by Pavel Kornev
I swung round.
A giant fireball rammed me. The flames engulfed me, roaring, consuming my flesh.
I tried to cuss but I couldn’t.
I couldn’t do anything. I was dead as a doornail.
18 hrs 12 min…
DEATH KNOCKED ME out of my body, hurling me into darkness while erasing the pain and stopping my char’s suffering. Which was the only reason I hadn’t lost my marbles, so awful it had been burning alive in the magic flames of the exploded fireball. Had my agony lasted a little longer…
There’s something wrong with me, a thought flashed through my head. I ignored it. Instead, I willed the interface to open, canceled my resurrection and returned to the main menu.
Once again I materialized into the thin air and collapsed to the floor in the huge dark hall. Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief. The sterile air tasted like heaven after the stench of my own roasted flesh. And most importantly, no one could get to me here.
The logout button was calling my name but I shook my head. Too early to go back. The measly 30,000 I’d earned until now was a joke. That wasn’t the reason I’d chosen the main menu. I just wanted to take a better look into it all.
What the hell had just happened? Why would a perfect stranger have ignored the danger of receiving a PK mark just for the pleasure of scorching me?
The answer was ridiculously simple. According to the player’s profile, he belonged to the Spawn of Darkness. Dammit! How could I have forgotten that I’d been blacklisted by one of the most powerful clans? What did they care about PK marks if they had their Lord High Steward’s gratitude to look forward to? I should have been more careful. But instead, I…
I growled. I was sick to death of it all!
The worst thing was, locating a player’s resurrection point wasn’t that difficult. I was pretty sure that I had an entire welcoming committee waiting for me by the Tower of Power. Then they’d start killing me. Over and over. Time and time again. Every death slower and more torturous than the one before it.
Oh no. I could always write to support, I suppose, asking them to change my resurrection point, but that meant losing more time while they processed my request, which might take ages. And time was something I didn’t have.
Should I ask Neo to help me?
I entertained the idea for a while, but was forced to give it up. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Technically, the Order of the Black Phoenix was affiliated with Darkness. Its very temples were located in the Dark lands. I had no doubt that Neo would get me out but what would happen next? It wouldn’t change a lot really; all it’d do was get the lad into trouble.
As for the powers of Light, I doubted I’d get any luck in their quarters. I had no desire to meet the white witch again. She didn’t look particularly agreeable: I still had the scar on my cheek to prove it. And what if she ripped my eye out again?
So what did it leave me with then? The only available option was by adding some more chaos to my life…
I heaved a sigh and PM’d Isabella Ash-Rizt:
Fancy saving my butt?
She was online. Her reply came straight away.
Bad boys giving kitten grief?
I told her about my problems. She took her time replying, only to ask me about my current respawn point, then told me to wait another ten minutes before resurrecting.
Promise you save me? I wrote. No reply.
Never mind. Whatever. Let’s wait.
Waiting wasn’t a problem. Ten minutes was nothing even by a regular player’s standards. I was much more worried about walking right into a respawn meat grinder. The only reason I was here was because some wizard had swatted me like a fly, unable to believe his own luck. I hadn’t even suffered that much. But if they started poking me with their steely weapons, things could turn nasty very quickly. That’s not to mention some truly spine-chilling spells I’d hate to be on the receiving end of.
On the other hand, Isabella had no reason to let me down, even if I forgot the strange affiliation she had with Neo. She might manage to save my bacon. At least I hoped so.
I hoped and waited. Ten minutes isn’t much, after all.
Nine, eight, seven… it was time.
I held my breath for no apparent reason and activated resurrection.
Off we go.
I materialized in the shadow of the Tower of Power. The moment my feet touched the uneven cobblestones, I rolled aside and stealthed up.
Twang! An arrow ricocheted from the wall barely a few inches away from my face. Had I not got moving, It would have hit me right in the eye.
“You couldn’t hit a barn door!” someone shouted as a dart whizzed past my shoulder. “Let me do it!”
A flash of orange flame escaped a caster’s hands but failed to reach me, blocked by the advance of two gladiators. I darted to one side to evade them, but a death knight stood in my way. My stealth did a decent job of concealing me from the attacking players but I was pretty sure that both the caster and the archer must have had good Perception which allowed them to track my movements down.
“Bastard!” I gasped, taking cover from the archer behind a burly warrior. Not that this maneuver could help me much: they’d already cornered me, plus the caster had conjured up some glittering mist which enveloped me, betraying my presence.
Isabella, damn you! Where the hell are you?
Immediately I heard a popping sound. The air quivered; an angular ashen gray flower blossomed up above the cobblestones like a whirl of a sandstorm.
It felt wrong. The blossom exploded, thrusting out tentacles in every direction and sweeping the players off their feet.
“Chaos!” one of my opponents screamed. I crouched and dashed off, diving into the void which had opened up in the middle of the city.
