Forge of Eternity: Alpha Testing, page 35
Stone Guardian Warrior’s crippling strike deals 27 damage.
Lamed (debuff) - Your movement speed and dodge chance have both been reduced by half. 12 hours remaining…
Gavin Outbuffs heals you for 75 damage.
Lamed (Debuff) removed.
Digging my foot into the ground, I pressed up with all the power of my previously wounded leg into a leaping uppercut with my shield. This evidently took the warrior off guard and the edge of my shield connected just under his chin. His head snapped back and he stumbled, so I followed up by bashing the pommel of my sword into his nose and face. I felt several more hammer-like blows in my side and I decided I’d be going for the archer as soon as I took down this warrior. For the first time in the fight, I focused on my opponent’s health and felt a sudden sinking in my gut. The warrior’s health bar showed three-quarters full, even after that pounding. I blinked, then the sinking in my gut turned into a more visceral pain as something fast and heavy hit me in the back. I found myself rolling along the ground, vision blurry and confused as the dim lights flashed around me.
Stone Guardian Defender critically attacks you for 73 damage.
You take 22 terrain damage.
Stunned (Debuff) - You are unable to move. 10 seconds remaining…
My head swam and I couldn’t get full control over my body. I could feel the sword in my hand, and a deep ache in my lower back near the spine, but I couldn’t get enough coordination to sit up or look around to find my bearings. I couldn’t even properly feel the location of anything through my contact with the ground. My hit points were sitting at 175 out of 315, that last blow dropping me for almost a third of my health. The stunned debuff ended and I immediately activated my kinetic capacitor, expecting to take another blow any second. Sitting up, I was shocked to see the battle playing out almost thirty feet away from me. That single hit sent me flying up against the foot of the stone dais.
I sprinted back into the fight, bashing the archer in the head with my shield as I ran by and issuing a battle cry to the dwarf. He was engaged with Uri, and it didn’t appear things were going well there. As I watched, the defender struck home and knocked Uri to the ground, dropping his health to critically low levels in my party icons. When I entered the melee, stepping between the dwarf and Uri, all attention focused on me for a moment. This gave the rest of my party several precious seconds to regroup. Amalie moved to the outskirts of the battle, looking worse for wear with a limp and missing half her health. Goodwin still battled with the dagger-wielding elf, seeming the least injured of the group, and he used my distraction to knock the rogue to the ground. The warrior had managed to regain his halberd and was keeping Gavin focused on defense and unable to heal the group. I didn’t see Phelyya anywhere, but the party icons showed she was still alive and relatively uninjured.
Letting my attention drift to read the battlefield cost me. There was a flood of warmth across the shoulder of my shield arm as I misjudged my block on an overhead blow. The end of the dwarf’s hammer remained hooked over my shoulder, a strong downward pressure preventing me from standing fully. I took the opportunity to stab at the defender’s stubby legs, figuring that any part of this creature was as valid a target as any other. Suddenly, a small sphere of water sped over my shoulder and coated my sword, just as the point found its mark. Instead of the expected resistance of solid marble, my blade bit into the dwarf’s inner thigh. Blood poured out of the wound as I pulled back. Not questioning it, I stabbed several times in quick succession until the pressure on my shoulder released.
Life imbued weapon (Buff) - iron short sword is imbued with life energy, bypasses animated stone damage resistance.
You attack Stone Guardian Defender with Kinetic Strike for 48 physical damage.
You attack Stone Guardian Defender with Kinetic Strike for 39 physical damage.
The stone face of the dwarf was slack in disbelief as it staggered back a step. I stood and pressed the attack, my movement wrenching the warhammer from his grasp. My kinetic capacitor had expired a few seconds earlier, and each strike was imbued with a portion of the damage I’d taken. The defender interposed his shield between us and I kicked it as hard as I could, knocking him back a step. Whatever happened to my sword allowed me to hurt him, but it wouldn’t help me get past that shield. An idea hit me and I passed the sword to my left hand, letting my shield hang in place awkwardly on my forearm. I grabbed the dwarf’s lost hammer in my other hand, swinging it in a wide reckless arc into the edge of the stone tower shield. The shield cracked and the dwarf toppled to the side.
