AVARICE ONLINE: KEL'VAN RED HAND

by Titus Nettles

  Sword strike hits for 40 points…bleed effect 5 points for 10 seconds

  Sword strike hits for 40 points…bleed effect 5 points for 10 seconds

  “One down, three more to go,” whispered Kel’Van.

  Kel’Van wiped his sword clean on the orc's armor. There will find plenty of time to loot it later. Right now, he had work to do. Creeping around the body, he pulled open the giant daffodils enough for him to see the three orcs in view. His second fire spell had become active upon reaching level 10. (Heat Wave) had a 3 second cast time, but its utility of performing a distance spell made many of their group attacks go better.

  The three orcs were poised with axes waiting for their two victims to walk through the entryway, victims that should have been here already. One of the orc bandits stared at the underbrush where their leader was for an explanation, but it looked like she had already laid low for their victims and wasn’t coming out. He looked at the orc on the other side of the entryway, and he looked just as confused and baffled as he was.

  As he pondered the problem, the air around him became overwhelmingly hot. He looked at his partner standing next to him, who in turn stared back at him with the same confused look. Then the air exploded in flames and screams.

  “Woosh” was the sound heard when the screams began just across from the Holmgren with his sword just above his head.

  “What the-?” was the only words uttered as he watched his comrades scream and roll on the ground, trying to put out the fires that appeared out of nowhere on their bodies. He forgot about the two marks coming into the valley and looked for something to smother the flames when a figure slipped hands under his neck from behind. Before he could attempt an attack, his head was slammed against the wall, dazing him for 3 seconds. In that short time, his face went from a dull ache, to turning a paler color as the air ceased to enter his body. He felt cold metal hand press against the back of his head as the arm underneath his chin got tighter. Seeing spots dot his vision, the Holmgren frantically reached behind him to grab whatever was choking him. The noose only tightened as he scratched in vain against the arm crushing the air from his throat. Soon his body slumped as the darkness finally claimed him.

  One of the burning orcs ran haphazardly right into the entryway path when a sword swiftly sliced through and cut his legs out from under him. The attack spraying blood into the air as he almost flipped onto the ground. The other, whose flames were almost doused from his face, had lifted his ax in an attempt to attack Voresh, when he was smashed in the shoulder with a shield. The impact sent him sprawling on the ground. As he’d tried to get up, he felt his knee pop in an awkward angle as a shield slammed down upon it.

  “Ahhh!!!” he screamed…. right before he saw a large green orc slamming his shield upon his neck. He then repeated the action until the neck was messily severed from its body, blood pooling in short spurts from the decapitated body…

  The Holmgren bandit left alive was trying to crawl away from Voresh. His left leg from his ankle down was a ruined mess. He struggled to find purchase on the ground to pull him forward from a now slowly walking Voresh trailing behind him. The bandit looked turned to face him with pleading eyes…

  “Let me go surface orc!!” I have a stash not far from here…. it’s all yours! Have mercy!!”

  Voresh hefted his heavy two-hander on his shoulder as he looked at the bandit pleading for his life.

  “Mercy,” he said quietly. “You mean the same mercy you were going to show the merchants who are coming through here in a short while?” he smiled.

  “No…. I swear….”

  And then Voresh with a sigh, aimed his sword downward with both hands and slammed the weapon right into the center of its chest. The bandit still tried speaking as blood gurgled in his throat, then Voresh twisted the blade in his torso. The Holmgren's eyes glazed over, and his pain ended.

  “Well, that was quicker than expected,” commented Voresh. He was patiently waiting on their captain’s customary go-ahead before looting the corpses. Kel’Van was on his way, surveying the bodies when he came across Fer’shad’s kill. Glancing at the separation of its head and the apparent bloodstains on his shield, he put two and two together.

  “That…,” he paused, “was an interesting way to use your shield,” Kel’Van remarked.

  “Yes,” Fer’shad beamed. “I am rather proud of that.”

