by Sarah Lin
"You see? It's already too late."
As Daek entered, he gestured mockingly toward the gate. Indeed, the city guards were gone, replaced with more greencloaks. There were several more of them emerging from the city nearby, effectively ringing him in by the gate. Several of these were high level, too. Bloodwraith dramatically pulled his sword from his back, but it was just to buy more time, not because he intended to fight.
Fortunately, Daek didn't give the command just yet, instead peering at him. "Why are you doing this? You think you can take the power for yourself?"
"No. You don't understand." Vague, but enough to play into Daek's madness. He twitched and the knives in his hands trembled.
"Wait... are you one of them? Are you working for the Outsiders?"
"I am-"
"Greencloaks, kill him! He looks like a man, but he's a monster from another plane!"
Whether or not the greencloaks believed that claim, they were still willing to fight for their leader. They began to advance on him and Bloodwraith made a wild spinning swing, keeping them at bay a little longer. He could slow them down, but once they started attacking from all sides, things would turn bad. The only question was-
"Help! Oh, please help me!"
It was Meara, running through the gates with a look of panic that he would have believed if he didn't know her better. The greencloaks were too surprised to stop her and as she sprinted past him, she shot a smirk his way.
Behind her, the drake roared as it charged through the open gate.
Chapter 29
For a moment everyone stared at it in horror, not having expected such a thing. The drake's head swung to and fro, its nostrils sniffing wildly. Eventually it located Meara and released a roar that made some of the greencloaks fall back. Since Meara had positioned herself on the opposite side of the group, it charged directly into them, biting and clawing and shooting flame.
As the chaos expanded around him, Bloodwraith stood perfectly still. Partially to let his body keep recovering, partially to reorient himself. The plan was to cause chaos, but that chaos itself would not follow any plan.
Some of the greencloaks turned and ran, which was the sensible decision. Those who stayed tried to surround the drake, but all but the fastest had little chance against it. Some guards had begun to emerge, but they froze at the sight of the drake. Stray flames had lit several houses on fire and citizens were beginning to try to fight them, desperate to protect their homes and livelihoods even in the midst of battle.
Covered in blood in the midst of the chaos, Daek looked like a madman... but he also looked strangely calm. He threw his knives to the ground, then drew a single knife from a hidden sheath behind his back. Even in the light of the fires, it glowed faintly blue.
Daek turned toward him and thrust the knife in his direction. Bloodwraith was already moving and heard a shriek pass him. When he looked back, he saw a guard and greencloak collapse to the ground, with no visible wound except bleeding from their eyes and mouths.
Though he was taken off guard, Bloodwraith forced himself to keep moving, diving and rolling to the side to evade another attack. But when he came back to his feet, he found Daek just standing across the street, staring at him, blade glowing in his hands.
He hadn't given much thought to the man's nickname. Now, he suspected that this was the Knife.
Ignoring the drake entirely, Daek rushed at him, eyes cold. Bloodwraith tried to dodge to the side but wasn't fast enough - he heard another shriek and felt cold magic bite into his shoulder. He knew it was bleeding underneath the armor, but it felt as though the armor had shed some of the shrieking attack. Unfortunately, Daek had closed the distance in that time, stabbing again.
Bloodwraith swung without thinking. It was idiocy to try to block a greatsword with a knife, yet Daek did. His sword made a ringing sound when it touched the knife and Daek frowned at it, as if surprised.
Things would have turned worse if Danniah hadn't caught up at that moment, trying to slam into Daek from behind. This time he reacted too quickly, sliding around her and stabbing toward her side. Fortunately, Danniah managed to pivot, her shield hitting his knife hard enough to knock it aside. Bloodwraith cast a force spell from behind, forcing Daek to dodge instead of counterattacking Danniah.
Except he was fast enough to do both. Ducking underneath the spell, Daek easily turned his movement into a spin back to Danniah. She swung her mace at his head, yet he managed to bring his knife up in time to block.
