The Adventurers Guild

by Phoenix Grey

  Level 10 Gaia delivers 10 damage. You have been knocked down.

  Azure's arrow went skittering across the floor, landing several feet away. Sir Thornton barely had time to block as the ghostly white figure descended on him with both blades. This was definitely not going to be an easy battle.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  THE REALM – Day 56

  The melee began in a flurry of swift moves. For initially seeming delicate, Gaia was not unskilled with her sword arms. She slashed at Sir Thornton with all of the vigor of a warrior. It was taking both he and Lonnell to keep her at bay, though neither seemed to be able to get a hit in thanks to her tight defense.

  Azure tried his best to aim with his bow, but the three fighters were too closely bunched up. Loosing an arrow would be a risk. He wanted to shout that they needed to get her back facing him. Now that he thought about it though, considering her vague transparency, would an arrow just go through her?

  It seemed like it took a good five minutes before Lonnell was finally able to land a hit on Gaia while Sir Thornton was busy blocking one of her downward swings. She grunted in pain, favoring her shoulder where his staff had struck when he'd dashed behind her. The hit must have done a lot of damage because she began backing away.

  Then she raised her right sword arm at them, pointing as if to ward them away. A ghostly extension began to grow, forming a hand large enough to encompass most of the room. All three men looked up at it to try to figure out what in the heck was going on. As soon as they did, it came slamming down on them, crushing them all to the ground.

  Level 10 Gaia delivers 20 damage. You have been knocked down.

  Azure imagined this must be what a fly felt like when someone slapped it on a table. Everything inside of him compressed to the point of pain. His bones even seemed to creak. Thankfully, almost as soon as the pressure had come, it was gone.

  Though they were all dazed for a moment, it didn't take them long to be back on their feet. Seemingly renewed by the spell, Gaia went on the offensive again, swinging her blades like a skilled swordswoman.

  It seemed that Sir Thornton and Lonnell were finally coming up with a plan. The Asshole Knight took the brunt of the frontal assault, mostly dodging and blocking, while Lonnell would come in from behind and strike where he could. This created an opportunity for Azure as well. While the two men attacked from opposite sides, he was able to enter the fray at a third angle and finally loose an arrow, free from the fear of hitting his comrades, scoring his first hit.

  The arrow struck Gaia just below her ribs on her right side, and she instantly hunched over in pain. Once more, she checked her surroundings and began to back up. Both Sir Thornton and Lonnell lunged in to attack, but before they were able to reach her, a glimmering white protective shield formed around Gaia, deflecting their weapons. Feeling he might have better luck with a projectile, Azure loosed another arrow at her, but it simply bounced off.

  She lowered herself to the floor, clearly fatigued. For a moment, they thought they had won. A somewhat easy victory despite the two spells that had knocked them on their asses. But then they heard the sound of stones scraping together.

  Turning to find the source of the noise, it was just as they had feared. One of the statues had moved. The first thing that Azure noticed, aside from the fact that it had clearly come to life, was that light seemed to pulse beneath the surface of its stone skin running where veins would be. This statue was that of an old man with round features that were puffed like clouds. Every angle of his body ended in a swirl, reminding Azure of the wind. He had wise eyes set below overly large bushy eyebrows. An equally thick handlebar mustache settled into a whirling beard. The expression he wore was strictly business.

  Pausing, the Adventurers watched the statue for a moment. Its movements were incredibly slow, as if its feet were stuck in molasses. Every step was laborious as it began to approach Sir Thornton and Lonnell, apparently not seeing Azure as a threat.

  "Shoot it!" The Asshole Knight shouted to Azure, and he didn't hesitate.

  He'd played enough games to know that this was the interlude while Gaia regained her strength―a distraction as she healed inside her impenetrable force field. Having a feeling that his Bronze Arrows weren't going to cut it against this stone beast, Azure pulled a Steel Arrow from his quiver and nocked it to his bow. The statue was moving slow enough that he was able to make a clean shot. To Azure's disappointment, though he had somewhat expected it, the kinetic energy wasn't enough, and his Steel Arrow simply bounced off the statue's head before splintering into nothing from running out of durability.