I felt like I was ripped into separate atoms, then put together again and given a good kick in the butt to accelerate me, sending me rolling across well-trodden ground. I jumped back to my feet and turned my head frantically around, trying to identify the place where I’d ended up courtesy of Lady Luck — or rather, on Isabella’s whim.
What I saw made my jaw drop. It was daylight here, but not really. Sunlight couldn’t force its way through the thick cloud of black smoke that darkened the sky, stinging my eyes and grating my throat.
A flash of orange flames exploded nearby. The ground quaked underfoot. I staggered and very nearly landed on my butt. A wave of rumbling noise rolled over me, scaring the hell out of me and making me shudder to the bone.
“Close your fly trap, kitten,” Isabella advised. The skull topping her staff snapped its steely jaw.
The dark smoke drifting over the ground enveloped her, preventing me from seeing her clearly. The priestess must have prepared for battle: her skimpy chainmail underwear had now transformed, its links and the steel breastplate covering her entire body leaving only her head exposed — the head topped with the Crown of Chaos I’d procured. At least her face hadn’t changed: this was my Isabella and not a Fury which meant that we weren’t in any imminent danger.
Another scarlet flash spread across half the sky. The ground reared up underfoot; the rooftops stood out black and grim against the glowing sky like some cutouts made of darkness itself.
I was standing in a small courtyard. The nearby houses were blackened with soot, their broken window frames gaping. The ground wasn’t as well-trodden as I’d originally thought: it had been vitrified by the enormous heat. The Priestess’ swarthy skin was covered in soot as if she’d been sweeping chimneys before coming here. Although of course I knew she hadn’t done anything of the sort.
Ash swirled in the air, covering everything around as if the world itself had burned to a crisp. Maybe it had?
“Kitten! Wake up!”
I was about to ask her where we were but noticed the Tower of the Mistress of the Crimson Moon and asked something entirely different instead:
“What’s going on?”
Isabella arched a black eyebrow. “Aren’t you gonna thank
me for rescuing you?”
“Thanks,” I said, and I meant it.
“You can shove your thanks up your butt!” she yelled. “You’re gonna work it off, all of it!”
Had I not been familiar with her fickle nature, I might not have believed my ears, but I simply said, “What is it you want?”
“You’ll be on lookout,” she said, lobbing me an amulet. “In case you haven’t noticed, they’ve attacked us!”
“Who has?”
“The Lighties. Enough of your nonsense! Come with me,” she swung round and hurried past the scorched houses, forcing me to trot in her wake. I didn’t want to risk upsetting her with any more questions: trust her to smoke me on the spot, and I really, really didn’t want to die before I changed my resurrection point.
We ran past a few ruins without meeting anyone on our way and turned off into a street which was actually quite busy. Busy? You could say that! It was heaving with Chaosites dashing around like a bunch of scalded cats. Most of them were Black Trackers but I didn’t notice anyone I knew and I had no time to go look for them.
After a couple of blocks, the Tower of Power finally rose before us: a gloomy edifice built of dark stone veined with crimson. With our every step, it grew taller as the clamor of the battle died away. The stench of burning had subsided; in the pitch-black expanse of the sky overhead, a giant moon glowed an ominous crimson.
“Hurry up,” Isabella said. “Move it, kitten! I have a shedload of things to do still!”
I ran toward the tower and lay my hand on the warm stone. My body shuddered as if electrocuted.
Do you want to make the Tower of the Mistress of the Crimson Moon your new resurrection point?
Yes/No
Yes! I forced the virtual button down. It obeyed my mental effort. Tears welled in my eyes: finally, I’d managed to set up my own respawn point!
“Kitten, wake up,” Isabella brought me back to reality. “We’re under attack, I gotta dash! With your level, you have no business defending the walls; go to the tower with your crypt and keep an eye on any Lights coming that way. Use the amulet to contact me,” she gave me a smack on the cheek and darted off, disappearing into the smoke.
After a brief hesitation, I followed her instructions. Firstly, I did owe her. And secondly, if the forces of Light did take over the city, they’d kill me first and ask questions later. Plus I’d lose my respawn point. Also, I had nothing else to do: at least this way I might lay my hands on some XP.
As it turned out, the subjects of the Mistress of the Crimson Moon had put what little time they’d had left to good use, turning the city into a fortress proper. Judging by all the damage, today’s attack wasn’t the first one, far from it. In one place, the town wall had crumbled completely; but for whatever reason, the Lights had then chosen to attack from the opposite side.
I ran over to the gap in the wall. The ground behind it was strewn with bones and ripped pieces of armor. The amulet Isabella had given me stirred in my bosom. I felt a shiver run down my spine: these approaches must have been guarded by some truly monstrous magic.
Trying not to make too much noise stepping over the bones and other body parts underfoot, I finally left the gruesome scene. Just then a few bright-red sparks of light appeared in the smoke-strewn sky, approaching the city in a large arc and rapidly growing in size. One of the fiery balls expired; another overshot the Tower of Power and landed rolling in the wasteland, flattening everything in its path and leaving a trail of fire in its wake.
