I wake up feeling refreshed. I head down the stairs, and immediately cast a spell of mapping, and detect monsters. I feel like the Eye of the Aethiopica is helping me get my energy back faster, so I don’t feel like I need to watch my spells as much anymore. And I have those potions of gain energy, as a last resort.
An air elemental gives me a bit of trouble, but nothing I can’t handle. A troll escapes by zapping a hole in the ground before I can kill it. I find a new spellbook, which turns out to be confuse monster.
The rest of the area is pretty boring, so it doesn’t take me long to head down.
I get to the bottom of the stairs, and enter what seems to be an older, more primitive world. Everything looks different. The walls, and floor I’m used to seeing are a different colour. The walls are a brownish stone, rather than drab grey. The floor is green, completely covered in a thin layer of moss. I try to engrave in the floor with Magicbane, to make sure I still can. I’m relieved when the word Elbereth shines dimly through the growth.
I make it through the area rather easily, and head down yet again. I’m quite relieved to see the familiar dungeon when I get to the bottom. There was something about that other area that gave me chills.
Another area with nothing interesting, and before i know it I’m downstairs. There’s a fountain waiting for me, and I take a careful sip. I manage to summon a water demon, and it’s not happy. I hit it, and it pulls out a strange wand. I turn to run but it’s too late, a bolt of lightning flashes, blinding me, and hits the middle of my back. I’m thrown forward, and the electric charge shatters one of my rings. Damn. I quickly fire off a slew of magic missiles before I flee from the room. I find a good spot, where my magic will bounce, and wait. When it finally comes around the corner I give it everything I’ve got. I get blasted by lightning a few more times, thankfully my robe helps keep me alive, and soon I’m victorious. I’m rewarded with a new wand, and there’s two charges left in it. Nice bonus.
Now that the danger is over, I can hear the sound of a register. Another shop, I can’t wait. I cast mapping, and decide to save the shop for last. There’s also a vault, and I immediately teleport in, and grab all the gold I can. I’m hungry, so I stop to eat.
I’m interrupted when a guard slides the wall open. It’s not even a door, the whole section of the wall just sank into the ground. He walks in.
“Hello stranger, who are you?” He asks.
“Faylen,” I reply truthfully.
“I don’t know you,” He says. “Most likely all your gold was stolen from this vault. Please drop that gold and follow me.”
Well, that’s not fair. I had gold of my own before I got here. I drop the majority of the gold in the far corner, and turn back to the guard.
“I repeat, drop that money and follow me!” He says, his voice with an edge to it now.
I try to explain the situation to him, but he refuses to listen. I head over to the gold I previously dropped, and pick it up. I put it all into the bag of holding, and the guard enter the room, the wall sliding up behind him, trapping us.
“You’ve been warned, knave!” He shouts, as he pulls out a dagger. His eyes have turned red, with a now familiar glow.
I fire off some magic missiles, and he dies. His body fades away, leaving a pile of armour. I teleport out of the room. I’m immediately regret my choice in landing areas. There’s a yeti on one side. A massive golem stands at the door, his body made up of bloody chunks of meat. He leaves a trail of drippings as he moves.
I focus on the yeti first, it’s the only thing close enough to hit with my dagger, and it quickly falls. The flesh golem takes a few spells to kill, but the fight gets interrupted when a beast smashes through the wall of the room.
It’s the size of a troll, but the head of an insect, including massive mandibles that look strong enough to crush rock. That’s not the only thing that looks strong though. It’s arms are thick, and covered by a curved plate of insect like armour. I can’t help but stare at it, I’ve never seen such a disgusting, hideous creature in my life. I slowly come to realize that I’m confused. I can’t think straight, and there’s no way I can safely cast a spell. I wonder if this is an umber hulk. One of the only creatures I’ve heard of that causes confusion just by looking at you.
I rush at the new creature, swaying unsteadily, and swinging Magicbane like it’s a sling. I manage to kill it without too much trouble. I use my unicorn to clear my head, and turn back to the nasty looking golem. I fire off another blast of magic, and it falls to the ground.
I walk over, and look down at the corpse, wondering what exactly it was made of. I decide to try eating it. I’m immune to poison, and there are so many creatures that are helpful if you eat them, it seems like a valid risk to take. I finish eating, and don’t feel any different. Oh well
I pick up a spellbook, and try to read it. I feel a wrenching sensation, and it tries to teleport me. I identify it, and see that it’s a cursed book of create monster. I use a potion of holy water to uncurse it, and try again. I now have create monster memorized, and just in time. I come across a lawful altar I didn’t notice before. I cast the new spell, and a warhorse materializes beside me. I move over, so the horse is standing above the altar, and quickly kill it. I sacrifice the body it leaves behind, and after a struggle between the Gods, the altar glows black.
I repeat the process a few times, and summon a few friendly monster like an ogre lord, before a nurse appears. Without thinking, I strip down and put away Magicbane. I let her heal me, and increase my life. When she finally leaves, I get dressed again, and get a firm grip on my dagger. I cast the spell again, and a horde of hill orcs pop into being.
They are no problem to kill, but it’s killing me dragging their body back to the altar to sacrifice. And the only result of my hard work is a deep feeling of inadequacy.
I continue the routine, eating as needed. Once I start seeing clovers, I kneel down to pray. Anhur’s voice booms out.
“Thou art chosen to steal souls for My Glory!”
A spellbook appears at my feet. I reverently pick up the light blue book, and slowly read through it. It is the fabled book of the finger of death spell. I didn’t believe it was real.
Now that the rest of the level is clear, I head for the shop. Echourgnac, the shopkeeper demands that I leave my pickaxe outside. I don’t know what came over me. Bloodlust, or just the raw power of having death at my fingertips. I cast my new spell, and watched as the ray of pure death instantly turned his body to ash.
The shop was small, and only held a few weapons. It was time to move on to the next floor. After a nap, of course.
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