Odyssey (The Stork Tower Book 2) Page 5
Level 3 Dungeon Achievement: First 1 (7, Ruby)
Atherleah (Level 67), you have discovered a hidden Level 3 Area:
Goblin Mirror Mine of Altin
You are the first player to access this area. This is your seventh, 'First 1 (Ruby)' achievement.
Reward 1: 1000 x 67 = 83080 (+24%) Experience Points (84000/84000)(30421/90000)
Reward 2: + 2% to all future Experience
Reward 3: 7 x 1 Platinum = 7 Platinum
Reward 4: Increased probability of valuable drop. Luck is increased by 5 whenever you are in this Cavern. During your first time in the Cavern, the probability of all drops is increased to 0.5.
Fame: 500 Fame Points (17450)
A Commemorative Plaque has been placed in your bag.
Note: This achievement will be published on the Dunyanin achievement forum. Do you wish to retain your privacy?
[Y] [N]
“Yes.”
Thad suddenly grabbed Leah and gave her a huge hug. She was unsure how to respond and went stiff. Thad stepped back, obviously embarrassed and said, “Um … sorry, spur of the moment rush of blood. I’m just bloody amazed at this whole Odyssey.”
Leah smiled at him and then at the others. Wisp was standing behind Thad and rolling her eyes, Amy had a little grin on her face, and James was smirking. Zack’s face boasted a rather grumpy expression. Not quite sure what to do she said, “Absolutely, this is amazing! Let’s get on with it as we’ve five more stages after this. Amy why don’t you lead off.”
Amy started the trek, and after a single turn, the group could see a tunnel to the left was coming up, a miner was trudging out the tunnel. He turned left pushing a small mining cart and began making his way down the long descent with his hand holding firmly onto the brake to stop the cart getting away from him. Another miner with an empty cart arrived and made his way into the tunnel. Both miners were Level 58 which was one above the current mean of the group. Amy snuck in after the miner and said, “The tunnel isn’t very long and opens into a room where I saw six miners and four guards.”
James stood guard just inside the entrance, and the rest moved into the tunnel. Both Amy and Leah were willing to see if the goblins were aggressive and they could clear the floor without killing anyone, but as soon as Amy stepped into the room, all the guards and miners attacked immediately. Leah was ready with Chain Lightning, and there was a short and brutal fight before the room was cleared. The miners were digging Poor Grade Gold Ore. They searched the room for anything hidden but found nothing. They continued downward and cleared four more rooms before Amy said, “This next room has higher quality miners.”
They then retraced their steps to the previous mining area and began mining for the twenty pieces they needed. Amy, who was now aware of how much could go in a Mining bag, collected any of the pieces dropped by the miners or in their carts. The next section of the mine held Medium Quality Ore, and so it went on. In the end, they found the battles becoming repetitive and tried different tactics. They all took turns watching without participating and then discussing observations and what they might do differently. Once, they let Zach and Thad fight on their own with the mages only providing healing when needed. Leah finally convinced them to let her try alone, and she stepped in with spells flying and using her swords, knives, bow and staff she was able to defeat the room. James and Wisp had supplied almost constant healing, she had run out of KP, and Zack had once had to hold Thad back from joining in, but she had done it. They had become a very efficient group.