  Kel’Van shook his head and walked over to where Belar was. She was standing over her own Holmgren body, looking at the awkward angle of its neck. Kel’Van joined Belar in observing her victim.

  “You know, it was dangerous just throwing an orc with a broadsword into a rear chokehold like that,” he said. Kel’Van had just taught her that move several weeks ago while practicing. He didn’t think she would be using it on an opponent this soon.

  “He was only a level 8 orc. I thought I could chance it with him.”

  “And if he was a higher level?”

  “I’d have either kicked or punched him in the head, maybe even the spine or kidney,” she paused for a second as a smile crossed her face. “I actually thought about biting the artery on the side of his neck to shock him, then wrapping him in a headlock till the blood ran dry.”

  “Okay, that’s some information you could’ve kept to yourself,” blanched Kel’Van as he turned away.

  “You said to be as vicious as possible when I attack,” smiled Belar. “Just following orders captain.”

  As Kel’Van walked away, he couldn’t help but notice that since the “changing of clothes incident,” Belar took some perverse amount of pleasure in saying anything to make him feel visibly uncomfortable. The other thing he realized is that she was adapting very well to the direction of combat he laid out for her. Belar began looting the body, and the familiar black smoke appeared in his rearview as he walked away.

  Voresh was leaning against the rock surface inside of the narrow pathway. He was smiling with his sword casually laying up against his shoulder. As Kel’Van was walking up to him, he noticed that he was staring intently into the red and green Valley on the other side of the path.

  “Have you spotted them yet?

  “Yes,” he replied. “They should be here within an hour captain.”

  “Good. I guess we got here just in time then. I’ll go loot the last body, then we can pony up for when they get here and see what we can get.”

  “Hello and Salutations my friends!” cried Farrat.

  Kel’Van smiled at the openness of Farrat’s attitude. It was a stark contrast to what they usually have to deal with while in the depths. They spotted Farrat coming back into the valley while doing their rounds, killing both tattooed and regular Holmgren. His sect sent him out anyway, even after he explained the danger of almost dying to them. They just added 3 guards as protection and sent him on his way. Not that Kel’Van’s crew were peeved about it. Farrat and the Ulgo had come to an agreement. He would sell the party little things they might need, and they would sell him armor, weapons, and anything they thought they couldn’t use to him. It was a great way to offload extra items in his inventory, and they got things that made their quality of life better while they grew levels to fight off the behemoth blocking their way home. Kel’Van even instilled a rotation in their attacks to coincide when Farrat’s caravan would be arriving. It was initially how they found out that bandits used this route heavily and started preying on them instead. A nice bonus for leveling.

  “We have 15 short swords, 30 leather armor sets, 10 longswords, 4 maces, and some miscellaneous potions,” pronounced Belar.

  They had stacked all of their items for trade in a neat and orderly row, just as Voresh spotted him 20 minutes away. Farrat looked them over, one stack at a time. Making odd gestures, he examined the loot, sticking swords and armor in the air as if to get a better look. Kel’Van smiled inwardly to himself. He never worked in the sales department, but he was from the streets of Jersey. He knew when someone was making a show to increase a sell or the price for a bu
y.

  “Some of these swords are marred, others edges are starting to dull. The armor is damaged or not as fixed as we would like, no offense to your armor repairing skills of course,”said Farrat nodding in Kel’Van’s direction since it was him who made the fixes to some of the gear. “I will buy all of these items from you for what should we say, what….15,000 aurtos or the same worth in goods and items I possess,” he said with a smile.

  Belar, with a fire in her eye, somehow replied coolly. “Seriously?... Marred or no, these weapons you just casually put off are going to be sold to another orc, even if it’s to be turned scrap. Weapons you could never have gotten on your own. This is why no matter the condition of our wares, you keep coming back for more. So no….30,000 in aurtos or in-trade.”

