by Matt Moss
Fance grumbles, and I know the others don’t like it either, but they do as commanded.
The party reins their mounts to a stop.
“Well, I’ll be damned. We meet again,” Gage says.
“Good to see you too, Bloodhound,” I tell Gage. He spits on the ground and settles into the saddle of his horse.
My eyes go to Deana’s. Hers are locked onto mine. “And how are you, Deana?”
“I’m well. And you?” she says nonchalantly, as though she didn’t even steal the Sanctum Stone and betray my trust.
I bob my head around. “You know... getting by the best I can. You guys found the ninth one yet?”
Deana shakes her head and she can’t help but grin. “No. Have you?”
I grin back. “Nope.”
It’s a lie. I know exactly where it’s at, and we’re only a thirty-minute ride away.
But knowing Deana like I do, and judging by the way she’s looking at me now, she knows that I already know the location. She remembers our hunts together and how skilled I am at finding treasure. I’m wagering that she doesn’t know the location; that’s why she’s here. She wants to piggyback off of me.
“You don’t have any Cartographers in your guilds? Surely between the King’s Blood and the Soldiers of Justice, you have a good treasure hunter.”
Deana frowns. “Sadly, none that possess enough skill. Go figure.”
“That’s because most are unwilling to go that extra mile to obtain Grandmaster in Cartography. Ninety-nine percent of maps can be unlocked with the skill of Master.”
“But there’s always that one percent that can hang everything up, isn’t there?” Deana quips.
I look down the road.
“Pity the PvP has been turned off,” Gage says, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. A few chuckles and sneers come from the men around him.
I look at the five hundred or so members that make up their party, then give him a grin. “Yes, pity.”
I could mop the floor with all of them, single-handedly.
“You all heading west?” I ask Deana, baiting her for a tell.
She looks down the road, then back to me. “We were.”
I give a slow nod.
Just as I thought; they don’t know of the location. They’re going to use you to lead them to it.
What can I do about it? We can’t kill each other, so might as well get on with it.
No. Delay. Lose them or something. Do not lead them to the ninth.
There’s no time. The blood moon rises in less than thirty-six hours. If we find the ninth one together, so be it.
“Where are you heading?” Deana asks.
I meet her eye, then give her a wink.
Turn to the Saviors and wave my hand, giving them the command to follow my lead. They ride in-line behind me, and do as they were told by holding their tongues as they go past the enemy.
Leading the way, all to myself, I look back to steal a glance.
A line of Saviors follow me.
And an even larger line of the Soldiers and the King’s Blood follow the Saviors.
We travel through a silent forest, thick with pines.
Meric rides up next to me. “How much further?”
I speak while staring ahead. “There’s a mountain up ahead. Our destination lies on the other side.”
“Is there any way we can lose them?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. Hard to shake a party of their size. How much time do you and the others have left before you’re forced to log off?”
“Less than two hours.”
That’s not good.
“Okay. Let’s pick up the pace and hope that our tag-alongs get logged out before you all do.”
I kick the horse into a trot, then into a run.
Meric waves at the Saviors to do the same, and they quickly follow suit behind me.
Cutting through the pines, I glance back and see that Deana and the guilds are quick on our heels.
It’s not my intention to lose them. Just to find the location of the rabbit before everyone who’s with me is forced offline.
Leaving the forest far behind, my horse races over the small mountain pass along the edge of a cliff. And I don’t look back, afraid that if I do, I’ll steer the mount right off the mountainside to our deaths below.
Winding our way around the narrow trail, our destination comes into view. Far in the distance, nestled among three mountains, and in the middle of a valley, is a golden temple—the location of the ninth. I kick the horse to a run and, now on the descent, it picks up speed and I can feel the thrill of another treasure hunt.
I ride, keeping my eyes fixed upon the temple as it grows in size the closer I get. Turn back for a glance and find the others filling the valley behind me.
After cutting through the valley, I jump from my horse and wait on the others at the base of the temple steps.
Meric is the first to meet me and he gazes at the temple in wonder. “Incredible. Have you ever seen anything like this before?”
“Like this, no. But I’ve been in the likes, and know what’s in store.”
“That’s good to know,” he replies, his tone not so eager to find out.
I see both friends and foes closing in.
Everyone else reins up to a stop before they reach me, but not Deana. She rides up beside me on the steps, comfortable in the saddle, and gives me that look—the excited one that sits so comfortably on her face when we’re either on the brink of adventure or the edge of danger.
Deana brushes her bangs to the side. “Lead the way, Commander.”
I extend a hand towards the temple. “Ladies first.”
She gives me a playful grin. “How about we go together. I mean, there’s no need to be uncivil about this whole thing, especially since we’re all here together.” She takes her crossbow in her hands. “And it’s not like we can kill each other, now can we?”
“You kill me, Deana.”
She laughs. “Let’s go, Ace. One last time.”
One last time.
Inside the entrance of the temple, there are only two ways to go—two corridors next to each other, lit by torches on the interiors of the walls.
“I say we split up. Which one do you want?”
“We’re following you,” Deana says.
