Nav Station Algos- Floors 1-4
Page 8
“I—dammit, I can’t move it. It’s too heavy.”
“Because you put everything into dexterity. Can you shift over a bit so I can get beside you?” He asked and she did so. He climbed to be next to her, far too close for comfort. She gave him a sly smile once he settled his stance.
“Hi.”
“Uh… hi?” he said, staring at her eyes, unable to look away.
“Going to open it or are we just standing here all day? I don’t mind.”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, hold on.”
He reached up and pushed on the lid. It was a metal circle and a dreary blue light peeked through as soon as he lifted it. He shoved it over so that there was enough space for them to slip through. Geo went first.
Rain pelted him as he pulled himself up onto the cobblestone road. He was drenched in a few seconds and shivered in the cold. On either side of him were walls of buildings made of patchwork wood. Thunder rumbled in the distance and lightning flashed behind dark blue clouds. The rain sounded like drums as it rattled on wood and metal.
It was all so dreary that it surprised him that he didn’t get a new mental status.
“We’re good for now,” he said to Peyton, his breath coming out in a faint cloud of white. He drew his sword as he waited for her and looked down two thin alleys. No creatures.
“Man, I hate being on Audra’s levels. She likes the rain far too much,” Peyton said and turned in place as she ran her fingers through her wet hair. “Wish I could remember what else she liked.”
“So the boss here is Audra?”
“Yup, she’s a sweet girl but a little slow. She was one of my last splits so she got less processing power than the others.”
“That’s not really reassuring. I guess we should find the safe room as soon as we can,” he said and came back to her.
“Agreed, but we have some visitors already,” Peyton said as she wiped matted hair from the sides of her face and readied her spear. Geo followed her gaze and found them too. Two shadowy figures stood in the fog a few yards down the street.
“What happens if we die before we get to the safe room?”
“No idea, probably sent back to the last one you entered,” she said and then darted in front of him, her speed still far surpassing his. There was a clang and Geo saw a throwing knife clatter to the cobble. “This isn’t gonna be fun. They’re vampires.”
Geo looked between her and the two shadows. “How can you tell?”
“I can smell them. Didn’t just get the cute ears and tail. They don’t die to normal attacks.”
“Through the heart?”
“Very much so. We have to be careful, they are probably level seven which means they have some dangerous skills.”
The shadows disappeared from where they stood and it was only by luck that Geo had his shield in the right place. Claws screeched across the metal and a loud growl came from the hooded figure. Peyton reacted before Geo could, her spear stabbing into the darkness of the robe. The other vampire appeared beside her.
Geo turned and pushed her aside so his shield blocked the incoming attack, but now both vampires were next to him and he could only defend one direction.
“I can defend myself,” Peyton called as he felt her hand grab the shoulder of his armor. She used it to pull herself over him with a jump. Her spear found purchase in the vampire's cloak and he screamed like a wounded rabbit, his long teeth glistening in the rain. She ran him toward a building and slammed him into the wall.
Geo defended another attack, but still caught the glint of a knife that Peyton pulled from her belt. The vampire she fought went up in a cloud of dust as her blade plunged into its chest. She may have dropped in level, but her normal skills were still intact.
He shoved the vampire that attacked him back and readied his sword. He would not be useless in their first fight together, he decided. With his sword, he swung at the vampire a few times and cut the front of the cloak to ribbons, but he couldn’t find the body. The vampire dashed back, leaving a red sigil lingering in the rain right in front of him.
“Move back!” Peyton yelled and it barely registered before there was a bright red explosion. The shield blocked most of it but it sent him tumbling across the cobble. Something was sizzling when he pushed himself to his feet. The blood on his shield was eating through the metal.
“Goddammit,” he said and scraped it off with his sword, the blood freezing at it touched the blue metal. “What the hell was that?”
Peyton dashed back to stand next to him. “It’s a blood bomb. Basically acid blood.”
“Acid blood. Great.”
“Told you they had some good skills. Let’s kill him,” she said and there was a distinct tinge to her voice that sent a shiver through him. He wasn’t sure, but it almost sounded like lust. Bloodlust. He glanced over to see her face contorted in anger and happiness. She looked like a racehorse, just waiting for the gates to drop.
He wished he could feel the same, but the killing and trying to survive had only become a chore to him. Perhaps being such a high level had made the fights fun. It would probably take him a very long time to come even close to her previous level. He gave her a nod and looked back to the vampire who seemed very hesitant to attack now that they were together.
“Hey, vampy! You want a taste of this?” she asked as she stood and pulled at the collar of her armor to show her neck. “Come on, look how it pulses, just filled with that lovely clean blood. Can you really resist?”
“What the hell are you doing?” Geo asked as he pulled her hand down.
“What you did to Kaeru. Antagonizing so he does something stupid—like that,” she said and ran off. The vampire was charging to them, hands out and fingers curled with long claw-like nails. They were on a collision course, but at the last second, the vampire disappeared again.
“Shit—an illusion! Geo, he’s coming for you!” she called and he heard the whipping of fabric just in time. The vampire dropped from the roof of a building. Geo only got the shield half-way up before the vampire landed. It left his upper body open and the vampire’s claws found flesh through the armor.
