PA-01. Den Of Thieves, page 9
part #1 of Pantheon Online Series
The Fulcra spun around, sweeping its hammer at his feet.
Gunnar leapt out of the way and somersaulted. The Fulcra came shuffling toward him.
The Fulcra raised its warhammer above its shoulders to attack. But it was enough distraction for Kohli to snatch up the other Fulcra’s weapon. With a sweeping blow from behind, the thief obliterated the last creature’s neck. Its skull toppled onto the ground and shattered on the stone.
[You have defeated a common Fulcra with an assist from Samir Kohli! Here’s 10 XP!]
14
LEVEL 3
“Thanks,” Gunnar said, chest heaving.
Kohli nodded to him, leaning on his new large weapon.
“How much farther you figure we’ve got in this place?”
Kohli shrugged. “This crypt is built for grinding, if I had to guess. And it’s in the middle of the city. So it can’t be too much longer. Anyway, we ought to have it a bit easier going forward with these warhammers.”
Gunnar stooped to pick the other one up.
Iron Warhammer
Item Class: Common, Melee
Quality: Average
Base Damage: 20
Weight: 14
Durability: 12
Requirements: This monstrosity requires at least Level 7 Strength
Description: Looks like you’re too much of a weakling there, Sport!
Gunnar cursed under his breath. Of course.
“Looks like I’ll have to settle for another damn femur,” he muttered, glancing around. The burnt Fulcra still had an intact thigh, but the durability was terrible. The other one had a solid leg bone, which Gunnar wrenched free.
“You sure you don’t want the gladius?” Kohli asked, hefting his warhammer on his shoulder.
Gunnar shook his head, patting his trusty new orc femur. “Nah, I think the bone clubs work better on these things, anyway.”
He retrieved both Weak Soul Gems, offering one to Kohli and keeping the other for himself.
“How the hell do you think those skeletons wield hammers like that?”
Kohli shrugged. “Part of the enchantment I guess. What’s less logical? That a skeleton can attack you at all? Or that it can also wield a heavy-class weapon?”
He had a point.
“You usually grind in these sorts of places?” Gunnar asked.
Kohli smirked. It was the first good humor he’d shown since they’d arrived in the crypt. “Usually I prefer a different sort of grinding in dark, secluded places.”
Gunnar just shook his head.
“Sykes has got a training course I don’t mind using every now and then,” Kohli said. “But nah, nothing like this.”
Interesting. It seemed Sykes had quite the system for profiting off the noobs being directed his way.
“You good?” Kohli asked.
Gunnar nodded. His Stamina had replenished, though his Health was pretty much frozen around 60%.
“Let’s carry on, then,” Kohli said. “I’ve still got a date with that Maldan chick from the market.”
At that, he actually smiled.
Down the next corridor, they faced another pair of Fulcra, though these were much smaller, probably human in their last life, and only Level 3s. With the femur and the warhammer, Gunnar and Kohli dispatched them both with little trouble.
Gunnar worried about the way their torches announced their arrival. The creatures had no eyes or ears—they were skeletons after all—but the Fulcra definitely seemed to detect them before they turned the corner.
They were using Stealth, so he doubted the creatures heard them. Which had to mean the flames were alerting them somehow. That was fine when there were only two to fight, but if they encountered more…
He kept thinking about what the original Fulcra notification had said about their dangers in larger groups.
They descended a staircase and reached a fork in their path. Two identical dark passages loomed before them.
“What do you say I scout ahead?” Gunnar asked.
“And what? I just wait around like a douche and let you get all the loot?”
Gunnar crossed his arms. “Do you have Dark Sight?” It was labeled a race-based spell, so Gunnar assumed the human didn’t have it.
Kohli shook his head. “But unless you’ve got a Mana pool the size of my mum’s arse, you won’t be making it far without a torch.”
