The Azure Dragon

by Vladimir Vasilenko

  "When we were here last time, this contraption with skulls didn’t exist," Viper said. "Neither was it here before we built the camp. There was just bare jungle."

  "Yeah, there's definitely something fishy going on," grumbled Bers, glumly staring at the totem. "This could be our lead. Maybe we should set up an ambush here."

  "For vanaras?" Hemmed Viper. "They are too good for that. That's their jungle!"

  "Shhh!" Sting suddenly shushed him, trying to hear something.

  "What?" the redhead started to look around, puzzled, and the hilts of his axes appeared in the palm of his hands.

  "Uobo!" Came from the bushes a jerky, ear-piercing shriek, like the croaking of a giant toad.

  And then came a response with an ominous multi-voiced whisper from all sides.

  "Uobo-Uobo-Uobo-Uobo-Uobo... Uobo!...Uobo-Uobo-Uobo-Uobo…"

  These sounds had no specific source and hovered in the air, echoing. The only ones in the entire group, who knew the source of the threat, were the dead Asai, that pulled closer to Doc, trying to protect him. They silently opened their mouths, lifting the muzzles upwards and in the direction of the nearby bushes.

  The voices were louder at some moments and quieter at other, making us turn our heads in search of their source. The more I listened to them, the more it became clear that there was some magic in them. Sometimes it seemed that someone was whispering over my ear, and sometimes the cries sounded like trumpet distant voices as if they belonged to a creature the size of a bus.

  "You jinxed us!" Bers retorted spitefully, looking at Viper.

  "What's that got to do with me?" He snapped, tensely peering into the thicket on top of the edge of the shield.

  It was impossible to see anyone. We were in a relatively open area near the ravine. Bushes and small trees around were cut down and did not have time to fully regrow. The lower branches of the giant trees closed above us somewhere on the level of the fifth floor. A bit too high to jump.

  The cacophony intensified, and with it rose a wave of panic attacks. It seemed like everyone was about to start running aimlessly as if pursued by a swarm of bees. Bers was the first one to break down. Those who were trying to put pressure on us, unlikely expected such a reaction.

  "Come on, get out now!" The redhead growled, throwing his face to the sky. "Otherwise, I will chop down your damn tower at the root!"

  And he actually slashed his ax at the totem. We were attacked from all sides at the same moment.

  Viper was right—they came out of nowhere, like ghosts. I think some magic was involved, such as invisibility or some skill that turns you into grass. Although, I spotted how one of them appeared, and there was nothing magical about it—big, gorilla-like creature jumped right at me from the bottom of the ravine.

  So here you are, guardians of the jungle…

  You could call them monkeys, but that would be a simplification. Yes, they were covered with thick hair head to toe, and their hands were hanging almost down to the ground. Their muzzles were hairless, looking almost human, painted with white war paint. On their wrists and ankles, they had beads and primitive bracers from the pieces of animal skins rewound with lianas. Their genitals were covered with a loincloth, and the mane on their heads was braided in a fancy way and decorated with feathers.

  There were only five of them, and one kept a little distance, although he was armed with a large knotty stick. He seemed to be the one in charge. A mage.

  The four clods who lashed out at us were unarmed, but I held off on the victory lap. I could see the emerald light that their Qi charts gave out. Each of them was much stronger than Daniel. In the first seconds of the battle, Sting went flying with a short cry, thrown into the air with a powerful slap. Kata managed to throw her magical icicle at one of the opponents and pierced his face. But it only angered the assailant. He grabbed the girl's hand and simply threw her far away like a doll. With a terrible thud, she hit her back on the distant shore of the ravine and fell down at least thirty feet from us.

  Doc was supposed to suffer a similar fate, but he released his Asai zombies on the vanara that were attacking him. They rushed forward together, clenching their jaws on the attacker's hands. Retreating to the altar, Edge shot the shaggy attackers from a bow at point-blank range. But she didn't last long—one of the monkeys threw a hefty cobblestone at her. The assassin collapsed to the ground, bent in half in pain, and became invisible.

