Chapter 3: Death Doesn’t Hurt

I need to find some quests, god damn negative favour making me look ‘untrustworthy’… there’s got to be something in this village for me!

Cain continued to walk through the village looking for something to do, he’d already tried the small ale house where other players were enjoying themselves but quickly realised he was unwelcome by both the NPCs as well as the other players, the story about the murderer in the wheat fields had travelled fast.

“Oi! You there! … Turn around! …. Yeah you in the black dress holding the kitchen knives!” the voiced echoed off every corner of the ale house.

I guess someone is looking for revenge...

Cain slowly turned around and noticed man who must have been 7-foot-tall covered in muscles that seemed to just come out of more muscles smiling at him

“There she is! I’ve heard a lot about you, Vermin Slayer! HAHAHA”

If it wasn’t for the cloaks dark hood, the giant man would have seen an expression never seen before on Cain’s face, bright red embarrassment

“This is not a dress and these are not kitchen knives. They’re unique offerings given to the thief class.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night. Anyway, I’ve been looking for you!”

“Did I kill one of your friends? Do you want to avenge a girlfriend or your little brother? Because if so, I’m not interested and am under the protection of the villages guards if you try anything here…”

“What are you talking about mate? I was going to ask you to join me on a quest, I need at least a party of two to complete it and everyone else in this town are too useless to even swing their swords! Think about it, if you managed to kill them how good could they have been! Hahaha!”

This guy seems a bit strange, but if this is the only quest I’m going to be offered in this village I better take it!

“Ok, I’ll join you on your quest, but why aren’t you wearing armour?” Only now noticing the giant man was stripping down to a pair of cloth trousers and worn leather boots.

“Ha! Armour is for the weak! I am a man of pure heart and pure strength! Every quest I complete I go straight to the blacksmith to increase the size and power of my sword!” spoke the large man and he pulled a 6 foot sword from its sheath across is back and performing a few practice cuts.

The bar maid instantly telling the man to stop because of the last incident he caused, pointing towards a huge crack in the stone ceiling. The giant man just shrugged and sheathed his weapon all while still smiling.

This place just gets weirder and weirder, but at least I’m not a total outcast.

The giant man sent Cain a party invite that he accepted followed instantly by the quest interface:

-------------------------------------

*Quest: Cave of Horrors

Clear the cave east of the village of the nightmarish beasts that have made it their home. The cave used to be a respectable mine and provided the town with metals and gems used in crafting.

Reward:

2 Silver coins +Greater access to the village Blacksmith

255 Experience Points +Greater access to the village Jeweller

-------------------------------------

“Ok lead the way to the cave giant man!”

The giant man’s smile instantly faded, the muscles in his jaw line tensing for just a fraction of a second, “My name is Marowit, and if we’re going to be friends you’ll have to learn to be nicer to me”

Is this guy really sulking over being called giant man? After all the things he said before? This is going to be interesting.

The two headed off along the eastern path out of the village towards the old mining cave, the trek was long and Cain was anxious about what to expect

“I’m Cain, by the way how did you acquire this quest? I’ve walked all over and have received nothing!”

“It’s easy, you just talk to the townspeople and eventually someone will ask you to do a favour, and once you’ve done a couple you build up trust, and the rewards get bigger, and the quests give more xp.”

“Oh, I have to actually speak to them? I thought they would approach me with their problems like the tutors did.”

“Hold up… If you haven’t done any quests, does that mean you’re still level 1?!”

“Ughhhh yeah, is that an issue?”

“Haha I guess we’ll just have to find out! I’m level 4 and only just received the quest after completing 3 others for the same villager!”

“Do you think that’s the cave?”

“Sure seems like it!”

They approached the entrance of the cave, it seemed quite unstable as the thick wooden supports had obvious signs of rot and decay, if this was in a restricted area at home Cain would never have even thought about entering such an obviously dangerously constructed tunnel. Yet a quest is a quest and it must be completed.

“Are we just supposed to walk in there through the dark or do you have some sort of light?”

“Ohhhh yeah I forgot about that, I was given this and was told not to open it until we step inside! Let’s hope it works hey!”

As they stepped inside the cave the world went dark. The darkness was heavy and having the sense of sight removed so quickly made Cain feel incredibly disorientated and unstable on his feet. Marowit removed a glowing jar from his pack and unscrewed the lid releasing a swarm of fireflies that floated above them, offering a soft glow and a small field of vision.

“LETS GOOOOOO!!!” roared Marowit at a deafening volume as he charged down the tunnel with his sword above his head followed by the swarm of fireflies

This guy really is crazy! I better keep up otherwise I’m going to be lost inside this maze!

Cain sprinted after Marowit only to find him inside a chamber surrounded by imps, initially Cain regretted following Marowit into this dungeon of death.

This fool has got himself trapped, maybe if I just go back the way I came….

