by Adam Drake
In moments, the object was close enough that its details were clearly seen.
Wide-eyed in amazement, I nearly let out a laugh which would have spoiled my shadow form.
No way!
There, floating just beyond the portal, trapped within his Orb of Oblivion and looking very ticked off, was Kragg.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Ogden was just as surprised as I was.
“What the FILTERED is this?” he said with a scathing look at the mage. “That's not a Titan!”
The mage shrugged. “The Siren's Call will pull to it anything that is within range, regardless if it is a Titan or not.”
Kragg waved, and shouted, but no sound came through the portal.
Ogden squinted at the encased Ogre-Bezerker. “Is that Kragg? How does a bounty hunter end up snagged on my Titan's fishing line?”
“Perhaps if we pull him in, we can find out,” offered the mage.
“Nonsense!” Ogden barked. “He's nothing but a minnow at best. Throw him back and try again.”
Kragg could see that Ogden was not rushing to help him and the ogre raged within the orb.
“If you toss him back, he will only be caught up in the Siren's Call, again,” said the mage with a worried expression. He knew that was not an answer Ogden wanted to hear.
I, on the other hand, was enjoying this bizarre little show. What were the odds I'd ever run into Kragg again? Slim to none. Well, more like none. Yet here he was. As I watched the bounty hunter bounce around the orb in a tantrum, I started to feel sorry for the guy. But only a little.
Ogden made a visible effort to control his temper. “Fine,” he finally said. “Pull him in, if only to keep him from getting in the way.”
With an elaborate serious of gestures, the dark mage manipulated the pulsing black light.
Kragg's orb moved closer, passing through the portal and into the chamber.
“Well, it's about FILTERing time, you FILTERED!” Kragg screamed. “You know how long I've been out there?” His expression was hot with rage.
“Don't yell at me, you idiot!” Ogden screamed back. “I'm not the one getting in the way of another player's gaming session!”
“Your gaming session?” Kragg countered. “What about my gaming session? I've spent hours and hours floating around without a hope of getting out. How fun a gaming session does that sound like to you?”
“I don't care!” Ogden shouted over Kragg. “You are nothing but a piece of FILTERED, anyway. Beneath my attention!”
“What?!” Kragg sputtered. “What did you call me?”
Ogden moved closer to the floating orb. Kragg leaned down eye-level with him. Despite the orb's barrier they were practically beak to bulbous nose.
The owl spoke, emphasizing each word as if speaking to a child. “You are nothing less than a green piece of FILTERED that just doesn't flush.”
I had to cover my avatar's mouth with a hand to keep from letting out a peel of laughter. Oh, by the gaming gods, this was entertaining.
Kragg's eye twitched, then his mouth, followed by the rest of his body. Then his bezerker-rage kicked in and he flailed violently against the orb.
Ogden barked a laugh, and with a smug expression, crossed his wings in front of him while he waited.
Kragg's rage eventually petered out, and he slumped in his prison. “You're a FILTERED,” he said.
“Oh, yeah?” said owl. “Well I'm not the moron who got himself trapped in a Void.” Ogden thought a moment. “How did you get stuck in there, anyway?”
I tensed up. Ogden didn't know. Kragg hadn't told him. I thought for sure he would have sent Ogden a chat explaining that I was hunting for information on his guildhall's location. But he hadn't. Why not?
Kragg scoffed and made a show of looking at his fingernails. “You've made it apparent that telling you anything would not be worth my while.” The ogre's eyes briefly shifted from his fingernails, to me. Then he looked away.
I tensed up in alarm. Did he just look at me? Can he see me? Does he know I'm standing right here? No, that was impossible. It had to be a coincidence.
Still, I switched my bow to my sword, just in case. If Kragg could see me, all he had to do was point. Ogden's paranoia would handle the rest.
Ogden snorted. “You are wasting even more of my time.” To the clockwork guards who stood close by he said, “Put this glob of smelly FILTERED away somewhere. I'll deal with him, later.”
A trio of clockwork guards pushed the floating Kragg away and back out of the chamber.
I watched them with great interest as they disappeared through a side entrance.
Ogden had already forgotten about the incident, and yelled at the mage. “Cast the line again. And this time, I want a Titan on the other end.”
More gestures from the dark mage and the black beam from the statue grew in intensity.
I looked between Ogden and the entrance Kragg had been shepherded through. An idea hit me. This presented an opportunity I could not pass up. Maybe there was a way to kill Ogden and increase my odds of escape.
With great care, I eased away from Ogden and his group. When I reached the side entrance, I peered around to look inside.
The three clockwork guards were returning, and I jumped back, pressing my back to the ice wall. They marched past and returned to their assembly.
