Crystalfire Keep

by J. A. Cipriano

  20

  What we found in the upper floors of Crystalfire Keep both matched my expectations and defied them in one fell swoop. Oh, things started off as could be expected. We reformed under the canopy of the royal pavilion, and everyone seemed to be in the highest of spirits. Of course, we weren’t alone, the rush of raid groups running to and fro, as many as when the Keep first opened if not more. While we gathered, I saw both Thadivus and Amethyst pass through with their guilds. For once, neither of them messed with us, and I was happy to see that none of us messed with them.

  The only real takeaway from the raid leaders’ appearance here was that they had to be at the same point we were. There would be no other reason for them to return to the king and that meant we couldn’t rest on our laurels. We could be in the lead, or we could be pulling up the rear. It was impossible to say. I pushed any worry about that out of my head; I had to keep the faith that we would succeed by keeping at what we were doing.

  As Dr. Fontaine promised, Vanni was there too, logging in almost the moment after Crysta popped in, something that took a load off my mind. Vindril finally had the same mismatched hobo look as Dunya and I. His Border Knight’s Champion Helm, a glorious silver visor helmet studded with glowing quartz crystals, was out of place compared to his Kelly Green plate mail. Though Nahma’s Shadow Stalker Ring wasn’t noticeable under his leather gauntlets, he was even more enthusiastic than normal. Merina practiced dancing with her new Courtesan’s Crystal Fans, blue-and-silver enameled fans, edged with jagged crystals while Burndall and Wazif watched appreciatively.

  I hugged Kayla and smiled out at our tidy little guild. We were finally starting to look like pros if you asked me. I’m very proud we aren’t arguing with anyone this time. Are you all ready to get started?

  Vindril: Ready and willing, sarge.

  Dunya: I was ready before you even logged in!

  Burndall: What small fry said, boss.

  Nahma: I’m ready when you are, Mr. Shale!

  Vanni saluted me with her sword while Crysta was all smiles, still clinging to her Promised but not quite as desperately this time. Our Dancer graced me with a flourishing bow, and Kayla just flashed me a smile.

  Shale: Okay, here we go.

  Turning from my friends to look up at the great Mountain King, I opened the interaction interface with him, the world blurring out as it always did. There was no opening for me to say a thing as Crystain immediately took focus.

  “Ah, my champions!” He spread his massive arms out wide. “I hope you are rested and ready for the next stage of our assault. Sir Copperholt has reported that the advance guard’s efforts to breach the Keep and hold the courtyard have been successful. For whatever reason, the enemy has not attempted to sally forth to drive us out of our foothold.”

  Kallisandre shook her head slowly in response. “It is because they do not need to, mighty king. They still have the superior position. Better for them to hole up behind the defenses of the Keep than to waste resources assaulting our position. Time, as before, remains on the side of the Flames of Wrath.”

  “Indeed, Daughter of the Ocean.” Crystain inclined his head towards the princess before turning back to us. “For that reason, I bid you swift feet and swifter blades in what is to come. The gates leading to the upper reaches of the Keep are locked, no doubt openable by the keystone you recovered from the War Golems. You must fight your way through that area of the keep to reach the staircases that reach into the earth below Crystalfire.”

  He folded his arms behind his back. “They were placed there to prevent easy access by invading forces. After all, if the wardstone fell, our entire defensive line would have been broken. Now, the enemy can use our superior defensive layout against us. Still, with all you have conquered before now, I am certain you can win the day for us once more. Can we count on your strength this day?”

  The narrative focus had barely shifted over to me before I was saluting the king, tapping my fist to my breastplate. “Yes, Your Highness! The Knights of the Four are at your command.”

  “Then go! Drive the Darkness out of your way!” the Mountain King roared.

  Raid quest ‘Corridors of the Dead’ accepted!

  Objective: Breach the upper levels of Crystalfire Keep and secure both the Life Crystal and access to the depths of the Keep!

  Reward: 25% Experience, Upper Level Checkpoint unlocked

  Your timer for the next wing of Crystalfire Keep will start once you advance to the upper levels.