  Knowing that his bow would be useless in this fight, Azure placed it over his shoulder and drew his Bronze Sword instead, rushing in to help his comrades just as the statue had reached them.

  Sir Thornton was in the middle of swinging his sword at the statue. Blocking with its forearm, the blade dug in a few inches deep. Azure expected the statue to show some sign of pain, but it didn't. Light built up around the wound, then Sir Thornton screamed as it shot down his sword, traveling through the blade and pommel. He flew back, clearly dazed by the unseen attack.

  "What just happened?" Lonnell asked.

  Sir Thornton simply laid there as the statue continued to approach, ignoring the rest of its attackers for the easy victim.

  Oh shit. We have to do something, or he's toast.

  While Azure really didn't feel like defending the man who had made his life a living hell these past few days, he knew it was the right thing to do. Summoning all of his bravery, Azure placed himself between Sir Thornton and the statue, his sword held vertically in front of him. The statue was still moving relatively slow, each step taking several seconds.

  Lonnell came up from behind and hit the statue with his staff at the same moment that Azure swung forward. This time, the statue caught his blade in its hand. Azure saw the light form only half a second before he felt its effects. Everything went orange as he was flung back on top of Sir Thornton, creating a pile of human flesh.

  Level 10 Statue of Steq delivers 20 damage. You have been stunned. You will be unable to move for the next 10 seconds.

  The Asshole Knight roughly pushed Azure off of him. “Electricity. Metal weapons won't work on it,” he said quickly, grabbing Azure beneath his arms and dragging him away while he left Lonnell to fight the monster with his staff.

  Azure could still feel the electricity flowing through his body, making his muscles seize and contract over and over again. He had dropped his sword the second the shock had gone through him. It lay at the statue's feet, a monument to his failure. Azure felt trapped inside his own body, the next several seconds feeling like hours. All he could do was wait for time to pass.

  The statue gave chase for one more step before Lonnell hit it in the back of its head with his staff. Sensing a greater threat, it began to turn. As it lifted one foot, Lonnell dashed in and swept his staff down and across, slamming it into the statue's supporting leg. Losing its footing, the statue began to teeter. Never did its expression change, remaining ever confident in its disposition. A second hit to the same leg sent the statue careening to the ground. Its stone body broke into large pieces from the sheer weight of the fall, putting an end to the Statue of Steq.

  There was no time to celebrate the defeat. Gaia had recovered, and she was on the offensive again. They noticed her seconds too late when she was in the middle of casting her slicing wind spell. In an instant, they were on their backs again.

  Level 10 Gaia delivers 10 damage. You have been knocked down.

  As soon as they had recovered, the Adventurers began to assume the formation that had worked the first time around, creating a triangle around Gaia. Being a cohesive unit made the fight go so much smoother.

  This time, Azure was in position to do the most damage. He tried for a headshot with his bow but ended up striking Gaia in the neck instead. She stumbled for a moment but quickly recovered and cast her ghostly hand spell. Seeing it coming, Azure was able t
o get out of range before the fingers swooped down to smash him to the floor. Sir Thornton and Lonnell weren't so lucky.

  Lonnell landed the second hit that sent Gaia retreating behind her protective force field, and another statue began to move. This one looked like a horror of elongated flesh, giving Azure a flashback of The Dark One. It had large bulging eyes, thin lips, the nose of a bat, and a mouth that was far too wide. Jagged teeth showed through a wicked smile. A patchwork of armor covered its body from head to toe, stitched into the statue's skin. Feathers sprung from its head in place of hair, making it look like it had a slicked back hairstyle. Azure thought the statue was creepy.

  Much like the Statue of Steq, this statue was incredibly slow. Its thin limbs gave no aid to speed. Instead of going straight for Lonnell and Sir Thornton, it diverted to walk between the three Adventurers. At first, they had no idea what it was doing.

