Chapter 3 The Mine

After I had equipped my daggers we continued on through the forest, gradually going in an arc to the right. Soon the wails and cries of the troll were gone and we traveled in silence. I was not sure what to make of Travan he was not talkative, and I did not feel like trying to start a conversation. After an hour, we arrived back at the river and seeing it was shallow we crossed. Soon we were among other players who were busy killing wolves and rats, it did not take long to pass them and the starting zone was soon in sight.

Once at the merchant I pointed to Travan and said, “Quest complete, let's get this done.” I was not trying to be rude but I wanted to head out again, I was hoping to make it to the mine before dark.

Travan had walked over to the merchant and was whispering in his ear, I watched as the merchant gave me a thoughtful look and then said, “Alright, you finished what I had asked from you, what do you want, to upgrade your gear or get some cash back?”

Walking back had given me a lot of time to think about what I wanted, having some extra gold now meant that I was not concerned about getting my money back. What I had realized was I needed better gear, I had enjoyed success but that was by luck more than skill, if one of the trolls had been able to successfully attack me I would have been in big trouble. Looking at the merchant I pointed at the tent and said, “Let's see what you have as an upgrade.”

We walked into the tent and started looking at what was displayed. It was all low-level gear and once a player hit level 5 would be discarded, but at level two it might make the difference. I choose to upgrade my gear with a leather outfit, it increased my armor by 30 for shoes, pants, belt, and chest as well as shoulders. I also found a cloak that made me look somewhat like a monk with an attached hood. My armor was now at 150 and once covered by the cloak it looked like I was still running around in the starting gear.

The cloak also allowed quick access to my daggers which I considered more of a backup set of weapons. Thanking the merchant I dropped 2 gold on his table and went to leave when he spoke up. “My brother said that you found a rare set of daggers and that you did not want to show them to him, is this true?”

I glanced back at the merchant and said, “I treat other people's property with respect and I encourage others to do the same with mine. Your brother tried to grab one of my daggers without permission and I discouraged him if he has a problem with that he had better learn to deal with it.”

The merchant threw up his hands and said, “Yes I know he is impulsive and sometimes lacks common sense, I was not trying to take you to task in how you treated him. What I am trying to say is you seem to have the luck with you, and I want to make you an offer. In the city, my cousin runs a shop called Enchants Weapons and Gear. If on your travels you discover rare or unusual items bring them to his shop and he will evaluate them for you and make you a very fair offer. What do you say?”

A quest window suddenly opened up and I read,

You have been given a faction reputation quest with the merchants of the city.

Bring them any rare or unusual items you discover.

If you accept you will receive reputation and 25 percent off all items plus a selling bonus.

Do you want to accept this reputation quest?

It was a great deal and I accepted it right away, then I turned and looked at the merchant and said, “Nice deal why did you not offer it to me before I bought my gear?”

He looked at the sky and then smiled and said, “A man needs to make some money around here, most of you new folks don’t buy anything. This is a tough marketplace and a sale is a sale.”

I snorted and then laughed, he knew what he had done and I could tell he thought it was funny. What the hell it was kind of funny, I would not hold a grudge. The deal would be worth the price of my gear many times over as I leveled up. I turned around again and slowly made my way out of the starting zone, I traveled as the early afternoon sun faded into dusk. It was strange one minute the light was there, the next it was dark.

Except it was not dark for me, having equipped the daggers, I was now seeing in complete darkness, the Dagger of the Night had given night vision. I could now see in the pitch dark, it was like predawn light, a little dim and gray but light enough to read a book by. Deciding to continue I walked on until my map showed that I was about to enter into the barren fields. Stopping at the tree line I observed the land in front of me, wild grass grew tall and blanketed the landscape, there were gentle ridges and small hills but for the most part, it looked flat.

