by Quinn Dallas
“Certainly he has some plans of his own.” I shrugged. “But as long as we get those damned gems and get out of this place, who cares?”
“Yeah, it’s not like we’re ever coming back-” Leonidas paused. “Are we?”
No one said a word. I’m sure each of us had our own internal struggle and strange relationship with this world. While the real world with all its implications awaited us. In this game we were powerful and well-connected. Could we really say goodbye to it forever?
“Let’s ride out before it gets dark,” I said as I mounted my russet colored mount.
“It’s a day’s ride to the wasteland and to Shregun’s last known sighting.” Leonidas hopped on his steed and rode out the stable.
“For gold, glory, an XP!” Yvir pulled her horse’s reins and took off after Leonidas.
“Or something like that,” Shauna laughed as she accompanied her friend.
My horse trotted along at a leisurely pace behind the group. There was no going back. We had set out a path that the game had created before us. We would find and rescue Rolf Alehorn. Then we’d go to the underground retrieve the gem. The first victory of many. Of that I had no doubt!
CHAPTER 16
We rode for several hours before passing the last habitation. The cobblestone roadway leading from King’s Town to the outer lands was dotted with small hamlets and farms. But before long, even those sparse settlements had vanished.
The Wastelands were what kept the western borders of the Tiberian Kingdom safe. The legend being a great magical war had blighted and devastated this large expanse. Leaving it with frightening creatures and outlaw bands as its only inhabitants.
The southern and eastern edges of the kingdom were bordered by the world sea. With the northern edge belonging to the Fae kind. That’s where the Orcs, elves, and Dwarves came from.
King Alaric had maintained friendly terms with his northernmost neighbors. Including the seafaring human kingdoms. There hadn’t been a genuine war in many ages. However, Grymme’s emergence had upset that balance.
“It’s freaking hot!” a sweating Yvir swore, as she rode her tired mount.
“I hope we have enough water,” Shauna moaned. “I can sense the horse's thirst." She continued.
“We should set up camp for a rest soon,” Leonidas looked over the map. “According to Varick’s spies we are approaching the last known location of that Orc Camp.”
Shauna stopped and got off her horse. She seized the reigns and led him towards a small outcropping of rock. “Over here. The animals need shade and rest.”
I could sense that the horse's distress was disturbing her. A cleric’s healing talents granted them strong empathy. It could be both a blessing and a curse. Without a word we followed her into the shade. Even I was grateful for some rest from the sweltering heat. The Tiberian Sun was red. Something that I found both alien and beautiful. Like the wild eye of an uncaring god, it shone down us.
“We used to refer to it as Krypton," Leonidas laughed. “During the beta.”
“Huh,” I said not quite understanding the inside joke.
“You know the planet Superman came from,” he carried on. “It was a planet with a red sun. So when he arrived on earth, our yellow sun gave him super powers
“Oh, I remember that,” I nodded. “With working mostly nights. I guess I’ve forgotten what the sun back home looks like.”
“There was a time when our world was like this,” Shauna stroked her mounts mane. “So clean and pure. Even this desert!” she motioned.
“Is that why you chose a nature aligned Cleric?” I asked.
“Back home, I have a solar powered greenhouse,” her eyes drifted off. “I built it all myself. Complete with a Koi pond
“You must be rich,” I shuffled my feet. “I live with my parents.”
“No," she said “Not rich," The young cleric sat down and traced a finger in the sand. “When I was eleven, I was run over by a delivery truck. My parents sued the hell out of the company. But it left me- unable to walk.”
Struck silent I didn’t know quite what to say. I felt an uncomfortable silence fall over the group. Was any of us really that shocked?
Didn’t we all enter this virtual world to escape the utter disaster that earth had devolved into? Odyssey Online was a kinder and more accepting realm than the one we actually lived in.
“Don’t feel bad for me,” she continued. “It wasn’t a lot of money, but enough for us to move into a gated community She closed her eyes and held her hands together. “So I built a greenhouse in our backyard. A soft glow surrounded her.
