You have unlocked the Blowgun weapon skill!

Current level: 1

Allows for greater damage, effectiveness and use with the selected weapon.

Current effects: reduced range penalties, increased accuracy, +1 damage

You have reached level 10!

You have 5 points left unassigned. Assign points now?

“When it rains it pours, hey Snuffles.”Jicker said as he crawled back into his house after his latest hunt. The rat in question flicked its ears in greeting, before curling tighter around the fire, only moving so he could throw some more wood in. The goblin he’d taken out hadn’t even noticed when he’d stuck him with a dart, and had just kept walking along until it staggered and fell. It had been the last kill he’d needed to get the necessary experience to hit level ten, and apparently had put him over the edge to qualify for the weapon skill. It was a basic, yet core skill you needed if you planned to do any real fighting, and was able to be acquired at least at a basic level just by using a type of weapon enough. Taking it as sign he was ready, he allocated his latest points, and looked at his sheet, hoping it would be enough to pull off his escape.

Name:

Jicker

Level:

10

Race:

Gremlin

Class:

Dark Chemist

Hp:

140

Mp:

240

Stamina:

50

Statistics

Equipped weapons

Damage:

Equipped Armour

Defence:

Blowgun

2-3

Grey Hobos garb

2

Core Statistics

Other Statistics

Strength:

5

Evolution:

2

Dexterity:

25

Constitution:

5

Intelligence:

50

Wisdom:

15

Resistances:

Poison:

50%

Cold:

5

Disease:

50%

Skills

Mother of Invention - Level 1

Apothecary - Level 2

Handle Animal - Level 4

Weapon Skill - Blowgun - Level 1

Achievements

Grand Genocide

Kill over 20 million sentients within 1 hour

Unique-Effect:

30% damage and ability effectiveness against sentients

Force of Change

Destroy and create over 1000 dungeons

Unique-Effect:

Creating or altering areas or creatures will be 100% more effective

World Shaper

Permanently alter the geography of the world on a grand scale

Level-Max-Effect:

Effect: Permanent effects will be 100% more effective

King Killer

Kill 50 leaders of states, royal or other.

Level-Max-Effect:

Boss and Leader resistances reduced by 60%

He’d definitely come a long way in the past few weeks since he first began. His apothecary skill had managed to increase after making enough tablets and powder to bury a man in. The handle animal skill was a bigger surprise, though it shouldn’t have been. While he might sometimes think of Snuffles as a pet, in truth the rat was still very much wild, and an area boss at that. Getting along with him had driven up his skill in great strides.

He considered leaving the majority of his supplies hidden at home, so he wouldn’t lose them if his attempt failed. In the end though, he realised that he would either win and not want to come back and get anything, or have plenty of time to replace whatever he lost. He turned to Snuffles.

“Hey, depending on how this goes... I might not be coming back okay? If I don’t, look after yourself alright?” and with that, unable to put it off anymore, he stepped out and got to work.

~~~~~~

“Grolug! Get your lazy ass out here!”

Waking from his rest, Grolug pulled himself out of bed, bottles falling to the floor as they fell off of his rising form. It had been a nice evening, but now someone would pay for waking him up before noon. Tossing on his warden jacket, he stumbled out of the door, blinking dumbly at the light streaming through the cavern roof.

“Finally got your drunken ass out of bed huh? Now go do your damn job!” The voice yelled again.

“What the hell ye talkin’ bout? Doin’ my job just fine.” He slurred out.

“Oh yeah, sure you are. That’s why we’ve got dozens of cockroaches coming out of the Pit! Now get your shit together and go deal with it!” the other orc complained.

Grolug stared at the person in front of him for a moment, committing the face to memory.

“Yeah...yeah, ok” He said after a few moments, “I’ll go and ‘do my job’ and stop them getting out. Then I might look into that other part of my job, and put something in.” Pausing just long enough to take in the other orc face going white in fear, he turn to go and put on some proper armour, before going to ruin whoever had disturbed his morning.

~~~~~~

It had taken Jicker more than a few hours to herd enough roaches up and over the edge of the Pit to start getting attention. All of the practice he’d had collecting live ones for practice had done him well, and already he’d heard people calling for the warden. Then it was just a matter of time before Grolug showed up to investigate because after all, if there was a problem with the Pit, it was his problem. He was already happy with himself, knowing that even if he failed, he’d at least cause some grief for the bastard who dropped him in here.

