Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Jace got as close as he could and then yelled his Taunt. “Come get some!”
The grolls howled and focused their attention on him, just as he was expecting. The problem was, they were on top of the house and he needed to get them down. Jace peaked inside the house and after making sure there were no grolls waiting in ambush, he ducked inside.
The Taunt would force them to attack Jace and if they couldn’t see him, they would come looking for him. He was hoping that meant they’d jump down, allowing his group to attack them.
“When they come down,” Jace yelled out. “Focus on one and kill it, then move on to the next.”
Jace heard grunts and more hyena laughter as the grolls jumped down, just as he expected. They ducked behind the wall and broke the windows so they could fire inside the house at Jace. Not what he was expecting, but it didn’t matter. He could take the arrows and it would give the girls time to finish them off.
Raajoget slashes Broken Paw Groll for 9 damage.
Almedha Pressalor shoots Broken Paw Groll for 8 damage.
Mizzlethain-galliegarde burns Broken Paw Groll with Flame Bolt for 3 fire damage.
Jace saw which one they were attacking and rushed over to that window. Using his sword and saber, he slashed and stabbed at the thing through the window.
You stab Broken Paw Groll for 2 damage.
You slash Broken Paw Groll for 0 damage.
He only scored a glancing blow, but every little bit helped. The grolls attacked again, but like previously, none of their arrows could damage him with his high Defense.
Raajoget slashes Broken Paw Groll for 11 damage.
Almedha Pressalor shoots Broken Paw Groll for 4 damage.
Mizzlethain-galliegarde burns Broken Paw Groll with Flame Bolt for 4 fire damage.
You stab Broken Paw Groll for 0 damage.
You slash Broken Paw Groll for 0 damage.
Jace’s attacks bounced off the creature’s armor, which seemed to be some sort of wooden plates that had been sewn into leather. That was something new he hadn’t seen before.
The grolls retaliated with more arrows but Jace deflected them all.
Raajoget slashes Broken Paw Groll for 10 damage.
Almedha Pressalor shoots Broken Paw Groll for 0 damage.
Mizzlethain-galliegarde burns Broken Paw Groll with Flame Bolt for 8 fire damage.
You stab Broken Paw Groll for 1 damage.
You slash Broken Paw Groll for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll dies.
You gain 60 experience.
The first groll fell and they moved onto the next one. They continued like that until the last one fell dead. The grolls weren’t as armored as the beetles had been, but they had still taken a while to kill.
Jace went outside and searched the bodies. Since these were intelligent creatures, he’d expect to find some gold on them but there was nothing other than their shortbows.
“No loot?” Diana complained. “Really?”
Jace shrugged. “Sometimes they don’t drop anything.”
“Now what?” Charlena asked, looking around for more monsters.
Jace looked around. There was no sign of any other grolls. That meant they weren’t done with the quest. They’d have to follow them back to their lair and attack them where they were strongest.
“Now,” he told his group. “We track them back and kill that shaman.”
Chapter 24
Using their Tracking skill, they followed the groll’s trail for fifteen minutes. The longer they followed, the more Jace was experiencing an old familiar feeling. It was the feeling he received when there was another player around - one who had been put into a monster body through the software bug.
Finally, Jace turned to the others. “Mika, Diana, do you have a weird feeling in the back of your mind?”
Mika nodded. “It has been getting stronger.”
“I thought it was just nerves,” Diana admitted. “What is it?”
Jace spent a few minutes explaining the strange feeling he got whenever there was another player who had been affected by the bug.
“So, we can sense the people affected?” Diana asked. “How does that work?”
“I don’t know exactly,” Jace said. “If I had to guess, I’d say that the hack we used to turn human didn’t change all of the code. We must still have code left over from being an AI and that creates some sort of resonance.”
Diana looked at him blankly.
Jace let out an exasperated breath. “Okay, I don’t really understand it either and I’m just guessing. All I know is that I can sense other players who are affected by the bug. And apparently you two can as well.”
Charlena, who had been quiet during their explanation, suddenly cleared her throat. “I hate to be a party-pooper, but I only have another hour or so before I have to log.”
“Right,” Jace smiled. “We can talk about this later. Let’s see if we can find this shaman. I have a feeling the shaman is the player.”
Jace led them further into the forest to the edge of a large clearing. The clearing was around a hill. The grolls had cut down the trees on the hill and used them to build a small fort. Jace had only fought grolls a few times, but he’d never seen them make forts before. They usually made their lair in caves or they took over a weaker tribe’s dwelling.
But the strange feeling he and the two girls experienced was definitely coming from the fort. He looked back at the girls, lowering his voice to a whisper. “The shaman has to be a player. Maybe we can talk to him and let him know there’s a way to become human again.”