  Deciding to try his luck, even though he was reasonably certain he'd achieve the same result, Azure loosed an arrow at the statue. Just as it had before, the arrow simply ricocheted and splintered into nothing.

  Well, that was a waste of two Steel Arrows, he thought, feeling a bit stupid.

  To add insult to injury, Sir Thornton called to him, “Didn't you learn the first time that that's not going to work?”

  Azure shrugged. “I just had to give it a try.” Why was the guy bitching? They were Azure's arrows to waste.

  The statue stopped, facing in no particular direction. It stayed in place, not seeming to have any intentions of moving.

  "This one looks like it might be easier," Sir Thornton mused, raising his sword and taking a few cautious steps forward.

  "I wouldn't be so sure," Lonnell replied, following his lead though staying several paces behind.

  Even as they approached, the statue showed no sign of attacking. Azure switched from his bow back to his Bronze Sword. There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was about to go wrong. The statue couldn't possibly just be willing to stand there while they wailed on it.

  "Maybe we should wait a bit, guys." Azure's feet pressed him forward, but his brain screamed at him to stay put. If he waited while his comrades attacked, he'd look like a coward. Still...

  Sir Thornton raised his sword, ready to lay into the statue. Against his better judgment, Azure got moving, though he was still the furthest away.

  Much like the Statue of Steq had done to Azure, this new statue reached out and grabbed Sir Thornton's blade. Its head swiveled to look at him, then it cocked to the side as if to say 'gotcha.' There was a hissing sound, and green gas poured out from the stitches in the statue's body, filling a nine-foot radius.

  You have been poisoned. You will lose 1 Health per second for the next 30 seconds.

  "Son of a bitch!" Sir Thornton yelled, pulling his blade from the statue's hand and immediately swinging again.

  To all of their surprise, the statue easily dodged, seeming to blink from view and appearing again just out of range of the attack. All the while, it held onto that malicious grin.

  Already infected by the poison, Azure charged in as well. If they could box the statue in, they might have some luck hitting it. Sir Thornton took pause to drink a healing potion while Lonnell and Azure went on the offensive, the statue blinking in and out of view to avoid being hit. It seemed they would have an advantage when The Asshole Knight rejoined the fray, but the statue simply retreated from their offensive circle, reappearing a short distance away.

  Thirty seconds passed, and again the hissing sound came, followed by the green gas that reinfected all of them. There was no way to get close enough to the statue to try to hit it without being poisoned.

  You have been poisoned. You will lose 1 Health per second for the next 30 seconds.

  "Gods, dammit all!" Sir Thornton cried out, his voice echoing through the room. It was evident that the poison did the most damage to him thanks to his newly decreased stats.

  This time, they all gave pause to heal up.

  "Let's back off and regroup for now," Lonnell suggested, seeing how swinging at the statue with their weapons was clearly not going to work.

  But the statue wasn't about to let them escape. As soon as they had walked a safe distance away from it, Lonnell let out a shriek, his eyes wide as he looked at something behind Azure.

  "What?" Azure asked, glancing back and feeling his heart leap into his throat. He turned, tripping over his own feet, and fell between Lonnell and Sir Thornton from the sight of the statue standing right behind him.

  Thank God it didn't seem to be able to physically attack them, or he surely would have been a dead man. Instead, it just grinned at them and resprayed its poison.

  You have been poisoned. You will lose 1 Health per second for the next 30 seconds.

  Again, they all drank a healing potion to offset the effects of the poison.

  "If this goes on for much longer, we're all going to run out of healing potions," Sir Thornton commented.

  "We can't get away from it." Azure felt the slightest bit of despair creeping in. Worst case scenario, they could always run for the door. The statue shouldn't be able to follow them out of the room.

  "We can't hit it either." The Asshole Knight's eyes danced around the room as if searching for something to stop the statue with.

  "I have an idea," Lonnell said.

  "What is it?" Azure asked, grasping for anything.

