Blackout Series (Books 1-2)

by Adam Drake

  As I spoke a pair of clockwork guards march past along the path. Neither gave any indication I'd been detected. How many others were out here, maybe skulking through the forest?

  “Wow, so you're in the FILTERED's lair, huh?” Mudhoof said when I finished. “Wish I could be there with you, Vee. Sounds like it will be a tough nut to crack.”

  “Hey, you are the only reason I am here right now and not killing rabbits in the newbie-zone.”

  “Any word from Thorm?”

  “Not yet, but I'll shoot him a chat right now. I thought it best to let him deal with his combat situation first without me nattering in his ear.”

  “Well, we should both get back at it,” he said.

  It was then I saw what was in his background. “You're in a tavern?”

  Mudhoof leaned back so I could see more. A small generic tavern with a lone barkeep rubbing the counter with a cloth. “Yup, living the high life.” He held up a frothy mug and took a sip. “I recently upgraded my simulation suit to enable taste for the first time. Been trying out all the different ales that I can.”

  Again, he made me laugh. Then I cringed, fearing I would have been heard.

  “Okay, well, enjoy the ale. You've earned it.”

  “Give 'em hell, Vee!” Mudhoof said, and signed off.

  I took a moment to change hiding spots, then pinged Thorm.

  He answered immediately. His face was hunched over and rocking back and forth. At the bottom of the screen could be seen the top of Snowflake's fury head bobbing in and out of frame.

  “Miss Valesh!” The Holy Knight declared with a smile. “You're alive!”

  “Yeah, I made it through the travel gate. I'm in Ogden's little domain, and currently undetected.” Along the edges of the chat's view-window I could see the yellow sand of a desert shoot by.

  “Where are you? What happened?”

  “I'm several gates away, now,” he said. “Leading my new friends on another wild goose chase.” He leaned a little to one side. Behind him about a hundred paces away were two riders in hot pursuit. One wore a bright white cloak which flapped about in the wind.

  “You got to admire their persistence,” I said, and meant it. “But why chase you? It's me they want.”

  Thorm laughed into the wind, his blond mustache whipping about. “That Titan made it clear hanging around would not be tolerated. Besides, once you vanished in the thing's mouth I think they must have thought you dead. So, I was the closest target to take out their aggressions on.”

  “Sorry to get you into this mess, Thorm.” I seemed to spend a lot of time apologizing to my friends because of my own problems.

  “Apology not accepted,” Thorm said with a smile. “This is all part of the game, and I will be the first to admit this is really fun.” He glanced behind him briefly, and said. “But I must go, Miss Valesh. I'm going to see how far I can lead them before they lose interest or have to stop for a bathroom break. Good luck with Ogden!” And with that he signed off.

  It felt good to know he was okay, and even better that neither of my friends held any animosity toward me for their predicament.

  I moved through the trees until I looked down upon the huge ice complex.

  Speaking of my problems, it was time to solve my biggest one, once and for all.

  And to do that I had to break into a fortress.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Between the tree line of the forest and the edge of the chasm, I darted from cover to cover. If it weren't for my Shadow ability, I would have easily been spotted.

  Still, from a tactical point of view the forest edge was too close to the fortress walls. The trees should have been cleared out to at least a hundred paces, and the ground in between pruned of any cover. This just underscored Ogden's overconfidence that no one, even an invading Guild, had a hope of breaching his Titan defense.

  Well, having just breached it I was now going to invade.

  Once I reached the very edge of the chasm, I looked down. Sheer rock walls vanished into an impenetrable darkness. The far ledge was at least twenty paces distance, and flush with the fortress wall. A sane person would not risk the jump, but I had to try.

  I took a couple of dozen paces back and looked up at the battlements far above.

  From this angle no one could see me. With the cover of approaching night, and my active Shadow ability, I didn't think I'd be spotted, even if someone happened to be looking right at this area.

  From my inventory I took out two short daggers and gripped one in each hand.

  With a silent prayer, I ran.

  At the very edge of the chasm ledge, I jumped and used my Leap ability at the same time.

  I sailed across the vast space the wind buffeting my ears.

  Apparently, my investment of skill points in Leap paid off, for I managed to cross the distance easily. I slammed against the wall, jamming both daggers into its ice.

  It took a moment to get my bearings and be thankful I wasn't pinwheeling into the chasm's darkness for an eternity.

  I began to climb, pulling myself up with the daggers, then using my Sure Footed ability to keep my feet firmly lodged against the wall's slick surface. Over and over I repeated this process. Occasionally, I would risk a glance upwards, but no one was peering down.

  At the half-way point, the massive drawbridge to my left suddenly rumbled to life and descended. I froze in place and hugged the wall.

  The noise of the huge chains lowering it down was deafening, and I could feel the vibrations in the ice itself.