“Do you think that will work?” Charlena asked. “Remember Big Cheese?”
Big Cheese had been a player in a goblin leader body who had gone completely insane and even though Jace had offered to help him become human again had ended up killing Jace instead. But that was just one person. He’d managed to free Diana, Mika and Duglas - wherever he was - maybe he could free this person.
“I need to at least try,” Jace said.
One by one, the girls agreed. Jace put his weapons into his inventory so they weren’t showing. He wanted to show them he wasn’t a threat. At the same time, he didn’t want to get turned into a pincushion, so he kept his buckler on and recast his Air Armor - just in case.
“Here goes nothing,” he said and stepped out into the clearing. He’d only taken a few steps when the air was suddenly darkened with arrows. Jace reflexively held up his buckler though he knew the bonuses from the buckler applied regardless of whether or not he was actually holding it up.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage.
Jace counted at least a dozen arrows but none of them penetrated his Defense. He held up his hands again and shouted. “I’m here to speak with your shaman.”
There was a pause. Then a high pitched voice yelled back. “Shaman no want to speak with you!”
The shout was followed by hyena-like barking laughter and then they rained down another volley of arrows. The second volley was ineffectual as the last but that didn’t stop the groll’s laughter.
Jace was about to yell out another request
to speak with the shaman when he heard a louder, more commanding voice. “Switch to melee weapons, charge!”
“We know a way to make you human!” Jace yelled but it was lost in the groll’s warcry and laughter as a group of them rushed down the hill. He counted six grolls coming down the hill at him. Given the number of arrows that they’d fire at him, he knew there were at least six more up top.
Jace put himself in the shaman’s place. Faced with standard player tactics, he’d give them some melee fodder and while they were focusing on them, fill them full of arrows. If it were Jace, he’d focus on the Healer first, then the Mage, and then Rogue and leave the Tank for last.
Keeping the archers back would prevent Jace from using his Taunt on them and allow them to target any of his group. But would the shaman player think that way? And what would the shaman do if Jace didn’t follow his plan?
The charging grolls were almost on him. In an instant, Jace’s weapons were equipped and sprang into his hands. Behind him, he heard the girls coming out of the foliage.
“Stay back in cover,” he told them. “I’ll pull them out of the clearing so the grolls up top can’t get a clear shot.”
The laughing grolls reached him and attacked. Most of them had one handed weapons but two of them had larger, two-handed weapons.
Broken Paw Groll slashes YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll crushes YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll stabs YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll slashes YOU for 1 damage.
Broken Paw Groll slashes YOU for 0 damage.
Broken Paw Groll crushes YOU for 0 damage.
The groll with the two-handed sword managed to penetrate his Defense, but the rest of the blows glanced off his armor.
“Here doggies!” he yelled his Taunt and then backed into the dense foliage to where his companions waited.
Under the influence of his Taunt, the grolls followed him into the cover. Jace pointed at the grolls. “Take out the ones with the two handers first.”
The girls sprang into action and within a minute, the groll with the two-handed sword was dead. His group slowly took out one groll after another, as Jace kept a wary eye on the groll fort. He had expected more grolls to come down but instead, he had seen the wood door shut.
Finally, the last of the grolls fell dead and the group allowed themselves a short respite to regain their mana and Stamina. Jace had barely taken any damage so he waved away Mika’s healing and let his health regenerate normally.
“How many more do you think there are?” Mika asked as Jace’s mana and health topped off.
“I’m not sure,” Jace shrugged. “At least six more but they could have some in reserve. If it’s a player, who knows what his tactics will be. He could purposefully not show his full hand to lure us in.”
“That’s scary,” Diana said. “We could be walking into an ambush.”
“Except we’re expecting it,” Jace said.
“How do we get into the fort?” Charlena asked, glancing up at the wooden structure. It was crude. Basically, just large logs driven into the dirt and tied together. It reminded Jace of the makeshift raft he and Charlena had built to navigate the river on their way to Whitecliff.
Jace stared at the fort and then looked around. As he did, a plan began to formulate. Smiling, he turned back to his group. “We burn it down!”
The plan was simple, but he hoped it would be effective. They all gathered a large bundle of dried sticks and kindling. Once they had a large enough bundle, Jace walked up the hill with it while the girls stayed back and continued collecting more.
It was at least fifty yards from the edge of the clearing to the wooden wall of the fort and the grolls peppered Jace with arrows the entire time. But as before, his Defense easily repelled the arrows.
When he made it to the fort wall, he dropped the bundle next to the wall and then stepped back. “I’m going to burn down the fort now! If you can hear me, I know a way for you to be human again!”
Jace waited for an answer but there was none. Casting his Flame Bolt spell, he ignited the dried bundle and watched as it caught fire. The flames quickly spread to the entire bundle and soon it was a roaring fire.
