by Eden Redd
Lance continued his relentless assault until he reached strike 63. Kurss shifted his stance and with a flick of his wrist, the red blade sliced through the rapier. The top half of the blade went soaring away as Lance moved in for his 64th attack. Time slowed as Kurss shifted his stance again and flicked his wrist. Red alerts popped into the corner of his vision as a small diagram of himself appeared and red appeared around his sword hand. Lance watched as his sword hand separated from his wrist and spiraled to the ground, still clutching the broken rapier.
Kurss smirked as Lance’s grim eyes looked down at the bloody stump. Golden energy whirled, taking hold of the fallen hand and connecting to Lance’s wrist. The hand flew up and reconnected; digital blood, bone, muscle and skin fusing together. Kurss turned his eyes to the cleric as she continued to pour on her healing energy.
“Enough of that,” Kurss said and whipped his sword at her and let go.
Lyra’s eyes widened and her golden healing energy died. Looking down, the blade was half imbedded in her chest, between her breasts. Hit points drained to zero and cracks appeared along her body. Thorrin was to his feet, eyes on the cleric as her eyes showed acceptance. With one small smile, she looked to Thorrin before her body shattered into bright shards of light.
The paladin silently turned to the troll master and charged. Lance drew Shatter Light from over his shoulder but it was Jayson who threw himself at the troll. Kurss moved with wide arcs as his blade clashed with Jayson’s swords and Thorrin’s hammer. Sparks showered with each strike as knight and paladin tried to get an edge in on the troll. Kurss gave a faint smile as the player grunted and fought, rage fueling them. Jayson’s eyes went wide as an alert appeared in his vision. The knight hesitated and was rewarded with the troll’s red blade buried in his gut.
Jayson’s eyes took in the sight before him as time lost meaning. Kurss was still smiling as he slowly eyed the knight while at the same time, still moving as a blur and deflecting Thorrin’s strikes. Hit points drained and the red blade in his gut vibrated as if the master was pulling it out and inserting it so quickly, it looked like it never moved. Thorrin grunted over and over as his hammer rained down.
The knight watched as his hit points drained and he was frozen, unable to move with the continued damage he was taking. The alert blinked in his vision. The three-question mark skill had reached one hundred percent. The question marks shifted into letters. The word “Juna” appeared and blinked over and over again.”
Kurss blinked his condolences to Jayson as he fended off the paladin’s attacks. Within that blink, a white sword moved against Jayson’s hip and plunged into Kurss’s stomach. The master’s eyes went wide as Lance stood behind Jayson. The knight had used his fellow knight’s body to block the line of sight and pushed with all his might, driving the thick blade in deeper. A blue flash was to Kurss’s side and Sonja roared a scream as she stabbed her sword into the troll’s side. The master’s blurry form solidified and a glowing hammer rained down. Thorrin slammed the hammer into Kurss’s head over and over. The player was unable to stop his arm as it slammed again and again. Kurss sank to his knees. Lance’s hand grabbed Jayson by the shoulder and pulled. The knight was clear of the red blade and stumbled back until he fell to the ground.
Thorrin continued to bring his hammer down while Lance and Sonja pulled their swords back and stabbed the master over and over. Kurss’s eyes were closed as the two knights and paladin continued their grisly work. Jayson watched as Kurss’s health bar turned from green to yellow. For a breath of a second, it seemed they were gaining the advantage until the master’s eyes flashed open and dark power exploded.
A wave of black and purple energy spiked and blasted outward. Lance, Sonja and Thorrin were thrown in different directions, their bodies hurtling through the air and landing fifty feet away. Jayson was now the closest, eyeing the master as he slowly rose to his feet, his health bar turning from yellow to green again.
Kurss stood at his full height and looked down at the bleeding knight, “I have tapped into the ancient powers of my race, regeneration, a power one step closer to godhood.”
The troll took a step closer and held out a hand, “Give me the star and I shall end your suffering. When you wake, come to me for your duties in my royal guard.”
Jayson mentally tapped the skill “Juna” before smiling at the master, “No.”
