The Monolith

by Stephen Roark

  All right, you sons of bitches. Here we go.

  My right foot found a crack in the cobblestones. I pivoted and lunged forward, closing as much distance between myself and the invaders as I could before Shadowstepping straight toward them. The look of shock on Doom’s face was priceless as I wraithed through his body. He spun and swung his Bloodletter, but I was expecting that.

  Feel it! Rathborne’s words in my head.

  I shot from the hip. My Blunderbuss spat, the satisfying recoil nudging me back slightly as the riposte sounded.

  Dooooooommmmm!

  He hit the ground on both knees and I laughed as I brought my Shovel Axe down on the left side of his neck.

  126

  That’s it?! I thought as I stepped to the side as he staggered to his feet. But it was my first real attack on another player, and I realized I had no idea what to expect for damage. Monsters and players obviously had different stats and armor, and if I was to do the same damage to him as I’d done to the Corpse Eater or Gravekeeper Boucher, Doom would be dead from a single riposte.

  “What the Hell?” Doom stammered as he rose to his feet then fell again. I swung for his head, but he ducked and rolled behind a grave as another one of his buddy’s orbs crept through the air, plucking away at my health as it passed.

  -26, -26, -28

  Over his shoulder, I saw Fujiko dashing toward him, her massive hammer held low behind her in both hands, ready for a heavy swing.

  -31, -29

  The death orb, or whatever the Hell it was, was chipping away at me—I had to move. Doom slashed out at me with the Bloodletter, carving a hole in my calf as I vaulted over a gravestone and soared over him toward Callahan.

  -56

  Jesus! In less than three seconds, half my health was gone. I was down to 182. I swung out with my axe randomly as I arced through the air. The edge found Callahan, but just barely.

  28

  His bar dropped considerably, but as I landed, I had an important decision to make—and almost no time to make it.

  Heal or attack. If I popped a Soothing Syrup now, it would give Doom time to heal as well, or attack while I was vulnerable. If Callahan fired another orb, it might be enough to finish me off if I wasn’t able to get out of the way in time. But luckily (or unluckily), Doom made the decision for me.

  He attacked, quickly dashing forward with his sword straight, thrusting its tip at my belly. I swatted at it with my axe, but he had all his weight behind it and I was only able to deflect it slightly. The blade buried itself in my side, which burst with pain.

  -67

  A debuff appeared—

  Disembowel—15% weapon damage for 5 seconds.

  Well, what’s his weapon damage?!

  The first tick hit me.

  -9

  Okay, that’s not horrible, I thought as I sidestepped and raised my axe to swing. But before I could bring it down, my comrades joined the fight. A Precision Shot clapped into Doom’s cheek, spitting blood in a thin slash across the stone. Fujiko’s hammer said hello to his knee, knocking away a substantial chunk of health and dropping him to his knees.

  -8

  I gulped a Soothing Syrup.

  +91

  Doom was at half health and leapt back as I swung at him. My Rally bar was only beginning to fill as Altarus’ Winchester cracked again, missing Doom, but only barely. Behind me, I just knew that Callahan was readying another spell in our direction. I assumed it was an AoE by the way it had been sprouting its tendrils as it passed me, which meant it would hit Fujiko as well.

  “You got him?!” I roared.

  “Yeah!”

  I spun and dashed for the caster. Sure enough, his sickly glob of flesh was aimed straight at me. Boucher’s old axe hit him hard in the chin, causing his head to spin and blood to spray, interrupting his cast.

  36

  His health dropped more than Doom’s, meaning he had less total, and I didn’t hesitate as I sank my blade into his back.

  MASSIVE!

  78

  He was almost half now, and my Rally bar was about to start raging. I hit again and again, and smiled as it filled.

  35, 38

  He was dropping hard as my bar filled. Altarus’ next shot found its mark. Callahan’s health dropped again—judging by the amount, the bullet had been about as damaging as my axe—maybe a bit less. He spun and raised his hands in a frantic attempt to block my axe as it came down. Of course that didn’t work.

