Smith mounted an all black war horse.
They followed Dyfrig into the course.
...........................
“Okay, boys,” Dyfrig said.
“This instance is a standard dungeon raid. It has been geared for three soldiers, meaning, it’s going to be harder for you to clear, which is the point of the exercise. If you clear the bosses, you’re in. If not, well, you’re out. It’s that simple. Any questions?”
“Gear?”
“Yes, your equipment; you’ll be given the same gear as you had in the ogre trial, good job on that, by the way, impressive. It wouldn’t be a fair test if you were fighting bosses above the level you’ve trained for, so think of this as being at the same difficulty as the castle run or the Mount Dog run, with the only extra difficulty being that the bosses will be coming at you as if you were a raiding party of three and not two. It’s not going to be easy, but I have faith.”
“Sargent Dyfrig, can I ask a question?” Smith said.
“Sure, fire away.”
“Your race?”
“You guys haven’t gone through race, guild, and classes introduction yet?”
“Nope.”
“Hmmmmmm. I’m a Ningishzida. Your species calls us lizard people or reptile men. Our actual race, I mean, what I am from home, well, you don’t have an actual translation for that word. It’s nothing you could pronounce in any case.”
“I’m confused again,” Dale said.
“You’re over-thinking this. Again. Worry about the dungeon. If you pass, I’ll hang out with you, and explain what I know. We ship out in less than two weeks.”
“What happens in two weeks?” Smith asked.
“The start of the Nagant Wars, of course,” Dyfrig answered.
...........................
Dale and Smith entered a long dark tunnel. The walls were stone and covered with demonic and ancient symbols as well as writing in unknown languages. They reached the end of the tunnel and walked out onto a round stone elevator.
“This is so World of Warcraft,” Dale said.
“Never played,” Smith said.
“What the hell?”
“I never got into the old school stuff. I started out with Vicious Gods of Destruction and Pain.
“I loved—”
Dale was interrupted by wailing and screaming.
The elevator began to move up, as it rose, they went past cages with iron bars. Inside those cages were tortured beasts, elves, dwarfs, and other creatures that Dale didn’t recognize. They screeched and wailed.
“Go back,” one said. “There is no hope, awwwwwww!”
Dale shuddered.
The elevator reached a stopping point. Dale looked around. They were in what looked like an ancient gladiator coliseum.
A creature on an upper level shouted out. “We have victims! New blood! Place your wagers!”
The monster was reddish brown, standing as tall as two men. It had massive muscles, spiked arm bands, a breastplate with a dragon’s skeleton etched into its rusty bronze face, and two sharp horns on its head.
“I am Algrothist, Dragon Slayer, Slaughterer of the Wood Meadow Clan, and keeper of Demon Legions. I will enjoy and profit from your deaths.”
He let out a mighty scream, and the gates below him opened.
Six beasts moved out into the field of battle, and the gate shut behind them.
Dale, avoid the gated pits to the north and south, they contain one-hit demons.
You can help me here?
Only with things that are common knowledge. I’ll speak up if there is something I can assist you with, otherwise, concentrate. You can do this bad boy.
Yeah, thanks.
The beasts were about the size of the wolf-hyena creatures but were more of a combination of a razorback hog and an armadillo. They had long tails with a ball on the end, and when they screamed out, they showed big curved tusks on the bottom and long sharp fangs on the top.
“Ten to one against,” Algrothist screamed out. “Place your wagers now, betting closes in five, four, three, two, one.”
When he said the word one, the first three beasts charged.
Dale and Smith moved as a team, Dale taking the right, Smith the left.
Dale ran straight to the beast on the right side. He jumped into the air, spun, and brought his sword down onto the beast’s back, splitting it open and spraying blood everywhere.
He dropped back into a defensive posture while Smith was stabbing the beast that he’d concentrated on. The middle beast turned and moved towards Dale, but it stopped at the fallen animal.
Dale, those are cannibalistic razordillos, very nasty, they eat their dead and grow in strength.
He watched as the razordillo ate the first dead beast. It shook its head, blood and gore flew, and it grew in size. It then lifted its head and charged Dale. Dale jumped and sprinted towards Smith.
“These things eat their own dead,” he said.
“Yeah, I know, we either have to cut it into a hundred and seventy-seven pieces, or kill them as they grow.”
“Shit.”
Dale lashed out with his sword at the razordillo that had turned and charged. The beasts were fast, but they couldn’t quickly make turns. If they were dodged their momentum would force them beyond their target.
Dale took the time to hack at the dead beast that was at Smith’s feet.
+30XP
They saw that the there was a ghost health bar which approached zero as they hacked at the body.
It finally hit zero, and they both turned to face the remaining razordillo in the field, as it charged, the other three that had been waiting in the wings moved forward.
“Crap, four, I’ll tag the two I’m going to concentrate on,” Dale said.
He placed a Jolly Roger symbol on two of the four, taking the double sized one for himself.
Smith reached down and picked something up.
“Dale, a killed beast leaves a razor rib sword,” he said.
“Gotcha, look out,” Dale said. He ran towards the wall of the coliseum and found that there were spikes and foot holds.
