Terramyr Online: The Undiscovered Country: A LitRPG Adventure Page 7

  Brian followed as the old man led him northeast and then into an alleyway.

  “I came here twenty years ago,” the old man said. “I was a captain then. Big ship, big wife, big manor, and four children.” His head drooped as he walked. Brian hated the walking kind of missions. He vastly preferred getting a marker on his map so he could go at his own pace, but he figured he may as well listen and get his fifteen-gold worth of gossip.

  “Fezhik was a small outpost then. The castle was nothing but a foundation in the ground. We had a wooden palisade protecting us, can you imagine? A wooden wall of pikes protecting us from those monsters outside! Ha!” The old man stopped and turned around. “I told them they needed to build walls of stone with spikes of Telarian steel that could withstand dragon’s fire, but did they listen to me?” The old man shook his head. “They didn’t listen. They never listen. The nobles knew best, or so they said. The nobles and their fancy educations and their gaudy armor and extravagant balls to raise more funds for exploration. They do a lot of talking, but not listening. No, never listening.” The old man turned down a smaller alley heading due north.

  “My ship was attacked three times you know. Twice by pirates. I was the best pirate hunter in the fleet. I sank fourteen pirate ships. Fourteen!” The old man stopped again and wheeled around. “All the while my big wife was back in Kelsendale romping with some other nobleman’s son in my big house.” The old man shook his head again. “Nobles ruin everything. I didn’t hear about my wife until after the third time my ship was attacked. Not by pirates mind you, oh no. I was beset by the fire kraken!”

  The old man turned back around and resumed walking. “The beast ate everyone but me. He tore my masts down like they were toothpicks. He broke my hull like kindling, and he dragged me to the depths. I was a dead man. But then, just as my life was about to be taken from me, I saw Osei, the demigod of the seas.”

  The old man spun around and held up a finger. “I’m not crazy! I saw him as clearly as I stand before you right now! He stretched out his hand and shocked that fire kraken with his magic. After he sent that monster away, he carried me up to the surface on a wave of soft salt water. I had always been faithful to Osei, you see.” The old man pointed to a necklace displaying an anchor made of whale bone and etched with runes. “My father was a ship’s captain before me, and he passed this down to me. Every voyage I always made sure to offer the appropriate sacrifices. I credited my victories to Osei, and he heard me in my time of desperate need.”

  The old man sighed and shook his head. He turned and continued to lead Brian down the alleyway.

  “Anyway, when I got back to Fezhik, I sent word to my wife that I needed help. If we could sell part of my estate, then I could purchase a new ship and hire a new crew. Her letter back to me reported that she had taken up with the nobleman, and the estate now belonged to him. My sons were expelled from my ancestral home, and I was left destitute. I tried my hand at fighting, but I wasn’t any good at leading men into land battles here. About two months after I got the letter from my wife, Fezhik was attacked by some terrible creatures. My back was broken and my leg was crippled. Doesn’t make me very useful now. The palisade was torn asunder and most of the people were slain. When the Greencaps eventually rebuilt Fezhik, few people knew who I was, and those who did couldn’t use me with my injuries.” He stopped once more and turned around. “It was friends that helped me. They nursed me, gave me a place to sleep, and have kept a watchful eye over me ever since. In turn, I help those who need friends.” The old man winked at Brian. He then turned and knocked on a wall.

  A small section of board slid to the side and a pair of red eyes looked out.

  “I have found a friend in need,” the old man said.

  The wooden slat slid into place, and then a red outline of a doorway glowed in the wall.

  “This is where we part ways,” the old man said. “Be true to your friends.”

  Brian recognized the saying from a previous game. “Be true to your friends,” he responded.

  The door opened up, and behind it stood two elves. Each of them wore gray outfits and hoods. One held a spear at the ready, the other sported a pair of scimitars at the waist.

  “If you seek friends here, then you must always remain true, or the hunter shall become the hunted, and death shall forever stalk after you. Judgment comes to all.”

  Brian nodded. “I understand. I wish to find friends here.”

  The two guards glanced at each other and then stepped aside to let him enter. Brian stepped inside and the door closed. A red light flashed as the spell concealing the doorway to the outside world was put back into place.

  [MORR’TAI LAIR LOCATION ADDED TO MAP]

  The hallway was narrow and sparsely appointed with only a tapestry along one wall and a simple painting cracked with age on the other. Toward the back of the hall was a door. The knob was nondescript, and the door itself was plain as well, but Brian expected all of that would change once he went through it. Reaching for the doorknob, he entered a staircase that descended steeply. The air chilled around him and smelled of damp earth as he went some thirty or forty feet down. At the bottom landing there were two more guards, but they were not like the ones who had met him at the front door. One was a skeleton wearing plate armor and wielding an axe. The second was a Krattii, a kind of lizard-person who leveled a crossbow at Brian. The red dots above their heads informed Brian that if he tried to attack them they would be far too high above his level for him to have any hope of winning.

  “You have come to speak with The Master?” the Krattii asked in a serpentine voice.

  Brian nodded. “I have come to seek friends.”