With another cautious glance I darted inside. A large room, with walls sectioning it along one side, stretched out several hundred paces. Boxes and items were stacked up everywhere. A storage area.
I quietly padded down, checking each section in turn. Near the end, I saw the unmistakable curve of an Orb sticking out from behind the next wall.
Not sure what to expect, I slowly walked around the wall with sword in hand.
There was Kragg, sitting in the orb. As I moved in Shadow form to stand before him, he looked right at me and smiled.
“Well,” the ogre said. “We meet again, little Shadow.”
“Hmph,” I said and dropped my Shadow form. “So you can see me. How, exactly, do you manage that?” Until now, I'd never heard of such an ability existing in the game. Kinda takes the fun out of being a Shadow.
Kragg grinned. “Now, you didn't sneak into Ogden's lair in hopes of running into me just to ask that question. You are here to kill that stupid owl and free yourself from that bounty. Right?”
Okay, I can take a hint.
“Yeah, true,” I said. “Sorry about Mudhoof knocking you into the Void. That was not part of the plan.”
With a dismissive wave, Kragg said, “Me and that minotaur will have words at some point. But I hold you no grudge. It's all part of playing this game.”
“Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Yes, little Shadow?”
“Why didn't you tell Ogden I was after him? You had plenty of time while floating around out there.”
“Ogden is notorious for issuing bounties, and as a result, I've gone on many hunting trips he's paid for. If he knew I told you about Wally's Womp, he'd blacklist me from any future bounties.”
I arched an eyebrow. “But it doesn't look like you two are on good terms now.”
Kragg got a little angry. “Yes, he can be quite a detestable character. Any respect I had for him is now gone. He does not have to treat me this way, yet here I sit in a storage room because he's a little FILTERED.”
“Is that why you didn't tell him I was standing right next to him?”
“Partly, but to be honest I was more than surprised to see you here. That alone is a task worthy of respect and one I would not spoil. In fact, if you are interested, I'd like to help.”
It required a lot of self control not to cheer.
“Okay,” I said. “What did you have in mind?”
Kragg knocked against the orb with a large green knuckle. “Cancel this orb, and I'll help you get at Ogden. He's got a lot of protection out there, and you'll need a distraction.” He gave me a hopeful look. “You do have the cancelation or
b on you, right?”
I grinned. “Wouldn't be talking to you if I didn't.” From my inventory I brought out a little white orb. It floated a few inches above my palm.
Kragg sighed with relief. “Thank the gaming gods!”
“So we have a deal, right? I let you out, and you help me kill Ogden.”
“Deal,” Kragg said seriously.
Guess I'm going to find out real quick if this guy can keep his word.
I raised the white orb and brought it down hard against Kragg's enclosure.
Like a large soap bubble, the orb popped, and vanished. Kragg dropped to the ground.
The huge ogre stretched out his arms and laughed. “Ah, that feels good.” He eyed me a moment.
Thinking he might attack I raised my sword.
Kragg chuckled. “No need for that. I'm not a deal breaker.” He reached into his tiny leather vest and pulled out a Teleport Token.
Dang! I thought, he's just going to leave. Figures.
He flicked the Token at me and I caught it in surprise.
“What's this for?” I said, eyeing it.
“That is for when things get really bad. If you manage to kill that FILTERing owl, his army will descend upon you like rain.”
I slipped the Teleport Token in my inventory and felt relieved to have it. “Thanks a lot.”
With a snap of his large fingers, his yellow unicorn mount appeared beside him.
The beast locked its eyes on me with pure hatred.
Kragg put a reassuring hand on the unicorn and it settled down. To me he asked, “Now, then. What exactly did you have in mind?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Before reentering the vast chamber, I slipped into Shadow form.
I found things unchanged in my brief absence. Ogden and the mage still impatiently watched the Void Portal, and the army of clockwork guards had not moved from their orderly rows.
Following the same path along the ice wall, I kept one eye on the clockwork guards. The lightning wands each held occasionally sparked, giving the assembly a strange light show.
I placed myself within a dozen paces of Ogden. Knowing I had Kragg on my side made me feel a little better about this potentially fatal situation. But whether the ogre would stick to his word was another matter.
Regardless, I was going to kill Ogden, ogre aid or not.
The dark mage suddenly spoke up. “There! I see something!”
Through the Void Portal, at a great distance away, could be seen a large – something. To me it appeared to be a purple fish, or octopus.
“That's one!” cried Ogden in triumph. “A Titan. And it's a big one!”
“It is coming within range,” the mage said.
The Titan sensed the Void Portal, or maybe it was the Siren's Call, and altered its course to approach. The thing grew bigger and bigger, presenting us with a better view.