  Kel’Van’s party was looking at the bargaining process of these two with some amusement. Particularly their captain. Their time in the depths has afforded each of them to develop specific utility talents. Voresh with tracking and cooking. Fer’shad with fishing and Kel’Van with fixing armor and weapons. Watching Belar’s skill at negotiating prices was a joy to watch. Farrat was way better at it than Belar. There was no question that they were not getting full value for what we were selling. But the way Kel’Van looked at it, they had no use for the money they got looting since they didn’t plan on staying nor negotiating trade from the people they were killing. The same went for the gear they had saved in their inventories. On the plus side, the armor gave Kel’Van the chance to improve his armor and weapons repair skills. They also got quality of life items that made their stay in the depths much better. The increase in skill for Belar’s contracting was also a small bonus.

  While the two were still negotiating, Kel’Van decided to go over his stats.

  Since he came out of the cave at level seven, he had still preferred a more balanced approach. Though he had made sure to bring his magic up to 280 since level 10 brought him back his Heat Wave ability. It had a high magic cost but worth its weight in gold since it allowed him to cast at a greater distance.

  All of his other skills outside of Armorer and Heat wave had gone up a level, adding a point to their corresponding stats. Sword skill had added +10 to stamina, Flame added +10 to magic, as did Heal 2. Stealth 2 also added +3 to Agility. He cut his musings over his stats short as he sensed Belar and Farrat’s “trade deal” was coming to a close.

  After all the negotiations and arguing were done, they ended up with a good number of items they could use. A wide arrange of spices and cooking ware for a very happy Voresh. Rocks, when heated with a flame, negated the use of firewood. This was an obvious utility since they were no longer in danger of their position being compromised by the smoke of their fire. Soap, something akin to a pillow, and loose blankets of fur. All of which was worth a king’s ransom for them. As the trading was nearing its end, Kel’Van came up to greet Farrat so he can be on his way.

  “Well Farrat, I think this concludes our business. When is the next time you think we’ll need to meet?” Kel’Van asked.

  Farrat fidgeted for a second and looked at his cloaked guards and before answering. “Well, to be honest, trade was not just the only reason for my visit.”

  At that mention, all four of the party started feeling their hands closer to their weapons and raising their guard. Kel’Van’s pride in his party deepened. They were all grown up.

  “What other business do we need to discuss…. friend Farrat?’

  “Well, adventurer Kel’Van…” started Farrat.

  “The business he speaks of is with me,” interrupted a gruff but familiar voice.

  He stepped forward and pulled back the hood he was hiding underneath. An old wizened grey-faced orc was staring back at him in full armor and long serrated knives to his sides. “Hello, Kel’Van of the Ulgo’s.” Then he bowed his head facing him

  A smile played on his face at the greeting. “We meet again, Olgan of the Batoor,” bowed Kel’Van. “It seems you that you made it back to your home in good health?”

  “Yes, it took a while, but we made it back to my sect safely.”

  The captain tapped him on the shoulder. “Voresh is very eager to use the spices he just traded for. We can discuss the reason for your visit over lunch, Olgan.”

  The Holmgren smiled at the invitation. “It has been a long journey; we can stand for a meal before we go back.”

  It only took 15 minutes for Voresh to cook up a meal of spiced cook fish and some strange sweet tasting broth with vegetables for them to eat. Kel’Van had to admit that it was actually better tasting than some of the rations he got back in the Ulgo camp. The bonus 2+ health for 5 hours stat was a nice bonus as well. The recipe was definitely a keeper. Farrat and Olgan even added some form of sweet bread to the meal. Which of course, had Voresh practically begging for the recipe to make for later. They all sat in a loose circle around the fire stone’s heat and the meal. They made small talk for a while until Olgan put down his drink and stated the reason for his visit.

  “You are a long way from home Olgan?” Kel’Van said. “Is being a bodyguard for Farrat that much profitable in the depths?”

  “Yes and no,” smiled Olgan. “The pay? Not so good”. He then smiled at Farrat. “No offense, my friend.” Farrat just waved it away and continued sopping the rest of his broth with sweet bread. “The information while with him however, has been worth its weight in aurtos.”

