The Concubine Contract

by Eden Redd

  ***

  Nero gave Lord Blight a hard gaze as rain began to fall. The other masked players looked around as the trickle turned into sheets of rain, crashing down from the dark gray sky. Lord Blight tilted his head up and hands out, letting the heavens fall on his armored body, the sound of dinging metal ringing out.

  “I’m altering the deal. Walk away and enjoy your life in Lukken. Maybe one day I’ll come to you for another job but the Shadow Guild will stay just as it is, in the shadows.”

  Nero took a step forward, hood up over his dragon skull headdress as rain poured down, “That’s not what we agreed upon!”

  Lord Blight tilted his head down to Nero, “I don’t have to answer to you or anyone. We will control Lukken. Go back to your miserable life.”

  “Terence, you really are a piece of shit,” Nero shouted and smirked.

  “Yea….but I’m a piece of shit with a….” Lord Blight trailed off as he turned his head.

  The player’s eyes bulged as arcane circles appeared at the edge of the massive clearing. Lightning flashed as the arcane circles spread out into field, lighting up the area in dark magic. The dead began to rise as a horde of skeletons, wraiths, ghosts and banshees emerged from the forest edge. The howling dead army marched into the field, hollow eyes firmly on the ruins, jaws moving and fingers grasping for living digital flesh.

  “Dru!” Nero shouted with mad glee.

  Lord Blight turned his helmet to the dragon kin as her mouth opened and a stream of fire blazed forth. The knight went for his sword as the dragon fire slammed into him, sending him careening off the stone ruin surface and crashing onto the grassy field floor.

  Chaos sprang as the rest of the shadow guild drew their weapons. The knights summoned their concubines, the very air vibrating with power. A moment later, bodies flashed into existence, filling the ruins with a small army. Elves un-slung bows and pulled arrows from quivers. Dwarves, humans, angels and fae appeared, drawing weapons and taking positions around their lords and ladies.

  Nero turned his head to Luci and grinned. The large pouch of fairy dust was on the ground, mixing in with the flooding rains. The kitmori winked at him as throwing daggers appeared in her hands and knees bent.

  Nero checked the Encounter level. It wavered for a moment, taking in every point in the ruins and the field and comparing them. The AI calculated the risks and added in the terrain conditions of the torrential rain. Mud bloomed as lightning hit the field. After all factors fell into place, the Encounter Level moved from Difficult to Moderate.

  “Good enough for me,” Nero said in a hushed whisper.

  Short sword and scepter drawn from his robe, the shadowmancer bent his knees.

  “Protect Drubella and kill all of them!” The troll shouted before breaking into a run.

  Drubella poured molten flame at the downed knight. Lord Blight rolled to his armored boots, just avoiding another strike. Two knights charged the dragon kin as her back was turned to them.

  Elves lined up with bows, bowstrings taught and arrows ready. The rain poured from the sky, wetting the strings. Elves let loose a volley and most of the arrows were airborne. The rain and wind knocked their aim off and soon the air was scattered with arrows, aiming down on the incoming undead horde.

  “Bringing the pain,” Rikk smirked as he raised his staff and pointed a hand.

  The mage swiped with his staff, a gust of wind knocking out the incoming arrows. With his free hand, energy curled and arced along fingers and he looked to the enemy army. Pointing his hand, energy surged and a thick lightning bolt blasted across the hundred feet to the enemy army. Elves, dwarves and humans were thrown asunder as the lightning mixed with the rain. The poor souls that weren’t thrown were covered in scorch marks and shattered into shards of light.

  Nero charged, eyes on Drubella, the two knights and Lord Blight regaining his footing. Luci was behind him, arms slashing outward and throwing daggers flying. A knight put up an arm as daggers struck him with muted explosions. Steam rose up as the knight continued his advance on the dragon kin. Drubella swiveled her head, a stream of flame swirling around her. The two advancing knights stopped and pulled back as flames licked at their armor.

  The shadowmancer held up his staff and channeled dark mana into it. Lord Blight drew his sword and heaved it up, ready to charge the dragon kin when shadows rose up around his feet and stabbed into the soft spots at his ankles, pain welled up as he was rooted to the spot and taking damage.

