CRACK!
The dragoon launched his weapon in a reverse-thrust, slamming the butt of his spear into my stomach. I lurched, clutching my abdomen as I stumbled back a few paces and a sliver of my health reticle dissipated. I’d only lost focus for a second, a single damned second… but that was all it took for my enemy to gain the advantage.
The spearman pivoted on his heel before thrusting the spear towards my face. I winced, unprepared for the sudden strike… but Razyr was more than ready.
Aether poured from my body, pooling in the air in front of me as it formed a large, translucent shield… the shield of valor. The dragoon stumbled back as his weapon bounced off the Aether-forged item, a stunned look on his face. The man at his side… the brawler, Ansel, quickly stepped in though, instantly picking up the assault where his partner left off.
Duck low, then perform a forward thrust with your blade, Salence’s reptilian voice echoed in my mind, firm and direct. The familiar’s personality was worlds apart from my other two familiars. He was a tactician, a creature built for battle… and likely my strongest familiar of the three.
I listened to his instructions and stabbed my blade into the brawler’s abdomen, then quickly withdrew it before smashing the pommel of the blade into his face, dropping his health reticle into the red and sending him spiraling into the dirt.
The dragoon returned, leveling the tip of his weapon at me as he waded in. He had a grin on his face and a lust for battle in his eyes…he was ready for round 2.
I obliged and lifted nevermore into the air, leveling the blade with my eyes, sword tip pointed at the man. Behind, Kiernan began to rise, as well as the brawler with the freshly broken nose.
Dammit all, this was not good. I was heavily outnumbered, even if I did have a few levels on each of them. Still, the Aether pumping through my body was like adrenaline… it fueled my desire to fight, to win!
I swung my blade in a wide arc, growling in anger as I staved off my three attackers as they prodded me with spear and blade. My mind couldn’t find a way out of the situation, so I fully intended to let instinct take over.
“That’s enough,” a woman’s commanding voice called out, bringing a sudden momentary pause to the battle. It was the woman with that iron wolves tattoo and the defiant look in her eyes… the one holding the bow. “Stand down, men,” she ordered. “No need to risk any further injury against one.” The men slowly begin to back off, all the while keeping their weapons firmly pointed at me.
“I’m going to make this easy for you,” she continued, this time directing her comments at me. “Drop all of your things, call off your familiars and lie on the ground… and we’ll take you in alive.” As she spoke, a strange translucent creature floated up to rest on her shoulders. Made of long ever-shifting tendrils, it was a spectral beast with milky-white skin that was barely visible and black hollow orbs for eyes… a wraith familiar.
“Who the hell are you?” I asked, unwilling to put my weapons down so easily. “Other than a group of honor-less bastards that attack people in their sleep?” It probably wasn’t the best thing to say right then, but the thrill of battle had me struggling to keep my emotions in check. Regardless, I give her a quick inspection.
Name: Ezry
Lvl 37 Battle Archer
Familiar: Zyastrix (Full bond)
“Honor’s dead in this place, kid. It’s about survival now, and I’m just following orders… so drop your gear and lie down or she gets it.” Ezry nocked an arrow and pointed it to her left, taking aim directly at Hilda’s unprotected head. My heart began to beat out of my chest as I watched her pull the bowstring back.
“No, no, don’t do this!” I yelled, taking a step towards the vile woman. I considered shadowshifting over and disarming her, but she’d likely get the shot off before I materialized.
“Drop it!” she yelled, her voice firm and visceral. My mind raced, and my hands shook as I considered my options. Drop my things and I’m likely dead… fight on and my friends are most certainly dead. Damnit, what do I do!
“So be it,” she said, her patience worn as she glanced from me, then back to Hilda. Then, to my horror, the snap of a bowstring echoed through the night.
4
Massacre
“No!” I shrieked as the bowstring snapped, all too familiar with the battle archer’s deadly aim. Without thinking, I marked Hilda and shadowshifted in front of her entrapped body, ready to absorb the arrow myself... but it never came.
