Shadow Gambit

by Drake, Adam

  “Now this is unusual,” Feign said, giving the piles of blue ore a worried look.

  “Begin!” The voice declared.

  “Okay, grab the ore!” I shouted unnecessarily as the other two leapt into motion.

  We each grabbed the blue ore and tossed it into the cart with a loud clatter. But when I grabbed an ordinary stone, I couldn't lift it and got a message on my view screen. “Blue Ore Only.”

  “Fine,” I said, and switched to a large chunk of blue ore.

  Within a few minutes we'd picked up all the ore on this end of the line. More ore was a little further down the rail.

  “Push the cart!” I said.

  Mudhoof and I pushed against the massive ore cart, but it barely moved. The wheels were old and rusted.

  I stopped and tried to think. “Feign, can you put ice on the rails just in front of the wheels? It might help us move it.”

  “I will try,” the mage said. He rubbed his fingers together and fine snow sprinkled down. It landed on the rails and formed slick ice on the metal.

  We pushed again. This time the cart moved, but with great effort. Once we got it further down the line, we stopped and shifted to scooping up ore.

  I gave a quick glance across the chasm. The other group were moving at top speed, throwing ore into their cart. They'd even had it further down the line than ours.

  “They're ahead of us!” I said.

  “Keep working!” Mudhoof said, tossing armfuls of ore into the cart.

  Once we'd grabbed all the ore in that section Feign worked his ice magic on the rails again. The cart was a pain to move but we could still make progress to the next section of the line.

  We did this two more times, and the cart was about half full.

  “How much do you think we need?” Mudhoof said, panting. His large hands allowed him to grab more ore which I took for a blessing.

  “I think we're expected to get all of it off the line,” I said. “Then we move it to that hopper thing.”

  I looked again at the other group. They were farther ahead of us by at least one section by my guess.

  I shook my head. “Maybe their cart's wheels aren't as messed up as ours.”

  The centaur-samurai pressed his should up against their cart. The other members simply stood back, not attempting to help.

  “What are they doing?” I said.

  The centaur pushed, and the cart moved down the line with ease.

  “That lucky jerk,” Mudhoof said. “He's got a strength enhancing ability. Must have been saving it all this time because you can only use it for a brief period in a day.”

  “Do you have anything like that?” Feign said, hoisting a large chunk of ore into the cart.

  Mudhoof raised and arm and flexed a huge muscle. “Pure Bull-Brawn is all I need!” He slammed into the cart and it moved forward while Feign hastened to apply ice to the rails.

  After three more arduously cleared sections it became apparent our two groups were neck and neck.

  “Nice! Even a man short we're kicking their butts,” Mudhoof said with a grin.

  We had cleared the last section of ore and all that remained was to push the cart to the hopper.

  “Okay,” I said, “Last push!”

  The moment I touched the cart a loud crash threw me back.

  This time, thanks to activating my sure-footed ability minutes earlier, I did not get knocked to the ground, but Feign and Mudhoof weren't so lucky.

  One end of the cart had been kicked off the rails and teetered precariously over to one side, threatening to dump the load of ore.

  “What happened?” Feign asked as he picked himself up.

  I looked. A shuriken stuck out of the cart. It must have had enough magical punch to nearly upend the heavy cart.

  We all turned to glare at the other group.

  They were laughing and pointing at us. The blue ninja waved, then bowed deeply. He'd been the one to throw it.

  “Those FILTEREDs!” Mudhoof cursed.

  Immediately, the centaur pushed on their full ore cart toward the hopper. I looked at our dislodged cart and over to them. They were going to win!

  Then I lost my temper.

  “Let's try pushing the cart up... Vee, what are you doing?” Mudhoof said in surprise. He must have seen my expression.

  I walked to the ledge. The other group had turned their attention to their impending victory. Their cart was now in position. Even from where I stood I could see how happy they were.

  My bow appeared in my hand, and I called forth a special arrow which I snatched from my quiver. Carefully, I aimed, and fired.

  The arrow sailed across the gap.

  At the last moment, the stone mage noticed and raised a hand to cast a spell, no doubt to block it.

  But this arrow was not intended to hit anyone.

  The moment it reached the other side, the arrow exploded.

  Thousands of multi-colored beams of light shot out from above the other group. There was no sound, only the intense flickering of beams that blinded everyone within range.

  The four figures began running around wildly, bumping into the rock wall and each other. The cascade of light didn't stop. Their cart was all but forgotten.

  “A disorientation spell!” Feign said with a wide grin. “Very nice, Miss Valesh.”

  “We don't have much time,” I said. “Let's get this back on the rails.”