Hiding on top of an old pile of masonry, he waited, keeping an eye out for both his target and on his surroundings. The last thing he needed right now was to be attacked by someone else. As he waited, he wondered if this was wise, or whether he should have gone after an easier target to try and get out. Shaking his head clear of his doubts, he focused himself. He’d already stepped down this road, there was nothing to do now but follow it to the end.

It didn’t take long he spotted Grolug wandering along the rim, crushing roaches he spotted. Jicker's heart sank slightly upon seeing the orc. It had been too much to hope he would be lightly armed it seemed, as he was dressed in some patchwork steel plate that looked a size too small for him, and carrying a large mace and shield. His only solace was that he hadn’t bothered with a helmet; otherwise he may have needed to rethink his whole plan. Carefully loading a dart, he took aim and fired, striking the warden in the side of the neck.

Jerking suddenly at the sharp pain, Grolug roared in anger, spinning around to see who had attacked him. Crouching down and making himself as small as possible, Jicker hid, waiting for the orc to give up. It didn’t take long before he went back to crushing roaches, albeit now on alert. Once he had stopped looking for who had hit him, Jicker took his second shot, this time aiming for a gap at his hip. Again Grolug spun around to see who shot him, this time looking down into the Pit, homing in on Jicker’s location.

“Whoever just hit me; this is your one and only warning! Come out here and I’ll make your death quick, hide from me, and I’ll do everything I can to make you regret it!” he shouted. Jicker considered this and gave the diplomatic response of firing again, striking the orc in the forehead. The dart all but bounced off, but it got the desired response.

“GRAAGH!” he screamed and barrelled down into the Pit, heading towards where Jicker was sitting. This made step one a success, to lure the warden down into an area where he could use a hit and run strategy. It was also why he hadn’t used any poisons yet. The moment he used one, Grolug would realise he was actually under attack and not just being harassed. He just had to lure him in deep enough, so that when he did, he wouldn’t be able to just leave. Ordinarily, a strategy like this would be next to useless against such a tough opponent, but with his king killer ability in effect, it should level the field to a point where he had a shot.

It took a dozen more darts, and ten of the most stress filled minutes of his life, but eventually he got him into position. The warden, for his part, had worked himself into a frothing rage, screaming out in graphic detail what he would do when he caught him. Carefully loading one of three carefully prepared poisoned darts, he lined up a shot and struck him again before moving, barely scraping over his collar before hitting flesh.

“- And then I’ll cut the skin from your back and-Gah, you little... “Grolug’s ravings suddenly went quiet after being hit, and for a moment Jicker wondered whether this had been far easier than he’d thought.

“Ha, so that’s you game is it? Think you’re clever do ya? Well let’s see how smart you are when I break your neck!”

“Oh good, he’s fine.” Jicker whispered flatly to himself. This had been something he’d been worried about, whether the warden would try and withdraw once poison came into play. But apparently he was far too worked up and pigheaded to back off now. It became a slow battle of attrition, firing the last of his darts then switching out to his pellets, firing as soon as he found a spot to hide once the last had run out. Everything was going to plan, until a piece of debris gave way under his foot, sending him crashing to the ground. In that moment, the orc finally identified his position and saw his opponent. Jicker was back on his feet in an instant, but the damage was already done, and Grolug was charging directly towards him.

Darting up and away, he tried to put some distance between them, hopefully enough that he could lose him again. Looking over his shoulder, he was shocked to see the warden only a dozen feet behind him and closing. Despite his appearance and attitude, it was clear that Grolug was a serious fighter.

“I'm gonna rip out your lungs when I catch you runt, and eat them before you can run out of air!” he screamed as he came ever closer. Desperately trying to escape, Jicker loaded in a tranquiliser pellet and fired; only barely managing to stay out of arms reach. As the orc began slowing down slightly as the toxin took effect, he made a desperate sprint across the roofing, hoping to find an escape route. Spotting a length of pipe jutting through the ground, he dove into it, hoping that the time it took the warden to figure out where it led would be enough for him to get clear.

His hopes were dashed however, when a few yards down the tunnel, a thick iron grate had fallen across the path, catching debris from other side and sealing it tight. Grolug had given up trying to follow him through, his bulky form far too large to get through.

“Stuck are ya? Well then perhaps we can make a deal, yeah?” he said, sounding far too happy about the situation for Jicker’s liking. “You cut off...let’s say a leg, and hand it to me, and I’ll let you die quick. Or I can just see if I can find some oil to pour down there. Take your time deciding because I’m going to enjoy this.”

