Seeds of Discordia: New Arrival Mayhem

Liam watched as the massive form of the Wrathful Mohrg fell apart. Bones shattering into pieces, parts of the viscera falling onto the ground making a squish sound.

He then looked at Roman. He was laying on his back, panting heavily and staring at the ceiling.

A notification suddenly appeared, bringing Liam back to his senses.

 

“Wrathful Mohrg has been successfully defeated.”

 

A few chime sounds echoed in his mind bringing up more notifications.

 

“Congratulations! Field of the Shadows has reached level 10! Progression to level 11: 2%! +2.5% to all Shadow Magic used.”

“Congratulations! Focus Point - Utility (Shadow) has reached level 10! Progression to level 11: 2%!”

“Congratulations! Shadow Magic - Veil of Shadows has reached level 10! Progression to level 11: 2%! Caster’s form is now harder to see. Can cast Veil of Shadows on one other person.”

“Congratulations! Shadow Magic - Grasp of Shadows has reached level 9! Progression to level 10: 1%!”

“Congratulations! Field of the Elements has reached level 15! Progression to level 16: 0%!”

“Congratulations! Focus Point - Gravity has reached level 15! Progression to level 16: 0%!”

“Congratulations! Gravity Magic – Gravitational Force Increase has reached level 15! Progression to level 16: 0%!”

“Congratulations! Gravity Magic - Gravity Well has reached level 10! Progression to level 11: 17%! Spell now costs 10 MP. Area of Effect has increased to 15ft.”

“Congratulations! Weapon Skills - Daggers has reached level 15! Progression to level 16: 9%!”

“Congratulations! Weapon Skills – Throwing Weapons has reached level 16! Progression to level 17: 0%!”

“Congratulations! Focus Point - Utility (Shadow) has unlocked Shadow Step after reaching level 10.”

“Shadow Step - Allows user to blink to a target’s shadow within 6 feet, leaving a puff of black smoke in the user’s place. Can only blink to a spot the user can visibly see, unless its into a shadowy spot. Costs 50 MP. Cool down – 5 seconds. Self-target spell. Spell type – Instant, non-chant.”

 

Liam’s eyes widened at the magical ability he received.

That’s an interesting ability. I am definitely going to be using that a lot. Liam thought as he dismissed his notifications and looked back at his group.

Everyone was making their way over to Roman who was still laying on the ground.

“What the hell was that Roman?!” Ariyana shouted with a bit of excitement.

“That was badass,” Artem complimented as he pulled Roman to his feet.

Roman’s legs shook as he tried keeping himself up. He took out a Stamina Potion and drank it before answering, “It’s my Zodiac ability. Earthen Bovine Rush.”

Everyone stared at him waiting for more information.

Roman stared at each of them before continuing, “Ah what the hell. Basically, when I activate it I start running around pulling in rocks and stones to my body. With each step I take and each rock or stone I pull towards myself I grow and take the form of a Minotaur. When I ram into my target all the stones and rocks I accumulate explode. Also, I hit pretty hard depending how many steps I take.”

Everyone’s mouths dropped at his explanation.

 “It requires a lot of stamina though and leaves me in a tired state after using it. It can come in handy as you saw, but the drawback is while my stamina is so low I’m basically out of the fight after I use it,” Roman continued his explanation.

“So, is that why you’ve been working on your Stamina Recovery and Stamina Endurance with me in the mornings?” Liam asked as he approached him.

“Yeah,” Roman said. “Once when I get it higher I’ll be able to hit harder than I can right now.”

Liam shook his head as he stated, “That’s a nice ace in the hole for right now. Now that I know you have that, I’ll coordinated with you when to use it if I think it will be optimal.”

“You better,” Roman grinned widely. “It’s an ability you don’t want to keep on the back burner. It’s probably the most powerful ability here right now.”

Everyone frowned and rolled their eyes at his proclamation.

Roman, not caring, let out a laugh.

Mercer and Liam shook their heads.

Liam looked at Mercer and asked, “Did you loot the monster yet?”

“Yes I did,” Mercer replied. “Go ahead and harvest it and I’ll show everyone what was dropped.”

Liam nodded as he walked over the pile of broken bones and ripped up organs.

“Harvest,” Liam said as he reached out his hand.

 

“You have received 8 Sturdy Bones. Item Type – Weapon and Armor Crafting Material. Item Rarity – Uncommon. Item Quality – Average.”

“8 Sturdy Bones have been sent to your inventory.”

“You have received Mohrg Pancreas. Item Type – Alchemic Ingredient. Item Rarity – Rare. Item Quality – Average.”

“Mohrg Pancreas holds a necro toxin that accumulates over time as the juices sit and fester the longer it remains in the body of a Mohrg.”

“Mohrg Pancreas has been sent to your inventory.”