  The drawbridge thudded into place and a group of riders exited the fortress and crossed over.

  A little alarmed by they appearance, I twisted around as much as I could to get a better view. Was one of them Ogden? If he left now, what would I do? None appeared to have his sloping owl shaped outline, and they followed the snow-covered path to disappear into the forest.

  Were they the ones who I'd seen with Ogden earlier? I couldn't be sure.

  As the drawbridge began to be pulled up, clattering away, I resumed my climb.

  Sooner than I expected I reached the top, and with extreme caution I peeked over.

  No one was there. Only the view of various roofs of the fortress's inner buildings greeted me.

  Slowly, I pulled myself up and glanced down the battlements in both directions. Nothing, and no one. I knew there were clockwork guards on the walls, so I remained cautious as I dropped down onto the icy walkway.

  A short distance to my left an open doorway into a tower presented itself. To my right, a long expanse of exposed wall.

  I slinked to the tower and entered.

  The walkway continued through the tower and out onto the next set of battlements. Far in the distance I could see a clockwork guard wobbling along. Too far to be a threat.

  Ice stairs spiraled downward into darkness, and on those I descended.

  Going down the same distance I'd climbed up made for a small joy and I quickly reached ground level.

  A single closed wooden door was set into the ice wall of the tower. Opening doors represented the greatest risk of discovery for a Shadow. Yet, the huge size of the fortress coupled with the few patrolling guards, made the chance of someone looking at the door as I opened it pretty small.

  I slowly reached for the doorknob.

  The door exploded open.

  As the door slammed inward, I jumped back and instantly took out my sword.

  A clockwork guard stood within the entrance, its squared body blocking the way. Then it waddled in, turned to the stairs and climbed.

  I breathed a sigh of relief, trying to recover from a near heart attack, and leaned against the wall. The pommel of my sword clinked against the wall's icy surface, causing my Shadow form to shimmer.

  The clockwork guard stopped.

  Tensing up, I prepared for a fight.

  The guard did not move, only stood there with one blocky foot on the next step up. Slowly, its head turned and square black eyes seemed to scan o
ver the little room. Steam shot out of its back.

  I held my breath. How difficult would this thing be to dispatch? My eyes fell on the lightning wand sticking out of one of its arms. It gave off an electrical crackle.

  Seconds passed, and I thought I could hear the gears grinding away within its body. Was it assessing the situation? Did it have an artificial intelligence which could reason things out? Then, as if to answer my questions, the guard turned its head forward, and resumed climbing up the stairs.

  I waited a good while until the noise of its clomping footfalls were gone. Since I didn't know how connected these guards were with Ogden, I could not risk eliminating one, even quickly. A normal guard could raise an alarm, but these automatons were a different conundrum. I needed to err on the side of caution and avoid them completely.

  The tower door stood open, a snow-covered courtyard beyond. I eased up to it and looked out. No other clockwork guards were nearby. In fact, the vast open space looked abandoned. Just my luck I'd almost smacked straight into the only guard in this section.

  Across from the tower was the main fortress complex, a collection of different buildings of all shapes and sizes. Various doors presented themselves, so I chose one at random and moved to it.

  Night had fallen, and the courtyard was almost completely black save for the occasional glowing sconce or fire pit. Maybe the clockwork guards didn't require much light to still maintain their rounds. Regardless, I kept my distance from any source of light. Shadows excelled in the night.

  I reached the door and crouched to one side. Giving the courtyard one cautious scan, I reached up and tried the knob. It was unlocked. I eased the door open, and bright light spilled out.

  With my presence potentially compromised I ducked inside and quickly, but quietly, closed the door.

  I was in a brightly lit hallway, wide and sparsely furnished with little tables and paintings along the walls. Under this much light my shadow ability gave my form a blurry effect, so I darted into a nearby entranceway and paused.

  No alarm sounded, nor warnings of an intruder.

  I felt I should head toward the center of the fortress complex. Maybe there I would find Ogden, or surmise his location along the way.

  Back in the hallway, I headed down it in fits and starts. Dodging under a table, ducking into a darkened foyer. I tried to maximize what little shadow was available to me. After being outside in the dark, and the freedom it provided, this was place was agony.

  The hall soon ended at a junction, with other halls branching off in several directions. I chose one at random and continued my little Shadow dance. I soon came to appreciate just how huge this place was, with its countless rooms and chambers. Why did Odgen feel he needed to have it? But I knew the answer to that question. His ego. I knew it well having experienced it firsthand.

  As I neared the center of the vast complex the sudden appearance of a half dozen clockwork guards pulled me up short. Darting behind a pair of massive vases, I watched as the guards marched by in perfect lockstep. This was the largest group I'd encountered and looked to be heading in my intended direction.