  Viper, Bers, Daniel, Terekhov, and I huddled back-to-back, defending and covering Doc. Though he was helping the Asai with the spells, the lizards managed to neutralize only one of the attackers. The other three were going strong, hooting menacingly.

  One of the gorilla-like vanara with thick black fur put his hands down on the ground and hit Terekhov’s shield with a powerful kick of his legs. The blow was so strong that the paladin could barely keep on his feet. The second one jumped at him, put his paws over the edge of the shield, and jerked it, throwing it aside almost with the paladin’s ripped out arm. Terekhov bellowed—either from pain or rage—and slashed with the sword. The vanara fought off the weapon with his bare paw, hitting the blade. I smashed his shoulder with my staff, but he easily caught my next strike.

  Oh, crap!

  I jerked, trying to snatch the weapon, but that had no result. I wasn't going to lose my staff to him, so I grabbed it with both hands as if my life depended on it. The enemy growled, baring his yellowish monkey fangs, and pulled me towards him.

  Water Column!

  Vanara snorted, shaking his head in shock. The column didn't inflict much damage—it just distracted him for a second. So I decided to use a more effective method.

  The monkey roared from a kick to the groin, releasing my staff from his paws. I activated the Splash combo and managed to strike three blows to his head and shoulders. But another enemy came from the side, so I had to meet him with a jab in his gut, and the combo finale charged my diagonal kick. The uppercut was powerful—the vanara clattered his jaw, starting back. Nothing beyond that, though. An ordinary person would, probably, end up with his head separated from the spine from such a blow. The monkey just shook his head, coming to his senses, and loudly thumped his fists on his chest. He roared like a lion, and it became clear that his fangs could compete with the those of the king of the jungle.

  I broke away from the main group and had no shield, so the whole trio rushed at me. Apparently, they considered me the easiest prey. I miraculously got away from the clutches thanks to Lizard's Tail that was automatically activated by the Sea Salamander bead. I activated another one consciously, and then, rather instinctively than by precise calculation, I activated the most powerful skill I had.

  I've never used Levee Burst before, so I didn't really know what to expect. I felt a tight spring coiling up inside me for a couple of seconds. The black vanara grabbed my shoulder, and the other two jumped up close. And then they were thrown away like in an explosion. The water storm was invisible but palpable because my ears popped, and the vanaras got knocked down. Even the Hounds, that stood seven feet from me, recoiled and tucked their heads.

  Taking advantage of the holdup, I threw the chakram at one of the attackers and initiated the Splash combo again. The Hounds didn't fluster and quickly jumped in the attack.

  That's when the shaman entered the scene.

  I stumbled and messed up a series of strikes. Then I realized that I didn't actually stumble—my ankles were entangled with nimble green sprouts, tightening around like snares.

  Swaying and shuffling from side to side as it befits a monkey and muttering to himself, the shaman held up the crooked staff with his hands. After his cry, a black cloud, consisting of large black dots headed towards us.

  The vines that were coming out of the ground entangled us tighter. The chakram just came back to me, and I used it to cut the sprouts. I barely made it. The vanaras already recovered from Levee Burst and again rushed into battle. I escaped them with Frog Leap, bouncing towards the altar.

  I ha
dn't tried jumping as a Master of Water with the Soaring Falcon bead, so I was slightly stunned from the effect. And I wasn't the only one. I had a glimpse of surprise on the Hounds' faces when I suddenly flew high above the fray, still lightly hanging in the air. Too bad that I couldn't stay at the top of the trajectory longer—the bead allowed to slow down the flight but not completely stop in the midst of it. This moment's respite was enough for me to once again throw the chakram at one of the goons.

  When I landed, I realized that I made a mistake. I had to try to neutralize the shaman, because the black cloud he controlled was finally upon us.

  These were wasps! Black wasps the size of grapes!

  My palms, neck, and cheek were almost simultaneously pierced with pain from their bites. I tried in vain to shrug off the pesky insects, but it seemed to only anger them even more.