The mace rang out and then shattered.
Danniah stared at it in shock for a moment, and that was long enough. Daek advanced on her, stabbing directly at her shield several times. The blade didn't connect, but some of the mana pierced through her shield. Grunting in pain, Danniah staggered backward, her mace hand involuntarily shrinking back to clutch at her chest.
Bloodwraith's greatsword hit Daek in the back.
Though the man tried to twist with the blow, there was just too much force behind it: the edge bit through his armor and sent him tumbling across the street. Somehow he turned it into a flip and landed on his feet some distance away, but blood spattered on the cobblestones behind him.
Glancing to the side, Bloodwraith was relieved to see that Danniah was still on her feet. His instinct had been to try to defend her, but he knew that if they just blocked for each other, Daek would break through their defenses and eliminate them both via attrition. He'd taken a gamble that Danniah's shield could block or at least resist the knife and used that chance to land an actual blow.
And more importantly, he'd knocked Daek toward the rampaging beast.
He realized it too late, a bit of intelligence glinting amid the madness in his eyes. But by that point the drake was already crashing into him. It tried to bite off his head and Daek avoided the movement, but he couldn't dodge the claw that hit him in the side. Though his armor held, it locked him into blood combat with the beast.
The two of them tore at each other, the shrieking blue stabs tearing through the drake's body almost as viciously as it attacked him. There was little sanity left in Daek's eyes, just a mad fury that made him stab into the drake over and over again even as it clawed at him.
Once he tried to pull away, dodging over the beast's swiping tail and preparing to leap away. But as soon he landed, he was hit by a burst of force from Bloodwraith and sent stumbling back. The drake hit him fully in the chest with its claws and sent him flying to crash into the side of the wall. Blood splattered over the stones, then he slumped to the ground, unmoving.
Surprised, Bloodwraith looked more carefully. Daek's box declared [Health: 0/271].
Then they'd underestimated the strength of the drake, which could turn into the bigger problem. Yet it had exhausted itself fighting opponents on all sides, it had several arrows sticking out of its hide, and it bled from many wounds opened by Daek's knife.
Nodding to Danniah, Bloodwraith began the backup plan. This part worked beautifully, the two of them working in synchronization to take down the beast. Every time it spat flame, he dodged behind Danniah, whose shield repelled it. Then he could lunge out and open another wound on the beast's chest. It began to slow, its flame coming more fitfully, and eventually it fell.
He took a deep breath and stared around the street. It was a mess from the battle, bodies lying everywhere. There were more greencloaks than guards nearby, but the Thieves Guild was in jeopardy and they were beginning to realize it. Two of the fires were out of control, but the civilians had put out most of the smaller ones. Across the street, he spotted Meara.
Who was desperately pointing behind him.
Bloodwraith turned in time to see Daek rise to his feet, glowing blue knife in hand. His teeth were bloody, but they formed an eager grin. His box had changed to say [Health: 79/271].
Though he realized that it had been a trick, Bloodwraith couldn't move fast enough. He felt mana stab through his leg and fell, then another shrieking burst hit his chest and drove him to the ground.
Daek was advancing on him, grinning madly and swiping wildly with his knife. The sweeping blows failed to penetrate his armor, but they sent several nearby guards falling back.
Ignoring the pain, Bloodwraith hefted his sword again and used the rest of the mana in it, releasing a shockwave of force. Daek cut through it, sword burning brighter blue... but he was turning away from Bloodwraith.
Too late, Bloodwraith realized that Daek was targeting Danniah. She understood before he did and didn't back down, raising her shield at an angle. It seemed to deflect the first few stabs, but Daek was drawing closer.
Abruptly he dropped almost to the street and stabbed upward beneath the shield, the mana cutting through Danniah's chest. She gave a cry of pain and fell back... but caught herself. Then, without warning, she lunged and thrust her shield forward. A shockwave of force exploded from it, hitting Daek in the chest. He flew backward, hitting the ground and dropping his knife.
