Chapter 36: Chapter 36: A Warmup Round

Dinner was a meal of undercooked venison, some type of bread pudding made from soured cream, and copious amounts of ale.  The orcs weren’t big on vegetables.  The dining area was through one of the tunnels off the main hall.  Leading from the large room was access to a primitive kitchen and another area that looked suspiciously like a vomitorium.  The table was made from a massive unfinished, live edge slab of rock, and Jace had to be careful not to cut himself on the jagged rim as he leaned forward.  Gnomes worked in the kitchen under constant beratement from the orcs.  Nothing was cooked fast enough, with enough spice, or to the desired doneness, but once the orcs were sitting around the table, they ate as if it were their last meal.  Little did they know, it was.

In addition to Carrak, another large orc named Grink, who had probably ranked just below Orgalph, joined them at the table.  He also had a room off the main hall.  The Shaman and Archer were there, along with two other fighters.  The meal was served by two female orcs who wore tiny skirts and tight scarves tied around their chests.  Jace assumed these were the ones Gracie had referenced.  They gave as much abuse as they took, finding sport in all the slaps and jeers the males tossed at them.  Jace had Snowy on the ground to his left, ensuring no one sat on that side.

“Do you have no appetite?” Carrak asked halfway through the meal, as Jace had done little more than drink the warm ale.

“How do you know the gnomes don’t poison your food?” Jace asked.

Carrak and Grink laughed heartily.  “I would think less of them if they didn’t,” Carrak said.  “Do you really think a few drops from some insidious moss is going to affect us?”  He clanged his mug against Grink’s, and the two drank deeply.  “Maybe it will give us a little extra gas.”

As if on cue, one of the other fighters belched loudly.  “That would explain why it feels like sleeping in a hot air balloon each night,” one of the females said.

Carrak grabbed her arm and swung her down into his lap.  “Aye, but don’t you test me.”  He tried to grope her, but she slapped him away and got up.

“But maybe I should spend the night with our guest,” the female said, leering at Jace.  He was more refined and controlled than the others, though he didn’t know if that was a positive trait for this group.

“You be forgetting that he has Trixna,” Grink said.  “Don’t know if there will be room in his bed for three.  She can get a little wild if Orgalph wasn’t lying.”

The room got momentarily quiet as they remembered the fallen lieutenant.  Carrak wordlessly raised his mug, and they all drank as one.  “Hard to believe that child we brought in killed him,” he said.

“Snapped his neck as soon as she touched him,” the archer spoke up.  “He was dead in a second.  No blood to speak of.”

Carrak slammed his fist on the table, toppling some of the emptier mugs.  “That is no way for an orc to die.  Hopefully, some scavengers found him before his body cooled so his blood could find its way down to Dresth’Nal.”

The orcs were silent again after this short eulogy until Grink spoke.  “The girl has dark magic about her.  It’s best if we get her out of here sooner rather than later.”

Carrak pounded the table again.  “Agreed.”  He turned to the two nameless fighters.  “Go get the bitch and bring her to me.  Careful not to hurt her.”  The orcs nodded and left.  Jace had difficulty keeping the smile off his face as he thought about what those orcs were in for.  He covered his grin by taking another pull from his foul drink.

 

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Esther heard the guards coming while they were still far away, their inebriated revelries hard to miss.

She and Topper had chatted on and off.  He told her of their quest to find the gnome homeland and how he had family back across the sea waiting for some word of their journey.  If they made it out of here alive, he would return to them, but if he didn’t, he made Esther promise she would find a way to send word.  She nodded in agreement with no intention of following through.  When Topper asked about her past, she lied and said she was a student in Crestfall studying math and science.  She also informed him that she had many suitors back in town to whom she was eager to return.  This took the wind out of the gnome’s sails a bit.

“How is your magic?” she asked when she heard the guards coming.

“I can cast a few spells,” he assured her.

“Good,” she replied and proceeded to remove her bracelet with the green gemstone that controlled her dog collar.

Topper stared in awe, not so much at the bracelet but at the woman’s hands suddenly in front of her.  She had been shackled when she entered, and her wrists had been behind her against the wall ever since.  Esther took a moment to understand the source of his surprise.  “Oh, these?” she asked as she picked up the cuffs from behind her.  “I took them off as soon as I got in.”

As if the aspiring thief needed another reason to idolize the woman . . .  Esther dismissed it.  “Forget about them.  I’ll teach you later.  For now, put this on.”  She handed him the bracelet.

Topper’s hands were not bound, and he obeyed the command.  Neither NPC was startled when the jewelry shrunk to about half its size when it slid onto the diminutive gnome’s wrists.  That’s just how the world worked.  “I am going to put a collar on one of these guards’ necks.”

“Which guard?” he asked.  He could see the two standing before the cell and hadn’t heard the approaching ones yet.

“The one I don’t kill,” Esther said matter-of-factly.  “When I do, dump mana into this, and you can control him.  When I tell you, have him call all the guards from the mine below to come up.  Understand?”