"The entire things powered by the sun and wind." The Elven cleric placed her glowing hands on the ground. “It was my way trying to bring some beauty back to the world."
The ground beneath us shook gently, then to my amazement, a green stalk broke free from the ground. It grew bigger and larger. Branches emerged from it and tiny buds dotted each one.
Soon the buds flowered and opened. In a matter of seconds a miniature tree, weighed down with all manner of fruit had manifested. The young cleric then stood and admired her work.
“That create food spell was well worth the cost!” She smiled wide. Then she knelt and dug a small hollow near the base of the plant. To my amazement, it magically filled with water, forming a sparkling pool.
“Now we can eat and drink.” She paused. “Don’t forget to water the horses.”
“That must’ve cost you a ton of Mana,” I interrupted. “Are you ok?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “I bought and leveled up the endurance talent. My Mana will recover quickly.”
“Let’s eat!” Cairngorm pulled a dark purple plum from the tree. “Can you summon up a nice juicy steak?” He asked.
“I’m a vegetarian,” her face flushed.
“That’s a shame,” the dark mage bit into the fruit. Streams of red juice dripped from the corners of his mouth.
“How long until we reach the bandits last known hideout?” I asked Leonidas.
The Paladin unrolled the map and then traced a circle on it with his finger. “We’re right here."
"Let's wait until nightfall,” Yvir suggested. “We don’t want to accidentally stumble upon them during the daytime
“Plus their campfires will be easier to spot,” Cairngorm leaned back using a stone for a headrest. “We are outnumbered, so stealth is our best weapon
“Good thing we have a shadow thief with us!” Shauna smirked and poked me in the side.
I stroked my chin. “I can stealth inside the camp for recon.”
“I’m not totally convinced we can steal a prisoner from an entire regiment of Orcs!” Yvir shook her head.
“Leave that to me,” I said. “It should be a cakewalk.”
“Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?" Yvir stretched her arms above her head. “At least we found a comfortable place to rest before nightfall!”
I nodded and then plucked a fruit from Shauna’s magical tree. We would camp here, our horses would be well rested by nightfall. Then we’d get close to the camp. Where I would then go invisible and free Rolf Alehorn.
We’d simply come too far to give up now. I leaned back against a rock and watched the crimson sky overhead. The Tiberian Kingdom was beautiful. Even in this barren desert. Everything was so intense and vibrant.Did I really want to go back home? Would it be so bad to be trapped here forever? Maybe Grymme had done us a favor.
“Shit!” Yvir’s scream brought me out of my daydream. I found her standing with her weapon drawn. In front of her was the most unlikely beast I’d ever seen. The critter resembled a large scorpion about the size of Pit-bull. It snapped at her with its claws and she batted the attack away with her hammer.
“A Thrakari Scorpion,” Leonidas leapt to his feet. He held both his shield and sword ready.
“Fought these before?” I asked.
“Once in the beta,” he paused. “They travel in packs!”
“Crap!” Shauna
gasped. “Behind us!”
There were two more of the little monsters closing in on us. We were now trapped with our backs to the rock wall. The horses brayed and kicked. Their wild thrashing raised dust and sand into the air.
“How do we kill them?” I turned to Leonidas.
“They are fairly simple to beat,” he said. “Check their stats, they have decent armor, but not on the underbelly.”
I pulled up my HUD display and reviewed the stats. The giant scorpions didn’t have much HP. But they were equipped with very good armor. And then there was the poison based attack.
“What’s this about a toxic DPS?” I asked aloud.
“Oh,” Leonidas paused. “Forgot about that! They have acid spit and poison tipped tails.”
“Acid spit-” Yvir called out over her shoulder. “What do you- AWWW FOR FUCK’S SAKE!” Her attacker spread its mandibles and sprayed a noxious green venom. The barbarian managed to dodge just in time. But some acid struck her shoulder.
“This FREAKING BURNS-” she screamed. Shauna lunged towards her and pulled her away from the advancing scorpion.
“I can heal her,” the Cleric shouted. “Keep those things away from us.”
