Legends of Tarthirious: The Complete Collection, Page 3

  Yrsila chuckled meekly, “Oh yes, I forgot about that. Don’t worry, we won’t be here long, and even then I just told the boys to say that. Figured it’d be a good way to explain where we went, but then the druids ran by and I used that as my moment instead.”

  I simply couldn’t comprehend what the woman was telling me, it seemed so odd to want to do something like that, but it was her life and none of my business.

  I smiled politely and nodded goodbye before turning on my heels and walking back the way I came, leaving Yrsila and her children to start their new life.

  Progress made in mission: The Lost Olthellions.

  Objective complete: Find Out Why the Olthellions are in the Woods.

  Objective added: Give Augustus the Ring and Lie or Tell Augustus the Truth.

  Armelia: Chapter 4

  I hated that sort of thing, the choices. If I told the truth there was no doubt in my mind that he’d chase after them and bring them home, but if I lied I wouldn’t have complete the task I set out to do, and it most certainly wasn’t something a druid would do.

  I found him sitting in front of his doorway as the afternoon sun had begun to set, holding his bow as tightly as he could, “Find them?” he asked.

  My brow furrowed almost involuntarily and, before I could stop myself, I nodded.

  Augustus seethed and looked up into the sun, his eyes welling with tears, “She’s not coming back, is she?”

  “I… No. No she’s not.”

  He bit his lip and nodded slowly, “Well… fuck.” he said before throwing his bow to the ground and burying his head in his knees, rocking back and forth with his sobs, “I did everything I could, I tried to keep them fed. I tried so hard, I swear. I just… I just…”

  He’d lost the ability to speak, and instead he just cried and mumbled incoherently.

  I wanted to comfort him, but there wasn’t anything I could really do. Then I remembered the gold and the ring.

  “Hey, is that horse for sale?” I asked as sweetly as I could.

  He tried to form the words but couldn’t and just nodded.

  “I’d like to buy it, does 50 gold pieces sound good to you?”

  “Just take it. No one else will touch it.” he said gruffly.

  I stood there for a while, staring at the mess of a man, and then walked over to him and pulled him to his feet, “Now listen here,” I said firmly, stuffing the gold pouch in his hands, “you take this gold, and your bow, and a knapsack of whatever you’ve got left in your house, and you go get your family. Start a new life.”

  -50 gold.

  He looked as surprised with my words as I was, but that quickly passed, “Do you really think I can still find them?”

  “Absolutely,” I said confidently, “I’m sure with your tracking skills you’ll find them in no time.”

  He smiled weakly and nodded, “If you think I can do it, I will.”

  +3 Speech Skill.

  Progress: 4/100.

  +50 XP.

  Progress: 130/500.

  I smiled back, “Oh!” I exclaimed, taking the ring off my finger, “You may want to take this.”

  The sadness washed away from his face the second he saw the ring, he practically snatched it from me before giving me a hug, “Thank you so much! Take the horse, take anything you need.” he almost shouted before going to run off inside.

  “Wait! Where’s the nearest town?” I asked, realising that that would probably be a good little fact to know.

  “Ah, you’ll be looking for Kalretch. It’s just down the road, ‘bout a mile I’d say.” and before I could so much as say ‘thanks’ he’d vanished into the house.

  Mission Completed: The Lost Olthellions.

  +250 XP.

  Progress: 380/500.

  I took it slow as I entered the pen, the stallion trotting around the inside of the fence as he eyed me off. I expected for him to panic, or, at the very least, bolt out the gate as soon as I’d opened it, but he didn’t. Instead he just stared at me with his big brown eyes and waited for me to reach him.

  “Hello,” I said as I started to pat his black mane, “my name’s Armelia. I know you can’t speak, but I think we’re going to become great friends.”

  I couldn’t be sure, but the way he moved his head up and down seemed an awful lot like nodding.

  I smiled like an excited child, “You’re gorgeous, did you know that? If it were up to me I’d leave with you right now, but,” I stepped back and gestured at my ‘clothes’, “I think I should take Augustus up on his offer and find some clothes.”

