by Michael Ryan
The stone throne moved back into the room. A cobra boss, spitting venom, was beneath it. Dale took a glancing hit to the leg.
Most of the toxin from the cobra hit his armor, but some of it worked its way through the joints and burned his skin.
“Crap, that stings!” he said, and backed away from the throne.
The boss slithered in circles, spit venom, and struck with a pair of deadly fangs.
Dale brought out a longbow and fired arrows, but they seemed to do little damage.
He attempted to warm up a Fire Magic Spell, but the cobra didn’t allow him the time. Yingtai and Jara were busy healing Smith and Rikuto, who were both tanking.
Dale threw his shield and the adder uncoiled, but once it saw the cobra it slithered back to Dale’s feet and coiled back into a shield.
“So much for that plan,” Dale said to himself. He picked up the shield just in time to block a ball of flying cobra spit, and moved into a position to help Smith and Rikuto tank. The three of them hacked at the boss. Its health dropped, but so did the three tanks’—even with two healers sending their enchantments. They soon found themselves with health bars falling below fifty percent. The spitting cobra was relentless and fast, and wouldn’t allow them a chance to fully recover.
Rikuto fought with a samurai sword. He switched to a spear, then to a different sword, but nothing made a difference.
Smith was effective with his war hammer, but he required constant attention from the healers because the close attacks made him the most vulnerable. The boss directed the majority of its offensive at him.
“Can you use an Ice Magic Spell?” Dale asked Jara.
“I can try,” she said. Jara warmed up a spell.
Her glowing orb, which had been providing the only light in the chamber, dimmed. A bright blue streak flew across the chamber, and the boss froze in place.
Dale and Smith moved in close and attacked the snake.
Yingtai fired imbued arrows.
The snake fell dead, and Dale chopped off its head.
+4000XP
Killed: King Cobra Boss
Dropped: 2 red garnets, extra-high quality
Dropped: Fire Magic Book
Dropped: Ice Magic Book
Dropped: Purple Adder Battle Pet
Dale retrieved his loot and sat on the ground. “I need a feast and a healing potion. My health is dangerously low.”
“It was close for me, too,” Smith said. “Rikuto?”
There was no answer.
As Jara’s glowing orb regained its brightness, they saw Rikuto’s body. His skin had turned sickly blue with a look of terror frozen on his face. Their party was down to four.
“I told Jara to switch from healing,” Dale said.
Rikuto was a good soldier, and a new sense of hopelessness hit Dale. They were trapped in a room, down from thirteen to only four members, and they still had a long way to go before having an opportunity to find the princess Talargo.
The way things were going, even if they found her alive and well, they were such a small force, they’d hardly be any help.
“We’d still be fighting the cobra boss if I hadn’t used that spell,” Jara said. “You made the correct decision.”
“She’s right,” Smith agreed. “You made a good call.”
Dale remained silent. Nothing felt right to him. He knew that Rikuto would respawn, but it was hard for Dale to erase from his mind the frozen image of Rikuto’s corpse.
“Everyone should check their equipment,” Yingtai said. “Then we need to find a way out of here.”
“She’s right, Dale.” Smith stood. “We’ve got to keep moving.”
Dale drank a boosting potion, which gave him a mild, short euphoria, but he still didn’t feel good.
It seemed a logical choice to move from the chamber as soon as possible. While he contemplated their options, he read his Fire Magic Book, gaining skill experience points but no new spells.
“Look,” Smith said. He knelt by the wall staring at something written there.
Dale joined him.
It was a grid of one hundred numbers, ten across and ten down.
“We’ve seen these before,” Smith said.
“Who’s good at math?” Dale asked.
The code of the boss chamber wasn’t pi, the Fibonacci sequence, or anything else that Dale or Smith could imagine. They had previous puzzles stored in their memory banks, but this one wasn’t the same.
Dale: Anything else you can suggest, Ërin?
Sorry, Dale.
It’s okay.
Don’t get down; this is all part of how a war goes.