“Can your nature affinity turn them?” Cairngorm was on his feet. As dark energy surrounded his outstretched hands.
“They are chaotically aligned,” she answered. “I can’t communicate with them at all!”
“Well, if it’s chaos they want,” the dark mage scowled. “It’s chaos they’ll get!” With that, he waved his hand. The dark ring on his finger shimmered with a purplish light.
The ground beneath him trembled. Astonishingly, two fully armored skeletal warriors emerged from the earth. They held their weapons ready. Eyes glowing an eerie red shade.
“You can summon two of those now?” I said surprised.
“Varick has been working with me,” he replied. “I’ve trained up my magic rating.”
“My ass,” Leonidas swung his sword in front of him while keeping his shield high. “That’s necromancy!”
Cairngorm didn’t say a word. He gestured again and his skeletal warriors advanced. They both attacked the scorpion that had injured Yvir. Leonidas bravely kept two more at bay.
I looked to the left and my heart sank. A fourth beast had gone unnoticed. The giant scorpion had managed to down my mount. It’s deadly fangs and claws ripping into the meat of the dying mare. The horse’s gurgled screams set my teeth on edge.
Shadows swirled around me and cloaked me in stealth. Silently, I moved towards the slaughter. It was too late to save my horse, but her sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain. It was time to see if these creatures really were vulnerable on the underbelly.
The Scorpion was engrossed in devouring its meal. It didn’t appear to have stealth sight. The hairs on my arms stood as I approached.
I wasn’t playing a heavily armored class. So, just one snap of its jaws or a sting from its venomous tail would be fatal. Yvir’s heavy armor had no doubt protected her the acid. I also knew Shauna could heal her. But if this dangerous creature managed to strike me, then it was game over.
I pulled my blades and advanced. Leonidas and the others were smart enough to not call out my location. They would keep their opponents busy. It was up to me to prevent this nasty beastie from joining the fight and overwhelming them.
As I approached, I found the creature greedily enjoying its meal of fresh horse meat. The other horses were in a panic. Bucking and braying. They struggled in vain to free themselves from their hitched reigns. The scorpions pinkish underbelly was visible. One good Shadow Strike was all I needed. I pulled up my HUD display again and targeted the creature.
With conviction I pulled back both hands and struck. The blades sunk in with a satisfying squish. The monster hissed as green colored blood oozed from its fresh wound. I was fully visible now. Then I saw the damage floaters fly over the monster's head. CRITICAL STRIKE.
BONUS DAMAGE!
+150% BONUS
YOUR SHADOW STRIKE HAS DEALT 500 DAMAGE
YOU HAVE DEFEATED THARKARI SCORPION!
YOU HAVE EARNED 50XP.
I let out a victorious rebel yell and stepped back. The Scorpion rolled over on its back and its legs kicked. Soon it shimmered and dissolved into pixels. I’d take the poisonous bastard out. “Fucking A!" I pumped my fist in the air. But now wasn't the time to let my guard down. My friends were still in grave danger.
CHAPTER 17
“Some help here please!” Leonidas called out. He was being flanked by two of the giant scorpions. One of the beasts hissed and spit a glob of green venom at him. He held up his shield.
The noxious acid hit his shield and sizzled on impact. The second monster lunged, and plunged its barbed tail towards the Paladin. He parried with his blade blocking the attack.
Behind him, Shauna held her head low in deep concentration. She was gallantly transmitting healing energy into the wounded Yvir. The wounded barbarian's declining life-counter floated above her head. She was getting better, but that acid had placed a rapid DOT on her. I needed to act fast if I was going to help.
I checked my HUD overlay. My stealth ability hadn’t recharged yet. So, I was going to have to rely on dodge. I mentally clicked my dodge ability and went in for to help Leonidas.
Dodge worked by giving me an almost psychic forewarning of an enemy’s attacks. So, I could move out of the way and avoid taking any damage.
The drawback being it only lasted for thirty-five seconds. I dove in and started striking the attacking scorpion from its left side. Flanking gave me a slight damage boost, plus increased my chances for critical hits. My steel blades struck the black shell of the monster.
