Lost in the Game

Day 43 Floor 4, Day 1: Defenses

"Those were far easier than I expected they would be. Do our enemies truly believe us to be so weak?" Shadow asked as he slipped into the chair as well.

Gorman laughed at that. "Most of the Rogues have become week, relying to heavily on potions and poisons. Forgetting that we are in fact Rogues, and can take far more than some money or objects. We have the power to use the skills of other classes, even if it is at a Walter level than thier own. So that is your task now, one skill from each of the classes. Let us show them the strength of what we are once again." he said sending Shadow away with a new quest.

It was almost complete before he began, as the only thing he didn't have was a Hunter skill. He knew one for his bow would be useful, however the one he managed to find from Salune's group surprised him even more. Tame Beast.

"Can I help you." Jeepers asked as he sat down next to him after pickpocketing the skill.

"Had a question for ya." Shadow replied ordering each of them another drink.

"Shoot." he replied.

"How exactly do you tame a beast?" he asked as the hunter laughed.

"It is easier if you feed it something it likes first, but after that it is as simple as channeling tje ability. Trick is picking one you can survive while it attacks you while channeling. It cannot be struck and you cannot lose focus for even a millisecond while you do it." Jeepers told him taking the drink and downing it in one gulp. "Gotta run, thanks for the drink." he said as Shadow smiled.

He had plenty of meet, and knew just where he wanted to go as he summoned the bartender over. "Any wolves on this level?" he asked.

"Plenty, go north out of town and take the right fork when you come to it. You will know when you have found them." the NPC replied as he paid and left.

It took nearly an hour because he kept farming his way across the map, and definitely knew when he had found the Wolves. The first one he saw was as tall as he was, and its bar indicated it was a normal Wolf. However right after that the fight was on as it attacked him, and he smiled as he began killing them. Thier peels were luxurious, and he knew would fetch a better price than most as he pulled out his bow and began shooting them in the eyes to keep tje pelts as clean as possible.

He knew the one he wanted as soon as he saw it, as it tried to sneak up on him in the shadows. He threw a piece of the crab meat at it, and watched as it scarfed it down greedily before Shadow threw more at it. By the time it was within range of the taming skill, it had eaten atleast 20 pieces, and he knew it was now or never. He activated the skill and saw the channeling bar go down quick as the Wolf ran at him pissed off now. It however sat in front of him and licked his hand as the bar finished and the system recognized it as his pet now.

He saw it was indeed full, and even though it had shrunk a little, it was still big enough for him to ride.

He began walking back to the town while the Wolf ran around him happily, before it ran up behind him and used its teeth to put him on it's back. He was surprised at that, but not as surprised as the people who saw him riding it into town.

"Holy s**t!" Jeepers exclaimed when he saw it as his party was still gathering in town. "How big was it before you tamed it?" he asked allowing it to sniff his hand while Shadow climbed down.

"Atleast another 2 feet taller. Now it is about tje size of a normal one. If ya want, it seemed relatively easy to tame with some of that crab meat from the coast. Fed him a bunch before channeling and he sat in front of me and licked my hand before I was even done channeling." he told him. "This one was an Alpha though." he said as it slipped into the shadows and stalked along beside him.

"A shadow Alpha, that will be one powerful pet." Jeepers said as he could barely make out its outline now. He even had a high perception.

"May as well do it right." Shadow said laughing as Salune and the last few members walked out of the gate.

"Maybe with this skill the pet trainer will deal with you here. You may have to check it out." he said giving him the location on the map.

"You better not be trying to poach my players Rogue." Salune said teasing him making both men laugh when she jumped as the Wolf began growling at her. "I thought you had a cat?" she asked Jeepers.

"I do, that was his wolf." Jeepers said as Salune looked at him.

"Since when do you have a Wolf?" she demanded to know.

"Since I went and tamed it after I left." he replied. Stalker, meet Salune." he said as it appeared before them laying down next to him and she gasped.

"He is huge!" she exclaimed as it sniffed her hand.

"Yes he is, big enough to ride." Jeepers said as she looked at him.

"Can you ride them?" she asked.

"He made me ride him." Shadow told her with a smile.

"Great, another way to show you are better than most others." she said shaking her head. "Always have to show us up." she finished before leading her strike teams further into the 3rd level.

He walked over to the Hideout, his Wolf unseen by all the villagers and even most of the Rogues. He was just going to walk into the Masters Chamber when his senses said the door was booby trapped again, and it took him a minute to figure out what it was. He was glad to, because it would have taken days to wash that stink out of his armor and off his skin if he had set it off.

"Damn, I was hoping that was new enough to get ya." Gorman said as he stood. "Show me what you have learned so far." he said with a smile as he made Shadow show him one skill from each if the classes. "All that remains is the Hunter skill."

"Stalker, visible." he ordered as the Wolf appeared next to the chair watching them and Gorman about jumped into his arms.

"Holy s**t, how did I miss that massive thing?" he asked as Shadow chuckled. "Beast taming is the most potent skill of the hunter, and is not one easily obtained. Cherish it, as you beast can become a good friend and better defender of your own hideout one day."