Trapped with nowhere to run or hide, Jicker knew he was in a bad way. He tried shooting a dart from inside the pipe, but with Grolug watching him the whole time, he dodged easily before dropping a chunk of pallet over the opening, taking even that away from him. It was a dark few minutes for him, his only possible action being to dodge whatever random piece of garbage the warden threw at him as he grew bored. He knew his options were limited, to the point where he drew his sword and truly considered the orc’s offer. It was as he was checking the blades sharpness that the sounds from outside suddenly changed from mocking laughter to combat. The shadows moved as Grolug no longer stood in front of his cage and, being curious to the sounds of battle, he went and pushed the pallet aside.

Squaring off against the orc, who was bleeding heavily from his arm despite his armour, was Snuffles. The rat, bearing several smaller cuts along his body, charged in faster than Jicker had thought possible from the rat, biting deeply into Grolug’s leg before darting back out of reach.

“Argh, ya damn pest! What do you think you are, trying to challenge me! I’ll make a coat out of your hide!” The orc raged, taking a massive swing of his own as he tried to stave the rats head in. Narrowly avoiding the swing, Snuffles ran back in, only to be struck by a swift kick as Grolug turned sharply, sending the rat stumbling across the ground.

Distressed to see his friend being injured like this, he loaded a dose of anaesthetic into his blowgun, one of the few other non-poisonous pellets he’d made, and fired it into the rats side, quickly following it with his only remaining dose of adrenaline. The rat visibly perked up under the effects of the pellets and quickly reengaged this time succeeding on his attack. Grolug, for his part, attempted to change targets and rushed to finish Jicker off, the clearly weaker of the two threats. However the moment he turned his back the rat leapt, burying his claws deep into his back, the spike on his tail lashing at the backs of his legs.

In an unexpected turn of events, Jicker quickly found himself little more than a spectator in his own escape attempt, the effects of his poisons and healing doing little compared to the damage the two combatants were throwing at each other. Slowly, the two of them began to overwhelm the warden, who began to succumb to his many wounds.

“I...am not... going to lose...TO A GODS DAMNED MOUSE!” he bellowed, punctuating his words with heavy blows of his mace. Getting some distance, he dropped his shield, but before Snuffles could engage the now defenceless orc, he pulled something from his pocket, a vibrant green potion that shimmered in the light.

Rushing towards him, Jicker desperately tried to stop the orc drinking it. A high level regeneration potion, it would heal him rapidly for an hour, making it impossible for him to beat the warden and get out. He’d seen them a few times playing before, but he had no idea how such a low level NPC got a hold of one. Diving closer, he reached out, trying to stop it before it reached his lips...

Suddenly, a blur sped past them, the vial shattering explosively as it sent a spray of green in to the air. They turned to see a bolt buried in the ground, drenched in the remains of the potion. Following its path back up to the top of the Pit, they saw Morthoc standing there, looking down at them, with fury in his eyes and a crossbow in his hands.

“No!” Grolug howled in anguish, as Snuffles leapt on top of him, biting deeply into his now exposed neck. For a moment, he stood firm, and tried to bat away the rat that had him gripped tightly, but his blows quickly weakened, and it wasn’t long before they stopped completely.

Grolug, Warden of the Pit has been slain. You have received 1260 EXP!

Jicker stood up and stretched, laughing that it was done. He started to go and look at the body, his habit of taking everything he could, when a noise caught his attention. Looking around, he saw that a crowd had gathered to watch the fight and were now staring at him, or more accurately, the body.

“Go for it. I’m out.” He said to the crowd, which began to rush in, needing no further encouragement. He probably could have used a few bits and pieces the orc had on him, but this way he’d actually get out before another dweller tried to attack him for the loot, though maybe not with Snuffles still around. Running as quickly as he could, he made his way to the edge of the Pit, to where Morthoc still stood, and began to climb out.

He took a moment to look back down as he stood on the lip, relieved with knowing he’d never have to be trapped down there, and could finally rest easy.

“So, Jicker, it seems I owe you a drink.” A voice said from behind him. Turning he saw Morthoc looking at him his teeth bared, in what he quickly realised was a wide smile.

“I guess you do, but I’ll settle for a handshake.” Jicker said giddily, still high on his success.

“I owe you much more than this, my friend.” He said as he did so. “Thanks to you, I have had my vengeance on that traitorous scum, and will take great pleasure in watching him suffer in the Pit. More than that, now that he has been removed, I can retake my rightful place of warden.”