It reminded me of the wild grasslands of Montana, there were clumps of trees scattered around and I was sure that there would be a lot of small valleys and creeks. It was deceptive in that while the land looked empty, it could hide thousands. As I thought of this it reminded me of Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn. He to had ridden out on the barren plains and suddenly found himself surrounded but thousands of warriors from the Cheyenne, Sioux, and Arapaho nations.

The lesson to be learned from that history is to not underestimate whoever might call this land home and to proceed with caution, while this was still supposed to be a level 3-5 area, I had no doubts that there could be some extremely powerful nps’c here. Somewhere. Shaking my shoulders I made my pack a little more comfortable and began to cross the barren fields. It was easygoing for the most part with the occasional gully or fast moving creek or both. The clumps of trees began to fade away, it was apparent that I was leaving a woodland belt and entering into a different biosphere. I continued on until I felt like I needed a break, a bite to eat and a drink.

Stopping at a gully I descended down and entered a wooded valley. There was a creek flowing down the middle and several deer like creatures were drinking. Once they saw me they scattered and I was left alone. Going to the creek I filled my water bottle and took a long drink. It was cold, clear and tasted great. Refilling my bottle I made my way over to a deadfall, a tree that had been knocked down in a storm. I snuggled up near the roots and was soon dozing, the morning sun was what woke me up.

I relaxed against the tree and slowly opened my eyes, the music of the creek tumbling down some rocks and the birds singing was very relaxing. Glancing around I saw nothing that caused me concern. Slowly standing up I was amazed at how I felt no stiffness of discomfort, the game was geared to make the experience pleasant for players, as long as you were not in a scenario or combat. I could live with that, I thought.

Putting down my pack I took off my cloak and began to stretch, and limber up, while I felt no stiffness from sleeping on the ground against a tree, I had a theory that the game was like real life if you worked your body you could improve your stats, strength, agility, heck maybe even health. After doing some situps and pushups as well as stretching I felt much more awake. Grabbing my pack I shouldered it onto my back and made my way down the valley following the creek. The valley was heading in the direction I needed to go and it was pleasant walking in the shade of the trees.

After a couple of hours of travel time, the valley opened up onto the barren fields again. I could now see a mountain range in front of me, the distances were wonky, in real life, it would have taken me about a week to hike to the mountains. Here I knew I would be there by mid afternoon. Continuing on I tried to keep myself alert to any danger, but the monotony of hours hiking wore on me. Thankfully I encountered nothing and was once again in a treeline after arriving at the mountains.

My map had expanded to cover some of the barren fields and also a bit of the mountain range. This was helpful as it now showed a small mine on the mountain. I began to make my way to the mine and finally arrived at a spot where I could see it. The damn thing was about 200 feet up a slope of scree which is comprised of loose stones and dirt and would have been almost impossible to get to if not for the remains of tracks. At one time the miners had ore cars going up and down the slope. I made my way to the bottom and the using the tracks like a ladder I began to climb up the scree.

It took a while a while to get to the top but once there the view of the barren fields was amazing, I could make out the woodland belt across the fields, they were a dark green blur, the fields themselves were beautiful, the long grass blowing in the wind looked like ocean waves. I could also see what looked like small stone building on a larger hill to the east, in all honesty, it looked like some kind of burial mound. The kind that might have a quest or two as well as gear. I would be making a stop there on the way back.

Turning I looked at the mine entrance, it was dark. I suppose most mines are dark, but this one seemed dark, and foreboding. It gave a vibe that said, come on in and die. Maybe it was my imagination, after all, this world was so real. I was as ready as I would be, so sucking in a breath of air that smelled of pine trees I walked into the entrance. My night vision activated and I saw a mine shaft, it sloped downwards and was about 5 feet wide and 7 feet tall.

Walking forward I began to descend, the shaft continued on downwards until it came to a large chamber, in this chamber, there were 5 more shafts that spread out in the shape of a hand. I noted some old benches against a wall and sat down for a minute to think this through. If the mine continued to split into other tunnels and perhaps even other levels it would be easy to get lost. I did not fancy spending my gaming time lost in a mine. Thank God I had night vision, I would have been lost without it. Standing I grabbed a rock and then scratched an x on the floor of the tunnel I had just come out of. Choosing the left tunnel I and forward, if I always stayed left I would at least have a general idea of where I was.