  It was a nightmare. The Hounds screamed in pain and broke the formation. Armor didn't save them from the wasps that accurately found vulnerable spots and stung there with deadly precision. Even Daniel wasn't protected enough: the critters got inside of his helmet through the peepholes. I couldn’t believe that there was no way to escape them.

  I remembered about the second Master skill, the Water Shield. I spent two more Qi charges on it. The air around me trembled as if I was inside a huge bubble, but the wasps safely penetrated through its walls. The shield absorbed damage done by magic, and these were just insects. Only a Fire mage could tackle them by frying them with a "flame thrower".

  The wasps didn't attack the vanaras, which the latter used to their advantage. First, they defeated Doc's Asai, who had by then badly battered their relative and possibly even bitten him to death—he collapsed, abundantly irrigating the grass with his crimson blood. But the zombies couldn't withstand against three angry seven-foot tall gorillas—they crushed the dead with their bare hands, splitting their heads and tearing open their mouths. With such strength, the vanaras didn't need any weapons.

  After that, the guardians of the jungle came after us. First, they pulled Viper out of action and tore him in two on the spot. A terrible death. He was bawling so much that my stomach turned.

  "Retreat!" Terekhov yelled, tearing a wasp off his cheek.

  "Where?!" Bers snapped.

  "Water, jump in the water! Maybe they will leave us alone!" Shouted Doc.

  I was the closest one to the cliff, and I didn't need too much convincing. Frog Leap. I soared in the air, slowing down my descent. In a moment, someone's silhouette flashes by. Judging by the size and the splash impact, it was Daniel. I submerged into the water with my feet forward, and the cool waves closed above me, briefly cutting off all the sounds.

  When I surfaced, I saw Bers snorting and spitting next to me. Slightly to our side were Doc and Edge.

  She survived! What a hellcat! Invisibility is a nifty skill.

  "Daniel!" Bers yelled. "Leo!"

  The river wasn't very deep, but it was fast—the current carried us farther from the camp. I could see the silhouettes of rampaging vanaras on the edge of the cliff. They didn't jump in the water, which was good. The wasps, too, quickly fell behind.

  "Dan!!"

  "I don't think we're getting him back," Doc cried out, barely staying on top of the water.

  It looked like he barely knew how to swim: he flapped, clumsily paddling, occasionally going down with only his eyes staying above water.

  "Their armor's too heavy!" Added Edge.

  She rolled onto her back and swam closer to me. Bers followed her. Together we pulled Doc and slowly headed to the shore. By now, the current took us three hundred feet away from it. I really wanted to think that the vanaras wouldn't chase us along the edge of the ravine.

  Wounded, weary, and soaked, we somehow made it out of the water and one by one fell on our backs right in the mud. The wasp bites still burned and our swollen, distorted faces with puffy eyes looked scary and funny at the same time. Laughing was painful, so we looked at each other and made strange sounds—a combination of laughing, coughing, and moaning.

  I figured the bites might hurt because of the poison. I checked the status, and my guess was confirmed. So I spent a Qi charge on Cleansing and immediately felt better. I wished I could wash my face with cool water.

  "Damn monkeys!" Bers exhaled. "How are we supposed to fight them at all? They sent half of the squad to the menhir in just a minute!"

  I was tempted to ask him what he was expecting. No wonder other players stayed away from this jungle—it was a no man’s land. But I kept silent. The redhead was already on edge, and I had to put up with it, so I didn't want to irritate him even more.

  We slowly got up and wandered along the shore downstream. The river occupied almost the entire bottom of the ravine, so there wasn’t really a beach, as we had to wade ankle deep in water.

  Let's hope the ravine ends soon. Or, at worst, we'll come across a good spot for climbing to the top.

  "What if Leo and Dan managed to survive after all?" Doc asked hopefully. "The river is shallow, and they could get to the shore."

  "It no longer matters. We have look for a menhir anyway," gloomily replied Edger. "Our guide was killed, too. We have a map, of course, but what do you think, Doc, can we find our way back?"

  "Why do we have to go back?" The redhead chimed in.