A sliver of light appeared in midair between the knight and troll. Kurss eyed it, keeping his sword at his side. Jayson gazed at the light as something pushed at the thin line. At first, a hand appeared and then a leg. Something pushed at the digital fabric of the game and stepped on through to their side. The player stared as the being stepped from the crack in space and time. The line closed up and faded away as a troll woman stood.
Jayson could not believe his eyes. A thin troll woman turned her head and looked down at the fallen knight. Swords crisscrossed against her back as dark hair flowed from her head, a pink stripe running from her temple to the bottom of her hair. Her features were unmistakable, a blend of Jayson and Oksuna. Her body was lithe and toned, pale blue skin glowing against the bonfire light. White armor covered her shoulders and upper body. Her thighs and shins had guards as boots covered her feet.
Kurss eyed the troll, “Step away child, for your father’s death is at hand.”
Terror curled around Jayson’s heart. The troll before him was his child. Blood draining, he felt he made a mistake to use the skill to bring his daughter into battle. Mouth opening, his heart pounded in his chest.
“No…NO! Juna….don’t fight him!” Jayson yelled with panic in his voice.
Juna looked to her father and gave him a whimsical smile before hands reached up and drew two glowing white swords. Kurss lifted his red blade to his chest. Sonja and Lance stood up as Thorrin’s wide eyes looked to the two trolls. A wind passed over the battlefield and pain roared into Jayson’s mind and heart.
Juna turned her attention to the troll master. The two gazed upon one another for a space of time before both exploded toward each other. Jayson lay, helpless as the trolls clashed in a burst of light. White and red streaks clashed as they moved like two hurricanes. Sparks flew into the night as the two trolls parried each other’s blows with perfect accuracy. The speed and power caused the very ground to shake and tremble. Never had any of the players seen such a display as Juna sliced like a whirlwind. For the first time, Kurss took steps back from the troll’s furious strikes. They spun on and on like an engine, pushing the master back with blasts of power. Kurss’s form was a blur, trying to keep up but the young troll moved almost as if she was teleporting. Her body was flashes of still images, striking and moving, striking and moving. It played on, pushing the master back, step by step.
A slice across a thigh and Kurss let out a grunt, drops of blood floating into the air.
Harkkon stepped to the edge, “My children, destroy the aberration!”
The undead army bent boney knees and drew swords, axes and spears. Juna continued her assault with the master barely keeping up. Another slash and then another sent blood into the air. Kurss faltered and the young troll took full advantage. Blades burst into fire and she rained them down with the fury of the goddess. For every one parry, four more strikes stabbed and cut. The troll master grunted as flaming blades penetrated his body and burned. Kurss let out a groan as he stumbled back. Juna twirled her blades and drove the points into the master’s chest. Pushing the blades deeper, fire scorched the master’s digital body as he looked to the beautiful troll’s determined expression.
Juna twisted the blades and pulled them out. Kurss fell to his knees, his red sword fading and disappearing. Mouth slack, he looked up at the troll in white armor. Juna lifted a sword to give the final blow when an arrow bounced off her breast plate. Looking up, she watched as the undead army came charging toward her. Smiling, the troll bent her knees and made an impossible leap into the air.
Jayson watched with proud eyes as Juna didn’t fall, instea
d she flew on. Above the undead army, she streaked over them and opened her mouth. A song flowed lightly at first before falling into powerful discord. The vibrations slammed into the undead, flattening some while causing others to burst into dust. She flew unencumbered over the dead army, her voice flattening them in wide patches. The knight sat mesmerized by the sight of the beautiful troll as she blasted them with her voice. Jayson noticed golden energy closing up his wounds and he looked to Thorrin. The paladin was stepping closer, hand glowing with healing light.
Sonja’s eyes turned from the spectacle to the fallen form of Kurss. The master was still breathing. Sword in hand, the blue knight stalked toward the troll, eyes filled with murder. Kurss turned his face to the blue knight as she stood before him and raised her sword. With blade high, the blue knight brought it down without mercy. The blade clashed against the troll’s red blade. Sonja spit on him as she whipped her blade at him again and again. The troll kept up, parrying each blow, still on his knees. The red blade spun around her sword and with a flick of his wrist, sent it sailing through the air.