There had been a secret compartment in the third area, and with Leah’s combined Luck at over fifty they found not only some copper coins but a bag of Emeralds and a map of the mine. Seven hours later the group was ready to tackle the final stage. Each room had three miners, but they were harvesting Pure Gold and Tanzanite Gems. To protect them and watch them were six guards, an overseer, and three mages. The miners and guards were all Level 76 while the Overseer and Mages were Level 78. All their practice paid off and even though it took the full nine hours they finally finished the mine and were ready to go back to the Octagonal Room. In the final stage, they had again found both a secret area and a storage shed. After taking another Luck Potion they received:
You have opened a secret miners storage compartment:
6 Platinum Coins minted with an image of the Goblin Silver Mine at Altin
12 Gold Coins minted with an image of the Goblin Silver Mine at Altin
18 Silver Coins minted with an image of the Goblin Silver Mine at Altin
1 Earth Spell - Mine Blast
1 Earth Spell - Tunnel
2 Passive Defensive Spells ‘Deflect’ and ‘Rebound’
6 Bottles of Goblin Whisky - ‘Johnny Ain’t Walking Anywhere’
You have opened the Main Storage Shed of the Goblin Gold Mine at Altin:
6 Emerald Gems
6 Sapphire Gems
6 Diamond Gems
6 Tanzanite Gems
1 Skill Spell of Learning ‘Goblin Patter’
1 Skill Spell of Learning ‘Enchanting’
1 Map of the Goblin Mines throughout Vatan
Level 3 Dungeon Achievement: First 1 (8, Ruby)
Atherleah (Level 75), you have completed a hidden Level 3 Area:
Goblin Mirror Mine of Altin
You are the first player to complete this area. This is your eighth, 'First 1 (Ruby)' achievement.
Reward 1: 1000 x 75 = 94500 (+26%) Experience Points (100000/100000)(91561/106000)
Reward 2: + 2% to all future Experience
Reward 3: 8 x 1 Platinum = 8 Platinum
Fame: 500 Fame Points (17950)
A Commemorative Plaque has been placed in your bag.
Note: This achievement will be published on the Dunyanin achievement forum. Do you wish to retain your privacy?
[Y] [N]
After arriving in the Octagonal room they arranged to meet back in Dunyanin at midnight. Before they left, Amy invited them all to her virtual-world for a social gathering, just the six of them starting in one real-time hour. Everyone except Leah was enthusiastic, but she decided to go as everyone else was keen. She didn’t think her anxiety showed. She logged out first and the rest hesitated as if to talk but Wisp shook her head and logged out. The rest followed, but they all knew something wasn’t quite right.
Leah arrived back in the tower and immediately logged out. Instead of eating she sat and tried to meditate. It was almost twenty minutes before she was able to calm her mind and be at rest. When she was at peace, she made breakfast and said, “Gèng, if I go to Amy’s, are you sure that I’m safe?”
“Yes, there is a possibility Amy has some code no one can predict or plan for, but I have the best protection software that is available. Both Security Oversight AI 4 and Security Controller 11-5 have insisted you have protection.”
“Thank you, Gèng. I’m going to call Jimmy and see if he can have someone bring a food basket as I don't have time to shop and I don’t feel safe anyway. Is there anything I should be aware of before I call?”
“Three things and only one is relevant. Clan Y’Haul has issued a ‘capture or kill on sight’ order for a dwarven girl going by the name ‘Qiáng Tiē Chuí’. There is a reward of 10 Platinum for information on her whereabouts. The second is that I have concluded the issue of gender, but not of an avatar.”
“Great! I mean ‘the gender thing’ not ‘the Y’Haul thing’. What have you decided?”
“I believe that I am female. I think this is best for you and it allows me to emphasise the characteristics I most wish to develop. I have no more information yet, and it is tentative while I consider the issue of Avatar. I have increased my processing solely devoted to this question to 7%.”
“That’s great Gèng; I shall try and make appropriate use of the gender titles. I’m sorry I interrupted, what was the third thing?”
“I was going to inform you that I have constructed a quiet garden where I think you might practice your meditation
and maybe the Tai Chi. There is a small pool in the garden where you may swim if you find that relaxing.”
“Thank you; I’ll look at it after I finish talking with Jimmy.”
Leah called Jimmy, and he said he would have something ready outside the gates at midday.
She logged in and after discussing the garden with Gèng and suggesting some changes she spent some time purchasing a swimsuit online. She had Gèng make a framed picture from her AV records of Amy as a Ranger. Amy had just released an arrow, and you could see her fierce character, her concentration and even her sense of joy in the picture that Leah finally chose. She bought some virtual wrapping paper and a ribbon and then she got dressed in similar clothes as for Jackson’s party: jeans, a nice top, newsboy hat and pair of flats. Gèng make a portal to Amy’s, and she arrived in a small alcove with a traditional apartment door; she knocked. Amy, or someone who looked like Amy but with lighter hair and who wasn’t quite as thin, and other subtle changes made Leah look twice. She stepped forward and smiled, handing Amy the present. Amy was a little speechless as she also hadn’t seen the real Atherleah. Atherleah was a little shorter and had round ears and no hair, yet she still had the same elegant beauty that Amy always saw. She had expected the real to be much less than the virtual but instead found that this Atherleah was just as vibrant and powerful as the half-elf.