“Deacon, duck!” I heard, Gavin’s voice I think, and I threw myself to the ground without a moment’s hesitation. I could hear arrows pass overhead. Not wanting to be a helpless target, I activated the instant earthworks ability, throwing a wall around the dwarf and I. Crouching close to him, I swung the hammer down with savage full-body force on the spot beyond the shield where the dwarf collapsed. When the health bar confirmed he’d expired, I poked my head over the barrier and looked in the direction of the archer. Phelyya stood over the stone archer’s corpse, stabbing wildly. Considering that issue handled I wheeled around looking for a closer enemy.
There were none standing that I could see. I checked my combat log.
You are no longer in combat.
You have defeated 4 x Stone Guardian (Level 5) and gained 1000 experience (4 x 250 experience).
Defense increased to level 5!
Sword Proficiency increased to level 4!
Gavin Outbuffs has reached level 5!
Urivon Temporus has reached level 5!
Phelyya has reached level 5!
In the span of a dozen seconds, we had gone from a broken line desperately trying to survive, to victorious. I slumped against the barrier in relief, only to have it dissipate harmlessly underneath me. The hammer faded away a moment later, having stayed cohesive long enough for me to prop myself up. I stretched and took stock of myself, making sure I didn’t have any injuries that wouldn’t heal naturally. My armor had some significant dents, but I didn’t see anything irreparable. The rest of the party congregated around my position where Gavin dispensed a quick round of soothing spells to augment our natural healing. Within a couple of minutes, we were good as new, even if some of us were a little shaky from the adrenaline of the battle.
“Anyone want to explain how we didn’t die?” I asked, looking around the group. “Before I went flying I saw that the enemy we’d landed the most hits on was still far from dead. Then, less than a minute later, they were all down.”
“Check it out,” Amalie said, handing me a strange spongy mass of glowing green something. “Life sprite essence. It’s what animates the animals out in the forest. Nothing was working so I followed a hunch. Rubbed some on Uri’s rapier and his next strikes came away bloody. At that point, I just passed it along to the others.”
“They relied on their physical resiliency as part of their fighting style,” Goodwin said, gesturing where the statues had been. “A lot of their technique was based around trading blows. A lot of take a hit to land a hit action. They had the advantage there, so it made sense. Once we overcame that they didn’t have time to change their tactics.”
I grunted. “And how’d you get this stuff to my sword?”
Amalie smiled and, with a flick of her wand, summoned a glob of water. A moment later I saw the globe materialize a couple of large, inquisitive eyes. She handed it a rock and, without a word from her, it sped over to me and placed the object in my hand. Then it lost cohesion and dissipated, the remaining water splashing to the ground.
“Except, with the essence,” Amalie said with a shrug. “We’re going to need more of this stuff if we have to kill them every time we come through.”
“Let’s worry about that later. Loot these guys and keep going,” Phelyya said impatiently tapping her foot. “I think the dungeon technically started with the forest.”
The enemies had flickered away moments after the battle, leaving behind a small treasure chest similar to the locust queen.
(Bid/Ignore) 9 x Coarse Diamond Dust, Level 4, Crafting Component, 1 lb.
(Bid/Ignore) 3 x Small Mana Crystal, Level 5, Crafting Component, 0.25 lbs.
(Bid/Ignore) 1 x Seown’s Unlucky dagger, Level 5, Weapon, 1.5 lbs.
(Bid/Ignore) 1 x Vara’s Spatial Bowstring, Level 5, Weapon Component, 3 lbs.
(Bid/Ignore) 1 x Kalin’s Hammer, Level 5, Weapon, 10 lbs.