  75, 76

  His health vanished, the life left his eyes and he collapsed.

  “Nice!” Altarus shouted. Grinning, I turned back to Fujiko as my Shadowstep came off cooldown. She was 1v1ing Doom, playing the range game with him, using the length of her hammer to her advantage to keep distance between her and the sharp edge of his Bloodletter. He only had about a third of his health left too.

  We’ve got you, I thought as I dashed in to help her finish him off. My axe sank into the flesh of his thigh, obliterating almost all the health he had left.

  68

  I raised my axe to strike, but that’s when I saw it—a heavy wave of shadow, silhouettes approaching over a ridge of headstones, swords, axes and guns held high. A roar pierced the air like the cry of an invading army.

  More of them! I realized as I tried to count their numbers. I got to five before a bullet struck my shoulder, whipping me around. My foot caught something and sent me tumbling back. Before I hit, I saw Doom slip under one of Fujiko’s monstrous swings and down a Soothing Syrup, restoring a third of his health.

  More bullets struck the ground beside me, and another caught my knee.

  -25

  The Disembowel debuff had ticked away, but my health was approaching half again.

  “Rand!” Fujiko shouted. I rolled backwards and landed in a crouching position and looked over at her. Her eyes were fierce as she glanced at the incoming attackers and back at me. “We have to run!”

  No! I thought, but when I saw at least five more of Doom’s allies closing in on us, I knew she was right. Doom was still below half health. Three seconds would be all it would take to finish him off. But we didn’t have three seconds. Lead pelted the ground. One struck my shoulder and the other grazed my cheek.

  -25, -14

  Some idiot blew his Blunderbuss at range. The slugs did nothing but rain harmlessly down around me as I got my feet under me and started to run.

  Goddamn it! We had him!

  “After them!” someone, I assume Doom, roared as we sprinted back the way we’d come. Altarus fired over my shoulder and hit someone who shrieked in pain, then spun around and joined us in our retreat.

  “Who are these guys?!” Fujiko cried out.

  “We could have had him!” I spat back angrily. There was nothing worse than losing a fight you knew you could have won. I could hear them closing in on us, the sound of boot heels against stone. A Rotting Corpse rose in front of me, but Fujiko and I struck it down, not killing it, just getting it out of our way. Somewhere to our right a Corpse Eater snarled, but we were past it in the blink of an eye and I heard one of Doom’s men scream out behind us as it attacked them.

  “They’re closing in,” Altarus growled. Bullets sprayed and I heard their angry cries. Then, a familiar voice rang out.

  “Get down!”

  I barely spotted Jacob in front of us before a swath of terrible flame spat forth from his hands. Like a twisting inferno, an overloaded furnace or the mouth of a dragon, a fiery carpet blew toward us.

  33

  More Than a Little Bone Waving

  “The Ancient Ones. That’s what they call them. But who exactly are they? I can’t seem to get a straight answer out of anybody. Or perhaps they don’t know themselves? Either way, the legend of great Gods living in the sky is strong in this land. I will have to investigate further.”

  —from the private journals of J.P. Cornish

  “Get down!” I repeated, snatching Fujiko’s shoulder and tugging her to the ground wit
h me. Altarus hit hard beside us as Jacob’s new spell cackled through the thick cemetery air. I watched as the flames rolled and twisted and enveloped the row of Doom’s men that had been pursuing us. The fire hit them and stuck to everything—limbs, vests, pants, weapons. Cries of agony rang out as the line of attackers slowed, some swatting at their burns, others dropping and rolling in an attempt to extinguish them.

  “Jacob?” I shouted, looking up as he stood triumphantly above us.

  “Hey, Rand,” he replied with a nod of his chin. I grinned, and gulped syrup before springing to my feet.

  “What the Hell was that?!”

  “Wyvern’s Flame.” He smiled. “Picked up the tome from Grecia.”

  “Sick!” Something rose behind me and I spun around as a Mortician’s Scalpel sliced quickly toward me. I landed my riposte perfectly, dropping my attacker to one knee, but there was no time for a follow up. A Butcher’s Blade, held in the fiery hands of a man clad in a crimson robe, struck my side.

