Last Horizon: Beta

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “I got it,” Amythyst said and got them to back up as she cast Fireball, which turned the ice wall into a steam cloud.

  They waited for the steam to dissipate then stepped into the instance. They found themselves in a large tunnel, with stalagmites and stalactites all over. Some of the walls even had similar rocky outcroppings extending from the sides. As they finished zoning in their UI prompted them with a notification.

  You have entered the Cave of Death.

  This is a Legendary Instance.

  A few moments after entering they were all stunned by a bestial roar of rage and frustration. When the stunned debuff wore off they started slowly moving forward. As they rounded a large stalagmite they were able to see the tunnel opening into a large cavern. The group stopped and watched the entrance for a few minutes and could hear something massive moving around in the cave, tossing debris around.

  “Well, fuck us,” Dumadin muttered, “that message means this is an end game raid instance. This is designed for a big party of like thirty plus. It is fucking asinine that we have a quest for this place.”

  “We made it all the way here, though the ice and snow I might add,” Terets said with a frown. “We only have to get the journal, not kill whatever is in that room. So instead of thinking like normal, we need to think of recovery only.”

  Kittish nodded, “Yeah. We’re probably going to wipe a few times. If we all die, let’s brainstorm some ideas for when we can log back in, then we can discuss them and see which one to try the next time.”

  Amythyst slowly nodded with her eyes narrowed, “What if we split the group and go in all at once? Two left and two right. Hopefully that will give us a few moments to look around before we die. If any of us can note where Bettie’s body is, then we at least then can make plans with a solid direction in mind.”

  Dumadin felt a smile start to steal over his face, “Yes. I think we can do better though. My necklace is good for three solid blocks a day. So I go through first and have it ready to stop the first attack. That will guarantee that we will have at least a few seconds to look around. In fact, Kittish has Shock which should stun the thing for a second. So, I think I go in take the first strike, Terets runs in and dodges to the left. Kittish opens up Shock on it, and you go in and to the right, Amythyst. At least one of us should be able to get a good look around. Once we die, we can discuss what we have seen and formulate a real plan.”

  They nodded and once they were ready Dumadin rushed the entrance. As soon as he stepped over the threshold a massive arm came from his right and hit him square. His necklace took the damage but he was picked up and thrown across the room from the entrance. A split second after he entered, Terets ran through was just missed by the same claw and ducked left. Kittish cursed as the beast hadn’t been in view and she couldn’t cast on it. Amythyst, seeing where the beast had attacked from did not enter to the right as had been planned. Kittish and Amythyst took a few steps closer but didn’t enter the room behind the others.

  Dumadin was aware of the rushing wind and he flew through the chamber, and tried to angle himself for the landing. He was not successful as he slammed into the ground and went tumbling across a massive pile of bones. As he tried to orientate himself, a massive body came running at him. Dumadin stood and faced the Beast and his eyes widened in shock as the creature slapped him with a massive claw, killing him instantly.

  Terets had activated stealth before the fight, even knowing it would be useless, hoping that it would buy him another second or two. As the massive creature ran after Dumadin he blinked at the sight of it. It distracted him long enough for the creature to kill Dumadin, which made him remember why he’d come into the room. He quickly scanned the cave, illuminated by the luminescent moss growing from many of the stalactites hanging from the ceiling. He noted from the corner of his eye the Beast turn toward him and jump. Cursing, Terets dove forward to try and clear the impact zone. He made it, but the massive creature’s landing flung him away towards the back of the cave where he landed. As he got to his feet, he noted Dumadin getting up as the elixir brought him back his one time for the day.

  Standing, Dumadin noted the ladies who stood just outside of the cave mouth looking inside trying to spot Bettie’s body. “Don’t come in, and if it comes, run,” he shouted as he and Terets started moving away from each other and the Beast.

  The ladies had edged forward to the entrance, and blinked as the Beast landed where Terets had been just a second before. It turned away from them, but there was no mistaking what the Beast was. Amythyst’s stunned voice asked anyway, “What is a giant Yeti doing here? They are supposed to be found near the Himalayas.”

  Kittish shook her head as she didn’t have an answer for it. Dumadin’s shout reminded them what they were looking for. “Find the body, she should be up on a wall. At least they gave the cave some lighting even if it does suck.” She started scanning the left of the cavern as Amythyst took the right. At that moment the Yeti threw its head back and roared again. They were all stunned and stood still with the five second debuff, which was enough time for it to jump onto Terets, pulping him under its landing and slap Dumadin into the far wall, were his lifeless body slipped down.

  The Beast then turned its head towards the ladies and walked towards them with a rumbling growl. The debuff wore off and they started backing up, having the feeling that if they turned they would die before making it even two feet. As it slowly walked towards them with an evil gleam to its eyes, it didn’t notice Terets stand back up. Terets realized he had a few seconds while the Yeti went after the ladies and turned away from the entrance to look across the back wall. About twenty feet up, impaled on an angled stalagmite was the skeleton clutching a book. He ran for it, the bones crunching under his feet.

