“Heal him up, Curafin,” I said, as Stitches was close to half health. He shook with glee as the spell flowed over him, restoring him to full.
“Many thanks!” he cried out, bending down to loot the body before him. But whatever he found clearly disappointed him. “Junk! No armor, no nothing!”
Drops were random in Call of Carrethen. There was no telling what you might lose when killed by another player, and obviously Stitches had been hoping for the player’s plate mail or something valuable, which was understandable.
“What’d he drop?” I asked.
“Junk!” Stitches replied with dismay, slumping back on down on the ground, his head hanging between his knees. I really felt bad for him, and couldn’t help but wonder who he was really.
A young boy maybe? Someone immature without a doubt, or maybe a bit “special.” Or had the Dark World just driven him mad somehow? The world itself was real enough, and it wasn’t too hard to believe that a player could lose their mind in here, even without going Sunken. But whatever the reason, I couldn’t help but feel bad for the guy.
“Stitches,” I said gently, kneeling down beside him. Slowly, he looked up at me, despair filling his overactive eyes. “You know these woods, yes?”
Stitches nodded. “Stitches knows.”
“Can you help us find the best way through?” I asked him. “We’re trying to reach the City of Jahannan.”
“The city?” he asked, his gaze retreating inward as though searching for a specific memory. “That’s where she was heading…”
“Who?” I asked.
“What!?” Stitches stammered. “A route through the Grove? Yes, yes, yes! Of course! Stitches will show you!”
Stitches rolled backwards like a gymnast, landing nimbly on his feet. He slipped his short sword away and spun around and raced off into the mist without waiting for any of us.
“Uh, let’s go I guess?” I said to my group as I raced after him.
36
The
Stitches sure seemed to know where he was going, and he was fast. He must have been dumping experience into Quickness and Run at an unprecedented rate, as he was almost 30 levels lower than me but I could barely keep up with him.
“Stitches will show you!” he howled back as we ran. The rest of my group was having a hard time keeping up with me. Sabotenda called out from the back.
“Wait up!” he shouted.
“Stitches, hold on!” I called out. “Slow down!”
Stitches glanced over his shoulders and saw us lagging behind, and instead of stopping, simply turned around and began running backwards, grinning like a schoolboy showing off.
But it worked. We quickly caught up to him and he turned around again and sped up. I heard something roar to our right and watched as we passed another Bellringer to our left, not even bothering to deal with him.
“Ratties!” Stitches cried out, drawing his short sword and leaping into the mist ahead of him with total abandon. I heard something squeal and die and drew my daggers as I caught up with him, finding him deep in a horde of Rabid Rats. He was in a frenzy, hacking and slashing with his chipped blade like an enraged monster, but the rats were falling one by one.
I skidded to a halt beside him and engaged Rush, increasing my attack speed, and unleashed on the swarm of disgusting rodents. Their flesh was red and matted with blood. Their snouts were long and covered with foaming saliva that dripped from their mangled teeth.
My blows dealt enough damage to take them out in a few strikes, and when the rest of my group joined in, the entire group went down in a few seconds. Patches of smoke and flame burst all around us as they went down, leaving piles of torn pelts on the ground where they fell.
“Stitches hates ratties,” Stitches grumbled, kicking the pelts beneath him. I wondered if the armor he was wearing was made from them.
“You’re fast, Stitches,” I told him.
“Stitches is quickest!” he rhymed, flourishing his sword before him.
“That blade’s looking a bit haggard,” Kodiak pointed out. He was right. It looked more like a low level starter weapon than anything that could possibly be any good. But then again, so did Stitches’ armor. It was hard to believe he’d survived this long in the Grove without decent gear.
“Looks can be deceiving.” Stitches grinned. Then, as though he’d been hit by a lightning bolt, he spun around and set off again. “Come, come!”
We took off after him again and raced on. I heard another Bellringer somewhere to our left but we passed him quickly. A swarm of Giant Wasps closed in on us, but we just kept running. Eventually, after a few attempted stings, they lost interest and flew away back into the mist.
