Frozen Soul, and other works: Chapter 85 - The Door in the Mountain

SCHUNK!

That was not the sound one normally heard when a person’s fist met the head of a giant wolf, but when you have a monk around, and their fists can harden to the point where steel is no match for them, then you should expect some irregularities. Like the slim, toned arm of a drowess getting buried to the elbow in a wolf’s skull.

Jastra Sylrya

Drow Female

Level 41 Dirgesinger (Bard) / Monk

Titles: Beautiful One, Cunning One, Stonefist, Manslayer, Slave

Dire Wolf Alpha

Level 40 Wolf

I’d summoned my Stewardess from the castle as we left the Tribeslands for three reasons. First, I wasn’t at the castle, so she didn’t have anything better to be doing. Second, if she was going to be protecting my body while I slept in the castle, she’d need to be high enough level to make a good showing of it, so the weaker monsters in this area would make for a good training ground for her. Third, I had that quest I’d picked up to try and satisfy her desire so I could advance my profession.

The creatures in this area averaged in the high 20s, but that downside of my eating the eggs was having us meeting creatures in the low to mid 40s. Still child’s play to my group, now that we had all gone past level 50, but for Jastra they were a challeng, and one that would help level her up. And I enjoyed watching her work.

With this battle finished, I affectionately patted Jastra on the rear as she returned to my side. “Well done, Jastra. You’ve earned a reward when we camp for the night.” The Drowess shuddered, but said nothing. She still resented her enslavement, no doubt, but was starting to see some benefits to her situation. There were a lot fewer death threats against her these days, for instance. Drow politics can get cutthroat, literally.

We (ok, mostly Jastra) fought several more groups of wolves as we continued our journey out of the Tribeslands. When it came time to camp for the evening, she had leveled up to 43, making it a boost of five levels in the day and a half since I’d summoned her here with my Slaver’s Ring. Not a bad haul, especially considering that all these wolves brought in some extra coin, and plenty of crafting materials.

I was busy giving Jastra her reward, a task which, naturally, required us to both be naked and for her to be bouncing repeatedly up and down on my lap while I used my tongue to see if there were any problems with her tonsils, when I heard the sounds of people approaching our camp. Della, Yukiko, and Kylana, who were nearby, heard it too, but gave no outward sign. Hrozne was too busy reading the latest in a set of tomes shi had hidden in hir bag, each devoted to different fields of knowledge, it seemed.

Hekoir Bronzemaster

Dwarf Male

Level 60 Bulwark (Fighter) / Trapsmith (Rogue)

Titles: Sentinel, Wolfsbane

Brudrinen ‘Toll Collector’

Dwarf Male

Level 50 Bulwark (Fighter) / Rogue

Our ‘visitors’ stepped into our ring of firelight, in formation. There were five of them, all dwarves, and all armed and armored, with heavy armor and shields nearly their height. That they were able to move with any kind of stealth given all of that was… impressive. It hadn’t worked on our group, obviously, since they hadn’t noticed the three of our party who were hiding from view, but it was impressive in its own right.

Still, I didn’t care to play by their rules, so I just ignored them, and kept rewarding my slave. This did not seem to sit well with the leader of the five shorties. He growled, and stepped forward. “Get the hell up, you stinking nutsack spunk-bubble professor!”

I didn’t even look at him. “Nithroel, there’s a nail here.” The dwarf leader didn’t know what to make of that, at least, not until Nithroel’s hammer came down on his head as she came swooping down as fast as she could without hurting herself on the hard landing. The dwarf must have had one hell of a defense rating, since he wasn’t dead, but having your bell rung that hard is going to send pretty much anyone sprawling to the ground, at least for a bit.

The other four, seeing this sudden violence, started forward. Unfortunately for them, Severa and Kamla made their presence known at that point, stabbing each of them through the throat. I nodded my approval as the four fell, never seeing the face of their killers. Damn, but I loved watching my team work. Gripping Jastra’s waist, I slammed her down hard, and grunted as I released, the drowess slumping against me. “Good work, girls. Let’s see what we have here.”

Antique Mithril Warden
Type	Shield	Rank	Uncommon
This shield is forged from Mithril, so even though the style predates the Scourge, the shield still looks like it was new. Such shields are rarely seen outside of the dwarven lands, and are thus prized by many who live on the surface for their rarity, especially as many examples in non-dwarven hands have been lost to time as their weilders fell in battle. The device on the shield changes to display the chosen diety of the wielder. +200 CON, +200 STR +375 Defense +10% to all Resistances Enchanted: Repairing – Shield recovers lost durability over time. Cannot be destroyed by normal means.

Bloodcursed Skeletal Crusher
Type	Warhammer	Rank	Uncommon
Damage	340 – 455	Damage Type	Bludgeoning
This grisly weapon is forged from Adamantine, but the unknown artisan who crafted it showed both great artistic skill and great lack of taste, designing the haft of the hammer to appear as a human spine, while the head is a pair of human skulls. The grim enchantments placed upon this weapon has turned the hammer a blood red color. Requires: Level 50 Requires: STR 200 +200 Attack +250 STR, +250 CON Bloodcursed – Any creature damaged by this weapon takes 50% more damage from this weapon and has their defense against this weapon reduced by 50% for 24 hours. (Additional hits do not stack, but replace the old duration with the new one.) Enchanted: Vampiric – Heal 25% of the damage done by this weapon.