  “Terets,” screamed Amythyst as the Beast reacted instantly to the sound of feet behind it. The Beast whirled and slapped at Terets as he jumped for the rock. Just as his hands hit the rock, the hand of the Beast slapped him away, flinging him into the wall next to where Dumadin had died, killing him as well.

  Kittish grabbed Amythyst and they ran for the entrance, the Beast was not close enough to stop them. They heard its cry of rage as it slammed into the tunnel behind them, with stalagmites and stalactites breaking and falling to the ground. They hit the portal and found themselves outside in the cold, shivering and shaking.

  “Gods, a fricking Yeti!? What the hell, that is so wrong,” Amythyst muttered.

  Kittish nodded, “The guys will be out for the next thirty minutes, but Terets did spot where Bettie was. God damn, he almost made it too, so freaking close.” Shaking her head she frowned, “Let’s log and come back in twenty, I need a smoke.” Amythyst agreed and they left.

  The ladies logged back in after their break and stepped back into the portal and looked around. The tunnel from the cave to the portal was wrecked, with the stalagmites and stalactites broken and scattered everywhere. They stayed quiet and waited, a minute later the guys appeared and they stepped back out of the portal. Terets started shivering slightly as the blizzard was starting up again.

  “Remind me to point out to your sister that this monster is in the wrong part of the world,” Dumadin muttered and rubbed his head. “Okay, Kittish said you found where she is during the break, Terets.”

  “Yeah, and it’s going to be a bitch to get to. It’s right at the back, twenty feet up on a stalagmite which is angled out. My agility in game will let me make the jump and grab with a running start. So, if you can keep it off me for, say, twenty seconds I can probably make it. Can we buy twenty seconds?”

  Dumadin stroked his head as he thought, “Maybe, but it is going to cost all of us. I’m going to bet that with the increased AI the beast is going to be right near the entrance again. However, I’m going to gamble our attempt on it being on the other side. My hunch says that whoever programmed this fight is a sick fuck, so it will attempt to mix things up. Okay. Here’s the plan, we only get this chance otherwise we’ll have to try
again tomorrow.”

  After he detailed his plan they entered the portal and tried to get into position without making too much noise. Dumadin raised his hand and then brought it down in a slash and ran forward. As he crossed the threshold, again a claw came out and slapped him away. Except, this time he had put on the Breastplate of Stability which meant he didn’t get flung away and his necklace ate the damage. The Beast blinked and seemed to be at a loss for a moment. That was all the time needed for the other three to run in and scatter to the right. The Beast let out its roar causing the stun debuff. Amythyst cast her Freedom spell on Dumadin and, having switched necklace and ring with Kittish, immediately used it again on Terets and Kittish. Dumadin saw the beast gather itself for a leap and Anger Howled, as Kittish began to cast Shock.

  Terets, once freed, raced single-mindedly toward the journal. He heard the Shock spell go off and Kittish cursing, guess either it had resistances or the level difference was just too high. He jumped and his fingers gripped the edge of the stalagmite. Straining, he began to pull himself up and glanced at his friends.

  Kittish’s Shock just glanced off the Beast and she cursed as the level difference between them was too high. “I can’t stun it,” she shouted and began to run for the back of the room along with Amythyst.

  Dumadin nodded at her shout as the beast tried to pulp him, and the last charge from his necklace blocked the damage again. He cast Ice Pulse and cursed as his spell also couldn’t hold it in place. He glanced up in time to see the toothy smile as the beast brought a foot down on him, smashing him into paste. Kittish screamed and tried to hit it with Poison Cloud, which was also resisted. Amythyst, who was standing away from her cast Fireball and blinked as the Beast roared in pain and the smell of singed fur filled the cave. “Suck it, Snowman,” she taunted, sadly it looked at her and leapt. She didn’t have a chance as it landed, crushing her and killing her. It roared again, stunning Kittish and Terets and lunged at Kittish and crushed her in its hand.

  Snarling it looked at Terets who was still stunned and it started walking towards him, growling. Suddenly Terets was free, as Amythyst had come back to life from her elixir and cast Freedom on him. He snatched the journal and was trying to place it in his bag when it slapped him and sent him flying across the room. As he died the journal slipped from his hands, luckily right onto Kittish’s lap as she was sitting up as her elixir brought her back to life.

  Kittish thrust the journal into her bag and stood to run, only to be crushed as the Beast landed on her. Amythyst didn’t even try to stand just lay there looking at it as it walked towards her. She started laughing and flipped it the bird, “Fuck off Yeti, we got what we wanted.” It gently picked her up and examined her, sniffing her and holding her in front of its eyes. “We’ll be back one day to repay you Beast, and on that day we’ll have a party with all the surrounding villages.” It growled and she found herself logged out as it killed her.

  ALL JOURNALS COLLECTED

  When they logged back in after the thirty minute timer, they laughed and hugged each other after stepping out of the instance. “I hope you all kill that fucker one day,” Dumadin muttered as they opened their maps to fast travel to Thallien’s. They agreed to try again after live kicked over and they leveled enough and got thirty people together.

