Maelstrom

by Ajdin K. Denic

  The remaining Goblins had made a circle around the larger figure that stood in their midst, a long wooden staff held up in his hand. He was easily as tall as three of the smaller Goblins put atop each other. His green skin looked rough and was slightly spiked.

  "Is that an Orc or an Ogre? Or whatever their name is?" Laney asked, disgustedly. It was horrible to look at, Kaden thought, but why was she overreacting? It was almost no different from the Goblins surrounding it, if taller.

  "I think that's an Orc. Ogres are far larger, stronger and uglier. At least according to games and movies," Kaden replied.

  "Whatever it is, deal with it already!" Laney cried out, "It looks horrible!"

  Just what was her deal? Kaden thought again. She was overreacting, no matter how you looked at it. The goblins were keeping to their patch of ground, out of attacking range for now.

  The creature seemed to be confident as it fixed Kaden and Laney with an icy glare, slamming down its staff into the ground. Around him, there appeared to be some kind of barrier, shimmering in the bright light. At the same moment, Kaden cast his new spell once more.

  [Frozen Land]

  You have inflicted 311 damage to Goblin.

  Ice rose up from beneath its feet, freezing whatever it touched. The remaining Goblin corpses froze up and exploded, sending shards of ice slamming into the Orc’s barrier. With a pop it was dispelled just as the onslaught of frozen shards ended. Some smaller shards managed to pierce the barrier, embedding themselves in the Orc’s body. It howled in anguish and slammed its staff into the ground, raising a small earthquake that sent Kaden and Laney flying.

  The Orc looked satisfied and knocked his staff three more times into the ground. Another tremor hit the area underneath him. Strangely, he didn’t fall over or make a move. He just stood there and enjoyed the view as the surrounding air shifted and the sky darkened.

  "What the hell? Is he going to cast that tremor on himself?" Kaden asked. The Orc did not fall down however, instead a darkly glowing disk appeared on the ground beside him. As the ground crumbled away, massive hands reached out from beneath the rock and sand.

  A brute of a creature pulled itself up and rose steadily to its full height, easily twelve feet tall. The newly appeared monstrosity towered over the Orcas it spat sand and rock. The Orc looked up and yelled something, motioning around with his hands.

  "Now that's an Ogre," Kaden whispered, barely audible. Laney stepped in front of Kaden, turning to meet his eyes, fear dilating her pupils to pinpricks.

  "Tha-that's an Ogre? It could probably swallow us whole!" As if on queue, the Ogre opened its mouth and roared in a rage, stomping from foot to foot and swinging a staff that looked like a tree trunk. Its primitive armour glinted dangerously.

  "You will pay!" the Orc screamed in a language the two somehow understood and charged them, holding the staff high above his head. Sparks peppered the area, distracting the two. Looking up, Laney barely managed to deflect the rushing staff before it slammed into Kaden’s head, the one spear Laney still had, barely holding together as the force flung her away.

  The Ogre rushed the downed Laney and swung the huge staff as if it was a mere branch. The butt end crashed into her spear, cracking the handle into two and stepped in closer, head-butting her. Thanks to her luck more than her prowess, the hit was a glancing blow. Without the buffs, she realised, her life would have been ended right away.

  [Ice Orb]

  You have inflicted 177 damage to Ogre.

  The spell slammed into the Ogre’s back, freezing his shoulder in place and doing massive damage to his back. He roared and swung the club around, slamming it straight into Kaden’s left arm, raised to defend himself. It broke with an audible snap, causing Kaden to experience a world of pain.

  "Fuuuuuck!" Kaden cried out as he fell to the ground, his left arm a mess.

  Laney ran up to the Ogre and slammed the spearhead into his frozen shoulder. It cracked open and shattered. Bellowing, the Ogre roared in pain as another Ice Orb slammed into its chest, leaving a fist-sized hole. Ice formed from within the wound and spread slowly.

