Legend of the Spellthief

“Qreil Bandits: A gang estimated to comprise of thirty members has been marauding in the vicinity of Gauntlet and the nearby settlements. Reports put them in the range of ranks 1 through 3 with varying qualities of gear. They have killed several starting adventuring groups and thus have several items that are befitting of adventurers. Alongside their murder of adventurers, they have attacked several trading caravans.

Due to the long list of crimes, you may kill or apprehend who you wish from the group. A bonus will be rewarded for the apprehension of the leader for interrogation. Any effects that can be brought back should be handed over to the guards.

Reward: 60 silver on the condition of returned goods.”

A high-tier quest to be sure, at least compared to the other quests that had been handed down to Logan. Dena’s hunt reward was 2 gold, which equated to 200 silver, and she was a level 10 Rogue. Though that quest was just for her alone and the items she had stolen, not her group. The pricing on hunter quests put another question into Logan’s mind about the importance placed upon hunting people over monsters.

The highest reward he had noticed thus far from Tinte was 1 gold for taking down the troll, though that also had the benefit of the troll’s blood being used for alchemy so that was its own reward. Regardless of where importance lay, the rewards did jump up with the difficulty of each task, which Logan was all too happy to take. He did wonder why the guard hadn’t taken care of the bandits, but the goblin war had put them on defensive alert.

Preparing 1 Gaia, 1 Lightning, 3 Necromantic, 2 Sleep, and 1 Dimensional Jaunt, Logan was readying himself for potential self-healing and movement. With a skill point in reserve, he could also hastily spend it if he required it for the mission ahead, but he wasn’t too worried yet.

Reaching the location of the bandits, following the circle on his map, Logan hitched up his horse, Carmen, a good distance away and within the camouflage of bushes near a tree. Taking a deep breath in, Logan mentally prepared for a stealth mission to take on a few dozen armed bandits. Memories of his first quest against goblins flooded his mind for a few seconds as he planned out how he would strike.

Climbing a nearby tree, Logan jumped from one to another, his Stealth skill hushing his movements somewhat. Combining Identification with Echo Radar allowed him to notice threats way before they would notice him, though most came in the form of foxes and rabbits. It wasn’t long till he found the entrance of their base.

A small hill with a large maw was hidden amongst the trees, possibly an opening to a deeper mine shaft or dugout hole for past monsters. Standing guard were two Fighters of level 1, one with 12 HP, the other with 10. Picking out his eagle’s eyeglass, Logan scouted through the hole in the hill for any further threats, but none were shown.

Drawing his ashin daggers, Logan lined up the shots from atop the tree. With two swift motions, he flung the left and then the right, the daggers singing through the air in a straight trajectory. One thudded into the chest of the left guard who hit the hillside violently, the right getting struck in the shoulder as he faintly fell forwards. Damage numbers of 15 and 16 slowly flew above their bodies as Logan confirmed the defeats.

Experience numbers quickly followed the damage as Logan slid down the tree he was perched on. Scanning the local area revealed a few boxes that had been crowbarred open, as well as a few horses hitched up to the right of the hill. Looking at the horses revealed them to also be a part of the “item recovery”, so thoughts of selling or keeping them faded from his mind.

Getting to the unconscious bodies of his foes, Logan gave another scan of the area with both his eyes and Echo Radar, before using Essence Absorption on both of them. Black and dark-green lines turned blue and purple as the bodies were vortexed into Logan’s palms, rewarding him with an extra 17 and 18 experience.

The ashin daggers fell to the floor with an almost silent rustle of grass. Logan’s Throwing skill didn’t go up by much, though he was aiming for neck shots so he technically missed where he was aiming, but at least he hit. Placing the enemies’ effects into his inventory, Logan pressed on.

“Two down, twenty-eight to go”, Logan thought to himself as he descended into the hill cavern.