Clack-Clack-Clack! My blows landed in rapid succession, the last one critically. That caused a fissure to appear in the creature's armor. It was also enough to draw aggro.
The Scorpion hissed and spun around to attack me. It lunged forward. Luckily my dodge granted me enough foresight to duck and roll. The beast’s claw snapped inches from my face.
“Is that all you got?” I shouted as I rolled to my feet. I’m not sure if the creature understood my taunt but it hissed again. A stream of green venom dripped from its mandibles and hit the ground.
I stepped back as I observed the oozing liquid sizzle. My stealth ability had still not recharged. My only chance was to use placate and then go in for a kill strike.
I waved my hand in front of the creature's face and whispered “These are not the droids you are looking for.”
PLACATE SUCCESSFUL!
I could feel myself vanish from view. The attacking scorpion seemed confused as it snapped its claws in the air. I didn’t have much time.
Placate was much weaker than stealth. There was a chance this beast would still be able to sense me. It reared up in frustration revealing its soft underbelly.
I only had a few seconds- without hesitation I rolled beneath the monster and drove my blades into its abdomen.
DOUBLE CRIT ASSASSIN STRIKE BONUS 150% DAMAGE.
“Hot Damn!” I hollered as I rolled to my feet. That was a huge extra damage spike. The creature didn’t even get a chance to scream. It exploded in a shower of pixels and vanished from sight.
I pivoted around and found Leonidas battling his remaining attacker. The black scorpion was stabbing at him repeatedly with its deadly stinger.
Leonidas was expertly blocking with both sword and shield. Keeping the monster taunted before it could get to the Yvir and Shauna. He raised his sword high and brought it down hard.
“Blessed Blade Lightning Strike!” He screamed, as the blade descended.
His sword gleamed as sparks of lightning erupted from it. The blade struck the attacking beast and cleaved it neatly in two. The creature shimmered and erupted into a shower of glowing pixels.
Leonidas dropped to his knees. I noticed his hit points were very low. I ran over to him. “Are you alright?” I asked.
“That move converts some of my HP a
nd Mana into damage.” He gasped. “It’s a bit dangerous but it works.”
It was then that noticed Cairngorm was in trouble. Only one of his skeletal warriors remained and it was missing its head. The attacking black scorpion spun and whipped the re-animated fighter with its tail.
The hit was critical and it smashed Cairngorm’s pet to pieces. The dark mage began to gesture wildly. Bolts of ebony energy shot from his hands and struck the scorpion. However, they didn’t seem to be having much effect.
“Shit!” Yvir was on her feet. “Those things absorb dark energy. He doesn’t have a chance.”
“Wait,” Shauna called out after the female Barbarian. “You’re not fully healed.”
“I’m healed enough,” she called out over her shoulder. The woman warrior was quick on her feet. I ran after her to help, but she was already too many footsteps ahead of me. She raised her war hammer high and leapt into the air.
The deadly scorpion had lifted its stinger. Poised for a deadly strike into Cairngorms’ chest. Yvir’s swung her hammer parried the poison tip before it could hit home. Now she'd caught the creature’s aggro.
It shrieked and spun to face her. The beast jabbed at her with fast moving tail strikes. She deflected each one and returned several hard blows with the pike end of her hammer. The outer shell of the creature cracked. Thick green ooze dripped from the fissures in its shell.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” the female barbarian swung her hammer hard into the creature's side. The force of her blow strong enough to topple the monster onto its back.
She then raised her hammer high and brought the pike end down-hard. It slammed into the beast's abdomen most certainly striking it in the heart. There was an unearthly scream and the monster dissolved in a flash of sparks.
“You did it!” I high-fived the triumphant woman warrior.
“That what the bastard gets for spitting acid on my shoulder” she laughed and then turned her attention to Cairngorm. “Let’s make sure he’s ok.’
“Cairngorm?” I asked as we bounded to our fallen comrade’s side.
“I’ll live,” he said breathing hard. “Those little buggers are resistant to dark magic!”