  The skeleton walked up and gave Brian a shove, throwing him back toward the stairs and knocking him down. Brian remained calm. He knew this was meant as a test. He held his hands up, empty palms facing the two guards.

  “If you try anything foolish, I will feast upon your flesh and use your entrails as bootstraps,” the Krattii said.

  “I don’t doubt it,” Brian replied. He stood up, ignoring the skeleton hissing at him, and started walking through the chamber once more, the Krattii assassin and skeleton following closely behind him. He could hear the Krattii breathing, and the skeleton’s bones popped and cracked with each step. When he reached the door at the end of the chamber, the Krattii spoke to him again.

  “Once you enter that door, your future belongs to the Morr’Tai. There is no turning back.”

  Ominous, Brian thought with a shake of his head. He reached out and opened the door. The next chamber was very different from everything before it. Walls of earth and stone marred by roots or small crystal pockets enclosed the walkway of stone leading out toward a great underground chamber. A tiny pool of murky green water sat off to the right, stretching about thirty feet long and half as wide. A ripple near the middle informed Brian there was something inside. He imagined Chris might be overcome with curiosity and jump into the pool, but Brian had no such death wish.

  He trekked down the corridor and was stopped at the chamber’s entrance by a tall elf wearing a pointed helmet sporting a pair of horns.

  “The uninitiated cannot enter the inner sanctum,” the elf said. “What god do you claim to serve when dealing death?”

  A menu interface appeared showing four options.

  [KHULLAN; THE FIRST FALLEN GOD]

  [HATMUL; THE RULER OF HAMMENFEIN AND KHULLAN’S FIRSTBORN]

  [KHEFIR; THE GATHERER OF DAMNED SOULS AND KHULLAN’S SECOND SON]

  [BASEI, THE DEMIGOD OF WAR, DEATH, AND FIRE]

  [NONE OF THESE]

  Brian highlighted each selection in turn and read up on the blessings each deity had to offer. He knew from games past that he essentially had three options within the game. He could be undevoted and thus earn bonuses to his intelligence and wisdom stats that would grow over the course of the game. He could select one god to devote his character to, thus earning special blessings in a particular area of stats an
d skills. Or, if he wanted to customize a bit, he could devote himself to two deities, so long as they were compatible with each other. The downside to choosing two deities was that they would have their respective blessings halved. There were times it could come in handy to mix things up like that, but in this case, Brian already knew which deity he wanted his character to serve.

  Khefir’s bonuses would serve his assassin guild, but they also grant him the right kind of boons to rise through the ranks as a warrior and thief.

  “I follow in the ways of Khefir,” Brian said.

  The tall elf nodded grimly. “The collector of the damned is a worthy patron of those who wish to become counted among the ranks of the Morr’Tai.”

  [KHEFIR’S HAND WILL GUIDE YOU]

  [+10% to sneaking skill]

  [+10% to pickpocketing skill]

  [+10% to lockpicking skill]

  [ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO CHOOSE KHEFIR AS YOUR DEITY? (THIS ACTION CANNOT BE UNDONE WITHOUT PENALTY)]

  Brian confirmed his choice. He knew what he was getting into.

  “Follow me,” the tall elf said. “I will guide you to the altar where other hopefuls have gone before you.” The NPC moved aside and let Brian into the large chamber. At the far end of the massive room, Brian spied another doorway. That one had a large skull with a red pair of daggers crossed over the forehead area. The inner sanctum. That would be where the higher-level quests would be given, and the better loot.

  Brian followed the tall elf to a rectangular altar adorned with four black candles. None of them were lit. On the stone was a single dagger. The first candle depicted a hand in chains carved into the wax, the second a tall man with orcs kneeling before him, the third showed a skeletal hand holding a scythe, and the fourth showed a heavily muscled man holding fire in one hand and a massive sword in the other.

  “These are the Four Deities of Death,” the tall elf said. “In order from left to right they are Khullan, Hatmul, Khefir, and Basei. We serve them, in our own way, and help them bring about their designs upon Terramyr. The Morr’Tai slay those that stand in the way of true progress, and we make a bit of coin while doing so. To light the candle and pledge yourself to the Morr’Tai, you must use the dagger to drop your blood upon the candle of your deity.”

  Brian took the dagger in hand and poked a finger over Khefir’s cadle. His HP flashed and dropped marginally as the blood coursed out and fell onto the wick. A green flame ignited upon the candle and the outline of the skeletal hand holding the scythe began to glow.

  [+100 HP]

  [+2% to sneak]

  [+20% to critical damage with daggers]

  [NEW RANK ATTAINED: ASSASSIN GUILD: BLOODLESS INITIATE]

  “Welcome to the guild,” the NPC said. “While working with us, you will not know our names. While in Morr’Tai attire, you will be unrecognizable to people around you. Remove your Morr’Tai uniform and people will recognize you again. Be careful not to don or doff Morr’Tai clothing in anyone’s presence.”

  Brian had always liked this part of the guild. It didn’t just work on NPCs—wearing the uniform would remove his own gamer tag as well. Even his own party wouldn’t recognize him unless he specifically told them it was him.