With the aid of sunlight from the entrance, Logan didn’t have any issues seeing within the entrance. Tough brown earthen walls on all sides, a circular hallway that sloped down somewhat. Eventually, Logan saw unlit torches that hugged an archway in the hall that led to a wider room. Though “room” was a weird descriptor, as it was mostly a small partition that circled a hole going downwards.

A few ladders led down into the hole, as well as several ropes and pulley systems with attached carts and wooden elevator panels. They looked a bit rushed, though definitely not monster-made, at least not in the mind of Logan. He assumed they must have been set up by the bandits to move gear around easier.

Stopping just before the ladder room, Logan hugged the wall just like the torches, as he spotted another bandit sitting on the edge of the chasm. She was cutting into an apple and placing slices into her mouth at the tip of her knife. A level 2 Knight, possibly on break, though her rap sheet from the scan painted her background in blood. With 32 HP, she would take a few strikes, or a nicely planted Backstab and follow-up.

Picking up a small rock, Logan tossed it with an overarm throw, the rock flying near the roof and hitting the opposite wall. An echoing sound of rock hitting rock and rolling around filled the room, the Knight turning her head to look at it. Logan sprinted forward and around, drawing his Spellthief’s edge and ashin dagger, driving one into the side of the woman’s head and another into her throat. Two floating Backstab words hovered over her as Logan dragged her to the floor.

Having dealt 20 and 17 damage, the woman was unconscious but barely alive, her bleeding wasn’t going to let her live much longer. Essence Absorption made sure she never got up again. After gaining another 36 XP, Logan saw the apple she had been eating had fallen to the floor below, it most likely made a noise but he was too occupied to have heard it at the time. With another set of gear in his inventory, Logan could only ponder if he would have the space for it all.

Waiting atop the chasm for a minute or two, Logan scanned for any approaching bandits but was met with no new faces. Grabbing a rope he quickly slid down into the chasm. Landing at the bottom he saw several torches lighting up four passageways leading out from this point. The ladder room’s bottom segment also showed a few metallic grates, possibly to drain and store any waters that made their way into the cavern.

Echo Radar proved useful in the case of several passageways since it extended to 250 feet from his position his mini-map updated with the architecture of the caves and passages. It didn’t reach the end of most of the passages, but at least one revealed a dead end with a doorless room. Inside of the room were three yellow dots. Sneaking onwards, Logan approached the next encounter.

The voices of the bandits flew down the halls to Logan as he got closer, a gruff voice saying, “This is some good meat, you believe this stuff costs the same as a whole meal? Damn rich.”

“Got a whole crate full, cook said it won’t last long so eat as much as you can”, another voice added in a higher pitch.

The trio could be heard tearing into meat, their chewing and downing of drink creating a disgusting soundscape. Logan could also smell the ale on the air, mixed in with clothing that could do with a good wash.

Getting within clear view of his foes, he saw them all sitting at a table, two facing away and one towards the Spellthief. Thankfully, the one who would have been able to see him had his vision blocked by one of the bandits, as well as his face digging into meat on his plate. The trio were all Rogues of level 2, meaning Logan would need to be decisive with his strikes.

Sneaking up to the two on his side, Logan drew up his two blades and stabbed the Rogues in the back, their bodies hunching over as sharp objects entered them. Two large yelps of pain were followed by Logan dragging his weapons out, crossing his arms in between the bandits, and then thrusting them to the side as they dove into the sides of the Rogues’ heads.

Dropping his grip, the bodies fell on the table as the final Rogue stood up from his chair, the wood scratching the mud flooring. Throwing his two open palms at the foe, Logan exclaimed “Force, Force”, expanding masses of grey energy forming in both shoulders and then firing like a railgun through his limbs out at the bandit. Two solid thuds hit into the Rogue as the energy balls exploded on both sides of his chest, the body being hurled to the far wall.