I don’t like it much.
I can see that. Chin up, big guy, things will work out.
“Ërin has nothing for me,” Dale said.
Ërin: I wouldn’t say nothing, handsome, just not a solution to your current predicament.
You are exactly like a God…
Smith gave Dale a look. “I have nothing, either. Yingtai? Princess?”
“Let me think,” Yingtai said.
“Puzzles were never my strong suit,” Jara said.
Yingtai attempted different codes. When she made a mistake, the grid required a one minute cool down period before allowing new attempts.
Dale watched her work. She was always the one in a hurry, so he left her alone.
He walked around the room, and checked for anything of interest. He eventually found a loose stone in the wall and discovered another cache.
You have found a 2 carat black opal.
You have found 17 copper coins.
You have found a lore book: The Ancient Weapons of the Cobra King
Congratulations! This Lore Book opens a quest.
He had time on his hands, so Dale read the beginning of the book.
A collection of the Cobra King’s weapons has been hidden throughout the mines of the Arodian Mountains.
The Kartikeya Guild has a generous bounty on these weapons.
Hint: The lore provides clues to the hiding places of these weapons.
The weapons list:
The First Weapon: The Stolen Urumi of Queen Nzinga.
A long flexible sword used like a whip, this weapon was taken from an invading Portuguese slave trader and was called the Urumi of Freedom. Considered one of the greatest weapons in history for close quarters fighting or assassination.
Hint: Befriend a Brazilian, because you’re going to need some translation help.
Hint #2: Everything could be a clue, or a red herring, so don’t lose your bearings, or stop swearing.
Dale read the entire list twice.
Maybe they should stay in the mines and search for the weapons?
If he suggested that, Yingtai would kill him.
Ërin?
Yes?
I can work on this quest at any time?
Yes, it’s an open quest. I’ve stored the info.
Okay.
“Got it!” Yingtai yelled.
Dale turned towards her.
A hidden panel opened in the wall.
“Come on,” Yingtai said. “You’d better hurry through unless you’re familiar with the Weird Number sequence.”
Dale ran through the opening.
Yingtai screamed again. “Attack!”
Dale turned back, brought out his shield, and looked up to see Amy and Emi.
They stood at the entrance to the chamber and fired arrows at Princess Jara and Yingtai.
“Fire back!” Yingtai yelled.
Dale couldn’t.
He kept his shield up, but it wasn’t necessary. All the fire delivered by the assassins was being directed at Yingtai and Jara. A hand grabbed his armor and pulled him down a flight of stone stairs.
Yingtai and Jara remained at the top and fired arrows at Amy and Emi.
“Just sit and don’t move. I’ll be right back,” Smith said. He crept back up the steps, but the secret door slammed shut.
Princess Jara had lost her
glow orb in the boss chamber, so it was pitch black.
Jara lit a torch. The fire sent a vermillion glow down the stairs, which seemed to descend forever.
“We need to move,” Yingtai said. “Those two are good at math.”
Dale knew Amy was a math whiz. She’d figure out the puzzle soon.
The four of them descended into the dark. It was ninety-one steps before the floor leveled.
They walked for an hour along a corridor carved from the stone. Dale ran his hand along the walls, but found no additional secret caches.
“How’d they catch us so fast?” Yingtai asked.
“They’re skilled assassins,” Jara said. “They’ve been sneaking, not fighting. We need to be prepared at all times. Dale, you’re going to have to accept the truth.”
Dale ignored her.
He wasn’t going to think about fighting Amy, in spite of the fact that he might be forced to.
He ran his hand along the stone walls again. Maybe he’d find another Lore Book to take his mind off their current situation.
~ ~ ~
Conflict on Almaach escalated, as wars are wont to do.
“Report, Admiral,” Iyam Amak said.
“Yes, my Lord,” he said. He stood at attention. “The assassins have entered the mine. Our spies can’t report more.”
“And the platoon?”
“Five entered, my Lord.”
