Funny thing was, he didn’t even know she had a boyfriend at the time. He bought Mary a copy of a new game that’d come out recently and tied three roses to it with a piece of twine. Luckily he decided to leave it in his car until later, otherwise her then boyfriend would have bashed his skull in.
He found out they broke up after that. Clint was going to ask her out but the next day a basketball player Mary had a crush on beat him to it.
It was okay though, he told himself. He’d asked her out a few times before and each time she turned him down. He didn’t know why he thought that time would be different.
He remembered that night clearly. They laughed together and ate nachos while Mary destroyed her opponents in multiplayer. The lights were dim and the illumination from the telescreen sparkled off her grey eyes.
Clint was more fascinated by her at that moment than he’d ever been with anyone else in his life. He laughed about it now. Playing video games with your crush wasn’t exactly a romantic evening. But, he was still a teenager then. Things were always different when you were young.
Mary and Clint spent a little more time talking about the old days and the current state of depression the world always seemed to be in. When five o'clock rolled around Mary got a message from Krug telling them he was online.
A few minutes later, they both logged into the game.
FOURTEEN
Krug pushed through the dense trees while Cleave and Tarka walked behind him. They left the small clearing an hour ago and were slowly making their way through the forest. The going was hard like it normally was, but they steeled their determination and pushed onward.
They hadn’t been attacked on their trek. Tarka noticed there were several places pointed out on her map that marked the dens of various creatures. It was a feature that the previous map they had lacked and allowed them to navigate around any potential dangers.
The party was within a half-hour of the tomb, according to their map, when they came upon an impassable curtain of trees. They were at least twice the size of the trees around them, standing at about sixty feet. Krug tried to push one over and even took his warhammer to one, but they were sturdy.
Krug navigated along the cluster of trees but was unable to find an opening. He turned to his party, a hint of consternation on his face.
“It doesn’t look like there's any way to cross,” Krug said.
“Tarka could try to squeeze through,” Cleave said.
Tarka looked along the trees they crossed. The largest opening she saw was, at most, a couple of inches wide. She shook her head.
“I doubt even someone as small as me would fit through that,” She said.
“How are we going to get through it?” Krug said. “The map said we have to get through here.”
“How good are your climbing skills Krug?” Tarka said.
“I don’t have any. Why do you ask?”
“I was thinking you could climb over, tie some rope together, toss it over and haul us over.”
“I don’t have enough. The most I have is about fifty feet.”
“We can do it the old fashioned way. We can all tie rope around our waists and you can lead the way,” Cleave said.
“If I go down though, I’ll bring you all with me,” Krug said.
“That’s okay, I’ll make sure I’ll land on top of you so you can cushion our fall.”
Krug smirked and shook his head. Given they didn’t have any other ideas, the party pulled out a large coil of scratchy rope and tied it to each other. The half-giant pulled out large metal spikes.
The party made sure that their equipment was tied to their backs and the rope around their waste was secured before Krug started heading up.
The party slowly ascended the massive trunk of the tree. At first, he was worried Krug wasn’t strong enough to carry him, Tarka, and the rest of their equipment. However, the half-giant proved his great strength as they continued their climb.
The worry was clear on Tarka’s face as she looked up at Cleave and Krug. Every time the half giant removed a spike and drove it into the tree, or when the half-giant grunted when he pulled them further up, she uttered a little squeak.
Cleave kept his face turned upward. Looking at his large friend’s butt wasn’t exactly fun, but it was a lot better of a prospect than facing the dizzying heights below them.
Krug’s face was awash in sweat when he finally reached a point where he could position himself on the other side of the three. Cleave wanted to see what was on the other side, but he was wise enough to keep his face turned up.
A fright went through Cleave as they entered their ascent. The fleeting feeling that they were going to fall rushed through them each time they were lowered. The elf kept a shaky grip on the trees trunk, but he knew it would do him no good if Krug lost his balance.
The tree trunk was so thick that Krug couldn’t even wrap his legs around it enough to brace himself. He kept calm. The half-giant would sometimes feel a slip and ask if the party was okay. Cleave and Tarka always said yes, but their quivering voices always gave the large man pause.
They reached the bottom of the trunk after a few minutes. Cleave felt a huge wave of relief when his feet touched the ground. Once they were done with their quest they would need to see if there was an easier way out.
Before them lay a large causeway flanked on either side by a line of trees. All of the trees grew side by side, with only an inch or two between them. There was a dense fog that came up to Cleave’s chest. The grass beneath their feet was green but it had an odd sort of glow.
The party crept ahead, weapons drawn, ready to face anything that came at them. Tarka kept a hand on Cleave as the fog completely enveloped her form. Elf and half-giant offered to carry her on their backs to which she incredulously replied that she wasn’t a child.
The fog grew thicker the further they went. Cleave couldn’t fight back the fear slithering through his veins. Tarka’s grip on the elf’s waist tightened with each step. Her claws dug into the fabric, leaving small gashes.
At the end of the massive causeway was a large clearing. Squinting through the thickness of the billowing grey they made out a stone sticking up out of the ground. They carefully approached it and saw many elven runes on it.