Amy brought Leah through into a nice-sized, well decorated, apartment. There was a table with some food and a ring of sofa chairs to sit on. Leah could see various other rooms off to the side. Everyone else had already arrived, and she immediately could tell who was who. Wisp was much the same although like Amy there were obvious differences. Her nose had a slight bump and her chest a little flatter but overall much the same. James was a bit rounder than in Dunyanin and shorter. Zack was taller and looked different without the large beard and nose. The smile was the same though. She had expected Thad to be smaller and thinner but was surprised that his basic shape and level of fitness was mirrored here. The greatest difference was his hair, it no longer came to his shoulders but was neatly clipped. She felt nervous but stepped forward and greeted everyone.
Naturally, it was Zack who broke the ice, “So! Bald! That difference I would never have guessed. So what caused this lifestyle choice? Mange?”
“Neither, I just got my implant a week ago.”
“A week ago? What? Wait? Why? How old are you?”
Leah had forgotten the social divide, but she was not embarrassed about her family or her choices, so she said, “Well, I don’t come from a family with money. I’ve had to wait until I hit sixteen and then got the free chip.”
Everyone just stared at her and then Wisp said, “So not even the Bronze, you started with Wood and with a Nascent AI?”
“Yep, just wood! Still, I’ve done ok, and my AI is developing well. Anyway didn’t you four start with the Wood package?”
Wisp quickly tried to apologise, but Leah waved it away and said, “Look, guys, this is who I am. Are you ok with it? If not I’ll leave, no hard feelings.”
Thad said, “Ok with it, of course we’re ok with it. We knew you were made of steel, but you’ve gone higher in our estimation, not lower. You must be made of Mithryl.”
James said, “Not Mithryl, Adamantine. But let me ask and don’t take this badly it's just I’m nosey, and it is my area of work. ‘The Nascent AI’, people say they are almost impossible to manage and self-develop.”
“I don’t know about most, but she didn’t come with any databases to start with, and it was a little rough, but to be honest, I’m overjoyed with the AI I have.”
Amy said, “She? I got the Level 3 AI, and it hasn’t exhibited a gender preference. It’s helpful and all, and it’s helped me get the apartment to what I like, it is extremely helpful at work, but gendered AI are seriously high level.”
“Well I asked her what she wanted, and it took a few days, but she decided after a lot of research that being female suited her attitudes and my needs. One day you can visit me and ask her yourself, I didn’t ask all her reasons just let her decide. Have you all got Level 3 AI?”
Thad and Zack nodded, but Wisp shook her head and said, “No I got the Sentience Level 2 and just visiting Amy’s place I can see I need to work on getting some better apartment plans, I have the money now from Dunyanin. I’ll buy the plans for something like this.”
James butted in again, “Sorry I’m in AI development, and I have a higher level AI. Just a few more questions for Atherleah. When you say it was rough what does that mean?”
“Well, as I said, no databases, so no clothes, no v-world templates except a plain box that could change size and colour. Just a working vocabulary and the basic toolbox to start the POD and interact with my implant.”
“So what did you do?”
“We just started tweaking the parameters, I bought some basic stuff, but now things are developing at a good pace.”
Amy decided to change the topic and brought over Leah’s present and said, “Atherleah brought a present, let’s open it.”
Everyone loved the picture, and soon everyone was chatting and sharing about their lives. Amy worked for a national resourcing company researching how to maintain a sustainable food supply in the post-rural society. She shared an apartment with her sister. Zack was finishing a PhD in History at Cambridge and lived in an apartment by himself. Wisp lived at home and was from a large family, she was in her second year studying Law, and she aimed to work in the area of virtual contracts. Thad was a student and was just finishing his primary degree in science and hoping to do a Doctorate in Fluid Dynamics at Princeton University if he got in.