  In a much softer and measured tone, Kallisandre added, “Do not forget to keep searching for any information you can. The upper levels included barracks and the Knight-Commander’s quarters. If there is any tangible lore, it is likely to be there.”

  And that was that. With the Courtyard Checkpoint open, all it took was one of Kayla’s portals to return our entire raid to where we had left off. Things had changed in the hours we were gone, of course. First and foremost, the wreckage of the three War Golems was gone, though the floor where the Grand Golem had collapsed and detonated was cracked and discolored, wisps of raw elemental energy wafting out into the air.

  Around the perimeter of the room, an array of the army raised by the Four Kingdoms stood guard and the glowcrystals they brought pushed back the weird, chaotic light of the Keep’s walls to make the place seem almost normal. Sir Copperholt himself was holding a conference with some of his officers in the center of the room. Upon our arrival, he turned towards us and saluted.

  “Champions! It is good to see you once more!” The portly knight gestured to both sides of the courtyard where extra guards stood at the four archways that led deeper into the Keep. “Two stairwells lead up, one at the end of each of these hallways. My troops took the liberty of inspecting the rest of this lower floor while we set up a perimeter and all seems quiet here, so do not fear of an ambush coming behind you.”

  We weren’t in a normal NPC dialogue, so Dunya beat us all to the punch, acknowledging Copperholt with a cheery, “Thanks, old man! We’ll handle everything you can’t.”

  You have to give credit to the NPC control AI as the knight looked flustered, his crystal mustache clattering as he sputtered for a moment before simply saluting as he turned back to his officers.

  “Well, if we ever need to have a polite interaction with an NPC, let’s all remember to send anybody but Dunya,” I said. Everyone else, even Dunya, seemed amused at that.

  Without further ado, I led the way to one of the gates. As there seemed to be no difference between them, I went right, conjuring the Inner Keep Keystone to my hand. With Copperholt’s assurance, we settled into a more traditional marching order as I unlocked the portcullis, with Vanni side-by-side with me, our melee fighters right behind, support in the middle, and those with a ranged arsenal pulling up the rear. As with the gate that had guarded the Life Crystal in the courtyard, all it took was inserting the carved crystal head into the indentation on the lock to send the steel bars grinding back down into the floor, leaving the staircase ahead open.

  As with the hallways, the stairwell was relatively cramped, and instead of being a straight shot up, it turned sharply. Once the scrape of the retracting portcullis finished, the same eerie silence as before came from above, the only notable thing being a waft of the pungent smell of rot coming down from above. With the winding steps ahead, the fact was that we could be attacked at any moment from above and not see it coming.

  “Like, call me a scaredy-cat or not,” Crysta murmured, “but this is a little spooky. All I’m thinking is more of those gross undead from the Shadowyard.”

  “Undead?” Vanni said as she glanced behind her. “They don’t have those in EO, do they?”

  Of course. While my fellow Warlord had those quests marked as complete, she didn’t remember doing them. Until the Shadowyard, undead weren’t a thing, not outside of some deep-cut lore. “They are now,” I said. “And I think Crysta’s right. Now’s the time to have some Light Element stuff ready.”

  The
re were no adjustments I could think of for myself. My Solar Shield was probably the best place for me to leave my only Light Gem and I was more than satisfied with how Chernobog was working out. I noticed a few of the others moving Gems around while Crysta took the time to summon up Loi in his original Sacred Sprite form. Once everyone seemed ready, I initiated a ‘Raid Ready Call’ and a few moments later, green marks filled my screen. With a deep breath, I nodded and started up the stairs.

  As with our entrance into the Keep proper, nothing ambushed us, even though Vindril pointed out how this architecture was devised to be as defensible as possible. I didn’t doubt his expertise here, but I thought I realized what was going on. Like the entrance hall to the Keep, this staircase was that same safe ‘gathering space’ for this wing of the raid. Whatever the reason, it didn’t really matter. Either way, we wound up to the top of the stairs without resistance.

  We knew the moment things were on when our UIs chimed to life.

  Your timer for the Upper Layers of Crystalfire Keep has started! Good luck!

