NOVEL NEXT Chapter 39: Rocky Rewards
It had been about 8 hours since the fight with the stone lurkers, and Milo was finally starting to feel better. Besides the pummeling he had taken from Bone Crusher, the last lurker had hit him hard in his left side before they had all managed to bring it down. Milo had looked at the message he had received but was too tired to allocate points at the moment. Maybe when he got down to see Harry.
Huzzah! Your group has been victorious over the dreaded Bone Crusher, a Level 7 Epic stone lurker, and his minions. (Mainly due to your efforts.)
For your part in the battle, you receive 22 Enhancement Points. This large amount reflects the huge difference between your level and the level of the boss you killed, along with doing most of the damage.
You receive 1500 Boss experience. These may be spent on any of your combat skills used in the battle, and you receive an equal amount of experience that is applied to the stats corresponding to the skills gaining experience.
Skills used: Bonecasting, Dodge, Acrobatics… (Oh heck, you know what you used. Darn, near all of them. Just toss it to combat skills; I’m not going to check.)
Your reputation with the Mining Guild has greatly improved. They offer to escort you to the Treasure Chest left by Bone Crusher. (Mostly so they can see what you, Gorbel, and Belinda get from the chest.)
Currently, he was sitting in an old chair in front of a fire made of coal shards and broken wood from crates. Most of the miners coming off shift stopped to hear the stories, which were getting better with each telling. Gorbel was an enthusiastic teller of tales. He especially liked the part where Milo attempted to save him by using his own body to slam him away from danger. "Yeah, and let me tell you all, for as tough as miner Milo is, I'd much rather be slammed with him than by Bone Crusher. That thing was mean!"
It became apparent to Milo that Gorbel held some position of authority with the miners. If Gorbel said the secretive deep miner was ok, that was good enough for the rest of them.
His magical talents were also held in some esteem. Having used his spells in a fight, Milo saw no reason to hide them from people. As he got back mana, he was using his magic to fix the broken bones many of the combatants had suffered fighting the rock creatures. He had been eating cheese and drinking weak beer for most of the time they sat by the fire. The combination of rest, food, and drink seemed to be a good choice for mana recovery.
A bit after what would have been dawn outside, Belinda and some of her group came walking up. The halfling was noticeably absent. The miners were neutral to the other adventurers, but Belinda was given smiles and a place by the fire. She had healed several of them in the fight, and the story of what she had done before dying had been told several times already around the fire. There was a large group of miners who were willing to escort the adventurers back down to where they had died to recover their gear. And, of course, everyone liked to see what came out of large chests.
Milo noticed that Elvarion, the ranger of the group, had his arm in a cast. After a couple of heals from Milo, he happily stripped it off. Belinda had watched eagerly as Milo cast the spell, wishing she could learn it. Milo tried to explain what he envisioned when he cast the spell and how the mana felt. It turned out that she had a good knowledge of real-world medicine and understood how bones healed. After a few minutes of talking, she and he got a systems message.
By observing the Bonecasting spell, Mend Bones, Healer Belinda has grasped the basics of the spell. Further explanation by Bonecaster Milo has given her a chance to learn the spell and use it to heal living creatures.
Healer Belinda may spend 1 Enhancement Point to learn a Healer's version of the spell Mend Bones.
Belinda gave Milo a quick hug; she was so happy. She quickly spent one of the points she had earned in the fight. "That's amazing. So far, I can restore health and stamina and cure some minor injuries. This is a big upgrade for Tier 1."
Milo froze as she hugged him, having no experience with hugging, and wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. Luckily, everyone was anxious to get to the loot chest, and they started on their way. Tombstones were recovered without any problems. Rufus and Frostyone were both relieved to get back their gear and embarrassed for the problems they caused. The miners enjoyed the idea of adventurers needing to run to them for help. Everyone was fairly relieved to be rid of the creatures. For now, at least.
They arrived at the large stone treasure chest, and both Gorbel and Milo stepped back to let Belinda go first. She put her hand on the chest, and it glowed slightly and opened a crack. A piece of armor appeared on Belinda. Each of the thin plates had the rough texture of stone and had lines of dwarven armor runes running along the edges. The finely crafted armor fit snuggly over her back and breast, coming down almost to her waist. Her shoulders were protected by large pauldrons with finely articulated lames running down to her elbows. Everyone, especially the dwarves, oohed and awed at the fine piece of armor crafting.
Stone-Forged Armor of Saint Shandalar
This finely wrought armor negates critical hits to the back, front, and shoulders.
Armor Mitigation = +40
+2 WIS when worn.
"Wow, now that is some upgrade. That looks great with your robe." Rufus voiced what many other people thought.
Gorbel rushed forward eagerly. "Make way. My turn! That critter nearly flattened me." Again, the chest glowed. This time it was a shield that appeared. From tip to upper rim, the heater-style shield was only a foot shorter than Gorbel. It was nearly an inch thick and looked to be made of solid granite with a heavy iron rim. He could barely lift it until it was strapped fully onto his arm.
Stone-Forged Bulwark of the Protector
This sturdy shield is made from the hide of a large stone lurker.
Physical Blows from Tier 1 or Tier 2 non-elite creatures that hit the shield will only do one damage.
+3 STR when equipped. (You'll need it!)
Gorbel was highly pleased with his new shield. When strapped on, it was still heavy and was going to use more stamina than a normal shield, but its protection was vastly better. "I'm almost sad we don't have a few more lurkers running around. I want to try this out." He waved Milo up. "Your turn."
Milo touched the chest, and it glowed brightly before disappearing. Something heavy dropped at his feet.
"I got a rock."
Everyone moved in, trying to get a look at the stone. It was the size of his fist and quite heavy. Its light grey surface was pitted and dull, but three small gemstones shone from different sides.
Heart of Stone
The essence of a creature of stone, condensed and refined.
The owner of this item must make a choice, as the stone will grant only one boon.
-The red gemstone will imbue their body with Earthly Vigor. (+200 Health.)
-The grey gemstone will imbue their body with the Strength of Stone. (+4 STR, +1 CON)
-The black gemstone will grant them the ability: Stone Sense.
Even in complete darkness, you can feel the shape of natural stone and earth to a distance of 50' and up to 10' past the surface of the stone. You know when creatures move around you if they are treading on stone or earth.
Gorbel whistled long and loud. "Lordy, I guess you have a choice to make. But none of them are bad."