by J D Astra
Skill Type/Level: Cast, Level 1
Cost: 40% Spirit regeneration reduction for duration
Range: 2 meters, single target
Duration: Indefinite, until canceled
Cast Time: 5 seconds
Cooldown: 20 minutes
Effect 1: Bind your enemy with flames, rendering them incapable of moving, speaking or casting spells.
<<<>>>
Skill: Shell of Molten Ash
This shield may look cool on the outside, but fire rages within! Protect yourself with a shell of molten ash. Absorb one strike and eject a gout of flame upon impact, dealing 25 points of fire damage to any enemy within a 5-meter, 15-degree cone. Blocks forward visibility until used.
Skill Type/Level: Cast, Level 1
Cost: 30 Spirit
Range: Self
Duration: Indefinite, Until Destroyed
Cast Time: None
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Effect 1: Protect yourself with a shield made of molten ash, absorbing a single strike.
Effect 2: Eject a gout of flame upon shield destruction, dealing 25 fire damage to any enemy within a 5-meter range and a 15-degree cone.
<<<>>>
Twenty-five points of damage didn’t seem like much, but when I noticed the “Spell Strength” stat read, “Add this value to any spell with a base damage not modified by your character level or another stat,” I was relieved. It would do more like 125 points of damage, and only get better over time.
<<<>>>
Skill: Fire Eater
The flames are your friends, you welcome the warmth. Increase your resistance to fire damage by 25% and convert 5% of your fire damage dealt into Spirit.
Skill Type/Level: Passive, Level 1
Cost: None
Range: N/A
Cast Time: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
Effect 1: Resist 25% of all fire damage.
Effect 2: Convert 5% fire damage dealt into Spirit.
<<<>>>
Skill: Smokescreen
With a raging fire comes choking fumes. Smokescreen fills the air with a cloud of burning smoke! Reduce visibility by 50%, reduce enemy hit chance by 15%, and reduce Stamina regeneration by 15%. Duration, 45 seconds.
Skill Type/Level: Cast, Level 1
Cost: 100 Spirit
Range: 25 meters from caster, 5-meter radius.
Duration: 45 seconds
Cast Time: 2 seconds
Cooldown: 3 minutes
Effect 1: Reduce visibility for those within the smoke cloud by 50%.
Effect 2: Reduce enemy hit chance for those within the smoke cloud by 15%.
Effect 3: Reduce Stamina regeneration for those within the smoke cloud by 15%.
<<<>>>
Skill: Inferno Blast
Unleash a blast of flames from both of your hands, 3 meters out with a 10-degree cone from each hand, dealing 3 fire damage per second as long as the target is in range. Spell will continue until canceled or your Spirit is depleted.
Skill Type/Level: Active Cast, Level 1
Cost: 5 Spirit per sec
Range: 3 meters, 10 degrees from the center of your palm
Duration: Until Canceled or Spirit Depletion
Cast Time: Continuous
Cooldown: None
Effect 1: Unleash a cone of fire on your enemies dealing 3 fire damage per sec to enemies in range.
<<<>>>
Wow. I was going to own it! Whatever was guarding that golden egg didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell.
“I think she likes it.” Naitee chuckled, and I realized my cheeks hurt from smiling. “How about some more?” she asked.
My pulse quickened, and I imagined what I could do with just one more spell. “You can unlock more?”
“Naitee,” Otto groaned.
She wagged her finger at him. “Don’t you start, Otto. That was an accident. I didn’t think Rageweed and Grizzly Talon would react that way, and I did tell you it was an experimental mixture.”
She turned her gaze to me. “I have a potion that may allow you to add one of your ability points to the tree.”
“Hell yeah, I’m in!” I jumped to my feet, then grabbed Otto’s arm as I wobbled.
Naitee looked down.
“What?” I prodded.
“If you fail, the Firebrand tree will be permanently closed to you, and that ability point lost forever.” She clasped her hands at her navel and regarded me with pity in the lines of her face.
I was committed to Firebrand, but was I that committed? If we died, I’d need every ability point for Stonewall.