Sonja’s mind worked as she stepped back, unarmed. The troll’s blade slashed against her leg and she grunted. Lance was over the troll and brought his sword down. Kurss kept them at bay, his arm moving in a blur but his body unable to stand. Lance looked down as he tried to deal the final blow, eyes widening as the troll’s wounds slowly started to close.
The blue knight looked at her sword techniques and noticed the one Lord Thorne had imparted to her. Activating the technique, the knight drew a dagger and slashed her sword hand. Blood poured out but before it touched the ground, it shifted and lengthened. The blood solidified into a crimson sword and Sonja held it up. She could feel it anchor to her body and she knew she could not be disarmed. With blood blade in hand, the blue knight rushed to the downed troll. Sparks flew as the blue and white knight continued their barrage.
Juna continued to devastate the undead army, smashing them to pieces as she flew across the night sky. Kurss kept the two knights at bay until his power flared. Dark energy slammed into knights and their bodies went flying backwards. Standing up, the master looked to the flying troll in the sky and bent his knees.
Jayson was up and running, Thorrin at his side. Blades up, he pushed himself as fast as he could to reach the wounded master. Power surged and the troll master launched into the air, just as Jayson’s blades came down, missing him by a hair.
Juna screamed her song of discord, not seeing the master flying up to her. The troll stopped her song and turned just as thick blue fingers curled around her neck. Kurss glared as Juna struggled in his grasp. Swords at her sides, she stabbed them over and over into his stomach. Kurss ignored the pain as his hand squeezed and he drove the sword point into Juna’s chest.
Jayson’s heart dropped as he gazed up. Juna made a sound that wasn’t heroic but powerful pain. Jayson’s eyes watered as she made the sound of a hurt child, calling out for her mother and her father. Kurss made sure to twist the blade again and again as he stared daggers into the mystical troll. Falling from the sky, Juna made one last glance down to her father, mouthing the word “Love”.
Kurss let go as he fell, pulling his blade from her chest. A line appeared above the ground as Juna fell like a leaf from the tree of life. The troll struck the line and vanished. Kurss landed on the ground hard enough to kick up dirt and rocks as he fell to one knee.
Jayson charged the troll. Eyes unblinking, he darted toward the master at full tilt. Back in reality, Jason’s body trembled as biofeedback pushed at the sensors and then blasted through them. The game code could not compensate the excess data and the player’s stats pushed to max. A haunting scream filled the night as Jayson’s eyes laser focused on the troll as he stood at his full height. Blades rising up, the knight came at the troll with the fury of a father who lost their child.
Kurss, at first simply fell into his normal mode of protection. Parrying the first incoming strike, he prepared to continue to wear down the knight. Instead the first strike cracked his red blade, stunning the master. Jayson screamed on and on as he rained down blades so fast, their strikes were white blurs. Kurss tried to keep up, parrying each strike but his blade cracked again and again. With one final roar, both blades came down and smashed the red blade to pieces. Jayson’s swords cut into the troll’s shoulder and kept slicing through. Kurss tried to bring his free hand up but Thorrin was there, knocking it away with his hammer. Sonja and Lance moved in, driving their blades into the troll’s sides.
Kurss let out a scream as he stumbled back and fell to his knees. The party was about to move in when they looked up in shock. A Tidal wave, hundreds of feet high came rolling over the cliffs. Trolls and undead turned to see the massive wave before it slammed into them. Bodies rolled with the wave as it crested and fell. Jayson was swept up into the water as they submerged. Sonja reached out a hand and took hold of Jayson’s hand. Lance tumbled, his hand out and taking hold of Jayson’s other hand. Thorrin rolled as Wynter took his hand. Dalya reached out and took Sardyna’s hand and the other hellhound each took one of her legs. Bodies tumbled and tumbled until the water receded.
Jayson coughed as he tried to get up. Looking around, he saw the entire party was by the pass opening. A hundred feet away, several thick green trolls held tridents, their points buried in Kurss’s body.
“The Voice demands your blood,” A green troll growled.