  [+ Morr’Tai initiate attire]

  Brian checked the armor. It was your basic leather armor—pants, gloves, hauberk, boots, and a cloth hood. The hood would add to his sneak ability. The rest of the items were non-magical but would each add 11 to his armor rating. A good boost in his armor without needing to pay a single coin. Well worth the fifteen gold to find this place.

  “Oh, and I almost forgot,” the elf NPC said. “You’ll be needing this.” He held out a dagger. The handle was basic wood with a steel pommel. The blade, though, was made of a light steel with a silvery sheen. “Each initiate gets a feathersteel dagger. Be careful not to lose it or sell it. Selling it will draw attention to you, and we will not replace it.”

  [+1 feathersteel Morr’Tai dagger]

  Brian immediately equipped the dagger.

  [Feathersteel dagger equipped. Attack +5 piercing/slashing]

  A regular iron dagger did only 4 damage. A steel dagger did 5 slashing and piercing damage. The advantage to a feathersteel dagger was that it weighed only seventy percent as much as the regular steel but was just as durable. A hardy weapon to begin the game with. Now he just needed someone to try it out on.

  “Walk in the shadows, and may your blade strike fast and true,” the NPC said with a slight bow. “Be true to your friends.”

  Brian let the NPC go without responding.

  [QUEST ADDED: BLOOD ON THE KNIFE]

  Opening up his quest log, he highlighted the new quest.

  As a bloodless initiate, you must prove your worth to the Morr’Tai by striking someone down. Review the job board for targets or select your own target. Remember, do not target other Morr’Tai. This is strictly forbidden and will only earn you the The Master’s wrath. Go forth and make your god and guild proud.

  “Hey noob,” a familiar, annoying voice called out.

  Brian sighed and closed his quest log. He turned to see Barry wearing everything but the Morr’Tai hood. His gamer tag was gone, but Brian could recognize the avatar’s face even if he hadn’t identified the voice. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

  “I was exploring,” Brian said.

  “Uh-huh, sure,” Barry replied. “More likely you couldn’t find the entrance. Me on the other hand, I got a secret note slipped to me back at the pub where we found our first save point.”

  Brian then realized the other reason Barry had been willing to kill Chris back at the beach. The Morr’Tai would have heard about the in-game murder and recruited Barry. Score one for Barry. That was a clever move.

  “I got the note too,” Brian lied. “I found someone in the town to take out secretly.”

  “You did?” Barry asked, sounding impressed.

  “Yeah, someone out in the markets. Nailed him and got out of there clean.”

  “Nice,” Barry said. “I already completed my first job.”

  Brian felt a little weird for lying. Why did it matter what Barry thought of him? There was nothing wrong with finding the guild through a beggar. Besides, Brian had three luck flowers.”

  “Well, I was just about to do another job. If you want, I can wait for you to grab it from the job board too.”

  “What?” Brian asked. “Does it need more than one person?”

  “Nope,” Barry said. “But this way we can make it a race, see who the best assassin is.”

  “After two hours of playing?” Brian asked.

  “Well, you can always admit defeat right here and now,” Barry teased.

  “Yeah... I don’t think so. Which job did you pick up?”

  “It’s the one called ‘Hermit Crab.’”

  Brian looked around and found the job board on the stone wall adjacent to the stone altar. He went and interfaced with it. Several jobs popped up for him to choose from, but only the “Hermit Crab” job was outlined in red. This meant there was another player already on it, and the reward would go to the player that finished the deed first. Sometimes there were multi-player jobs that required people to work in teams that split the spoils evenly among the participants, but this would be winner-take-all. Brian selected it.

  [Acquired Morr’Tai tally ribbon]

  Brian opened his inventory and found a black silk ribbon. There were no totems or trophies for assassin quests. Instead, his ribbon would gain small red tallies for each job completed successfully. It helped give the player a sense of progression while still allowing for guild anonymity. If pickpocketed, killed, or jailed, it also served as a notice to others that you were in the assassin’s guild and would just as often bring people down on you, forever hunting you in the hopes of slaying you and earning the assassin hunter achievement. A bit of a double-edged sword, but ultimately the ribbon was worth it, as the bonuses would increase over the ranks.

  “Let’s go,” Barry said
impatiently.

  Brian closed his inventory and the quest popped up.

  [QUEST ADDED: HERMIT CRAB]

  Brian highlighted it and made it his active quest. A location glowed red on his mini map and a marker appeared on his HUD similar to when he had marked Fezhik on his map.

  “Just need to save first,” Brian called out. He quickly located the save point in the chamber—the same stone pedestal with a dragon statue coiled around a red crystal—and updated his file. His player ribbon hung from the save point pillar.

  The two ran up and out from the lair, stopping in the alleyway just long enough to lay down some rules for the challenge.

  “All right, we should probably try to go separate ways,” Brian said.

  “Fair enough, and you should get a five second head start,” Barry replied. “After all, I have at least one more kill than you, if not two.”

  Brian had to think fast. Barry was insinuating that Brian hadn’t killed the person in the marketplace. “Unless you killed two more people after Chris, you’re only up by one,” Brian lied.