Instead, a black-fletched arrow soared out of the darkness, piercing the battle archer’s palm and forcing the woman to drop her bow.
“What the hell?” she growled as her battle-hardened gaze scanned the horizon. Suddenly, another arrow flew out of the darkness, this time piercing the eye of the shadowmancer at her side.
Instantly, the shadowy mage’s health bar evaporated as his body crashed to the ground in a lifeless heap... it looked like backup had arrived.
The unnatural darkness surrounding the area faded with the shadowmancer’s demise, revealing the demonic-looking assassin, Morose, approaching from the west. In his hands was an ornate longbow, an arrow nocked and ready to fire... in his eyes a look of death. Dammit all, was that man ever fearsome!
The three remaining assailants turned and charged the assassin, weapons raised and ready to strike. This left just Ezry and I standing face-to-face.
Our eyes met for the briefest of seconds as our hands reached for our weapons. Shadows swirled in my palm as I called nevermore to my grasp. Likewise, her good hand reached to her belt, clasping the hilt of a dangling iron scimitar.... so, it was a showdown, then.
“You can’t win this fight, boy,” Ezry spat, her weapon at the ready. “I’ve fought monsters far worse than this place has to offer. I’ve killed hundreds in Kuwait, Afghanistan… some of the things I did during the Third World War were unthinkable!”
Suddenly, Ezry lunged forward, yanking her scimitar out of its scabbard and. swinging it at my head. I quickly brought nevermore up to parry, halting the woman’s blade just inches from my face, then recoiled with a stab of my own.
The obsidian blade cut through the air, slicing the area where the woman’s chest should’ve been... but instead, I stumbled forward, awkwardly thrusting my blade through Ezry’s now-incorporeal form.
What the hell kind of skill was that?
The woman quickly capitalized, slashing the blade across my back and draining me of a chunk of my HP. I pivoted and turned to face the battle archer, swinging nevermore in a quick series of angular strikes. Surprisingly, Ezry held her own, avoiding my blade’s edge with a sequence of dodges and parries.
I eyed the woman carefully as we circled one another, blades drawn. She was breathing heavily, clearly strained from trying to keep up with my superior dexterity.
That’s it, I told myself. Engage her with a speed-based attack until her defenses wilt.
Without warning, I bent my knees and launched myself into a double strike, prepared to overwhelm the battle archer into submission... unfortunately, Ezry had a plan of her own. Her ghostly familiar launched itself from her body before wrapping its translucent tendrils around my exposed head. Pain and confusion immediately coursed through my mind as the creature activated its ability, mind wrack.
I fell to my knees, grabbing at the incorporeal creature as it assaulted me with psionic force. I knew Ezry was approaching with her blade, knew I had to defend myself.... but that damned creature had me mentally crippled! I was defenseless!
Ezry rose her scimitar above my head, preparing to strike me down with a crippling blow. I winced, catching a glimpse of her blade through the ghostly pains swirling in my head... then suddenly she paused.
Another pair of black-fletched arrows howled through the air, piercing the woman’s wrist in two locations, nearly removing her hand entirely and dropping her to the ground. The pain in my head immediately subsided as the ghost familiar halted its attack and retreated back to Ezry’s writhing form. Slowly, I
rose to my feet and turned to lay eyes on the horrifying gaze behind me.
Approaching was the armored assassin Morose, his jet-black armor now stained crimson with fresh blood. At his side he hung his bastard sword, pieces of flesh still stuck to its serrated edge... and on the ground lay the ravaged bodies of the three other iron wolves, each of them clearly decimated by his blade.
My face twisted into confusion... How had he done this? Certainly, he had a level advantage, but to utterly destroy four coordinated attackers... I almost wished I hadn’t engaged with Ezry, if only to see the assassin in action.