Topper understood, but he had no idea how this woman was going to kill one of the guards while she was still trapped in the cell.  He didn’t even know about the two more still coming.  She saw the confusion on his face and smiled at him.  “Don’t worry.  I know what I’m doing.”  She stood before him and then quickly stepped back as she noticed the short gnome had an easy view up her dress.  Instead, she distracted him with another trick.  Two sheathed swords appeared suddenly on her hips.  She drew one, held it behind her back, and the sheaths vanished again.

The two guards stood with their backs to the jail cell.  Watching the mining activity in the cavern below was far more interesting.  Though she couldn’t hide in the shadows, Esther could still move quietly and crept up right behind the guard on the left.  Before attacking, she equipped the damage +6 belt she had taken from the half-orc guard in Ironfel and cast True Strike on herself.  Her rapier came out from behind her, and she viciously stabbed it up into the side of the guard, just under his ribs.

It was a Surprise Attack, but not as deadly as the one she had executed against the elf back in Ironfel when she had struck from the shadows, but it didn’t need to be.  These guards were only level 12 and had so many negative scores for their Wisdom and Spirit that they only had a Death save value of 13.  Doing half of their 324 HP to force a Death save would be challenging, but with her Surprise Attack skill, she got the ability for free.

With a roll of 11, she got a total hit of 56 against the orc’s flat-footed AC of only 12.  His shield was still on his hip.  She spent all four criticals on multipliers and held her heavy weapon ability back, knowing she wouldn’t need it.  She did 120 damage, and the Orc didn’t come close to saving.  He dropped to the ground without so much as a grunt as his remaining health started dropping.

His partner turned in surprise and saw Esther out of the corner of his eye.  The stupid guard attacked with his axe on reflex.  The woman stepped back, and the cheap blade clanged against the bars.  The sudden stop of his weapon shook the orc, and Esther leaped forward, grabbed his right wrist, and grappled him into submission.  She didn’t need to spend a critical to consider him Helpless this time because she could pull him forward and pin him to the bars.

Esther spent the criticals instead when casting her Enthrall spell.  Once the orc relaxed, she allowed him to step away.  The whole process took only a few seconds, and after she gave the command to have her slave toss his dying friend over the ledge, there was little evidence of what she had done when the two guards from above arrived.  Esther had just enough time to bring her blade behind her and sit on the ground next to Topper.  The gnome’s jaw was on the floor.

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The two new orcs didn’t notice the bloodstain on the ground, or if they did, thought it so commonplace that they didn’t mention it.  “Shouldn’t there be two of you?” one of the orcs said to the remaining guard.

“He had to take a piss,” Esther said from the cell.  “How much longer do we have to stay in here?  I have to pee too.”

The two new orcs chuckled at the woman’s antics, quickly forgetting the missing guard as they unlocked the cell and stepped inside.  As soon as the second one was past the enthralled guard, Esther mentally gave him the command to attack.  His axe came in hard against the back of the unsuspecting orc, and the monster’s HP dropped by a third.  The lead orc made the fatal decision of turning to inspect the cry of pain, and Esther leaped onto his back, easily grappling him into submission and putting the dog collar on him.  A second later, she had him on the ground Helpless and turned to Topper.  “Now,” she said.  “Use all the mana you’ve got.”

Once she felt the orc beneath her go limp with compliance, she leaped off his back and turned to regard the other two.  Her thrall had the initial advantage, but she hadn’t told him to get his shield off his hip, and Esther thought the orc from above was a better fighter anyway.  They were at about equal health when the prison guard was backed up so far that he toppled over the edge into the mine.  Esther ran up to the victor before he could turn around, stabbing a blade into his back just in time to get the flanking bonus.  She caused him to drop his shield, grappled him to the ground, and tossed him over the edge too.

She peeked below and saw three orcs with whips looking curiously as one orc after another had fallen to the rocky ground.  It was a 50-foot drop and should have done enough additional damage to kill all but the first one, who was dying anyway.  Esther snuck back from the ledge before they saw her and turned to Topper.  “Make your orc tell them to come up.  He needs help.”

The gnome had just enough composure to pick his jaw off the stone floor and follow directions.  If he hadn’t been in love with Esther before, he certainly was now.  He gave the command and watched as his slave went to the edge of the walkway and called down to the other orcs.  Esther held both her weapons now, and the two waited for more company.

 

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Jace endured the rest of the meal as best he could.  The orc’s raucous behavior was brutal to watch, but he needed to give Esther time.  Food eventually disappeared from his plate, but only because he snuck pieces of the nearly raw venison under the table and fed them to Snowy.  However, even the wolf didn’t want to touch the soured pudding.  By the time Grink declared he was going to have one of the females for “dessert” and started clearing a spot on the table, Jace decided he had waited long enough.

“Where is the woman?” he asked, drawing attention to himself momentarily.  “Did your orcs get lost?”

“They’ll bring her up in time,” Carrak said, dismissing his concern as he was more interested in watching the show that was about to take place.

