Chapter 23: Rats in the Basement

Ricky opened his eyes again, and as he processed the conversation that he had just had in the camp before re-entering the Dark Framework, he immediately saw a new set of notifications:

*Daily event: You have slept for twenty-four hours and two minutes. The time in the Dark Framework is now 08:02.

*Healing report: You have gained 22 hit points (70 remain). You are now fully healed.

*Health update: You have regained 2 point of lost fatigue. You are no longer fatigued.

*Quest 033 (level 4): Locate the village of Roker Bridge.

*Quest 034 (level 5): Find the demonkind sorceress Amora-Khush, or the warrior Zurx.

*Quest 035 (level 1): Find a way out of the basement.

It was the last of these that was his most immediate concern. Where was he, other than alone and in the pitch dark? On the positive side, he realised, patting himself down, he was not in any great pain. And he was still here – in the basement (he presumed) rather than having reset in the starting room in Barrowdale. That in itself implied that he hadn’t inadvertently killed himself by jumping through the trapdoor, or been murdered since that point.

As Ricky cautiously stood up, the Guide spoke out:

“Ricky, the maximum number of active quests that you can have is eight. You now have ten active quests.”

Really? Why is that a problem?

“This is a system rule. It limits the number of quests to avoid players racking up huge numbers of quests, some of which might be achieved accidentally. Would you like to review your own active quests now?”

Ricky sighed. Fine.

“Very well. Here are your active quests.”

*Quest 012 (level 3): Find out what Spanch was doing in the goblin jail.

*Quest 018 (level 3): Find out about the history and politics of Imperialis.

*Quest 021 (level 3): Find out more about half-dragons.

*Quest 026 (level 8): Return to Imperialis.

*Quest 027 (level 2): Convince Blastor that you are on his side.

*Quest 029 (level 10): Carry the orb safely back to the safe house.

*Quest 033 (level 4): Locate the village of Roker Bridge.

*Quest 034 (level 5): Find the demonkind sorceress Amora-Khush, or the warrior Zurx.

*Quest 035 (level 1): Find a way out of the basement.

Hmm... I’m still curious about why Spanch was in the jail, but as he’s dead now, it feels less relevant. I do want to know about half-dragons, but as for the history of Imperialis, I think I’ve heard enough that I can fill in the rest as I go along. It feels a bit late to speak to Blastor, too. So cancel quests twelve, eighteen and twenty-seven, please.

“Very well, Ricky. You now have seven active quests.”

*Quest 012 update: Find out what Spanch was doing in the goblin jail. Quest cancelled.

*Quest 018 update: Find out about the history and politics of Imperialis. Quest cancelled.

*Quest 027 update: Convince Blastor that you are on his side. Quest cancelled.

And the first is to get out of this basement, he replied.

Ricky then reached up above his head and to all sides. He was able to touch a surface above if he stretched up and stood on tiptoes.

Right.

That probably meant that he was reaching up to touch the ceiling, or perhaps the trapdoor itself. But he couldn’t feel anything else nearby.

Moving carefully around, Ricky was able to ascertain that the trapdoor was indeed above him. He could feel the square shape formed by its grooved edges, and when he focused, he could make out the faintest of glimmering light shining through these edges.

Of course – it would be daytime outside.

He was not, however, able to reach up and push it, even on his tiptoes. Cursing, Ricky felt around, thinking hard about what he could use to push the door back open and let in some light. He had lost his dagger, which would have been a bit short anyway, and the crossbow was too compact and too flexible...

He fumbled in his pockets, pulling out one trinket after anther and then putting them back, before settling on his morning star. Its handle was long enough to add a few inches to his reach, and he pushed up, nudging open the trapdoor a fraction and allowing some light to flood in.

All the same, it was all he could do just to keep the door open – he couldn’t reach high enough to push it back on itself.

Still holding the door in that awkward position, Ricky looked around. Light was now being cast on an area a couple of yards in every direction, and it revealed a very messy basement, strewn with rotted bits of wood and more of the matted, decaying material he had seen on the level above.

Had someone slept down here on some kind of matting perhaps? And if so, what happened to them?

Then, twisting his head right around, he saw a pole. It looked sound enough, and he was sure he could use it to push the trapdoor open, and perhaps to climb out again, too.

The trouble was that to reach the pole, he’d have to walk away, letting the door down and cutting the light in the process. And then he’d need to find his way back to the right spot.

Turning, Ricky let the trapdoor down, and tried to fix in his mind’s eye exactly where the pole had been.

*Quest 035 update: Use the pole to open the basement trapdoor.

He took a step forward and then another, keeping his strides uniform in length and trying to move just in a single direction with no deviation. If he was lucky, the floor would be sound underfoot.

Another step. He was close now; he began to crouch and reach out with his hands, thinking that all he needed to do was to turn 180 degrees and walk back the way he had come.

That was when he heard a growl.

Crouching, Ricky stopped moving – stopped breathing. Where had the noise come from? And what was it? It felt very much like something must have heard him moving around.

Moving ever so slowly, he began to reach out for the pole again. This time, his hand touched on it first time, and he lifted it, before immediately cursing – silently – as it made a loud scraping noise on the floor.

There came a second growl. It was off to his right, and it sounded closer now...

There was only one thing for it. At the very least, he needed some light to face whatever the thing was that was making that noise. What was it, anyway? A goblin or troll of some kind? A wild animal? Something worse than either?