  For lack of a better plan, I decided to follow them from a safe distance. My shadowed form only wavered occasionally when the light grew to bright, but none of the guards ever looked behind them, let alone anywhere else. They were certainly intent on getting to their destination.

  Soon the hallway we followed curved into a vast chamber. I paused, not wanting to risk exposure in such a wide open space. As the clockwork guards marched out of view, I noticed a set of stairs nearby leading up.

  I took the stairs which immediately emerged onto a viewing balcony. A quick look around showed no one else was present. A low ice wall formed the balconies railing. Keeping low, I scooted up to it, the risked a peek over its edge.

  A massive ice chamber presented itself. Vast walls curved upwards to form a rounded ceiling far above. Looking down I could view the chamber's floor and was stunned at what I saw.

  Dozens of clockwork guards were assembled in orderly rows, standing at attention. The group I'd followed joined them and fell in line. Before them was a startling sight.

  Ogden Trite was there, standing next to an empty wagon. He watched as several clockwork men maneuvered the obsidian statue of the pointing woman along the floor. It was the same statue I'd seen Ogden bring through the Guildhall travel gate.

  A short distance past Ogden, placed against the chamber's massive wall, were two large blue pillars. Even from my vantage point I could easily see that the pillars were made from glowing blue ore. The same ore I'd come across a while back in my near fatal encounter with the Demon King.

  None of this was what chilled me to the bone, though. That was reserved for the star-filled blackness which seemed to stretch out and fill the space between the two glowing pillars of ore.

  A massive Void Portal.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I stared at the Void Portal in amazement.

  Ogden had acquired the knowledge to create one, here in his own guildhall. But how? Thinking on it, I realized it wasn't much of a stretch.

  The tale of my previous adventure, fighting the Demon King, had now circulated far and wide. Included in the tale were the blue ore pillars which somehow allowed the Demon King to maintain a portal to his own Demon Void. The blue ore had become quite sought after, as a result, but no one had figured out how to make a portal from it.

  Until now.

  I have to admit I felt a little disappointed. My Cloak of Shadows gave me the incredible ability to create a portal on command. Now Ogden could do it as well.

  Which would explain the existence of Wally's Womp. Ogden had managed to capture and enslave the Void Titan with the use of this portal.

  I looked down at the gray owl avatar as he screamed and hollered commands at the clockwork men. What was he going to do with it now? Try to capture another Void Titan? Crazy.

  Out of curiosity, I queried the game about the statue of the pointing woman. Whatever it was, it appeared to have something to do with the portal.

  Item: Siren's Call (Ultra-Rare), Weight: 985 units, Uses: Dark Magic, Summonings, Ensnarement (Various). Value: Unknown.

  Do you wish to query for current auction house prices? Y/N

  I selected Yes.

  Querying. Item not found.

  It confirmed my suspicions of the statue's importance, but in what way? I shook my head. Stay on point, Vivian. Ogden's ownership of a Void Portal, as scary a revelation as that was, is not the mission. Killing him is.

  Careful to not spoil my Shadow form, I summoned my bow and nocked a regular arrow. I pulled back the drawstring and aimed. My target was Ogden's head. There was little doubt I needed to one-shot him as I wouldn't get another chance to finish the job afterword.

  It had to be an instant kill.

  While the game waited for me to fire, it presented a chance-to-hit percentage beside Ogden's head.

  Chance-to-hit: 42.5%

  Chance to Insta-kill: 3.5%

  I lowered my bow. Nope. Can't do it, not from here. I'd needed to get closer.

  Of course, killing Ogden would present an immediate problem. His legion of clockwork guards. Yes, the bounty on my head would be negated once I took him out. But if his guards killed me while I was in his guildhall, then all my inventory would drop here. Including the Cloak of Shadows.

  I frowned. It was worth the risk, and to a certain extent I knew losing the Cloak would be a possibility when coming here.

  But, in my mind, killing Ogden was worth losing it all. If I couldn't chance losing the Cloak trying to eliminate my mortal enemy, I'd never leave a safezone, or even bother playing anymore.

  And besides, I was having too much fun.

  Resolute in my mission, I decided to get closer to Ogden.

  Not wanting to risk being detected by dropping from the balcony railing, I went back down the stairs.

  After checking to see if there were any approaching guards, I darted across t
he hall and up against the chamber's curving wall. Keeping low, I followed the wall toward Ogden and his little army.

  Satisfied with the positioning of the Siren's Call, he dismissed the clockworks men with a wave.

  “I'm waiting!” Ogden suddenly shouted, causing me to stop. Was he yelling at me?

  “Coming! Coming!” a voice called back. From a secondary entrance a man entered. He wore a black robe which he hitched up so he could run without tripping over it.