An Amazon of Limited Means

Day 25

"Hi, Larzuk!"

"Hi, Kitsilan. Want to see me make a muscle?"

"Um, no, not right now, thanks."

"Oh."

"What do you have in your bow bin today?"

"I've been working on this bicep for weeks."

"Bows, Larzuk."

"It's almost as big as my head."

"That's not saying much," Kyle muttered.

Kitsilan bit her lip and counted to ten. "Okay, okay. Let's see what ya got, big guy."

The young smith grinned and flexed. Sure enough, his upper right arm bulged, almost doubling in size. He held his pose for a beat, then relaxed.

"That was… really special, Larzuk," Kits said, "and I – we – we both feel just ever so pleased, yes, pleased and proud that you wanted to share this moment with us. Don't we, Kyle?"

"Absolutely, boss. No question," Kyle replied, stifling a yawn.

"Now, about those bows…"

Larzuk pulled a short war bow from under an old apron. "I've been saving this for you. Since we're such good friends and all."

"We're what?"

"It's got 5% life steal and 9-30 cold damage built in."

"We're pretty good friends, all right. Thanks!" Kits snatched up the bow and tossed some gold on the counter. "C'mon, Kyle! Today we gotta go find Anya. You got the map?"

"Yeah. Crystalline Passage to Frozen River. Or maybe vice versa. Something like that, anyway."

They stepped on the waypoint and twinkled to the Arreat Plateau. Boss packs of Lashers and Enslaved skipped and danced around their immediate area. Kitsilan put her new bow to use right way, slowing approaching Enslaved and frenzied blow-up dollies and turning them to ice cubes. With Kyle backing her up in her usual calm way, Kits oriented herself on her AP map and headed for the far end. Nothing more interesting than a Lasher champion herd and a few Demon Huts barred their way, but by the time they'd reached the entry to the Crystalline Passage, her pack was full and they portalled back to Harrogath.

Larzuk waved a Cobalt Field Plate of the Sentinal under her nose, and Kits picked it up on her way back to her portal. There'd been a cold breeze coming from the Passage entrance.

They stepped through the entry. Kitsilan looked around and, seeing nothing of note, took several steps southward. A boss pack of Moon Lords raced up to greet them, twirling and whirling. Kits broke free, but Kyle was surrounded and fading fast. Kits jumped back through the entry to the Arreat Plateau, pulling Kyle after her, and none too soon.

"Ouch!" was the Rogue's only comment, but she put a lot of feeling into it.

Kitsilan handed her another healing potion. "What armour do you have, again?"

"Um…" Kyle pulled out her lapel to read the label. "Greyform."

"Greyform? Where the heck did you get Greyform?"

"You gave it to me."

"Was this while I was drunk?"

"Well, it is ethereal. Besides, you're the one with two sets of tank suits."

"Oh. Right. Okay."

"What are you gonna do about the Moon Lords?"

"I'm trying to remember what I did before I had you to distract them… oh, yeah—Decoy!"

Decoy worked like a charm all the way through the Passage. Kitsilan cast it well ahead of herself and Kyle, luring all manner of monsters out of their hiding places. After a particularly nasty encounter with a pack of Champion Moon Lords flanked by Stygian Harlots, Kyle leveled to 33 herself. Kitsilan found a useless ring and took it back to Harrogath to see what she could craft from it.

She stuffed it in the Cube, along with a ruby, a jewel of equal uselessness and a Sol rune. Crossing her fingers, she checked the result:

Stone Turn Ring

required level: 29

1% life stolen per hit

+3 strength

+14 to life

+11 maximum stamina

cold resist +30%

"One percent of life steal? One?" Kyle was incredulous.

"Yup. But, on the bright side, there's 30% cold resist," Kitsilan replied.

"Oh. Hey, yeah, that's all right."

Kits swapped Stone Turn with her regular life steal ring, and grinned as her cold resistance maxxed out. Just in time.

They finished clearing the Passage and wandered back down and through the entry to the Frozen River. Kitsilan put up a decoy and picked off the Abominables and Blood Temptresses that it suckered into range. In this way, the two carefully and methodically cleared the river shores deeper and farther in. A Frozen Terror boss pack gave them a touch of grief, but only because its boss was lightning enchanted. Still, Kitsilan's lightning resistance was now so high that it was more of an annoyance rather than a serious obstacle.

They didn't even bother with Decoy to take out the Rot Walkers, just knocked them down till they ceased getting up again. No one dropped anything interesting.

