkward silence I had ever experienced. I summon the last of my indignant rage and scream.
“Get to it!”
He promptly drops his spear and runs to my campsite, packing it up completely, picks up the bundles, and runs off. I pick up his spear and follow him, grinning internally.
Skill discovered: Intimidation
Skill discovered: Bullying
My mood drops immediately on the notification. I’ve spent so many years as a victim, and not only do I slip right into the role of abuser, I enjoy it thoroughly. I make a mental not to discuss this with the doc later. The little guy is fast, and he knows the forest well. Following him is difficult, and I almost lose him a few times, but he always stops for a few seconds, until he sees my eyes, and then takes off again. It’s an hour of this before we get to his village. I realise quickly that my hobbit comparison was more apt than I thought it would be. There are a bunch of hills, obviously artificial, in a big field. Every hill has a pipe, a window, and a door. There are some crops growing a bit into the distance, and a river nearby. In every direction is either forest or mountains in the distance.
you have discovered an unknown village. This information can be sold for recognition with the explorers guild, or for money in other guilds.
Huh. I’ve met one other player, how do I know about guilds? I lose my train of thought as I realise I’m being led to one of the few overground buildings in the village. It looks like it started as a barn, then decided to be a hotel, then a prison. Massive doors, lots of windows, half barred with iron. All around us are others of his kind, the Weke. I don’t know whether that’s species, clan or smell. Inspecting them doesn’t give me anything useful, so they must be some kind of sapient species, not the common mob classes. I smack him upside the head with his own spear.
“Oi, shorty!”
He freezes, then turns around slowly, eyeing me with a mixture of fear and awe.
“Put down my stuff there, gently. Is this the place your elders are?”
He does as I say, nodding slowly.
“Excellent.”
I hand him his spear.
“Take this, go inside and introduce me. I am Shae, an adventurer seeking no trouble.”
He nods again, and runs inside. Taking a deep breath, I try to calm myself. Angry bully might not be quite so effective against the leadership here in the village of fuzzy munchkins. After a 5 minute wait, the little guard comes back outside. He’s defiant, but still terrified, nearly making eye contact before responding.