It felt like someone had taken a heated blade across his chest. He staggered back, struggling to keep the shield between him and the vampire. The vampire wailed against the steel until finally Geo’s grip loosened. His shield went fly and Geo dodged, back and brought his sword up. The vampire lunged at him, hand back. Geo activated
Geo felt the blade enter and took another heavy step. He then twisted the blade and drew it upward. It caught in the rib cage and the vampire continued to take swings at him.
“Push him off, I’ll end it,” Peyton called, but Geo had a different idea. He readjusted his grip and called on his
Geo let out a heavy breath and shook the soot from his blade. Peyton stopped beside him grinning ear to ear. “That was awesome, maybe a few too many skills used, but still, well done.”
“Gee thanks, just doing it for your praise, you know,” Geo said thickly.
“I know, which is why I give it,” she said. She then froze and turned to look out at the city.
“Oi! Heads up, you newbies!” a voice called and Geo looked up to see the bottom half of a building heading for them.
A Drieger Battle
Geo dodged to the right and Peyton went left. The bottom half of the building sailed between them and demolished the buildings it hit. A cloud of dust erupted from the impact and engulfed the entire area. Geo coughed and wheezed as he got to his feet.
The dust disappeared under the onslaught of rain almost as quickly as it had come, leaving the street and Geo caked in a thin layer of it. He wiped at his face and glanced to his left to find Peyton as covered as
he was, her face and hair a mix of charcoal and brown. “You all right?”
“Dandy,” she said through a cough.
“Good to see you got some reflexes,” the same voice that had warned them called. They both turned to the destroyed area in front of them. A man stood on a timber that had caught on what was left of a stone wall. He wore a long trench coat of black and his leather hat was pulled low so that his face almost disappeared in the collars of his coat. “Piss poor timing on your parts though. Came up during a drieger battle.”
“What the hell is a drieger battle?” Geo asked with a glance to Peyton who just shrugged.
“Well,” the man said and turned. “That over there is a drieger,” he pointed into the rain and a blueish silhouette showed as large as the surrounding houses. Geo couldn’t see much more, but it was a monstrous creature. “And I’m part of the group that’s battling it. Speaking of which, best I get back to it. The other two are new bloods, don’t want them biting it so soon after joining. Best you lot hang out here, eh?”
The man in the jacket went to jump off, but a piece of rock met him before he could. It sent him tumbling toward Geo and Peyton and he skidded to a stop on the cobble. Geo went to him. “You okay?”
“Aye, okay enough. Damn kids can’t even keep a handle of it. Help me up, will ya?” The man held out a hand and Geo took it, hauling him to his feet. “Might be too late for you to move on. Here she comes, and she’s right pissed already.”
Geo turned to see a giant face that looked almost like a deformed human’s push through the rolling fog, trails of it whipping around the fur along its neck. Teeth as large as Geo’s arms were bared and a long tongue darted out between them, smashing into the wood and breaking the last bit of the home it had crashed through.
“Klara! Tavin! You best be getting those limbs locked down!” the man called and there were two loud pops from either side of the creature. Geo saw a large spear from each side slam into the massive arms of the drieger in a spray of black blood. The drieger shifted back and forth before facing right and swiping at the source of one of the spears. A woman’s scream came as the house collapsed.
“Fuck! Tavin, go make sure she don’t die,” he turned to Geo and Peyton. “Looks like you two are drafted. Took care of those vam-pies well enough, so you should be a benefit. What do you say?”
“We’re just looking for the safe room,” Peyton said.
“Ain’t no safe rooms here for the last two hundred years, so you be looking for a long time. Help us and I’ll get you somewhere you can rest.”
“Two hundred years?” Geo asked Peyton.
She shrugged. “Not sure, the story is normally simple. Hell, there shouldn’t even be NPCs like this here.” She looked over the man and her eyes narrowed as she glanced at Geo. “Reach out and see if you can touch him.”
“What?” Geo and the man said together.
“Just try,” she said.
“Now isn’t really the time or did you forget about that massive thing over there,” Geo said and pointed at the drieger who was busy trying to remove the spears from its arms.
“Yeah, lass, there will be time for you to get your friend hooked up with someone later. Besides, I don’t much fancy a man when there’s a good woman around.”
“That’s not at all what—She didn’t mean it like that, you idiot, I don’t—” Geo was cut off by Peyton’s laugh.
“He’s right, I didn’t mean it like that. But that’s all a discussion we can have later. What do you need from us—what’s your name?”
“Sir Hiragan of the Blue Rose Guild, at your service, miss.” He gave a little bow. “I’d very much appreciate your help by playing decoy.” He turned and pointed at the creature who had just tore the last spear out from its right arm. “The weakest point is the belly, but it slides on it like a snake. Only time to damage it is either to wrap it up or to hit right before it attacks.”
“Great, being a decoy is always fun,” Geo said.
“No, it’s not,” another voice called. It came from a man who appeared from the rubble. He was dressed much like Hiragan, but his coat was brown. On his shoulders he carried a tiny woman who was limp. “Klara is gonna need a healer and I don’t got any more elixirs. Health is at six percent so I’m out for now unless you have any.”