 

Liam’s eyes widened at the description of the last item before a grin slowly formed.

“My first Necrotic toxin ingredient,” Liam muttered as he felt a light surge of excitement start to grow. “I cant wait to use it.”

He closed his notifications before turning to the others.

Mercer saw him approach and announced, “Alright the item that dropped from this monster is this.”

Mercer pulled out a ring with a skull head where a jewel would be.

Liam assessed it.

 

“Wrathful Mohrg Skull Ring. Item type – Accessory. Item Rarity – Rare. Item Quality – Average. +10 Armor. Effects – When wearer’s health drops to 20% or lower triggers Rage of the Mohrg for 5 minutes. Conditional Effect – if wearer is a Necromancer or similar class, will summon any enemies wearer has kill within the last 5 minutes as Undead creatures.”

“Rage of the Mohrg - +5% to Power and Agility Sub-stats. +5% to all Magic attacks.”

 

Liam let out a whistle after reading it. He then looked at the others and asked, “So…who wants this item?”

“I’ll take it,” Avery stated after a moment of silence had passed.

Everyone looked at her.

“What?” Avery questioned.

“Nothing,” Liam replied. “I think it suits you better than some of us. I was thinking either you or Blair.”

“Why me?” Blair inquired with a brow raised.

“I think the effect it gives will help boost you with that great axe of yours and I think it would match your helmet,” Liam snickered.

Blair frowned at him.

“Alright, here you go Avery,” Mercer said as he handed over the item. “Ok, now is there anything else in this room we need to look for?”

Liam scanned the room. He started at one side and then slowly turned his head. As his eyes took in every detail he could, he noticed something.

“I think there’s a lever on the wall back there,” Liam announced as he pointed to the wall behind the raised platform with all the bones.

“Huh, there is one,” Ariyana commented with a shocked tone.

“Was it always there?” Artem asked.

“I don’t think so,” Blair said. “I think one for us would have spotted it during the fight.”

“Agreed,” Liam said as he made his way to it.

Once when he was within touching distance he pulled it down.

The room shook a little as dust and sand fell from the ceiling and a loud sound of stone grinding on stone echoed from the hallway.

“I guess this is how we’ll get the other doors to open,” Mercer stated as he turned to face the open door. “Let’s go see what the next room has in store for us.”

 

                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Liam’s shadowy form disappeared as he took on his solid state and looked at the others.

“Well?” Ariyana asked. “Did a wave of Undead creatures come out of the next door?”

Liam shook his head. “No, nothing is out there from what I could see.”

“Did you see which door was open?” Mercer asked as they entered the main room.

Liam nodded as he pointed up and to the left. “The floor above us.”

As they made it onto the next floor, Liam looked at the hieroglyphic pictures that ran along the wall.

It showed humans wearing armor being led by what Liam could guess was a commander of sorts. As he walked down the walkway the pictures showed the commander and his army fighting monsters. The monsters wiped out the commander and the army in another section.

As they approached the door, Liam looked at the final section of pictures carved into the wall. It was an army of skeletons brandishing weapons and armor with a weird looking humanoid creature leading them. It wore armor and held a sword longer than the other creatures.

Liam felt a shiver run down his spine as he stared at the creature. He then looked at the door and stared at it.

“Do you want to use your Veil of Shadows to take a peek inside the hall before we enter?” Mercer asked him as he walked up to his side.

Liam looked at him and nodded.

“I’ll be right back,” Liam stated as he summoned the shadows around him, allowing them to blanket him.

As he walked cautiously down the hall, he noticed something was off. There weren’t any monsters occupying the hall like the last one.

He made it to the end after taking a couple of turns and peeked inside.

Liam looked in it and scanned the area.

The room was as big as the last one. Against the wall on his left and right were what looked like six foot armored statues holding swords with the tips of the blades dug into the ground.

The rest of the vast room was empty besides one creature with its back facing him.

This creature stood seven feet tall and was wearing full plate bone armor. Skulls adorned the edge of its shoulders as well as the knees from what he was able to see. It didn’t wear a helmet and had shoulder length pale white hair.

As Liam stared at it, something nagged at the back of his mind.

Where have I seen you before? Liam thought as he assessed the creature.

 

“Askith Wight Commander. 3500/3500 HP. 300/300 MP.”

 

Askith Wight Commander? Liam thought.

His Danger Sense suddenly lit up, making him push his body up against the wall as the Askith Wight Commander suddenly turned its head to look in his direction.

Liam’s eyes widened as he remembered where he saw this creature at.

Askith huh? Eri repeated.

Does that mean anything? Liam asked.

The Askith were a nation of human warriors. A massive monster wave appeared from a dungeon, right next to its capital, that no one took care of around four hundred years ago. That monster wave killed over seventy percent of its population. Eri explained. If memory serves me right, their empire was lost to time when it was plunged into the earth in the Askith Desert.