“Oh, how lucky I am,” Ogden said. “A Kraken!”
The being looked like a mutated squid, with long undulating tentacles which swayed in a swimming motion. On either side of its massive head were eyes the size of houses.
With Ogden's attention firmly on the Titan, I summoned a magma arrow and gripped my bow. Aiming at his head gave me near identical percentages as before.
Good enough, I thought.
“Got it!” yelled the dark mage as he jumped for joy.
The Kraken stopped as if hitting an invisible wall. But when it tried to fly away, it could not move. Tentacles flailed, some striking against the Portal with no noticeable effect.
“Yes!” said Ogden. “Reel it in and be careful!”
The dark mage made strange motions and gestures with his hands.
The Kraken was pulled closer to the Portal.
All this played out as background noise to me. My focus was on the back of Ogden's head.
What am I waiting for? I thought. Shoot him!
I fired.
The moment I did, my Shadow form dropped.
In the next moment, the magma arrow struck the back of Ogden's head – and bounced harmlessly away. It ricochet into the ice wall, melting through and was gone.
And a moment after that, I felt a horrific paralysis seize my entire body. My avatar gasped in surprise and I keeled over to land on my side, unable to move.
Ogden turned and looked down on me. “Oh,” he said with disdain. “It's you. How annoying.”
Behind him, framed within the Portal, the Kraken silently flailed. It had spun around to reveal a mouth at the center of its tentacles. Dozens of circular rows of teeth opened and closed in rage.
My frozen body was picked up by two clockwork guards, who propped me between them. What just happened?
Ogden came close to leer at me. “Stupid shadow. You really need to do your homework before trying to assassinate someone. Especially when that someone knows you will be coming.” He laughed. “Idiot. I knew that if a hunter didn't claim the bounty on your head, you would feel compelled to kill me. Well, you tried and failed.”
Control over my body returned to me a little at a time, but I was still helpless. “How?” I managed to sputter.
“How you ask? How did I not die just now from your pathetic attempt at assassination?” Ogden peered down his beak at me, as if I were beneath an explanation. Then he shrugged.
“I will show you,” he said and stretched out a wing. At the end of the wing was an anthropomorphic hand, just like a human's. All animal-form avatars had them. Made using items and weapons easier. Around its wrist was an unassuming silver band.
“Go on,” said Ogden. “Check it out.”
So I did, calling up the silver band's stats.
Name: Immortal Me, Type: Wrist Band.
Rarity: Legendary, Weight: 0.6 units, Value: Unknown
Properties: Grants wearer invulnerability from all forms of magical and physical attack by other players. If the wearer engages in combat, effects are negated. Attackers suffer a 30 second full-body paralysis.
Whoa, I thought. Now that's cool.
“Cool, huh?” said Ogden with a smile. “No way anyone can hurt me, so why even bother?”
“Where'd you get it?” I asked, buying for time. I glanced over at the ground next to the Siren's Call statue.
Set Recall Point.
“That is a story for the ages,” Ogden said. “But not now. I'm busy fishing for Titans.” He looked to the Portal where the Kraken fought against its capture. The power of the Siren's Call was incredible to be able to hold such an immense creature.
Recall Point Set.
Ogden continued. “Once this thing is brought to heel, the plan is to set it loose on a few cities which have fallen behind on their payments.”
“You better be careful, Oggie,” I said with a grin. My paralysis was gone, but the guards held me tight.
“Why?” Ogden asked with a sneer.
“Because not everything goes according to plan.”
Somewhere behind me there was a shout. Ogden, the mage, and all the guards turned to look.
Mounted on his yellow unicorn, Kragg emerged from the storage room and raced across the chamber toward us.
“What the FILTERED?” Ogden said.
Kragg moved too quick for the guards to react, and with the massive mallet in his hand, crushed two of them like they were empty beer cans.
“How did he escape?” the owl blustered, flapping his wings in alarm.
The assembled clockwork guards bumbled about, arms outstretched to grab the stampeding ogre. Several used their wands and fired arcs of lightning across the chamber, scorching the ground.
But Kragg was already barreling away, laughing at the top of his lungs.
“After him, you idiots!” Ogden screamed.
The entire group of guards ran off after Kragg, who vanished through an entrance to gallop down a hall.
In seconds the vast chamber was empty of guards, save for the two who held me.
Perfect.
“How stupid can you things be?” O
gden screamed at one of my guards. It did not react.
Ogden said, “Every time I arrange an upgrade I'm told by the manufacturer that their intelligence has improved by 'leaps and bounds'. Ha! What a joke. Maybe I should send a Titan to the clockwork manufacturer's head office? Maybe then I'd get a proper upgrade for these walking garbage cans!”
