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  “Or else what?” Eric asked, taunting the man.

  “You’ll find out what, blowhard.”

  As Eric and Ritheard traded insults, I cast Blessed Webs of Gold on him and Ewen. They each got twenty mana points worth, giving them each +20% to-hit and +4 damage.

  I had sixty-four mana remaining, enough to do some damage of my own if things went south. They usually did when running into NPCs in the wilderness between cities.

  Ritheard put his fingers to his mouth then loudly whistled. A dozen other men dressed in black emerged from a nearby group of trees and spread out.

  “We’re going to kill you for practice then take your wagon,” Ritheard said. “The Black Guard will probably give us a reward for destroying the likes of you.”

  “Bring it,” Eric said, taking charge. “Bernard, you and Evan go for the other men. Ewen and I will take down Ritheard. Sarah, back us up.”

  “Already on it,” I said, preparing to cast another spell.

  Eric rushed forward, sword raised high. Bernard held his new magic mace of detection aloft and yelled as he ran toward the dozen thugs approaching.

  As Eric and Ewen fought the main guy, and Bernard and Evan fought the others, I picked off a thug with three Golden Bolts. He screamed and fell.

  Fifty-eight mana remaining. I glanced around, deciding where to direct my fury with Flaming Discs of Lava. The others had Ritheard hurting, so I attacked a thug.

  Your Lava Discs INJURE the thug for 11 damage.

  The thug is dead.

  You have [48/104] mana remaining today.

  “One’s coming for us,” Charlotte said from my left shoulder.

  I looked around.

  “Where?” I asked.

  “Eleven o’clock, to your left,” she said.

  I shot off three more Flaming Discs of Lava for good measure.

  Your Lava Discs WOUND the thug for 16 damage.

  The thug is dead.

  You have [33/104] mana remaining today.

  The man screamed as he fell to the ground in flames. Bernard and Evan had taken out six of the other men, leaving four of them.

  I turned to Eric and Ewen as Ritheard swung and slashed Eric’s arm.

  Could I end and win the battle for us?

  I cast the same spell one more time, sending four Flaming Discs of Lava toward Ritheard. All of them hit.

  Lava Discs WOUND Ritheard for 17 damage.

  You have [13/104] mana remaining today.

  “Die in the name of all brownies and everything sacred,” Ewen yelled as he thrust his sword into Ritheard’s chest.

  The high-level bandit dropped his sword and fell to his knees while clutching the wound. I looked over at Bernard and Evan and saw they’d finished off the last of the thugs.

  Eric screamed and delivered the final blow.

  Combat is over!

  You get 12,000 xp divided by five party members.

  You get 2,300 xp You have 35,897 xp You are now level 6 Wizard -> Warlock.

  I raised my fist in the air triumphantly.

  Bernard and Evan followed me over to Eric.

  “Level up,” Eric said, grinning.

  “Me too,” Bernard said, also glowing.

  “The levels are important?” Evan asked.

  I laughed, joined by Eric and Bernard.

  “Bozo,” Ewen muttered as he shook his oversized head.

  “Let’s go back to the city and heal up,” I said. “We’re not prepared enough for the wilderness on this level.”

  “You’re right,” Eric said. “We shouldn’t waste our potions. I’ll try to find people to join our party back in the city. We took out this group, but we’re almost completely drained. I don’t want to use the potions yet. We need to find more of them.”

  “I’ll look when we get back to Esterhollow,” I said.

  Evan lifted his dagger in the air.

  “I’m on the path to dragon-slayer!” he shouted.

  “Loot the bodies,” Eric said. “But quickly. I want to get back to the city.”

  The thug henchman had swords and cheap leather armor. Bernard found a nice ring on the middle finger of Ritheard’s left hand.

  “Is it magic?” Eric asked.

  “Hold on,” I said. “My mana is almost all gone.”

  I cast identify on the ring.

