SWEETSPEARGIRL'S LAST GLORY

Chapter 1: Hymn to the Spearazon in the Hall of Double Rogues

Cast of Characters:
- SweetSpearGirl, the Once-Again-Reset-to-Start Amazon
- Euyfura, Rogue on Guard Duty
- Kashya, Rogue el Frustrato

TAKE HEED AND BEAR WITNESS TO THE TRUTHS THAT LIE HEREIN, FOR THEY ARE
THE LAST LEGACY OF THE HORADRIM...

SweetSpearGirl was - quite frankly - bored. She woke up, spent the day
in the Lut Gholein environs, went to bed, woke up... it was all too
monotonous. While Euyfura didn't say as much, SweetSpearGirl could tell
the Rogue shared her feelings. So when one morning they woke, not in
their pleasant desert-city apartment, but under a slow rainfall on the
green grass of the Rogue camp, their gear piled next to the stash, it
was - if anything - a welcome change.

Despite the fact that the world had reset itself AGAIN - and straight
away Kashya wanted Euyfura on guard duty until Blood Raven was slain.

So SweetSpearGirl - finding that the only gear of hers she could still
use was a 14% lightning resist charm and a few phat purples - obtained a
TP scrool ("I need TP for my port-hole!") and a sheaf of javelins, and
headed out the gate into the wild.

By dint of much throwing of javelins, dispatching zombies, quill rats
and the usual contingent of annoying little goblins, she finally
obtained enough gold for a blue spear of Charsi's (5% lightning resist,
+3 to max damage) and returned to the fray, dispatching more goblins,
having plugged a point into Jab on reaching level 2.

An experience shrine later, she let herself down into the Den of Evil.

Shamens ahoy! Fire-lobbing goblin leaders bellowed and cast spells;
their minions swarmed around. SweetSpearGirl lamented her lack of decent
gear (she was currently wearing a plain Leather Armour, cracked boots
and a plain Sash) and the rate at which even a level 1 Jab depleted her
mana; she levelled to 4 in the Den and was able to plug points into
Inner Sight and Critical Strike, but of course neither of these really
helped with her mana problem. She did however acquire a Superior Short
Bow with three sockets, which she knew would make a nice starting weapon
for Euyfura, should any gems show up.

By the time she reached Corpsefire and his mob, she was completely out
of mana: having no mana potions, nor room for any in her belt slots or
backpack! She was secretly glad that the contents of her stash had not
survived the transition back; there would have been no room for them!
Although she did sorely miss the large amount of gold she had once
possessed, her Horadric Cube *had* survived, nestled safely in her
backpack alongside a number of not-yet-usable charms and a phat purple
or two. She had already checked its contents - hers and Euyfura's old
helmets, now 60 or so levels from being usable, plus a pair of Large Charms.

She finished off Corpsefire completely without mana. She had to lure him
away from the rest of his buddies as a Shaman was throwing fireballs at
her which were sorely depleting her life (her fire resist at this point
being zero). SweetSpearGirl was happy at levelling to 5 on Corpsefire's
death; her life and mana reserves replenished, she set about his band of
badly-behaved bully boys (try saying that ten times fast!) and the
troublesome Shaman. Corpsefire had dropped a Triumphant Wand of the
Apprentice which by comparison with SweetSpearGirl's currently very
meagre gold reserves sold for a quite shocking amount; he also dropped a
chipped ruby which she plugged into the first of the three empty sockets
on the bow she was saving for her Rogue.

Onward and, well, onward. Near a pack of goblins, her Cracked Boots
broke, but that was no great loss and she pressed on, finding a Mana
Shrine right when she needed it most and laying out another pack of
goblins backed up by Gargantuan Beasts. One of the goblins dropped
another Chipped Ruby which she added to the bow; she was hoping for a
Sapphire to fill the last socket but realistically of course she'd have
to add whatever showed up.

And then the Den was clear. Light shone in as SweetSpearGirl made her
way out, using her spear as a staff to help herself up out of the cavern.
"I'm getting old," she muttered to herself. "A couple of years ago I
could have run up out of there."

Evening had fallen in the Rogue camp as she had Charsi repair her gear;
she sold off the broken boots and watched as the talented smith polished
the spear's haft and undented the point. SweetSpearGirl lay down to
sleep till the morning, hoping that tomorrow she could deal with Blood
Raven and get her Rogue away from guard duty for a little adventuring
together.

TO BE CONTINUED...