Snarling madly, he flipped back to his feet, reaching down for his knife... too late to prevent Bloodwraith's greatsword from slamming down into it. The knife broke with a hideous shrieking chorus and the blue light faded.
Though he needed to focus, Bloodwraith couldn't resist checking on Danniah. She lay unmoving on the ground and he anxiously summoned her box.
[Name: Danniah
Race: Half-Human/Half-Dwarf
Class: Warrior
Health: 23/218
Mana: -2/2
Stamina: 40/162]
Negative mana? For once, the boxes answered a question quickly.
[Your party member has developed a new ability: Shield Impact. Their mana and stamina regeneration have been disabled and they cannot use the ability again for 24 hours. The new ability will be-]
Daek rushed through the box, stabbing Bloodwraith in the side. Though he no longer had his enchanted knife, his new blade still managed to slide between plates of his armor. Daek didn't even try to pull it out, just left it there and drew another knife.
Earlier that day, the aggressive attack would have been too much for him. But Bloodwraith had gained an edge since then and his opponent knew nothing about it. Daek expected things to go the same way and was taken off guard when Bloodwraith attacked with new speed and ferocity. His gauntlet hit Daek in the jaw and sent him stumbling back, giving him enough time to get his sword back into position.
Yet a moment later an arrow screeched off his helm, dangerously close to the eye slit. Though most of those involved in the fight had fled or fallen, several greencloaks now emerged, ready to assist their leader. Worse, Bloodwraith was tired and injured. Daek was equally worn down, but now his opponent had the clear advantage of numbers.
He tried to come up with a way out of this and failed. Just as he was about to attempt desperate measures, Meara rushed into the greencloaks.
Or more accurately, Mearas.
Dozens of flickering bodies swarmed around the greencloaks, all of them Meara. All of them cheerfully saying, "Hello, welcome to my shop! What can I do for you?" Each spoke at a slightly different time, creating a chorus of cascading sounds that overwhelmed the greencloaks.
That alone would have been troubling enough, distracting even Daek, but the bodies began to change. Some wore her old outfit, some her cloak, others armor. Some laughed, some screamed, some opened eyes and mouths to reveal only blood. It was a flood of flickering insanity that sent the greencloaks crashing to the ground.
They hadn't actually been injured, however. Had it all been in their minds, or some more abstract attack? When Bloodwraith looked for the real Meara, he couldn't find her, only a cloud of flickering images. As it began to fade, he had a bad feeling that she was not in full control of what she had just done.
Yet he had an even bigger problem: Daek had pulled a potion from his belt and was about to drink it.
Bloodwraith tugged the knife out of his arm and hurled it, shattering the potion. Daek glowered at him and tried to retreat to drink another one. Before he could, Bloodwraith closed on him, swinging both his greatsword and spells in an effort to keep his opponent down.
Unfortunately, it wouldn't be enough. Two knives slammed into weak points in his armor and Daek was drawing more. Even bloody and exhausted, Daek had an undeniable amount of power. Only the fact that he was trying to retreat to recover prevented him from overwhelming Bloodwraith, and he'd realize that soon when the mana ran out.
So Bloodwraith tried to drink a potion of his own. Daek stabbed him in the shoulder and snatched the potion with his other hand. While Bloodwraith staggered backward, Daek triumphantly poured the potion down his throat.
One of Meara's potions.
The ruler of Cresthaven's underworld choked as if his throat was on fire, knees starting to buckle. A moment later, Bloodwraith swung his greatsword through his neck. This time Daek failed to dodge, the blade cutting through and sending his head and body falling to the ground separately.
That couldn't be faked. Yet as Bloodwraith stared at the body, he felt no sense of triumph. Both his allies were in serious trouble and he struggled to even stand, leaning heavily on his sword. Both his natural senses and the boxes told him that he was utterly exhausted. He knew he needed to act, but he had so little left...
[Victory! You received 57,538 EXP!
Local Reputation +1000
Guild Points +250]
[Quest Complete!