  [Magic Item] Ring of the Pied Piper This copper ring has been enchanted. Anyone who wears it will receive +25 charisma, making it easy to amass followers.

  I smiled.

  “What is it?” Eric asked.

  “Plus twenty-five charisma,” I replied.

  “Ugh,” he sighed.

  “I’ll take it,” Bernard said. “Might come in handy.”

  “Like for convincing people to join our party,” I said.

  “Good idea,” Eric said. “You keep it, Bernard. We can both look for help.”

  “We’ve already found more magic items and loot on level one-two,” I said.

  Bernard nodded then slipped the ring on his finger. We made our way back to the wagon. After climbing onboard, Eric turned it around.

  On the ride to Esterhollow, I checked my stats and choose a new spell.

  > stats

  Name: Kali Tracaryn Race: Elf Level: 6

  Class: Wizard --> Warlock XP: 35,897 (11,126 for next level) Alignment: +5 (On the Right Path) HEALTH: 36 (36) MANA: 138 (138) Strength: 72 (+10%) Dexterity: 96 (+35%) Constitution: 52 (+0%) Intelligence: 93 (+30%) Wisdom: 43 (+0%) Charisma: 44 (+0%)

  I also went over all my spells.

  > stats spells

  Spells: Level One

  Fish Slaying – (1mp) – Slay fish in 10’ radius per level of caster.

  Golden Bolts – (2mp per bolt up to 4+ lvl of caster) – Each bolt does 1d4 damage.

  Glorified Cloaks of Bronze – (2mp per armor adjustment up to 4+ lvl of caster)

  Ladder of Dwarven Earth – (2mp per cubic foot of magic dirt created. Lasts 10 minutes per level of caster.)

  Identify – (5mp) – Identify magic items.

  Shut the Front Door – (2mp) – Close and seal a door. Portal receives 10hp per level of caster and will stay sealed until it takes that much damage. Even the caster cannot unseal this door. It’s shut.

  Conjure Bronze – (2mp) – Need one gold coin to create one bronze coin. Prerequisite for higher level spells.

  Future Spell of the Keen Lanterns – 2mp – Cause an object to glow with light.

  Spells: Level Two

  Snares of Dust – (3mp) – Clouds of dust particles rise in the air, often rendering a person unable to do anything other than cough and stumble away. More mana may be used for more dust.

  Mystic Therapy – (10mp) – Target heals 1d10 damage.

  Cloud of Marvelous Sound [Uncommon] – (15mp) – A cloud of sound surrounds your enemies, disorienting them. One-foot radius per level of caster.

  Become Unknowable Humanoid – (25mp) – Target becomes an unknowable humanoid creature of roughly the same size and shape. Effects last 1 day per level of caster or until dispelled.

  New Level Two Spells:

  Agile Ogres’ Casting of Dexterity – (10mp) – Target gains 10 dex per 10mp up to level of caster for an hour for each level of caster.

  Spells: Level Three

  Divine Arrow of Energy [Rare] – (25mp) – sends a blue energy bean up to one hundred feet per level of caster. The person hit heals 1d50 damage, regains 1d50 mana (if applicable), and receives a +10% to-hit bonus. Caster may not be the target of this spell.

  Shooting Discs of Lava – (5mp per disc) – Each disc deals 1d6 fire damage.

  Blessed Webs of Gold – (5mp per target) – +1 to hit and +1 damage per 5mp up to 1 + level of caster.

  New Level Three Spells:

  Fish’s Virtue (Water breathing) – (5mp per minute) – Requires Chant of Just Kill Fish.

  Spells: Level Four:

  Charm of Thought – (40mp) – Charm a person. The higher their intelligence, the harder to ch
arm.

  New Level Four Spells:

  Deathly Heat Bolt – (20mp per bolt) – Each bolt does 1d10 heat damage. Up to 1+ level of caster bolts. Target begins stripping off clothes and armor to cool down.

  Choose a Level Five Spell:

  Lances of Lightning – (30mp per lance) – each lightning lance does 1d20 electrical damage. Up to one lance for each level of caster.

