by Adam Drake
“Mudhoof! Look out!” I cried into the chat screen.
The bull warrior whirled around and looked up.
The Demon King glided into the huge chamber and glared down at my friends. He raised his wooden staff up and smashed its end to the floor.
The ground heaved and buckled. I fell over and conked my head on a pile of ore. Above, the Demon Spine cracked and huge chunks fell. Large rents opened up revealing the blue sky above. I did not know how long this place would remain standing.
Feign had turned to run, but the impact of the staff was too great. The floor cracked open next to him, and both he and the frozen stone mage fell from view.
Mudhoof had lost his balance and lay on his side. He gave the Demon King a venomous glare.
I regained my senses and stood. This time I did not hesitate and fired into the nearest pylon; its light winked out and the portal gate rumbled. The clouds within sped up, swirling faster and faster.
The Demon King turned to look at me. “Stop that, worm,” he said, his voice louder than the cracking stone around me. “Or I will have my minions feed upon your flesh for an eternity.”
My response to his goofy dialog was to shoot another pylon.
The Demon King roared, and glided in my direction, raising his staff.
“Hey, Demon Twit!” Mudhoof shouted from the chat window. “Catch this!”
I looked to Mudhoof in the distance. He heaved his ax over his head with both hands, then using all his strength threw it. The uber ax was like a silver buzzsaw as it whipped through the air.
Amazingly, the ax buried itself into the shin of the Demon King.
The god roared, again, this time in pain. He stopped and pointed his staff at Mudhoof.
“Watch it, Muddie!” I cried, but it was too late.
Black lightening arced from the tip of the huge wooden staff and struck Mudhoof. The minotaur staggered back, black magical light exploding against his chest.
But nothing happened. Mudhoof stood against the magical barrage but did not mutate or transform like Thorm had.
The Demon King stopped the assault, no doubt perplexed.
In the chat window, Mudhoof held up the little white crystal. “It worked, Vee! Go figure!”
A roar from the Demon King brought more debris down from the ceiling. He glided toward Mudhoof. The minotaur had managed to tick off a god.
“Get out of there, Muddie! Head back to the tunnels!” It was the only real option he had.
Mudhoof shook his head. “Can't. This is it. It's up to you. Keep doing whatever it is you're doing. I'll try to slow him down a little.” He glanced directly into screen. “It has been an honor questing with you, Vee.”
“No, Muddie!” I yelled. “Don't!” But it didn't matter.
Mudhoof lowered his horns, snorting steam from his huge nostrils. Then he charged straight at the approaching Demon King.
“RE-ROLL!!!!!” He shouted.
The Demon King stopped, pulled his staff back and swung it down like a colossal golf club. It hit the maniacal minotaur with incredible force.
The powerful impact sent Mudhoof straight into the air, then up through a rent in the high ceiling and he vanished from view.
The chat window closed.
Mudhoof was gone.
I stared at the point that my friend had been sent to his death, more than a little overwhelmed. Now I was all that was left of our group, and against a god. My heart beat hard in my chest.
Keep doing what you're doing.
The Demon King then resumed his approach toward me, but I focused on the task at hand. Destroying the remaining pylons.
I fired rapidly, faster than I ever had before. Over and over.
Each pylon that collapsed sent more shock-waves through the ground. The lights feeding the portal lessened to just a handful.
“Stop!” The Demon King commanded. I looked up to see him towering above me. He pointed his staff and black lightening arced out. I tensed.
Like with Mudhoof, the evil magic was absorbed by the white crystal. But I did not spare a moment to admire my good fortune because it was only temporary. I fired and destroyed two more pylons.
There was only one left.
The Demon King stopped his magical assault and raised his huge staff to strike me. There was nothing I could do to avoid it. I used my last second of life to fire at the final pylon.
I missed.
The staff swung down. Desperate, I Shadowed and dived forward using my leap ability.
The swinging staff missed me and the wind it kicked up pushed me toward the ground. The moment before I crashed I fired again.
I hit the pylon.
As the ore shattered the remaining light went out, and the Demon King screamed. Not in rage but in pain.
He raised his hands in the air and shook his fists. “No!” He cried out.
Black light shot out from the swirling portal and enveloped the Demon King. He reacted with surprise.
“This cannot be!” He rumbled. His yellow eyes locked on to me. “You! You did this!”
The god was being dragged away, back toward the portal. He flailed, desperate to stop but nothing slowed him down. Soon he was teetering at the edge of the portal, the black light pulling at him with incredible force.
“You will pay! I will remember you! You will pay!” He screamed.
Then he slipped over the edge, his body swirling along with the clouds and was sucked into the portal.