Kurss groaned as the green trolls pinned him down, tridents stabbing deeper. Jayson was on his feet and ready to finish the job when Lance took hold of his shoulder.
“I think Oksuna has this. Let’s get out of here,” The white knight said and pointed at the pass.
Jayson almost pulled away until the undead began to stand. What was left of the dead and troll army were standing up, their sights set on the remaining party.
“Get them! Kill them!” Riktess screeched from his cliff vantage point.
Sonja and Lance took hold of their fellow knight and dragged him to the pass, the rest of party close behind. Jayson’s heart broke in two as someone he and Oksuna had created was gone, in the blink of an eye. Tears mixing with salt water, the party ran into the pass as Kurss’ screams filled the night.
Twenty-Three
Wynter glanced back as shadows moved along the pass. Thorrin held her hand, pulling her along as the party ran for their lives. The sound of clanking metal echoed off mountain sides as the group carried on into the night.
“We still have a long way to the portal,” Thorrin huffed as they ran.
“We just have to keep going,” Lance said and looked to Jayson who had a faraway gaze.
“Jayson, we are here for you,” Sonja said while trying to fight back her own tears.
The mood grew direr as the party emerged from the pass and into Nekross city. The decayed ruin glowered with unearthly light as ghosts and spirits emerged. Skeletons and zombies emerged from the broken city and they quickly swarmed onto the main road.
“I really wish we had that lantern,” Thorrin said.
Lance looked around, sword in hand and panic setting in, “We can’t fight through this.”
Jayson drew his swords and held them at his sides as he ran, “We fight to the end.”
“We don’t have much of a choice,” Wynter said with fear in her tone.
The party slowed down and bunched together as the dead streamed in from every dark corner and hole. Soon they were surrounded, the glow of Thorrin’s protection the only light in a sea of darkness and bone. Jayson stared at the undead with a cold heart. He knew they would not survive but he didn’t care, not anymore.
“You have failed,” said an echo across the city. “We shall take the star from your dead hands and dance on your corpses.”
The party could hear the high-pitched voice of the dread lord Riktess. From the mountain pass, undead and trolls spilled out, running to join the gathering of undead around the party.
Dalya, held her staff and fire flared from e
ach end, “Defend our lord at all costs!”
The hellhounds circled around the party on all fours, fire spilling from their mouths. A chill sank into their spines as they saw their doom marching toward them with death’s mockery. Jayson thought of Juna and Oksuna. His heart filled with failure as he knew they could not win this. Lifting up his blades, he prepared to fight anyway, for them, to the very end. Sonja and Lance stood close, hearts determined and weapons at the ready.
A roar vibrated across the city, followed by several more. Jayson looked up to the edge of the city as winged dragons flew in the night air, fire glowing in their open maws and serpentine eyes glaring down at the undead army. One white dragon led the group, her wings out and wisps of frost falling from the edges of her snout.
The darkness of the night pulled back as fire rained down from the skies. Dalya pumped her fist in the air as dragon fire roared down. Undead screeched as fire burned them to ash in an instant. The white dragon breathed a stream of frost. The dead put up boney arms only to be frozen instantly. A beating of wings and a roar caused the frozen dead to shatter like glass. The sky filled with a dozen dragons as they rained down fire. The dead fired arrows but they bounced off hard scales.
The dead around the party surged and attacked. Hellhounds breathed their own fire before hacking and slashing with claws. Sardyna fought like a berserker until she heard the yelp of one of her sisters and then another. Her pack had fallen to one as her fellow hellhounds burst into shards of light, swords in place where their bodies were. The hellhound became unhinged as she clawed and blasted fire until several rusty blades stabbed in and sliced outward.
Dalya cried out as she watched Sardyna shatter to pieces of light. Jayson, Lance and Sonja fought on as dragon’s spit flames. Wynter and Thorrin were back to back, fighting off the undead horde around them. Thorrin smashed a skull and turned to strike down another undead when a black arrow penetrated his shoulder and sank into his flesh. The paladin turned to see Riktess at the mouth of the pass, a black bow in his hands and pulling back on a black bowstring. Another black arrow appeared and the dread lord let it fly.