“Exactly,” Gunnar said, annoyed. “How much loot you think I’m gonna run off with? How much have we even found down here? These Fulcra aren’t carrying anything. Look, I know we’re all hardened criminals or whatever. But we’re not going to last long in this city without allies. I’m the one who wanted to form a party, remember? I offered to split everything down here, so of the two of us, I’m the one who can be trusted.”
“All right, all right,” Kohli said, crossing his arms. “Point taken. You ever heard of beating a dead horse?”
Gunnar let a smile slip. “I don’t know how these things see, but I’m pretty sure that torch is attracting the Fulcra to us. And I’m guessing this crypt is about to get a lot harder. I’ll just check things out, make sure we’re not about to walk into a herd of them or something, and come right back.”
Kohli shrugged. “Fine. Go.”
Gunnar gripped the man’s shoulder. “It’s my fault we’re down here. And the only reason I didn’t lose all my coins and end up in chains with the Red Cloaks is because you helped me. I’m not going to leave you here.”
Gunnar chose the chamber on the left first. Something about the air that direction felt lighter. Like maybe ventilation was coming from somewhere. At least he hoped so.
The torchlight flickered behind him, lighting his path for about thirty yards or so. Until he nearly tripped over a displaced stone jutting up about an inch from the floor. He activated Dark Sight, and his vision grew… hazy, but better.
As he walked, it cleared, and he was pretty sure it had something to do with the light of Kohli’s torch diminishing behind him. The darker the corridor got, the clearer his vision became.
He turned a corner and found a lone Level 4 Fulcra shuffle-dancing down the hall. Away from him for once. He activated Stealth, lightening his footfalls, and crept forward.
Gunnar really wanted to know what was up with these creatures. Was some necromancer just goofing around when he designed these things, or was it an accident? Or maybe it wasn’t a dance at all, and the magic was just that terrible.
The Fulcra paused and fanned its arms out, and Gunnar was almost positive it was the undead version of jazz hands.
Gunnar remained still, and the creature soon carried on down the corridor. If the Fulcra was made of more than bone, he would have stabbed it from behind, but he would have to settle for clubbing it.
He crept forward, holding his breath as he neared it. When the creature paused its movement for its jazz hand wave, Gunnar brought the orc femur down on its skull.
Unlocked Skill: Stealth Attack
Skill Type: Physical, Combat
Linked Attribute: Agility (+80% Development)
Affinity Level: 6
Cost: N/A
Requirements: Level 4 Agility
Effect: Allows you to deal damage before your opponent is engaged in combat
Description: Nothing like killing a defenseless man, right?
[You have dealt +15 Damage to a common Fulcra!]
The Fulcra swayed dangerously for a moment, dazed, and then turned.
Heart pounding, Gunnar gathered all his strength into the next attack. He swung the femur at its head like a baseball bat, a surge of energy rushing from him, draining a significant portion of his Stamina.
Unlocked Skill: Enhanced Blow
Skill Type: Physical, Combat
Linked Attribute: Strength (+65% Development)
Affinity Level: 6
Cost: 15 Stamina
Requirements: At least 20 Stamina
Effect: Increases the damage of your attacks
Description: Probably not the blow you’re used to back home, but it’s the same general idea. You go nuts for a while, then crash. Or die.
The Fulcra’s skull exploded in shards of bone.
And so did Gunnar’s femur club.
The Fulcra’s remaining bones crumpled to the ground, and a flurry of notifications came Gunnar’s way.
[You have defeated another common Fulcra! Here’s 20 XP!]
[You’ve unlocked two new combat skills in one kill. Here’s a 20 XP bonus for not being a total waste of imaginary flesh!]
[Congratulations! You’re actually learning how to not run from a fight. You have reached Level 6 in the skill Slashing Blow. You have reached Level 10 in the skill Parry Blow! You have reached Level 6 in the skill Sheer Strength! You have reached Level 7 in the spell Dark Sight! Yippee ki yay!]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 3! You have earned Glory for your goddess Nymoria.]
