“Ideas?”
“None. Even if I could see the things, I’m afraid of firing and accidentally hitting the tanks.”
“But if SteelFeather and Balderdash13 weren’t there?”
Realization dawns on her face. “Then it’d be no problem at all.”
I nod. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”
She grins at me, for the first time in I don’t actually know how long, and begins to give instructions.
"Callidus, follow me to the other side. Don't worry about killing anything. Just go as fast as you can. Tex, Asher, you two do the same, but Tex obviously keep up with the heals. SteelFeather and Balderdash13 stay where you are. Keep trying to kill them, but mostly I need you to draw them all to you so the rest of us can slip past."
“Got it, chief,” SteelFeather says, focusing on his attacks.
I equip my own long knife that I rarely use before I jump into the water. I won’t try too hard to defeat whatever is in there, but I should be armed somehow. The water reaches my hips when I jump in. I can feel my cloak getting heavier as it soaks up more and more water. I push through the water to the far left side, making a wide arc around where the two tanks are fighting the enemy they can’t see. I feel a couple nibbles on my ankles. Damn, Balderdash13 is right. That hurts—and I don’t have very good armor on my legs. I try to stab at the through the water as I walk, but I only hit once out of every four or five attempts.
[+ 39 XP]
[+ 49 XP]
[+ 44 XP]
But I do hit some. At these XP levels they must be tiny. When their long, lithe bodies float to the surface I realize they’re not quite what we expected.
Name: Carnivorous Eel
Level: 25
Description: With teeth sharp enough to strip the flesh from your bones, these eels are just waiting for you to invade their home. Stay out of the water and you’re fine. In the water and you’re dead.
As I get closer to the center of the pool the attacks come more often. My health points keep falling but I don’t worry about pulling out a potion to stem it. I’m not that far from the opposite bank. I’m pretty sure I can make it.
Ahead of me I catch glimpses of Erinocalypse and Callidus through the falling water. They’ve made it to the other side, under the waterfall and are clambering up the opposite bank. The falling water creates a din that the echoes off the ravine walls. Before I duck my head through it, I wave to get SteelFeather’s attention. I point through the water to the far bank. I hope he understands what I’m trying to say—we’re all through and they should make their way across too.
He nods and continues to stab in the water.
I realize I’m already mostly wet, so going under the waterfall shouldn’t bother me. But it does. I hesitate and it’s only the repeated attacks from the razor-toothed eels that push me to completely submerge myself. Once I’m through the sheet of water I shake some of the drops off my face and hurry the last few steps to the opposite ledge. Eels continue to bite as I pull myself up out of the water, but soon I am safely settled on the narrow rock behind the waterfall waiting as my health regenerates.
SteelFeather and Balderdash13 are not far behind me and soon all six of us are again crammed on the slippery ledge at the edge of the pool, catching out breath, resting, stewing in our damp armor.
“Can’t we just go? Do we need to kill these things?” Callidus asks.
“Come on, man.” SteelFeather punches him gently. “Loot. XP. If we can defeat them, why not?”
Callidus shrugs. “Okay, but how?”
Erin and I make eye contact.
“I have an idea,” she says before I can open my mouth. “I could be wrong. This might not work, but it’s worth a shot.” She looks around, double checking that everyone is out of the water, while she begins her casting.
Maybe I just haven’t been paying close enough attention, or maybe she has been holding out on us, but I am stunned when I realize the power she wields. Standing at the edge of the pool, she begins to move her hand in prescribed ways I don’t recognize, at one point even closing her eyes to concentrate. As she builds up the channel of power, a faint, golden glow surrounds her, a magical aura that tells the world something incredible is about to happen.
“What is she doing?” I whisper to TexBadass.
He glares and shushes me.
Using her left hand to guide and channel the power, Erinocalypse aims the palm of her right hand down into the water. A golden, bright beam of spellfire hits the surface at a forty-five degree angle.
And nothing else happens.
I drag my eyes from her casting to look at the other players. Each of them watch her intently, except TexBadass whose eyes dart over the surface of the water, looking. Watching. Erinocalypse doesn’t budge from her stance and I find myself also combing over the surface of the water, looking for some indication that the spell she is casting is having an effect. It’s not easy to see past the waterfall, so I move over to the side of the ravine, where the path begins to wind up and where I can see around the sheet of water.
At first I think it must just be a trick of my eyes, or a fish splashing, but one by one, little by little, more and more bubbles reach the surface and I realize what Erinocalypse’s spell is doing.
She is heating the water. She’s boiling these monsters alive. I am blown away by how much effort and power she is pouring into this casting. Everyone else is completely silent watching her do this. I hope Erinocalypse has enough power to complete this.
Beads of sweat start to roll down her face. In the water, bodies of dead eels pop to the surface. Little by little. Erinocalypse pulls the bulk of the XP, but the rest of us get a small XP bump with each death.
[+ 4 XP]
[+ 5 XP]
[+ 9 XP]
[+ 7 XP]
Over and over. Her arms start to shake and just when I’m sure she has reached her limit, I realize the last one has just died.
