I made myself comfortable in the room with the drying furniture. Once it's dry I'll cram through the insides to see if there's something useful in there. Since this could easily take another day or two, I'm currently just browsing through the menu. Out here, I don't get distracted by the Ashranie all that much and the noise from the storm doesn't reach here either ... at least for the most part. [Maybe I should really make a place just for myself, as Orsha suggested ...] I'll think about it, once my DP is replenished a little.
The recent spendings heavily drained my DP count (there's just a little above 1000 DP left), so right now I'm looking through the achievement menu, hoping to find some easy-to-get rewards. [These traps were damn expensive!] I remember considering them cheap at the beginning, but I'm taking that back. If I intend to do something serious with them, the cost easily piles up to absurd amounts!
Looking at the achievements, there are some interesting ones, beginning with two that got accomplished unintentionally:
----------------------------
Achievement: "Architects freedom"
Condition: Designate at least 10 rooms (10/10).
Reward: 5 DP, rooms may now have any shape.
Achievement: "Trapper"
Condition: Place at least 10 traps (16/10)
Reward: 50 DP, New Trap: "Spike-Trap".
----------------------------
The first one allows me to make rooms of any shape instead of just rectangular forms. The other one gives me a new kind of trap to play with. [The 55 extra DP are nice too.] I accept them both.
Then there is one almost finished one:
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Achievement: "Getting a foundation"
Condition: Have at least one creature. Place at least one trap. Advance the dungeon to a min of 100 m² (100/100). Kill at least one creature on your ground. Create at least one room.
Reward: 1000 DP, 50 Research hours, m²-count on "Dungeon Info"-screen, Reach "Tire Z", new Theme: "Mine", new monster spawner: "Wild-Cat Den".----------------------------
[A lot of conditions, but also a lot of rewards.] One of the rewards is the next tier. The conditions are listing all the basics, that one would expect in a regular dungeon. The only thing still missing is the inhabitants. [This shouldn't be that difficult, I just need to find a creature to spawn, that can be considered harmless for the Ashranie.] I wanted to wait with that, but seeing the 1000 DP in the reward makes me want to do it as soon as possible. [I should get to that after finishing with the achievements ...]
Unfortunately, for most of the other achievements I need to invest DP to get some out. And if it's just for that, it's not worth it. Some of them have got promising rewards aside from DP, but fulfilling them will be costly. The ones that don't require investment, are the ones that want me to kill one thing or another, which is also not easy to fulfill. But there is one Achievement that catches my eye:
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Achievement: "Beginners Luck"
Condition: Draw the "Little Lottery" 10 times (0/10).
Reward: 10 DP, "Average Lottery" becomes available.
----------------------------
[Right! I haven't visited the new "Lottery" function yet.] I want to look over the achievements a bit more, but in the end my curiosity wins and after a short navigation through the menu, a new screen presents itself to me:
){}---------------------------------{}(
Lottery:
Draw "Little Lottery" - 1 DP
Draw
Draw
Lucky draw chance - 10%
Epic draw chance - 1%
Legendary draw chance - 0,1%
Back
){}---------------------------------{}(
[Wait, just one DP per draw?] The achievement needed 10 draws and rewarded 10 DP ... this practically means, the first 10 draws are for free. [... Alright, where's the catch?!] There is no information or small-print on the screen besides the reward chances. Maybe the idea is that I'll get hooked with free ones and spend all my DP on it afterwards? Now this makes me really curious. [If the first 10 are for free, then there's no harm in trying it, right? Here we go!]
As I select the "Draw" button, a small object forms in front of me. My first thought is that it's a small stone, but it turned out to be a nut. [So, this is something worth 1 DP?] Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed. But maybe this is just a consultation prize ... The chance to get something special is below 10% after all. [Maybe i'll get lucky ...]
- The next item to appear is a small piece of paper, nothing special about it.
- Then a small wooden button.
- A small stone (This time for real). It's about half the size of a human fist.
- A simple flower. It has red leaves surrounding a brown dot in the center.
- An orange ribbon.
- A brown feather, that has a bluish glimmer when light reflects from it.
- Another stone.