Everyone enjoyed the simple get to know you for several hours and decided to do it again after two more levels, but this time Zack offered to host.
Leah had several virtual-hours free, so she made her way to the Master of Blades and worked for an hour; adding another form to her repertoire. After finishing, she logged out and finished off the various bits and pieces of food she had left. She showered and was ready to get back into this long and intense journey.
On the stroke of Dunyanin’s midnight, the six friends appeared in the Octagonal room, all of them ready to enter the Dungeon of Dead Goblins. Thad had the Goblin Lord’s silver sword, Amy was ready with her silver tipped arrows, Wisp had her quiver of magical arrows and the gloves with preloaded spells, Zack was carrying a large mace and James had his new staff ready which he had been charging. Leah was eager to try the new silver knives. She quickly checked the group statistics:
Atherleah - Leader
Level 76 (91561/102000) (+28%)
Annairë the Wize
Level 59 (54372/68000) (+28%)
Thad_Kickyourbuttson
Level 65 (65246/80000) (+14%)
Amelia_Quickfoot
Level 64 (22882/78000) (+14%)
Zachary_Bonehelm
Level 65 (20769/80000) (+14%)
Jim_Firedrake
Level 63 (45779/76000) (+14%)
After a nod from everyone, she placed her hand on the fourth door. They reappeared at the edge of a large circular area of what could only be declared as 'wasteland'. There was little vegetation, and even that was stunted, spindly and sick. Spears of rock thrust up occasionally through the ground, most of them covered with moss and lichen. In the centre was a large square shaped rock with a flat top that looked like a giant mausoleum. In the centre of the rock which faced them was a large rectangular cavity that looked like a doorway. From what they had read, the rock was the entrance to the realm of the goblin dead and their allies the trolls. Each side had a doorway; each doorway led to a different area. After finishing the fourth area, a stairway opened to the top where there was a final sequence of battles with all the minor bosses, though at a higher level and no time was given to recover, this was followed by a battle with the Dead Lord of the Trolls. The doorways were randomly allocated, so you had to use various clues if you wanted to do them in order.
The fir
st, and easiest area, was inhabited by groups of zombie goblins and skeletons. The groups targeted the living and attacked in a frenzy. They hardly reacted to damage and would still be crawling after the living, even if cut in two. Only the destruction or removal of their heads could stop them. They were vampiric in that any damage they caused was given back to them as Health. The boss was a conglomeration, a being made up of many parts from numerous bodies. To defeat it you had to destroy all the heads on the creature as it attacked. This level required the team to be quick and brutal, mages had found fire magic and holy magic to have the most effect.
The next easiest area also had Goblin zombies and skeletons, but these had retained some of their intelligence and had some skill with swords, knives and bows. Additionally, some of the undead had been mages and had retained their magic, although twisted by death. Fire spells burned with a darkness that chilled. Nature spells brought forth unnatural plants which sought blood, and poisoned living flesh. The boss was a Nature Mage with four warrior skeletons to guard him. With the death of each guard, he gave part of his essence to raise an unnatural plant. The first had vines, the second poisonous needles, the third cast fire and had acidic sap, and the final plant was a huge Venus flytrap with five heads that moved to snap at the living.
The third area was the realm of the Goblin Wights, creatures that not only retained their skills but could steal from the living both Health and Ki to increase strength and speed. They could grow to double the size and speed if they weren't destroyed quickly. Fortunately, they were susceptible to all forms of damage. Their boss was a huge Troll Wight who had ten Goblin attendants, if his health was reduced by 10% and an attendant still survived he sucked their life and was revived, the object was to kill the attendants first.
Finally, there was the area inhabited by Trolls; each had many Goblin guards, the difficulty came from keeping one battle from becoming two. Each troll had a zone of aggression, and you needed to keep from drawing two trolls at once. This became harder as time progressed because it was a timed level and the longer it took, the larger each trolls area of aggression was. The boss was a necromancer who continued to raise goblins to assist him as his health decreased and as time progressed.