“Valen?” Arthur asked. “You think she’s here? Or Bishop?”
Before Calista could answer, the ranks of Demons parted like a sea and a towering Demon with cloven-feet and carrying a three-pointed scepter moved towards them. Fangs hung over his bottom lip and his eyes flared green with living flames. He stopped only yards away from the players and the family of hostages.
“You dare take a sacrifice meant for me?” he said in a deep growl that was more animal than human. “I am the great Demon Lord Calict and you are not welcome here.”
“Demon Lord?” Jimmy whined. “Wait, that means he won’t attack, right? This is just one of those preview moments, like ha ha, look at the big bad Demon Lord you have to face soon? Right? Calista, please agree with me.”
Calista wanted to say yes, but something about this situation was off. Her instinct told her to run and run fast, get away. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and her palms grew slick with sweat. He shouldn’t be here. Other times when they were visited by a Demon Lord before the dungeon, it was a voice, or a glimpse through a portal, not the full flesh and blood Demon Lord himself standing before them, speaking.
“We need to run,” she whispered as quietly as she could to Jimmy out the side of her mouth.
“What about the hostages?”
“Jimmy, there is an entire army of Demons in front of us and a Demon Lord. And we can actually die now,” she reminded him. “We can’t save them.”
“We have to try or we don’t complete the quest.”
She grunted in annoyance, but he was right. Slowly, she turned her head to see how far the ranks of Demons moved around them. They would have to drive a hole somewhere in the lines and make a run for it, into the trees. Would Calict leave them alone once they reached Seaside? Or maybe he’d attack that town, too and have a straight line to go after Winston and then what? They could transport out straight to Weston, but something told her before she even looked it wouldn’t be possible. She glanced over her milestone and saw it blocked out. Calict had blocked it somehow. There was only one choice now and that was to flee.
Calict stared at them, but made no move to attack and said nothing. She assumed he waited for them to make the first move. Calista pulled up her map. They hadn’t explored anything to the south, but there was an icon in the midst of the blank space showing a major city. Hopefully with walls. South was to their right, around the farmhouse, and through the fields. Fields filled with Demons.
Between her Leap Attack and Arthur’s, they might be able to throw enough Demons out of the way to get everyone out without losing anyone. Her new Talent might help too, but they couldn’t stay to attack.
Calista highlighted the location on the map and shared it with the group. “That’s where we’re headed,” she whispered. “If we get separated, keep going towards that spot.”
“Is that a city?” Aiden asked.
“I think so. No matter what happens, just keep running. Jimmy, Floyd, and Sorgon, try to keep the hostages safe, but your lives come first. Understand? We can’t replace you.”
Jimmy frowned, but nodded his understanding.
“On my count, Giles, I need you to try and stun Calict. Arthur and I are going to attack the line to the south, behind the farmhouse, and the rest of you sprint for the gap.”
“Calista, we’re not going to make it,” Shamus said. “There’s no way.”
“You’d rather stand here and let an army of Demons destroy you?”
“No, no you’re right.” He shook out his hands and made ready to run.
Calista sidled closer to Arthur and, as a group, they started backing away from Calict.
“You think you can hide from me?” he asked, sounding amused. “You will not last long. Face your deaths honorably.”
Calista nudged Arthur’s arm with her elbow and he gripped his axe hard. “We’ll take our chances.” The two of them whipped around and, yelling, leapt high into the air, slamming down to the ground at the line of Demons behind the farmhouse. Calict yelled for his Demons to attack as the ones around Arthur and Calista were thrown far and wide.
“Now! Run!” Calista belted, working with Arthur and Maverick to keep the hole open long enough for the guild to escape the farm. Once they were clear, the three took off running, making for the dense trees that lay ahead.
“I will find you!” Calict hollered. “And then your souls will be mine!”
Calista lowered her head and sprinted faster, hearing the thundering steps of the Demon army give chase. The trees were close, so close, when arrows flew past Calista’s head. “Arrows!” she yelled, trying to warn those ahead of her. She ducked as another came so close to her ear; she swore she felt it brush the lobe before it embedded in the ground.
She wasn’t so lucky a few moments later and screamed as an arrow struck the center of her back. Stumbling, she managed to keep herself on her feet and Arthur rushed to her side, grabbing hold of her arm to try and get into the trees. Another hit her in the leg and two found their home in Arthur’s shoulders. They needed to remove them before they drained their life away, but there was no safe place to stop. Once under the shade of the trees, they kept moving as fast as they could, ducking under low hanging branches and tripping over roots. Calista saw no one else around them, but heard their rushing steps through the forest.
“We need to stop,” Arthur rasped.
“Can’t, not yet.” She chanced a glance at her health; it was lower than Arthur’s but they couldn’t stop. The Demons’ yells were far too close still. “Bit further.”
“What about up there?”
She spotted the same outcropping of rock he saw. “Worth a shot.” They changed direction and, blocking out the annoying sensation of arrows jutting out of her, they pressed onwards. The slope was steeper than it first appeared, but they managed to climb up, feet slipping and sliding on rocks and leaves before they reached the top. A line of dense brush sat on the top and, when they shoved it aside, there were a few feet and then a straight drop down nearly a hundred feet. Demons charged through the trees and they laid as flat as they could, both on their stomachs thanks to the arrows in their backs and shoulders. They slipped back into the bushes for more cover.