“I see.” She stood, moved away from her desk and walked to the great window. “At ease, Admiral. Come, join me at the window.”
“Yes, my Lord.” He joined her and looked out at the sea. There was a large bay directly north of their headquarters. Along the shore, dry docks housed wooden ships that were under construction.
“The shipbuilding, Admiral. It’s going well?”
“Yes, my Lord. Less than a year, perhaps. A year if the winters are as brutal as I suspect,” he said.
“I see. No matter…” She paced again. “The Asakku Dragon Slayers. Tell me of their progress.”
“I wouldn’t place much confidence in them, my Lord,” the Admiral said. He faced her. “The dragons here are like gods – virtually indestructible and unconcerned with the machinations of lesser beings. The dragonlings, however, are useful.”
“And how, dare I ask, is dragonling training going?” She laughed, knowing the answer to her own question.
“Impossible.” The Admiral joined her in laughter. “Yet they try and try again. Shall I order its cancellation?”
“No. A platoon of trained dragonlings would be… Deadly. Let them continue,” she said.
“Yes, my Lord.”
“The Valley of Shadows. Admiral, can you get a platoon of warriors there?”
“I’ve sent a small group already, my Lord, on Snow Leopard mounts,” he answered.”
“And your estimate of their arrival timing?”
“The hope is that they can enter the valley around the same time as the assassins, my Lord. It’s hard to predict. My spies are hindered – the mountains are well-guarded by the warriors of King Moschatel.”
“The dragon slayer…”
“Yes, my Lord,” he said.
“Send word that the mission has changed slightly, Admiral,” she said. “My only concern is the Jewel. I care not what happens to the assassins, the platoon they pursue, Princess Talargo, or any of Moschatel’s clan, although if we could avoid trouble with the King, that would be preferable.”
“Disguise our attack, my Lord?” he asked.
“I do not care about the process. I care about the Jewel. Bring it to me.”
“My Lord.”
The Admiral bowed and left Amak’s offices.
Amak stayed at the window and watched the sea birds circle high above the harbor. Dwarves and lizard-men looked like ants from her vantage point, scurrying about, taking materials to the docks.
“War is just another form of commerce,” she whispered. “Gods spend the lives of lesser creatures like pennies.”
Dale and Smith led the way up the stairwell, Jara and Yingtai behind them. They reached the final step, where there was a huge wooden door, and Yingtai reached for the knob.
Dale slapped her hand away. A brown spider jumped out, and he crushed it with the hilt of his sword.
“I’ve repaid a favor,” Dale said. “Those things are nasty.”
Yingtai said nothing.
The door opened to a grassy meadow. Trees at the edge grew taller and denser as the forest extended beyond the lowlands, towards the snow-capped mountains in the distance, lit by a late afternoon sun that colored the sky. Orange and pink clouds hung like cotton candy in the stratosphere.
Birds sang evening songs as they walked through the meadow, and then abruptly stopped as they neared the far side.
“Be alert,” Dale whispered.
Yingtai and Jara moved swiftly towards a cluster of trees on their right.
Dale and Smith ran to the left.
With crossing fields of fire, they silently scanned for threats.
Dale saw nothing.
“Smith?” he whispered.
Smith looked at him with a frown.
“What do you think of Amy’s attack?” Dale asked. “She didn’t shoot at me.”
“They seem obsessed with Jara,” Smith said.
“True. Sometimes I think we’re just pawns in someone else’s chess game.”
“Welcome to the military.”
“Yeah, welcome to life –”
An arrow streaked past Dale’s head, and struck the tree only a foot away.
The arrow contained a message on the attached scroll. He slid it from the shaft and scanned the important parts.
…You and your party are ordered to stand down…
…Upon showing your intention of peace…
Treachery…
…fed to wraith dragonlings…
A dwarf-like creature – a Sigtrygg – approached.