- A small copper coin. It resembles the ones I got from the soldiers on the first day.
- A strange fruit. It's unknown to me, so I can't even tell if it's eatable.
That's 10 Draws. But seeing all that stuff, I don't feel like I got lucky at all ... But while this is basically garbage for the most part, it can still help me to get an overall impression on the worth of things. I should probably draw a lottery or two from time to time in the future, because I want to see what happens if I win. [If I can afford it, that is ... But now it's time to get my money back!] After heading to the achievement-menu and accepting my reward, I return to the Lottery-screen to see what changed after this "Average Lottery" update:
){}---------------------------------{}(
Lottery:
Draw "Little Lottery" - 1 DP
Draw
Lucky draw chance - 20%
Epic draw chance - 2%
Legendary draw chance - 0,2%
Draw "Average Lottery" - 10 DP
Draw
Lucky draw chance - 10%
Epic draw chance - 1%
Legendary draw chance - 0,1%
Back
){}---------------------------------{}(
Ah, there it is, the next level of lottery. It even has its own chances for lucky draws ... [Wait, why did the "draw chances" suddenly become higher for the "Little Lottery"?] While I think about it, only two reasons come intro my mind. They either rose because the "Advanced Lottery" got unlocked, or they rise every time a lottery is drawn. [... Now, I want to know!]
I decide to try it with the new 10 DP - lottery, since this way I could also get an idea of the worth of items, it offers. [This experiment is worth the 10 DP to me!] And the item I acquire is ... a knife! It doesn't look like a weapon, though - more like a kitchen tool. But at least, it's sharp and doesn't look like it's hundreds of years old like the rest of the stuff around here. [Finally, the first useful thing, that I got from that] I still would consider it overpriced, thought - the DP could have been used better somewhere else! After inspecting the item, I look back at the draw chances:
Lucky draw chance - 11%
Epic draw chance - 1,1%
Legendary draw chance - 0,11%
I was right with my second guess, the chances rise by 10% of the original with each use. This means, a special price is guaranteed, if you keep going. [Interesting ...] I really would love to know, what the legendary or epic rewards would be. But right now, I don't have the DP for that, like for a lot of other things.
While I'm thinking about getting at least the "Lucky Draw" from the "Little Lottery" (as it would cost 80 DP at most, and I'm also curious if the %-counter will get a reset or reduction), my attention is suddenly drawn to a stumbling figure, that comes down the hall.
Its's a female Ashrani. I don't think I've seen her by now as the unique pair of rustling bone-armbands she wears looks very unfamiliar to me. I try to remember them by their individual cloths, since I'm not good in remembering their faces. [She's definitely neither from the migrants, nor the guards.] The Women is also drenched from the rain and from the way she walks, one can tell how tired, or even exhausted she is. This, and the fact that she came alone, leads to only one conclusion: [Something bad must have happened back at their camp.]
I stop on what I'm doing and rush over to the room where the Ashrani are building their camp. On my way I open the map. Outside, the guards seem to be on alert, the one that were sleeping before are now on- and around the tower, watching the surrounding, ready to face what ever comes through the storm. At the same time two other Lizard-Man are coming out of the woods from different directions, which makes it look like an unorganized retreat. One of them seems to be badly wounded. [It looks like they are fleeing but ... from what?] I arrive at the living-hall, where the migrants are still setting up their improvised tents. I quickly make out Orsha in the crowd and open a link to her ...
Me: [Orsha!]
She jumps in surprise. I guess I scared her, but there's no time to care about that ...
Me: [... Something's not right at the settlement, injured Ashrani are coming out of the forest!]
She jumps up from her kneeling pose and acts immediately:
Orsha: "Ror go-zas! Shormag, er-goshéch gomár ro-zach!"
"Ro-zach" ... I remember that word. It means "protective battle" if I remember correctly. They are preparing to fight ... She decided on that really fast, I didn't say anything about an attack! It doesn't take more then a few seconds, until the others drop their tools and scatter through the room to get their weapons.
Orsha: [Kalifos not worry, Ashrani will protect the great spirit of this place!]
Me: [... And I will do my best to protect you ...]