“Stitches!” I shouted. “Where are we going!?”
“Almost there!” he called back. “Not far now!”
“Not far to what?” Sabotenda asked.
But Stitches didn’t answer. He just kept running and we kept chasing after him.
Finally, the mist began to thin slightly and we entered a small clearing. At the center was a stump from an enormous tree, big enough to build an entire house on. Stitches leapt onto it and perched there like a bird as we came over to him.
“Here we are!” he said with delight. “Stitches brought you!”
We all looked around, completely confused.
“Uh, here where?” I asked him.
“Come, come!” he replied, beckoning us closer. “Stitches will show you!”
I could just feel Kodiak’s eyes of disapproval on me as I walked forward and couldn’t help but feel as though I had become Jack and he had become the old me back in Carrethen that was skeptical of everybody. But Stitches didn’t seem like an enemy. He was weird, but he’d already helped us out once, and either way, we were making it through the Grove in good time.
I stepped up onto the trunk with him, feeling the split fibers crumple beneath my feet. I glanced around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. A few small mushrooms grew at the edge of the clearing and a pile of fallen branches lay on the ground a few feet away, and that was about it.
“What’s the deal, Stitches?” I shrugged. “You going to tell me there’s a portal around here or something?”
“Over there!” he hissed, pointing towards the opposite end of the grove. “Through the mists! Do you see it!?”
I stepped forward and peered out through the fog, trying to make out what it was that had Stitches’ attention, but all I saw were the shadows of more trees.
“What are you playing at, guy?” Kodiak snapped. “You just like wasting our time or something?”
“Wasting time!?” Stitches gasped as though the thought horrified him. “Stitches does not waste time! Stitches is fast!”
I kept looking for whatever it was that Stitches’ had brought us here for, but there really wasn’t anything. Maybe the poor guy had really just lost his marbles?
I made a move to turn around, but before I could, I felt a boot in my back.
The force was strong and sent me tumbling forward off the stump towards the ground.
“Jane!” Sabotenda cried out as I fell. I braced myself for impact, but it didn’t come. The pile of leaves beneath me collapsed as I hit them and revealed what lay beneath them—a trap.
Stitches had tricked us.
37
Dokkalfar
A disgusting, cavernous mouth lay beneath me—a pit, either dug by Stitches or just found by him, and at its bottom, rows and rows of spears like spiked teeth just waiting to grind me to bits.
This is going to hurt, I thought as I plummeted toward the row of lethal metal spearheads. Countless other bodies lay among them, twisted and bent in unnatural shapes. More of Stitches’ victims.
“You son of a bitch!” Curafin cried out from above. The sound of steel against steel as the fighting began. Curafin was casting a spell. As I fell, all I could think was, I hope this doesn’t kill me.
I hit hard, my body exploding with the pain of all those spears striking m
e. I gasped as my health plummeted below critical, leaving only a sliver remaining. I cried out and quickly used a charge from my Health Kit to restore me, but after my bar rose, it quickly began falling again. I noticed a debuff ticking down in the corner of my vision.
Enduring Wound—54 Damage Per Second for 5 seconds.
“Shit!” I cried out, managing to wriggle out of the spikes and onto a pile of bodies cramped and stacked against the wall of the pit. My foot slipped on a plate helm and sent me sprawling, right into another spear. It drove into my gut, dealing a ton of damage. Another tick of Enduring Wound chipped away even more and put me back to critical.
Rolling sideways, I used another charge from my Health Kit as the sounds of the battle above grew louder.
“Sab, behind you!” Kodiak shouted.
“Yes, yes!” Stitches cackled. “Stitches’ friends arrive!”
I looked up as a group of silhouettes leapt across the mouth of the pit. Players or monsters, I couldn’t tell, but they were humanoid and carrying clubs and spears.
“Kodiak!” I shouted.
“Jane!?” he roared back. “You’ve alive!?”
“I’m stuck down here!”