  With a lot of effort, and grunting and curses from Mudhoof, we pushed the cart back into position. Then, shoved it down the last of the line in front of the hopper.

  I looked over at the other group who were still running around without purpose. Their confusion was total. I could imagine their players swearing and cursing up a storm once they'd lost control of their avatars.

  To my surprise and delight, the two ninjas ran full tilt over the ledge and plummeted into the darkness.

  “Oh, Vee!” Mudhoof said with a cheer. “Two birds, one stone!”

  The centaur and stone mage finally regained their senses and leapt to their cart to push.

  “Oops!” I said. “Push! Now!”

  We did and tipped the cart over so the ore spilled out into the hopper. Dust and bits of rock kicked up everywhere.

  The remaining two members of the other group had done the same thing. It was down to gravity now.

  When the cart was empty, the voice spoke again.

  'Task Complete.'

  I looked across the chasm. They'd finished at about the same time, too.

  “A photo finish?” Feign said, looking worried.

  “If you want to see me blow a gasket, give the win to those twits,” Mudhoof said with a scowl.

  The voice then said, “One group may continue. The other group must find another way.”

  Suddenly, on the other side, the rock above their metal door collapsed. Within seconds it was buried.

  The door next to us then opened, revealing the tunnel continuing on.

  “I'd cheer but I'm too tired,” I said.

  “Let's get through the door before were expected to do another dumb task,” Mudhoof said.

  I gave a parting wave to the two remaining players on the other side. They shook their fists again.

  Then we passed through into darkness and the door closed behind us.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The rocky tunnel changed to set blocks of stone within a few paces after we walked through the door. Instead of torches, odd rocks glowed along the walls which brightly lit our way.

  “This is no longer the mine,” I said. We had moved into a new area.

  Soon, we heard a low rumbling sound from further up the passageway. As we moved closer, it became much louder.

  “I don't like the sound of that,” said Mudhoof. “Better not have anything do with ore carts.”

  It became hotter and the air thick with the heat. My vision wavered, occasionally.

  When we reached the end of the passageway, it terminated at a ledge. A short distance below wa
s a wide river of lava that churned past. On the opposite side of the river was another ledge leading to a passageway. The distance was too far to jump.

  “Anyone up for a swim?” I asked. The heat was incredible, and I turned my simulation suit's settings to its lowest level.

  “Perhaps we missed a side tunnel, or a secret door?” Feign said. The ice mage was sweating profusely.

  “Can you float across on your magic carpet of ice?” I asked.

  Feign shook his head. “Too hot in here. It will evaporate to nothing the moment I create it. I'm afraid none of my magic will be effective with this heat.”

  “Maybe we can...” I said and stopped when someone stepped out of the passageway behind us.

  A tall, humanoid being now stood blocking the tunnel, and we turned to confront it.

  The being was almost taller than Mudhoof, and its frame was wiry. It did not appear to wear any clothes or armor. Its skin looked like a black crust of cracked rock. A prominent brow beetled over a set of yellow, glowing eyes. Since I'd encountered this type of being before the game identified it for me. A Rock Golem.

  “Well, you wanted a fight,” I said to Mudhoof as I held up my bow.

  “This one will be easy,” the minotaur grinned. “It's just a bunch of rocks, and I like crushing rocks.”

  Mudhoof hollered a war cry, lowered his steel tipped horns and charged.

  The Rock Golem did nothing to get out Mudhoof's way, seeming to watch him with curiosity.

  Mudhoof slammed into the Golem. But instead of a shock-wave with the impact, his long horns sunk straight into the Golem's chest. With his horns buried up to their full length, Mudhoof's head now rested against the Golem. The creature barely flinched from the attack.

  “I'm stuck!” Mudhoof shouted. The Golem raised a long, rocky arm and struck downward.

  I moved, bow held up and summoned regular arrows. As I changed my angle, I fired rapidly at the thing's pitted yellow eyes.

  The first few arrows bounced off the creature's rocky skin with no effect. It reached up again, this time with both arms and struck down on the exposed back of Mudhoof. The Minotaur was pushing against the Golem's stomach, desperate to dislodge his horns.

  “I'm at half health! What the FILTERED?” Mudhoof said.

  I fired again, and this time the arrow found its mark and lodged in one of the Golem's eyes. Instead of reacting in pain, the thing seemed to be curious about the arrow sticking out of its head. It grabbed and pulled the arrow out.

  Feign moved quickly behind it. His dagger glistened with a magical glow in his hand and he stabbed forward with all his might.

  The blade sunk into a crack in its skin and the monster bellowed with pain. Its arm snapped back and struck the mage, sending him flying hard against the rock wall to crumple in a heap.

  My next arrow found its mark again, then the next. Two arrows were buried in its eyes and, with the pain of the dagger wound, the thing flailed.