The flurry of notifications vanished, and the breathtaking goddess stood before him, wearing her same luminescent white gown. She held out her hand to him. Something glowed in her palm and drifted over to him, and he glowed too for a moment, his entire body enveloped in warmth.
“Well done, faithful servant,” Nymoria said. “You have taken another step on the path to greatness. As a reward, you have earned one attribute point, which can be distributed at any time. But remember that every choice you make will echo into eternity. Choose wisely.”
Nymoria disappeared, and the chamber returned to darkness.
When he’d attacked, his Mana bar had been close to 40%. Both his Stamina and Health had been depleted too. He hadn’t noticed it the first time he leveled up, since he had only been pickpocketing, and hadn’t lost anything. But now, Nymoria had replenished all three bars, and he could have sworn the bars were slightly larger too.
He deactivated his Dark Sight and examined his stats.
Gunnar Ashwood
Glory: Level 3
Servant of Nymoria
Coins: 68
Character Traits
Race: Dusk Elf
Clan: Maldan
Class: Undecided… just a naive dumbass for now
Faction: No band of brothers yet
Renown: Complete and Utter Nobody
Character Stats
Health - 65/65
Stamina - 55/55
Mana - 70/70
Physical Attributes
Strength - 6
Dexterity - 9
Agility - 6
Constitution - 6
Mental Attributes
Intelligence - 7
Wisdom - 4
Charisma - 5
Creativity - 2
Physical Skills
Endurance - Level 5 (+15 Stamina Buff)
Throwing Blade - Level 9
Slashing Blow - Level 6
Parry Blow - Level 10
Head-Butt - Level 6
Enhanced Blow - Level 6
Sheer Strength - Level 6
Pickpocketing - Level 13
Stealth - Level 6
Stealth Attack - Level 6
Mental Skills
Perception - Level 6
Active Items
Basic Dark Cloak (+10% Stealth)
Inactive Items
Weak Soul Gem (2)
Spells
Scan - Level 6
Dark Sight - Level 7
Open Quests
Mermaid’s Debt
Luka’s Crypt
Just as he had thought. His Health, Stamina, and Mana had all increased by five points each time he’d leveled up.
That would certainly come in handy going forward, and really made this entire crypt fiasco worth it for that alone. Assuming he made it out alive.
He pondered what to do with his attribute point. His Stamina could use some work, and that was tied to Constitution. But he had also already put off increasing his Wisdom.
In the end, he decided to wait. His first goal was to escape this crypt, and he didn’t know what lay ahead. He could apply the point once he knew what would be most important for their escape. Assuming he would have the time to make the decision in the moment.
He dismissed the stat sheet from his vision.
Blue sparks hovered over the skeleton. He found another soul gem, of course. Since his Orc Femur had been decimated in the killing attack, Gunnar harvested another bone from the new creature’s remains as well. This one, unfortunately, was a reanimated human, and its bones were even less durable than the already shatter-prone orc leg.
He pressed on down the corridor, only using Dark Sight sporadically, in order to preserve his Mana. He would switch it on and get a feel for the next stretch of the corridor, then switch it off and walk in the darkness whenever the way was clear enough.
This hall contained no coffins. There were a few empty chests and some displaced stones that seemed to have dropped out of the walls.
He encountered a couple more of the Spined Rats, and since he had a selection of weapons now, he decided to practice his Throwing Blade attack. He hit the first rat in the back and had to finish it off with the femur.
But he hit the second rat straight between the eyes.
[You have killed a Spined Sewer Rat - Level 3. Here’s 5 XP with a 10 XP bonus for a Perfect Kill Shot!]
The hall ended and opened up into the widest room Gunnar had seen yet in this place.
A massive burial chamber at least thirty feet high and as long as a football field. The high ceiling was supported by pillars the size of tree trunks, and the walls were lined floor to ceiling with burial nooks. There were hundreds of them. Maybe thousands.