Its's a female Ashrani. I don't think I've seen her by now as the unique pair of rustling bone-armbands she wears looks very unfamiliar to me. I try to remember them by their individual cloths, since I'm not good in remembering their faces. [She's definitely neither from the migrants, nor the guards.] The Women is also drenched from the rain and from the way she walks, one can tell how tired, or even exhausted she is. This, and the fact that she came alone, leads to only one conclusion: [Something bad must have happened back at their camp.]
I stop on what I'm doing and rush over to the room where the Ashrani are building their camp. On my way I open the map. Outside, the guards seem to be on alert, the one that were sleeping before are now on- and around the tower, watching the surrounding, ready to face what ever comes through the storm. At the same time two other Lizard-Man are coming out of the woods from different directions, which makes it look like an unorganized retreat. One of them seems to be badly wounded. [It looks like they are fleeing but ... from what?] I arrive at the living-hall, where the migrants are still setting up their improvised tents. I quickly make out Orsha in the crowd and open a link to her ...
Me: [Orsha!]
She jumps in surprise. I guess I scared her, but there's no time to care about that ...
Me: [... Something's not right at the settlement, injured Ashrani are coming out of the forest!]
She jumps up from her kneeling pose and acts immediately:
Orsha: "Ror go-zas! Shormag, er-goshéch gomár ro-zach!"
"Ro-zach" ... I remember that word. It means "protective battle" if I remember correctly. They are preparing to fight ... She decided on that really fast, I didn't say anything about an attack! It doesn't take more then a few seconds, until the others drop their tools and scatter through the room to get their weapons.
Orsha: [Kalifos not worry, Ashrani will protect the great spirit of this place!]
Me: [... And I will do my best to protect you ...]
I want to say some more, but at this moment that drenched Lizard-women comes stumbling into the room. Orsha rushes over to her.
Orsha: "Go-sórma! Arách okósh-nar ges zor-nórah ..."
Ashrahie Women: "As-gosá oro gazór ... Anáck sher-meschéch ..."
Orsha pauses for a moment.
Me: [What is it Orsha? What did she say?]
Orsha: [Yes ... She said that human hunters came to the village ... to hunt the Ashranie ...]
That pierced me right now ... the soldiers? [So they finally made their move ... But DAMN! Why now of all times?!] No wait ... calm down, they are not stupid. They may have used the storm to cover their attack. [Sneaky bastards ...] They also may have used the opportunity, while the forces of the Ashranie are divided. The strongest warriors of the tribe are on a rescue mission right now, and even the rest is separated. I recall the incidents, where my alarm went off, without reason ... [They could have been spying on us the whole time ... Damn, they waited for this!] I feel so stupid right now ...
But I don't have time for regrets. The fact, that they resort to such sneaky tactics, means that there are probably not that nanny of them. Otherwise they could have just overrun us with their force.
While I think, the armed Ashranie are rushing out of the room one after another. Only the ones that are to old, or too young to hold a weapon, are staying behind. Orsha still talks with the newcomer. I take a look at the map again ... three others came out of the forest. [I can't see Sari ...] I said it out loud unintentionally and Orsha freezes with a shocked expression on her face. Ah, right, I forgot that the link is still open ... A moment later, she rushes out of the room, while grabbing a spear on the way. I follow her to the top of the tower, while passing other wet and injured arrivers.
Suddenly, the whole peaceful atmosphere that I had just a minutes ago became extremely tense.
At the tower, we both look from the second floor down at the Lizard-Man arriving. The guards are rushing out to aid them while Orsha seems to look for someone specific. I have a very bad feeling about this ... and as to confirm my worries:
System: [Warning! Hostile entities are close to the dungeon entrance.]
Orsha: "Go-sórma! Arách okósh-nar ges zor-nórah ..."
Ashrahie Women: "As-gosá oro gazór ... Anáck sher-meschéch ..."
Orsha pauses for a moment.
Me: [What is it Orsha? What did she say?]
Orsha: [Yes ... She said that human hunters came to the village ... to hunt the Ashranie ...]