The downed battle archer let out a gasp of terror as Morose approached. He looked truly terrifying in that horned armor of his, and even more so with it drenched in blood. As he passed by en route to his target, I managed to catch a glimpse through the slit in the mask… it almost seemed like his eyes were glowing the faintest of red. Perhaps a skill that I hadn’t yet seen.
“S-stop!” Ezry gasped as she raised her good hand defensively. Her hardened exterior had quickly crumbled after seeing the coming assassin.
Morose didn’t say a word. Instead, he responded by pressing a boot firmly into the woman’s stomach, forcing the air out of her thin frame. Her eyes went wide as he nocked his bow and drew back another arrow, taking aim at point-blank range...
THWACK!
Morose released the bowstring, sending the arrow directly into the woman’s eye and draining her remaining hit points. I winced at the grisly sight... my mind had grown accustomed to the violent world of AGO, but something about the way Morose executed the woman in cold blood... it was unnerving.
I watched as the ghost familiar fled from the woman’s body before trailing off into the darkened sky. The sprite almost seemed fearful of the assassin as it faded from view, as if it wanted no business in being around the deadly man… and damnit, it had every right to be.
Experience points began to shower me for my participation in the wanton slaughter of the wolves…
+1,000 exp.
Regaining my composure, I scrambled over to the others and began cutting away Hilda’s restraints. Then I raised my blade and stabbed it into the Aether cage’s sealing rune, unlocking the glowing prison. Helena immediately hopped to her feet and began a tirade of cursing, though the other three seemed rather thankful for the help.
“What the hell happened?” I asked as soon as Hilda regained her bearings. I still wasn’t quite sure how they managed to neutralize the others so quickly.
“They ambushed us,” Brenton interjected, readjusting his spectacles on his face. “And apparently one of those men had taken the profession of Mage Hunter... one with more than a few silencing skills.”
Mage Hunter was an acquired combat profession that specialized in disabling and hunting down spellcasters. The man they referred to, one of the now dead iron wolves, was apparently a special build of Mage Hunter that relied heavily on disabling the skills and spells of his opponent, effectively nullifying them in combat.
“That bastard sealed off my damned mana,” Helena growled as she shed her restraints. “I couldn’t even call Doomswell out!” As she spoke, the gargoyle exited her body as a red ball of light before forming atop her shoulder, a scowl stretched across his stony face.
“Damned iron wolves,” Morose growled as he stepped away from Ezry’s lifeless body, grabbing my attention. “This is the second group of them I’ve encountered since I came for you… this was one of their alpha kill squads.”
“Why would they be after us?” Hilda asked as she straightened a few of Ivan’s feathers.
“Ever since the ravens took down Highlord Vazryn and became the top guild in Aetheria, the wolves have been gunning for us non-stop. They must see this as an opportunity to take us down and seize power... You’re lucky they didn’t go straight for the kill. They probably thought they could use you as leverage.”
I stood tall and crossed my arms at my sides as my familiars took form around me, resolving to not be caught off guard again. “Let them try.”
><><
After recovering from our scuffle with the wolves, Brenton and I gave their bodies a quick look over. Looting fallen enemies was a pretty common occurrence in VRMMO games, but the possibility that these were real people in a very real world had my stomach turning. Brenton, on the other hand, took a more objective approach to the task, seeing it as a mere necessity to survive the harsh lands of Aetheria.
“Well, what do we have here?” he said as he opened a leather pouch strapped to one of the fallen warriors’ belts. From the looks of it, it was the fallen Mage Hunter. A notification appeared above his head.
X3 Spell Grenade obtained
X1 Expandable Aether Cage obtained
“These are magnificent,” Brenton continued as he studied the grenades. “They look to have been crafted somehow... like homemade explosives.”
“Ex-military,” I uttered, thinking back to my fight with the group.
Brenton gazed up from the warrior’s body. “What was that, Zan?”
