It had been a very bad birthday for Gunmarie. Her big birthday bash mostly revolved around confirming to all the boys that, yes, she could still kick their asses even if she was drunk, and being 18 didn't mean she had to start being submissive to all of them. She also stumbed home drunk, and it wasn't until she woke up the next morning that she realized that her house had been burned down and pillaged. She thought it was strangely drafty.
And so was a pounding hangover replaced with burning vengeance. Selling her godparent's farmland for whatever coppers she could scrounge up gave her some starting capital. She wondered if it was a good idea, but she knew she could never rest until she found the monsters that had destroyed her home and her family. She had consulted the priest of Odin before her journey. Though his advice was cryptic, it was also oddly specific.
She had bought weapons, armour, and equipment at Bjorn and Gunnhild's. Stepping out of the village, she took one more look at the burned wreckage of her home. Partially to make sure that the amulet was stolen, and she wasn't just too hung over to find it last time.
Heading back to the path, she saw the main road.
◊ Traders, travellers, and soldiers were not unknown, but they were rather uncommon, and so the road wasn't well maintained. She looked into the distance,
◊ reflecting upon her decision, and her life.
[Trying to leave the map on the road, both to the east and west, gives you those messages. At least it acknowledges that the player may want to leave the map, even if the character doesn't.]
Finally, Gunmarie stood in front of the old mine. It had been abandoned for years, though rumours of monsters infesting its depths were often told in town. It would explain the occasional goblin attack the town had to deal with. Well, now Gunmarie was going to find out the truth. The tracks led into the mountains, and there was nowhere else they could have gone but here.
Though Gunmarie again questioned her decision when she stepped inside the cave,
◊ and remembered she couldn't see in the dark.
◊
[Yep, only one square of vision, for the most part. Also I forgot to get a screenshot of the cave entrance. I'll remember that next time.]
Still, vengeance is a powerful emotion, ofter overriding such things as intelligence and common sense. And so Gunmarie pushed onward, wondering why Gunnhild didn't stock torches.
She came to a fork in the tunnel.
◊ Again, the words of the oracle rang in her head.
"Go left."
Okay, maybe the oracle wasn't all that cryptic. Still,it didn't make much sense at the time.
Creeping forward, she saw the walls widen out slightly. Presumably she was stepping into a room.
*Sckt*
A scraping sound! Gunmarie readied her spear, and peered into the blackness. There was something in here!
Though dark, she could just barely make out a strange little creature.
◊ She struggled to identify the strange, pick-carrying creature, until it barked, jogging her memory. She remembers hearing about these things. Kobolds!
◊ A small, filthy, industrious race of miners. Subterranian, territorial, but not very strong. And the way it was looking at her, it wouldn't be satisfied with an apology.
[Right click on a creature to see what it is, and its current health, as I've shown above.]
Though small, it did have one advantage over Gunmarie. It could see in the dark.
But Gunmarie had another advantage. She had been studying under Snorri, who recognized her talents. Indeed, he said she was a natural. Not as a sage, but as a wizard!
She focused, remembering the minor attack spell she had learned from Snorri. She could feel her mental reserves slightly exhausted, but the energy coursed through her hands, seeking a target.
◊ Which she was only too happy to provide, launching the eldritch force at the kobold, with satisfying results.
◊
Gunmarie breathed heavily, trying to calm her beating heart. Okay, she could do this. It seemed easy enough back at the village, vowing bloody vengeance on her family's murderers, but now it seemed a lot more deadly and real. Even if the creature never got close to her. But at the same time, striking down the little monster had brought a rush. It was her first kill... And there would be many more. This she knew.
After a quick moment to rest, Gunmarie searches the cave, seeing if the kobold had anything worthwhile. Kobolds also tended to be notorious scavengers. Indeed, she almost tripped over something on the floor.
◊ It looked like heavy clothing at first, but a closer look revealed the other words of the oracle rang true. It was a suit of leather armour.
◊ Strangely, despite sitting in a cave, being watched by a filthy kobold, it wasn't in bad repair, and was indeed quite wearable.
Gunmarie donned the suit, but then remembered Snorri's words. Some items were cursed to have the opposite effect. Armour would expose oneself to attack, weapons would make the wearer less able to hit. And most curses were undetectable without proper training, or until somebody uses the item. Or puts it on.
Still, after an experimental few shifts and poses in the armour, it didn't feel particularly weird. It was probably fine.
[When you cast a spell, your mouse pointer becomes crosshairs. Move the crosshairs to the target and let loose with your spell. You get a little graphic of your spell flying towards the target. It just looks like the icon used in the quick cast menu flying towards them.]
A quick search of the room revealed nothing, so Gunmarie doubled back and took the right route, only to find another fork.
◊
She heard more scraping sounds to the right, but these were smaller. Well, she wasn't going to get vengeance hiding from every noise. Time to investigate.
Again, the tunnel opened up into a wider room. She didn't see anything in the north side of the room, so she began to wander south...
Until she stuck her foot in something soft and hairy, and it replied by ripping a huge gash in her leg.
◊
Gunmarie stumbled back in pain! Peering forward, she saw the glowing eyes of a rat, nearly the size of a dog!
Hmm, maybe this would be good physical practice, she thought. Sure, she was an accomplished adept, but she'd also need to practice her hand-to-hand combat ability.
And so she stepped forward to skewer the rat with her spear. It quickly dodged to the side, and the opening left by her attack was exploited by another rat
◊ coming out of the darkness to bite her on the arm.
This was looking quite dangerous. A single giant rat was a threat, it was possible that two could overwhelm her, especially in the dark. Forget practicing her combat ability, she needed to live. And so was one rat blasted back with another mystic bolt. With one out of the way, the other wasn't nearly as threatening, and a solid strike
◊ by her spear left it twitching on the ground as its intestines leaked out.
[It wasn't too bad here, but sometimes the descriptions of the killing blows can get very graphic.]]
A quick search of the room turned up nothing more than bones and bat droppings.
Still, something had to be in here, so Gunmarie doubled back to again take the other path.
This one again began to open up into a wider room. The slight draft suggested it was a fair bit bigger than most. Though looking at the bites and gashes on her arms and legs, she decided it'd be best to rest for a bit.
[Tap 'r' to rest until healed. You recover quite quickly.]
In no time, Gunmarie was ready to go again, her wounds surprisingly minor now, and the pain nonexistant. She just thought she was tough when injuries didn't seem to faze her. Now she started to wonder how different was she, and if she truly was destined for bigger things?
These thoughts ran through her head as she paced forward, until she was interrupted by a growling battle cry. Quickly looking to the left, she saw a small green creature holding a club, charging towards her.
◊ A goblin, just like many others that had attacked her village on occasion.
Gunmarie was in no mood to play around, and simply waved her hand at the creature, sending a magic bolt at it, killing it before it could even get close.
◊
Walking over to where the corpse lay, Gunmarie quickly searched it. Nothing of value, even the club was just a roughly carved tree branch. But behind it, Gunmarie saw a set of stairs. It must have come up from the lower level.
Well, she had fully explored
◊ this level of the mine. Time to head down and see what else awaits.