That pierced me right now ... the soldiers? [So they finally made their move ... But DAMN! Why now of all times?!] No wait ... calm down, they are not stupid. They may have used the storm to cover their attack. [Sneaky bastards ...] They also may have used the opportunity, while the forces of the Ashranie are divided. The strongest warriors of the tribe are on a rescue mission right now, and even the rest is separated. I recall the incidents, where my alarm went off, without reason ... [They could have been spying on us the whole time ... Damn, they waited for this!] I feel so stupid right now ...
But I don't have time for regrets. The fact, that they resort to such sneaky tactics, means that there are probably not that nanny of them. Otherwise they could have just overrun us with their force.
While I think, the armed Ashranie are rushing out of the room one after another. Only the ones that are to old, or too young to hold a weapon, are staying behind. Orsha still talks with the newcomer. I take a look at the map again ... three others came out of the forest. [I can't see Sari ...] I said it out loud unintentionally and Orsha freezes with a shocked expression on her face. Ah, right, I forgot that the link is still open ... A moment later, she rushes out of the room, while grabbing a spear on the way. I follow her to the top of the tower, while passing other wet and injured arrivers.
Suddenly, the whole peaceful atmosphere that I had just a minutes ago became extremely tense.
At the tower, we both look from the second floor down at the Lizard-Man arriving. The guards are rushing out to aid them while Orsha seems to look for someone specific. I have a very bad feeling about this ... and as to confirm my worries:
System: [Warning! Hostile entities are close to the dungeon entrance.]
Me: [Orsha, have your people retreat back to the tower immediately! - The soldiers are here!]
Orsha takes a moment to snap out of her worries and process what I just said, before finally raising her voice:
Orsha: "OS-MA GADÉSCH! EN-SHECH GOR-..."
Voices from below: "... GAAHHHHRR!"
It's too late. The rain is to heavy to see it clearly, but right after the painful screams interrupt Orshas shout, some of the Ashrani fall to the ground. [... They got attacked!] I rush forward to the border of my area to get a better look at the scene: Several exhausted Lizard-man are still fleeing towards the tower, while others had dropped in the tall grass. I see an arrow sticking out of ones shoulder. ...
Me: [Orsha, tell you people to retreat to the tower and stay behind cover, they are shooting arrows!]
While Orsha gives her commands, I think of the best way to face the situation. My thought begin to rush, and ideas and strategies pop up and get abandoned in my mind one after another. More arrows are flying out of the forest just after I decide on a plan, that might work. I could have probably came up with a better idea, but the attacker doesn't give me the time to think it over.
Me: [Orsha, I have a plan, but it's risky. Will you trust me?]
Orsha: [Yes! Orsha listens!]
Right now, one of the most important things is, that none of the attackers survives. If just one of them gets away, there will be even more of them later. We could of course try to barricade ourselves in, but this would create the deathtrap, I was so worried about earlier.
Me: [Now, listen carefully: It's important, that we kill them all!]
I'm surprised and shocked about my own words right now. But this is about survival, and I better adjust to it quickly.
Me: [For this, I want you to tell some of your strongest guards to hide themselves outside the tower. They have to kill everyone that tries to flee out of the Underground later. Have the rest evacuate inside and shut the gate. I'll tell you what to do next afterwards.]
A moment of silence passes. Will she trust me?
Orsha: [... Yes! Orsha understands!]
She immediately starts to give orders to the warriors around her. Soon after, I can see them rushing towards the bushes and wall-remains of the outer wall. I'm counting on the heavy rain, to cover their movement. In the meantime the third volley of arrows rains down on the fleeing people, but gladly, none of them hits. It's the first time, I'm actually happy about this storm. And then, the Enemy finally shows itself...
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| (Click to enlarge) |
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| (Click to enlarge) |
The last one to leave the cover seems to be their commander. His Armor is different from the others, and he carries a battleaxe instead of a sword. He also is the only one with a helmet. Either the others aren't valuing their protection very much, or armor is that expansive to get.
Me: [Yes, come into my trap, you bastards ... Orsha, have the remaining hunters cover the retreat of your people, but be careful, they may shoot back. Once, everyone is inside, shut the gate!]
Orsha: [Yes!]