  You inflicted 40 damage! DM: 215/255

  Nero knew it was a drop in the bucket but he had to use everything at his disposal to whittle the corrupt knight down.

  The shadows around Lord Blight’s ankles burst away and he once again regained his footing. The knight turned his attention to the incoming troll and kitmori. Flexing his neck and squaring his shoulders, he prepared himself for the incoming players, sword in hand.

  Nero roared as he made a beeline for the knight, sword spinning in his hand. Luci leapt into the air, arm slashing across and throwing daggers flying. Drubella roared her flames until her breath was used up. Mouth gasping, the knights charged as daggers hit the ground near their armored boots and flashed. A frost spell effect spread out and the knights slid forward, losing their balance. Drubella drank in air as the knights clumsily slid toward her. Arm out, she grabbed one of them by the breast plate, lifted him up and slammed him down hard against the muddy floor. Eyes blazing, she opened her mouth and a stream of molten flames burst forth.

  The knight grunted as he was cooked in his armor, blade swinging sideways. The blade cut into her arm and Drubella reared up with the knight, flames pouring from her mouth. The knight tried to hack at her again but hit points drained by the dozens per second. The blade sliced at her arm once again but the dragon kin didn’t let up. The knight let out a scream as his hit points reached zero and he shattered into pieces.

  The other knight barreled forward and jammed his sword point into Drubella’s shoulder. The dragon kin roared in pain as a scaled hand clasped at the sword. Foot claw up, she pulled the sword from her shoulder and pulled the knight closer. The knight’s eyes bulged behind his faceless mask as foot claws racked against his armor, shredding it and cutting deep into flesh.

  The kitmori flew through the air, a sword appearing in her hand and the point carefully aimed. Drubella held the knight up, ready to release another stream of flames when a sword appeared next to the knight’s neck and sunk through the weak part of the armor. The enemy player gurgled as the blade point appeared out the other side. Luci’s eyes held a firm intensity as she twisted the blade and wretched it out. Drubella let the knight fall and he shattered when he touched the ground. Dragon kin and Kitmori threw their backs together, the fox woman handing a healing potion to the wounded dragon kin and ready to take on the enemy.

  Rikk began to laugh like a mad man. Stabbing his staff into the muddy ground, he became a one-man artillery brigade. Thick lightning bolts streamed forward, arcing and smashing concubines. The undead horde behind him was charging closer. Two paladins burst forward, golden auras surrounding their bodies while the clerics began healing nearby damaged players and concubines.

  “Fuckers! If I’m going to die, I’m taking all of you with me!” Rikk shouted with demented glee.

  The paladins raced forward, maces in hand as the undead horde reached Rikk’s back. Dark and light energies clashed as the undead crashed into the two paladins. Holy weapons swung outwards, smashing skeletons to dust. Rikk ignored the paladins and maintained his lightning cannons on the main force. Enemy concubine spell casters charged their spells and returned fire. Rikk laughed as spells hit his mana shield and fizzled.

  “I’ve got a whole lot of mana!” Rikk shouted as he blasted the enemy spell casters to glowing shards of light.

  The dead surged against the paladins. Soon they were engulfed, their light barely keeping the dead at bay as they tried to fight through them and hammer at the mad mage. The undead surged past while ma
ny stayed to snuff out the paladin’s light. Ghosts and banshees swooped from the sky, smashing against the barriers of light, sacrificing themselves to dwindle down the paladin’s power. Concern began to grow amid the two paladins as they fought like caged wolves. Rikk laughed as the undead swarm began to overpower their light.

  “The darkness wins this day,” Rikk said with contempt as he turned each lightning cannon on a paladin, power surging forth.

  Each paladin poured their wisdom into their barriers but even they could not stand up to the mage’s raw power. Lightning cracked each shield and blasted each paladin off their feet. Undead hands reached up and grabbed at the paladins, pulling them down and clawing into their bodies. The paladins screeched as they were pulled apart and shattered into shards of light.

  “Too easy,” Rikk said a as a shaft of light appeared above him.

  The mage looked up to see a glowing crack in the clouds and power pulsating. Turning his vision to the enemy, he could see each cleric praying with eyes closed and mouths moving.