I looked around desperately for a way out—a hidden passage, a rope, a vine, a ladder. But there was nothing. I moved carefully around the pit, feeling the walls for a lever or secret button, but found nothing. I was trapped.
“We’ve got our hands full up here!” Curafin shouted, firing what sounded like a Frost Bolt spell.
“Sabotenda!” I cried out.
“Y—yeah!” he stammered as something hard struck his armor.
“Portal me out of here!”
“I can’t!” he shouted back. “There’s too many of them!”
“Too many of what!?” I bellowed, frantically searching for another way out. I tried to get a grip on the walls of the pit, but they were smooth dirt that crumbled beneath my fingers.
“Dokkalfar!” Kodiak yelled. “And your buddy Stitches!”
An ambush. Stitches had planned it from the beginning and had lured us to this spot in order to get me away from the rest of the group and set a horde of monsters on them. Once they were low, he’d finish them off and loot whatever came off their bodies.
I had to give it to him—it was clever. But respect didn’t have to come with mercy, and he had to be dealt with. But first, I had to save my friends.
“Sab! I need a portal!” I shouted. “Get me out of here!”
“I’m trying!” he snapped. I heard the sound of impact above me and looked up as a body came crashing down towards me. It was a Dokkalfar, wriggling and hissing as it twisted through the air, desperately trying to right itself. Its pale body slammed into the spears. Its health disappeared and so did it.
Then, a shadow appeared above, and I looked up to see Sabotenda aiming his halberd towards me. A dark portal appeared on the wall to my left, and without hesitation, I leapt into it.
My momentum spat me out of the exit portal on the ground above and I drew my daggers as I landed right in the thick of things. There was no time to get my bearings; I just activated Rush and started slashing out at the crowd of Dokkalfar attacking my friends.
There were countless of them, pale and elven, clad in green chainmail. I didn’t have time to inspect them, but by the way they were fighting, I’d guess they were at least in their 70s.
Kodiak was like a blur, cutting through them using his Shadowstep ability to get behind them and then moving before they had time to attack him. Sabotenda was creating space with his enormous halberd, and Curafin was doing his best to stay at the edge of the group and cast healing spells.
Two went down as I executed Blade Flurry and cut through the group with AoE damage. I raised my blades for another attack when something struck me hard in the back, tearing off a chunk of my health bar. I cried out in pain and whirled around, daggers up, just in time to block a frenzied slashing attack from Stitches.
Our blades rang out through the Grove. Stitches’ face was filled with rage as he raised up for another attack. But before he had a chance to swing, I kicked out hard, driving the heel of my foot into his stomach.
Stitches gasped and staggered backwards, still close to full health. I activated Eye Gouge and the stun went off, paralyzing him in place. Seizing the opportunity, I activated Eviscerate, spun and drove both of my daggers into his chest, then followed up with Mutilate to carve off almost all of his health. He was approaching critical, and another slash from my right blade got him there.
I didn’t hesitate, and lunged forward with a stabbing attack to finish the bastard off, but before I could, the stun expired and Stitches leapt back. My dagger swept harmlessly through the air.
“Nasty little girl!” Stitches cursed me, slipping a hand into his pocket. I couldn’t see what he was holding, but as I dashed in for another attack, he hurled whatever it was at the ground between us.
It exploded like a tiny bomb, showering both of us with a thick white smoke that hung in the air, completely obscuring my vision.
A smoke bomb!
I tried to fight through the distraction, but whatever he had used stung my eyes and forced me to fall back. Stitches’ demonic laugh rang out in the distance as he made his escape.
“Shit!” I shouted. “He got away!”
“Little help!?” Curafin shouted. I spun around to see three Dokkalfar ganging up on him. They had their backs turned to me, and I quickly swapped to my bow, nocked a frost arrow and fired.
The icy missile tore through the air and slammed into one of them as he raised a spiked mace to attack. The shot scored a critical hit and tore away all of the Dokkalfar’s health.