“Come on. Quit acting like a child that needs to be led by the hand and lead your own people.”
She puts both hands on her hips. “Are you challenging me to a race?”
I grin. “I wouldn't consider it much of a challenge, but, sure.”
She narrows her eyes at me and shakes her head. “You’re still impossible, I see. Do me a favor, Ace. Don’t ever change.” She shoulders her crossbow and enters the tunnel on the right.
Gage follows her lead, glaring at me as he passes by, then turns back and whistles at the others in his party, waving an arm signaling for them to follow.
After the guilds go through, I speak to the prominent members of the Saviors. “Let’s go. Keep it tight, and obey my commands at all times. If something looks suspicious or out of place, don’t touch it. This place will be full of traps.”
I take note of the stone walls and the ivy that climbs them, the moss on the floor and the damp, cold air that comes from somewhere deeper in the temple.
It reminds me of the last treasure hunt Deana and I were on—the tomb of the Draugr.
Making my way into the corridor on the left, I’m glad to see orange and red light from the glow of a normal fire.
As long as we don’t see green flames, we’ll be okay.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this place,” Seric says, only a few steps behind me. “Like we’re not supposed to be here. This place is cursed.”
“Nonsense, woman. There’s no such thing as curses,” Fance grumbles.
I hear Meric console his sister, telling her it’ll be okay.
Curses are real. So are the tales and the monsters you were told abou
t as a child. As real as the gods themselves…
Only in Alterlife.
One in the same.
Making our way through the corridor, we enter another chamber that leads straight into a tunnel, and I feel as though our time here is not going to be that bad. So far, there aren’t any signs of trouble.
I turn around to speak, walking backwards while doing so. “Everything is going to be fine, Seric. As long as we don’t see green flames, we’ll be alright.”
Seric’s eyes widen and she points behind me. “Like that green flame?”
I turn around slowly and the light fills my eyes.
In front of us, all along the walls of the tunnel, the orange flames crackle, sputter out, then ignite with green flames.
Behind us, all the torches sputter and spark, changing to green as well.
A rumble from deep within the temple shakes the ground.
Shit.
“Let’s move,” I tell the group, worried that a flood of undead are soon going to be hot on our location.
Our walk turns into a run as we all travel two-by-two along the narrow tunnel. The green flames burn brighter as we go, and I can see that the tunnel opens up into a large chamber ahead. Sounds of battle suddenly come from the chamber.
“Prepare yourselves,” I call back.
Reaching the end of the tunnel, the large chamber is filled with Draugr. Members of Deana’s party fight the undead that continues to press against them, even though they dispatch the Draugr at a rapid rate.
A Draugr Knight turns as I step into the room, and locks onto me. Thal’s Sword of Eternity cleaves it in two.
Without pause, I enter the fray.
Light flashes and fills the chamber with splendid colors—spells cast from both the Draugr Magi and the Mages from the guilds.
Without abandon, I press my way into the middle of the room using Whirlwind—a basic but effective Barbarian skill. Spinning like a tornado and dual wielding Thal’s swords, I carve a path and clear the space around me. Spells deal damage to me from the Draugr Magi, but with the PvP turned off, the attacks from the guild Mages do not.
It wouldn’t matter much if they did. My resistance is so high due to the training in Thannadas that I could take a Fireball from a hundred Grandmaster Mages without losing much health.
The Saviors follow my lead and unleash hell upon the undead.
And still, the Draugr scurry and come at us from ten separate tunnels that enter the room.
To my side, I see Deana unleashing bolts from her crossbow with rapid fire.
Gage is close to me, dispatching the monsters with relative ease, but I can see that he’s losing health fast.
I put my sword away and tend to him.
“Why are you healing me?” he yells out, fully engaged.
“You’re losing hit points. Why not?” I reply.
Through the fighting, he glances at me. “You’ve got ten of those bastards attacking you right now. Are you crazy?”
I smile in reply. “I’ll be fine.”
As I raise his health, he raises his eyes in surprise. “How are you not taking much damage?”
“I’m stronger than I used to be, Gage.” When his health is full, I equip both swords and get back to work. Through the vanquishing, I happen to notice my guildmates—Meric, Seric, Fance, and Squirt—all showing exceptional skills against a foe that’s sure to be the most challenging that they’ve met yet. It’s not that one Draugr is of concern; it’s when they come in droves that it becomes worrisome. Something I’m sure they’ve never encountered before on Thannadas.
When the last Draugr falls and the chamber fills with silence, everybody heals up.
“Nice work, everyone,” Deana says to her people and to mine. “Let’s keep moving. Draugrs never stop coming and seem to have an endless supply, so let’s get what we came here for, and then get out as quickly as possible.”
She stands next to me. “Which way?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, Deana. Got a rock in your pocket we can toss?”
She grins and shakes her head. Points to the widest tunnel—which has torches on the wall, burning orange and red. “Maybe there’s no Draugr that way.”
I cock my head and look at all the other tunnels with torches burning flames of green. “Looks safe to me.”
Looks like a trap.
Either way, we don’t have time to waste. Whatever we stumble upon, we’ll triumph over. No worries.