The tunnel continued downwards until it widened out in revealed a large underground body of water. I could not see the far side, but the lake seemed to go to the left. I was on a small beach with a wall of rock on my right side. Turning around I went back up the tunnel and once at the central room wrote water on the tunnel floor. I then turned and went down the next tunnel. After one hundred feet the tunnel dead-ended in a small room with a hole in the floor. A wooden ladder poked above the hole in the floor several feet, making decent easy. I was not sure how old the ladder was so going down was not on my list of things to do. A broken leg at the bottom would mean game over, and I did not want to be trapped there. Or respawn.

Going back to the central room I explored the remaining tunnels, the first two yielded no results, but the third went down and then switchbacked several times. I would guess that the miners had found a good vein of ore and had mined it downwards. I finally arrived near the bottom and noted that it ended on a natural rock overlook that had a small trail that led down to a natural cavern. It was quite large and I could see that the far end was lit up with several torches and a large fire.

Unfortunately, I could make out no details, I would have to go down and creep closer. Thinking about the quest led me to wonder if any female trolls would be present. I did not want to find out, but a quest is a quest. Going as quietly as I could I went down the trail and once at the bottom began to make my way over towards the fire. Fortunately for me, the area was covered in stalagmites and stalactites, large ones that provide me with abundant cover as I approached the encampment.

Reaching an area that afforded me the best view of the camp was not as difficult as I had thought it would be. The total darkness of the cavern, as well as the abundant cover, made it easy to hide. I was glad of the darkness as I observed the camp, I had been expecting trolls but what I saw was much worse. Rattacans, an entire camp of Rattacans. I have nothing against rats, they are clean animals that make a nest to sleep in and choose a private area to shit in. At least the domesticated rats do, but these were not domesticated rats. These were Rattacans a half humanoid half rat chimera that stood about 5 feet tall and was covered in brown fur. They used weapons, I saw several swords and daggers as well as spears.

I also noted that they had at least one mage type, so they had access to magic. They were busy barbecuing a large chunk of meat, and as the spit turned I saw that it was a man. He looked like one of the newbies that had just started the game, judging by what I could see of his gear. Poor bastard he had probably gone exploring, maybe he thought it would give him an advantage. At any rate, the Rattacans had captured him and now were cooking him. What made it even more horrendous was the fact that he was still alive, I could see his mouth move as he screamed soundlessly.

Shit just got real, I thought as I began to make my way back to the pathway that led up. I was feeling pretty confident about escaping when my foot slipped on a wet patch of ground and I fell against a stalagmite which broke with a loud crack. Holding my breath I strained my ears to hear if the Rattacans had heard the noise. The Rattacans had heard and I was aware that several were now making their way towards my general direction. I started running towards the path, silence took second place to speed in the hierarchy of my safety. Once at the path I began to scramble up and soon was at the tunnel but by now the evil Rattacans were halfway up the slope. Catching a glow coming at me from directly below I saw a ball of fire coming at me at the speed of a fast thrown baseball.

I ducked and felt the heat as it sailed past me and hit the entrance to the tunnel. It broke into several small flames which illuminated the area for a second, just long enough for the Rattacans to spot me. Hearing their high-pitched warbles and cries I felt a shiver go up my back. The fact that they were all level 5 to 10 did not help. I ran up the tunnel with them close behind me and upon entering the cavern I entered the tunnel that led to the underground lake. I knew that they would catch me if I continued up to the surface and I hoped that they would check that tunnel first thinking I was escaping.