The gate went dark. Its surface now a black plain of stone. The earth stopped rumbling, and the ceiling did not crack apart any more.
I sagged to the ground, my ears ringing from all the noise and screaming. My avatar's body ached.
Did I do it? Is it over?
Then, beside me, a Legendary Treasure Chest appeared.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Despite my exhaustion the appearance of the treasure chest got my full attention.
Finally. The Legendary Item.
I reached forward and touched the lid which opened on its own. The interior glowed with a soft yellow light.
The chest was packed with gold. I'd never seen so much in one place before. When I ran my hand through the coins, the gold vanished.
But before disappointed set in, I received a message on the bottom of my screen. 'Bank Deposit of 1,000,000 gold pieces received.'
“Oh, that's nice,” I said with a grin. Add that to the deposit money, even after splitting it with the others, and this made for a good haul.
An object then formed within the chest. It looked to be dark clothing of some kind, folded neatly into a square. A piece of parchment covered in writing was pinned to one corner. I unpinned it and read the writing with anticipation.
'Adventurer,
With this item you will become one of seven great champions. Each champion will be tasked with protecting the Realm from the coming Darkness, a blight which seeks to annihilate all. You are now responsible for the incredible power it will give you. Use this wisely.'
Seven great champions? The coming Darkness? What the heck was all that about? A new phase for the gaming universe? The prospect was equal parts exciting and terrifying.
I put the parchment into my inventory and looked at the folded cloth. Its color shifted and changed like chameleon's skin. One second blue, the next black. I reached down and picked it up.
It felt as light as air, and with a silky texture. Carefully, I unfolded it.
A hooded cloak.
I crooked an eyebrow. It didn't appear special. “What's so Legendary about this?” I asked.
The game answered for me and brought up an identifying label.
'The Cloak of Shadows.'
“Whoa,” I said. I'd never even heard of anything similar to this in the game lore.
When I brought up the cloak's list of traits and abilities my jaw hit the ground.
The Cloak of Shadows – Traits & Abilities (Shadow Class Only)
Summon Shadow Steed (Mount).
One teleport per day to a Recall Point.
Shadow Ability Upgraded to Full Invisibility.
Phase ability unlocked.
Create Void Portal.
I was stunned. Shocked. Amazed. This was absolutely incredible!
Any one of the listed abilities would be cool, but to have all of these together on one item? I found myself drooling. This lived up to the label of Legendary.
Whoever wore this would become one of the top tier players in the game. Heck, maybe the single most powerful Shadow.
And, according to the parchment, six other Legendaries now were waiting to be found out there in the game universe. My mind boggled.
But there was a problem. I'd signed a contract to give it to Ogden Trite. He'd get to keep the Cloak or auction it away.
I was conflicted.
Suddenly, the air around me grew very cold. In an instant ice formed over my hands, covering the Cloak of Shadows, and traveled up my arms and encased my body.
I was frozen in a block of ice.
Feign appeared, walking into my frozen field of view.
“Well, well,” the ice mage said. “What do you have there?” He looked at the Cloak in my frozen grip. “Cloak of Shadows? Interesting. That will be worth quite a bit of money. Too bad you won't be collecting it.” He grinned.
I couldn't speak with my face frozen solid. Feign attacked me?
Feign gave a hurtful look. “Oh, you think I'm going to sell it? Now, now, I'm a man of my word. I signed a contract to take the item from you. I was offered a tidy sum, too. But you don't have to take my word for it.”
He pulled up a chat screen, then angled it so I could see who was on the other end.
The familiar gray owl visage of Ogden Trite grinned at me.
“Hello, again, Miss Valesh,” Ogden said. “Glad to see you managed to pull off the impossible. A worthy investment on my part, hmmm?”
Angry, I wanted to respond but gave up trying. This was a screw-job? Ogden betrayed me? But why?
Ogden chuckled, “Oh, I know what you are thinking, why take the item from you if that was your contractual obligation, anyway? Now, it would be foolish of me to think you'd keep your word once the item was finally in your hands. It is a Legendary, after all, so the temptation to keep it would be overwhelming.” His owl face lost its smile. “But if I took it from you first, then I wouldn't have to pay you a thin copper piece.”
Feign chuckled at my look of rage. But still I could not move.
Ogden continued. “I'd done my research and I'm aware of the seven new Legendary items which are being brought into the world. Now I have this one. Soon the rest will be mine by whatever means necessary. And, when in my control, these seven items will help put the entire realm under my reign.”
“What do you want done, boss?” Feign asked. His manner had completely changed. He'd been putting on an act the entire time.
