Chapter 7 - Inujack II

She took a long sip. The whiskey tasted rich and dark. She gave it a swirl in the glass as she swished it in her mouth. That's far too good for a simulated environment. They must have really upped their game this last patch. She took a second, shorter sip. That's nice.

Accessing her H.U.D, she looked through the many mods she had equipped and found the one that allowed her to look at an NPC's base stats.

Imp (minor fiend)

size: small

Move: 8 (run) 11 (fly)

Wisdom 10

Perception 13

Speed 10

Constitution 4

Technical 7

Charisma 13

As she was wondering just how a minor NPC like this got himself such a high perception score (not to mention the Charisma), Inujack reached over the counter and turned a knob. Softly, the speakers began to sing a low and easy song came that might have been played at a beach somewhere.

"I guess we're opening early today." Inujack took a healthy drink of his beer. "So, how are things up at Hilltop these days?"

She thought about asking just why an underworld denizen was curious about a surface world on the material plane but then thought better of it. Wait, how does he know I've been to Hilltop? She considered this. If he was playing dumb, then she would do the same for him. "Well, I guess it's about the same as it's ever been."

"Yeah, I suppose it is." Inujack nodded. "I have family up there but I never have time to visit. Wife has me working two jobs. We have kids, you know."

Calista nodded as she finished the whiskey. She set down another ten and Inujack refilled her glass. "Say," she asked, "just how do you get out of here?"

"The bar? Or the fortress?" Inujack asked.

"Both." She said.

Inujack nodded knowingly. "Well, it just so happens that the guy who runs this place keeps a lot of girls around and so he hired me to keep them company."

Great. Just what Helvetika warned me about. She rolled her eyes. "So what's a girl gotta do to get a ticket out of this place."

The imp nodded congenially. "Well, for one you could sleep with the owner, but something tells me that's not in keeping with your alignment."

Not to mention my personal standards. "Let's just say I'd prefer something more ethical and straightforward and leave it at that."

"My kind of girl." Inujack smiled. "I suppose that pretty much leaves you with the one option: Kill the bastard."

She frowned. I was afraid he would say that. "So you're saying there isn't another way? No back door? No alternate exit?"

"You know … there is a staff entrance, but it's off-limits to you. Like really off limits."

She leaned forward. "How off limits is really off limits."

Inujack took a sip of his beer and then examined the tankard for a moment before he answered. "Like, guarded by the Admins off limits. So far as I know, when Severin earned the commission to design a dungeon, he got all the trappings that normally come with a standard Sable Unlimited developer package. So although I don't know what that means, he has all of Concept's resources at his disposal."

I'm beginning to suspect this Inujack guy isn't a non-player character. She did her best to remain cool. "So, what exactly are all the resources a developer gets in Sable Unlimited."

Inujack gave a pause that was full of innuendo. "I'm afraid I've shared all that I'm allowed to share with you. Look, I don't know how attached you are to this character, but from here on you have two options: Abandon your PC, or grind your way to the top and kill the guy running this place."

I was worried it would come down to that. As a Delver, getting to the dungeon boss was never a problem, but any time she knew she had to kill the boss to escape, she brought help. Too bad I'm not playing a martial class. Delvers aren't exactly the most physically imposing. She wondered what her chances would be against a high-level magic-user one on one. Her guess was not good. Mages were traditionally the highest damage occupation in the game and unless she managed to somehow kill him off before he saw her, she was likely to face a barrage of magic in response.

The imp finished his beer and poured himself another round. "By the way, count yourself lucky you came in on the night shift. The kobolds are supposed to keep a watch out, but they usually fall asleep on duty because the boss himself is in bed and there's no one to check on them."

She took another drink of her whiskey. "How many kobolds are there?"

"You look like you're a little empty there …" He pointed at her glass.