[+ 9 XP]
SteelFeather applauds while Callidus and Balderdash13 just laugh, relieved. Erinocalypse flashes a wide grin and drops to her knees, exhausted but happy as though she’s just run a marathon. TexBadass pats her on the back, loudly telling her what a great job she has done.
We each add gold to our inventories and Erinocalypse manages to loot a couple small bottles of mana restorative. She offers one to TexBadass but he declines.
My own reward is meager—just a share of the coin—but I don't mind. After all, all I really did was wade through that water as quickly as I could. The tanks drew the attacks and the sorceress finished them off.
They didn't need me at all. Which makes me that much more determined to prove my value when we face the next obstacle.
Chapter Nineteen
I stand at the foot of the stairs that will take us up over the waterfall, waiting for everyone else to finish allotting attribute points or equipping new armor or rearranging their inventory.
I suppose I should wait for Callidus, our scout, to take the lead. Or SteelFeather, our tank, to defend us from whatever creatures are ahead.
But I'm impatient.
I'm impatient and I have enough Stealth and skill to do this by myself, probably. So, while no one is paying attention to me, I climb.
The stairs are carved into the same white, chalky rock that the walls and floor are made of, except in this case, wet. The spray from the waterfall keeps this path perpetually damp, the chalk mixing with the water making them pasty. I slip on the very first step. I try to brace myself against the wall, but my fingers can't get a grip. The stairs are both narrow and shallow, giving me very little space to work with as I try to climb higher. Eventually, after several cautious attempts, I manage to find the exact position and angle where I can hold my balance. One slow step at a time, occasionally slipping, I make my way up the stairs to the ledge at the top. My hands, shoes and clothes are all streaked with white. It takes me an agonizingly long period of time, but I make it.
As soon as I reach
the top I hear a smattering of applause behind me.
"Impressive," Erinocalypse says with a smirk. "And all by yourself, even."
"Yeah, well." My comeback cleverness falls short. "You try it, then."
I turn my back to the stairs, all of a sudden remembering that I'm in the lead and need to look out for incoming baddies.
But there's nothing.
I'm on another wide rock platform that edges water—a wide river now—but other than that I see no clear path. I cautiously kneel at the water's edge to wash the chalk off my hands, bracing myself for more piranha or another nymph. I even consider yelling to try to disturb what might be hiding, because all this nothing feels ominous.
I'm reminded of the 'glitch' Erinocalypse and I found during the Challenge, where a clue was noticeably absent, and I wonder if we’ve stumbled on another such hiccup. Or, perhaps, the corrupted code has adjusted the dungeon and neglected to put it back together correctly. Or, maybe, this is just some elaborate puzzle that I don't quite see the solution for yet.
I return to the top of the stairs and look down. In the several minutes they’ve had to follow me, so far only Callidus has made it up a grand total of two steps. That's it.
"See?" I call down to them, grinning.
"I'd flip you off but I can't afford to let go," Callidus says without taking his eyes off the steps in front of him.
I chuckle and return to my task of figuring out what the heck we are supposed to do next.
The stone ledge I'm on at the top of the stairs extends along the length of the ravine, between the wall and the river, about fifteen feet or so. It's plenty wide that I don't have to worry about slipping or be particularly careful. I walk all the way to the end and look back, searching for a sign or puzzle piece or obstacle I might have missed, something that looks different from this side.
But there's still nothing.
Callidus still hasn’t made it to the top of the stairs.
Next, I look up the ravine toward where we need to go, and realize there's another rock ledge on the other side of the river. It's not directly across from me; it's farther upstream, farther along the wall than we are, but it's there.
How do we get to it?
I try to Examine the river's stats, looking for any clues, but all it tells me is I am in White Rock Ravine. Yes, thank you, game. So helpful.
Callidus reaches the top and stands awkwardly, holding his chalky hands away from his clothes.
“It’s safe,” I say, pointing. “You can wash your hands in the river.”
He grins at me and points at my hair. “You, uh… Do you tend to run your hands through your hair?”
“Oh no,” I mutter, furiously rubbing my hair. A light, now-dry dusting of chalk falls around my face but out of my hair. “Did I get it?”
He laughs. “Naw, but don’t worry. It makes you look distinguished.”
He moves to wash his hands while I continue to vigorously shake out my hair.
Fortunately it's not too long, so I think I have all the chalk out after a few moments more. While I'm looking down, messing with my hair, my shadow disappears for a moment. High above us, out in the rest of the game world, clouds move over the sun, dimming the light we have. I stop what I'm doing and look around the ravine, watching the way the light changes, the way the shadows fall, the way the water surface reflects.
If this was in the real world, and we were just on a hike and there weren’t, you know, monsters trying to kill us, this might be kind of nice. Just as the clouds finish passing overhead, a faint glittering green glow catches my eye across the river. But as soon as I try to look more closely, the sun shines through, washing out any other light.
What was that?
I look up at the sky and spot another wave of thick fluffy clouds moving their way across. I focus intently on where I think I saw the glow and wait for the light to dim. As the sun becomes blocked, I realize what I am looking at.
At such a low level, I'm not able to see a strong light, but that glow is the indication of my Power Perception. There is something magical and hidden in this stretch of ravine and if the light gets just dark enough I'll be able to see what it is.