  -23

  But whoever my attacker was, he wasn’t high enough level to be taking me on his own. Doom and Callahan obviously had thought they were badass enough to take down my group themselves, and had rushed in ahead of the rest of their troops.

  “Nah, nah, nah,” I scolded the Seeker as I slapped him with a Blunted Strike, freezing him in place. I ducked a wild slice from some kind of sword and attacked back as someone’s Winchester cracked like thunder. My Boucher’s axe carved off a quarter of his health with my first strike.

  85

  My Rally bar began to rise again as I tore into the bastard.

  87—78

  Blunted Strike wore off, but someone slammed into me and knocked me away before I could finish him off. Luckily, Fujiko was on the job, and brought her hammer down like a blacksmith forging a slab of metal for a giant. The rest of the Seeker’s health vanished.

  A Mortal Arrow pierced the air and slammed into another one of Doom’s men. I slashed at someone and ducked beneath their attack, felt a blade slice into my back, but I wasn’t worried about them. The damage barely registered. I had other plans.

  I spotted Doom, flanked by two Seekers, one wielding some kind of short axe and the other with a massive two-handed sword. My party descended on their forces like the hand of God, tearing the lower level men to pieces without hesitation. Fujiko’s AoE tore the ground up and spattered shards against two of them that fell back lifelessly. Only Doom and the other two remained.

  “What happened to your boys?!” I shouted in defiance. I gave him one chance to respond. My Shadowstep stopped me just in front of him. Blunted Strike was off cooldown, and I drove my axe handle into his chin, belting the sense out of him. Using the opening, I darted sideways and slashed the sharp edge of the thing that had once been a shovel used to dig graves, across the exposed, soft belly of the man next to him—his short axe looked even shorter at this range, and I couldn’t help but smile as blood poured from his guts.

  MASSIVE!

  125

  A Mortal Arrow struck him, followed up by a blast from Altarus’ Winchester, dropping his health to below half. I swung back just as he did. My axe met his wrist with such force that his shoulder sank and he dropped to his knees.

  65

  My Rally bar burst and my next swing finished him off.

  “See ya!” I shouted as the stun on Doom wore off. Rage plastered his face as he saw the bodies of his fallen comrades, and he fell into a frenzy, whirling and whipping his Bloodletter through the air with no rhyme or reason or precision, making it unbelievably easy to dodge. In fact, I almost felt bad, just for a second, as I realized I was just toying with him as he fought to bring his blade to my flesh.

  A gong-like clank sounded as Fujiko pummeled his comrade.

  “Watch it, Fujiko!” Jacob shouted. I felt the heat from the Wyvern Fire as it roasted the thick, humid air beside me before igniting on the body of Doom’s last group member. Altarus fired, Fujiko brought her hammer down and another Mortal Arrow from Jacob finished him off—in fact, it was complete overkill.

  “You’re done!” I taunted Doom as he lashed out, again and again, his blade missing or being deflected by my axe. The dickhead had gone from obvious victor to obvious loser in the course of just a couple of minutes, and I could see he was unable to accept it. My guess was these guys had been jumping newbies, using their superior numbers to overwhelm them, but this time Doom and Callahan had grown overconfident and let their guard down. And we had made them pay for it.

  I dashed forward and slammed my axe handle into his nose, spilling blood across his shirt. Of course he replied with a wild slash, so I ducked and let it swish harmlessly over my head, then sank my blade into the backs of his legs.

  75

  Fujiko’s hammer hit him in the guts, doubling him over and dealing a little less damage than my attack had done but still enough.

  “Sons of bitches!” Doom growled as he realized he was done for. Fujiko’s hammer found a spot beneath his chin and snapped his head back with such force that he was thrown back onto the ground, about a third of his health remaining. I stepped over him, placing one leg on either side of his body, and stared down at him feeling like an executioner. I could have ended him right then and there, but I was pissed, so I waited.

  “So, this is your thing, huh?” I asked him. “Ganking people with your group? Can’t take them on your own?