  The Ogre stared at them in horror and disbelief. "How can… this be?" he asked, turning from one to the other. "I should have lived and returned… to my family. You should have been the one… to die. He promised me," the Ogre said with a gravelly voice.

  Both Kaden and Laney frowned at his words and felt an unease spreading. A cold sweat trickled down their backs.

  "We were supposed to die here?" Laney asked, taking a step towards the dying Ogre. He fell to his knees and clutched at the hole.

  "He promised me that... if I killed you, I could… return to my family. You shouldn’t possess… magic like you do. I got cheated." Finishing his last sentence, the ice froze over his chest before exploding. Hundreds of tiny shards flew in all directions. Laney got hit in her leg as Kaden ducked, narrowly escaping decapitation.

  "Shit! Why did I have to move in so close!" she cried out. Kaden caught her with his good arm as she stumbled, and helped her move towards the tree.

  "Lie down for a moment, alright?" he said, lowering her gently and kneeling next to her. His own arm was still a mess, the pain almost enough for him to faint. Somehow, he held out. A roar came from behind them as the Orc started yelling and screaming.

  "You… kill the friend. I… kill you!" The Orc charged, his head lowered. Kaden was at a loss at how he should react after the Orc’s words. Disregarding his own pain, he cast another orb.

  [Ice Orb]

  You have inflicted 288 damage to Orc.

  The spell hit the monster straight in the snout, but it glanced away with sheer tenacity that powered through the force begin his charge.

  "What? You have got to be kidding me!" Kaden yelled out. "I hit him full on in the face!" In a panic, he grabbed the Orc’s staff and ran away from Laney so she wouldn’t get hit. A sound chimed off in his head, but he dismissed it and ran on, imbuing the staff with his magic.

  Kaden yelped as the frost extended from the staff onto his hand, and from there his arm. Seconds later, it engulfed his whole body, sending a chill down his spine. It made him want to stop running, shiver and cry, but he was more than that. More than a cowering coward. Before long, the sensation disappeared and everything returned to normal.

  A chime notified him of a system change. What now? Is it because of this new skill? He needed to know what it did, but didn’t have enough time to read the description with the Orc chasing him. Turning around quickly, Kaden pointed his hand at the Orc’s leg and let loose another [Ice Orb] which slammed right into the monsters knee, throwing it off balance. A second later, a [Magic Bolt] followed and pierced its left leg, bringing it to a skidding halt, tearing up its skin on the rough sand and rock.

  Not losing any time, he opened the skill window and hurriedly read the description.

  You have gained a new skill: Frozen Armour.

  Skill description: Add a stack of protection upon cast, a second after three and a third after five minutes. Protects the wearer against any magical or physical attack one time per stack.

  So this is what the chime was about, Kaden thought to himself, completely missing the monstrous fist that came flying straight towards him. The blow sent him flying as his assailant tripped over his own frozen feet, slamming face first into the rocky ground. It lay there for a few heartbeats before it stirred as Kaden came to a rolling stop, screaming while holding on to his left arm.

  He pressed the damaged arm into his chest, hoping the pain would go away magically, but he knew better. It was all he could do to not fall unconscious as the brute moved to a crouching position. Gritting through the pain, Kaden lifted his head. Their eyes met for a brief moment as the Orc pushed himself off the ground.

  With a sudden rage, the Orc launched himself towards Kaden for one last attack. On instinct, Kaden put up his good hand and targeted the ground underneath himself. Just as the creature came in range, its feet froze solid underneath him. Kaden could fe
el it creeping up his legs and chest. It pressed into his body, crushing it steadily.

  "Laney! Remind me never to disrespect my skill again if I make it out alive!" Kaden yelled just before the ice reached its peak and cracked. Both feet and one of its arms got ripped off instantly as it had been leaning down. The wounded beast howled and screamed in anger as it turned red.

  A raging tide rose up its eyes as it rushed Kaden on stumps. Kaden had no idea if he should cry or try to scurry away out of the Orc’s path. In a panic, Kaden cast another [Ice Orb], hitting its neck. It reared backwards and came on again. A second later, its spell resistant fist slammed into Kaden’s chest, driving the air out of his lungs, and made him cry out. To his luck, the hit didn’t kill him.