They searched the area but all that was there was the stone, the fog, and the eerie glowing grasses. Cleave walked up to the stone and touched it. A supernatural chill shot through his arm and he pulled away.
“What the hell are we supposed to do now?” Tarka said.
“Is there anything on the map?” Krug said.
Krug cast a light spell and Tarka held the parchment close to her face. She sounded out the words “Gugna Kainari.”
“I wonder what that means,” Tarka said.
“Maybe they’re the magic words that’ll open the tomb,” Cleave said.
“Or they’ll summon a legion of ghosts to kill us,” Tarka said.
“Only one way to find out. Gugna Kainari,” Krug intoned the last words loudly.
They waited for a few moments but nothing happened. They tried to place their hands on the stone and say it, still nothing. They held their hands up, stood in a circle, and even did an embarrassing dance that they swore never to speak of again. Still nothing.
“Ugh, this sucks. I wonder if there was anything in the journal that would have told us how to get past this?” Tarka said.
Krug shrugged.
The party stood there for a few moments, trying to come up with a plan. They talked about digging or breaking the stone, but just talking about it gave Cleave a bad feeling.
The elf walked up to the stone and took a look at the runes again. One of them, the rune at the top, looked oddly familiar. He reached into his pack and took out his bracelet. The runes on the piece of jewelry matched those carved into his gift from the elves.
That was interesting. Thinking it was more than a coincidence, he looked at the piece of jewelry trying to figure out what it meant. He thought there mi
ght have been a hidden meaning, but if there was he didn’t know it.
Cleave pressed the gem of the bracelet against the stone and said. “Dragon.”
Nothing happened.
“Dragons.”
Nothing.
“Emerald dragons?”
Still nothing.
Tarka got up to join Cleave. “What are you doing?”
Cleave showed her his gift and the carvings on the stone.
“Hmmm,” Tarka stroked her maw. “Two dragons on a bracelet eating an emerald. I-”
The ground beneath them shook. Cleave and Tarka ran away as the runes on the stone lit up and rose out of the ground. Dirt and grass was torn from its resting place as a rock mound ten feet in height emerged. There was a large entryway in the rock with a large, scintillating barrier undulating in front of it.
“Gugna Kainari,” Krug said.
The barrier slowly faded. The party looked through the entryway. Stone steps led into an inky blackness. Krug cast light on his shield and thrust it into the entrance but the light only allowed them to see a couple of feet into the cavern.
The party looked at each other and nodded. Krug took the first step and cringed. His foot came down on a solid stone step. He took a deep breath and led them into the stairway.
FIFTEEN
They carefully padded down the steps. Wind blew at the entrance and there was a wailing moan that followed them down the tunnel. Tarka kept her eyes to the ground to look for any tripwires while Cleave kept his eyes on the walls and ceiling.
On one of the stone steps Krug’s foot sank down further than it should. There was a snap and the entire party backed away. An elongated slit opened in the wall and a scythe leapt out at them. The half-giant brought his shield up and there was a loud clang as the point on the crescent tip pierced the shield he held.
Krug pulled the shield away and the scythe receded back into the wall. The half giant stepped over this step and there was a snap. A big hop backward saved him from a two fountains of bright green acid that gushed from little slits in the wall. They melted the stone step and ate away at the steps beneath it as it drained downward.
Tarka volunteered to take the lead. She stepped around the placed the acid touched and carried on. Using the light from Krug’s shield, she found two more tripwires and cut them, avoiding a spear and a shower from acid above. After leading the party over a pit trap on the final step, they came to a large, circular chamber.
The ceiling reached twenty feet in height, the walls unadorned save for a few runes located in the corners. Beneath these runes were small stone plaques with faded, old Elvish words carved into them.
An eerie feeling settled over the party. There was a strange chill in the room that seemed to emanate from a stone container that rested in the center. Given its elongated shape, it didn’t take much to figure out that it was a coffin.
Their suspicions came true when Krug brushed a layer of thick dust and found a faded inscription, this time in the common language, carved into the head.
Here Lies Devdan Erwynn, Hero of the Lren
May His Spirit Fly Forever in the Eternal Forest
The party read the inscription aloud and the letters began to glow blue. The runes in the corner of the room began to glow, and a skeletal hand shot forth from the ground, sending dust scattering in all directions. In all corners of the room, skeletons crawled from the dirt.
The lid to the stone sarcophagus exploded from the base and landed against the right wall between two undead emerging from the dirt. A rickety skeletal figure with fierce red orbs in its eye sockets screamed out.
“Devdann Erwynn. You will die,” the skeleton said in a rasping voice.
It held up a mahogany staff carved with runes. A gout of flame exploded from a red ruby at its tip. The party scattered and the bolt of fire left a blackened mark on the wall.
Cleave came face to face with a skeleton. It lifted a sword and swung it at the elf, who suffered a gash across his arm. Cleave pulled out his sword and knocked its second attack aside.
Cleave Lvl. 7
HP: 94% (-6%)
Stamina: 78%
Mana: 100%
Character Status
Healthy
Another skeleton came up behind him but Tarka met its attack. Her sword was out and slashing away at the creature. Cleave and the skeleton in front of him traded blows before another skeleton met him. The elf’s brown eyes glimmered and through his dark vision he could see both swords were rusty but had old elven runes carved into the pommels.