The trio just barely lived against Logan’s onslaught, though they sat at -7 to -9 HP, so it was certainly close and getting closer. Absorbing the bodies, Logan gained a further 48, 44, and 39 XP. Cleaning up his dirty work, Logan took a bite of the stolen meat, a succulent cut of raylen to his bet, but it was thicker and had a lingering taste of caramel. A nearby crate revealed enough to stock a tavern for a day, or bandits for a week.

“Was food their main target? Or just a side-effect of attacking caravans? It’d be worrying if they had planned to move on from here, or if they were trying to aid whatever that spy I apprehended before was doing”, Logan pondered to himself.

Finishing up the investigation of the room, and the defeat of a sixth of the enemy forces, Logan moved back to the ladder room.

As Logan was just entering the ladder room his Echo Radar picked up four approaching creatures from another hallway. Acting quick he jumped onto a ladder and started to climb out of view. His Backstabs were all on cooldown, so quick assassinations were out of the question unless he were to dip into his spell reservoir. Voices came with the approaching foes.

“Next raid is tomorrow, a trader headin' up north. Contact said they’d be cartin' armour. Be a good haul, so make sure the storeroom is ready for some intake”, a low-pitch voice said.

“New duds are gonna be nice. This lot is all covered in blood”, another spoke in an energetic tone.

“Ay, spelly, you finished that book yet?” the low-pitch voice spoke again.

“Almost, some of the spells are intricate, it’s taking time”, a more refined voice replied.

“We need those wall things to cut off retreats, want another runaway to call the guards?!”

“Well if I could just sit down and read for a few hours I’d get it done qu-”

“Asbella, fine! Go to the break room!”

The bandits’ arguing made it easy to hide above them as they moved into the bottom portion of the ladder room. The low-pitch man was a level 3 Fighter, followed by two level 2 Rogues and a level 2 Sorcerer. The Sorcerer was making his way to the room that Logan had just cleared, whereas the others were looking down another passageway.

Stopping for a bit to chat, the Sorcerer was out of sight as one of the Rogues cranked their heads up. “Hey Ta-” he started speaking but stopped as he noticed Logan’s descent.

Landing on top of the Rogue, Logan dived his two ashin daggers into the unsuspecting bandit’s shoulders, bringing his limp body to the floor as Logan’s feet landed solidly on the floor. Yanking the blades out, Logan hurled both at the other Rogue, digging deep into his chest as he fell backwards to the floor.

“Fuck me!” the Fighter shouted as he drew a large scimitar.

Throwing his hand downwards Logan chanted, “Force”, causing a powerful blast to hit the leg of the Fighter, forcing the man to almost fall to his face. Barely staying up as he fell to a kneeling position with another hand on the floor, Logan jumped forwards, grabbed the Fighter’s face and pushed it to the floor behind him. A quick double jab of Logan’s other dagger caused the Fighter to lose any resistance.

“-burn. Flame Shot”, the Sorcerer spoke, Logan only hearing the end of the incantation.

Small specks of fire came hurtling towards him from the Sorcerer down the hall, though he was far enough away and noticed it just in time to counter with a clawed hand. “Spell Absorption”, he commanded in his head, causing the Flame spell to get vortexed into the Spellthief’s palm.

“Spell Absorption successful. Flame charge stored.”

Logan stood tall as he glared over at the Sorcerer, his foe’s eyes wide as his spell was completely nullified.

“Wha- Dispelling magic? Such a high ranked caster is here!?” he sputtered out.

Running towards his foe, Logan made sure to give his quarry just enough time to cast another spell.

“Shocking bolts I command thee, crackle my foe to the bone. Lightning Shot”, he chanted, a mass of lightning arcs and arms forming from his staff to its tip. Cascading outwards as the chant was finished.

Logan’s outstretched hand caught it all as he commanded his skill once again, the lightning getting sucked up as if it were no issue.

“Spell Absorption successful. Lightning charge stored. Lightning has progressed to tier 4.”