  He had to thank his [Frozen Armour] as the second stack saved his life. When he could finally look up again, the Orc lay a few meters to his left, breathing unsteadily as blood gushed out of the stumps. Bone protruded through meat and skin, the sight awful and beyond anything Kaden wanted to ever see.

  Its body was mutilated and lay there face down, choking on its own blood. Kaden’s Frozen Armour had saved him from the two devastating attacks that would have killed him outright. He thanked Bardos for the little gift, even though he had been the one to put them in this predicament.

  "I'm sorry," Kaden murmured as he closed in on the mutilated Orc. With all of his remaining power, he slammed the butt end of the staff on top of its head. The little life left within the creature evaporated under the heavy blow. Kaden laughed like a madman as he shuffled over to Laney, dropping like a sack of meat beside her. He had no love lost for killing the Orc, but he had to choose between his own life and that thing’s.

  "Good job," she murmured with eyes half closed. Her power had diminished to where she was barely awake. The pain, however, wasn’t an issue because the wound from the ice shard in her leg had healed itself, but the pain had drained her.

  "Thanks." His arm ached, and he felt exhausted. Maybe it would have been a good idea to die, at least the arm would have healed up. The two fell asleep moments later as Bardos appeared and cleaned the area of everything that would remind them of the battle.

  * * * * *

  "Superb job, my children. You seem to take this very seriously, and for that I'll award you," he smiled mischievously, rubbing his hands together.

  "Take away their infinite number of lives and replace it with a zero. Oh, they are so going to like this when they learn about it! What next?" Bardos was in deep thought, thinking of how to screw with their lives even further.

  "Oh my goodness. What is this feeling that has come over me? This is me being evil, yes. I love myself sometimes. They will have to pass the Slime dungeon. This will be of epic proportions!" Bardos was quiet for a moment, his eyes ablaze. He shook and shuddered as if he was having a seizure.

  "I know what will get them ticking. I'll give them one last present, in the way of activating their lifebar ahead of time. When it drops to zero, they go bye-bye!" Bardos laughed again, observing the two.

  "Goodbye my children, I'll see you again another day. If you live, that is!" Bardos disappeared as his laughter echoed in the background, letting the two lay where they had fallen unconscious.

  * * * * *

  Laney and Kaden appeared in an endless darkness. They could see each other, but nothing else. All of their limbs seemed to be numb. Not even a single finger or toe obeyed them. The right to talk had been taken away from them, only their eyes were allowed movement. They could only stare at each other with nothing that could help them escape this strange predicament.

  In front of them flashed a projection depicting an endless war being fought by two groups. On one side were the Humans, Elves, Dwarves and many others while on the other, beings so frightful laid battle to the first group. Demonic looking creatures along with a horde of Orcs, Goblins, Lizardmen and many other races fought for what seemed forever. Entire armies got wiped out and were replaced with new ones, fueling the fires of war.

  Bardos hovered above the battlefield, staring down and laughing. Beside him floated five figures. At first glance, they could pass for Human, but then their traits came to sight. One was hairy as a lion, with a mane thick around his neck, a second had an elongated neck and limbs and the three others looked more like Bardos, thick and armor clad.

  As the battle raged on, it focused on a single halberd wielding warrior. With a roar of defiance, the warrior crashed into the wave of oncoming enemies and swiped his halberd about with a practiced ease.

  Countless more battles flashed by as if skipping time in front of them. The same man kept on fighting from battle to battle, getting wounded grievously many times but taking all of his enemies to their graves.

  "That man is a demon," Laney whispered. Kaden’s eyes shot towards hers as he found his voice had come back as well.

  "Yes he is. But don’t you think the predicament we are in is more important? At least for the time being?"

  Kaden’s voice had a hint of panic to it, as he wasn’t thrilled about their newest situation. They could fight back against the Goblins, but now they just hovered in place.