“Finally, something resembling loot in this game,” Phelyya said, dancing in place. I rolled my eyes and looked over the details of each item. The diamond dust was a generic crafting item, as were the mana crystals. I could only assume the weapon names referred to the original owners. It was odd that the game rarely provided descriptive names for enemies, but would include names in the loot they dropped.
There wasn’t a lot of contention for any of the items and the loot distribution was uneventful. I managed to walk away with the warhammer, since nobody else could really wield it. The dagger gave a decent boost to dexterity and offered a significant damage upgrade for Phelyya. Goodwin said he had an idea for the bowstring, even though the item description didn’t offer any detail regarding its potential. The more generic crafting components were the only thing that required discussion, and we all decided to collectively pool the crafting items until a better idea came up since it was working so far. With everything decided, the small chest disappeared in a shimmer of blue like the remains of our enemies. I inspected the hammer again as I pulled it from my inventory.
Weapon: Kalin’s Hammer, Level 5
Type: Warhammer
Damage: 21-37
Weight: 10 lbs.
Durability: 60/60
Socket 1: Elemental Fire Rune, Level 5
Socket 2: Elemental Earth Rune, Level 5
Scalable weapon, maximum level 25
The hammerhead was a large slab of dark gray metal, each side had runic markings leading to one of the striking surfaces. One face of the weapon was slightly rounded, similar to one of the blacksmithing hammers I’d been using recently, and the runes had a dull orange hue. The opposite end seemed much deadlier, the face squared with a sharp point jutting out from each corner and a light brown tint to the runes. I saw the socketed enhancements inset under the head, each faintly glowing with their elemental color. The metal shaft extended from the bottom of the head, a shallow twist running the length of it. There was room enough for two hands on the weapon, though with my strength I felt confident wielding it with just one. I fiddled with the elemental fire rune, unlocking and removing the upgrade to inspect it. The orange glow faded from one side of the hammer, the engraved lines sitting inert.
Rune: Elemental Fire, Level 5
Type: Socketable Rune
Effect: Imbue socketed weapons or armor with properties of the fire element. Weapon attacks produce a flame upon impact, increasing damage. Armor absorbs a portion of any fire elemental attacks, reducing damage.
I held up the rune and turned to Amalie. “When we get back I’ll need you to take a look at these runes to see if you can learn how to craft them.”
By way of example, I re-socketed the elemental fire rune, securing it in place and watching the glow spread back across the hammer.
“How did you do that?” Phelyya asked, brow furrowed as she inspected her new dagger. “My weapon doesn’t have anything like that on it.”
“Your dagger has a flat upgrade built into it, crafting those is different than crafting a weapon that can take modular upgrades,” I replied, hefting the hammer over my shoulder, then adjusting my belt to slide it in place. “We ready to move on?”
“Before we venture further into the structure below, I believe it would behoove us to inspect this tableau,” Gavin said, running his fingers against the stone slab behind the dais. “I am unable to decipher the smaller script at the bottom, but there are several scenes depicted here that may prove enlightening.”
Amalie produced the mana lantern and aimed it toward what turned out to be a relief similar to the large one we’d seen from the stairs. The stone was worn and faded, the images difficult to discern. Underneath them was a flowing script, easier to see but impossible to read. Looking back at the relief, the clearest image was of a hero holding up three orbs, an aura depicted around them. Nearby that same hero was shown with an aura extended around its form fighting a grotesque misshapen mass of faces, body parts, and weapons. In a different area, there was an image of a horizontal sword over an anvil. I studied it for another few minutes, unable to get a clear image from anything else on the stone and giving up.
“We should keep going, I don’t think we’re going to get anything helpful for our quest here,” I said, turning to leave.
“What do you mean?” Amalie grabbed my arm, “I’m still reading but I think it’s exactly the type of hidden detail we’re supposed to uncover.”