Calista held her breath, listening as they rambled by. It took what seemed like forever before the woods around them were finally quiet again. Arthur sat up and motioned they were alone. She tugged the arrows from him first and then he yanked the ones free from her.
“Damn it,” she cursed, checking her gear. The hits had damaged it enough to make her worry about facing another attack.
“We’re behind the lines now,” Arthur mumbled, resting his back against one of the trees, staring out over the ridge. “How the hell are we going to sneak past them?”
“I don’t know, but we have to get to that city.”
Calista watched her health go back up and sighed. “This is messed up. How is he here, outside of his dungeon? How does he have an entire army!”
“An army that seems solely focused on us, too. I’m not sure how this is going to go.”
“Think we’re going to lose people?”
“If they reach that city, they might be safe.”
Calista sent a message to Jimmy to see where he was, but after several minutes and no response, she feared the worst. She checked the roster and found everyone was still online and accounted for, at least for the moment.
“We can’t sit up here all day.” Arthur used his axe and pressed down as he climbed to his feet. He held his hand out for Calista and she let him pull her up. “Quiet and quick, that’s how we’re going to get out of this.”
“Or we’re going to be overrun the second we step down there.”
“There is that,” he agreed. “Ready?”
“No, but what choice do we have?”
As carefully as they could, they made their way down the steep slope and hit solid ground. They crouched low, waiting for an attack,
but no Demons rushed them from the shadows. Calista checked the map and pointed in the direction they needed to get moving. The mud was churned up from the stomping Demons plowing through the forest, but it made it easier to try and avoid where they were headed. They stuck to the trees the best they could, letting the shadows hide them as they crept along silently. She checked her milestone skill again as they went, but it was still grayed out.
Arthur’s hand clamped down on her shoulder and he dragged her behind a grove of trees.
“What?” she hissed, but he carefully pushed several branches out of the way and she gulped. She nearly walked right into a group of Demons. They were gathered close together, staring down at something in the dirt. Tracks. The mud made it far too easy for them to track the other players.
“Six of them went this way,” one of the Demons growled loudly. He sniffed the air and snarled. “They have the hostages.”
“Jimmy,” Calista murmured. “They’re chasing down Jimmy.”
Arthur’s lips moved and he shrugged. “There’s only eight. We might be able to take them.”
“Alone?”
He was about to answer when the trees parted and more Demons poured into the tiny clearing. They carried a struggling form between them and Calista gritted her teeth furiously. They threw Maverick down to the ground, back in human form, and kicked her hard. She gasped, trying to crawl away, but they blocked her in.
“Where are the others?” the Demon who spoke before demanded.
“Piss off,” Maverick snapped.
The Demon hit her again and Calista flinched; Maverick’s health was down to half. They had to get her out of there, but there were too many Demons to kill. They wouldn’t make it. The Demon asked again and Maverick refused to answer. He wrapped his hand around her neck and hoisted her off her feet. She clawed and kicked out, but it was no use. Calista couldn’t watch this. She wouldn’t watch it. Hands on her weapons, she exchanged a knowing look with Arthur who hefted his axe off his shoulder and, together, they burst through the trees, aiming for the Demon holding Maverick.
Calista bashed him in the head with her Blazing Fury and continued to hit him so Maverick could find her feet and take off for the trees. She yelled for Arthur to get clear, killed the Demon she had attacked, and raced after Maverick. Arthur was right behind them and they ran for their lives, again.
***
Jimmy cursed as he watched his power drop another chunk. He was going to be out soon. The hostages were behind him, cowering against the rocks they’d been corralled into. Sorgon and Floyd got separated, but Jimmy heard them yelling not too far away. He had to reach them, but the Demons pressed their attack.
Six came at him and he cast his Life Absorb, now an AOE thanks to his last Tier upgrade. It was enough to bolster his health, but drained his power. He swallowed down his last blue potion and gripped his staff, ready for some good old-fashioned hand to hand.
He wasn’t going to make it. There was no way he could fight them off.
Maverick had been beside him, but then she’d roared and when he looked again, she was gone. He’d wanted to turn back, but they had to get these hostages to safety, had to get to that damn city. The Demons came at him two at a time and he used his Instant Attack as well as his Swiping and Jabbing with his staff to beat them off, but they were dying too slowly.
A dwarven yell of fury reached his ears and Floyd suddenly barreled through the line to stand beside Jimmy.
“Sorgon, couldn’t find him,” Floyd gasped as he struggled to catch his breath.
“We’ll find him.”
“If we live you mean.”
The Demons glowered as they moved in closer, pressing their advantage. “Yeah, if we win.”
Jimmy held his staff firmly in his hands and braced for the coming attack that was most likely going to kill him.
***
Trajan stared out over the bay at Seaside, watching the waves crash in. He expected to see Calista here somewhere, but they had witnessed no sign of her or the others since splitting up yesterday. He wanted to think he did what was right, but all night long, he had tossed and turned. All the hours they had fought together, bled together in this game, and he had just turned his back on his friends.