Marowit lunged forward with a huge uppercut slicing the first imp so cleanly in half it reminded Cain of the pre-cut bread only the corporates could afford, instantly side-stepping and killing another imp with the backswing as he lined up another swing for the prey in front of him. How he moved with such speed with a weapon the size of a tree trunk was beyond Cain. Cain released the Imps hadn’t noticed him in the shadows and took the advantage to sneak up behind the imps and slash them with his dual daggers silencing them before they noticed what was happening. It took less than five minutes to clear the first room, yet both Marowit and Cain were struggling for breath, the only reason they were still standing was the pure adrenalin of the battle!

“Woah, you’re pretty strong, but next time can we have a proper plan before we do something like that?” spoke Cain in-between heaving breaths

“ha, I thought that strategy worked fine! Neither of us are injured and all the imps are dead!”

-------------------------------------

*Level up!

You have reached level 2

Stat Bonus:

+2 speed +1 attack speed +1 Agility +1 Dexterity +1 Stamina

-------------------------------------

Awesome! I finally levelled, I better not tell Marowit! I can’t let him think I am stronger than before or else he’ll recklessly charge into the next room thinking I can cover for his hastiness.

“Can we please do it my way next room?”

“Sure thing matey, just make sure you don’t turn this into a boring grind fest alright?”

They continued down the path, until they heard the echo of imps scattering around ahead and paused. Marowit raised his hand symbolling ‘stop’ and to their surprise the fireflies gathered and reduced their glow.

“What was that? Do you have control over the fireflies?”

“I’m not sure, I may have? I was given a sheet of paper with them but dropped it. I’m not much of a fan for reading.”

God damnit this man is thick

“Try some other gestures and see how they react… they might be off some help”

Instantly Marowit stabbed his sword into the group and threw his hands forward, following by the instant rush of fireflies cascading down the tunnel.

Why did I except him to do anything different, oh well here we go again

Marowit roared his battle cry and charged followed by a frustrated yet excited Cain.

When they reached the imps they noticed the fireflies moving like turbulent currents around the room disturbing and distracting the imps trying to catch them, Marowit was instantly in the centre of the fight swinging his sword like a barbarian being attacked by a swarm of wasps, but when it connected with an imp it would be sliced in half! The chaos provided Cain perfect cover, darting between any surviving imps and ending their lives with precisely aimed slices and cuts.

“That. Was. AWESOME!” Screamed Marowit

“Don’t get too excited, we’ve reached the end of the cave and haven’t completed the quest. We’re missing something.”

“The fight was great but I’ve unlocked a new ability!”

Cain looked at Marowit and saw that a faint glow surrounded him that slowly faded back to normal

“Well at least tell us what the ability is”

“It’s called ‘War Cry’ it buffs all party members when I use it!”

“I hope it comes in handy, because I am under-skilled for this quest and already feeling the pressure”

Marowit then went on to attempt a few different gestures to the fireflies until he swung his arm around in a circular motion making the fireflies spread out evenly across the roof of the cave proving an equal glow.

They searched the room trying to find the next piece of the puzzle, there had to be some way to continue their journey and complete the quest. After searching the walls for a while they stopped to rest and check their quest logs.

“I’ve don’t have any updates in mine, do you Cain?”

“nothing here, maybe we need to try something else…. Try pushing all the fireflies to the floor, there might be something on the roof that we can’t see through their glow”

Marowit reached up him arms and planted them into the ground, the fireflies followed floating down from the roof with the air currents until they touched the soil they were sitting in.

“Marowit, look over there! Where did those fireflies ago!” Cain was pointing towards a dark corner of the room

They approached the corner to find a large stone, Marowit wedged his sword beneath the rock and heaved moving it just enough to feel the strong current of air sucking down.

“Push it harder Marowit! Something is under there!”

Marowit walked away from his sword to the other end of the room

“What are you doing? We nearly had it!”

Suddenly he turned around and sprinted at his sword before jumping and landing on it, launching the rock away.

Well I guess that worked…

They both peered down into the new hole in the ground. Marowit raised his arms once again and dropped them over the hole making the fireflies rise and shoot down the tunnel, within a few seconds it was dark.

“Well it must lead somewhere, are you going to jump first Marowit?”

“No!!! It’s. A. Hole. In. The. Ground! Where do you think that leads?”

It was worth a shot

Cain wrapped his cloak tight around him before stepping into the hole. Sliding for what felt like minutes until he was scattered into a room full of imps chanting around fire, the fireflies were nowhere to be seen.

“aahhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHH” Marowit came launching out of the hole feet first colliding with the fire launching logs and red hot coal over chanting imps

I’ve got to do something before they cut Marowit to pieces

Cain threw his dust covered cloak over Marowit camouflaging him against the ground hoping that the flying coals had managed to stun the imps for a second but also leaving himself exposed. He charged towards to closest imp and jumped feet first colliding with its chest in the attempt to buy Marowit some time to get his senses. Two more imps were on him, he side stepped the first attacked and managed to stab one in the arm.

