Deserts Of Naroosh

by Bradford Bates

  Cassie stepped forward. “Now that the introductions are out of the way let’s get down to business.”

  Neema cracked a grin. “I take it back. I kinda like this one.”

  Khalid snorted despite himself. Of course, she’d like the impudent one. “Maybe you’re right though, Neema. It wouldn’t hurt to give them a task to accomplish before we bring them into the fold.”

  “What did you have in mind?” Neema tried not to smile. Khalid had assigned her more than a few of his special tasks, and they were never easy.

  “I thought they might be the right ones to finish off Dracon.” He smiled.

  Killing two birds with one stone was always a bonus. If Eternia’s warriors proved true, they would have new allies, and Dracon would be dead. If they weren’t up to the task, they would be dead, and he was out nothing but some of his time. It was a cruel truth, as harsh as the heat of the desert.

  Neema’s smile turned into a frown. “Are you sure?”

  “They look like they could handle it.” They didn’t, but Khalid needed to know what Eternia gave him to work with.

  “You’re the boss.” Neema looked a little worried, but she wouldn’t try and stop him from sending them to face one of Jabari’s generals.

  Khalid turned toward Tim. “I have a task for you, should you choose to accept it.”

  Tim gave a slight bow. “We’d be delighted to help, as long as the price is right.”

  “Ah, as with all things it always comes down to money.” Khalid grinned and sent him the quest.

  Quest Received: Taking Dracon’s Head

  Dracon is one of Jabari’s three generals and a significant threat to the future of the resistance. Bring his head to the point indicated on your map for a reward and further opportunities within the resistance.

  Reward: Doesn’t it feel good working for the little guys for a change? Sure, they have less gold, but fighting for a noble cause is half the reward. This quest starts a chain, and the reward for Step One is ten gold coins.

  The young man named Tim held out his hand. “You’ve got a deal.”

  Khalid was starting to wonder if he’d given them a little more than they were ready for. Eternia had sent him a gift, and he didn’t want to squander it on the first day. Their group certainly looked eager to walk into the unknown, but it wasn’t his place to judge them, only to direct them as he saw fit.

  Eternia would guide them to victory, or she wouldn’t.

  He signaled to Neema that it was time to go. Before leaving, he touched Tim on the forehead to give him the coordinates to Dracon’s location. “You have three days. Don’t let us down.”

  It looked as if the healer was about to respond, but then the one in all-leather cut him off. “We’ll see you later today. We didn’t come to play around.”

  Neema huffed as she climbed into her saddle. “I like this one too.”

  It was true.

  These adventurers might not be from their land or share their customs, but the five of them seemed to be a decent sort. That counted for a lot in his book. The last thing he wanted to do was send them into the fight completely unprepared for the encounter's difficulty. Maybe he should give them a little tip.

  “Don’t take Dracon lightly.” Khalid paused for a moment. “Three days.” He held up three fingers, then turned and mounted his horse.

  They rode out into the sands, and he couldn’t help but think of how life was never what you expected it to be. He wasn’t sure what they would find at the caverns, but five young adventurers from another land certainly weren’t it. Eternia was never wrong, so the fighters she sent were the right ones for the job. All he had to do was have faith, and the goddess would always provide.

  Faith in the desert was as hard to come by as water, but his faith was as deep as the oasis.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  There sure was a lot of sand in the desert.

  Tim looked out over the horizon and didn’t see anything else. There wasn’t a tree, or a bush, even a fucking lizard. There was only the sand and the heat. He was reconsidering his stance on the cold. A little cold seemed a lot less daunting than this never-ending heat.

  Even the wind was no relief.

  In fact, it only made things worse. It was like walking headfirst into a blow dryer. Any hint of moisture a person had cooling them off was gone instantly. He thought he knew about the heat, but dry heat was a different kind of monster.

  “Whooohoooo!” Cassie shouted as she hit something that looked suspiciously like a beachball to JaKobi.