Otto whispered to me. “Abby, we can do this without risking your life.” He glared at Naitee and said a bit louder, “Or your arm.”
Naitee sighed and cocked out a hip as she crossed her arms. “It’s not as though healing potions didn’t repair the damage. You were fine in a few minutes.” She waved of Otto’s accusation. Apparently, the two had more history than I knew.
I took a deep breath as I considered the options. Otto believed in me. Moreover, he believed in the power we had together. I wanted an edge, but was it worth Osmark getting eight more hours on me if Naitee’s potion killed me?
No. We could do this without the cheats. “I think I’ll be okay, thanks Naitee.”
She bowed her head and pulled two scrolls from an unseen pocket on her robes, then held them out to me. “This will get you to the Basalt Hollows. You’ll have a long way down to find the egg. The other is a return scroll. You’re lucky I like you.”
I took the rolls of parchment and stuffed them into my inventory. That egg was as good as mine. Otto and I didn’t need twelve hours, we’d have that thing in four or less.
Naitee grinned and pinched my cheek like an old granny. “You do have fire in you. Be safe, child.”
She walked us to the door and showed us out into the warm October morning.
Otto leaned back and stared up at the sky. “We’ll need potions.”
“I bet you know just the place.” I nudged his elbow. He smirked and gave a nod, then marched off down the alley.
At Merrick’s Elixirs I learned there were six different tiers of Health and Spirit potions, each restoring more of their respective attributes and getting more expensive. There were some interesting combo potions that restored both, and then some even more interesting “restore over time” ROT and “heal over time” HOT potions. They were all incredibly expensive aside from the first- and second-level potions.
I bought twenty level 1 potions, ten each of Health and Spirit. With Otto’s help, I bartered like a boss and got them at a 30% discount. With pockets full of nasty, cold medicine tasting salvation, we left the shop optimistic for the quest ahead.
Lava Pits
I LOOKED AT THE QUEST again and cursed as I fanned myself with my hand. Basalt Hollows was apparently fancy shorthand for unbearable inferno mines filled with creatures of fire. Otto and I had already sweated about a bucket in the short thirty minutes we’d been here, and according to the map on the quest update, we still had a good mile down to trek.
The walls were thick black stone, dimpled and pockmarked from air bubbles getting trapped in the once liquid rock. Veins of red-hot magma ran through the walls behind shimmering quartz, which was mineable, but I could only imagine the hot fluids would pour through the second those stones were removed. It did create a beautiful ambiance, though. Without the insane heat, this cavern would be enchanting... romantic, even.
We’d encountered [Flametongue Salamanders], Doberman-sized geckos that breathed fire, and [Leatherwing Heatleachers], bats the size of a basketball whose sole purpose in life was to wrap themselves around anything that gave off heat and suck it out. They usually came in swarms of three or four and moved so fast that only my Fireball could take them out. But Naitee forgot to mention one thing.
All the beasts in the Basalt Hollows were creatures of fire, which had resistance to fire... which meant all my spells, except Smokescreen, d
id 25% less damage, and Burning Affliction did literally nothing at all. I was completely hamstrung in here, and already down two Health potions and one Spirit.
Otto wiped sweat from his brow and leaned against his sword. “How,” he panted, “much farther?”
I got a sense of deja vu, and chuckled. “Not far,” I lied. The cavern wound in a downward spiral, like we were traveling the path of an ancient volcanic eruption deep into the heart of the mountain. Every few hundred feet the cavern would open up, giving us a good view of what was above and below, and a break from the heat. The bottom of the pit was a smoking, burbling pit of hot lava, disincentivizing us from trying to climb our way down a bit faster.
The chittering of a new swarm of bats put Otto on his guard, but we had this down to a science now. I popped Fire Inside and followed it up with Smokescreen, increasing the visibility debuff from 50% to 100% just as the squad came into view. The bats shrieked behind the thick black clouds of choking smoke and dropped to the ground, stunned. Otto chopped down through the cloud with his sword and cut an unlucky bat clean in half.
