The Quest
Page 15
He hit ground upper back first, then bounced. And he bounced again. And once more. He slid to a stop a few feet from where he touched down the final time.
His health bar was blinking and flashing an angry red. The one hit brought him down to less than ten percent health.
A familiar feeling washed over Actaeon. His pain vanished and he felt refreshed. The sound of metal being ground away by stone drowned out all other noise. Orange light blazed under his health bar. It spread until it was the length of his status bars. The light faded and he was left with a fourth bar. His health bar rose to 50%.
“Overdrive!” Actaeon shouted like he was a character in a cheesy eighties anime.
He performed a flawless kick-flip bringing him back to his feet. He was without a weapon, but overdrive made him feel like Tyson. It was time to see if he was a contender.
Actaeon rushed forward. The world became a blur. He thrust his fist forward as if it were a spear. His hit connected with the Golem’s chest. The sound of a gong being struck rang out. The Golem’s health bar dropped by ten percent. Actaeon’s health dropped two percent.
A health bar appeared over the machine’s head.
Golem 90% health
Actaeon sent a flurry of kicks and punches at the monster. It tried to block, but he was too fast. His hands or feet had already hit home and moved away before it could get an arm in the way.
Golem 70% Health
The Golem dropped. It swept it’s leg out, but it was still too slow. Actaeon leapt up over the leg. He extended his own leg and landed an axe kick on its skull as he landed. A fresh dent cradled his heel.
Golem 45% Health
The Golem lunged with both arms out. Actaeon jumped back then dashed forward. He slipped between the arms and hit the Golem five time before backing out. It’s arms clanged shut on nothing.
Golem 30% Health
Actaeon dashed forward again and went back to work. he had ten second left to try and finish the fight. The Golem’s health dropped. Just as it dipped below ten percent a wave of invisible force slammed into him. He fell back and landed on his ass. His health dropped down to two percent.
The familiar sound of metal being ground by stone filled the air. Actaeon’s Overdrive ran out. The Golem’s eyes flashed orange. An orange bar burned to life under the Golem’s health bar. A health bar which was now back up to fifty percent.
FML!
At that moment it became clear. Overdrive was never his skill. It was the Golem’s. Then how had he used it?
The Golem dashed forward and struck Actaeon sending him sailing through the air once more. As he flew head first and facing the sky he was greeted by an unusual sight. John Walker was in the air above him going the opposite direction. The man flashed a smile and dropped something. He continued on moving out of Actaeon line of sight.
The bundle hit Actaeon’s chest. He caught it and held on. He was all too familiar with the next part. Four bounces later Actaeon lay still on the ground. His health was now at twenty five percent thanks to the basketball impersonation. He sat up, which was not easy, and looked for John Walker.
The man stood in front of the Golem dodging it’s attacks. With a dagger in each hand he sent out attacks that missed the Overdrive powered machine. If the Golem’s Overdrive skill was like his own then the monster would run dry in a few moments. That would be a good thing if Actaeon had a spear to fight it with.
That was when he remembered that he was holding something. The bundle turned out to be three vials of potions wrapped in a cloth. One blue, one red, and one yellow.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
YOU HAVE RECEIVED A MINOR HEALTH POTION.
Drinking this potion will restore 75 health over 5 second.
Durability 10/10
YOU HAVE RECEIVED A MINOR MANA POTION.
Drinking this potion will restore 75 mana over 5 seconds.
Durability 10/10
YOU HAVE RECEIVED A MINOR POTION OF STAMINA.
Drinking this potion will restore 50 stamina instantaneously.
Durability 5/10
The crack in the side of the Minor Potion of Stamina vial gave him a good indication of why it’s durability was low. He drank that one first followed by the health potion. The Mana Potion he set on the ground. He placed his hands on his chest and activated Healing Hands. His health was up to sixty percent when his mana dropped below ten percent. He downed the blue potion which brought him back to 57% Mana. He healed himself back up to 100%, but his Mana was down to 15%.
A loud bang startled Actaeon bringing his attention back to the fight. John was ten feet from the Golem. He held out a… “Is that a fucking gun?” John held a device that looked a lot like a revolver from the wild west in that it had a barrel attached to a cylinder which was attached to a handle. That was where the similarities ended. The gun was four times the size of a normal revolver. To fire, which Actaeon watched him do for the second loud bang, he pulled a lever to turn the cylinder then pulled a cord. Fire erupted from the business end of the barrel.
A metal ball the the size of a tennis ball hit the Golem’s chest and lodged into a crater it created. Its health dropped to twenty percent. A smile spread across Actaeon’s face. They could do this. With John using that hand cannon, and Actaeon… he looked down at his fist. It was better than nothing.
The ground rippled.
Actaeon fell on his ass.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
You were hit with stun wave.
You take 110 damage.
You are stunned.
You are unable to move for 5 seconds until the stun wave wears off.
Actaeon had no choice but to watch as the Golem made it’s next move. His vision was a blur and his head rolled back and forth. Through it all he saw the monster casually stroll forward and grab John by his head. It lifted the dazed man off his feet. The sound of an engine revving came from the Golem. Steam shot out of its elbow joint.