Gaze of Courage
Type	Helmet	Rank	Rare
This dwarven helm is styled with silver wings, making one wearing it easily noticeable on the battlefield. However, the enchantments upon it help to protect the wearer from harm, including an enchantment that saves one from instant death, giving this helmet the additional nickname of “Assassin’s Bane”. Requires: Level 50 +100 CON, +100 WIS +100 Defense Sturdy – The maximum damage any attack can do to you is (your Max HP - 1). Aura of Courage – You and all allies within 30 feet gain +10% Morale bonus to all actions. (Stacks with other bonuses.) Enchanted: Mental Fortitude – Gain +25% resistance against mind-affecting spells and effects.

Ebon Breastplate of Dismay
Type	Breastplate	Rank	Rare
This breastplate is forged of Mithril, and turned black as obsidian through magic. The design and the devices upon the armor change with each wearer. The only common element is that they are all designed to inspire dismay and dread in the wearer’s enemies. Requires: Level 50 +200 CON +600 Defense +40% Resistance against Piercing, Bludgeoning, and Slashing Aura of Dismay – All Enemies within line of sight suffer a 10% morale penalty on all actions, and deal 10% less damage. No effect on blind or sightless creatures, or mindless creatures (simple undead or constructs, most oozes and plants). Enchanted: Holy Ward – Wearer counts as Neutral for spells and effects that deal additional damage to evil creatures. Undead wearing this armor take no additional damage from holy spells and effects.

The dwarves all had copies of the shield, and which was nice, so I gave one each to Yukiko and Nithroel. Nithroel was our only hammer user, so she got the hammer. Della was our best healer, so I shoved the helmet on her head. And Hrozne was surprised when he got the Breastplate. But he could wear it because of his death knight class, and this would add yet another debuff to his arsenal.

By this point, the lone surviving dwarf, namely the asshole who tried to ruin my fun, was beginning to stir. Before he could say anything, I stepped on the dwarf’s throat. “Now, be a good boy, and tell me what you want.”

“Geh! We’re the toll collectors, see? You wanna pass the road to get to the Empire, then you gotta pay the toll. And you lot are dead! The Black Hand will kill you all for crossing them.”

I chuckled at them, and said, “Oh, really? Well, they’ll have to be better than you lot.” And with that, I stepped down, crushing the dwarf’s throat enough to deal a point of damage, and kill him.

Looking to the rest of the group, I smiled. “Well, if we’ve met the bandits, then we should be fairly close to the entrance. Tomorrow, we’ll go see what these dwarves have in store for us.” And with that, we broke back up into our watch structure.

The rest of the journey to the mountain was uneventful. Evidently, the local thieves only kept one group of well armed and armored bandits on the road. They probably relied on their sturdy stature and sneaking up on people while they were sleeping in order to collect their ‘tolls’. Maybe sending a runner to get more guys when a caravan was coming through.

Either way, we made it to the entrance to the dwarven lands without trouble. The door was twenty feet tall, and wide enough for two carts to pass eachother with room to spare. Carved into the stone of the mountain itself, I had a feeling that when they were closed, they would be all but invisible to the eye, based on the level of craftsmanship alone, to say nothing of what magic could do.

Lodwegret Warsong

Stone Dwarf Female

Level 60 Lightbearer (Paladin) / Hammerblessed (Fighter)

Titles: Sentinel, Undead Bane, Wolfsbane, Demonbane, Captain

The doors were open, fortunately, and ten dwarves, arrayed in plate armor and carrying shields and axes bearing the mark of the kingdom stood watch over them. I did not doubt that there were some who were less conspicuous hiding to cover these guards with ranged weapons or magic. The leader of this group stepped forward, and said, “Hail, travelers! Where might ye be headed, and what is your business?”

She was a dwarf that seemed to be carved out of solid marble. Guess that dwarves who ascend often get mineral or metal forms. Goes with their toughness and connection to the earth, I guess. Not my personal fave, though. Still, she would have been cute, for a dwarf, if she wasn’t uncanny valley statuesque.

“I am Zayn Darkmore, Knight and Lord of Wyrmwood. My companions and I are on errantry, and seek entrance to the Brudrinen Empire so we might find the residence of the Hardbottle Clan, where we have business to resolve.”

“And what business would an Incubus be having with the Hardbottle Clan?”

“That is a matter of my own accord, and no business of yours. But I shall say that, in their need, a member of Clan Hardbottle who was waylaid abroad asked for us to find and recover certain items, and bring them to the Clan holdings.”

The guard captain laughed at that. “And will the former owners of these items be coming to question about their whereabouts?”

“Oh, I seriously doubt that. Not in this life, at the least. And their afterlife promises to be no picnic, if their conditions prior to death are any indication.”

“So, ye killed them, then?”

“Well, the ones who had the items felt a certain attachment to them, and were none too pleased to hear that I had come to collect them to complete my quest. I did, however, attempt to gather the items with as little trouble as possible.”

“Hah! I like you, incubus. Go on into the city. But be warned, if ye be causing trouble, then no amount of silver tongued chatter will save you from the golems.”

“Well, it is a good thing I’m not here to cause trouble. You wouldn’t be able to give me directions to Clan Hardbottle’s holdings, would you?”

“Well, there aren’t many of them here at the border. Monwihr is too rural for their tastes. If you have business with the main family, your best bet would be to take a transfer portal to Vag Todur, where they have their main holdings.”

“Thank you much.”

“No problem. You really want to thank me, though, then you can meet me at the Golden Nug Tavern in an hour when my shift is up and buy me a drink.”

I laughed, and said, “You know, I just might be thirsty, myself.”

Previous Chapter Table of Contents Next Chapter

Be sure to read my published works!

Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):

Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT

Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy LitRPG):

Volume 1 - Tutorial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB

Volume 2 - Beginning the Journey https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VR7M41/

Volume 3 - Wyrmwood https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072QKVBYV