“We never decided that!” a voice came from a gathering crowd that had come to see who’d escaped. “We need to figure out who should be in charge and-“

“WHO CHALLENGES ME?” Morthoc bellowed, silencing the orc who had spoken. While in the Pit, Morthoc had been a large and fearsome orc, but now that he was out, he had regained his lost physique, and now stood almost a head taller than the rest of the crowd. As he brandished the crossbow he still held in the air, only silenced was heard. “As I thought. Now that I have retaken my rightful place, I declare you a free citizen, and release you from the Pit.”

Ding!

Quest: Escape the Pit. - Complete!

Reward: 1000 EXP. You have earned your freedom and can now make your own way in the world.

“More than this I owe you a debt, and my gratitude.” He continued.

Ding!

Quest: Defeat the traitorous warden. – Complete!

Reward 2000 EXP. Morthoc now views you as a trusted ally.

You have reached level 11!

You have 5 points left unassigned. Assign points now?

“You’re thanks isn’t necessary, but on second thoughts, I think I will take that drink.” Jicker replied.

“Then let us travel to the bar to celebrate! Everyone, drinks are on me!” he proclaimed to the crowds delight. “Although, before we go...Jicker, will you be taking your...rat?”

Turning back to the Pit, Jicker saw that Snuffles had sat himself on the edge and was looking around at everyone. The crowd, having seen what he did do Grolug, were giving him a wide berth.

“He’s not mine really, just another one living in the Pit I made friends with.” He said before going over to Snuffles. “What do you think buddy? Do you want to come with me? Or stay here?” he asked. The rat cocked its head to one side as it thought, before licking the side of Jicker’s face, and darting back down and disappearing amongst the waste.

“Gross, but I get it. Take care Snuffles,” Jicker said quietly, wiping off the rats spit and what totally weren’t the beginnings of tears from his eyes.

The bar turned out to be fairly decent place, more of an inn than anything, and any comments about his shabby clothing were instantly silenced by Morthoc’s menacing gaze.

“Sorry, but we don’t have much of a range, so I hope this is passable.” Said Morthoc as he brought over a drink for them both. They’d sat themselves in a small booth by the wall, the place filled to capacity despite being the middle of the day. Apparently even orcs struggled to resist free drinks. Taking a sip of the offered drink, Jicker found it to be a fairly flat beer, but compared to the muddy water he’d been living off, it was heaven.

“Gods, that’s much better.” He said, taking a larger swig.

“Indeed, I felt the same way, but now to business. I owe you a great deal friend, for helping me realise something I've dreamt about for years, not once, but twice now. I don’t know you well enough to know what I could even do to try and balance things between us, though I doubt anything could. But as it is, I wield a decent amount of power around here, and I'm sure I could get you a decent job to suit your talents, as well as a place to live.”

“That’s...tempting Morthoc,” Jicker replied hesitantly. “But if I’m honest, I want to put this place behind me. To go out and see the world and all it has to offer.”

The orc raised an eyebrow. “I understand where you’re coming from, and if I didn’t feel bound by duty and vengeance, I may have done the same. But I've spoken with others since my escape, and the world outside is not the one I remember. Life out there has become a rough thing, with many trials to overcome. It is not something for the faint of heart.” He warned.

“So nothing at all like the pit then?” Jicker asked in return, raising an eyebrow of his own. The two of them looked at each other silently for a moment, before Morthoc broke, his laughter echoing through the bar.

“Too true my friend, your point is well made.” He said wiping tears from his eyes. “You certainly have the heart, so I can do nothing but wish you luck. Though perhaps you will allow me to give you a few small things that assist in your travels?”

“I wouldn’t say no to a few of the basics, like a decent pack perhaps?” he asked, hoping that wouldn’t be too much. Those could be expensive.

