The Forsaken Crypts

by Terry C. Simpson

  In seconds, the majority of the wave was dead. Exp flowed like water, the numbers small but in bunches. He was well on his way to level nineteen. Smoke boiled into the sky. Residual fire and lightning licked at the ground, threaded the air.

  Frost almost cheered. But none of the other fighters showed any reaction. He frowned. His answer appeared a moment later.

  Resha and Rajan burst through the smoke and flames. As did several other creatures. Roaring, the behemoths lumbered to the stairs, their footsteps shaking the ground.

  “Tanks and melee, engage,” bellowed the WaR group leader. “Ranged, once aggro is set, single target attacks only to finish them off.”

  Dante unleashed a howl and Leaped down the stairs. “Time for some action, babyyyyyy. DPS for the win. Pew, pew, pew!”

  Frost cackled.

  Marauders Raging Rushed to meet the GUMs and their counterparts. A synchronous use of Frenzy, Sentinel Shout, and Soul Scream followed. The slicing spins of Cyclonic Strike and Aether Cleaves left afterimages in the air.

  Dementers Spurted in, along with reavers who called upon Onslaught to cover the distance in a flash, while cutthroats relied on Shadowblink. The cutthroats disappeared to reappear behind their targets.

  Upon contact, the dementers unleashed Shockwaves to stun and stagger, followed by the blue half-moons of Sonic Blow and the silver of Blade Kicks. Reavers relied on combos of Ravage, Necrotic Slash, Mortal Wound, and Malignant Strike, leaving wounds either infested with disease or bleeding profusely, each one doing Damage Over Time. The cutthroats stabbed and sliced from the rear.

  Frost smiled. The best cutthroats do it from behind, he thought.

  In the middle of it all, Dante’s voice rang out. “Get some. Get some. Pew, pew. Balls out, baby. Balls out!”

  Blue motes of Mikander’s Tears and the red of Mikander’s Blood shot from the mystics to the melee. The light green drizzle of Mikander’s Rain, a group Heal Over Time, fell over the WaR groups.

  On the landing, the ranged chose targets and loosed single attacks. Red Piercers cut through the air, felling monsters. Frost relied on Aether Shots. Beside him, Gilda and Saba unleashed their skills. Soon, the first wave was cleared.

  Corpses littered the ground. The area was awash with blood, its metallic stench biting through the acrid smoke.

  “Positions!” yelled the gargant.

  The melee dashed back up the stairs. Within moments they had returned to their original places, weapons at the ready, sweat pouring down faces that were masks of concentration. Marksmen, this time including Saba, hurried down to the choke points and containment areas to place new Traps.

  Huffing, Dante returned, grinning madly. “That was crazy fun. Can’t wait to do it again.”

  The second wave entered the maze. They were made up of many of the same creatures along with basilisks and korbitoises. There were three behemoths this time.

  The result was the same. Before the melee departed, the marksmen were setting new traps.

  But the next wave was already halfway through the maze. This time, there were four behemoth GUMs.

  Frost’s breath caught in his throat at the massive creature striding behind them. Gilda hissed. Saba cursed.

  Humanoid in form, he was perhaps two stories tall and might have once been a titan. His skin, where not covered by green scale armor, was the color of ash threaded with vibrant red and yellow. Black and silver void energy collected around his hands. His hair was done in a top knot, and his eyes were the brightest blue. The hilt of a massive sword jutted from his back.

  IM named him Herzl. A draconid herald.

  “Clear the wave as quickly as possible,” the gargant ordered. “Saigo and I’ll off-tank Herzl. Mystics, your Bulwarks stay here as back up. Shamans with us. Lady Meileen, if you would be so kind as to be our main healer.”

  “Certainly, my love.” Meileen’s voice was the same memorable wind chime from the streets of Madurai.

  Frost suppressed a gasp. “Meritus, you coulda said that was Kazuto,” he hissed into group chat.

  “I would’ve if I had known. This is the first time I’m seeing him.”

  Kazuto led the way, Spurting down the stairs and over to the far left of the avenue near the maze and a wide side street. Meileen followed by way of Flicker. Bringing up the rear was Saigo, a deep blue gurash in full plate armor, wielding a quaker axe with a blade as wide as his body.