  “Fuck,” the mage whispered as the power above him surged and blasted down.

  The mage threw himself aside as he pumped mana into his shield. The pulse of power hit the ground and exploded outward. Rikk tumbled through the air as his shield cracked and shattered. The dead in the area was turned to ash in one blinding flash. Rikk hit the ground and rolled to a halt. Slowly standing up, he looked to the massive crater where he was standing and then turned his attention to the clerics. Mana shield reforming, he flexed his fingers.

  “Alright, let’s dance,” Rikk spat and began murmuring incantations.

  The undead clashed into the concubine army. Dark and light power surged as each side fought like rabid monsters. Swords cleaved undead while elven archers were drained of every point of light. Spirals of bodies blended together as each side fought with every skill and power in their arsenal.

  Nero charged Lord Blight as he casually marched forward, the shadowmancer slid across the wet grass, sword out and slashing at a leg. Blight spun his sword and parried it away. The troll rolled to his feet and the two combatants circled each other as each side clashed around them.

  “Now’s your chance, strike me down if you can,” Blight crooned behind his mask.

  The troll advanced, anger fueling his muscles but he kept his mind sharp. Whispering an incantation, dark portals appeared to each side of Lord Blight. The knight turned to see a wraith on each side coming through the portals and clamping black hands on his arms.

  You summoned two Wraiths! You spent 50 DM! DM 145/255

  Blight planted his feet and spun, sword stabbing into one of the wraiths. It let out a low moan as its body cracked into purple light and faded away. The other wraith stayed closer, hand up and clawing at the knight’s lightly armored neck. Blight swung the sword around and was about to drive it home until Nero’s shadow loomed in the corner of his vision. The knight changed direction and stabbed at the shadow. The shadow cracked and fell away, Nero nowhere to be seen. The wraith touched the knight’s neck and life drain flashed.

  Blight ignored the wraith as he spun around and a dagger stuck him in his side. The knight’s eyes bulged as he looked down at Nero. The shadowmancer smiled evilly as he pulled his dagger and stabbed again.

  You spent 10 DM to create a shadow! DM: 135/255

  The knight roared with laughter as he brought his sword arm up. Nero pulled away, falling backwards and the sword missing his neck by inches. Blight brought his sword up to his shoulder, the edge gleaming. He cut hard across, severing the head of the wraith in one clean swipe.

  “This is pathetic! I have over eight hundred hit points! You barely have taken a hundred. I’m not even going to use my Soul Bleeder sword on you, it’s not worth it,” Blight said with a sarcastic edge.

  The sword in his hand changed in the blink of an eye. Flames roared up the sword edge, the falling rain sizzling as it touched it.

  Blight eyed the shadowmancer as he took a few steps backwards, “It was a good idea to bring an army but a shadowmancer will never have the advantage of a fully armed knight. I’m going to hack you to pieces and take the dragon kin and kitmori as my slaves.”

  Nero stepped back, watching the knight. He noticed the muddy grass did slow down each step the knight took. The rain poured down, dripping over the eyeholes of his helmet. The player knew there were enough distractions that if he simply kept moving, the knight wouldn’t have a chance to land a blow. Taking another step back, the troll knew he had to play one of his ace cards or the battle would be over before it really started.

  Scepter in hand, the shadowmancer eyed the knight and poured all of his dark mana into the dark crystal at the top, “I can’t wait till you’re begging me to stop.”

  Blight took a muddy step forward when the scepter in Nero’s hand surged. A shadow rose up from the grass like a pointed tentacle. It waved back and forth as the knight lifted his flaming sword. Nero controlled its actions, ready to strike as he took another step back. Rain poured down and as drops dripped from the over the metal brow of the helmet, the knight slashed outward at the moving shadow. Nero pulled the shadow back and the moment the sword passed its arc, it surged forward like a viper. Nero drove his scepter forward as the shadow’s end turned into a sharpened point and slammed into the breastplate. Magical energy blasted outward but the shadow dented in the armor and cracked it. Claw-like hooks grabbed at the armor, spreading the hole out and curving the rough edges inward.

  Blight sliced again, cutting the tentacle shadow into two. It melted away as he stumbled back, a gaping hole in his breastplate.