  He didn’t answer—just scowled up at me with a hand tight around the hilt of his sword. I could see his mind working; he was thinking about driving the tip of that thing straight up into my groin, dealing a last bit of damage before we ended him and sent him back to whatever lamppost he’d bound to. But in the end, he decided against it.

  “Says the guy who needed his friends to save him,” he growled. I chuckled and looked back at my party, all of whom had smiles on their faces. After all, it was quite a victory. I smirked down at him, then looked back at my crew, who were watching as they downed some syrup to restore what health they’d lost during the fight.

  “Oh, yeah?” I asked him, shouldering my axe and stepping back. “You wanna put that to the test?”

  “Rand, what are you doing?” Fujiko hissed.

  “Don’t worry,” I replied, motioning for Doom to get to his feet. “He doesn’t have it in him.”

  Hesitantly, Doom got to his feet, a look on his face like he was being led into a trap. But all the same, he stood up and made a move for a Soothing Syrup.

  “Go ahead,” I urged him. “Heal right up to full.”

  “Rand?!” Jacob whispered. “There’s no need to do this! We won!”

  “Nah, he’s right, Jacob,” I replied, taking a step back and presenting myself to Doom as if to say—I am your only opponent now. “I wouldn’t want to be accused by anybody of being saved by a little wand waving—or bone waving in your case.”

  Doom smiled as he took a battle stance and tightened his hand on the hilt of his sword. Despite his monumental defeat and being surrounded by his fallen men, he was somehow still arrogant.

  You really think you can beat me.

  I could hear Jacob’s confusion as he looked to Fujiko and Altarus to intervene, but neither of them said anything. As I stared at him, I envisioned my plan of attack.

  Feint your first attack…he’ll dodge and try to counter…

  Shadowstep and attack him from behind…

  Be ready to riposte.

  Quick strikes…probably won’t have enough health to get a fully rally bar…

  Dodge left when he thrusts and counter with a blow to his chest…finish him off with a backhand stroke to the neck…

  I smiled—made sure Doom saw me smile. “Come on then,” I told him. “Let’s get this over with. I’ve got other business besides you.”

  Doom was the classic case of a big fish who’d splashed out of his pond without realizing it and was now flapping around in a tiny puddle, still carrying with him the mentality of a king. So far, no one had knocked him down
to size and shown him the kind of man (or boy—I was betting on the latter) he really was.

  I stepped forward and raised my axe, feinting a strike at his shoulder and chest. As I suspected, he dodged back and thrust his Bloodletter forward, anticipating my movement. I Shadowstepped, thinking of the time Rathborne handed over his cloak to me.

  That’s it! I heard his voice in my head as I materialized behind Doom and sank Boucher’s Shovel Axe into his exposed back.

  77

  “Bullshit!” Doom cried out, obviously not happy with my cloak’s ability. He whirled around and slashed straight down, but my Blunderbuss greeted him happily with a face full of slugs. His knees buckled like old rotten wood and he collapsed to the ground. Raising my axe with every bit of force I had, I met his chin as it came down, combining our momentums into a devastating blow.

  MASSIVE!

  165

  He groaned as the pain hit him, and I stepped to the side, anticipating his thrust—but it didn’t happen how I’d pictured it. Instead of driving the tip of his sword at my stomach, he slashed out, almost lazily, at my ankles. I tried to jump, but the blade found its mark and hit both of them one after the other.

  -34, -42

  Doesn’t matter, I thought as I kicked his arm away, stopping his next attack. Aiming my Shovel Axe at the back of his neck and head, I swung.

  Finish him! Rathborne’s voice again urging me on.

  “You lose,” I told him as the blade came down.

  MASSIVE!

  152

  “Yea-hah!” Jacob cheered as Doom’s health bar vanished and his body fell limp against the headstone pavers.

  Atta boy! That’s what Rathborne would say if he were here. Shouldering my axe, I turned to face my companions. Altarus looked at me proudly, and despite the look of disapproval on Fujiko’s face, I could see she was impressed.