  "If I tell you, it might not work."

  "Because he might hear." Sir Thornton nodded toward the statue. "I don't think it can comprehend what we're saying. Stone ears and all."

  "The next time it casts Poison, you guys run as far away as you can," Lonnell instructed them. Both men nodded, having no idea what his plan was but trusting it anyway. "Oh, and you might want to heal up again first as well."

  All three men drank a healing potion in preparation for whatever Lonnell was about to do. Then they waited with the creepy statue until it began leaking the green gas again.

  You have been poisoned. You will lose 1 Health per second for the next 30 seconds.

  "Run!" Lonnell told them, as if they needed a reminder. He took off at a sprint as well, stopping at the edge of the poison cloud before turning around.

  Azure didn't get to see what had happened because a giant explosion flung him forward onto his stomach. His sword flew from his hand, skipping across the tile and landing a few feet away. Intense heat seared his backside, and he noticed an immediate loss of 20% of his remaining Health. Pebbles rained down from the sky, pelting his helmet and causing a clanging sound.

  Azure groaned, wondering what in the hell had just happened. Sir Thornton was a few yards away looking dazed. By the time Azure turned to see where Lonnell had ended up, he noticed Gaia approaching a moment too late. Apparently, whatever Lonnell had done had killed the statue.

  Level 10 Gaia delivers 10 damage. You have been knocked down.

  "I'm getting fucking sick of this," Sir Thornton roared, tearing himself off of the floor like a sprinter about to hear the sound of a starting pistol. He disappeared from Azure's view before he even had a chance to stand again.

  Within minutes, they were all up on their feet surrounding Gaia in the similar dance they'd done before. After Sir Thornton struck her once, she cast the hand spell. Azure didn't manage to get out of its range this time, but Lonnell was somehow able to slip through the fingers and not get knocked down.

  Level 10 Gaia delivers 20 damage. You have been knocked down.

  It was then that a light bulb went off in Azure's head. They could avoid the spell if they were able to anticipate where the fingers would land.

  Azure and The Asshole Knight downed another healing potion to keep their Health up. Figuring that the blue gem in Gaia's head held some sort of significance, Azure tried to aim for it with his bow. Hitting it made the gem pulse with light, but it didn't crack. Gaia grabbed her forehead and fell to the ground, her protective barrier coming back up. Another statue moved, and they all h
eld their breath wondering what fresh hell they'd have to deal with this time.

  The next monstrosity of a statue appeared to be made of boulders covered with moss. Bulky and large, the statue had the physique of a male bodybuilder. It looked strong as hell, the pinched features of its face making it seem even more intimidating, as if it were glaring at them. It took heavy steps forward.

  Not knowing what to expect, and learning better from their last encounter, the three Adventurers stood side by side, waiting for the statue to make the first move. More than likely, it would have some trick up its sleeve that they'd have to skirt past.

  They were not mistaken.

  The statue stopped about five feet shy of them and lifted one of its hands. Instinctively, all three Adventurers readied their weapons, taking a defensive stance. Bringing its closed fist to its mouth, Azure realized what the spell was the moment the statue opened its hand. A pile of dirt lay atop it. One good breath sent the dirt speeding at the Adventurers. Azure closed his eyes a second too late.

  You are now blind. This effect will last for 10 seconds.

  Luckily, the spell didn't come with a decrease in Health. Azure felt relieved until he heard a strange guttural shout, then the sound of something hard impacting against metal followed by a grunt of pain.

  Sir Thornton's Health fell by nearly 50%. Seeing that, Azure scrambled back, knowing there was nothing behind him but floor. The seconds it took for the Dirty Move spell to wear off felt like an eternity. It had been a while since Azure was this helpless. Not since he had succumbed to the sirens when he was on the Shropshire headed for Squall's End. Hopefully, one of his comrades had gone unaffected by the spell and could at least attempt to protect the others or draw the statue's attention. Azure had no idea what that attack had been, but he was glad it only affected one instead of all of them.