  Again he nodded.

  Clearly there was some kind of connection between druids and animals I hadn’t heard about, or I had, you never know with amnesia.

  I left the pen and went into the house which had its door wide open, Augustus was already long gone in search of his family. It was a quaint home, a barely glowing fireplace lighting up most of the room. It took a few solid seconds of squinting before finding a closet and opening it.

  Closet contents:

  Purple Dress: Weight: 1.

  Simple Shoes: Weight: 0.5.

  I tore off the uncomfortable grass clothes and pulled on the purple dress and the shoes as fast as I could, the brisk wind that indicated impending nightfall whipping through the open door and freezing my body.

  Dropped Simple Grass Rags.

  Equipped Purple Dress.

  Equipped Simple Shoes.

  Armour wise I was no better off, and I’d definitely lost some of my ‘personality’, but I felt better, and I think that’s just as important. As an added bonus I was also hiding my druidic tattoo, something that I wasn’t quite sure was a good or bad thing just yet.

  I took one last look around the barren house and accepted that there wasn’t much that Augustus hadn’t taken, before leaving to get on my horse.

  I had a feeling I was in for a very exciting night.

  Armelia: Chapter 5

  “So what should I name you?” I asked thirty seconds into our ride, “Do you like the name… Buttercup?”

  The horse shook his head.

  “Yeah, me neither…” I said, completely ignoring the fact that I was riding a horse that seemed to understand me fully. “What about… Shadow-Stal?”

  He made an excited whinny and nodded frantically.

  I chuckled, “Shadow-Stal it is then.”

  Kalretch discovered.

  Journal entry made.

  I looked up in surprise and realised I was at the town’s gates, which were little more than a farming fence with a guard dressed in red leather armour in front of it. The town he was guarding consisted of a blacksmith, an inn, a general store, and what appeared to be a college of some sort around a large fountain in the town square.

  I was wondering where all the houses were when the guard noticed me, “Halt, who goes there!?” he shouted as he produced his short sword from its sheath.

  With great difficulty I stopped myself from laughing at the line, “Armelia Fireheart.”

  “What business have you in Kalretch?”

  I had to think on that for a moment, and decided to go with the truth, “I have come to see if anyone here has knowledge of some druids that may have passed through here.”

  The guard relaxed, sheathing his sword, “The naked ones.”

  I nodded with just the slightest amount of shame, “That’d be them, yes.”

  “Hmph, well, when you find ‘em you see that they get some clothes on. Can’t have them showing off their parts, it ain’t decent.” he said sternly.

  “Yes, I’ll be sure to tell them that. Would you happen to know where they are?” I asked as I searched through the odd few players walking through the town square trying to spot someone I knew.

  “Can’t say I do, might try Jerrod the blacksmith though. They went to him after they terrorised Hilbert, who runs the general store.”

  I went to leave the conversation when another question popped into my head, “Where are all the houses?
Doesn’t anyone live here?” It was a useless question, but I knew it would’ve driven me nuts if I hadn’t used the option.

  “Well Hilbert lives above his store, and Jerrod’s house is attached to the forge, but no, not really. Most who are passin’ through don’t stay long enough to put up a home, they just stay at the inn, and even the owner there doesn’t live in town. She lives up in the woods somewhere.”

  With a smile I left the conversation and started trotting into town, ignoring the level 24 Orc labelled as ‘Lord HumpALot69’, who was doing some weird thrusting dance as I passed. I figured there’d be time for dancing and communicating with the other players after I at least finished the first quest.

  Progress made in mission: Amnesia.

  Objective complete: Find A Town.

  Objective added: Ask Jerrod the Blacksmith About the Naked Druids.

  I’d forgotten what it was like being a female in Tarthirious. There were a lot of lewd comments being thrown my way, but at least they were halfway nice, and not implications of having sexual relations with my mother for a gold piece.