  They’d scarcely gotten into position when the void beasts spilled from the openings. The Traps triggered. As before, the players relied on every type of CC as the ranged got to work.

  However, the tanks charged in earlier, picking up the behemoths, taking them to the sides. The melee DPS followed soon after.

  Now, not only was Frost using his AOEs, but he was feverishly working every other skill. He charged Homer for its complete four seconds, firing off a full Aether Missile salvo.

  In the next two seconds he’d charged Aether Barrage, aiming at the nearest behemoth. He fired. Aether Shots spat from the cannon with a drill-like whine. All eight were discharged in an instant. Even as his target let out a plaintive cry and collapsed, he was attacking the next one.

  Herzl stepped over, on, or through the barriers, crushing or shattering them. The herald crossed the maze in a few massive ground-shaking strides.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Frost saw Saigo point at the herald. In his other hand, his huge quaker axe glowed with aether. With a swift move, Saigo stepped forward and flung the axe sideways and up. Spinning like a massive cyan disc, the weapon sped toward Herzl.

  The quaker axe buried itself in the herald’s face, destroying his left eye. Mid-stride, Herzl roared in agony. Rage. This, despite the weapon appearing more like a toy than a deadly instrument.

  In the next instant, Herzl was pulled from his path to face Saigo, who had his hand outstretched. Herzl batted the axe from his eye. Blood fountained. He bellowed again.

  Still glowing, and once again spinning, the quaker axe hurtled back down to Saigo, who caught it by the haft. Herzl roared at the gurash, the force of his voice billowing up dust and debris.

  “Yoooo, Saigo just used Boomerang Blade. Epiccc,” Dante’s high-pitched excited voice piped through group chat.

  “What’s so special about that?” Frowning, Frost watched as Saigo waited, weapon in hand, while Kazuto kept his distance down the street. Meileen positioned herself where she was in range to heal them both.

  “It’s a reaver skill. And Saigo already used several marauder skills.”

  The declaration opened Frost’s eyes. He wondered if all the WaR members were multi-classing. How did they handle skills that were weapon-specific? Boomerang Blade couldn’t be one of those, because Saigo didn’t have a sword, glaive, or a mist blade hierka. Perhaps they only chose skills that did not require a particular weapon.

  The raid was on the final behemoth as an enraged Herzl crashed through the last barricades, sending the obstacles flying. He barreled toward Saigo.

  But the gurash didn’t wait for the herald to reach him. Instead, he Raging Rushed into the Herzl, stopped before one humongous leg, and delivered a blow to Herzl’s upper thigh, which was about head high for the gurash.

  Yowling, Herzl swiped at Saigo. The gurash dodged under the blow and Leaped high into the air. The arm passed under him. At the apex of the Leap, he chopped into Herzl’s shoulder.

  Herzl cried out again. The herald reached back and up for his sword.

  Saigo landed. The moment he touched the ground, the gurash Soul Screamed. Abruptly, he took two massive Leaps backward, coming to rest near Kazuto.

  Frost re-focused on the last behemoth. Eager to tackle Herzl, he pumped out shot after shot. The idea of fighting such a boss at this early level scattered his thoughts, got him to wondering about Herzl’s skills, how hard it hit, t
he possible strats, the loot. He grinned madly as the behemoth crumpled to the ground.

  Frost shifted to face Herzl’s massive back. The herald crashed through the buildings on his way down the street after Saigo and Kazuto. In his head, Frost had already worked out his opening combo.

  Sword in hand, Herzl threw his head back and let out a mighty roar. The sound echoed. Frost almost slapped his hands over his ears. Herzl took one last look at Saigo and Kazuto and then bounded some two hundred feet away in the direction of the Forsaken Crypts, abandoning the fight.

  Frost let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping.

  CHAPTER 29

  “What the hell happened?” Disappointed, Frost shook his head. “Why’d he bounce?”

  “We cleared the waves.” The grand kora player stepped up beside him. “Herzl flees every time we do so. No one knows why, but it’s the same way each time. He lets out that frustrated roar and makes a run for the Crypts when the last void beast dies.”