As he climbed the beast ran to the wall underneath him.
He jumped, twisted, and landed behind the beast. He struck it with a swift blow to its rear.
+15XP
He ran towards Smith, putting another beast between them. They both landed ferocious blows, downing the attacking creature, but before they could kill the ghost, the other razordillos joined forces and charged them. They had to scatter, and this allowed the remaining beasts to eat the fallen foe they’d just killed.
“This is crazy,” Dale said.
There were still three enemies, two of them double sized.
“We need to isolate the small one,” Smith said. “We need to kill it and its ghost, so the other fuckers don’t get more strength.”
“Okay, I’ll try to draw the two bigger ones away,” Dale said.
He rushed towards them with a flurry of running legs and stabbing blades. He hoped that the larger sized monsters would chase him towards the walls of the coliseum; if he timed it right they’d over-shoot him and run into the spikes that stuck out everywhere.
Dale faced down one of the beasts and after poking it in the face with his sword, he got it to chase him towards a demon pit. The attacking creature ran straight towards Dale, who did a fast juke, and watched the razordillo try to stop before the iron bars of the demon pit, it failed and flipped onto the bars.
The screams of the creature filled the stadium with an ear piercing and painful shriek.
The pit demon consumed the beast.
“Only two left!” Dale shouted out to Smith, who had been facing the other direction.
With just two enemies, the duo was able to finish the battle without further danger; Dale chopped one to bits while Smith killed the remaining creature.
Dale retrieved a razor rib sword and placed it into his inventory.
Algrothist laughed
so hard the ground shook.
“Well done, you filthy humant scum! Pay and settle your bets. The next round starts in five minutes. Place your bets, place your bets!”
A blue humanoid creature flew down from the stands. It stopped in front of Dale and Smith. It wore a turban and robes, and its mount was a flying carpet.
“Would you like to place bets, gentlemen?” The creature smiled and laughed. “The next round is twenty-five to one against you.”
Erin?
Yes, Dale, you can gain treasure by betting. Of course, you can lose, too. It’s called gambling for a reason.
Can you tell me what you think of the odds being offered?
Seems a bit under priced, I’d put your chances at only twenty to one.
Crap.
It’s not so bad; you’ve been doing well.
How’s the betting work?
Just tell the Sihir what you want to bet, it’s that simple.
Sihir?
Yes, it’s a genie-like race. If you capture one, it’ll give you a wish.
Dale checked his inventory of gold.
“I’ll bet 500 gold bars,” he said.
...........................
System Message
A wager with: Aldarstain, Three-bet Raiders of the Plutus Guild
Amount: 500 bars of gold
Terms: 25 to 1 odds against, Corporal Brown and Private Smith must clear the next round.
The wager was auto-accepted on voice.
...........................
Algrothist shouted out, “Prepare for battle! Prepare to bleed! Prepare to die!” He then let out a loud cry that was a mixture of a scream, like the sound razordillos made when they died, and a sickening laugh.
“Five, four, three, two, one!”
The gate opened.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
All children have to be deceived if they are to grow up without trauma.
~ Kazuo Ishiguro
To love is to deceive.
~ Attributed to various deities
...........................
Every war must have two sides.
For every death, there must be one who kills. On the planet Almaach, a mighty commander arrived.
Iyam Amak, Lord Commander of the 14th Declan Division.
She Who Bestows Is She Who Denies.
“My Lord,” her Admirals spoke in unison.
“Commander,” the ranking of the Admirals spoke. “We await your orders.”
“Prepare for war, Admiral.”
“Yes, my Lord.” He bowed.
“I hear the roasted razordillo here is sweet and tender.” Iyam Amak walked to a window.
“My Lord.”
“Bring me a feast; I’d like it raw and bloody. Served with local bread. They do make bread here, Admiral?” She glanced at him, then looked out the window towards an ocean that was dotted with hundreds of islands. “It is very beautiful here.”
“Yes, my Lord. The land is filled with beauty and treachery; almost like home. The bread is good. The butter, I hate to admit, is better than I’ve ever tasted.”
“Do not become weak, Admiral.” She pointed to a distinct island, one that had a single mountain, tall enough for snow. “Is that direction north?”
“It is. Due north from where you stand.”
“You may leave me now,” she said.
The Admiral bowed, turned, and walked away.
“And Admiral,” she said.
“Yes, my Lord?” He stopped, turned, and looked into her eyes.
“My first priority will be spies. I’ve come to believe that information… Never mind, Admiral, don’t let me bore you with my philosophy on warfare. I need forty soldiers, dumb ones.”
“Commander?”
“Yes, dumb ones. But arrogant, the more arrogant the better. Provide me with fools who believe themselves wise; we’ll be creating a team of incompetent spies, Admiral.”
“Yes, Commander.” The Admiral didn’t move. “May I ask why, my Lord?”
“What is the best way to hide the one true religion?”
“Create many false gods and cults, my Lord.”
“Exactly.” She smiled for the first time. “Find over-confident ones and religious, Admiral, true believers.”
