Last Horizon: Beta

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Appearing on the sand of the arena, the duo bowed to the stands as they were introduced and then again to the opponents when they appeared. Their opponents didn't bow to them but turned and saluted Paval and ignored them. Shrugging Dumadin muttered to Kittish, “They are part of the group we fight later along with the two Terets and Amythyst just dealt with. They are both fighters and have Anger Howl as well as Crushing Leap and Charge. So mirror up then Chain them, we need to get them DoTed up and once they have used the gap closers we need to create space.”

  The clock ticked down and Kittish got Healing Pulse up on both of them as the clock ticked to five seconds. As the match started they both used Mirror to create copies of themselves and stepped five feet away from each other. The duo Crushing Leaped at them and both mirror images disappeared. Dumadin breathed a sigh of relief. Chain Lightning hit them, stunning them as Dumadin stepped in and hit both with Seeping Wound. One of them used Anger Howl to make them focus on him as Dumadin Anger Howled to make them both focus on him.

  Kittish got Poison Cloud onto them and then side stepped behind Dumadin and recast Healing Pulse on him as the duo were attacking him with fervor. “Burn the one I’m on,” Dumadin yelled as he tried to focus his target down. Kittish cast shock on him as the other opponent then Anger Howled making them switch off to him.

  Dumadin began attacking the new target leaving the other one just under 75% as his health dipped under 50% from the two on one attacks. “Don't run or they’ll use charge,” he yelled to Kittish, while debating if he should use his necklace to block an attack, but then he wouldn't have it for the group fight.

  Kittish reapplied Poison Cloud, then used Chain Lightning again to stun them, giving Dumadin a second to let healing Pulse tick for more life. Dumadin's life began to drop under 25% while the two opponents were at 30% and 65% respectively. Dumadin got Seeping Wound reapplied to them both as the taunt fell off. They duo again used Anger Howl, making Dumadin switch to the high health enemy. Kittish nodded and took off at a run away from the two of them. Dumadin yelled at her not to, but she ignored him as the two enemies Charged her taking over 30% of her life off and began attacking her.

  Her life started dropping rapidly as Dumadin ran up behind them and Anger Howled, making them turn back to him when Kittish hit 25% health. Dumadin had gotten up to 35% health from Healing Pulse during that time. Kittish reapplied Poison Cloud again as they turned back to Dumadin. She then got healing Pulse back up on both of them as Dumadin hit both again with Seeping Wound.

  Dumadin noticed when his life hit 5% and shook his head, “Now run. They’ve used their charges and leaps.” Kittish nodded and took off running, turning back as Dumadin dropped and used Chain Lightning to stun them. As they ran at her she used it again, stunning them and killing one. Her life was at 50% thanks to healing Pulse and her opponent had 25%. He attacked and took off a good chunk of her health as she used her staff to return the attack. Seeping Wound and Poison cloud took him down to 2% life as he dropped Kittish to 5% life.

  Kittish smirked and used Mirror as it had come up off cooldown and suddenly two of her swung at her enemy. He hit the image and growled as it cost him a few seconds, which was all she needed. She connected with her staff and dropped him, then slid to her knees as the adrenaline wore off. Dumadin stood back up and went over to her, helping her up and kissing her to the cheers of the crowd. They then turned and bowed to their opponents receiving a bow in return, then turned and bowed to Paval before disappearing.

  They walked back to their seats, accepting the cheers from the people they passed. When they got back to their seats they sat down and Dumadin leaned into his friends. “We fight that group next. I would say they seem to be Paval's favorites. They use one healer and five tanks, switching the damage off to each other with Anger Howl. We’ll use Terets’s idea for how to counter them.”

  The first group fight was being introduced, with Vengeance being announced first with heavy metal music filling the arena. Their opponents were called Firbolg, and had a fast Irish jig played when they were announced. They sat back and waited as they watched Vengeance almost lose to their opponents before pulling off a win with only Talia surviving. As Vengeance ported off the floor of the arena, the group stood and accepted the well wishes from the surrounding seats.

  The other group, Red Storm, was introduced with a take on the Russian national anthem being played. They turned and saluted Paval, who waved back at them. The Bananas were introduced and a Paul Simon song was played, You Can Call Me Al. His friends looked at Dumadin and burst out laughing as he did a little back and forth jig in time to the music.

  “Really?” Terets asked laughing.

  “Seemed fitting to give Thallien a little nod,” he shrugged as they turned and bowed to their opponents and the crowd.

  The clock started ticking down as Terets and Amythyst went into Stealth. The other four took up slightly separated positions and all but Felton used Mirror to make duplicates appear. The clock hit ten seconds and Kittish began to cast Healing Pulse on the four visible members. As it hit zero all five of the fighters used Crushing Leap to jump onto Kittish, just as she finished casting Poison Cloud. Four of them hit, which dropped her health to 15%. Dumadin used Anger howl to pull them off her as Amythyst reappeared, casting Healing Light on Kittish. Terets Backstabbed the enemy healer and started to lay into him as Em cast Dark Wound onto the same healer, making all heals onto him only do half of what they should.