  “What happens if you fail to do a full clear?”

  She shivered. “The waves overrun everyone before the herald engages. The void beasts collect the corpses and survivors and head back to the Crypts.”

  “Damn, I was hoping you at least knew what he did. Or his abilities.” Frost sighed.

  The grand kora headed down the stairs toward the carcasses piled at the choke points. “I’m just glad for the clear so I can collect some void beast blood.”

  Her words spurred Frost into action. He hurried after her. His friends joined him among the stinking dead.

  Cheers went up, from both the players and the NPCs behind Frost. He turned. Townsfolk poured from the temple doors.

  Two quests completed. Rescue The Survivors and Defend the Temple. Each granted fifty thousand exp and a thousand Lothal, Ignis, Puria, and Khertahka dominion credits.

  “Level nineteen. Halfway to twenty already off the quests,” Frost said in group chat. “Almost there.” He looked to Gilda and smiled. “Let’s get this blood and get you sorted.”

  She barely acknowledged him, which sent a fresh needle of concern worming its way into his gut. Trying his best not to allow gruesome thoughts to run rampant, Frost focused on his immediate surroundings.

  While Kazawa, Enatsu, Varia, and Domen had gone up the stairs to greet the survivors, Senaty had remained below, inspecting the dead. If the body was on its back, she would turn it over and look at something on its nape. She also placed blood in glass tubes, added something, and swirled it around. Then she’d destroy the tubes by conjuring flames.

  The Void Beasts quest completed. Frost gained twenty thousand exp and seven hundred and fifty Lothal, Ignis, Khertahka, and Puria dominion credits.

  Frost screwed up his face at the stench wafting from the carcasses. They smelled of rot. Of long dead things.

  Wondering what Senaty might be searching for, he steeled himself and checked a corpse’s nape. There was some kind of a red mark. A brand, perhaps. It reminded him of two fangs with four teeth in-between. He checked another and found the same.

  Although curious as to the brand’s meaning, Frost shoved it to the back of his mind. He had a more important task. He set about it, grimacing whenever he scooped a flask into void beast blood. All the other players were doing the same.

  Frowning, Frost stopped. Not all the players. The WaR members were missing. He looked to the last location of Kazuto, Meileen, and Saigo. Three full groups of WaR members were riding down the avenue toward the distant Crypts.

  A voice in his head said he should be doing the same. They were the best players he’d encountered thus far. Players of that caliber were always at the cutting edge of progression. The chance they might reach the Genesis Engine first was a definite possibility. He had to find a way to beat them to it.

  “I’ve got fifty.” Frost held up a flask of the black blood. “Enough for five zhua. Everyone should have about the same, which is more than enough for what I had in mind. Besides, I don’t wanna be around when the next waves come. Not without those guys from WaR. I can get to twenty by grinding out the level somewhere else in the city.”

  Everyone agreed. They hurried up the stairs and got their mounts.

  Kazawa strode over to Frost, holding hands with a green-skinned gurash woman in torn robes. The rest of his soldiers waited behind him.

  “Lan, this is Naora.” The sergeant glanced down to Naora with dreamy eyes. “The love of my life.”

  “Hello, Naora.” Frost dipped his head to her.

  “Hey, Lan.” She offered him a shy smile.

  Frost noticed the gray splotches on her skin. They weren’t prominent as yet, but they would grow. Melancholy settled on him.

  “We wanted to thank you.” Kazawa stuck out a clawed hand to Frost. “Without your help, we wouldn’t be together again. And none of these people would be alive.”

  The Reunited quest completed, granting Frost twenty thousand exp and five hundred Lothal and Puria dominion credits.

  Frost clasped arms with the sergeant. “It was a pleasure.”

  Senaty stepped up on Kazawa’s other side. “I, too, wish to thank you.”

  Brow arched, Frost released Kazawa’s arm. “For what?”

  “For opening my eyes.” Senaty smiled and gave a slight shake of her head. “I cursed Kazawa during our time here because he risked our lives over a woman. Over love. I always told him that he was soft. That his weakness for her would be our downfall.”