  It turned out not everyone hated the weather.

  Cassie was like a new woman. Gone was all of her heavily padded leather armor, and in their place was a tank top and shorts. Where she found the time to go shopping for a tank and shorts, he’d never know. Shopping was something he hadn't done in a while. Outside of a few initial purchases so he could blend in with the locals, Tim hadn’t spent time in the markets. The benefit of wearing his big cushy robe was that no one could see what he wore underneath.

  Or lack thereof.

  Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves but him so instead of wallowing in his thoughts, Tim decided to indulge in his friends' happiness. He put a big smile on his face, hit the beach ball back to Cassie, and dared the world to say he wasn’t having fun.

  “How much further, do you think?” JaKobi asked as he walked next to Tim.

  It took Tim a second to pull up his interface, and then he laid the map over it with the location Khalid had given them. “A few more miles.”

  “Damn, is playtime over?” Cassie switched out of her casual clothes and back into her standard gear. “We should probably take things slow, never know what’s hiding in the sand.”

  Lorelei frowned. “I hope there’s something in the sand. Since we came out of the portal there hasn’t been anything but sand. We might as well be walking in front of a green screen.”

  The ranger frowned at the sun on the horizon. “The only way I know we’re going in the right direction is because my map says so.”

  “I mean there aren’t even hills. It’s just flat open nothingness.” ShadowLily held a hand up to shade her eyes. “It’s like we're in the loading program again.”

  Tim splashed himself with a Healing Orb to cool off for a second. “Yea, but the loading screen had perfect weather.”

  “Shh,” Lorelei whispered. “I see something.”

  There was something in front of them. It wasn’t much but a small dip in the sands. Down in the gully was a small fort made of stone. Not the kind of place a military man would typically build a stronghold. If this was supposed to be a hidden location, it did the job just fine, but being down in a hole with enemies up above was a recipe for disaster.

  If the attackers brought a few catapults the fight would have been over before lunch.

  Tim knelt, trying to keep his profile as low as possible. It would be easy for someone down below to see them silhouetted against the skyline. Whatever they were going to do, they couldn’t stand here and wait to be seen.

  “Do you see anything else?” Tim’s eyes weren’t nearly as sharp as the ranger’s.

  Lorelei shook her head. “The fort looks like it has two main buildings at one end and a stable at the other.” A small snort escaped her before she could stop it. “All told it’s not the kind of place that makes a very impressive first impression.”

  “I hate the ‘let’s test them out’ easy thing,” Cassie grumbled.

  Tim grinned. “I don’t. I love it. It’s much better than the ‘this boss stomps your face into a million pieces’ version.”

  “There is always that.” JaKobi spun in a slow circle and stopped to gaze down into the fort for a moment. “Why are all of you kneeling?”

  Lorelei stood to her full height. “As much as I’d like to tell Cassie to drag him down into the sand with the rest of us, I still don’t see anyone. I think we're safe to get closer without any issues.”

  “Let’s do it.” Tim pointed
at Cassie. “You’re up.”

  The tank moved to the front of the group. “Stay behind me, and try to keep up. Whatever you do, don't die. It’d besmirch my record, and we can’t have that.”

  Cassie took off at a light jog, and the rest of them followed her. They weren’t in their usual formation right now, but a single file line. As they got closer to the fort, Tim could make out some of the details that he hadn’t been able to see before. Lorelei was right. The place was nothing special.

  A building on the far left looked like a warehouse, and one closer to the center on the left side could have been housing. The horse eating hay on the right indicated their ranger was correct again, and the entire right side of the fortress was dedicated as a stable. There was no way they could learn more without going inside each of the buildings, but it looked like they wouldn’t have to.

  A giant of a man walked out of the central building covered from head to toe in black plate mail. The warrior didn’t have a helmet on, and Tim couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of his missing eye. A helmet could have blinded him completely if it slipped, making that piece of armor more of a hindrance than a boon. That or the guy knew the scar across his cheek leading to his eye only made him look ten times more intimidating.