Dashing through the display of azure light, Logan slashed out with his Spellthief’s edge, cutting deep into the Sorcerer’s chest. The single attack caused the Sorcerer to fall heavily to the floor in a slump, blood soaking into the mage’s robes. Experience floated over the bodies as Logan placed his hand onto the Sorcerer’s face.

The shattering of glass was prominent as the black lines of Essence Absorption penetrated the mind of the spellcaster, draining his knowledge and life force into Logan, granting him further prowess.

“Absorption of foe complete. Calculating reward…”

“57 absorbed experience, Lightning and Necromantic have been learnt. Lightning has progressed to tier 5, Necromantic has progressed to tier 5.”

Another tier gained for Necromantic put it on par with some of his other damaging spells, if not for Lightning pulling ahead again with that gaining more power. Since Necromantic stated "very minor damage" and his normal spells stated "minor damage" Logan was keeping an eye on their actual damage. The lower power output was offset in the fact that Necromantic spells would heal Logan.

Seeing how quick he could fully master spells made Logan wonder if this was the true potential of a Spellthief since mastery only went to tier 10 for spells, at least from his knowledge. Not planning to think too much about his current state, Logan moved to absorb the others and gather their gear.

His initial target had died, so he only gained 71 and 22 extra XP. It was slow progress, but still faster than his work in the city. Sitting at 42,515 / 45,000 XP meant it was going to be a close call if he reached level 10, but the rewards outside of those he had to return were going to make up for that possibility, Logan hoped.

“That’s ten, twenty left.”

Taking the path that the bandits were going to head towards, Logan noticed his first two Backstabs finished their cooldowns, giving him a better chance at finishing the next fight faster. Echo Radar was also pulling its weight in alerting Logan to almost everything ahead of him, alongside plenty of vermin that could be ignored.

This hallway was ending in yet another dead-end, at least from what it could map out, showing a larger room with several objects that resembled beds. Seven individuals were inside the room, though they could have been beasts that the bandits had trained without seeing them. The room was blocked by a shoddily set wooden door, fitting snuggly into a rock wall that divided the sections of the caverns.

With a lit torch on this side, Logan crept to the door to peer through cracks in the door as it lacked any form of a keyhole. The same cracks had allowed Echo Radar to map the room out. The Spellthief could only assume the door was to cut out some noise and allow those inside to sleep better. Through the use of Identification, Logan spotted six bandits at level 1 and a single level 2, a mix of Fighters and Rogues.

Even though Logan had a charge of Flame and Lightning from his last fight, those spells would kill pretty much anyone in one hit within this room, which left him outta luck for absorption experience. Double-checking the hallway he had come down, he was sure no one was going to approach in any short time, so the best he could do was storm the bunks.

Keeping his hands loose at his sides, Logan gave a solid kick at the door, smashing it open and crushing the wood against the divider wall. Bandits jumped up in surprise as Logan raised his hands and let loose blast after blast of Force micks at his foes. Each hit dealt a solid 15 damage, knocking the level 1s out in destructive pushback displays.

The bandits could only hope to jump from their beds and chairs, fumbling around for arms and shields to protect themselves. But in the confusion and hurried nature of the encounter, many didn’t even get the chance to grasp a handle. The ones who were able to were just met with a blast of magic to the chest or face, returning them to their beds or even the floor.

The final level 2 charged at Logan and had enough time to close the gap with a raised cutlass, swinging it down with such force that it whistled in the air. Logan side-stepped without issue and retaliated with a fierce punch to the bandit’s nose, breaking it, and following up with a double jab into the man’s back. The Backstab confirmation text was followed by the yellow writing floating over Logan’s quarries.

Absorbing the entire group and collecting gear, Logan counted another 24, 18, 17, 14, 14, 13, 13 XP to add to his reward. If the group had time to prepare Logan could have taken a few hits, several crossbows and longbows were strewn about the room near barrels full of bolts and arrows. A hail from thirty of those would spell doom for most any caravan.