  The group appeared at the foot of the path and slipped through the gap to start the climb. “You know, I’ve been thinking about the event that starts next month and I think we have a chance at a few different things, maybe.” Dumadin spoke as they climbed, “Once they post the events the week before the Beta Carnival kicks off, we should look it over and try to get into as many of the events as we can that we have a chance at.”

  Terets nodded, “Yeah, it should be a blast if nothing else. I look forward to the events list and the rewards list, I’m sure some of them will have rewards going down to third place.”

  Amythyst giggled, “Boys, they are always so competitive.” Kittish laughed with her in agreement as the guys shook their heads.

  “Fame, glory, all that sort of thing,” Dumadin laughed and hugged Kittish as they climbed. “Besides Felton and Emelia will be back the week before the Carnival. So I know he’ll be trying to win the smithing competition. I wonder what path he’ll take under weapon smith, that could really dictate what weapons we end up using.”

  They lapsed into silence as they finished the climb and entered the canyon. Snow covered the ground in drifts and the lake was thickly iced over, though the fish could still be seen swimming under the ice. They were not greeted when they got near the lake as they normally were, so they entered the cave and looked around. Thallien was hunched over his table writing furiously, muttering to himself as he wrote.

  “Thallien, we have your journal,” Kittish spoke as they all watched him.

  Thallien’s head snapped up and he blinked at them for a moment as if he didn’t know who they were. “Oh, my friends have returned with my last journal. They came back from the Cave of Death with it.” He went to stand but gasped in pain and sat back down heavily. “Please, excuse me. I seem to be having issues of late. Will you bring it to me?”

  Kittish placed the journal on the table in front of him and stepped back. Thallien sat there looking at the journal. The front cover was coated in dried blood. He touched it gingerly as tears formed in his eyes and began to fall. “Oh Bettie, my sweet Bettie, I am so sorry...” At that he broke and deep wracking sobs took him. He seemed to fold in on himself and slipped to the floor. Dumadin rushed forward and caught him before he hit and picked him up. Carrying him to the bed, Dumadin laid him down and stepped back. Thallien clutched the journal to his chest and sobbed himself to sleep.

  Quest Completed: Find Thallien's journals, part five.

  Receive: One million experience.

  Speak with Thallien in one week to receive the Word of Thallien.

  The experience was enough to raise them each two levels, up to twenty two. They looked at each other and stepped outside into the canyon.

  “Should we leave him and go see Bjorn, or should we stay until he wakes up?” Dumadin asked his friends.

  “He’s in a very fragile state at the moment, it might be best if we stayed with him for a day.” Kittish opined as she looked back towards the cave.

  Terets shrugged, “He might also want to be alone in his grief, some people are like that.”

  Amythyst nodded, “True, but we can stay until he wakes and then find out from him.”

  They went back inside and settled down to craft a little and wait. Thallien stayed asleep, with the journal clutched to his chest like a talisman. Eventually they had to log out for the evening and after making sure there was food and drink on the table for when Thallien woke, they logged out.

  When they logged back in the next morning they found Thallien sitting at the table writing, with the journal laid out before him and a look of grim determination on his face. “Welcome back my friends. I am working on my word as fast as I can. Please come back in a week. I should be done by then and will be glad to speak with you.”

  Kittish placed a hand on his shoulder, “Are you sure you don't want company while you work?”

  Thallien put the pen aside and turned to face her, “I am touched that you want to help me, but I will finish faster alone. I must get this done as quickly as I can, but thank you for the offer.” He patted her hand and turned back to the table, picking the pen back up.

  Dumadin nodded, “Then we’ll be back in one week, Thallien. We’re happy that we’ve been able to help bring you some closure on this old issue.”

  Thallien's hand trembled slightly as he went to ink the tip of the pen, but he took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, it means the world to me. More than you know. One day I hope to be able to express just how much you have done for me.”

  The group gathered their stuff and stepped outside where it began to snow. “Off to Stoutbank then to tell Bjorn?” Terets inquired as he shivered slightly at the sight of more snow.<
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  Using their rings, they fast traveled to the square of Stoutbank and were greeted by Dado the guard.

  Dado grinned at them, “Welcome back heroes. How are you tonight?”

  “We’re doing fine Dado, we’re going to stop in at the Lonely Wood Inn. Has everything been okay here in town?” Amythyst asked as they started walking towards the Inn with Dado accompanying them.

  “Yes, everything has been fine. Alvira was a little upset the other day but seems okay now. Seems she thinks someone is watching her and she was nervous that something might not be right. This morning though, she seemed calm and fine and was back to her usual self.” Dado stopped at the door to the Inn as he finished.

  Dumadin frowned and paused as the others went inside and then leaned over to Dado. “Keep an eye on her shop for me, please. I have a bad feeling about that news, also a woman’s intuition should never be dismissed.” Dado saluted and walked off towards the leather shop with a grim countenance.