“In time for what?” Jace persisted.  “It has been almost fifteen minutes.”  That was an exaggeration, but he was sure the inebriated orcs had no sense of time.  “She killed Orgalph with her bare hands.  Were the two orcs you sent better fighters than him?”

This did secure Carrak’s attention.  “Fine, if you are so concerned about it, perhaps you should go down and make sure she comes up safely.  You did best her before, correct?”

“I will be back shortly,” Jace replied.  He rose from the table, realizing his interruption had only delayed the inevitable and left with Snowy before the orgy got into full swing.  Once out of the dining hall, Jace entered his inventory to get his new sword, Diamond Etcher.  The halberd looked more orcish, but with the penalties he took using it, the sword was better.  Plus, it had the parry ability, and he was eager to put his new feat to use.

“Run ahead and make sure Esther is okay,” Jace said to his familiar.  Snowy took off like white lightning down the tunnel, much faster than Jace could run.  He also stole all the guards' attention, so they looked after the wolf with their backs to Jace as he followed behind.  He cast his new athletic boon, increasing his skill by 10 points for ten rounds at a cost of 150 mana.  Jace also spent 100 mana on his new level ten Armor totem, picking a spot 120 feet ahead in the tunnel so that it blended nicely with the environment.  “I would like some number feedback on how this works,” he muttered as he crept down the tunnel toward the guards.

{Roger that,} Gracie replied.

Unlike Esther, he felt bad about attacking enemies in the back and called out to the first pair as he approached.

They were all level 12, wearing chainmail and carrying axes and shields.  Jace’s initial assessment of their fighting skill let him know they didn’t have half the feats Drescher had given his guards, and their AC should be easy to hit.  Because he called out to them and they were at a higher level, they got the initiative and responded to his raised sword predictably.  The game gave Jace a chance to deflect both attacks, as they didn’t come simultaneously, and he maneuvered his weapon deftly, barely knocking both strikes wide.

{It looks like they have +18 to attack,} Gracie reported.  {Your base AC is at 28, so they need to roll a 10+ to hit you.  In that last attack, they rolled a 12 and 15, so you needed a parry of 6+ to block them.  With your boosted athleticism and the +3 from your sword, your lowest parry score would be 13.  Your two parries just now were low, with rolls of 3 and 7.}

Jace heard all this as he counter-struck.  He felt the game tug him toward the second orc that had attacked him, the one he had parried with a 7, but in his mind, he was already planning to attack the first one.  Per the combat rules, he only got a crit on the first attack, but it was a double, and he stunned the orc while dealing 90 damage to one and 45 to the other.  He focused on the un-stunned orc for the next attack and had to block his initial strike first.  Able to concentrate on only one attacker, he lined up a better block and was rewarded with triple crit in response.  He was able to stun him and do 135 damage.

{That was a much better parry roll of 12, beating his attack by 17.  If you get a critical result in your parry, which is when you beat his attack by more than ten, you trigger the counter-strike ability and get a free crit in your next attack.  You should be getting that a lot.}

Jace grinned as he added another 45 damage to the second orc, leaving him with 100.  The first orc regained mobility, and Jace deflected his attack before finishing the still-stunned enemy with another triple crit.  He realized that he could put his parrying on auto and still reliably get a 20+ parry score, which would make him almost unhittable.  But he wanted to do better.

He turned to the active orc and held off his stun ability, focusing only on damage and parrying.  He couldn’t practice long, for as the second round started, and he was given a chance to do crits again, he killed the orc with another counter strike.

He had taken no damage in the fight and felt good.  With his new weapon critting on 18-20, he didn’t need to line up the perfect shot to kill the creatures, but if he did, he saw he could easily do enough damage in one strike to hit the 162 damage necessary to exceed half their HP.  A 4x damage strike was worth 180.

{Remember that your sword has the Cleave ability,} Gracie said as Jace ran down the tunnel toward the next pair of orcs.

“I remember Wallace said that,” Jace replied, “but I don’t know what it is.”

{It means if you do a crit on your first strike that leaves your opponent Helpless or worse, you can do a second crit that round against a different enemy.}

Jace’s eyes lit up at the possibilities as he found the next pair of guards staring down after the retreating wolf.  Jace also realized that getting a +5 bonus to his attack for catching them flat-footed wasn’t as advantageous as the +10 he could get from a good parry.  So he called out to them again, blocked both incoming attacks, and executed what he hoped was a perfect 20 strike back at one of them.  He was rewarded with six criticals and didn’t need to waste one on his stun ability, as the 7x damage nearly killed him outright.

{That was a 17 roll on your parry,} Gracie told him.  {You beat his attack by over 20, giving you two free criticals, which were added to your attack.}

As the guard fell to the ground bleeding out from one shot, the other orc got nervous.  Jace wondered if the scared creature was actually suffering from a game-induced bane because he skipped his second attack that round, and Jace used the Cleave ability of the sword to do four more crits.  The 5x damage dropped the second orc next to his friend. He had just sent both orcs into a death spiral in one round and looked at his sword in awe.  This was too easy.  He knew Carrak was supposed to be more challenging, but right now, he felt invincible.

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