“I’ll wager the girl.” Rhylor said nonchalantly, nodding towards Helena.
The sprite gave him a confused look. “Living beings cannot be used as wagers in duels.” She said with irritation in her voice. “Please select an item to wager.”
Rhylor shook his head in dismay. “How about one of the men here? Half of them are about as useful as a dull blade.” Some of his men let out howls of laughter, while others frowned. The sprite, none too impressed, crossed her arms across her chest.
“Fine.” Rhylor said pulling up his inventory and summoning a small vial filled with grey liquid into his hand. “Use this.”
The sprite nodded, sending a golden aura of light around the bottle.
Potion- ????
I had no idea what it was, but it didn’t really matter…. That’s not what I was after. “How do I know you’ll still give me the girl if I win?” I growled.
Rhylor chuckled. “Guess you’ll just have to trust me.”
I gave him a hard stare, but the smirk on his thin face never left. Trust him... yeah right.
“Are both combatants ready?” The sprite asked, growing impatient.
Suddenly, Rhylor turned his head to the side. “Vice, I need you!” he yelled. In seconds, a small creature revealed itself from between a pair of large oak trees. It was a wolf, its hair a mix of brown and gray, its face covered in a long vertical scar that covered its right eye. I readied myself as the wolf lumbered forward, charging through the barricade straight towards… Rhylor?
The wolf began to fade, turning to a translucent blue as it shed its corporeal form. It leapt forward, diving into Rhylor, fusing with the man as a soft blue light shimmered around his body before quickly fading.
“What the hell was that?!” I yelled.
“A Familiar.” Rhylor said coyly. “But you won’t have to worry about that. You’re not gonna last that long.”
The sprite zipped around the grove displaying her impatience as her wings reverberated with a loud, buzzing noise.
“We’re ready.” Rhylor barked as the grin on his face finally faded. The sprite looked to me and I gave it a quick nod.
The grove fell silent as the ranger and I squared off. It was as if we were the only two souls in the grove. Finally, the sprites voice piqued up.
“Ready… duel!”
My slayer mark appeared over Rhylor’s head as the duel began. I leapt forward, nevermore in my grasp as I activated lunging strike. Rhylor widened his stance and accepted the blow, intercepting my sword with his axe. He pressed off then rebounded with a horizontal chop, though it was slow enough that I was able to leap out of the way.
This time Rhylor lurched forward, axe raised above his head. I rose my blade to parry but ate a boot to the stomach for my troubles.
Suddenly, Rhylor’s axe slammed into my shoulder as he activated bite of the wolverine. I watched as my HP bar dwindled by 20… it hurt like hell. Nonetheless, I steeled myself and recoiled with a strike of my own, a glancing blow that sliced into Rhylor’s side as we parted.
He winced in pain as dark energy from the blade infiltrated his wound, draining him of 18 HP.
Rhylor grimaced before making another charge, activating mongoose strike as he darted forward. The speed that his skill afforded was insane, allowing him to dart in through my defenses and slash his axe blade across my abdomen.
I recoiled in pain… two attacks and my health bar had been depleted by 39 points!
“Give up.” Rhylor said, not in arrogance but more so defiance.
“To hell with that!” I replied. I rose my blade, spreading my feet apart as I settled into sword stance. With a flick of my wrist, I summoned my short sword into my offhand, drawing a few “ohs” from some of the onlookers.
I made my move, activating double strike as I stabbed in with my short sword. Rhylor easily shrugged off the blow, but he wasn’t prepared for the follow-up strike as nevermore stabbed into his shoulder. He cried out in pain as dark energy seared his flesh, taking a sizable chunk out of his health bar.
“Vice!” Rhylor yelled, calling to his familiar. A translucent blue aura swirled around him, pushing me away with unseen force.
The words Alpha’s Protection appeared above his head briefly…. Did I just witness a familiar skill?
Rhylor’s grin suddenly returned as he waived me on, goading me into another attack… and stupidly, I obliged.
I charged forward with a blade in each hand, poised to strike. To my surprise, Rhylor rolled away… was it fear?
CRUNCH! -12 HP
I looked down at my bloody ankle that was now encased in a razor sharp, steel trap. No, it was wasn’t fear, it was strategy.
Rhylor shook his head as he sheathed his axe and pulled out his bow. “It was a decent fight, I’ll give you that,” he said, knocking an arrow and aiming it at my chest.
I braced myself as the arrow soared through my guard and slammed into my shoulder,
-15 HP
I clenched my teeth as the pain swelled in my shoulder. Damnit all I was a sitting duck! Rhylor methodically knocked a second arrow and took aim at my other shoulder. He was going to sit back and pick me apart and there was nothing I could do.
Rhylor pulled the string back on his bow, ready to strike…. Suddenly, an agonizing cry cut through the air, bringing him pause. Rhylor dropped his bow and gazed to his left. There, he spotted Hilda smashing her mace into the one of the men guarding Helena. The other man was gone, having already been dispatched.
Hilda had slipped away during the excitement of the duel… just as we planned. Now, she was seconds away from releasing the raging warlock.
“Get her!” Rhylor yelled to his men, momentarily taking his eyes off me. This was it… this was my chance!