"A hideout of my own may be a long ways off." Shadow replied to the Master as his quest completed and he collected the reward.

"It may come sooner than you expect, as this one is in need of desperate attention the Rogue Assembly can no longer give it. As my first apprentice, I am hoping you will take it when you are ready. However, we have a few more things to teach you first. Traps can be done of the best defenses, and you must learn about them before you can be a Master." he said as it appeared as a side quest. He knew this likely meant that it would not be available to everyone.

The quest auto completed as soon as he accepted it, and Garmon was a little surprised.

"Seems you know a bit about defenses already hmm. I wonder what else you have learned during your adventures so far. Defending a place though is only the first step, as it needs to be able to sustain itself as well. Go earn money by selling things, and return once you have earned 1,000 gold." he said as the next of 5 quests appeared and he accepted. Because of his shop it autocomplete as well and Garmon laughed.

"A good salesman already huh, well we shall have to find something you haven't done yet. Most hideouts are obvious, but that is something that needs to become part of the past. If the Rogues are to be successful, we must be able to hide in plain site with no one any the wiser. Find a solution for this with the Masters upstairs, and than we will move on." Garmon said making it clear this one wouldn't auto complete.

He thought about it as he walked up the stairs when an idea had occurred to him. The entrance had been the basement entrance of a dilapidated building, and he had an idea if what was going to happen for the next quest and was glad he had taken the time to learn construction in order to build his own house. He just needed to think of what would be a good cover for all the people that would come and go, when it hit him. Inns were the busiest because of the people staying on them, the food and the drinks.

So long as they put a sign outside somewhere that all Rogues would know, they would know this was the location of the hideout, no matter where it actually was. He smiled as he the 4 Masters and went through thier spiel for the quest.

"With that in mind, do you have any suggestions on how we might hide in plain sight?" one of them asked.

"Is the building above us ours?" he asked as the one nodded.

"It is in desperate need of repair, but yes. A fire many years ago left it in near ruins, all except for the basement which we have expanded." The thief trainer told him.

"We rebuild it into an inn to cover our comings and goings, and allow no activity here." he said as they all smiled. "Add a bar and diner, and we can cover the expenses of the building as well without the need for large contributions from those passing through."

"Excellent idea, you should return to the Master and inform him." the Assassin trainer told him and Shadow talked to him again for his training needed for this floor.

He walked back downstairs, and looked st the door closely before he entered and was glad he didn't set off any traps.

"What have you come up with my boy?" Master Garmon asked him as he packed a bag of his belongings and left a key on the desk.

"An Inn and Tavern would cover our comings and goings perfectly, as well as generate an income and provide jobs for normal people."

"That is excellent." he said beaming. "I however have been summoned to the 10th floor, and do not know how long my assignment will take. While you learn the basics of construction, I will finish packing my things." Garmon said as suddenly everything disappeared and his position reset. "Back so soon eh? Well I just finished packing and have every confidence you will make a fine floor Master for this level. We have been saving funds for many years to repair the damage above, now it is time we put them to use." he said as a bag appeared and he stood up.

"It is an honor." Shadow said looking at him.

"I will have Master Tinok manage this last part, and once you complete the repairs upstairs, you shall be made floor master." Garmon said before disappearing just after his quest log updated.

Shadow walked up the stairs to the entryway, and noticed another door that he walked through. He was amazed at how large it was, and smiled as he had an idea that he knew would take a bit more than what he was given as he went to work on his plan.

It took him several hours to finish everything, but when he was done the building looked like it was brand new, and was ready for its first guests as he prepared the brewery and kitchen to open with automated workers that would be NPCs.

He went into the basement, and even did some work there as he fixed it up so it looked nicer, and expanded the area quite a bit. He added more rooms down here so that Rogues could rent long term rooms here, and have a safe space for thier stash not on this level. He walked up to Thief Master Tirnok and smiled as he competed the quest.

"As Floor Master, you will receive 20 percent of the profits generated through the business upstairs." he said handing Shadow a scroll before he nodded and the Quest completed before he walked upstairs and out the front door just as the lights came on.

"Well I will be a monkey's uncle. Leave it to you to make the one business Salune said this floor was lacking." Arthur said as 20 of his men came up and smiled.

"More to it than simply doing that." he said as he looked at the specialized window that cast the Rogue emblem into the middle of the street when the lights were on.

"Everything with you is complicated." he said as he heard the growling. "What was that?" he asked.

"Just a pet." Shadow said with a smile. "Shadow Striker, visible." he ordered and the Wolf appeared beside him his teeth still bared at Arthur. "Nice, no players unless they attack first." he said with a smile as Arthur looked at him. "Sit." he ordered as he walked over and put his arm around Arthur while also pickpocketing 3 of his players and him. He managed to pick up two more skills, one of them a Paladin healing spell this way. "Beautiful isn't he."

"My god, leave it to you to do what should he impossible." Arthur said making him laugh.

"Well, it is time to get going to work on other quests for this floor. Been away from it too long as it is." he said as he saw the shop next to the Inn was vacant as well.