  This was enough to help Mudhoof dislodge himself from the Golem and stagger back. Angered, and maybe a little embarrassed, the minotaur unhooked his ax from his back. With a leap up in the air he swung downward with all his might.

  The ax hit the Golem in the head and cleaved down its middle. The creature had been cut right in half with one great blow of the uber ax. The two halves of the Golem split apart and collapsed to the ground with an arrow still protruding from each eye.

  “Okay, now that was a first,” said Mudhoof with a surprised chuckle.

  I went to Feign's side who was still slumped against the wall. “Are you okay?”

  The ice mage blinked. “Yes, I think so. Knocked the wind out of me.” He paused and I could tell he was looking at the icons on his view screen. “Seems I took a good whack of damage there. Down to two-thirds health. I cast an enhanced damage spell on my dagger which it didn't take kindly to.”

  “Here take this,” I said as I removed a healing-salve from my inventory. “Won't make much of a difference but every little bit helps.”

  I gave one to Mudhoof as well who grunted this thanks.

  “We still need to cross this nonsense,” I said as I stood at the ledge and looked down. The lava bubbled and heaved. Occasionally, a large clump of rock would float by. Some were big enough to sit or stand on. But what would be the use in that if you were going to eventually sink?

  I gaged the distance to the other ledge and had an idea. “Okay, I may have a way but you guys aren't going to like it.”

  “Better perform this miracle quick,” Mudhoof said. “Looks like he had friends.”

  From the tunnel behind us could be made out several figures. As they past the wall lights it was obvious we were about to get into even more trouble. Rock Golems. Lots of them. They trundled toward us.

  “Oh, dear,” said Feign, backing up to the ledge.

  Again, I summoned a special arrow. When I pulled it out and set it in my bow a thick rope was attached to it. The rope coiled back into the quiver.

  “Oh, no,” Mudhoof said. “You expecting us to go all cat-burglar now?”

  “Got a better idea?” I said, and fired. The arrow arched across the lava river and lodge deeply into the rock over the ledge on the other side. The rope extended the entire way.

  I turned and fired another similar arrow into the rock wall next to me, at a slightly higher angle. The rope magically fused together and now formed a single strand rope bridge that spanned the river.

  The Rock Golems moved through the tunnel at a plodding pace, but they were much closer now. We had no time left.

  To Feign, I said, “Start shuffling across! Now!”

  With a fearful glance down the ice mage grabbed onto the rope and pulled himself up, wrapping his ankles around it. “I am very glad none of this is real!” he said, then shuffled hand over hand down the rope.

  Mudhoof swung his ax, and a long crack shot out along the ground. It met the first Golem coming out of the tunnel and the knock-back sent it staggering into the others. But this would only serve to slow them down.

  I fired normal arrows rapid-fire at the clustered horde, but none managed to hit an eye. They all bounced off their rocky skin.

  “You're next, Vee!” Mudhoof said. He stood with his legs braced apart and the ax poised over a shoulder waiting for his knock-back ability to recharge.

  I looked to see Feign reach the other ledge and ease off the rope. He waved.

  “No can do, big guy,” I said, still firing arrows. “The rope will disappear the moment I cross over. You gotta use it before me.”

  “FILTERED!” Mudhoof said. “Sometimes this game really FILTEREDes me off!” And with that he struck down again. This time several Golems were cast backwards with the impact.

  The minotaur spun around and placed the ax on his back. “You be right behind me!” He said, and I nodded. This was going to be close.

  Mudhoof grasped the rope and wrapped his hooves around it. Then he pulled himself hand over hand down the length with great speed.

  I kept up a perpetual volley of arrows but since it had almost no effect on the approaching enemy, it was mostly to make myself feel better.

  Once Mudhoof was past the half-way mark, the creatures had gotten even closer. I fired one last shot, dispelled my bow and jumped onto the rope.

  Quickly, I pulled myself hand over hand, but I had a sense of impending dread.

  I'd barely made it a quarter down the rope length when one of the Golems reached the ledge.

  “Hurry!” I heard Mudhoof shout. I glanced to see he had just stepped onto the ledge and he and Feign watched me anxiously.

  But then the rope shook violently, and I nearly lost my grip.

  Looking back I saw the Golem striking at the rope, and another walked up to do the same.

  Uh-oh, I thought.

  Regaining my hand hold I pulled myself along as fast as I could.

  But it wasn't fast enough.

  The rope snapped under the attack of the Golems and I swung downward towa
rd the lava.

  I heard Mudhoof shout, and the rope swung me at full speed into the rock wall. For a moment my view screen went completely black. When I could see again, I was tumbling downwards.