  Felton cast Frost Storm onto the group of fighters and everyone backed away as they were frozen to the ground for a few seconds. Amythyst tried to keep Healing Light chain casting onto Dumadin, but her heals couldn't keep up with five attackers. Kittish got off one Chain Lightning, stunning the group, and used her necklace and ring to instant cast two more onto them giving a three second respite to Dumadin, who backed off as his life was still under 10%. Felton raced at the healer as did Emelia, trying to get to him and help Terets kill him faster.

  The stun wore off and Dumadin quickly used all three charges from his necklace to absorb three attacks giving him a few more seconds of life. He got all of them with Seeping Wounds as the taunt wore off as well as the root from Frost Storm. The five fighters killed Dumadin then turned on Kittish, who got one last Chain Lightning off which didn't stun due to diminishing returns. The five enemy then Charged Amythyst, taking her life to 15%, making her use Vanish. The other three had killed the healer and Terets pulled his bow and started shooting at one of them.

  “Kill the one with the arrows first if we can. Spread out, they’ve used their gap closers and it will be harder for them to make us all attack one of them at a time that way.” Terets shouted.

  Two enemies went towards Felton and Emelia each, with one closing on Terets who back stepped as he peppered the one he had started shooting which was moving on Emelia. The fighters closed the distance and the started to take chunks of hit points away from their targets. Emelia used her Parry necklace to get the Ripostes to kill the one that had been badly damaged and also negate some damage.

  Felton died as the two on him quickly smashed him, with his lack of combat abilities. He had knocked one of them down to 25% life though, while the other still had 45%. Terets killed his with 25% life left as Amythyst reappeared and began to chain heal Emelia as best she could with Terets getting the double heal. The two who had attacked Felton turned with the one on Emelia and mobbed her quickly under their superior numbers. She dropped one more of them, leaving just the two who were at just above 50% life. Terets picked his bow back up and began to pepper them with arrows as they turned and ran at Amythyst, who was out of tricks. They closed rapidly and quickly cut her down.

  She knew she wouldn't be able to get away though and had used Dark Night on them to cause them to slowly lose health. The arrows had kept flying the entire time and by the time they got to within melee range of Terets one of them was at 5% and the other still at 45%. Terets used Freeze on the 45% and attacked the one who was almost dead.r />
  The brief melee left Terets at 75% health as he turned to face the last one as Freeze fell off, freeing him. There was a pause and the last opponent saluted Terets with his weapon, nodding Terets did the same as they came towards each other. Dark Night fell off leaving the last enemy at 40% life as they clashed. A few exchanges caused Terets to be left at 45% life while the enemy was at 25%. Terets Vanished, and began to circle his opponent, who activated Keen Sight and tried to find Terets. Sadly for him, Terets had already slipped to his side, and as the enemy scanned the other side Terets struck.

  Both blades backstabbed from an awkward angle, his ring triggered making both strikes Critical. That dropped his opponent to 10% life. The last fighter spun and connected with his attack, and the last few attacks were exchanged. When the dust settled Terets was on one knee with 1% life and the last of the enemy was on the ground.

  The stands erupted into pandemonium, with cheers and whistles. Paval stood looking down with displeasure at Terets for a brief second before his face smoothed into the mask he usually wore and he smiled at the last member of the Bananas before the rest stood back up. Taking the moment to bow to the crowd and Paval, the group exchanged words. They turned to their opponents and went to shake hands and congratulate them on the hard fight. When the group reappeared just outside the Colosseum, Dumadin invited this group like he had the others for a drink.

  Red Storm's leader bowed once and declined with clipped but polite words, saying they had previous commitments. As this was the first group to refuse the offer, the Bananas stood there nonplussed for a few seconds. Shrugging, they headed off to the same tavern they had used the last few times, being greeted by a loud cheer from those already there. The same table stood empty in the packed room, with six empty chairs that were soon filled by various people who wanted to congratulate them.

  The group stayed and chatted and partied with their well-wishers for a couple of hours before begging off as they had a big day ahead of them tomorrow. The friends all said their goodbyes and logged out.

  THE FINALS

  The last day of the Carnival arrived and the crowds were all talking about the finals. The group logged in and made their way through the streets, having to stop every few feet to exchange greetings with people who wanted to wish them luck. Smiling and exchanging a few words they wended their way to the Colosseum, where all the final events were being held today.

  As they reached the same entry way they had used all month, they were cheered by a large group of people all wearing white shirts with a bright yellow banana embroidered on the front. The group stopped for a few minutes and chatted with the shirt wearing fans, before heading in.

  “I think I know how famous sports people feel now,” Dumadin chuckled as they made their way to their seats. When they got to the right area, they noticed that their seats were filled and people were yelling at the people sitting in them.

  Terets began to laugh and called for quiet, “Stop, please stop.” As the fans who were yelling at Vengeance stopped and turned to Terets, he just smiled. “Folks, while we love the fact that you are trying to show how much you hope we win, please don't. You see, they are doing this trying to be dicks, and you are only feeding their egos. The best way to deal with this issue is to ignore them.”