John screamed.
The fingers of the the Golem’s hand pressed in on John’s head. For his part the doomed man kicked and punched. His strikes ate away at the Golem’s health by a fraction of a percent. with each hit. He was going to die long before he made a difference.
Actaeon’s vision cleared and his head stopped making like a bobble head. The stun reached the end of it’s timer. Actaeon jumped up. John had seconds at best. He ran forward and scooped the gun-like mechanism up off the ground. He pulled back the lever and spun the cylinder, then placed the end of the barrel against the Golem’s eye.
The monster grabbed Actaeon by the neck. The gun was forced away by its thick arm getting in the way. The monster let out a laugh. It reminded him of nails on a chalkboard to include the shitty feeling in his teeth.
Using both hands, Actaeon was able to stabilize the gun on top of the metal arm, lining it up for a straight shot towards the golem's head.
“Yee haa, motherfucker!” He pulled the cord.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Critical hit!
You dealt 11,050 points of damage. Overkill!
You killed a Golem!
You gain 16,000 points of XP.
Congratulations!
You reached level 7
You received 1 Stat point and 1 skill point.
Congratulations!
You reached level 8
You received 1 Stat point and 1 skill point.
Actaeon cleared his status screens. he would deal with the level up and and skills later. He pried the fingers of the Golem off of his neck; while it was dead, it had just stopped moving.. He backed away from the thing and dropped the gun.
John Walker was still held in the air by his head. He no longer fought against the monster. His arms and legs dangled in a way that made Actaeon think it might be too late.
The fingers holding John did not move easy and it took a while to pry John free. The man fell in a heap but when Actaeon checked he was still alive.
Actaeon’s heart raced. He wasn’t too late!
>
“Stay with me, buddy! I’m going to save you!”
Actaeon placed his hands on John's head. He activated healing hands. The comforting glow surrounded his hands and spread to John. Actaeon watched as his mana bled away but John’s health didn’t rise.
“Come on damn it! John stay with me! I’m not going to have anyone sacrifice themselves for me. Wake the fuck up, John!”
John’s health rose slowly when Actaeon’s mana hit twenty percent. At ten percent Actaeon felt light headed and a slow pounding started at the back of his head. He dropped the spell.
A wave of dizziness washed over him and he fell over and lay on his side staring at John. Joy swelled in him when John’s eye fluttered open. His head turned until he was looking at Actaeon.
“Did we win?” John asked.
“Fuck yeah we did,” Actaeon replied.
QUEST: Hold the Line!
Completed
You receive 500 XP, and 5,000 reputation with the town of Valeshire.
CHAPTER 30
Not a single healer resided in the town of Valeshire. It took Actaeon a whole day of resting and healing to bring John Walker and himself back up to full health. Turns out, to Actaeon’s dismay, there was no one in Valeshire that made or sold potions,nor was there a Smith or trainers of any kind, save for a cooking Trainer. Helgen was a cooking trainer and she was more than happy to share her skill.
You learned Cooking LVL 1
“Good morning, Barnabus.” Actaeon greeted his friend as he went down the stairs into the common room.
“Ah, good morning, Actaeon. How did you sleep?” Barnabus replied.
“That bed in the large room is amazing. I don’t think I have ever slept that good.”
Barnabus laughed. “I am glad you like it. It’s yours until you decide to leave, or a paying customer can afford it.”
“I appreciate that, Barnabus, bit I think I should leave today,” Actaeon replied. He took a seat at the table closest to the bar.
“Oh, why so soon?”
“I have to get stronger and I need to do it quickly. I feel like an ass for having let my friends return to that… that place. I should have gone with them.”
“Don't be foolish,” Helgen said as she entered with a tray of food. “Going back would not have helped and you know it. If you must go today that is fine. I don't blame you one bit.” She placed the food down in front of Actaeon. “I anticipated you wanting to leave and have packed a sack with supplies for your journey.”
“Wow that’s… thank you, Helgen. You guys have really done more for me than I deserve,” Actaeon said. He looked down at his hands to avoid looking at the couple.
“Nonsense!” Barnabus shouted.
“Calm down dear. The boy has some humility. You should probably take notes.” Barnabus threw his head back and laughed. “You have done a lot for us, Actaeon. You freed this town from the shadow cast by the Dark Iron clan and returned Tabby. Not only that, you saved the people and their homes from the Golem. That thing would have killed anyone and destroyed everything. Oh speaking of which. This is yours.”
Helgen reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a crystal sphere with dull metal bands running from top to bottom setting it on the table. The center of the sphere was lit up with an orange flame. Gold bands stretched out from the center wrapping around the gray metal.
“That’s mine?”
“Yes dear, loot from the Golem. Along with this.” Helgen set a small coin purse down next to the sphere. And this…” she set another coin purse next to the first one. “This is from the town. It isn’t much, but it should help on your journey.”
“From the town?” Actaeon’s brow furrowed.
“While the quest you received was without a reward we all thought it best to give you something. Like I said, it is not a lot, but it’s all we could afford. And before you object and try to give it back, do not bother. We will not accept this back.” She slid the pouches closer to him.