Fire Inside ended, and the crawl of my Spirit regen returned to its normal pace. The cloud disappeared, and the dazed bats struggled to get back in the air. Two fireballs and another devastating blow from Otto’s sword, and the pack was down.
“That’s getting pretty easy.” Otto grinned as beads of sweat dripped into his squinted eyes.
“Yeah.” I punched his shoulder. “Good thing I’m such a badass.”
Otto hefted his sword over his shoulder, and we continued down the corkscrew path of black lava rock.
“You’ll have to explain to me why being a bad donkey is a good thing.” Otto sounded flustered. Perhaps I was dropping too much slang.
“I’m sure you’re getting sick of hearing it, but—”
“It’s just a thing from your world?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. It means you’re really good, or cool.”
“That is completely contrary to the actually meaning of the words.” Otto’s brow knitted in frustration.
“No one really knows the origin of some of these sayings, but we all kept saying them. I’m sure you have some of your own? Like ‘sigorsped’?”
Otto frowned. “Where did you hear that?”
“One of the, uh”—I fumbled at the word housekeeper—“barmaids said it.” I settled on something I knew he would understand.
“Strange.”
“Why?”
Flame spurted from the tunnel wall and battered Otto in the face. I stepped in front of the blast, taking seriously reduced damage with the help of Fire Eater, and triggered Shell of Molten Ash. The creature pounced at me, dispelling the shield. A gout of hot embers spit at the [Flametongue Salamander] from the Shell, and it shrieked.
The creature made a mad dash for the opposing wall, skittering up in a flash and hanging from the ceiling before taking a deep inhale for another bout of flame. Before the glow in its open maw could manifest in anything dangerous, I put my hands out and seared the thing with Inferno Blast. My Spirit plummeted by the second as hot destruction burst from the palms of my hands.
It didn’t burn, it didn’t feel bad at all. The only strange part about Inferno Blast was the sense of drawing from me. Like giving blood, when my arm would feel heavier and cold, the life force draining right out. Inferno Blast felt as though it was drawing the life out of me in a blaze of red and gold glory that brought destruction to anyone in its path.
The salamander squealed, dropped to the ground, and writhed about. Otto stomped down on its belly and jabbed the sword through its head. The creature went still, and we sighed together.
“Why’s that?” I opened the creature’s inventory, just to check. Sure as shit, nothing there but a worthless tattered hide and some talons I could exchange for a single copper. Not worthy of my inventory space.
“Sigorsped is from an old tongue, from mountain-dwelling Wode. It means good tidings in battle. I can’t imagine any of the barmaids bidding you so.” Otto nudged the salamander with his boot and rolled it over, then frowned. “Nothing good.”
Good tidings in battle, so strange. Maybe the old woman was off her rocker.
“So, tell me more about this Jake person.” Otto continued on the hot, narrow descent into hell.
“It’s Jack,” I corrected, and he grumbled. “He’s a great guy. We’ve been friends for many years, despite a lot of distance between us.”
“Great, huh? I’ll be the judge of that.”
“Do I detect a note of jealousy?” I grinned.
Otto’s lips pulled down so far it seemed forced. “I do not get jealous.”
His pace quickened, and I double stepped to keep up. “Anyway, he’s really nice, he’s a medic, eh”—I snapped my fingers—“a cleric kinda guy. He’s always a team player. We’ve done lots of raids together.”
“Raids?” Otto’s forehead wrinkled, his voice carrying a note of accusation.
“Like, a dungeon. Like this. Except bigger.” I stammered, trying to worm my way through the awkward conversation. “Anyway, like I said, he’s a team player. He’ll be a great addition to our duo.”
Otto grunted in reply, keeping his quick pace. Maybe I broached the subject too quickly. I was starting to realize Otto was not so much like me, but more like a counterpart to me. Yes, he was still awkward, and forward-thinking, but he was great with crowds and talking to people. His automatic distrust and dislike of Jack was not something I ever did, especially if I had no details about the person whatsoever. There were a lot of similarities between us, but even more differences, it seemed.
“So, when is he getting here?” Otto grumbled, his tone betraying his attempt at seeming uninterested.