I slammed nevermore’s tip into the trap, prying it open and releasing my ankle. Rhylor’s gaze shifted back towards me as I dashed towards the formidable ranger. He knocked his arrow, taking aim before firing at nearly point-blank range.
The arrowhead soared into my chest, flying through my incorporeal form before slamming into one of the onlookers at my flank. I grinned, reappearing in front of Rhylor as I yelled “illusionary strike!”
The ranger didn’t have time to respond as I plunged nevermore into his chest, landing a critical hit and dropping his HP to 1. The sprite reappeared in the air as Rhylor collapsed onto his back, gripping the mortal wound in his chest.
“The winner is Zander Darkblade!” She announced in her childish voice as the glowing barrier began to fade. A small notification appeared above my head.
You’ve completed your first duel!
+ 25 Exp.
Congratulations! You have reached level 8!
Some of Rhylor’s men began to close in, ready to avenge their defeated leader…. Not many, though.
No, the others were gazing warily at the newly freed warlock, Helena. She rose to her feet, her eyes aglow with infernal energy. “You bastards!” She growled, raising her open palms into the air. “I’m going to make you burn!”
IMMOLATE
Hellfire spout from her hands as she let out a devilish laugh, spraying the flames around in a wide arc around the grove. The damage from the flames wasn’t overly powerful but the fire was spreading quickly, setting the grove itself ablaze.
“Grab the boss and let’s get out of here!” One of the men yelled as he narrowly dodged a falling branch that had caught fire. Likewise, Hilda ran to my side, hoisting me up with one arm, her aegis shield in the other. Helena followed closely behind as the fire began to consume the area.
As we exited the grove, I turned to get a final look at Rhylor. Our eyes met briefly. I could see the anger brewing in him like a tempest… we would meet again.
><><
Rhylor paced around the small clearing, circling the nervous group of men with his familiar, Vice at his side. They watched fearfully, waiting for the ranger to lash out in anger.
“Should we go after them, sir?” One of the men piped up,<
br />
“No.” Rhylor snapped. “This little duel has brought me… clarity.” The men looked at him with a series of puzzled gazes. “Get your things. We’re going to double back to karrihdan.”
“But why, sir?” One of the men asked.
“Because, I need more power. Merely leveling up isn’t going to be enough. I need… more. All of you, pool your money together and send it to my inventory.”
“Uh, alright sir.” The man said with reluctance. “May I ask what for?”
Rhylor grinned. “Because we are heading to the guild registar. You band of fools are going to be more powerful you ever thought possible.”
“We… we are sir?”
“Yes, you are. Now shape up men. We’re forming a guild!”
13
“So, what the hell do you want from me?” Helena said, eyeing me with suspicion as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her crimson and gold garments hugged her body tightly, complimenting her slender form and rigid posture.
I stared back at her incredulously as I slumped back against a large oak. “What do I… want?”
“That’s what I said!” She leaned in close, staring me down with those fiery red eyes. For being so imposing, she smelled quite lovely.
“I… I don’t want anything, really.”
She cocked her head a bit, then turned and stormed off in the other direction. “Unbelievable!” Helena spat. “Your telling me you’re foolish enough to errantly risk your life for a complete stranger?”
“Perhaps it wouldn’t kill you to say… ‘thank you’.” Hilda remarked. The two women paused to exchange heated glares. Damnit all….
“Everyone just calm down for a second.” I said, slowly rising back to my feet. “Listen, Helena. Hilda and I were just passing though when we heard your screams. We thought it was best to check things out and everything just kind of progressed from there.”
Helena glared at me. “Those weren’t my screams. They were the cries of one of those idiots I burned with hellfire… right before they ambushed me.”
Hilda let out a snicker, drawing another irksome look from the warlock.
“Even so, we were just passing through.” I said. “If you want, we’ll just gather our things and be on our way.” Silence lingered in the air as Helena stared me down. She wasn’t scowling anymore, but her demeanor wasn’t exactly cheerful either. “Where are you headed?” She finally asked.
“Stormgard, then north to Airrigar.”
She nodded, quietly contemplating something in her mind. “Fine, I’ll go with you then.”
“What!?” Hilda and I both responded in unison.
Helena placed her hands on her hips. “Listen, I don’t like owing anyone a thing. So, for helping me out back there, I’ll make sure you make it safely to Airrigar.”
“What makes you think we need help?” Hilda snapped back.
Helena let out a devilish laugh that we’d heard before. “Seriously? You two charged into a group of armed men on a whim…. You need someone around to start making some good decisions.”
Hilda’s jaw nearly dropped to the ground. I just sat back and laughed.
<><>
We continued east through the woods, following the road whenever possible. My health was still quite low from my duel with Rhylor, so I let the women handle any encounters we stumbled into. They didn’t seem to mind, and to be honest, I really didn’t mind watching.
By the end of the day the women had slayed at least a dozen gnolls and even gotten the jump on a rather small group of bandits. They’d both progressed to level 7, just a mere level behind me. We were quickly becoming formidable…if only I could get the two to talk some.