“Thank you,” Actaeon said. He took a closer look at the sphere.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
You have received Golem heart!
Crafting item.
Used to craft a Golem.
Durability 1,000 / 1,000
You received 150 silver.
“Wow, thanks again. This will help a lot. I went from no money to one hundred and fifty. I do admit that I have no idea how far that will go, but it is better than nothing.” Actaeon opened his stats page and decided to allocate his unspent points.
Name:
Actaeon
Level:
8
Class:
Ranger
Strength:
9
Dexterity:
8
Stamina:
14
Charisma:
6(2)
Intellect:
4
Luck:
3
Profession
Profession:
None
Level:
Skills
Skill
Analyze
Level:
3
Abilities
Ability
Novice Unarmed Combat LVL 3
Ability
Begining Spearman LVL 3(2)
Ability
Spear Thrust LVL 2(1)
Ability
Cooking LVL1
Magic
Magic
Life School LVL 1 7/100
Magic
Healing Hands LVL 1 3/10
Reputation
Arena Guards
Untrustworthy 100/1000 to Neutral
Arena Slaves
Friendly 500/3000 to Trusted
Valeshire
Trusted 0/4,000 to Honored
Unspent Stat Points
0/0
Unspent Skill Points
0/0
“That is more than a month’s wage in most places,”Barnabus said. It is not a bad start at all. If you manage to clear a dungeon or two you can easily quadruple that amount if not more..”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“I think you should go west,” Barnabus said. He led out his hand. “Now hear me out. There is a town to the west bigger than Valeshire with plenty of shops selling the goods you will need. There is a good chance the trainers you need will be there as well. It is a day's walk and well stocked.”
“That sounds reasonable and better than the plan I had.”
“What was your plan, dear?” Helgen asked.
“I was going to walk back toward the arena and hope to find what I needed along the way. Not much of a plan at all, but I want to get back there and free my friends.” Unshed tears welled up in Actaeon’s eyes.
“I understand,” Barnabus said.
“Well I do not understand!” Helgen barked. “You think rushing in like a mad bull will help you or your friends? How is getting yourself killed going to help that pretty girl of yours? Is heartbreak really the answer for her?” Helgen leaned forward, placed one hand on the table, and smacked Actaeon upside his head with the other. “Think boy! She needs rescuing. Do that!”
Actaeon rubbed his head where he had been hit. “Okay, you’re right. I know you are, but I was being stupid. I’ll go west. What is the name of that town?”
“Chapel,” Barnabus said. “Eat up so you can get going. Leave soon and you will get there before nightfall.” He went around the bar and pulled out a rag and started cleaning the glasses as Actaeon ate.
It didn't take long to eat and gather his belongings. Barnabus had given Actaeon a couple sets of clothes and a pair of sturdy boots. None of which had any stat boosts or armor, but it was better than what he had been wearing. The leather pants and armor fit in the bag with his change of clothes and Golem heart. The coins he consolidated and tucked into his pants. He was glad items stacked once stored and that included in pants pockets.
The townsfolk were outside waiting for him. “Actaeon!�
� Gregor shouted. “I can never repay you for what you have done for us.” He wrapped Actaeon up in a hug. After a moment he broke the embrace. “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the hero of Valeshire, Actaeon the Brave!” He grabbed Actaeon’s hand and thrust it up into the air.
SYSTEM MESSAGE: You have been awarded a title.
Hero of Valeshire
The townsfolk whooped and hollered. A few chanted Actaeon’s name. He looked over the gathered smiling faces. Men, women and children all happy to have him there and grateful for what he did. He couldn't help but to smile.
After a long procession of goodbyes Actaeon found himself on the road heading west. He crested the first hill a few hundred yards outside of Valeshire and saw him. John Walker stood in the middle of the road wearing the same ridiculous outfit with the addition of a pack slung over his shoulder.
“Hey there, John,” Actaeon said. He stopped and gripped John’s shoulder. “I never got the chance to thank you for your help. I would probably be dead if not for you. And Valeshire would be gone. Thanks for that.”
John looked up and met Actaeon’s eyes. There was a cold hardness in his eyes that hadn’t been there when he spoke to John before. He had a flash of memory. John walker flew over him and dropped the bundle of potions. For the brief second he saw John’s face he saw that same steel in his eyes.
“You can thank me by allowing me to come along.” His voice was harsh. Not the soft spoken man from before. “I’m a broken man, but fighting with you brought me back. Just for a little while, but I was there. Fighting again. I want that back.”
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
John Walker had requested to join your group.
Do you accept?
Yes / No
Once more Actaeon found himself with more questions than answers. Unlike before he was in a position to get some answers. He made his decision.
“Let's get going. We should get to Chapel before dark.”
John Walker’s status bars appeared under Actaeon’s unlike when he was grouped with Tanveer John’s stats didn’t show. Where there should have been colored bars there was just static.
“What is the deal with you status bars?” Actaeon asked.
“Huh? What status bars?” John’s voice took on a softer edge. His eyes were no longer full of steel and venom. The first John Walker he met was back.