Turns out I was right, I made it all the way to the water before I heard them approaching. This is going to suck, I thought and stepped into the water. To my surprise, it was not cold, not really warm but I would not get hypothermia from being exposed. I began to walk out and to my right following the wall of the lake. It protruded out and I hoped once I was far enough away from the beach I would be out of sight.

Gradually the sound faded and soon I could not see the beach, the water was about 5 feet deep and the bottom was sandy. I continued to walk the lake looking around constantly hoping to see something, a small island or another beach. What I saw was a tunnel that had enough headroom for me to walk into. Upon entering it I walked upwards and to the left at a gentle angle, after about 15 feet I was out of the water. I sat down and breathed a huge sigh of relief, walking into an underground lake escaping from a bunch of flesh eating Rattacans was not what I had hoped for. At least I had not encountered any water monsters in the lake. Grabbing a drink from my water bottle I stood and began to walk the tunnel.

The damn thing snaked around up and down but generally going down and to the left after about an hour of walking I arrived at a small ledge, looking down I realized I was back in the natural cavern and in fact, I was directly above the Rattacan camp. They were busy, discussing my escape I guess and chowing down on the poor guy whom they had barbecued. The unlucky bastard smelled a bit like burnt pork. The Rattacans apparently loved it and would go back for seconds, but eventually, they were all done and were now sitting in a group with what looked like the mage and some kind of leader, he might be the king, or the war commander, shit he might be the dishwasher for all I could tell. All I knew was that he was talking and spitting and generally swishing his tail around, clearly in an agitated state.

I continued to watch the show, until it round down with most of the Rattacan bedding down near the fire. What interested me was the fact the chief and the mage both headed back to the cliff face and entered tents. Which were almost directly below me. After several hours had passed, the fire had died down to a warm red glow and everyone appeared to be sleeping I made my move. One of the purchases I had made at the merchants was some knotted rope. I fastened one end around a large rock outcropping and slowly let out the far end. Once it was at the bottom I made sure my cloak and hood were on and began to climb down the rope. It seemed to take forever but in a couple of minutes I was at the bottom. Just to the left of where I was standing was the first tent, the mage had entered it and judging by the snores I could hear he was sleeping soundly.

Pulling out my dagger I made a slit in the material and then slowly wiggled in. Against the far wall was a cot with the mage on it. He, oops she judging by the two rows of boobs going down her chest was in a deep sleep. I glanced around and spotted a chest near me, it had been put against the wall of the tent to make some room in the interior.

I inched my way over and examined it, wooden about 2 feet tall and a foot wide it was 8 inches deep. There was no lock or clasp on it just a small rope handle to open it. This was my Carpe Diem moment, a phrase written by the latin poet Horace, it was generally known to mean, seize the moment. How do I know all this, the answer is simple, I am a book loving nerd and have played and read almost every historical and world building game that has ever been produced. On a side note Civilization 5 sucked, but most of the others were pretty good.

I stopped my chain of thoughts as I realized I was mentally rambling to myself, it was like talking to yourself only inside your head. Sometimes I felt like I was talking to others sometimes just myself, go figure. Grasping the rope handle I lifted upwards and opened the chest. There was no strange glow, no fabulous jewels or great treasure. Just a bunch of old scrolls. I began to transfer the scrolls to my bag being very careful not to make any noise. Suddenly I froze, I had heard something so strange so unexpected I had to turn around and look.

The little Rattacan mage had farted, not just a squeaker but an earth rumbling noise that heralded a soon to come bowel movement. Shit, and I mean that figuratively, I need to get out of this tent. The awful smell helped to encourage my exit. Putting the last of the scrolls into my bag I closed the chest and then slid out the opening I had cut. I debated going to the chiefs tent, but my bags were full of old paper and I did not want to risk it being damaged if I tried to stuff something else into them. Grasping the rope I began to climb the cliff wall and soon arrived at the ledge. Going into the tunnel I emptied my bags and then turned around, why the hell not, I thought. Dropping my rope down again I made my way down the cliff and slowly walked over to the chief's tent.