He kept his sword pumping in front of him, parrying blows as best he could. However, some of the strikes from the skeletal warriors got through and nicked his arms.
Cleave Lvl. 7
HP: 90% (-4%)
Stamina: 72%
Mana: 100%
Character Status
Healthy
Tarka’s short sword quickly slashed against her skeleton’s attacks. She managed to land two blows against its rib cage, but the the cracks in its bones did nothing to stop it. It continued pressing forward, slashing with untiring frenzy.
It slashed at her head and she ducked and rolled behind the creature. She slashed her sword at its legs and cut a deep cut in one of its femurs. The skeleton hobbled around and slashed downward. She blocked it with the flat of her blade and cut into the other. She put her hips into the attack and was able to cut all the way through.
The skeleton fell to the ground and with a quick step she brought her foot down on its skull. It stopped moving.
Krug bull rushed the skeleton that came at him. The creature was pressed against its shield as he smashed it against the wall. It waved its sword around, trying to strike at the half-giant but its arm was pinned.
The skeleton from the coffin held up its staff and shot a bolt of flame at Krug. It nailed him in the back. He roared and continued to slam the skeleton against the wall. Another bolt caught his black hair on fire.
He screamed and dropped his weapon and shield and worked to put out the flame on his head. Another fire bolt hit his arm and he bellowed. The badly damaged skeleton against the wall stumbled forward and slashed down on him. It landed a weak blow on his arm and the half giant rolled away.
Tarka saw Cleave fighting off two skeletons and was about to help him, but she knew from the large warrior’s bellow that he needed her help. She charged the creature in the coffin. He turned his attention from the half giant and fired a flame bolt at her.
She sidestepped it and continued her charge. She leapt for him. The kobold closed her eyes as another bolt hit her face. There was force behind the bolt, but it didn’t stop her from slamming into the skeleton and toppling him out of the coffin. She instinctively reached for his staff and grabbed it.
Skeleton and kobold fought over the staff while shots of fire went toward the ceiling.
Krug put out the fire in his hair, leaving a large, smouldering bald spot on his head. He suffered a few more slashes from the creature as he rolled onto his back and kicked it in the chest. It fell backward. He rolled and quickly crawled to the staff wielder.
It aimed its staff at the oncoming adversary, but Tarka pulled at the staff and the flame missed him by inches. Krug brought his fist down on its skull. There was a pain in his hand as his knuckled connected with bone, but he continued slamming his fist down.
With its attention divided, Tarka was able to wrestle the staff free from the skeleton’s clutches. The skeleton that first attacked Krug rushed toward him. She charged the creature and sidestepped a downward slice. She tripped the creature and slammed the staff against his head. The badly damaged skull split and fell apart.
Krug took hold of the skeleton’s skull he’d been punching and slammed it against the sarcophagus, ending him.
Cleave fought valiantly against the skeletons but he made no headway. He backed away from the two undead warriors until he was pinned against the wall. One of the skeletons stabbed at him but he moved out of the way in time
for the tip of the sword to connect with the wall. He parried two more swipes from the second skeleton as the other stabbed at him.
This one landed and deeply pierced his leg. Crimson trickled from the wound.
Cleave Lvl. 7
HP: 82% (-8%)
Stamina: 67%
Mana: 100%
Character Status
Healthy
The other skeleton stabbed at his head and he ducked. He thrust his sword upward into the second skeleton’s chin. His sword went into and out of the top of the skeletons skull. He pulled the skeleton close to him and threw him into its ally. Both fell against the wall.
Cleave dodged a desperate stab from the injured skeleton and grabbed his sword from beneath his chin. With a powerful yank he pulled it out. The other skeleton rose and started dueling him. The elf parried his strikes and landed a few of his own.
The skeleton lunged with his sword. Cleave sidestepped the strike, grabbed his bony wrist and tossed him to the floor. The sword the skeleton held clattered across the tomb.
Krug walked over to the fallen skeleton and brought his hammer down on his skull, ending him. Tarka jumped on the other Cleave wounded and slammed its head against the hard stone wall until it stopped moving.
SIXTEEN
Krug searched the cavern while Cleave and Tarka bandaged their wounds. The bodies of the skeletons turned to blue flame, leaving the rusted swords behind. In the coffin was a small silver ring and a dagger. The half-giant picked up the ring and looked over the inscriptions in old Elvish before he placed it in his inventory.
The dagger had a wooden handle and there were small runes carved on the blade. He reached out for it and the dagger rose up and cut his finger.
“Ow,” Krug said and stuffed his finger into his mouth.
The dagger hopped up and down and small barks came from the blade. It waggled back and forth and tried to leap out of it sarcophagus.
The half-giant smiled and looked down at the weapon.
“Aw, what a cute little dagger.” Krug clapped his hands together. “Come here buddy.”
Crisis at Clearwater - A LitRPG Virtual Fantasy Adventure (Book 2 Unexplored Cycle) Page 8