“Trajan?”
“Hmm?” he replied to Nell as she stood beside him.
“We’re ready to head out if you are.”
“Right, we have quests to complete.” He glanced around the town again, tugging at his long beard. “That’s strange.”
“What is?”
“We’re meant to see Winston here, aren’t we? We’ll have quests to turn in to him, but I haven’t seen him. You?”
Nell turned completely around. “Nah, but he could be in the tavern or something. He’s probably being held somewhere safe by the order since Valen’s hunting for him next.”
Trajan’s mind prickled. He pulled up the map and looked for Winston’s place on it, showing them where to turn in one of the dailies about collecting Demon weapons. “We should be standing right on top of him,” he said as he walked towards the center of town. “See?”
“Maybe it’s a glitch of some kind,” Nell suggested.
“Yeah, maybe.” But every instinct he had said it wasn’t. “Well, we’ll go knock some more quests out and see if he’s back when we return here.”
He gathered up Derrick, Orion, and Mack, and the five made for the wooden gate that would take them out of Seaside. They’d gotten an early start this morning. Dennis had opened the lab for any players who wanted to play at any time, in case there were more wanting to aid the lead guild attempting to destroy Valen. Many guilds were dedicating their time to straight farming and crafting to supply Bishop’s Guard with whatever they needed. Trajan planned on doing the same. If he wasn’t going to stand by their sides and fight, then the least they could do was give them gold from questing. They had just reached the gate when a player came riding into town, yelling for them to stop.
“What’s wrong?” Trajan asked as the guy dismounted.
“There’s an entire army of Demons out there and a Demon Lord.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I’m not sure why he’s not in his dungeon, but he’s got an entire army just moving across the farmlands. It’s suicide to go out there right now.”
Trajan looked past the rider, blood pumping with a sudden rush of adrenaline. “Calista.”
“What are you thinking?” Mack asked.
“I’m thinking if a Demon Lord is marching an army across the territory, there’s only one reason for it.” Trajan cursed and wanted to kick himself for being an idiot. “We should never have left them on their own.”
Mack exchanged a look with the rest of their tiny group. “We going after them?”
Were they? Rushing headlong into a Demon army was almost asking for a death sentence, but the idea of hearing about Calista’s death, or any of the other players struck him like a punch to the gut. “Hell yes, we’re going after them. Got a problem with that?”
Mack smirked. “No, we sort of planned on bringing you back to them at some point.”
Trajan barked a laugh. “Course you did, sneaky bastards.”
“How are we going to find them?” Nell asked as they mounted on their horses and started out on the road headed south.
“Follow the advancing army. It’s the only way.”
He hoped they would get there in time. They had to. He urged his horse into a gallop and vowed to never doubt his faith in his friends or their quest ever again.
Chapter 9
Maverick collapsed to the ground, Calista and Arthur right behind her. “This is bull! Where’s the aggro range on them, huh? Why are they still chasing us?” She shook her head, cursing and letting out aggravated grunts, not that Calista could blame her.
The Demons were still behind them. They’d barely gotten far enough ahead so they could stop for a few minutes to get their bearings. After
rescuing Maverick, they hadn’t paid attention to which way they ran and took off in whatever direction looked good enough.
Calista pulled up her map and checked their location.
“You’re not going to like this.”
Arthur and Maverick looked over her shoulders, scooting so they were close enough to see. “Are they herding us into a trap?”
“I’m going to guess yeah, that’s exactly what they’re doing.”
“Bastards,” Maverick snarled. She shut her eyes and tried to focus but, no matter what she did, she couldn’t take her beast form. “I’m going to kill them all with my bare hands!”
“What did they do?” Calista asked, closing out the map.
“I don’t know, but I can’t shift and it’s pissing me off.”
Demonic growling sounded in the distance and Calista climbed to her feet. “We have to keep moving.”
“And do what? You saw that mountain ridge. They’re going to trap us if we can’t get around it.”
“Then I guess we try to get around it first,” she told Arthur. “Don’t give up, not yet.”
Maverick equipped her spear and lead the way back into the trees as the Demons moved in around them again. Calista spared a thought for the rest of the guild and hoped they were having better luck than her group was.
***
“Jimmy!”
Jimmy was thrown back into a tree, ducking just in time to avoid the Demon’s fist. He rolled beneath it and whacked the Demon on the head with his staff. He had run out of power three Demons ago and was down to Instant Attacks, using the random Life Absorb and blast of Holy Light when he had a chance. Floyd took the majority of the beating, but even he was having issues keeping the Demons from killing him.
“We have to keep moving south!” Jimmy watched the Demon die before two more replaced it. “Have to get to the city!”
They had lost the hostages. Jimmy had done his best to keep them safe, but there were just too many Demons. He didn’t have a thought to spare for them when he was too busy trying to keep himself alive. They hadn’t found any sign of Sorgon yet, or anyone else, and Jimmy feared the worst. Floyd fell to the ground, slashing and hacking away at the Demon making ready to finish him off. Jimmy was not going to watch Floyd die, not today.
The Final Chapter Page 11