  While the armor was impressive, it was the giant bastard of a sword they were all staring at. Tim started to get the sense Khalid was a real funny guy sending them out here to die. Not exactly the introduction he’d been expecting to the new zone.

  Dracon opened the gate to the fort and stepped through the giant double doors. “I’m so happy you’re here. I’ve been so bored. It was nice of Khalid to send me a gift to keep me entertained.”

  “I see there’s no one else here to close the gate,” Cassie chided.

  Dracon shrugged and favored them with a smile that would have wilted flowers. “There might have been a small issue with my last assignment. As you can see Jabari decided to station me somewhere befitting my contributions to the Pharaoh's great empire.”

  Jabari was a name they had heard before. The emissary sent to dissuade them from entering the desert came from Jabari. If this man also worked for him, and by proxy the Pharaoh, then killing him would put them firmly on the bad side of the people in charge of this land. Was that something they wanted to do?

  Life was always easier when you worked for the winners.

  It didn’t take long for him to come to the same conclusion the rest of his group already reached. If the Pharaoh worked for Vitaria, then anyone working for him was the enemy. Khalid might not have made the best first impression, but he was clearly on the right side of this fight. Trust was probably hard to come by, and the Blue Dagger Society didn’t mind proving they were worth it.

  “I’d love to tell you that we aren’t here to kill you, but we both know I’d be lying.” Tim pulled his staff free and cast his buffs. “Is there any final message you have for Khalid?”

  “Fuck that bastard and the lot of you.” Dracon pulled his sword free and twirled the giant weapon around as if it were made out of cardboard instead of steel. “If you think I’m going to lay down and die just because you said so, then you're about as bright as the shit I just took.”

  Tim turned and looked over at ShadowLily. “I always thought I looked kind of smart. Do I not look smart?”

  “You look very smart, honey,” ShadowLily said before disappearing.

  Dracon laughed. “She didn’t sound very confident.”

  Cassie pounded her staff on the ground, the sand robbing the gesture of the dramatic effect it was supposed to have. “You sound like a dump truck of fucks.”

  Tim looked at JaKobi, and the fire mage mouthed, “Just go with it.”

  “I just checked, and my staff also works as a giant can opener, so buckle up big fella, I’m about to crack you open.” Cassie roared with rage, and the fight began in earnest as she charged into the fray.

  Dracon dropped into a fighting stance and prepared for the little warrior.

  It was impressive the way the general moved with all his armor on. Not to mention how he sliced the giant blade around like a six-year-old with a sword full of bubbles. Tim wasn’t even sure if he could lift the boss’s weapon let alone swing it, but he was pretty sure Dracon could make a living in Vegas cutting VWs in half with a single strike.

  Cassie wasn’t nearly as impressed as Tim. The tiny tank flew at the boss with utter disregard for his size or the weapon. She smashed her staff against his armor, earning the resounding thud she’d been robbed of when thumping it into the sand. Dracon laughed as the blows struck his chest piece. The general ignored her attacks completely to focus on his offense.

  This fight wouldn’t be easy. The only part of Dracon not covered in thick, impenetrable armor was his head. Unless Cassie, Lorelei, or ShadowLily got lucky with a headshot, they were basically out of this fight. Most of their DPS would have to come from magical sources. JaKobi would have to handle the boss mostly solo unless they found a way to get creative.

  Tim quickly cast Curse of Giving and Behold My Power. It was time to see if the reduced cooldown would have any real effect in battle. Not wanting to miss out on the chance to use his new spell, Tim also cast Disturbance. He wasn’t sure if it did anything, but he would have to get used to working it into his rotation when it would be useful.

  Surely the game wouldn’t have given him the spell if there weren’t enemies to use it on.