*Quest 036 (level 1): Find the source of the growling noise.

Spinning, Ricky took two strides back the way he had come (he hoped) and rammed the pole upwards. He missed the spot he was aiming for, but the pole bounced juddering off the other side of the trapdoor with enough force to cause the door to shift, revealing the best place for him to strike.

He rammed it upwards again, this time hitting the right spot.

*Achievement: Let there be light! You have found an improvised way to illuminate your surroundings. +20XP.

*Quest 035 complete: Use the pole to open the basement trapdoor.

Spinning once again, Ricky pulled out his morning star just as two gleaming dark eyes shot towards him. It bit out, thumping into him and causing him to stagger backwards without losing his footing entirely.

*Damage report: You have lost 8 hit points (62 remain).

Guide! He called. What is this creature? Enemy stats!

***

Creature encounter

Giant rat.

Large mammal, speed 4.

Weapon: teeth.

Damage: 3–8 per hit.

Armor: light, natural hide.

20% chance of infection per successful hit.

***

*Quest 036 complete: Find the source of the growling noise. +10XP

Now Ricky was ready. He wasn’t too concerned that he could face down this particular rat – but in his experience as someone who had worked on ships, rats did not travel alone. All the same, he had to do something about this one before trying to climb back up. He swung out, once, twice, three times, finally making contact:

*Combat event! You have slain a giant rat. +5XP.

Now Ricky heard two further growls from the right, but as he peered into the gloom, only partially illuminated by the now wide-open trapdoor, he couldn’t yet see any more of the eyes.

What he could see was a chest with a gleam of treasure. To his right now, where the corpse of the rat now lay, its body had knocked into a wooden chest, and damaged the lid. Silver coins and some other items were spilling out from it.

Damn... that was too good to resist. Who knows what other treasures might be lurking in there? Perhaps at least a powerful weapon. And who knows – maybe even one of the keys to New Baravia...

Ricky glanced around, but unable to see any further rats, he stepped closer and crouched down. Soon he was tucking handful after handful of silver coins into his satchel. He saw several loot notifications – not one per coin, certainly, but there appeared to be a certain threshold. He was gaining XP roughly once per three handfuls.

*World event – you have gained loot. +5XP

*World event – you have gained loot. +5XP

*World event – you have gained loot. +5XP

*World event – you have gained loot. +5XP

A couple of other notifications popped up, too.

***

New item

Item: ceremonial Knife

Class: weapon

Type: one-handed

Damage range: 9–15

Resilience: 30

Prerequisites: level 1 fighter OR level 1 rogue

Description: forged in the city of Galatas in the year 215, this and similar blades were once gifted to the elite forces of the Pervanian Army upon their graduation from military training. This one found its way into the hands of a local merchant, after which it was lost to history for many years.

***

***

New item

Item: book of lore (Creatures of New Baravia)

Class: book

Resilience: 8

Prerequisites: literate

Description: a basic text of the kind that is sometimes used in the education of minor nobles or apprentice sorcerers, this book provides basic factual information about the creatures of New Baravia, featuring giant bats, displacer beasts and burrowers.

***

***

New item

Item: bronze eye

Class: ritualistic

Type: jewelry

Resilience: 50

Prerequisites: humanoid

Description: a piece of jewelry of uncertain origin, this bronze artefact is a solid and intricately carved sphere, with a carving in the shape of a bloodshot eye.

***

The last one made him pause, for it was reminiscent of what he had seen when Gabriella and Xarok had given him the wolf paw token. Was this, too, a token that linked to a guild? Perhaps one that was long gone, if so. It also appeared that due to the prerequisites, he couldn’t use it even if he wanted to.

The system had kept track of his count of coins through all of this, with the final tally showing as:

***

Wealth update

Gold: 6

Silver: 94

Copper: 26

***

And then, just as he was considering his newfound fortune, Ricky saw:

*Damage report: You have lost 15 hit points (47 remain).

*Combat event: Critical hit sustained.

*Combat event: You have been knocked prone.

*Combat event: You have been disarmed.

Distracted by the gleaming treasure, he had failed to notice a second giant rat stalking him, and now found himself sprawled near the corner of the chamber. Reacting quickly, he curled into a ball and then rolled to the side, just as a snapping jaws of the giant rat gnashed into the exact space where he had been moments before.

*Achievement: Recovery moves! You have rapidly regained the initiative after being knocked prone. +10XP

However, he no longer had his morning star in his hand... and the rat was in between him and the weapon. As he stepped backwards, Ricky moved towards the area below the trapdoor once again – easily seen by virtue of the light being cast down from above. There lay the pole.

He crouched, grabbed the pole, and then swung it around, just as the rat bit at his leg again.

*Damage report: You have lost 6 hit points (41 remain).

*Achievement: What’s that you’re using? You have made a hit using an improvised weapon. +10XP

Now, however, the rat was in his sights, directly beneath the light from the trapdoor. He swung the pole hard, hitting it directly on the side of the head.

*Combat event: You have stunned a foe. +5XP

The rat slumped to the ground, and as he heard two further growls off in the distance and began to make out the outline of a tunnel that led away from one side of the basement, Ricky had had enough. Dropping the pole he leaped up, grabbed the ledge at the edge of the trapdoor and pulled himself up and clear of the murky giant rat-infested basement.

*Game mechanics alert: your strength has made the difference between success and failure.

He pulled himself up, and clambered back to the ruin.

Accumulated XP: 1440 (unspent: 440)