  “What information is that?”

  “Word that sects are starting to form a coalition, if only briefly to force back the surface orcs from where ever their base of operations are, for more territory for themselves.”

  That statement made everyone stop what they were doing and pay attention.

  “You mean they weren’t before?”

  “Only loosely, different sects would attack one after the other to give relief for the previous wave to recover. Then start the process all over again,” replied Olgan.

  Kel’Van sat back thinking on the korai battles tactics.” So, they mean to beat the Ulgo orcs by attrition.“ He said as a statement and not a question.

  “That WAS the plan, yes. But things have changed, or more aptly, YOU and your party have changed things,” grinned Olgan. Farrat also smiled, shaking his head at whatever private joke that statement inferred.

  “What do you mean by us changing things, “asked Belar.

  “This impromptu war you have made on the sects here in this part of the depths!” Farrat interjected.

  “He is correct captain,” Olgan chimed in, taking back control over the conversation. “I do not pretend to know your reasoning for attacking the different sects in this region, but the sect leaders are taking notice. More than that, they all suspect each other for being responsible. No one but the people sitting here and my home sect knows that it is you 4 who are attacking their forces.”

  “You seem pretty happy with this outcome Olgan,” perceived Kel’Van

  “Is it that obvious” grinned the guest. “For reasons I cannot go into now, your war here has made certain situations in my sect more… controllable. The added weaponry and armor that we have been getting from you just makes things even sweeter.”

  The old Holmgren sighed and shook his head, looking at his now-empty bowl. That was the sign of a “but” if there ever was one.

  “Something must have changed if you’re visiting us now,” as he reached a ladle into the cauldron and refilled Olgan’s bowl.

  Olgan, raised his bowl in Kel’Van’s direction. “Thank you. But yes, things have changed. You have noticed they have all increased the number of forces in the area, yes?”

  “The patrol teams are smaller, but the number of teams has doubled as of late,” conceded Voresh.

  “Well it’s about to get worse, which is part of the reason why I’m here. First, it was just to make sure the same person that saved me was the same four people who saved Farrat and his wife. The second was to warn that half of the soldiers that were tasked against the surface orcs will be deplo
yed here.”

  Kel’Van ran his hands down his face. They have been using both stealth and fast attacks to efficiently kill their opponents. It was effective because they left no one alive, and they were spaced out enough that it was not difficult to do so. If half of their attack force was coming back, there was no way he would be able to pull those same tactics if they were overwhelmed. And overwhelmed they will be if they find out that it’s the surface orcs and not themselves that are attacking them.

  “If those deployed forces find out its surface orcs killing them- “

  “The sects will become a united front content on killing us,” interrupted Kel’Van. “When are they supposed to get here Olgan?”

  “The first wave of 100 hundred will be here within 4 days.“

  The erstwhile captain just shook his head.

  “I do not know what your purpose here is, but I think you need to get it done before they get here captain.”

  CHAPTER 21

  “Good luck on your journey home you two,” said Kel’Van

  The cart was already packed after the meal they shared. Farrat gave Voresh the recipe for the sweet bread before leaving as a going-away present. As the others helped the animal carrying cargo on its way, Kel’Van and Olgan were finishing their conversation about the future.

  “We are going to see if we can make it back. If not, we’ll find our way around. Plenty of places for a Holmgren to lay low if they need too,” said Olgan. “And you?”

  “With the timely information you gave us, our business here is going to have to come to a close. The number of soldiers is just one too many, even as careful as we’ve been,” said Kel’Van. “Since they’ll be here in four, we’ll need two days to be gone out of the area and cover our tracks properly.”

  “Makes sense.” Olgan put his hands to his chest and did the customary bow he learned from Kel’Van. “Farewell captain Kel’Van of the Ulgo.”

  Kel’Van returned the action and patted him on the shoulder. “Farewell yourself Olgan of the Batoor, and safe travels.”