“The coordination in their attacks, the way they took orders, and now the homemade explosives... these guys must’ve been in the military before they got trapped in AGO.”
“Perhaps,” Brenton replied, adjusting the spectacles on his face. “A group like that would likely have been drawn to the Iron Wolves, after all.”
I nodded, then began to take a look over Ezry’s form. I couldn’t help but wonder as my eyes drifted over her body... had she just been another player looking for a way home, another fallen soldier just following orders?
As I was about to walk away, my eyes paused on a pair of loose-fitting gloves resting on her hands. Maroon in color, the gloves had a glimmer to them as well as a bow insignia etched with two arrows crossed beneath.
Quick Draw Gloves obtained
Placing them on my hands gave me a small boost to my dexterity, a stat boost that I happily welcomed. By and far, speed had become my deadliest weapon.
As we began to depart the rocky hillside, my gaze lingered on the fallen wolves. Things could’ve gone quite different for us if those wolves had intent to kill instead of capture.... Now they lay dead.
A shiver crept down my spine as my gaze shifted to their killer, a man who’d given me an uneasy feeling as of late... Something was off about the man that I couldn’t really put my finger on. Still, he’d saved our lives on multiple occasions now, so that had to count for something.
I placed a hand on my chin as I observed the man walk away… the puzzle that was the assassin in black, Morose.
“Let’s go,” Hilda said, giving my arm a tug as she tried to lead me away from the pile of corpses. I turned to give them a final look…and like that, she was gone. The body of Ezry, a body that once lay just feet from me had taken an ethereal appearance before suddenly disappearing into the night. I thought about bringing it to Morose’s attention, but the man had already trudged off in his brooding nature… so I kept it to myself. I considered the ghostly familiar that the woman had bonded with. Perhaps it had something to do with the creature… or perhaps not. A final shiver crept down my spine as I let the situation rest and exited the bloody hillside. I needed to do that if I planned on retaining my sanity.
5
A Fisherman’s Dream
Our next day of travel was a rather somber one, especially with knowledge that the iron wolves were trying to make a move on Ravenflight. What the hell would they have done if they managed to bring us in? Torture us for guild secrets? Barter for land?
I suppose I thought slaying Vazryn would bring with it some sort of recognition... not put a damned target on my head. At least with Morose at our side, the odds of getting ambushed would drop significantly.
A bit later in the afternoon, the group settled down to eat in a small clearing adjacent to a wide, murky pond. The area was mostly devoid of trees and other obstructions, making it easily defensible. If any lurking wolves wanted to make a move on us, then they’d be meeting a
hail of arrows before they managed to get close.
“Trail rations again...” Helena muttered in a defeated tone as she tore open her pack. “Why in the hell didn’t we pack some food before we left Riverwood?”
“We did,” Brenton replied, taking a seat in the grass. “But you ate it all on our first night out.”
Helena and her familiar Doomswell simultaneously shot the man a glaring look. “Girl’s gotta eat.”
I took a knee in the spiky grass and pulled out some rations of my own. I never considered myself a picky person... Hell, after my mom died, my father and I had lived on ramen for weeks. Still, after two and a half months of traversing Aetheria, I was damn near sick of trail rations.
“Zan, over here!” Hilda called, standing near the edge of the murky pond. In her hands was a peculiar item, an item that we’d earned during our early days in AGO.
With a grin, I reached into my pack and grabbed a small, metal shaft. With a squeeze, the shaft fully extended, taking the form of my forgotten tide rod.
“You earned that the day we bonded, Zander,” Razyr said, a reptilian grin stretched across his scaly face.
“Sure did,” I replied. “Guess it’s time to put this thing to good use.”
><><
Moments later, Hilda and I stood perched at the edge of the pond, a blue, metal tide rod in each of our hands. Neither of us knew much of fishing, not in this life or our last one, but damnit, if there was any possibility that we’d be eating fish tonight, then I’d learn.
The Blade Guardian Page 3