I focus even more intently, scared I'm going to miss my chance.
SteelFeather reaches the top of the stairs and calls to me. "Yo, Asher. You were right, man."
I shush him without looking, not taking my eyes off where I think I saw the glow. I hold my breath as the ravine gets ever so slightly darker. There it is ...
Across the river, upstream, where the next rock ledge begins, a narrow strip of green glow leads away from the rock wall crossing over the water and anchors to the rock wall near where I am standing.
Chapter Twenty
A rope. There's an invisible rope, guiding us across the water. I reach my hands up to touch it. It's not a big stretch, but I certainly would not have found it without the Power Perception skill. I hold on tight, testing its strength and security. The clouds move fast, and I only have a few seconds left to memorize the position before the sun comes back, washing out the glow.
Without letting go of the rope, I turn around to tell the others what I've found. All five of them have now reached the top and are staring at me, half confused, half amused.
"Really? None of you have Power Perception?"
Without context, I must look ridiculous.
Balderdash13 snorts, trying to hide her laughter. To her, I literally look like I'm just standing at the end of the ledge with both my hands in the air.
“Whatever,” I mutter.
“No, no, tell us,” she insists. “What … uh … What did you find?”
Erinocalypse looks us all over and behind me. It’s clear she doesn’t know what she’s looking for but at least she’s trying.
“It looks like the only way to get over the river and continue our way up this ravine is via this magically invisible rope.”
“A rope?” Callidus asks. “Can’t we just swim?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, I guess so. But the water seems pretty fast and we’d need to go like thirty feet upstream against the current.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, so, instead there’s a rope.” They look at me blankly. “I’m holding it. I’ve tested it a little and it seems to be anchored to each wall pretty securely.”
“Sounds like the perfect plan, if we could see it,” SteelFeather says.
“How did you find it?” Erinocalypse asks. She begins to approach me, holding her hand up and in front of her as though feeling for additional invisible obstacles.
“There’s this skill, Power Perception. I’m really, really low-level, and I can’t even use it here unless the clouds are covering the sun, but I was able to sense the presence of something magical.”
She nods and continues to feel the air around me. She’s way off.
“Erinocalypse, it’s a rope. That’s all. You have to grab it up by where my hands are.”
“I know,” she says, changing her absent groping to focused around my hands. She wraps her fist around the invisible cord and smiles. “This is so weird.”
“So, I guess one of us needs to stay and hang on to this end of the rope, if only so we can be sure we know where it is.”
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Erinocalypse agrees, letting go. “How about you do that?”
“Um, sure. Yeah. I can. No problem. I’ve usually been last anyway, so that makes sense.” I nod.
“Callidus?”
The lanky teenager makes his way over to me. Keeping one hand on the rope, I move closer to the rock to give him room. He glances at me as he tentatively reaches up to feel for the rope, his relief visible in his expression when he clasps it. After a couple tentative tugs, Callidus lifts up his feet to put his full weight on the rope. It holds. It even seems to stay mostly taut, so we won’t be dragging our feet through the water.
“I’m not sure the best way to do this,” he mutters, almost to himself.
“Son, if you just�
��”
We all turn to look at TexBadass who, of course, seems to know exactly the right way to maneuver on a rope.
He stops himself, then asks, “I’m sorry. Might I make a suggestion?”
The sarcasm in his tone is still there, but at least he’s trying. When no one objects, he continues. “Try swinging your legs up around the rope and crawling across that way. It’ll distribute your weight more evenly and be better on your grip.”
“Like … like a monkey?”
“Yep. Or a sloth or somthin’.”
Callidus looks thoughtful for a moment before nodding. “That makes sense.”
He adjusts his grip, before swinging to lift his feet up, hooking the rope behind his knees.
“Whoa. Okay. This would be easier if I could see the damn thing, but okay.”
He starts the strange, sideways scoot across the river, feet first, inch by inch. When he’s just past the middle of the water he looks down, shakes his head, almost imperceptibly and keeps going. He doesn’t let go of the rope with his legs until he actually hits the ravine wall opposite us. He climbs down, rubs his raw palms on his pant legs and calls over.
“It’s easy. No problem at all!”
One by one, SteelFeather, Balderdash13, Erinocalypse and TexBadass make their way across the invisible rope to the other side. We decide it's safest to go one at a time—who knows what the weight limit is—but with Tex's suggestion to use our legs it doesn't take long for us all to make it over the river.
I admit, when it's my turn I have a small moment of panic. Why, I don't know. I can swim just fine and I don't seem to be at any real risk, but my palms begin sweating and at one point I actually hook my elbow over the rope to maintain my grip while I try to wipe my hands off on my cloak. But I make it to the other side with no further incident and soon we are creeping our way up the rock ledge lining the ravine, moving upstream, deeper into the dungeon.
The path stays remarkably straight. No additional caverns or winding mazes to navigate. Just a narrow trail along a river.
As we get farther upstream, the water calms some. It’s slower here and appears to be shallower. There seems to be far less risk in crossing it if we have to.
Depths of Camlan Page 8