  You created a shadow tentacle! You spent 135 DM. DM: 0/255

  Blight looked down at the jagged hole in his breast plate and cackled a laugh, “You used up everything to weaken my armor? You fucking mor….” Blight went silent as Nero charged.

  The player’s focus became a razors edge. The hole was big enough to slip a dagger blade in. The armor at the limbs and neck was weaker but still in the way. Nero placed his bets that if he kept moving, he had his shot.

  The shadowmancer charged forward as Blight swung his sword. Scepter was placed in its slot while the troll drew his short sword. Blades clashed but the shadowmancer kept moving. Short sword parrying strike after strike, Nero pushed with body to get the sword out of the way. Dagger flashing, he buried it into the cracked armor, the tip sinking into flesh.

  Blight grunted as he tried to shift his weight and knock the troll away. Nero moved lightning quick, getting close, parry and stabbing at the crack again and again. Blight planted his feet but the troll shifted his leg around the armored leg and pushed. Blight stumbled backwards, sword to his side to regain his balance. Nero smiled as he drove the dagger point into the crack two, three, four times!

  Blight growled as regained his balance, feinted a swing and changed the direction of his flaming blade. Nero tried to spin away when the flaming blade slashed at his arm.

  You have taken 47 damage! HP: 227/274

  Nero didn’t slow down as he continued to dodge and parry each swing. Dagger up and fingers pointing, he blasted a black lightning bolt at the crack, hitting Blight’s chest.

  You used Soul Drain! You gain 24 DM. DM: 24/255

  Nero became a whirlwind and his blades sang against Blight’s flaming sword. The troll danced away keeping the knight at bay before resuming his attacks. Blight gave an annoyed growl as he controlled his attacks. Blades clashed once again before the knight drew his dagger and slammed the point into Nero’s stomach. The troll grunted and pulled back, the dagger coming away bloody.

  You have taken 19 damage! HP: 208/274

  You have been poisoned! Weakness status effect: 5 minutes!

  Nero cursed as his limbs began to slow.

  “Nice try but now I will outlast you,” Blight said in a dark tone as he stepped closer with flaming sword and dagger in hand.

  Blades up, the knight brought them down hard. Nero fell back onto the defensive as he tried to
block each incoming strike. Limbs moving slower, for every two he blocked, one slashed across a thigh, arm or stomach.

  You have taken 54 damage! HP: 154/274

  You have taken 29 damage! HP: 125/274

  You have taken 48 damage! HP: 77/274

  Nero stumbled back as rain poured down over the two fighters amid the chaotic battle. The dead were advancing as the enemy concubines and players were killed. Luci turned her eyes to see Nero fall to one knee, Blight stepping closer.

  “You got spirit but I think it’s time to put you down for a week,” Blight said as his flaming sword blinked into his Soul Bleeder sword.

  Nero looked up, rain streaming down from the edge of his hood, dark eyes on the masked knight before him.

  “I’ll….I’ll hunt you down…” Nero huffed as his limbs had difficulty working.

  Blight held up his sword, “And I’ll…how did you put it…..I’ll keep killing you until you lose a taste of ever coming back.”

  Nero felt his hope and purpose darkened as the knight raised his sword up, ready for the killing blow. Daggers flew through the air and slammed into Blight’s back. The knight’s eyes widened as he stumbled forward. Nero caught sight of Luci’s hand whipping out, a storm of throwing daggers aimed at Blight’s back. With a last surge of strength, the troll dropped his short sword and lurched upwards. A thick blue hand grabbed at Blight’s armored wrist and held the sword up as he drove his soul bleeder dagger into the crack of his breastplate, over and over again.

  Blight grunted as he took damage from behind and the troll stabbing him repeatedly. Hit Points drained as he tried to shift his weight. Arms pulling, he knocked Nero off his feet. The troll’s hand slipped as Blight grabbed at his dagger again. The shadowmancer grunted as the knight buried the blade in his chest and twisted it.

  You have taken 34 damage! HP: 43/274

  Weakness status effect!

  Nero fell to the muddy ground, limbs giving out. Barely able to move, he pushed himself onto his back, rain drenching every part of his body.