  Bolt of Lesser Dexterity – 25mp per bolt) – Each bolt grants the target 1d10 additional dexterity points for one hour per level of caster.

  Rune of Kindness – (50mp per rune) – This nice magical rune will affect anyone who sees it in a good way, making them kinder. Lasts one day per level of caster.

  Mystic Spell of the Dreamer – (50mp) – Target falls asleep instantly for 1d4 hours per level of caster up to 24 hours maximum.

  Summon Fish – (20mp per pound of fish) – Caster can create fish out of nothing.

  Frozen Person – (30mp) – to freeze a person for 1d20 minutes + INT bonus.

  Gamemaster Tip: At level seven, you will gain one sixth-level spell and one more spell of each of the lower levels.

  I chose Frozen Person to add to my defensive spells. The bow wasn’t cutting it, and I liked being a well-rounded mage ready for anything.

  The Tower of Gates continued charming me. As I got caught up in planning how to build my character, I forgot all about leaving for a while.

  4

  You Know, Half-Lion and Half-Tiger

  Sarah

  Later that evening, Captain Riggardo arrived at the temple with six of his men. He walked right in without knocking as we sat in the main room making plans.

  “Can we help you?” Eric asked.

  He stood up from the chest he’d been sitting on.

  “I’m not sure yet,” Captain Riggardo said. “The word in the garrison is that you killed over a dozen men outside the city today. Do you care to explain yourselves?”

  The captain looked from Eric to me before moving to Bernard.

  “Someone better speak up,” he said. “Don’t everyone talk at once.”

  “We were attacked,” Evan said. “Self-defense.”

  “That might be,” Captain Riggardo said. “But here you are, back in the city? Are you competent enough to make it all the way across the realms and check on the Pit of Doom?”

  “We are,” Eric said.

  “And we’re going to kill the black dragon too,” Evan added, stabbing the air with his dagger for emphasis.

  “I’ve got my doubts about the five of you. Here’s the deal. You need to do something else for me to prove you’re ready for this journey.”

  “We need to leave right away,” I said.

  “You in a hurry to get out of the city?” Captain Riggardo asked. “Are you on the run or something? What aren’t you telling me?”

  “We’re just anxious to finish your mission,” Eric said.

  “I bet,” Captain Riggardo said sarcastically then shook his head. “You’re not clear to leave until you finish this simple task for me.”

  “What is it?” Eric asked.

  “You need to capture the Liger that’s been terrorizing the townsfolk outside the city.”

  The other men in the Black Guard snickered.

  “What’s a liger?” I asked.

  “You know, half-tiger and half-lion,” he said. “A liger.”

  A few of the men chuckled again.

  “There’s no such creature,” I said.

  “I’ve never heard of one either,” Bernard said. “You’re making it up.”

  “No, no, they exist,” Captain Riggardo insisted.

  “Why don’t your men take care of it?” Eric asked.

  “Because I want you to prove your worth,” Captain Riggardo shot back.

  “Fine, we’ll do it,” I said. “But we want a reward for helping.”

  Captain Riggardo threw his head back and laughed.

  “We’ll see if you come back with the body of the liger,” he said. “Good luck even finding it in the first place.”

  He turned and left the temple, followed by all his men.

  “Are we doing this?” I asked.

  Eric nodded.

  “Might as well,” he said.

  “Yeah,” Bernard said. “It’ll help us level up.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s do it.”

  A notification popped up.

  New Side-Quest: Defeat the liger that might be attacking peasants and farmers. Liger blood is the base for many great potions and enchantments. This noble beast is nearly extinct. You’ll get -10 alignment points but +5,000 xp on completion.

  “Is the alignment hit worth it?” I asked.

  “We’ll be fine losing ten alignment points. And the xp will help us.” Eric turned to Evan. “You ready to track down a liger, little guy?”

