An Almost Fatal Mistake

Loka Mer was a swordsmain, and proud of it. She felt best in the
middle of a fight, and was judged more than competent by her peers.
Still, she had duties as a member of Clan Loka. One day she was
directed by the clan's eldest sister to travel to Eastham and gather
information about merchant prices. The eldest sister gave Loka Mer
almost 2000 pyreals in spending money, as no trade notes were
available. "Use the clan pyreals wisely," she was told.

Mer left the clan farm and chose to travel via portal to Rithwic,
arriving at gloaming. So as not to fill the simple Rithwic villagers
with envy, she had placed both her Ice Tachi and Lightning Simi in her
backpack, keeping her normal Yaoji (???) to maintain appearances. She
shopped for a while at the Healer (who had excellent prices) and the
Jeweler (who did not). Then she crossed the river to the east and
headed northeast to Eastham along the road. It was foredawn, and
visibility was good.

There were no real challenges for her to face. She dispatched a
baby gnawer shreth with a single sweep of her Yaoji. A drudge skulker
required only a few thrusts. The rabbits she disdained to even
acknowledge.

At about MornTide (???) Loka Mer saw what seemed to be a house off
to the southeast. She had heard rumors that this was the house of an
archmage, and wanted to check his wares (and his prices), so she headed
in that direction. She avoided a large group of drudges by circling to
the south, and was congratulating herself on her stealth when she
realized that a band of monoughas was coming straight for her!

Well, Mer felt no fear. She had died and been reborn at the
Lifestone before, so turned to face the monoughas. Then she remembered
something very important: she was carrying over 2000 pyreals and, if
she died, half would remain with her corpse. Worse, she had forgotten
to attune herself to a local lifestone; when resurrected, she would do
so at the lifestone near Shoushi! Even worse, she had forgotten to
equip herself with one of her better weapons. Both simis rested
comfortably in her backpack, she was armed with only the yaoji, and had
no time to search through the pack and shift weapons.

Well, Loka Mer was an intelligent warrior (most of the time), and
she took the brief seconds before the monoughas impending arrival to
quickly scout around. The best cover appeared to be the house of the
supposed archmage. She turned and sped for the door, opened it, and
went in. Just inside the door was the homeowner, the archmage himself.
Mer noticed something else - there was a squeaking coming from the
basement. With the gratified permission of the owner, she went down to
the basement, where she dispatched several white rats in short order.

Loka Mer sped up the stairs and was about to inquire of the
archmage about prices and availability when she was struck by two
things: a monougha and a monougha! In her haste to meet the archmage
and to clean out the vermin below, Mer had totally forgotten to shut
the door! She prepared quickly for combat, but the monoughas got in
several good licks first. It looked like she would be killed, and a
thousand pyreals would remain for some undeserving beggar!

She had an idea! Turning between the monoughas, she jumped as hard
as she could, landing on the dining room table. She jumped again, this
time over the railing leading to the basement. Landing on the stairs
with an "ooof!", she ran to the corner of the basement. There, she
heard the monoughas upstairs, and they moved around. They attempted to
get to her through the floorboards, but could not, and they were
apparently not intelligent enough to use the stairs.

Calm and rational for the first time in these hectic minutes, Mer
lay down to heal. It was difficult just lying there, with the noise the
monoughas were making overhead! Several times she got a strong urge to
jump up and fight, but she resisted. It was difficult having the
patience to heal completely, and it took a long time. Then, just before
healing completely, she heard a loud squeal. She had forgotten about
the white rats! One had appeared next to her, and was attacking!

Mer jumped up and dispatched the rat, cursing as she did. How
stupid to forget that! She lie down to rest again and, in a few
minutes, was completely healed. Now for the monoughas. Mer remembered
the layout of the house. There were two outside doors on the ground
floor, one at the top of the stairs to the basement. She ran to the far
corner of the basement, and heard the monoughas above move to the
corner directly above her. Then she sped quickly to the stairs, ran up,
opened the door, sped out ahead of the monoughas, and ran quickly
around the building.

Only to encounter the drudges she had avoided earlier.

Her intent had been to circle the building, drawing the monoughas
inside towards the far corner of the first floor, then return around
the house to close her escape door. Regrettably, the drudges now made
this impossible. And she still hadn't spoken to that mage! Loka Mer
turned about face and began to circle the building in the opposite
direction. The drudges gave chase! And, as she passed her still-open
escape door, the monoughas finally seemed to notice, and they emerged
to face her!

This is rapidly getting interesting, she thought, as she executed
another brilliant tactical maneuver. Heading for the small space
between the monoughas, she jumped as hard as she could! This succeeded
almost beyond her expectations, as she passed over both of their heads,
landing beyond them. The monoughas turned slowly, and blocked the
drudges from their quick advance. What luck, er, I mean skill! Mer now
had the time to circle leisurely around the house (again!), leading
both packs of monsters.

Coming to the open door for what seemed like the fourth time, Loka
Mer entered, turned, and shut the door. This simple act frustrated the
monsters beyond belief, and they began growling, mewling, and striking
the door and house walls with their weapons. Cool, calm, and collected,
Loka Mer was now able to approach the archmage and inquire about prices
and item availability.

To meet disappointment. This so-called archmage had but a single
blue taper, a single lead scarab, and few other comps. In addition, his
prices were outrageous! Still polite, Loka Mer bid him good day, and
left (by the opposite door).

Well, in a fit of rage over all the time wasted over nothing, Loka
Mer was able through superior strategy and tactics to engage the
monsters outside one at a time, vanquishing all easily. Regrettably,
the entire loot for both packs consisted of one cheese, one egg, and 3
pyreals. With a snort of disgust, Loka Mer continued on her way to
Eastham. Which is another story.