“All out, sorry,” Hiragan said as he looked down at Klara.
“I have a heal spell,” Peyton said and went to Tavin. Together they gently laid the woman on the stone.
“Man, if she makes it she’s gonna be impossible to live with. Will talk your ear off about what we did wrong even when she don't understand half of the stuff we do. Dammit… anyway, guess it’s just me and you for the moment. You any good at dodging?” Hiragan asked.
“Sure, if you compare me to a rock.”
Hiragan laughed. “Good enough. She swipes slow, you just need to keep moving. When she rears up for her big attack go right or left. Do not run straight from her. We lost a few new bloods that way in past fights.” He reached into his bag and took out two sphere items and held them out. “Use these to get her attention. Five second fuse so you gotta get close.”
Geo took the bombs and added them to his inventory. “I’m pretty new to this, just a heads up.”
Hiragan squeezed Geo’s shoulders. “It’s my job to look after the new bloods, you won’t die on my watch.”
Geo looked over to where Peyton was healing Klara and didn’t feel reassured. He sighed. “You sure about those safe rooms?”
Hiragan nodded. “Sadly. Our leader was around when it all went to shit so you can talk to her if we get out of this.”
“Good enough,” Geo said and removed a bomb from his inventory and tested the weight. “You got a light?”
Hiragan dug into his bag again and produced a long stick of wood. He struck it against his coat. It burst to life in a blue-gray flame. “It’s rose fire, will only light those fuses and monster blood, so don’t worry about it going out. Remember, five seconds.”
“Got it,” Geo said and started off toward the creature who was licking its wounds. He stopped a few feet from it, lit the fuse, and tossed the bomb.
The fuse only lasted three seconds and exploded in the air right in front of the drieger who screamed in a rage. Its long arms reached out and it pulled itself toward Geo, shaking the entire ground. It snapped at Geo who used his shield to redirect the attack. He couldn’t reset in time for the arm. It caught him in a sweeping strike, sending him into a wall of wood that splintered around him.
He stood as stinging pain played across his skin and the rain soaked into his cuts. He swore as he watched the drieger wiggle its way toward him. Hiragan was a goddamn liar, this thing moved fast and attacked fast. He readied the second bomb and lit it just as the drieger was in striking range. He tossed it and this time it connected with its arm, exploding a chunk out of it in a spray of black blood.
The drieger screamed again, the sound vibrating even in Geo’s bones. He wished he was fighting ninja rats again. The surrounding building disappeared in a swipe of the drieger’s good arm and Geo used his shield to deflect the falling timbers that threatened to crush him on their way to the ground.
“You just gonna stand there or help?” he screamed as he noticed Hiragan hadn’t moved and was watching him. Peyton was still working on Klara but she watched him with concern.
“Waiting for her to try to eat you,” Hiragan called with a chuckle. “Shouldn’t be long now, ah, there she goes, careful now!”
Geo looked back to see the drieger had closed the distance during the destruction of the building. It used its good arm to push itself up off the ground and its underneath was a nightmare. A mouth with human lips and teeth went all the way to the ground. It was opened wide, posed to drop on him. He took Hiragan’s advice and went way to the right, pushing through the building. He tumbled to the cobblestone as the drieger crashed on top of where he just was. But it quickly turned to face him again, poised to eat him.
&nbs
p; Hiragan rushed past him. He turned to see him run into the shadow of the drieger, Peyton’s spear in hand. He planted his feet and then threw it into the gaping maw of the drieger. It reared back ever further, a demonic scream escaping from both mouths.
Hiragan was already moving out from under the creature and grabbed Geo on his way. The entire ground rumbled as the drieger hit the ground. A gurgle escaped it as black blood pooled and mixed in the rain.
“Hey, not bad, kiddo. Could use you in the guild,” Hiragan said and patted Geo's back.
“I’m good, thanks,” Geo said and went to where Peyton still knelt beside the woman. He heard Hiragan follow.
“That was reckless,” she said before he spoke. “You’re lucky you weren’t eaten.”
“It worked, okay? How is she?”
“Stable, but they’re not like us. She needs help that I can’t give her here,” she said and removed her hands from the woman’s stomach. “She has internal injuries and I’ve already used two charges just keeping her from dying.”
“Shit,” Geo said and looked at Hiragan. “How far is this safe place?”
“Not far. You keep her alive, lass, and you’ll have a home with the guild,” he said as he motioned to Tavin. “Let’s get a stretcher together, we can carry her back that way. You two okay watching her?”
“Yeah,” Geo said and knelt down beside Peyton. “You think she’ll make it?”
“Don’t know. But we can test my theory, try to touch her.”
“Really—?”
“Her arm, pervert,” Peyton said and glared.
“I wouldn’t have—whatever, you’re as bad as Cotora,” he said and reached for the woman's arm. His hand found cold and wet skin and he looked to Peyton. “Feels normal.”
“Okay, now try squeezing her arm, as hard as you can, as if it isn’t there.”
“That could hurt her.”
“No worse than she already is. Try it.”