Defeat Daek the Knife.
Local Reputation +500
Guild Points: +250
Core Quest Completed: +3 Unassigned Stat Points
EXP +1000]
[Congratulations! You gained a level!
Current Level: 11
Current EXP: 29,808/57,600
Unassigned Stat Points: 5]
For once, he was willing to accept the optimistic tone of the boxes. But more importantly, he'd been given new stat points. Unlike usual, he placed two of them into Willpower. Combined with the slight improvement in his physical stats, it was enough to get him moving again.
Though buildings were still on fire and the street was covered in bodies, he saw that the boxes were right: it was actually over. The greencloaks who remained had seen him kill both the drake and Daek, then keep walking. He was bleeding horribly inside the armor, but on the outside it must look untouched, knives sticking out of him like mere decorations.
All that mattered was that no one got in his way. Bloodwraith walked past Danniah, checking to make sure that nothing had happened to her. Her health and stamina were beginning to restore themselves, so he hoped that she would be fine. The boxes also labeled her as Level 9 now, and he wondered what they could gain if she went up another level.
Then the main concern was Meara, who was still scattered in a cloud of flickering bodies and emotions. Bloodwraith didn't understand exactly what had occurred, but he plunged straight in.
Immediately the world dissolved. He found himself falling in a void, except that there was something below sweeping up toward him. There was only an instant to realize that it was a sphere, a sort of cosmic bubble that contained a scene of a cabin in the woods. No, Meara's cabin from the Forest of Beginnings. It didn't look quite the same, but he recognized it.
Then he flew straight through the bubble. It tingled as it passed, slowing him a bit. But on the other side, he found even more bubbles, hundreds of different cabins and forests, all slightly different. He caught glimpses of other adventurers, some of them noble and some evil. When he passed through those bubbles, he felt raw rage surge into him.
Realizing that this space was unnatural and gravity had no meaning, Bloodwraith gained control and stopped his falling. He looked through the bubbles more carefully, turning in place slowly. Many held only the cabin or hatred, but eventually he spotted several bubbles that contained images of him and Danniah.
Willing himself in that direction, Bloodwraith passed through and felt a rush of more positive emotions. Yet they were only getting in the way, so he forced the emotions aside. All that mattered was pushin
g his way through the bubbles...
Until he found one that contained Meara and only Meara. She floated there, curled up against herself, eyes closed as if asleep. He drew closer, raised a hand toward it, and then she opened her eyes.
All at once he stood in the real world again. His foot hit the ground, completing the step from before the experience, as if it had taken no time at all. But now, Meara stood at his side. She looked exhausted, but managed to smile at him.
When he started to open his mouth, she spoke first. "Don't forget the last step. They'll be here soon."
Since she was right, Bloodwraith dealt with the final details, trying not to let his weariness show.
"This way, men! We'll save the day!" Bloodwraith realized that the voice was Rhil'lahan. The elf was leading a large group of the Cresthaven Guard, mixed adventurers, several groups from noble estates, and the nobleman who had lost his helm.
They found him sitting on the body of the drake, the head of Daek the Knife dangling from one hand, his greatsword across his shoulders. Nobody dared to challenge him.
In fact, nobody even dared to talk to him as they started cleaning everything up. Rhil'lahan sneaked away at first opportunity. Some greencloaks slipped away, but others were taken away by the guards because they were too injured or shocked to flee. Bloodwraith made sure to get healers to look at Danniah right away, and when they declared that she was in good condition, he brought her closer for safekeeping.
While being moved, her eyes flickered open. "Did we get him?"
"Yes."
"Yay." She then promptly passed out again.
After a time, Meara sat down on the drake's corpse beside him and spoke too quietly for anyone else to hear. "Thank you for coming for me. I'm not sure what I did, but... I could have lost myself forever."
"You're too valuable to lose," he answered. Meara smirked back, but then her expression softened. She leaned in, removed his helm, and kissed him on the cheek.