Seventeen sets of gear were getting too much for Logan’s 500lb inventory to handle, so he pre-emptively stored the armour within a nearby crate that he could pulley up or shift around when he was done. The bandits wouldn’t mind a carriage or cart being taken to move the stuff back to Gauntlet if they were all dead.

Logan’s victory was cut short towards the end of his looting, however, as an echoing voice reached the bunks from down the hall.

“Hey! Oila, Keev, where the fuck is everyone? You better not be playing poker in the bunks again!” an authoritative voice shouted.

Quickly retrieving his monocular, Logan peered towards the ladder room, he immediately spotted a level 4 Knight accompanied by two level 3 Sorcerers. Even with Logan’s level difference, a spell from a caster would hurt like hell and there were two approaching alongside a Knight that was going to take up his attention.

“Qreil: Knight 4, 88/88 HP, 0/0 MP. The leader of a group of bandits simply referred to as Qreil Bandits. After getting the taste of free food and the piles of money that came with mugging, Qreil set his sights on bigger goals with others at his back to bring in the big hauls. Has killed more people than the years he has been alive, with many wanting his head for atrocities. Estimated to have been working as a criminal for three months..”

Logan was going to read further but the brute was already on his way towards the bunks. Shining metal armour that dazzled in the torchlight, clinking chains from the chainmail underneath, and the shaking of a huge axe on his back underneath a large shield. The man’s head was free to the wind, short brown hair hugging his dome that showed his balding stage.

With his monocular still in use, Logan incanted, “Dimensional Jaunt”, to which his body vibrated and compressed with a small shockwave left in his previous spot. Appearing again as his body whirred into existence with another wind blast, Logan clambered onto the Knight, hand grasping the foe’s face.

“Fuck!” Qreil shouted as his back hit the floor.

“Sleep Grasp!” Logan yelled, his hand exploding into a dance of sand and dandelions.

With the incapacitation magics working their way into the mouth, nose, eyes, and ears of Qreil, Logan could already see its effects at play. Qreil’s eyes shuddered a bit before closing, the man going into a deep slumber.

The nearby Sorcerers took steps back as they saw their leader fall so quickly, their hands and mouths making motions to begin a counterattack. Though Logan wasn’t going to let a spell catch him unawares. Gliding his hand over the floor from left to right, Logan chanted again, “Flame Wall”, the floor bubbling up with lava and shooting to the ceiling hot jets of flames.

Dealing a considerable 18 damage to both, close to what Logan calculated as Wall alterations reduced the damage by half, the Spellthief kicked off of Qreil to punch the right Sorcerer to the floor outside of the Flame Wall, and darted to the left to kick the other onto the side that Qreil slept on.

Logan wasn’t in the fire for long, but he still singed himself for 16, he didn’t expect his own spell to hurt him but he hadn’t experimented with it thus far. The flames danced in front of him as the underground started to heat up, thankfully the sound of combat did not reach any other threat, the comforting yellow text confirming Logan was out of combat.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Logan took a few seconds to cool off after the encounter, sitting with his back leant up against the rock wall. A click of his fingers returned only the unconscious bodies near him as well as scurrying vermin in his immediate area. The Jaunt into Sleep was risky, but Logan was confident it would work, taking down a foe before they could deal damage or soak up further casts.

This way Logan could also bring in a bonus for capturing the boss, Identification making it easy to pick him out of a group. The fire spell eventually died down, signalling Logan to clean up his dirty work, absorbing the two Sorcerers.

“Absorption of foe complete. Calculating reward…”

“84, 78 absorbed experience, Aqua, Frost, Gaia, Infuse, Infuse, Wind, and Wind have been learnt.

Aqua has progressed to tier 3, Frost has progressed to tier 3, Gaia has progressed to tier 3, Infuse has progressed to tier 3-tier 4, Wind has progressed to tier 2-tier 3.”

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