  The stairs had emptied out more of the same cramped hallways as we had just left. Without the army’s glowstones or the pure light of the Life Crystal, the scintillating glow of the Keep itself was our only illumination and to be honest; it was unnerving. Not dark enough to leave us unable to see but not nearly bright enough to dispel the warped shadows and encroaching gloom, the constant shift and play of the light through the facets in the stones only added to the sense of foreboding.

  If Loi hadn’t been hovering over our heads, shedding enough light to act as a torch, I don’t think I would have been able to see further than ten feet in front of my face. Even so, the place seemed like a maze. The shadows of numerous archways and doors darkened the hallway, providing the hint that there were halls upon halls full of the same in all directions. The smell was stronger here too, sickening and cloying. Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten before this part.

  “I don’t like this,” Dunya whispered as we spread out as best we could, trying to get our bearings. “This is like a bad horror movie but actually scary.”

  Vindril grunted. “Don’t worry. We have each other’s backs. A little darkness is nothing.”

  “Easy for you to say.” She let out a nervous chuckle. “You’ve already got a foot in the grave!”

  For the moment, we were sticking together as we moved forward, the Sacred Sprite’s light only showing more side halls and more of the same iron-bound wooden doors as below, in a huddle like a group of teenagers in a slasher TriD flick. “Shush,” Kayla hissed. “Do you guys hear something?”

  That shut everyone right up. She wasn’t wrong either. I heard something, well, more like a lot of little somethings. The scraping along stone, clinks of metal on metal, the creak of a rusted door hinge, all those little noises combined into an undercurrent of unnerving echoes that reverberated through the labyrinthine passages.

  “Everybody,” I said through a set jaw, raising my banner and shield, “get ready. I think we’re about to have company.”

  No sooner had the words come out of my mouth than the first twisted forms lurched out of the shifting gloom ahead and into the light. Unlike the Corrupted Bones we had fought in the shadow of the Keep, these poor souls still had most of their flesh on their bones, but that flesh was shriveled and twisted, run through with veins of black. In fact, they looked more like the undead form of Lucar we had fought to start all this, the putrid, corrupted corpses of this fortress’s defenders given a twisted mockery of life by the Primal Darkness.

  They were all once Craggar, as to be expected, and their armor was in much better condition than the scraps of leather and steel the Bones had worn. However, they didn’t carry any weapons and their eyes, or more accurately their eye sockets, were the same hollows of inky blackness as the other undead we had faced. Their nameplates told the rest of the tale: Corrupted Knightly Flesh.

  And they weren’t slow, not at all. The two ahead rushed forward at Vanni and me with frightening speed, and from the cries of alarm that erupted all around, we all had attackers to deal with. This situation was going to descend into utter chaos in seconds if we didn’t do something to wrest control of the situation.

  “Plans, we need them and fast,” I shouted as I raised my shield, the Elohjin metal surging with Primal Light for a split-second before exploding outward, the burst of my Solar Shield filling the hallway ahead of us. The momentary flash only showed more of the same, hallways and doors, but at least the entire passage wasn’t jampacked with undead. Only a few more Fleshes were moving our way from the front, but who knew how many there were hiding around?

  Your Solar Shield engulfs the area!

  Corrupted Knightly Flesh A takes 32% (+16% vulnerability) Light Damage and is Blind! HP 68%

  Corrupted Knightly Flesh B takes 36% (+18% vulnerability) Light Damage and is Blind! HP 64%

  Vanni followed up a Sweeping Cut, her sword cutting deep through the zombies ahead. “Defiant Display or Threatening Banner won’t work here! Too many nooks and crannies cutting off line of sight to the enemies.”

  “I can block off a route for a few moments,” Kayla supplied even as she put words into action, cutting off the hallway next to her with an Ice Wall. “That doesn’t get us anywhere, though, even if I could block off all sides.”

  “Yo,” Burndall shouted, “I can clear this first group of baddies, but we still need a plan.” Chanting as he raised his Elementium Spellblade, the light of the diamond in its hilt started to flare as he began to cast a spell.