Soon after, spears are flying towards the invaders and two of them are struck down on firs hit. [Yes!, lucky strike.] Two guys less to care about. They seem still alive, but they won't be a treat for now. The others slow down immediately and raise their wooden shields. This will not work again, but it slows them down and gives the fleeing Ashrani enough time to get to safety. The last three to arrive are; A female with a wound on her arm, obviously from a sword, and a male, with an an arrow sticking out of his leg, who is shouldered by one of the guards that rushed out to help. As soon as they are through the gate, the Doors are shut tight
Me: [Now, have all the injured move to the living chambers, and have the rest delay the humans advance, by throwing stones and boulders at them. But keep your remaining spears, you will need them!]
Orsha: [Yes!]
Me: [Once they are close to break the gate, retreat underground behind the traps. Don't wait to long! And tell me when you are coming. I have to prepare something.]
Orsha: [Yes!]
Orsha is giving commands during our conversation. Everyone starts to move quickly, while I move down to the first room behind the traps. That's right, there is still something missing here. I open my construction menu and browse through the entries until I find it; "Barricades"! I quickly place a line of barricades in an arc around the entrance ... Damn this things are expensive if you buy them in bulk. Almost 300 DP are gone in an instant ... But I can't care about that now. This is a necessary investment for our survival ... no, for our victory!
The barricades are more stable, then I was hoping for. they are not easy to climb and offer enough gaps to strike through the openings if you have a fitting weapon. Perfect for The Ashrani and their spears!
The injured Lizard-Man start to come through, right after I'm finished. I left an opening, and tried to arrange the blockade in a strategical-, easy to protect way.
When the first loud noises reach me from above, I take a concerned look at the map, which I had open the whole time. There, I see the soldiers trying to ram the gate open, while they shield themselves from the rubble, that comes down on them from above. The hunters who hid outside where not detected yet. So far - so good, it even seems like I still have a little bit of time left ...
My next action is more of an impulse, then a strategic decision: I open up my trap menu and select the new "Spike-Trap", that I got earlier as an achievement reward. It costs 120 DP, takes up around one m² and can be placed on any surface. Four of them are quickly arranged in front of the door, that connects the hallway with the traps and the room with the barricades. Then, I connect them to a new pressure plate, that is placed behind the door. The idea is, that in an attempt to storm through the door, the first one activates the trap, and all of his comrades get impaled behind him. At the end, I almost forgot to deactivate it. It would be a disaster, if the Ashranie would trigger it in their retreat ...
I should never again think that I'm some sort of a god-like entity ... With such creative Ideas on how to kill people, I'm more of a devil then anything else. But again, this is about survival right now, so everything is allowed ...
Orshas sudden voice stops me from getting into a moral-debate with myself, and brings my attention back at the situation at hand:
Orsha: [Humans will break the door soon! ...]
I look at the map again. The soldiers attempts to break through, became more coordinated; now the bowman are offering cover by shooting at the windows each time the others charge forward to simultaneously tackle the gate. But I'm also glad to see that two more soldiers are lying on the muddy ground, with blood covered faces. We could probably overwhelm them right there, if the hidden hunters would take care of the bowmen in a surprise attack, and the others rush out from the front gate ... But this won't go without losses ... No, better stick to the original plan.
Me: [Understood, bring everyone down! Take position behind the barricades!]
I feel like a military commander right now, giving out orders like that ...
Orsha: [Yes!]
It didn't take long, until a bunch of Lizard-Man (actually more women, then man) rushed down the stairs and through the short corridor. The last one slammed the door behind them. There were not as many of them as I thought ...
Until now, everything is going according to plan, but the difficult part is still to come!
... I hope this goes well ...
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A.N.:
Finally, some action! I was really hyped to write that encounter for the last weeks. A lot of other things needed to be handled first, but that also gave me the time to plan it out properly.
And, in case you are wondering; Kalifos has currently 421 DP left, but I will update the state of the dungeon once the battle is over.
P.S.: Just so you know; the chances for the lottery are not just for show. The results are decided by this website: "Random number generator". (I was hoping for something special too, but luck was not on our side XD)
Thx for the chapter!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. ^^
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