  “And it almost was,” Kazawa interjected.

  “That’s one way to look at it.” Senaty glanced past Frost, her gaze settling on Gilda. “But I learned that such love is as much a strength as it is a weakness. There are some things a person might never accomplish without strong emotion to drive them. Great things.”

  “You’re welcome.” Frost couldn’t help a sense of comfort at the sentiment behind the words as well as awe at the statement being delivered by an NPC. Was it possible that the AI understood emotions? Or had feelings? Was her speech a part of her programming or the AI’s independent thought?

  “One more thing.” Senaty gestured toward the Crypts. “I found marks on every corpse I inspected. Marks of a void devourer. So named because of their ability to consume void energy, using it to feed on entire cities. It might be the one responsible for the Gray Death.

  “Unfortunately, after analyzing the blood, I realize I lack the materials necessary to experiment in order to find a cure or a way to curtail the infection’s growth.

  “But Vindicator Sadonia had gone to the Crypts for that very reason. Hopefully, she’s done better than I, and perhaps you can help each other.”

  A quest, Vindicator Sadonia, revealed itself in The Cure line beneath Help The Coalition Find A Cure. There were other unidentified parts connected to the Vindicator portion.

  “If you find her, show her this and say: Aether is life.” Senaty reached out to Frost, turned her hand upward, and uncurled her fingers.

  A golden medallion sat in her palm. Adorning its surface was a mountain split by a river. The Mountain and the Aetherstream rose out of the metal and appeared to move. The Coalition insignia seemed almost alive. Words curled around the medallion’s edge.

  “It’s an Aetherium Council member’s badge. Tell Sadonia she can return it to me here.”

  “Wowww,” Meritus whispered in group chat. “The Aetherium Council controls all the Coalition’s research into aether, spells, hierkas, Genesis Engines, and so much more. They’re so influential some say they hold as much or more power as the Kalarchs… that they’re the true power behind the Coalition along with the Grendesh Conclave.”

  “Thank you.” Frost made to take the medallion. When he and Senaty touched, she grabbed his hand.

  She leaned in and spoke so only he could hear. “I hope you succeed. Not only for the
sake of many of these people here, but also for Kazawa. He will kill himself for sure when the Gray Death takes Naora. And I’m helpless to stop it.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

  The words cut deep. Frost took the badge as if it were a precious stone and slipped it into his pocket. He received yet another quest in The Cure line: Saving Kazawa and Naora. “Thank you. I’m gonna do my best.”

  “No. Thank you.” Senaty bowed. “May Nif guide you and keep you.”

  Frost returned the gesture. “May Nif do the same for you.”

  After saying their goodbyes to the others, Frost and his group rode up the avenue toward the Crypts. Sporadic battle sounds and the occasional flash and boom of magic resonated from the direction of the distant pyramid.

  “We gotta hurry.” Frost kicked his bolsters. “Those WaR members might already be inside. And I’m still not twenty, but the Sadonia quest line should get me there.”

  Ten minutes of hard riding later, the avenue veered left. A battle unfolded at the base of the pyramid.

  A silver-armored human Vindicator was yelling orders. She wielded a warfan that matched her height. “Keep the death knights off us while we deal with the forsaken.”

  She flung translucent Gusts, fiery Infernal Lances, and Arc Lightning at giant skeletons pouring from the Crypts. Beside her, a mage and a cannoneer launched attacks. All around them, Coalition soldiers battled death knights: skeletal warriors dressed in tattered clothing and armed with two-handed swords or axes.

  “Help them.” Frost dismounted even as he spoke in group chat. Locate Vindicator Sadonia completed. “Gilda, Saba, and Ryne with me. Dante, deal with the death knights. Meritus, keep those soldiers alive.”

  Frost took up a position to the left of the trio. He fired off AOE attacks into the onrushing horde. Picking out casters behind the undead armed with melee weapons, he chose Homer, selected targets while charging it, and fired eight Aether Missiles. Ryne, Saba, and Gilda unleashed their abilities beside him. Between them, the area before the Crypts became a field of fire and explosions.