SPECIAL ATTACK ATIVATED: IMP BLINDED FOR 2 SECONDS

Yes! This gives me time to take on the other

Instantly Cain slid around the back of the second imp and sliced both of its calves collapsing it to the ground and finally returning to the blinded imp to finish it off with a swift cut across the neck.

“GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

I guess Marowit is back

an imp flew over Cains head nearly knocking him out as he scouted his next opponent

“Marowit! Be careful, I’m in the same room you know!”

The two continued to slay the imps but there always seemed to be more!

“Cain! Take. Out. The. Big. One!!!” Marowit boomed between swings.

Cain looked over to see Marowit be slain by six imps, though noticing that Marowit has disposed of his cloak on the ground near him, he grabbed it and blended into the walls watching the scene to calculate his next move. There was a larger imp, chanting in the corner reviving the dead! A Shaman! Cain quickly calculated that there were twelve imps and one shaman in the cave though they must have killed at least thirty imps due to the shaman’s revival ability!

If I can get behind the shaman, I might be able to get enough hits in to damage it before retreating to the walls for camouflage. All I need is some sort of distraction….

“aahhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

How did he get back so fast? Well I guess this is my chance

Cain slipped across the walls until he was directly behind the imp shaman who was focusing on the tunnel and echoing scream. As soon as Marowit’s feet appeared Cain slid forward, reached around the shamans face and slit his voice box in one smooth motion hoping the chant was how it revived the imps. With his second dagger, he sliced the shaman’s Achilles tendon and finally using both blades to blind the horrid creature.

Well I hope I can buy us some time to finish off the imps because I just can’t inflict enough damage to finish of this shaman.

Marowit was instantly back in the fight with renewed stamina swinging harder than Cain had ever seen. Marowit pushed his chest to the sky and sucked in so much air the oxygen in the room felt thinner before he roared shaking the whole cave, the fatigue in Cains body instantly vanished.

PARTY ABILITY ACTIVATED: WAR CRY – 50% Reduced stamina, +3 strength: Time 10 minutes

Cain used this opportunity to cut every imp around Marowit hoping to inflict Shadows! Cain managed to stun 3 Imps from 35 extremely quick slashes while darting across the room! During this time the shaman was recovering, but not quick enough! Cain finished his lap and leaped onto the shaman’s chest slicing and dicing the unrecognisable body below him until Marowit pulled him by the cloak onto his feet. He looked back at where he was and all he saw was dagger marks in the dirt.

“It’s over, they’re dead! You can stop now!”

How long have I been attacking the ground thinking it was the shaman? Am I going crazy?

“Cain, over here! There is a chest! You said you’re a thief so you can crack the lock right?”

“I-I-I’ve never tried” still stunned from the previous encounter “I guess I can give it a go”

Cain walked towards the chest and knelt before it, reaching out with his hands and grabbing the chest the option appeared ‘Use Locksmith skill’.

Do I have this skill? I better think ‘yes’

Whilst in thought Cain suddenly became aware of a pair of lock picks in his cloak and started his attempts to crack the chest.

This sure is a strange world

After a few failed attempts he realised the abilities will not solve the lock for him, and he had to use his own intuition. He leaned closer to listen to the clicks of the mechanical system and finally was able crack the lock.

The chest burst open glowing gold!

“Good Job Cain! What’s the loot!”

Inspect Chest!

-------------------------------------

*1 Shaman Key has been added to your pack

*3 Well refined metal shards have been added to your pack

*1 Cracked skull has been added to your pack

*Pack weight capacity 33/50

-------------------------------------

Inspect all!

-------------------------------------

*Shaman Key

The Shaman Key provides proof of the mines being cleared, present this to the miners of the village to receive you reward.

*Well Refined Metal Shard

Used to Create standard weapons or improve the abilities of a low tier weapon

*Cracked Skull

When given to the right enchanter/enchantress the skull can add the effects of darkness to weapons and armour

-------------------------------------

“Good job Cain! Let’s hand this quest in and split the loot!”

Once the pair reached the miners back in town Marowit handed in the Shaman Key as proof for completing the quest and they received their rewards.

-------------------------------------

*Quest: Cave of Horrors

Clear the cave east of the village of the nightmarish beasts that have made it their home. The cave used to be a respectable mine and provided the town with metals and gems used in crafting.

Reward:

2 Silver coins +Greater access to the village Blacksmith

255 Experience Points +Greater access to the village Jeweller

-------------------------------------

“I can’t believe I didn’t even reach level 5! How did you go Cain? I think you cloak hides your name and level from other players so I can’t tell if you advanced at all!”

“I did alright, anyway take these metal shards and upgrade your sword, I have a feeling this skull might come in handy…”

“Thanks mate! See you around!”

FRIEND REQUEST FROM MAROWIT (ACCEPT/DECLINE)

I guess he is a strong partner to have around

FRIEND REQUEST ACCEPTED