Deana and Gage are the first through, followed closely by the Dragoon twins.
Fance steps next to me and clears his throat.
I turn my attention to him.
“Nice to see we’re all friends now. Maybe later, we’ll all go on a picnic,” he says, spits on the ground, then runs off into the tunnel carrying his large, double-sided axe.
I turn to the Saviors. “Nice work, everyone. Stay sharp.”
“We’re with you, Ace,” Squirt tells me.
I give him a nod then sprint into the tunnel.
We run for the next five minutes as the tunnel descends deeper into the ground. Parts of it are pitch-black from where the torches are spread too far apart; there are also twists and turns that cut off the light.
The tunnel finally comes to an end as it opens up into a massive cave—at least five hundred yards long, and even wider than that. Standing on a ledge at the edge of the cave, everyone groups up, daring to go no further until we have the full might of both guilds.
I gaze in awe at something I’ve never seen the likes of before. The ground, cavernous in nature, has patches of plant life that glow fluorescent hues of green and blue—providing a small amount of light inside the cave. Small specs of green and blue light float through the air, lighting the entire place in a subtle, effervescent glow. Buildings and temples are scattered about, appearing as though they’ve been there for a millennium or longer.
And on the cavern floor, there’s more Draugr than anyone can count.
“How many are there?” Meric asks.
“Ten thousand,” Fance and Gage reply at the same time. They give each other a look of annoyance—one that only two of the best Rangers in the game could give one another. Fance turns to Meric. “Give or take.”
“What are those things floating in the air?” Seric asks, pointing to the glowing, cocoon-like plants with tentacles that reach to the ground.
“I don’t know,” Deana replies. “I’ve never seen those before.” A second later, one of the floating cocoons flexes and spits a Draugr Knight out.
“Did you see that?” Seric asks, pointing.
“Look. Those things are spitting out Draugr all around the cave,” Meric notes.
“And at a fast rate, too. They birth one every thirty seconds or so,” Gage says, leaning on his knee.
Deana takes a step forward and uses Eagle Eye. “That’s not what concerns me the most,” she says.
“How does an endless supply of undead not concern you the most?” Fance asks.
Deana points to the back of the cave. “I’m surprised you didn’t see them, Fance.”
Fance uses the skill again, blinks, then rubs his chin. “Two Draugr Dragons. Aye, I missed those the first time. They concern you?”
Deana takes her Crossbow of Vanquishing in both hands and checks that it’s set to rapid-fire. Equips the weapon with Fire Bolts. “Worried about me and mine? Nah. More so worried about you and yours.”
“Sure you are,” Fance scoffs.
Behind the line of leaders, everyone grows anxious; some afraid, some eager to get on with it.
“What’s the plan, then?” Meric asks.
Gage speaks up. “Sweep the cave and keep our lines tight. Your group goes left, ours goes right. Rain down hell on ‘em with range from the back while melee holds the line in the front. Leave no trace of the undead behind.”
“And take those cocoons, or whatever they are, out quick,” Seric says. “That’ll stop the flow of Draugr.”
“We need to watc
h our backs, too. These things are known to come from behind,” Deana adds.
I equip both of Thal’s swords and look to Deana. “Alright. Shall we?”
She smirks, shoulders her weapon, and is the first off the hill and onto the floor below.
Meric and Gage begin barking orders to everyone behind us, making sure they all know the plan.
Squirt runs up next to me and voices concern. “Ace. Are we going to make it through this?”
I pat him on the head. “Sure we are, kid. Just stay behind me and you’ll be fine.”
I speak to the Soldiers. “Remember your training. Healers, assist those in need and scan the battlefield often. Mages, cast supporting auras and then, by all means, unleash hell.” They all give a war cry, and I nod proudly. “You all know what to do. Let’s get that damn rabbit.”
I run down the hill and hear Squirt call out from behind. “What about the Dragons?”
They’ve never faced Dragons before, let alone this many undead.
Jump in the deep end. It’s time to learn how to swim.
To my right, the other guilds are already engaged, and the cave flashes with light from the attacks. Spells and arrows from five hundred players fly like gunfire from a couple of miniguns and rip through all of the Draugr who don’t yet know we’re here.
Suddenly, the entire cave comes to life and begins to move towards us.
They know we’re here now.
I look to the right at my spirit bar and can feel the thrill of battle, anxious to put my newfound strength and skills to the test.
Put me in this alone. I’ll take them all on by myself.
I take off running at full speed, my eyes scanning the cave and everything that moves. Hundreds of Draugr Knights charge at meet me, while hundreds of Magi and Archers lock target onto me and unleash their attacks. They target me because I’m the first one to meet them, and am far ahead of the others in my guild.
Just the way I want it.
I fully engage the horde.
Dozens of Draugr immediately fall by my hand before they can even hit me.
Both swords swing with fluid motion, and I keep myself composed so I don’t use up too much stamina. I take an onslaught of ranged attacks that mess with my vision, but my health isn’t dropping enough to concern me. As a matter of fact, I’m surprised at how much damage I’m able to handle.