“Send Miss Valesh to the newbie zone, then bring the item to me.” The owl grinned.
Feign withdrew his knife and smiled. Side by side, the two traitors grinned at me.
What was I to do? I was frozen. Feign would kill me, and worse, Ogden would get the Cloak of Shadows.
As Feign approached my eyes flew over the icons on my screen. Then I saw one. My only hope for salvation in this time of need. I selected it.
Phlixx winked into existence and leapt through the air. “My love! You have summoned me again! It fills my heart -,” his eyes went wide once he took in my predicament. “What is this?”
Feign whirled on the ferret. “Stupid rodent!” He cast a spell at Phlixx, but the companion bounced away before a block of ice formed where he'd stood.
“What is going on, Feign?” Ogden demanded, trying to see. “Kill that thing!”
Feign was trying to keep up with the quick movements of Phlixx, casting an ice spell at him but missing each time. “You FILTERED rat!”
The ice around my face and throat had melted a tiny bit. Enough for me to sub-vocalize the only special arrow that would be of use to me in my frozen state.
A magma arrow appeared in my quiver. The effect it had on the ice encasing me was immediate, and it started to quickly melt.
Meanwhile Phlixx was firing his little fiery crossbow bolts at Feign. “You dare attack the love of my life! You shall pay!”
Annoyed, Feign swung his dagger when Phlixx got close enough. But the ferret bounded away unharmed.
The ice around me melted faster, and although my legs remained encased with solid ice, I managed to wrench my hands free. The Cloak, still in ice, clunked to the ground.
Ogden spotted my sudden movement. “Feign! You idiot, look out!”
Feign turned in my direction, a snowball in his upraised hand. He was going to freeze me solid again, and then I was doomed.
In one motion I summoned my bow, snatched the magma arrow and fired.
Feign reacted by creating an ice pillar in front of him. But the magma arrow cut straight through the pillar with ease.
The arrow lodged in the ice mage's chest. Feign tumbled backward, lava beginning to spew from his mouth and ears. Behind him was a chasm in the floor. He pitched over it and vanished from view.
“What is going on?!” Ogden raged from the view screen, before it too was pulled over the edge to catch up with its creator.
When Feign hit bottom the remaining ice around me shattered and I was free.
Phlixx bounded over to me. “Are you okay, my sweet? Did I do well?”
I laughed and gave the ferret a hug. “I'm fine, and yes, you did very well.”
Little hearts bubbled above his head and he swooned.
I retrieved the Cloak and held it in my hands. Guess I should put this on, I thought and slipped it over my shoulders, tying up the lacing at the collar.
“It makes you even more beautiful,” Phlixx said with a tear in his eye.
It didn't make me feel more beautiful, or any different for that matter. But when I looked at my own ability list, I saw that I now had access to everything the Cloak offered.
Void Portal? Interesting.
Phase? Wow!
Teleportation? Amazing!
A chat request appeared. At first, I thought it would be Ogden wanting to scream at me, but then I saw who it was from and opened it.
“Muddie!” I said.
The first thing Mudhoof said as he appeared was, “Did you get my stuff?” Then smiled. “Just kidding.”
I laughed. “Where are you? Minotaur Warrior Newbie zone?”
Mudhoof angled the camera so I could see behind him. Half-naked minotaurs ran around a grassy field chasing little boars with wooden axes. “Yup,” Mudhoof said and showed me his own wooden ax. “This is the end result when you're punted by an angry god.”
“Sorry about that,” I said. “It was a tough encounter all around.”
“No worries, I'm a power-leveling fiend. I'll be back up in no time. Oh, and congrats on the Legendary Cloak!”
I furrowed my brow. “Thanks, but how did you know? I just put it on.”
Mudhoof said, “Yeah, and when you did, the game updated the database with its existence and all the news-feeds picked up on it. Now everyone knows what you got. You're famous!”
I frowned. “That's to be expected, I guess.” This was something I hadn't considered since keeping the item wasn't originally my intention.
“Uh-oh,” Mudhoof said, looking at something on his view screen.
“What is it?”
“Looks like Ogden Trite has put a bounty on your head, and a reward for the return of the Legendary Cloak. Claims you reneged on a contract to give it to him.”
“What?” I said. “He's the one who reneged on the contract. Tried to kill me, too!”
“Well, it's all over the bounty hunter boards now, and there are lots of them signing up to go after you.”
“How many,” I said, swallowing.
“Oh, a couple hundred thousand.” Mudhoof gave me a mournful look. “Might want
to think about going into hiding, Vee. That's a lot of people looking to get you to re-roll.”
I sighed. Wasn't owning a Legendary Item suppose to make things easier instead of harder?