  I ignored them though and dismounted once I reached the blacksmith, his name lighting up as I approached, “Good evening.” I said politely.

  “Too early to tell I reckon. What can I do you for?” Jerrod asked in a deep and guttural yet kind voice as he stroked his frizzly beard.

  “I’m looking for… my friends, I suppose, and I was told you might know where they are?”

  “And who would these ‘friends’ be?”

  I furrowed my brow, I rarely enjoyed these conversations that couldn’t just get to the point, “A group of naked druids.” I said hesitantly.

  He looked at my clothes and then back to my face and made a sound of annoyed realisation, “Oh… them. Aye, I’ve seen them.” he said tiredly.

  I waited for what seemed an appropriate amount of time and then accepted I’d have to pull the information out of him, “Well, where are they?”

  The blacksmith went to talk, then stopped, a sly look spreading across his face, “Hmm… I think I’ll need some time to jog my memory.”

  I looked at him with confusion, “I don’t take your meaning, do you want gold? Because I haven’t any.”

  He shook his head, “No, nothing as simple as gold. What I want is a hammer.”

  “A hammer? You want a hammer? You have a dozen right here.”

  “Aye, I do, but this hammer… let’s just say that it’s a very special hammer and leave it at that.”

  I puffed up my chest and tried to seem as confident as possible, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to have more information than that.” I said assertively.

  He shook his head, “That’s all you need to know,” he said with much more firmness than I, “and the only way you’re going to find your friends is if I tell you.”

  Intimidation attempt failed.

  I deflated and let out a defeated sigh, “Alright then, what happened to this hammer?”

  Jerrod smiled proudly at having ‘bested’ me, “Now we’re talking. There were some bandits that passed through town, they come through every couple o’ weeks. Never hurt anyone, just take things. Anyway, they took my hammer, and my forge hasn’t been the same since.”

  I hated that kind of thing, the whole ‘complete a million and one quests before you can do the actual one’ thing. But I sucked it up and, with a bored sigh, said “Fine. I’ll find your hammer.”

  “Brilliant!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands together and rubbing them with enthusiasm. “Now, you’ll have to go to Bleeding Man’s Fort, do you have a map?”

  I shook my head.

  “Ah,” he said before pulling a map from his back pocket and handing it to me, “you’ll want to go here.”

  When I looked confusedly at what he was pointing at he pressed his finger on it, leaving a sooty mark over the area he wanted me to go.

  He pulled a small iron knife from the workbench beside him, “And I see you don’t have a weapon, here.” he said, placing it firmly in my palm.

  Received Iron Dagger: Weight: 1.5, Damage: 5.

  Equipped Iron Dagger.

  “How many bandits are there?” I asked as I looked over the pitiful blade.

  Jerrod shrugged, “Ten, twenty. But don’t worry, I’m sure the trolls will have taken care of most of them.”

  “Trolls!?” a pubescent squeak escaped me as I shouted. “You expect me to kill trolls with this?” I asked in a tad more composed manner.

  He nodded unsurely, “Yeah? I mean, that and your magic. You are a druid right?”

  I wanted to say I only knew the one spell, and even then I only knew two of the three effects, but that didn’t really seem to be an option, “Yes. I’ll go at once.”

  I turned away and got back on my horse, a feeling of annoyed dread washing over me as I saw that night had truly fallen.

  “Shadow-Stal? I think this is going to suck.”

  Progress made in mission: Amnesia.

  Objective complete: Ask Jerrod the Blacksmith About the Naked Druids.

  Objective added: Go to Bleeding Man’s Fort.

  Armelia: Chapter 6

  Progress made in mission: Amnesia.

  Objective complete: Go to Bleeding Man’s Fort.

  Objective added: Find Jerrod’s Hammer.

  It didn’t take long to find the fort, but even still by the time I got inside and started searching the moon had risen to its highest point. The two aboveground floors of the small fort were completely empty, nothing but cups and books, so I went to the dungeon.