And it was a dead end.
There was no hallway at the other end. No doors. Just burial nooks. Dozens of stone coffins littered the ground. And across the room, Gunnar glimpsed something hanging from the ceiling. And it was moving.
His heart raced, and he ducked back into the corridor he’d come from.
To hell with that, there must be dozens of Fulcra in there.
He quickly made his way back to where he’d left Kohli.
15
LOOT
The thief sat on an empty chest at the base of a small dais, scowling as Gunnar returned.
“So?” Kohli asked.
Gunnar told him about the massive burial chamber. “Good thing we didn’t take a torch that way. We would have probably brought a herd of those Fulcra on us.”
Kohli got up and grabbed his torch. “Well, we’ve only got one more option then.”
They set off down the corridor, Kohli leading the way this time. The thief seemed to have grown more agitated being left alone.
Two more Spined Rats jumped out, and Kohli made quick work of them with his hammer. Gunnar let him take the XP. But then, a third leapt out, teeth bared, right behind Kohli.
Gunnar let his dagger fly, and the creature dropped dead.
[You have killed a Spined Sewer Rat - Level 3. Here’s 5 XP with a 5 XP bonus for a Perfect Kill Shot!]
The bonus had already diminished since he’d leveled up.
Kohli turned and nodded. “You’re all right with those blades.” He reached to his belt and handed Gunnar his own dagger. “Reckon this’ll do you more good than me.”
They descended another staircase, and Gunnar began to wonder if they’d missed a turn further back somewhere. This place seemed to keep going and going.
Did they really still want to be descending? How big was this crypt?
At the end of the corridor, there was an open doorway, guarded by a lone Fulcra wielding a gladius.
“Alright, that must be the way out,” Kohli said eagerly. “This one’s mine.”
Kohli sprinted forward, swinging his warhammer. The Fulcra crumpled into pieces, and Kohli knelt to examine the remains. Gunnar was about to shout a congratulations when a dark shadow loomed in the doorway.
Gunnar didn’t have time to warn him. A warhammer struck the thief from behind. Kohli barely made a sound; he just slumped over the remains of the creature he’d killed. His hammer clattered on the ground, and his dropped torch sent shadows dancing across the chamber walls.
Gunnar froze as the corridor filled with the swift clacking of bone. Several Fulcra poured from the room beyond.
Gunnar activated Stealth and slunk back against the corridor walls, cursing Kohli’s impulsiveness. There were way too many of the creatures for Gunnar to handle. He had hardly realized that he’d left his torch back at the fork in the corridor. It was sheer luck, but it was the only reason the creatures weren’t coming for him too.
The skeletons gathered around Kohli.
Gunnar knew it was a slight risk, but he had the feeling that these creatures were not advanced enough to sense magic. He hit Kohli with Scan, his body tingling as the Mana coursed through him.
The thief’s health bar hovered at 25%, but to Gunnar’s surprise, the Fulcra did not finish him off.
Kohli lay dazed and weaponless. One of the Fulcra leaned forward and grunted, as though speaking in some primitive language, and a pair of Fulcra grabbed Kohli by the legs and dragged him into the next room.
“Well, shit,” Gunnar muttered, now alone in the corridor.
He thought of what Kohli had said when they first entered the crypt. If it were reversed, would Kohli leave him to the Fulcra like he’d said he would?
Gunnar didn’t know. But Kohli had helped him escape the Red Cloaks, and he knew it was his own fault they’d wound up in this mess in the first place.
He knew what he had to do.
With Stealth still activated, he crept toward the open doorway. Torches flickered softly from within, casting a wavering glow from the room beyond. Much clacking and grunting echoed from the chamber after the Fulcra dragged Kohli inside.
From outside, it was hard to tell whether the beasts were just shuffling around or if they were actually talking. The clacking seemed to come in flurries. Gunnar supposed it was possible the things could communicate, considering they were the work of necromancy.