I pursed my lips. “I don’t know. Lemme check.”
The character sheet pulled up with ease, and I came to a stop. I’d experienced the disorientation and sometimes danger of walking around with my character sheet open before, and I wasn’t about to put the whole quest at risk for something as silly as that. I opened the friend search and typed a few of his names.
Grim Jack, there he was. That was the name he went by in our first MMORPG, where we had founded the Crimson Alliance together. He was just level 2, so he must’ve started only minutes ago. He was probably just meeting his NPC and figuring out the rules. I wondered where he’d started, what race he’d picked, what he would look like, what class kit he would go for.
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I imagined greeting him for the first time in years, giving him a hug, and seeing his toothy smile creasing his cheeks with little dimples. We’d catch up on all the IRL things that happened in the last eight months since crunch started and I went offline. We’d share a pint over good ol’ stories of the past and laugh about how he crit-wiped the raid with a misplaced heal.
No, my heart sank, we’d talk about Osmark’s conspiracy to rule over all of V.G.O. How he’d sold dungeons with untold wealth to drug lords and corrupt politicians. How we would stop him. I closed my character sheet.
“So?” Otto pulled at the neck of his breastplate, the heat and being stationary obviously getting to him.
I nodded, my voice a touch more solemn than I expected. “Yeah, he made it.”
Otto quirked his head to the side. “Are you going to reach out?”
“Maybe. Let’s get this done first, then pleasantries.” I smiled halfheartedly, and Otto pushed off the wall he rested on.
“Good plan.” He moved to give my arm a pat, but with Jinker, I was too quick. I dodged him easily with a smug smile. The quest said I couldn’t use any spells, but the passives were in effect all the time without my doing anything. It was great to have the extra Luck, Elemental resistance, Dexterity, Evade Chance, and Stamina. The Frostlock passive, Chilled Bones, was pretty useless down here where it was at least 100 degrees, but the others were unaffected by the stifling heat.
Otto shook his head and smirked. “Let’s go.”
The way down transiti
oned from a slow sloping corkscrew to something more like the old hiking trails around Lake Pillsbury. With the added Stamina, it wasn’t such a problem for me. I took the loose gravel and four-foot drops just as well as Otto did.
I opened the quest log to check the distance for what seemed like the hundredth time when a chittering cry, something reminiscent of velociraptors from Jurassic Park, jerked me out of the menus.
I pulled up next to Otto and tugged on his arm. “What was that?” I whispered.
He stiffened, then drew his sword at a snail’s pace, holding the sheath to reduce the noise. Whatever it was, it wasn’t a bat or a salamander. The chittering came again, but farther away, and we continued down the smooth, glassy stone path like ninja assassins. I readied a fireball and followed after Otto. The cast was a crippling three seconds long, but I could hold the spell at the ready in my hand for as long as I liked.
The tiny lava-carved tunnel finally deposited us at the bottom of the cavern, which opened to a massive crater-like landing. I looked up and saw a tiny pinprick of light, the sun, at the top of the mountain opening.
The corkscrew path was visible from the center, and it looked as though a giant drill bit had ripped through the top of the mountain, leaving just the small, winding path untouched by its destruction.
Otto stopped short, then crouched on his haunches. I’d never seen him make himself smaller, and I immediately followed his lead. Frantic thoughts of ambush permeated my mind as my eyes searched the cavern walls. Outcropping here, strange divots there, but overall, a fairly flat and empty space with a pit of lava at the center.
I moved close to his ear and whispered, “Otto, what is it?”
His free hand rose and pointed toward a cave opening bathed in red and gold. It didn’t look beyond the ordinary, but I kept watching. I trusted Otto not to call false alarm on something like this after the Septillian encounter.
Time ticked on and I waited, watching, impatience and fear nagging at the center of my chest. Then, it happened. A dark spot moved on the wall, and the chittering echoed through the open space. The shadow reared up, spreading large, translucent wings as it howled into the void. The sound shook the floor, burbled the lava, and rattled my insides. This wasn’t a Flametongue Salamander nor some kind of higher level Leatherwing Heatleach.