  Dunya collected a claw in her side, cutting a slice out of her Health, but her return swing on the Flesh almost killed it in one blow. “Just do something! These things are too gross!”

  As Vindril threw back the zombies clawing at our rear with broad swings of his maces, the chanting behind me doubled as Crysta started a prayer to the Light, her hands clasped as the air around us began to brighten. While I wasn’t so sure this was the time to bring out all the big guns, I also wasn’t sure what was the best plan. We obviously weren’t meant to stand and fight horde after horde. There could be dozens, maybe hundreds, of these things and our goal was the Life Crystal, not petty fights.

  We did get a moment to think a second later as Burndall slammed his sword into the floor and Crysta finished her prayer. Though there were no clouds to part or sky overhead, shafts of pure sunlight cast down from the ceiling, sending soothing warmth through our bodies, while silver flames roiled down Burndall’s blade before erupting from our feet. Those flames roared forth in a spiraling cascade of purifying flames that seemed to fill my vision in every direction.

  Crysta prays to the Primal Light! Your raid gains +28% Light and Darkness Resistance, heals 6% of their maximum Health Points per second, and gain Light Elemental Thorns causing 220-330 Damage for 15 seconds!

  Burndall gives the Command to use Ring of Purity!

  Though hardier than the Corrupted Bones we had battled before, Burndall’s power had grown as well. The darkness that animated the Knightly Fleshes was burnt away by the mix of Fire and Light before those same flames cremated the corpses that remained. The one or two that did survive fell victim to the halo of light surrounding each of us, impaled on the Light Thorns when they tried to strike us.

  Ashes fluttered to the ground as the fires faded, but the glowing nimbus around each of us lit the way a little better. Still, that would only last for a brief few seconds, and the growing sounds of gathering dead were all around us.

  “Good job but we still need a plan,” I shouted as I pressed forward, a good a direction as any.

  “This is a mobility encounter,” Merina cried from the middle of the pack, “and I think I know how to win it.” Given the hit her already shaky self-esteem had taken the day before, I was honestly surprised Merina came up with something almost immediately. Pep talk or not, her rebound was unexpected, but it made me smile all the same.

  A Flesh lurched through a doorway ahead. It immediately clawed at me,
catching the tandem assault of my and Vanni’s shields crashing into it at the same time. All the same, it nicked my side. Not only was this a situation that called for mobility, but it also called for endurance. “We’re all ears!”

  “I just have to do my jobs,” the Dancer called back. “My Dances are Abilities, not Spells so that I can use them on the move.”

  “Oh, I totally get it,” Crysta announced as she gestured to Loi, the Sprite fluttering to follow Merina. “Your healing aggro doesn’t rely on line of sight, so you’re, like, gaming the hate system to get the baddies to follow you. Loi will totally help keep you buffed and healed while you’re at it!”

  Kayla’s eyes lit up as she caught on as well. “So, you can keep kiting them, both tanking and healing as you move for as long as possible.”

  “But what’s your end game?” I barked back, cutting a left as we hit a closed door ahead. There was a small horde of corrupted knights massing ahead of our new bearing. “I don’t want you sacrificing yourself again if we can avoid it.”

  “I’ll go with her,” Nahma proclaimed. As Shadows tend to do, the chatty Ember had almost disappeared into the background until now. “After what happened earlier, I slotted my old Coin Trick Gem. I can keep up with her and get her out when we need to regroup.”

  Coin Trick (and Abilities like it) was a Gem I wished far more DPS folks used. It created a Glittering Coin effect that acted as a proxy player, pulsing a strong taunt effect while also wiping the aggro of all allies in the area of effect. Considering the taunt faded the moment the Coin took damage, it not only could save the bacon of players who had gained to too much hate, but it made it easy to pick up the hate off the Coin as a tank.

  Alas, with the whole zerg rush mentality of most of the players in the game, that kind of care was uncommon at best. Thankfully, Nahma did show that kind of care, learning from the lesson of yesterday’s chaos.

  “Do it,” I grunted. “Everybody else, get ready to get out of the way of that mob of MOBs and then move on. We have to find the heart of this before Merina gets overwhelmed and has to bail!”