“I believe I can put together something a little better than that. But enough of such talk, tonight we celebrate! Now, my small friend, have you ever heard of the drinking game, ‘The giants challenge’? First we take a large glass...”

~~~~~~

It had been a while since Jicker had experienced a virtual hangover, but once again he was impressed with how accurate it was compared to the real thing. His head aching, he looked around trying to remember where he was and how he got there. He appeared to be in a small wooden room, and lying in a warm bed. Easing out of it, he was relieved to see he was still clothed and his bag was next to the bed. Gingerly walking out the door, he foggily remembered that he’d been at the bar as looked around and headed down a flight of stairs.

“Ah, he lives!” a voice called out; sounding so loud he was surprised he didn’t take damage from it. Sitting at a table and eating a large plate of food, Morthoc waved him over, looking no worse for the night before. Carefully, he pulled his hood over his head to try to block some of the noise and light and pulled up a chair.

“Ah, I wondered where you’d gotten too this morning, but now I see the issue.” He said, signalling something to the barkeep. They came over with a smaller plate of bacon and eggs, a glass of fruit juice, and a small metal cup of something he couldn’t identify.

“Drink that down first in one shot, don’t hesitate. It tastes foul but it’ll cure your head and the taste doesn’t linger.” The orc said, pointing at the cup. Holding his nose he did as the orc suggested, gagging as he wondered how people who hadn’t lived in the Pit dealt with it. As he quickly tried to wash away the taste with juice, Morthoc continued.

“I beg forgiveness my friend. I have not had much cause to celebrate in quite some time, and I have overindulged myself when it came to drinking. I also believe I didn’t quite account for the difference in our sizes when it came to how much I gave you to drink. Still, all’s well in the end yes?”

“Sure, it was a fun night, well what I remember of it anyway.”Jicker replied as his head cleared, wishing that something like this existed in the real world.

“This is good to hear. Now then, since I had the morning free and it didn’t seem like you would be going anywhere, I have taken the liberty of acquiring a few items for your journey.” He said as he lifted a small pack on top the table. “It is mostly just basic equipment, things like a tent, some cooking tools, a water skin, that sort of thing, as well as about two weeks of trail rations. Nothing very fancy but good quality, of that you have my word. Apart from that, I've added a few things that I think could help, as well as a small amount of gold. First is a compass, that not only functions as a normal one would, but can be used to mark a location, so that it can always lead you back to it. Another is an extremely durable journal with an endless number of pages, so that you can record your adventure. And my final gift, is this.” He finished proudly, gesturing to the pack.

“Thank you Morthoc, I will definitely get plenty of use out of a good tent-” He was cut off as Morthoc rapped him lightly on the head.

“I refer to the pack itself, obviously. It is made of high quality gorgon leather, so it will survive more than you will, and has been made to be able to hold a great deal inside. It’s also lightweight, making it perfect for a traveller of your...”

“Strength?” Jicker offered.

“Size, I was going to say. So please take these items, and make good use of them. So when do plan on leaving us?”He asked.

“While I don’t want to be rude about it, I want to get going as soon as possible. There’s a lot to see out there, so I can’t waste time putting it off.” He said, hoping it didn’t offend the orc.

“I would normally suggest waiting a few days to regain your strength after being in the Pit, or at least planning out your trip more, but I see your mind is already made up. So be it, it is your decision to make, and I will not be one to try and stop you. In that case, you should make haste and leave while the sun is still high.”Morthoc said, downing the last of his drink and standing suddenly.

“Sure, that sounds good, but could I leave in like five minutes?” Jicker said gesturing to the plate in front of him.

“Well, I suppose your great journey can wait until after breakfast.”

Once he’d eaten and loaded everything into his new pack, Morthoc led him through Mount Kaloh, pointing out a few features, seemingly to try and entice him to stay. But after seeing the town properly, he was sure he wouldn’t make much progress here. The hollowed out mountain was a place for fierce warriors, and if you weren’t one of those, you’d better be either skilled at a needed trade, or you’d end up in the mines, or worse, the Pit. No, if he was going to do what he had to, he’d need to get out and travel, or at least get to the capital where he’d have things to work with.

Leading him up a wide set of stairs, they reached a large gate which was opened for them as they approached, letting Jicker see real sunlight for the first time since his re-entry into the game.

“Well Jicker, this is where we part ways. Watch your back, little friend, and make sure you don’t do anything you regret.”Morthoc said solemnly, placing his hand on his shoulder.

Jicker looked up at the large orc considering his choice of words. “I’ll try not to Morthoc. Oh, in case you want to attract Snuffles, the giant rat? He’s a big fan of cooked azure roaches, and he’s smart enough to remember who you are.”

“Ah yes those blue cockroaches. Despite all my time in the Pit, I had not seen them until I got out, though I suppose I had never seen that rat either.” He said, giving Jicker an odd look. “But yes, I will endeavour to care for...Snuffles? That is truly the beast’s name? Regardless, it is a fearsome creature and one I will accept as an ally if it would have me. Now, off with you. You are, as the humans say, wasting daylight.”

“Right then, in that case, goodbye Morthoc.” Jicker said, feeling sad about leaving even though he’d only known the orc for less than a day. And with a last nod to the old warden, he stepped out into the light.