Askith Desert huh? Liam thought.

There was also a rumor that the Pharoh of that time had made a deal with a wandering healer to revive the army and citizens that had fallen. Eri continued. What the Pharoh didn’t know was that the wandering healer was actually a powerful Necromancer.

A Necromancer!?  Liam replied back to Eri as he waited for a moment for the EFM to turn its gaze back to the wall it was looking at before.

After it did so, Liam slinked back into the hall and back towards the others.

Yes, a Necromancer. Eri repeated. The Pharoh didn’t realize it until it was too late. After raising the army, its commander, and the citizens, the necromancer forced them to attack the remaining people in the nation. The Necromancer had some plan to use the mass killing to summon something it couldn’t. When we Gods caught wind of it, we wiped the entire capital that was full of Undead. The Necromancer caught wind of us approaching and fled without us noticing.  So, this Forgotten Realm has to do with the Askith…

What does that mean? Liam asked.

There are many Forgotten Realms. So, if you ever come across one there is something like a theme based on the Realm the dungeon is based upon. Eri informed.

That doesn’t make any sense though. Liam started. This theme started after the third floor. The first floor was a church, the second was a graveyard, the third was an underground tunnel, the last was the start of this temple, and this one continues inside the temple. How does any of this fit a theme?

  Remember when I said this dungeon was tampered with? Eri asked.

Yeah. Liam stated.

Well, you should have just stuck with the graveyard theme. Eri started to explain. However, whoever is tampering with this dungeon was leading you to this Forgotten Realm. The underground floor still fits since this temple had sunk underground. I don’t know why they chose this Realm or even how they were able to do it, but it is not an easy feat to do.

Hearing Eri say all this made Liam feel really uneasy. His mind went back to his conversation with Galin and what Steve had said about a key.

Liam shook his head. He knew Steve was not powerful enough to be able to pull this off, but he still had a sinking feeling that maybe he had some tie to this.

Thank you for telling me all this when you didn’t have to. Liam said sincerely.

You have nothing to thank me for. Eri stated. What I just told you was just a history lesson that has probably been forgotten by the people of this time. It’s actually quite fun to find these places and remember what had happened to them. Having someone listen to them is also quite refreshing as well. I haven’t spoken to anyone in a long time so maybe it’s me who is thankful.

Liam smiled at her enthusiasm.

After learning that this place was a forgotten piece of history, it made Liam feel kind of excited and appreciative of the fact he was able to come here and learn about the place.

Liam’s smile faded as he saw the door come into view. He grew a serious face, remembering about the monster they were going to face.

Liam reappeared in front of the others, surprising them.

“Well? How does it look?” Blair asked.

Liam ignored her and walked over to the hieroglyphic picture where the Undead Army was.

As he was staring at it, Blair looked at Avery and Mercer with a frown.

Mercer nodded at her as he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Liam pointed at the armored creature leading the skeletons and stated, “That’s what we’re about to fight.”

“What?” everyone questioned.

“What do you mean?” Avery asked calmly.

“I saw the creature we’re about to face. It’s called an Askith Wight Commander,” Liam informed.

“Askith Wight Commander?” Blair and Mercer repeated.

“Yes, apparently this temple belonged to a long forgotten human nation of warriors called the Askith,” Liam explained.

He then explained the history of the Askith that Eri had told him.

As the others listened, their expressions went from excited to learn about a piece of history of their new world to confused. It then turned to horror as Liam finished.

“Wow,” Ariyana stated, taking it all in.

“That’s not a good way to go,” Artem said with a grimace.

“Where did you learn about this?” Mercer asked with a confused look. “There was no mention of an Askith Nation in the history books I read on the second floor of the library. I did hear of the Askith Desert, but there was no mention of a nation there, just small cities that other races occupy.”

“I…,” Liam stuttered, trying to think of how to explain.

Panicking internally, Liam just blurted out, “Its these hieroglyphic pictures. Each floor has a story that shows history. After getting a name from the EFM we’re about to fight I was able to place it on these pictures. Back on Earth, old forgotten places was found this way. We had people called Archeologists that went around digging for lost history.”

Mercer, Avery, and Blair eyed Liam.

I know they aren’t dumb enough to buy that, but my explanation should be backed enough for now thanks to the hieroglyphs. Liam thought.

“Ok,” Mercer said before examining the picture in front of him. “So, this is the creature we will be fighting against?”

Sighing with relief internally, Liam turned to it and nodded.

“Were there any other monsters in there?” Blair questioned.

“That’s the thing,” Liam said. “Besides the Askith Wight Commander, the only other things in there were several armor statues against the two walls.”

“Think they will come alive during the fight?” Roman asked.

“It’s a possibility,” Liam said.

“So, what’s the plan then?” Mercer asked.