by Adam Drake
My involuntary upward movement caused me to hit the top of the gate as I passed through. Yet, as I crossed the terminus, I still had the where-with-all to activate my invisibility.
The hot wet air of the Titan's mouth instantly changed to frigid cold.
As I flew through the gate, I ducked into a roll, but my landing was far from perfect. The ground was hard, and I bounced to a stop.
Survival instincts kicked in and I quickly took in my immediate surroundings.
I was in a winter wonderland.
Huge pine trees, cloaked in snow, crowded around the travel gate platform as if waiting to inspect new arrivals.
Dusk was approaching as indicated by the dark orange hue of the sky which fought to be seen through the trees.
A wide path led away from the gate's platform and curved away to vanish into the darkening forest. The snow which covered the path had been churned up and trampled by many horses. Ogden and his group.
I froze. Someone else was here.
My eyes locked onto a figure which stood at the base of the platform steps. In the gloom it took a moment for my avatar's eyes to adjust. But on closer inspection I knew who it was.
No, not who. What.
It was a clockwork robot.
The thing had been standing guard, facing away from the gate when I passed through. Hearing my entrance it turned around. But since I was invisible, there was nothing to see.
It was looking, trying to figure out what had just happened. I envisioned gears turning within its head, if that's where it did its thinking.
But it hadn't detected me.
It was as tall as a normal man and made of blocks, giving it the appearance of a toy.
Should I attack it?
Then I noticed one of its arms extended further out than the other. At the end of its shorter arm was a simple claw-like hand. But the extended one ended in a long thin rod. At the end of the rod was embedded a crystal. This crystal crackled with electricity, momentarily brightening the features of the clockwork guard.
A lightning wand.
Shadows, for whatever reason, are very susceptible to electrical damage. One full shot from that wand would result in an instant trip to the newbie-zone for me.
An ignominious end. Escape from the mouth of a Titan only to be killed by a robot with a glorified cattle-prod.
The robot did not move, just waited and seemed to stare at the gate with black square eyes.
A glance at my shrinking invisibility timer increased my nervousness. I had only seconds left and it would switch off. If I was lucky, I could activate my shadow ability when that happened. Although not perfect, it should mask my presence in the growing darkness.
But what if this robot saw the change?
I calmly brought out my sword and tensed. If I didn't move, then maybe it wouldn't react. But I had to be ready.
Then, as if reaching some calculation, the robot lowered its lightning wand arm and turned around, waddling on blocky legs. Certain there was nothing untoward, the thing put its back to me. A plume of steam shot out from a nozzle on the side of its square head.
My invisibility timed out, and I switched to shadow without a hitch.
Slowly, I eased off the platform, careful not to make any noise in the snow (Shadows have a +50% silent walking ability) and slinked into the trees.
A short distance away I rested behind a large pine, while keeping the travel gate, and its automaton guardian, in view.
My heart still pounded hard. The last few minutes had been intense. It's not every day you purposely throw yourself into the maw of a Titan and survive.
But I made it. This was Ogden Trite's secret domain. Somewhere past these trees was his guildhall, and I knew he would be there. My chance to kill him had presented itself. Yet, I was alone now, which had not been planned for.
All this running and being chased and having friends sacrifice themselves had got me this far. There was only a little more ways go.
I'd finish this myself as long as I didn't blow it.
I decided following the snow-covered path was the best direction to go. Sticking to the trees, I moved on and away from the travel gate until it vanished from view.
My senses were all fired up. Other than the clockwork guard there was little indication of other security measures in place. Ogden must have felt the Titan was more than enough.
I would prove him wrong.
Soon the pathway angled downward, following the slope of a hill into a little valley. I paused at the tree-line and stared.
At the base of the valley, swathed by snow capped forests, was a castle. It appeared to glow in the growing darkness. I realized that the illuminating effect was moonlight reflecting off of its blue-white surface.
An ice fortress.
Its sprawling complex of buildings spread out in all directions and was encompassed by high walls. Towers and arrow slits lined its vast battlements. Occasionally, I would see a guard walk along them, and on closer inspection I could see that each one was a clockwork guard, like the one at the gate.
The path led to a yawning chasm which served as a moat. Across this chasm was the main gate entrance, its massive drawbridge pulled up and closed.
Won't be getting in that way, I thought.
I scanned the huge walls for another possible way in.
A chat request flashed in the corner of my vision. I remembered I'd removed the 'Mute All Players' option and now this Bishop the Red idiot had started pestering me again.
But it was Mudhoof.
Blinking in surprise, I withdrew behind a canopy of pine branches. After a quick glance around, I accepted the chat.