  The battle was going well, but the three women were basically held at a standstill while JaKobi did the heavy lifting. There didn’t seem to be a ton of healing needed right now, minus what Cassie was absorbing from the boss and the feedback from Tim’s spell. Since everyone was taking damage, and Cassie wasn’t getting destroyed by the boss, he switched into his Way of The River stance and fired off a Divine Light burst.

  Dracon wobbled when Divine Light hit him and fell to a knee as Behold My Power rocked his world. Cassie cracked her staff off his dome, and the general roared in rage. Rising to his feet, he whipped the great sword around him in a deadly whirlwind.

  They’d seen that move before, and Cassie and ShadowLily were able to scramble away from the attack without taking too much additional damage. A Healing Orb on each of them, and they were almost back to full health. Tim reapplied Curse of Giving and fired another blast of Divine Light.

  While they were making a small amount of progress on the boss’ health, the fight wasn’t moving along at the pace he was used to. What kind of boss had impenetrable armor? That didn’t seem fair considering how small his head was compared to the rest of him. Tim didn’t see anything outside the fort that would be useful in cracking open the giant tin can of a man, but the general did leave the door to the fort open.

  There was always a chance he was wrong, but this wasn’t working, and they needed to change things up.

  “Get inside the fort!” Tim screamed as loudly as he could to be heard over the loud clanks coming from in front of him.

  Lorelei was in melee range now, her bow proving ineffective against Dracon’s armored body. “Are you crazy? We don’t know what’s in there.”

  “Then go check it out. It’s not like you’re doing any damage out here.” Tim looked at Dracon’s health sitting at ninety percent and tried not to get frazzled.

  Lorelei snapped, “That’s cold.”

  “Don’t worry. It’s not only you.” ShadowLily peeled away from the fight, grabbed Lorelei’s arm, and dragged her toward the fort. “Let’s go.”

  There had to be a way to get his armor off or something that weakened the boss so they could do more damage. Otherwise, he knew why Khalid avoided this fight. It felt like they were attacking a tank, and all they had were toothpicks instead of that cool-ass sticky bomb from Saving Private Ryan. Something had to give, and with nothing outside the fort and the door purposely left open, it was probably inside.

  It could be a trap, but he didn’t think so.

  “Cassie, rotate that big boy so we can back into
the fort nice and slow,” Tim shouted.

  Lorelei and ShadowLily had almost made it inside, and they would know soon enough if he’d been a fool or not. If they all died, all he could do was apologize and not send them into the fort the next time they tried to kill Dracon. Tim motioned to JaKobi to join him behind the tank as he kept up his relentless assault on the boss.

  Tim moved behind the fire mage to give him a clear line of fire and grabbed his robe to guide him back into the fort. With a thought, he flipped his stance back into Way of the Boulder to protect Cassie before reapplying Curse of Giving to Dracon. There weren’t any screams of terror coming from behind him so he didn’t turn to see what was in the fort just yet. For now, he was focused on keeping Cassie alive and JaKobi from falling as they moved into position.

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Dracon mocked them. “Haven’t you ever heard the term never enter the dragon’s lair?”

  If the boss didn't want them inside, there was a good chance Tim was right about his assumption that they needed to get inside sooner rather than later. Hopefully, Lorelei and ShadowLily found something that would help them inside. Otherwise, the fight would continue as slowly in a different location.

  No one wanted to take part in three-hour fights, and at the pace they were going it would take about that long. If they didn’t move fast enough there was always the chance Dracon would hit an enrage-timer and send them all back to meet their caseworkers. Tim fired a blast of Divine Light to try and speed things along before checking Dracon’s health. The boss was still at eighty-seven percent.

  His armor must provide some pretty superior magical protection as well as stopping nearly all their physical attacks.

  The self-proclaimed dragon felt a little more like a raid boss right now than one made for a group of five players. Tim would have suspected they stumbled into a fight above their level if Khalid didn’t send them directly into it. The general's damage output also wasn’t off the charts, so they were probably in the right place. They merely needed to figure out the trick. It had to be inside the fort so the group was right where they were supposed to be.