And the third one? It crashed onto the rooftops and disintegrated in a blinding flash that hurt my eyes. I shook my head, stealthed up and ran toward the graveyard which was barely visible behind the wall of smoke. It was well-fortified with watch towers on all four corners; I could hear mournful singing coming from behind its walls. This must have been one of the Chaosites’ lines of defense. My amulet must have been part of its ‘friend or foe’ system which could explain why no one had attacked me.
Beyond the graveyard lay a scorched prairie, deserted and engulfed in smoke. Wherever you turned, the place was gray. Gray. Nothing but gray anywhere, apart from an occasional patch of black vitrified earth.
The tower? It had been reduced to a heap of blackened masonry. Still, I headed toward it, reasoning that it was better than staying in the open sticking out like a sore thumb.
Climbing to the top of the ruins wasn’t that difficult. I took cover in the shadow of a listing block of stone: this way no one could see me while I had a perfect view of any potential enemy, with the exception of the small part of the ravine.
This was a good lookout position. Very lucky.
The problem was, I kept sitting there amid all the ruins and nothing was really happening. I peered at the smoke trailing over the prairie but failed to detect even a hint of any movement. The city, however, was different. The sky above it was ablaze, the earth shuddering with far-off explosions. I started getting the distinct impression that the only reason Isabella had sent me here was to get me out of the way.
I even checked the amulet, only to make sure that it indeed allowed you to contact someone responsible for the city defense. Which was great news because after a while, I made out a few darker dots in the smoky air. Gradually they grew in size until I was able to make out a squadron of dragons accompanied by a dozen gryphons and Pegasi with riders.
Warriors of Light! The dragons flew low over the ground in order to stay undetected by the city defenders for as long as possible. Their wings raised clouds of dust which mixed with the smoke, creating a cover of grayness. Had Isabella not sent me here, their plan would have succeeded.
The amulet worked just fine, giving me the impression that I’d lent my eyes to someone else. Almost immediately, the sensation of someone’s presence disappeared, replaced by several bright energy lines crisscrossing the sky, ripping through it until they formed a giant net which crashed down, right into the path of the flying squadron heading for the city.
Seeing it, the dragons increased their speed; the gryphons and the Pegasi scattered like scared fish in a fish tank. The next moment, the protection charms fell over them. An explosion raised clouds of sand and dust over the ground, and then... then the grayness parted, releasing the surviving monsters. One... two... three of them! The dragons shot up into the sky, followed by the gryphons and the Pegasi which had avoided the magic attack.
A cracking noise came from the graveyard. At least twenty gargoyles soared up, enveloped in a barely visible ripple haze. The creatures’ movements were rather jerky but overall, they were fast enough.
A torrent of arrows came from above, followed by fire beams. A few stone gargoyles fell apart, their fragments showering the prairie below. The others, however, caught up with the dragons and clung on to one of them, pulling it down with their combined weight. The dragon nose-dived, hitting the ground in a resounding blast of blinding white flames.
The two surviving dragons darted for the city; one of them exploded in mid-flight but the other shot over the streets, dousing the houses, roofs and courtyards in its all-consuming flames triggering numerous fires. Inspired by their success, the dragon’s riders banked into a steep turn, preparing to repeat their maneuver, when several crimson beams shot up into the sky, contorting like tentacles. They entwined the dragon and pulled him down to earth. Another explosion shattered the air between the far-off houses.
This battle was taking on monumental proportions.
I was so consumed by watching the battle in the skies that I failed to notice several slim figures in gray robes that walked out of the swirling dust and smoke.
My high Dodge saved me. My body uncoiled automatically, avoiding a short heavy arrow which had all but pierced my eye socket, sending me flying head first down from the ruins. I landed with a somersault, decelerating, and leapt aside, simultaneously stealthing up.
Damage taken: 65 [146/211]
A massive arrowhead easily pierced my leather armor, sinking deep into my shoulder. A fire
work of stars exploded before my eyes. Overcoming the agonizing pain, I dashed aside — but another shadow rose in my way. The Elf scout slashed me across the legs but missed and made a dummy movement, slicing my side. His saber’s blade ripped through the boiled leather, leaving a fiery mark on my torso.
I suppressed a croak just as another bow twanged. This time I managed to parry the arrow with my black dagger and even attacked the scout, although my attempt proved remarkably awkward. The Elf scout dodged it with ease and all but cleft my head open with another swing of his saber.
Unlike the archer and the scout, the other Elf fighters couldn’t really see me so they kept out of it. Instead, they spread out in order to block my potential escape routes. None of them seemed to doubt their warrior’s superiority.
Damn it! I too could see very well that their scout was way out of my league. I had absolutely no chance against him. The only availably option was to jump into the ravine and try to lose myself in it — but in order to do that, I had to cover the distance without opening myself up to their archer.