“I am Robur, Ambassador to King Moschatel,” the Sigtrygg announced. “Long Live the King! King Moschatel rules the lands from the Castle Pierstone to the great Blue Leaf Meadow in the south, to the Sea of Serpents in the east. You have entered his kingdom uninvited. Please state your business and intentions.”
“I am Dale Brown, of the Third Platoon, Bravo Company. I am aligned with the Klaharnians, but our mission into your kingdom is by the request of King Talargo. We’ve been sent to aid his daughter, the Princess Talargo.”
“Indeed, such a mission would be greeted by my Lord King with his full support,” Robur said. “But, it is a time of war, so we must ensure his endorsement is pure.”
“As you wish, Ambassador.” Dale handed the Sigtrygg the letter.
Robur placed the letter in a pouch, lifted his left arm outward, placed a small white mouse on his leather gauntlet, and whistled. A multi-colored falcon swooped silently from the sky, startling Dale with its swiftness. The falcon grasped the mouse in its talons, tore it in half, and finished it in a few swallows. Then it screeched.
“Yes, my lovely bird,” Robur said. “You’ll have more mice at home. But for now, I have a mission for you.” Robur spoke a charm and slid the pouch with the letter over the bird’s head. He lifted his arm and the falcon flew off.
“Now then, my guests,” Robur said. “Please accept my invitation to dine and feast with the King’s blessing.” He clapped his hands and dozens of Sigtrygg appeared toting a small village worth of cloth wrapped parcels.
Dale watched in amazement as they set up an outdoor kitchen.
Fires blazed.
Chefs cooked.
And a barkeep was somewhere out of sight, pouring drinks.
A small elven host brought them mugs of mead.
“Enjoy, my friends,” Robur said.
“Dale. Our mission requires haste,” Yingtai said under her breath.
Dale smiled at her. “Relax. We can’t travel until we have the King’s Blessing. Yingtai, you’re to stand down until further orders,” Dale said, and t
hen looked to Jara. “Princess, you’re free to act on your own, as you know. However, if you cross the King of this Land, I’ll be forced to declare you an enemy, as he is our ally.”
“You speak as a wise leader, Master Dale,” Jara said. “I remain in your service. Our mission will continue, it seems, at first light tomorrow.” The Princess raised her mug with a smile, drained it, and asked for another.
Dale explained to Robur that two assassins had followed them into the mines. “Don’t be concerned, my friend, I’ve posted a more than adequate guard,” Robur said. “Let us feast!”
Dale changed into his personal avatar and Smith followed. After a few moments, Yingtai relaxed and became herself. It was a drastic change to see her transform from an aggressive, outspoken undead to a diminutive Chinese girl. She looked maybe all of sixteen.
The Sigs brought out roasted razordillo.
Next the servants set out various roasted birds: goose, duck, chicken, and pheasant. There were also baked yams and other local vegetables—seasoned, baked, or roasted into wonderful combinations. Dale sampled many of the strange offerings. Some he liked, some not, and some he loved instantly.
“What do you think, Dale?” Smith asked. “A fine feast for us. Perhaps to get us fat, happy, and drunk?”
“Maybe,” Dale said. “But if they slit our throats in the night, we might avoid whatever misery is coming tomorrow.”
Smith laughed. “You find the bright side in everything, don’t you?”
“It’s a rare talent.”
After another round of mead, even Yingtai was smiling. She even did her best to join the friendly joking and light-hearted teasing—skill sets that obviously strained her.
After dessert, the conversation became more subdued. The Sig had served numerous pies and a dark drink that tasted like sweetened coffee.
“Will this keep me up?” Dale asked his host.
“No, Master Dale,” Robur said. “It will bring you deep sleep and dreams of restoration. A healing herb from the King’s garden flavors it.”
“What the doctor ordered,” Dale said. He finished two cups of the hot drink before finishing his pie, which was a combination of flavors that reminded him of pumpkin-pecan.
“What can you tell me of the war?” Jara asked Robur.
“I only know that in the northern bay, the Declanian forces are building a fleet of ships. For what purpose, I cannot imagine.”