Mudhoof's grinning visage filled the chat window before me. “Did ya get my stuff?” he said with a laugh.
“Muddie!” I said, relieved to see him. “What happened? I tried to call you but you didn't answer. I was worried.”
Mudhoof chuckled. “No worries at all, Vee. It was no big deal. To be honest, right after I died my mom called me away for dinner. I had to go or I would have been in serious trouble.”
I laughed. “Okay, that explains it. A justifiable 'Away From Game' reason.”
“I could face hordes of orcs or bounty hunters without breaking a sweat, but if I ever got my mom mad, geez. Nothing matches the fear that woman can invoke!”
“Sorry about getting you killed,” I said. “Again.”
“No apology necessary,” he said. “We were in a no-win situation and I just improvised. Besides, it was mildly cathartic smashing into you and sending you flying.”
“Sorry you lost all your stuff. I'll pay you back,” I said.
He shrugged nonchalantly. “I got gear stored away for just such an occasion. Which means I have a lot of gear stored. I'll level this new character up in no time.” He gave me a curious look. “So, I'm happy to see my gamble paid off. You didn't die. Gimme the lowdown.”
So I did, albeit an abbreviated version.
As I spoke a pair of clockwork guards march past along the path. Neither gave any indication I'd been detected. How many others were out here, maybe skulking through the forest?
“Wow, so you're in the FILTERED's lair, huh?” Mudhoof said when I finished. “Wish I could be there with you, Vee. Sounds like it will be a tough nut to crack.”
“Hey, you are the only reason I am here right now and not killing rabbits in the newbie-zone.”
“Any word from Thorm?”
“Not yet, but I'll shoot him a chat right now. I thought it best to let him deal with his combat situation first without me nattering in his ear.”
“Well, we should both get back at it,” he said.
It was then I saw what was in his background. “You're in a tavern?”
Mudhoof leaned back so I could see more. A small generic tavern with a lone barkeep rubbing the counter with a cloth. “Yup, living the high life.” He held up a frothy mug and took a sip. “I recently upgraded my simulation suit to enable taste for the first time. Been tr
ying out all the different ales that I can.”
Again, he made me laugh. Then I cringed, fearing I would have been heard.
“Okay, well, enjoy the ale. You've earned it.”
“Give 'em hell, Vee!” Mudhoof said, and signed off.
I took a moment to change hiding spots, then pinged Thorm.
He answered immediately. His face was hunched over and rocking back and forth. At the bottom of the screen could be seen the top of Snowflake's fury head bobbing in and out of frame.
“Miss Valesh!” The Holy Knight declared with a smile. “You're alive!”
“Yeah, I made it through the travel gate. I'm in Ogden's little domain, and currently undetected.” Along the edges of the chat's view-window I could see the yellow sand of a desert shoot by.
“Where are you? What happened?”
“I'm several gates away, now,” he said. “Leading my new friends on another wild goose chase.” He leaned a little to one side. Behind him about a hundred paces away were two riders in hot pursuit. One wore a bright white cloak which flapped about in the wind.
“You got to admire their persistence,” I said, and meant it. “But why chase you? It's me they want.”
Thorm laughed into the wind, his blond mustache whipping about. “That Titan made it clear hanging around would not be tolerated. Besides, once you vanished in the thing's mouth I think they must have thought you dead. So, I was the closest target to take out their aggressions on.”
“Sorry to get you into this mess, Thorm.” I seemed to spend a lot of time apologizing to my friends because of my own problems.
“Apology not accepted,” Thorm said with a smile. “This is all part of the game, and I will be the first to admit this is really fun.” He glanced behind him briefly, and said. “But I must go, Miss Valesh. I'm going to see how far I can lead them before they lose interest or have to stop for a bathroom break. Good luck with Ogden!” And with that he signed off.
It felt good to know he was okay, and even better that neither of my friends held any animosity toward me for their predicament.
I moved through the trees until I looked down upon the huge ice complex.
Speaking of my problems, it was time to solve my biggest one, once and for all.
And to do that I had to break into a fortress.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Between the tree line of the forest and the edge of the chasm, I darted from cover to cover. If it weren't for my Shadow ability, I would have easily been spotted.
Still, from a tactical point of view the forest edge was too close to the fortress walls. The trees should have been cleared out to at least a hundred paces, and the ground in between pruned of any cover. This just underscored Ogden's overconfidence that no one, even an invading Guild, had a hope of breaching his Titan defense.
Well, having just breached it I was now going to invade.
