I woke up ready for a fight. I remember the gnome lord waiting for me downstairs. I snarl as I stumble downwards, thanks to the extra weight I’m carrying.
I get down there, and Aurora and Fritz run over before I can make it. They are already in the heat of battle by the time I make it over. I manage to get a few hits in with my dagger before Fritz finishes him off, and Aurora devours the corpse. They don’t even need me.
Another gnome lord enters the room, immediately killed by Aurora in a spectacular display of feline power. She just leaped up and swiped his throat. One hit wonder right here.
A hill orc had followed the gnome, and I blasted him before my pets could get there. I need the experience too. Down the hall is another hill orc, I stab him with my dagger, and he surprises me by producing an identical dagger, and plunging it into my arm. Shocked and hurt, I let loose my trademark spell. It blasts through him, and the orc that was standing behind him. Two for one special.
A rothe jumps out from around the corner. I’m amazed that such a large creature can be so fast. It’s the size of an ox, with large curved horns and a shaggy fur coat. It hits me with a hoof, then manages to bite me twice before I can get a hit in with my dagger. I don’t manage to do much damage to it, and it attacks me in a furry again. I consider taking a step back, but worry that it will easily overtake me. Such speed. Instead I go to my usual spell, and blast it. It falls to the ground, leaving a large, but smelly corpse.
I dig in, eager to get some food. Once I finish my meal, I move on to the fallen orc. I briefly wonder if it’s close enough to an elf to be cannibalism, but one look at the misshapen face is enough to convince me. I eat it as well.
There was a mottled spellbook the rothe had been carrying. Now that I was done eating, I went over and picked it up. Fritz came over, probably summoned by the smell of meat cooking. When he saw that there was no food for him, he wandered off again.
I found stairs going down, and slip down them. There’s nothing interesting at the bottom, so I come back up.
I keep walking around. There’s the usual locked doors and hidden passages. I find yet another fountain. I mentally file it away with the others.
“I’ll be back for you,” I whisper to it as I carefully walk past.
I notice a pair of walking shoes on the ground. They look more comfortable than what I currently have on. I go over to pick them up and a cave spider crawls out from underneath them. It bites my hand twice.
“You little fucker,” I shout, and blast it with magic. It dies, and my anger slowly drains out. I pick up the shoes. I slip my feet out of my sneakers. As soon as they are off my body, they vanish. Damn. These shoes better be worth it. I don’t want to walk around in nothing but socks. I slip them on. They’re comfortable, and I feel like they will protect my feet a lot more than those useless sneakers did.
After a bit more exploring, I come across a narrow passage. I’m carrying too much to slip through. I’m going to have to do something about that. I take another door in the last room I was in, and continue on my way.
I come across some writing in the dust. “Dcn’? Me?s with the shop|eep?r? Or y?u’ll get ?ne ?uild afte? Yo?.”
I stare at the message for a moment. I can guess at what it’s trying to say “Don’t mess with the shopkeepers or you’ll get the guild after you.” I didn’t know there was a guild. I’m glad I didn’t steal anything from the last shop, and he didn’t seem to care about Aurora, so I should be safe.
I come across another cave spider, easily dispatched with my dagger. A hobbit walks toward me, and I kill him. I take the elven dagger he had be carrying and wield it. It feels good in my hand. Solid, like it belongs there. I remember the story from my childhood, and decide to name it Sting. I change my mind, and try to name it Precious, but something happened to it. It resists my attempt to give it a new name. What the hell did I do? I’m a little scared of it now, but I’ll still use it as my weapon. My little Sting.
I head toward the stairs and a dwarf comes at me with an axe. Fritz comes to help and we quickly defeat it. He was wearing a hard hat, which I quickly put on, tossing aside the cap I had been wearing previously. It didn’t hurt my magic casting ability any more than the cap, but offered a lot of extra protection.
I make it to the stairs and decide now is a good time to read my new spell book. I now know the spell for light. Not as helpful as I had hoped, but I know I will be using it later on in my journey.
I have decided that this is a good spot for me to leave all my books. I don’t need them, and they’re just weighing me down. If I forget a spell I can run back here and read the book again.
Finally, I’m ready to go back downstairs. I decide to have a nap up here first, and go down first thing when I awake.
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