  "What? Are you afraid of the dark? My dear, I have seen darkness you can’t even imagine!" Her voice was angry and filled with old pain. She had lived for so long and seen such unspeakable things that Kaden would cringe and curl up like a fetus at their mere mention.

  Taken aback, he was at a loss for words, his mouth open wide. It wasn’t just pain and suffering that laced her words, but anger and hatred as well.

  "Your constant mood swings aren’t helping us, if I may say so. What is more, they aren’t appreciated in the least. I do not understand what you have been through, and I won’t even begin to imagine, but we are in this together now. Why are you acting like I'm your enemy?" Laney’s face turned red, and she averted her face from his gaze.

  "You have no idea," she replied and went silent again. Enraged, Kaden went on the offensive.

  "Do you think that I hadn’t noticed what was going on during our battle earlier? Maybe it would be better to part ways after all, or how about you just kill me right now!"

  "Don’t you dare speak like that to me!" she screamed out and started crying. She would not be left alone again, no matter what. On this world, she could die. If something forced her, she would gladly do it to herself if it meant getting it over with.

  "So what now? How will we move onward from this point?" he asked after calming down some. Her face was still red and teary-eyed from the pain and rage she felt.

  "Wait, what is that above your head? Something just appeared. It’s a… bar of sorts and green at that," she whispered, as if not believing it herself.

  "I can see it above your head as well now," he replied. Another chime announced a new change.

  "Health and level?" Laney commented, bursting out in laughter. "Is he making this even more of a game?" she screamed. "Thank you for screwing us over even more! I hope you enjoy our suffering as much as we do!"

  Kaden shook his head at Laney’s words. "Is it smart to antagonize him even more?" he asked in a panic, his eyes darting all over the place.

  "What are you afraid off? Bardos coming here to strike us down? You fucking coward!"

  "Come…" a voice interrupted their bickering. "We need to talk," the voice added as the darkness turned into a bright light. Moments later, they appeared inside of a large stone room. Windows from every side let in bright sunlight as a cool breeze caressed their hair.

  As they appeared, a scene unfolded in front of them, much faster than it ordinarily should have played out and everything turned into darkness once more.

  Chapter 4

  A faint light made Kaden and laney open their eyes. They floated in the air, above what seemed to be something that had already happened. An elderly man stood over what looked like a dead man clad in ceremonial armor. It looked like a funeral, or something similar. Before they could speak out or move, they froze as the scene in front of them played out on
ce more.

  * * * * *

  "My king, will you ever wake up?" a robed figure said as he bent over the sleeping person clad in ceremonial armour. His face betrayed old age, wrinkled and rough. He wore a grey beard and a mustache like a noble, while white, long unkempt hair flowed down his robe.

  The robed figure walked down the stairs and sat in one of the large chairs used for guests at banquets. Though the throne room had seen none of them for a long time now, the tradition was still being cared for. He closed his eyes and thought about all the time spent there, trying to put the plan in place which his king had come up with to merge their world with Maelstrom.

  The Greylands, as it was called, produced a special type of energy which was released upon death, equally from Humans, monsters or any one of the other races. The more sentients died, the more energy was released.

  Wars had been costly, but effective for the process. Over seventy percent of the energy needed had stored itself in the two crystals located underneath the castle, hidden from prying eyes. Besides the energy, there was a large list of minerals and metals which had been found and prepared for the spell to work.

  The old man, who sat observing the king, held his cane to the side and thought about everything for the thousandth time. So many years had passed between their arrival and this moment. If there was anything he could do to make his people go back to the place of their origins.

  He would do it, he would do everything, especially after the king had sacrificed so much keeping them in stasis for so long, and the enemy off their land. Almost all of his power went into the divine magic prevention shield, which rendered Bardos’ and his minions’ divine magic useless, or at least made it very weak within his domain.

  He sighed before walking up to his king once more. Raikou, the same king who had saved them from their fate on Maelstrom so long ago, was giving his last ounce of strength to keep everyone alive.