Once I reached the very edge of the chasm, I looked down. Sheer rock walls vanished into an impenetrable darkness. The far ledge was at least twenty paces distance, and flush with the fortress wall. A sane person would not risk the jump, but I had to try.
I took a couple of dozen paces back and looked up at the battlements far above.
From this angle no one could see me. With the cover of approaching night, and my active Shadow ability, I didn't think I'd be spotted, even if someone happened to be looking right at this area.
From my inventory I took out two short daggers and gripped one in each hand.
With a silent prayer, I ran.
At the very edge of the chasm ledge, I jumped and used my Leap ability at the same time.
I sailed across the vast space the wind buffeting my ears.
Apparently, my investment of skill points in Leap paid off, for I managed to cross the distance easily. I slammed against the wall, jamming both daggers into its ice.
It took a moment to get my bearings and be thankful I wasn't pinwheeling into the chasm's darkness for an eternity.
I began to climb, pulling myself up with the daggers, then using my Sure Footed ability to keep my feet firmly lodged against the wall's slick surface. Over and over I repeated this process. Occasionally, I would risk a glance upwards, but no one was peering down.
At the half-way point, the massive drawbridge to my left suddenly rumbled to life and descended. I froze in place and hugged the wall.
The noise of the huge chains lowering it down was deafening, and I could feel the vibrations in the ice itself.
The drawbridge thudded into place and a group of riders exited the fortress and crossed over.
A little alarmed by they appearance, I twisted around as much as I could to get a better view. Was one of them Ogden? If he left now, what would I do? None appeared to have his sloping owl shaped outline, and they followed the snow-covered path to disappear into the forest.
Were they the ones who I'd seen with Ogden earlier? I couldn't be sure.
As the drawbridge began to be pulled up, clattering away, I resumed my climb.
Sooner than I expected I reached the top, and with extreme caution I peeked over.
No one was there. Only the view of various roofs of the fortress's inner buildings greeted me.
Slowly, I pulled myself up and glanced down the battlements in both directions. Nothing, and no one. I knew there were clockwork guards on the walls, so I remained cautious as I dropped down onto the icy walkway.
A short distance to my left an open doorway into a tower presented itself. To my right, a long expanse of exposed wall.
I slinked to the tower and entered.
The walkway continued through the tower and out onto the next set of battlements. Far in the distance I could see a clockwork guard wobbling along. Too far to be a threat.
Ice stairs spiraled downward into darkness, and on those I descended.
Going down the same distance I'd climbed up made for a small joy and I quickly reached ground level.
A single closed wooden door was set into the ice wall of the tower. Opening doors represented the greatest risk of discovery for a Shadow. Yet, the huge size of the fortress coupled with the few patrolling guards, made the chance of someone looking at the door as I opened it pretty small.
I slowly reached for the doorknob.
The door exploded open.
As the door slammed inward, I jumped back and instantly took out my sword.
A clockwork guard stood within the entrance, its squared body blocking the way. Then it waddled in, turned to the stairs and climbed.
I breathed a sigh of relief, trying to recover from a near heart attack, and leaned against the wall. The pommel of my sword clinked against the wall's icy surface, causing my Shadow form to shimmer.
The clockwork guard stopped.
Tensing up, I prepared for a fight.
The guard did not move, only stood there with one blocky foot on the next step up. Slowly, its head turned and square black eyes seemed to scan over the little room. Steam shot out of its back.
I held my breath. How difficult would this thing be to dispatch? My eyes fell on the lightning wand sticking out of one of its arms. It gave off an electrical crackle.
Seconds passed, and I thought I could hear the gears grinding away within its body. Was it assessing the situation? Did it have an artificial intelligence which could reason things out? Then, as if to answer my questions, the guard turned its head forward, and resumed climbing up the stairs.
I waited a good while until the noise of its clomping footfalls were gone. Since I didn't know how connected these guards were with Ogden, I could not risk eliminating one, even quickly. A normal guard could raise an alarm, but these automatons were a different conundrum. I needed to err on the side of caution and avoid them completely.
The tower door stood open, a snow-covered courtyard beyond. I eased up to it and looked out. No other clockwork guards were nearby. In fact, the vast open space looked abandoned. Just my luck I'd almost smacked straight into the only guard in this sec
tion.
Across from the tower was the main fortress complex, a collection of different buildings of all shapes and sizes. Various doors presented themselves, so I chose one at random and moved to it.
Night had fallen, and the courtyard was almost completely black save for the occasional glowing sconce or fire pit. Maybe the clockwork guards didn't require much light to still maintain their rounds. Regardless, I kept my distance from any source of light. Shadows excelled in the night.