  "I don't know about you, but I don't feel like getting into another fight with these hairy demons! We can't beat them, don't you get it?"

  "Not if we go head on. We have to act more cunning. It's too early to go back. We haven't really found out anything yet, and the sun is still high."

  All of us looked up. Here, at the bottom of the ravine, it was somewhat dark, but golden light flickered through the thick green foliage above us.

  "What else can we do?" Edge shook her head. "We know that vanaras destroyed the camp. Now what? How can we stop them from attacking again?"

  "Well, if they can reason, there are two ways. We can try to negotiate…"

  "I think it's a slippery slope," protested Doc.

  "Me too. Well, if negotiations are useless, we have to use force. I understand Genghis is ready to start a full-fledged war with these hairy beasts. If he wants to control this territory, there is no other way."

  "To fight them, we must first understand where they come from and where they are hiding," said Edge. "How can we track them down in this freaking jungle? They own it!"

  "That's why we were sent to investigate."

  "By the way, Stan suggested that vanaras could live up in the trees."

  "It's not a bad guess," nodded Bers. "But it doesn't narrow the scope of search, but rather expands it. We need some more leads. What do you say, kid?"

  "Yes, I actually have an idea," I grudgingly replied. "I'm not sure it'll work, but we don’t have any other options.”

  Chapter 6. Following the Trail

  It took an hour to reunite with the squad. Finding Terekhov was the easiest, because the paladin had a chat medallion. We got in touch with him and then found the rest.

  Terekhov did survive, after all. He had swallowed a lot of water, but made it out of the river and hid—he wasn't swept upstream because of his armor, and the vanaras were literally above his head. So he had to sit quietly and wait until they left. Dan in his armor, however, was immediately pulled to the bottom. He woke up at the nearest menhir, where Sting and Viper were waiting for him.

  It turned out that when the vanara threw Kata into the ravine, she didn't die from the blow. She was stunned and fell into the river, where she was taken by the current. It was unclear how she didn't drown. Her luck ran out quickly when she woke up and tried to get out of the water, but was attacked by some large creature, a snake or a huge moray eel. So in the end, the sorceress has transported to the menhir anyway, and not the same one that raised the remaining members of the squad. We probably would not have found her at all if she didn’t guess to return to the river, which was the only prominent landmark in the entire area.

  We finally made
a full stop to dry off and eat when everyone was back together. We lit a fire, gulped three servings of Doc's vigorous moonshine, and treated our wounds. We cheered up a little. Even Doc stopped lamenting about his lost Asai and began to incite the others to quickly kill any mob to create another zombie.

  "You're so bloodthirsty, Doc!" Bers chuckled. “PETA would not approve!"

  "If not for my sharp-toothed guys, we would have all been done for," reasonably objected Doc. "Not only that, but I think they tore apart one of those gorillas. I got a hell of experience from it when we were already in the river."

  "Lucky you! We all got our asses kicked big time and lost half the squad while you were pumping your skills!"

  "Envy is a bad feeling, Mr. Sting!"

  "I'm not envying you. I rather admire that! Usually it's me who comes out clean."

  "Yeah, you messed up this time. What's the matter with you?"

  "No idea. Must be getting old."

  "Yeah, you're not a champion of survival anymore. We have a new one," Daniel chuckled and unambiguously nodded in my direction.

  He took off his grotesque helmet at the halt, and his head looked too small amid the massive spiked shoulders and a thick chest cuirass—he had a lot of metal on him. No wonder he went straight to the bottom of the river. He should have quickly deactivated the elements of armor in the equipment slots or dragged them into inventory. But, apparently, he had no time and drowned right away.

  "By the way, Stan, what's your idea as far as hunting down vanaras?" Doc reminded.

  "We have just one lead, the source of Qi and their totem that's built on it," I shrug my shoulders. "Let's go from there."

  "Can you be more specific?" Terekhov frowned.

  "In my gaming experience, I've seen several of these Sources. This one is no different than the others. So vanaras didn't need it because it was special. But why didn't they take advantage of any other sources? If they did, they wouldn't have had to destroy the camp."