Jogging back down the hill, Jace picked up the next bundle the girls had prepared and then jogged up the hill. This time, there were no arrows and Jace was worried the grolls might have escaped.
“Luna,” he called out to his familiar mentally. “Can you circle around and let me know if you see any grolls trying to get away?”
There was no response for a moment and then he heard her reply in his head. “Yes.”
He caught sight of an orange blur racing around the bottom of the clearing and then his familiar disappeared around the hill.
Jace made another trip down and started back up, this time he saw more arrows fly at him, only these were different. They were flaming.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage + 1 points fire damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage + 2 points fire damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage + 2 points fire damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage + 1 points fire damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage + 1 points fire damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage + 1 points fire damage.
Jace flinched as the flaming arrows thudded into him. Even though they couldn’t penetrate his Defense, he had no fire resistance and the flames burned him. He ran faster up the hill but took two more volleys of arrows as he did.
The shaman player was using the fire to his advantage. They also had a good understanding of the game since they realized that flaming arrows would bypass his normal Defense. Jace had to admit, it was clever thinking. They’d taken down almost a third of his health on the way up and if they did the same on the way down, he’d be in trouble.
He saw the grolls peaking over the top of the wall, aiming another volley of flaming arrows at him. Even though he knew he was about to take even more damage, Jace grinned. They’d just made a huge mistake. The grolls had moved in range of his Taunt.
Just as the grolls released their arrows, Jace yelled out his Taunt. “Here doggies! Come to papa!”
Chapter 25
Jace turned and ran as fast as he could down the hill, managing to get only one more volley before he reached the cover of the trees. He looked back at the fort and saw the grolls climbing over the fence to come after him.
“I was able to Taunt them! You all stay here, I’m going to move further back and draw them in,” Jace told them. “Use the same tactic as before.”
The girls nodded grimly and readied their weapons.
“Oh,” Jace said as he noticed his health. “And can someone heal me please.”
Mika was able to give him two heals before the grolls came close enough to fire at him. They still had their bows and had flaming arrows notched but Jace knew once they used those, they wouldn’t be able to replenish them.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage + 2 points fire damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage + 2 points fire damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage + 1 points fire damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage + 1 points fire damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage + 2 points fire damage.
Broken Paw Groll shoots YOU for 0 damage + 1 points fire damage.
The grolls fired and the girls moved to attack. Focusing on one, then moving onto the next.
As they fought, Jace kept watch for the shaman. He wasn’t sure what the player would do at this point or even if he had more troops up in the fort. Luckily, Luna was still in place to warn him if the grolls tried to outflank him. As long as she wasn’t chasing butterflies.
One by one, his group killed the six grolls that had followed him down from the fort. As the last one fell, the group relaxed. Jace looked at his system messages and saw he’d gained
a new level in Mage.
You have gained a level.
You are now level 3 in Mage.
“I just gained a level in Priest,” Diana said.
Jace was about to congratulate her when Luna’s voice popped into his head. “Wolfer running.”
Swearing, Jace looked at the girls. “The shaman’s making a run for it!”
He heard the girls follow him and sprinted as fast as he could around the hill. As he came around the side, he saw a groll that was larger than the others he had fought halfway down the hill. It was stopped, picking up something from the ground.
Jace changed his course to intercept the large groll and saw it pick up a large chest and start to run away.
“WAIT!” he yelled. “We know you’re a player!”
The groll stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. He set down the chest and brought out a crooked staff decorated tipped with what Jace guessed was a bear or large wolf skull.
“Stay back!” he warned, and then broke into hyena laughter. “Argh! I hate that!”
Jace came to a stop about twenty feet from the large groll and put his hands up in a peaceful gesture. “We just want to help you. What’s your real name?”
The hyena-man narrowed its eyes but didn’t speak.
“I’m Jace Burton,” he said. “This is Diana. That’s Mika. And the elf is Charlena.”
“We were like you,” Jace told him. “Except for Charlena. She’s a regular player. But Diana, Mika and I were also trapped in monster bodies. Each time we died, we jumped to a different body.”
Jace stopped talking and looked to the groll shaman, silently urging him to speak.
Finally, some of the tension eased out of the groll’s face. “I am Yosyp Svyatoslav.”
“And you died and woke up in a monster body?” Jace asked.
“Yes,” the groll said ruefully. “I guess it’s true. I am dead. I wasn’t sure at first. Things weren’t the way I was expecting. I have a 77th level troll Rager and I was expecting to be him.”
“You’re from the European server I take it?” Jace asked. He knew some of the other player continents had different premium races and different prestige classes than the America continent.
Veil Online - Book 2: An Epic LitRPG Adventure Page 16