  The fans glowered at Vengeance and began to move away, taking the chance to shake hands with the group. “We can offer you the seats behind them?” A person said and he motioned to the people with him and they all stood up.

  Felton waved them off, “No, we thank youm but those are good seats. You’ll have a prime spot when we are down on the sands during our fight later. So keep them and cheer for us.”

  The fans sat back down with smiles and nodded, agreeing to cheer for them. “Okay guys, let’s just go wait out front and chat with some more people while we wait.” Kittish suggested. Agreeing, the group made to head back to the gate.

  “Heh, losers just giving away the seats your fans tried to save for you.” Executioner taunted as they began to move away.

  Emelia stopped and turned back with a brow raised, “So you think we are losers. I find that vastly amusing as we just want people to have a good time. While the only joy your tiny ego seems to have is trying to find small ways to make people upset. Sadly, with your obviously small mind you can't grasp the idea that we will not stoop to your level. Enjoy the seats, hopefully they give you a sense of worth.”

  The group moved off towards the entrance, greeting people as they went. Vengeance made faces and cat called them as they left, but were roundly ignored. The people sitting behind them 'accidentally' started spilling drinks on them, and apologizing for it. After the sixth drink was spilled, Vengeance got up and fast traveled out of the arena.

  As the group stood by the gates, one of their fans came running up and told them that the seats were now empty. Laughing, the group followed the fan back to their seats which were clean, but without the yellow covers. Dumadin eyed the group that sat behind the seats, then winked and sat down. The people all around them began laughing and chatting about what felt like a win to them.

  Felton was called to the floor for his Sword specialization crafting event and greeted his opponent. They chatted for a few minutes before Larry appeared and laid out the competition. This event was going to be based on the total value of what they could turn out from the mats provided. He let the crafters see the materials and then started the event.

  For the next fifteen minutes Felton and his opponent hammered and shaped the swords they could make. Once all the mats were expended, Larry stepped forward and began to examine them all. It took him almost forty five minutes to go through all the weapons, stating what each one was worth and describing what made it worth the value.

  When he finished he shook his head and spoke quietly with both crafters briefly. Smiling, he stepped back and declared the winners. The contest had ended in a draw and the other crafter had asked to take second place for the fifty slot bag. Felton had agreed and accepted the first spot with the 10% chance of getting mats returned when crafting.

  The crafters shook hands and accepted their positions before the other opponent left, leaving Felton on the arena floor along with a new crafter, a dwarf named Rhudnar. Larry explained that as this was the finals for the overall crafting competition, it would also be based off total value of the items made. Felton was up against a dwarven armor smith and they greeted each other and shook hands before turning to their materials and setting to work.

  The next fifteen minutes went forward with crafting, Felton turned out six swords with the mats he’d been given. His opponent turned out a full set of plate armor that looked amazing. Larry again took close to forty five minutes going over each piece. After his detailed analysis for the crowd, he declared the dwarf the winner. The dwarf then asked Larry to please reverse the prizes, so he could get the bag instead. After a check with Felton, who was more than happy to take the 10% again, he did so. Rhudnar was declared the winner of the overall crafting competition.

  Felton congratulated the dwarf and spoke with him for a minute before they both disappeared. A minute later Felton made his way back to his friends with a grin. “I don't get why they think the bags will be better, but hell, works for me. I will gladly take a permanent 20% chance to get half the mats refunded. Too bad the bonus from Thallien will be reset or I would looking at a 30% chance all the time.”

  The consensus was that even the 20% chance would be huge when it came to high end mats. The next few crafting competitions went on as they talked, until Larry thanked all those who had taken part in the crafting area and in the beta over all.

  Suddenly a bright light appeared above the arena, and Paval was floating in the air with his wings beating. “It is now time to move on to the PvP events. First up the single competition, followed by the duo fight.” He flew over to the ruler’s box and took the seat that had been waiting for him.

  The crowd began to buzz as they watched the one on one final take place. Fiv
e minutes later the fight was over and Andre Palatine was declared the winner. He bowed to the crowd and thanked his competitor, before turning and saluting Paval and getting the salute returned.

  The two sets of friends stood and waved to the crowd behind them as they disappeared and reappeared on the sands of the arena. They bowed to each other, the crowds and Paval in turn before walking to the middle of the arena. They shook hands and then backed off a little.

  “Going to win today shorty?” Terets taunted.

  Dumadin shrugged, “Meh. If that is what it takes for your small ego to get excited. I win every day. I got her,” he pointed at Kittish behind him and smirked.

  The crowds cheered and Terets shook his head, “Grand stander. Kittish, kiss his ouchies when I am done with him please. I don't want him sulking during the fight later.”

  Amythyst and Kittish nodded at each other and smirked, not saying anything. As the countdown reached five seconds and Terets vanished, Dumadin looked back at Kittish wondering why she hadn't cast Healing Pulse on him yet. The timer reached zero and still no heal had been cast. He began to back up to go back to back with Kittish and she sidestepped and met Amythyst in the middle of the arena and sat down with her.