“That will not be hard, my Lord,” the Admiral said. For the first time that day, he smiled.
CHAPTER THIRTY
He that sacrificeth unto any god, save mine only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
~ King James
There was once a war declared on the emu, a flightless bird that lived in Australia. The emu won the battles of the twentieth century, but eventually, humans won the war.
~ Private Smith
...........................
A group of ostriches ran into the coliseum; there were four of them, each mounted by a creature that looked like a goblinoid fairy, a hideous elf, or perhaps something demonic.
Erin?
The ostriches are battle pets, tanks. In close quarters they can DPS by striking, but their primary role is taking damage and distracting you. The creatures are Hiisi, I don’t have access to their specs in here, you’re going to have to study this stuff.
Yeah, thanks. Anything information I can actually use?
There is a gate behind you that is opening; I’d suggest taking into account the monstrous rhino that’s about to be unleashed on you.
Dale turned, sure enough, a rhino was storming out of the open gate, directly at Private Smith.
“Smith!” Dale shouted. “Behind you! You distract the rhino. I’ll head off the hi— the demon goblin thingies…”
Hiisi.
Yeah, got it.
Dale ran directly at the first ostrich mount, shield up, sword out, and at the last moment, he slid, as if he was a baseball star stealing second, and he hacked off the legs of the bird. It screamed and its rider was thrown from its back as it rolled into a ball that ended up right in front of the charging rhino, which squashed it into a flat mess of feathers and blood. The other two mounts over shot Dale and scattered to avoid the rampaging beast that Private Smith was running behind. Dale didn’t have time to figure out what Smith was doing; the dismounted Hiisi was charging him with an outstretched sword.
Dale fought the creature with reckless abandon, when it fell, Dale picked it up and threw it into the demon pit. An outstretched arm grabbed the creature and pulled it between the bars. Dale looked up and took a stance against the next charge.
The Hiisi had split up, two of them were chasing Smith, who was still chasing the rhino.
“What the hell?” Dale said.
He struck a pose designed for defending against a man on horseback, he lifted his sword and had his shield mounted on his back. He braced for the charge, and swung, aiming for center mass. The Hiisi dodged the brunt of the attack, stabbed Dale, and fell from its mount.
“Awwwwww! My f’ing, damn! Oh! God!” Dale dropped to a knee; his left shoulder burned as if it had a red hot poker stuck in it. In fact, it did. He grabbed the end of the short spear-like goblin sword and threw it to the ground. His shoulder was bleeding. He was in excruciating pain, but he had the presence to look up in time to see the battle pet about to strike. He turned his body, so the strike hit the shield on his back. He spun, brought out his sword and hit the ostrich dead center. It took damage, but instantly its health went back to 100%. An enchanting spell. He turned around, the Hiisi he’d dismounted was on the ground, damaged, injured, perhaps close to death, but it was still casting healing.
Dale rushed the creature on the ground, pulling out the razor rib sword as he ran. He brought his sword down and chopped the Hiisi in half. It dropped loot, a pile of gold bars. He was tempted only for a fraction of a second, Dale knew what kind of trap it was to bother with loot during the middle of a battle. He looked up and saw that the ostrich was about to strike again, with his left hand he swung the razor rib sword, which instantly vaporized the ostrich. The sword crumbled to dus
t after it had done its damage.
The demons (or whatever creatures made up the audience in the stands), more Hiisi perhaps, cheered and yelled. Empty mugs flew into the arena. Cheers continued, apparently, there were more than a few that had placed wagers on Dale and Smith. Dale felt a sense of courage and hope.
He removed a healing potion and restored his health back to 100%. The pain left his shoulder.
He looked to his left and saw Smith riding the rhino.
“What the hell?”
Dale climbed a set of spikes in the coliseum wall and shouted. “Smith!”
“Dale, hold there, I’ll pick you up!”
Somehow Smith had figured out how to control the direction of the rhino, and it came charging along the wall of the coliseum, breaking spikes, smashing bricks, and knocking rocks loose as it ran. Dale jumped and landed behind Smith.
“What the hell?”
“I never told you, I’m in the Nojus Guild. I had a one time charm for controlling any mountable unthinking beast. I didn’t think it would work in here, but it did.”
“Dude, why didn’t you—”
“No time to explain, look out!”
The ostriches were closing in, and the mounted Hiisi were splitting up, one coming up each flank of the rhino, swords up, ready to strike.
Dale took out his throwing knives. He aimed and threw, the ostrich jumped, and the knife went wide.
“Can you steer this thing to charge them?”
“I can try, but those damn ostriches are fast,” Smith said. He caused the rhino to turn and head to the center of the arena.
Dale had his sword up and was battling with one of the Hiisi while Smith fought off the second one.
“We need to think of something!” Dale shouted.
“I’m trying!”
“Transfer your razor rib sword to me,” Dale said.
Smith gave him the razor rib sword and with one sword in each hand, Dale leaped off the back of the galloping rhino onto the Hiisi, which wasn’t ready for a flying, double-sword attack. It lifted its sword, but it was too little, too late, the razor rib sword was a one hit kill.
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