They found an Evil Urn at the other end of a double handful of Blood Temptresses and Kits kicked it over. Abominables swarmed her, Kyle and the decoy, but Kits pulled free and Kyle followed. A fast fight ensued, with Kitsilan putting up decoys just in time to keep the monsters occupied while she and Kyle fired. Once again, the treasure wasn't, so they pushed on, crossing a streamlet and proceeding northeast up its far bank.

Kyle began shooting off to the right, just as Kits finished with some persistant Rot Walkers. Kits loped over to see what the fuss was about—Kyle had trapped Frozenstein and his minions on the far side of the stream! Kitsilan quickly raised a decoy in their midst, and then another and another, as Kyle picked them off one by one.

"Nice work," Kits said, "and very neatly done."

"It's a gift," Kyle responded modestly.

They took out the last of the stragglers, mostly Rot Walkers, on the other side and trotted up to the platform Frozenstein had been guarding. A woman shivered in the centre of a lump of ice.

"Kyle," Kitsilan said, "I think we've found our last lost barbarian."

"Sure looks that way. Got an ice pick?"

"Mmm… nope. Not even a Glimmering Dagger." Kitsilan frowned as she pondered this new problem.

A small voice shivered from the ice lump. "P-p-p-please, Nihlathak did this--"

"Yes, yes, we know. Don't worry about a thing, lady, we're Heroes," Kyle said, reassuringly.

"Kyle, what about those flaming arrows you do?" Kitsilan asked.

"I can try…" Kyle stood off a pace and aimed. "No good. I can't get a bead on her."

"M-m-m-Malah…"

"Lady, could you keep it down? We're trying to work here," Kitsilan responded.

Kyle unstrung her bow and walked over to Kitsilan's side. "You know," she whispered, "she might have something there. Maybe we should check with Malah. After all, this was her idea."

"A good point," Kits acknowledged. "She has all kinds of potions and gewgaws in that hut of hers." She conjured a town portal. "Okay, lady, you just chill out there, um, well, sorry—anyway, we'll be right back."

They stepped through the portal and accosted Malah. Sure enough, the old healer had a potion ready just for this occasion. Taking it back through, Kitsilan poured it over the ice and was amazed at how fast it melted Anya free, and then at how fast Anya spun on her heel before using her own town portal to quit the platform.

"Was that a cold shoulder or what?" Kyle enquired.

Kitsilan groaned. "Rogue, you are replaceable. You should remember that."

Kyle stuck out her tongue. "With what? Larzuk?"

"Ew, no, please—okay, you still have a job. Let's finish up here."

"I think we're done."

Kits checked her map. All ends were closed off. "I think you're right."

Back in town, Malah gave Kits a scroll that raised her resistances by 10% all around, a very nice gift for which Kitsilan thanked her several times. They followed the path to Anya's hut and found her outside, waiting for them.

She expressed what certainly sounded to Kits and Kyle like sincere thanks for her rescue.

"It was nothing, lady. We're Heroes, like I said. It's what we do," Kyle responded.

"Nevertheless," Anya went on, "I had Larzuk make something just for you, Kitsilan, tailored to your needs and strengths as I see them. Here!" she tossed a spear toward Kits, who caught it reflexively.

Glyph Dart

Maiden Spear

Two-Hand Damage: 24 - 35

Durability: 28 of 28

(Amazon Only)

Required Dexterity: 40

Required Strength: 54

Required Level: 15

Spear Class - Normal Attack Speed

+30% Enhanced Damage

+3 to Maximum Damage

+84 to Attack Rating

Adds 1-4 cold damage

+1 to Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)

Kitsilan pulled Kyle to one side. "Are you sure you can't target her?"

"I'm sure."

"Shucks. Me, either."

Anya was going on about some Barbarian relic and Nihlathak and suddenly raised a red portal right at Kitsilan's elbow. Kitsilan looked at it, and at her. She sighed—a quest was a quest, and she wasn't in a position to ignore any of them, no matter their origin. But there was no need to hurry off right away.

They walked back over to Larzuk's forge, and handed him the spear.

"Didn't you like it?" he asked.

"Um, well, see—I'm not really all that good with spears."

He nodded. "I told her. I told her you didn't like nothing but bows, but she insisted."

"I'll bet she did," Kitsilan said, thoughtfully. "You know, Larzuk, I think she's sweet on you."

"No! She's gonna be an Elder someday! I'm just a—"

"A very fine smith," she said, patting an enormous bicep, "and just the man for Anya. I'm sure of it."

The left a bemused Larzuk to his work, and settled down by their stash for the evening. "Kits, he's going to be mooning after her for months, probably drive her nuts."

"You think?"

"Uh, huh. And not after you."

"Gosh, that's just awful. Is there any more cocoa?"