One-shotted.
One of the remaining two whirled around to face me, screeched and raced towards me. I fired another shot as he came, but he ducked at the last moment and the arrow buried itself harmlessly in a tree beside Curafin.
Switching to my daggers, I dodged out of the way as the Dokkalfar swung out with a short axe. The blow struck my right arm, not dealing much damage, but enough to cause me to drop one of my daggers.
The Dokkalfar cried out and a red aura washed quickly over him as he activated some kind of Rush ability of his own. Enraged, he whipped his axe like a whirlwind, slicing through the air, connecting with me over and over as I fought to fend off his blows with my only remaining weapon.
“Jane!” I heard Kodiak cry out. He rushed towards me, but the Dokkalfar used some kind of special attack and drove the blunt end of his axe directly into my forehead. A stun went off, freezing me in place, forcing me to watch helplessly as he hacked me with his axe, driving my health down below half.
My body screamed out in pain as I took his attacks like a cattle hung up for slaughter. Kodiak rushed up behind my attacker and slammed his dagger into his back, dealing good damage. The Dokkalfar spun around and whipped his axe at Kodiak’s head.
He ducked and my stun wore off. The dark elf had his back exposed, and I instantly activated Ambush. My blow found its mark and tore off at least a quarter of his health before he spun around to face me.
Behind him, Curafin whipped his flaming sword through the air. His bishop’s robe swung around him like he was the angel of death come to Carrethen. His fiery blade cut down the Dokkalfar before him and he stepped quickly through its death cloud to come to my aid.
I struck out at the enraged elf, chipping away more of his health. Sabotenda cried out victoriously as he vanquished another attacker. But something was different about the one attacking me. He was tougher, unique, like a boss or an elite. His health pool was bigger. Any of the other Dokkalfar would have been dead by now.
Kodiak hit him again and Curafin stabbed out with his hot steel, but as more of the Dokkalfar’s health fell, he used another ability—one we hadn’t seen yet.
38
The Legionnaire
A shockwave ripped out from his body, knocking us all off our feet. My health fell significantly, but Kodiak and Cur
afin were well below half. I looked up as the Dokkalfar opened its mouth and let out a sickening roar. Its body shook, rippled and expanded, growing to at least twice its size. Its muscles grew taut with a new strength, and I used the moment to inspect him.
Dokkalfar Legionnaire—Level 108 Elite.
That was high for everyone else, and even I was having a hard time with him. More than likely it was my underpowered gear, but he was also an elite, meaning he was a lot tougher than another Dokkalfar at his level.
As he raised his axe, it grew and expanded into a massive two-hander, which he brought down towards me like an executioner. I barely managed to roll out of the way before the axe slammed into the ground, carving a deep hole in the earth.
“Sab!” I shouted. “Help!”
I glanced over to see Sabotenda fending off two Dokkalfar on his own, their blows dealing low damage against his massive plate suit. He drove his halberd home, killing one of them, and as I looked up again, the Legionnaire was coming at me again.
A healing spell hit me as I hurled myself out of the way, dodging and rolling to my fallen dagger. I snatched it up and watched my health bar rise to almost 75%. I wasn’t low, but then again, there was no way to predict how much that elite’s axe would do when it hit me, especially when I was wearing low level studded leather armor.
“He’s an elite!” Curafin cried out, slashing the Legionnaire’s back with his flaming sword. The blow scored a critical hit, but the damage was negligible. In fact, the Dokkalfar didn’t even bother turning around. It was focused on me.
The last of the regular Dokkalfar died behind me at the end of Sabotenda’s halberd, and I leapt to my feet and raised both of my daggers over my head to block the Legionnaire’s axe as he brought it down towards my head.
I managed to block the blow, but just barely. His strength was terrifying, and drove my own blades back into my shoulders and collar bone. I cried out in pain as Sabotenda drove his halberd into the Dokkalfar’s side.
Lord of the Flame: A LitRPG novel (Call of Carrethen Book 2) Page 17