  The moment I reached the dungeon’s open gate I was staring at a room filled with burning torches planted on the walls and cages that were once filled with prisoners stacked high with loot. Chests, gold pouches, everything a starting player needs. I went to start frolicking around, collecting everything I could carry, but then I saw past the shiny treasures and started to see the fresh bones and blood strewn around the room.

  I waited for a while and then heard it, the unmistakable sound of a troll snoring. If it woke up that’d be it for me, ripped apart and eaten by a loincloth-wearing, obese giant that had a reputation for breaking their prey’s bones and keeping them alive as they ate them.

  I looked down at my dagger and cursed, there was no possible way I could hurt the beast with it. Then I had an idea. I sliced the blade across my free hand, and used the blood to paint the one sigil I knew on the staircase’s wall.

  Used slice.

  5 damage inflicted.

  HP: 995/1000.

  Placed unknown sigil with explosive and healing effect.

  I waited for the sigil to fail, but it didn’t, it just glowed as it was supposed to. After a few more seconds of assuring myself that the creature wasn’t going to get up, I started creeping into the room and looking for wherever the hammer might be.

  It only took me a few seconds to realise that it was probably in the largest, most ornate chest in the middle of the room. My heart was in my throat as I tiptoed toward the chest and the troll came into view. It was sleeping in a seated position on top of a puddle of blood in the corner. It was a disturbing sight to say the least.

  As quietly as I could, I opened the chest.

  Chest contents:

  Jerrod’s Hammer: Weight: 5, Unknown enchantment.

  500 gold.

  I debated with myself for a while as I stared into the chest as to whether 500 gold was worth the struggle it took to get where I was, or if I should clean out the whole dungeon like a greedy little monster.

  Acquired:

  Jerrod’s Hammer.

  500 gold.

  Progress made in mission: Amnesia.

  Objective complete: Find Jerrod’s Hammer.

  Objective added: Return Jerrod’s Hammer.

  ‘Greed is the death of adventure.’ I told myself as I got to my feet. I turned around and, somehow in my eagerness, accidently sprinted part way to the door.

  “Ooh… no.” I said to the room as I h
eard the lumbering creature stir and wake.

  Level 10 Troll, HP: 6000/6000.

  Troll discovered.

  Journal entry made.

  “Hey… big… fella? Why don’t we, say, not kill me?”

  The twelve-foot tall creature roared at me in response and started to charge.

  “Right.” I said, darting back to the door.

  I ducked as the boulder-like fist swung over my head, and pressed my hand to the sigil as I passed it.

  Activated unknown sigil.

  Full health restored.

  HP: 1000/1000.

  I didn’t stop to wait and see it happen, but I heard the explosion as I leapt up the spiral stairway, using the walls to bounce my way up. With seconds to spare I burst out the door and into the fort’s entryway as the staircase collapsed in on itself, sending huge plumes of dust and smoke up.

  I figured I was safe, my knowledge of architecture even more basic than I thought, but then the roof, walls, and floor around where the staircase had been started to fall to rubble as well.

  My foolish mind was briefly mesmerised by the sight, but then instinct took over, and instinct wanted to get the Hel out. It was a mad scramble for the door, and I knew it wasn’t, but the floor certainly felt like it was collapsing beneath me.

  I was less than a few feet from the doors when I decided to make a dive roll through them, landing mere inches from the front of my horse in the courtyard, “Good evening Shadow-Stal. Have an interesting time?” I asked, seeing the half dozen dog-sized rats scattered around the courtyard.

  The horse nodded excitedly as I got to my feet and climbed onto his back.

  “Me too, me too.”

  Armelia: Chapter 7

  The sun of a new day peeked over the horizon as I slammed Jerrod’s hammer down on his forge, “The druids,” I growled, “where are they?”

  Jerrod’s Hammer removed.

  Jerrod spun around with a surprised look on his face, and then smiled when he saw the hammer, “You found it!” he exclaimed, “You really fou- Lords above! What happened to you?”