Amalie - Entrance
“What do you mean reading?” Deacon asked, eyebrows raised. “It’s all squiggly lines and gibberish.”
“Do you really not know how to read cursive?” I asked, letting the question hang for a bit until I couldn’t hold in a laugh any longer. “I’m joking about that part. It’s definitely not English but it’s also not completely incomprehensible. Not sure how to explain it.”
“Is it just English with a different alphabet?” Deacon asked. “Like Tengwar?”
“Tengwar?” I furrowed my brow, looking up at Deacon.
“It’s Tolkien’s Elfish script,” he replied casually, looking at the inscription again briefly before shaking his head. “I’m not seeing any patterns that look like they’d be English words, but if the alphabet is sufficiently different in usage from the Roman alphabet it’d be hard to spot at first. I tried earlier but didn’t see anything.”
I shrugged, a little impressed that he’d put in the effort before deciding to abandon it. If the text hadn’t started shifting around with English overlays and highlighted sections pulling for my attention I probably wouldn’t have looked that hard at it. A new skill even popped up after I read the first overlay.
You have unlocked the Archaeological Linguistics skill.
The fact that civilizations have risen and fallen since these ancient languages were in common use does not prevent you from making connections and gleaning insight. This skill may grant you limited ability to speak or write dead languages you are exposed to at higher levels.
Your Archaeological Linguistics skill increased to level 1.
“It might be something we could manually translate, but I don’t think my skill is high enough for that,” I said, shifting my head from side to side, considering as I spoke. “Or, I could just give you the summary I’m getting by staring at the letters.”
“Summary please,” Phelyya said, raising her hand, followed by Uri and Goodwin.
“Silence from the peanut gallery,” Deacon said with a stern look, then he let the expression crack and smiled. “Actually, I agree. Amalie, can you give us a summary of what you’ve read?”
“Like a quick summary,” Phelyya clarified, “so we can get back to killing things.”
“You’re in luck,” I smiled, “the quick summary and the long summary are the same. The inscription just says these guardians are in the likeness of the heroes who put this dungeon in place. Like the dungeon itself, the guardians we fought serve to protect adventurers from themselves, whatever that means. Their removal from the dais unlocks the Tempering Fires. You must prove your worth in this dungeon, and only when you are ready will the true challenge become available.”
“Tempering Fires? Odd name. The only other thing we learned so far is that there’s more to uncover?” Uri asked. The question sounded rhetorical but I nodded anyway.
“I think we can assume the dungeon we found is some sort of manufactured dungeon-style proving ground with arbitrary rules on advancement,” Deacon said, nodding to Uri and pointing to the relief. “The image of the three glowing circles followed by the picture of the glowing dude makes sense with that context.”
Something seemed to physically click within my mind and a section of the text pulsed. It rearranged from unreadable decorative elements to clearly legible script. I read aloud as the script self-translated.
“Three times must you receive the blessing before you can proceed. Only a fortified soul can seek rewards without losing itself to temptation,” I translated aloud, receiving a notification in my logs.
Quest Updated: Learn to Know
You have uncovered a secret of the Tempering Fires
Uncover the history of the hidden dungeon: 1/?
“Apparently the name didn’t count as a secret, but that little bit did?” Deacon asked with a snort. “I’m okay with that, good work, Amalie.”
I beamed and made a show of dusting off my hands and shoulders. “Somebody has to carry you guys.”
Everyone rolled their eyes or jeered playfully and we continued toward the dungeon entrance. I shone the lantern around the inside, revealing the same layout as last time with no visible enemies. Unlike our previous visit, the tripwires and detection runes were active. If I didn’t know to look for them I probably wouldn’t have been able to point them out.
“I’m thinking it’d be safest to proceed slowly, triggering the traps intentionally one at a time,” Deacon said, scanning the room and tapping his new hammer against his hip. “If we try to avoid them and accidentally set one off, we might set off others by accident while dealing with the outcome.”