  The brownie nodded his head eagerly, and I smiled. We had a small party, but our skills complemented each other.

  “Even better,” Evan said. “I can teach you how to track.”

  “Nice,” Eric said. “That would be useful for a bounty hunter.”

  “Let’s go find this liger and find people to join our party at the same time,” Bernard said.

  “I think your new ring is working,” I said. “You’ve got me convinced.”

  We laughed to ease the tension, but deep down, I was worried.

  Could we complete Captain Riggardo’s strange task?

  Or was he setting us up for failure as payback for something?

  Time would tell. With practically no mana left for the day, I hoped my bow would be enough. How hard could it be to kill a liger, anyway?

  After talking to several people in the village west of the city, we narrowed down the location of all the attacks. They had all taken place in a copse of woods nearby.

  “Can you track the liger?” Eric asked.

  Evan nodded, still smiling.

  “Sure can,” he said. “I’ll track it real good.”

  “Are you healed up enough for this, Eric?” I asked. “My mana’s low.”

  “We have the potions if we need them,” he said. “If nothing else, Bernard can detect whether the liger’s actually evil or not.”

  “Or bash its head,” Bernard countered.

  “And I’ve got my bow that I need to use,” I said. “We can take it.”

  “Liger’s are nothing for a dragon slayer like me,” Evan said.

  I glanced over at the overgrown woods on the other side of the field.

  Something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

  Eric stepped forward and said, “Let’s stick together.”

  As we walked, the sun began its slow descent on the horizon, casting long and crazy shadows. I held my bow tightly in one hand, ready to notch an arrow if needed.

  Eric, Bernard, and Ewen walked a few steps ahead of me, all with swords drawn. Evan walked to my left, dagger out and ready.

  Something roared nearby, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I pulled out an arrow and placed the notch in my bowstring.

  This better work.

  “Keep alert,” Eric said as we crept closer to the trees.

  I saw shadows moving in the group of trees.

  “Anyone see that?” I asked then stopped.

  I pulled back on the bow string.

  “What?” Eric asked, also stopping.

  “I see it,” Evan said excitedly.

  As he pointed, the majestic liger stepped out of the woods. It crouched down low as if ready to pounce.

  Did we make a mistake accepting this side-quest?

  “Now,” Eric yelled.

  I fired an arrow.

  Your arrow MISSES the liger.

  Ugh. I need more practice.

  “We should’ve rested more, Sarah,” Charlotte said.

  I shushed her and drew another arrow, hoping I didn’t hit one of the others.

  The other four circled the liger, causing it to growl.

>   As they inched closer, it pounced on Ewen, knocking him down.

  “No!” Evan shouted then threw his dagger.

  It bounced off the animal’s thick hide as the liger clawed Ewen’s face.

  “Get him,” I yelled then let loose another arrow.

  Your arrow SCRATCHES the liger for 3 damage

  This is useless. There’s a reason mages don’t use weapons.

  My heart beat faster as the liger turned its massive head toward me. It still had both its front feet on Ewen’s chest, pinning him to the ground.

  Eric ran over to the liger and slashed its back with his sword. The liger whipped its head around then stepped off the poor brownie.

  “It’s coming this way,” Charlotte said, her voice full of alarm.

  “We’re not going to outrun it,” I said.

  I fired another arrow hoping for some luck.

  Your arrow SCRATCHES the liger for 2 damage.

  “Maybe we need magic arrows,” Charlotte said.

  “No kidding,” I muttered.

  The liger continued creeping forward, inching closer to me.

  Its eyes gleamed in the last light of dusk.

  As it approached, Eric hit it again while Bernard helped Ewen. The liger bolted forward, coming straight toward me. Time to do some damage.

  I dropped my bow and gripped my Staff of the Ram with both hands, not ready to go down without a fight. Eric and Bernard rushed to help me.

  A few feet away, the liger stopped and turned around as Eric’s sword slashed it on the head. It roared then leaped toward the source of the attack.