As we set up camp under Aetheria’s two moons, I decided to strike up some small-talk. It was my only hope to generate some communication, or at least then only one I could think of.
“So, Helena…. How’d you end up in that situation back there?”
The warlock glared at me. Perhaps this wasn’t the best question to start with.
“Those assholes got the jump on me.” She responded with annoyance. “I’d heard a noise, a whimper really… It was coming from that ranger’s wolf familiar. When I went to check on it, they ambushed me. I took down two of them, but the others piled on before I could use any more of my spells.”
I thought back to my encounter with Rhylor, to the strange way he interacted with his “familiar”. It was as if he absorbed the beast before our fight and used one of its skills during battle. Had he also used it to lure Helena into a trap?
“That familiar of his seemed quite useful.” I said. “What do you know about them.”
Helena gave me a strange look. “You mean you don’t know about familiars?”
I shook my head, quite naive of the subject. Hilda strolled over as well. She had been with me throughout most of the game, and neither of us knew much about the creatures.
Helena laughed. “Didn’t you guys learn anything in Karrihdan? The NPCs there were chock-full of information.”
“We got side-tracked by a particularly important quest.” Hilda replied smugly.
Helena shrugged before continuing. “Well, from what I’ve learned, the world of Aetheria is covered in Aether, a strange substance that fuels everything.”
“Everything?” I replied incredulously.
“Everything. It’s the base component for all magic in Aetheria, whether it be a wizard’s spells or a shaman’s primal incantations. It’s the force that brings life to the land itself. Without Aether, this world would be an empty husk.”
“Ok…” I said. “What does that have to do with familiars?”
Helena winked. “Like I said, everything. You see, from Aether comes sprites… living manifestations of magical energy. Some of them serve a purpose, such as the sprite you saw at your duel. Others are more powerful, such as that elf creature that welcomed us into the game. She was some sort of elder sprite. But most importantly, there are sprites that chose to bond with players, forming a sort of… symbiosis. The sprite takes a form that best represents their nature, such as Rhylor’s wolf, and thus become a familiar.”
Hilda leaned forward, intrigued. “Do they… help you?”
Helena nodded. “A familiar serves many purposes, but yes, they can bond with you, bolstering your combat effectiveness and even giving you access to skills. I think you found that out first hand, Zan.”
I shrugged in concession. “These familiars sound amazing. How do we find one?”
“From what I learned, familiars are more of a ‘mysterious’ element to the game. They’re not like an item you can acquire and there aren’t any skills that I’ve seen referring to them. “
“How the hell do you know all of this?” Hilda said, folding her arms in defiance.
Helena grinned. “A couple of old men in Karrihdan’s mages quarters talked my ear off while I was gathering supplies…. All I had to do was give them the right look.” She gave me a sly wink that caused my cheeks to grow red.
Hilda scowled. “But weren’t they NPCs?”
Helena let out her trademark devilish laugh. “It doesn’t matter what world we’re in…boys will still be boys.”
I looked over to Hilda, who wore a look of contempt on her face. Helena, on the other hand, continued to laugh it up. If my mission was to bring the group together, then I’d certainly failed. No matter though… perhaps that would come with time.
I thought back to Rhylor and how’d he bonded with that creature, that wolf of his… ‘Vice’.. The two of them surely would’ve put me down if it hadn’t been for that distraction.
If I intended on being a contender in this game (which I did… what, with an all-important quest looming in front of me and such) then unlocking the secrets of the familiars would need to be done.
<><>
The following morning, we continued our trek, finally reaching the end of that blasted gnoll-infested forest. The trees began to lessen as we spotted a wide clearing in the distance.
A large lake sat at its center with a red painted house on its shore. Far beyond that, a cluster of towers sat at the base of a long stretch of mountains. It was all quite beautiful.
“Zander, look out!” Hilda yelled, shoving me out of the way. We stumbled into the grass, watching wide-eyed as a large four-legged creature charged past. It had a body similar to that of a deer, though it’s horns were thick and twisted like that of a ram. I sat by as another one of the creatures charged by, then another.
One of them ran directly at Helena, but she stood firm, staring the creature down with her crimson eyes. At the last second, the beast veered away from her before disappearing into the forest.
“What the hell are those things?” I asked. “Are they attacking us?”
“No.” Helena responded, pointing a slender finger towards the large house on the lake. “They’re scared.”
I sat up, straining my eyes to get a better view of the house. After a few seconds my eyes finally focused, and I could make out a large gated enclosure parallel to the structure. Part of the gate had been destroyed…
“Maybe we should check it out.” Hilda suggested, hoisting me back to my feet as she rose. We both looked to Helena who glared back at us before finally rolling her eyes in concession.
As the last of the beasts ran by I made a quick observation of it.
Elken (domestic)
Level : 1
Domestic… these creatures must’ve escaped from that broken gate.
Hilda, Helena and I took up a light jog as we cleared the remainder of the trees and headed towards the farmhouse. As we got closer another figure came into view. It was a man, likely much older as indicated by his thinning hair and wrinkled face. He wore commoner’s clothes not so different from the ones I was spawned in, though a small gold icon glimmered above his head… a quest giver?
The Slayer Page 8
