Liar King (Tower of Babel Book 2)

by Adam Elliott

  It was a class Cayden had never even considered picking at character select, but that had more to do with his particular style of gameplay than any inherent flaw with the class. There was definitely something to be said for being able to end a fight in a single, powerful technique; it just wasn't for him.

  “We should be getting close, shouldn't we?” Michael asked.

  "Unless she or the officer turned off somewhere, yeah." On a regular day, they would have been able to see Sarah by now, in fact, they probably would have been able to see her from the Keep itself with the road as empty as it was. The smoke made that impossible, however. Rolling plumes of thick black smoke emanated from nearly every nearby surface, the light from those same fires the only thing keeping them from being immersed in total, confusing blackness as they ran.

  If this weren't Babel, they'd also be choking to death by now, Cayden knew. Instead, there was just a debuff, a slow damage over time effect that was little more than a nuisance by now. In roughly five minutes it would upgrade to something more dangerous, and five minutes after that their HP and TP would begin to drop precipitously, whether they were in combat or not.

  He should have been worried, but then again, if they were still in combat ten minutes from now, Cayden was sure they had bigger concerns to deal with.

  "-ill use: Izuna!" The shout from ahead of them was just barely audible over the crackling fires that surrounded them. It was Sarah!

  Before he could celebrate, however, a sudden gust of wind nearly threw the three of them from their feet. A heavy curtain of smoke followed an instant behind the wall of pressure, stinging their eyes as they passed through it, and briefly upping the shallow damage of the smoke inhalation DoT.

  As they emerged from the other side of the smoke, the trio found that what they could not see seconds before, was, for the moment at least, now as clear as day.

  Sarah, perhaps fifty feet ahead of her would be backup.

  She was moving with speed unlike anything Cayden had ever seen in person. Videos of higher level players had never really done them justice, and though Sarah was only mid-level by the modern standards of Babel, she was still a sight to behold as she swerved this way and that. Her curvaceous body, simultaneously dodged the blades of four separate footmen, along with the much more dangerous spear point of the mounted officer.

  "So much for getting to her before she got to him," Michael remarked with a certain smugness.

  "Clear out the mooks," Cayden instructed, struggling not to rise to the bait as they advanced. "Command: Party Invite Desdaemona."

  A split-second later, Cayden got to enjoy his own sense of self-righteous satisfaction as Sarah glanced in their direction, did a double take, and glanced back again. If she'd had the time or the opening, Cayden was reasonably sure some rude gesture would have accompanied that double take, but instead she was forced to accept his invitation as she shouted her displeasure. "- idiot! What are you doing here?"

  "Oh don't you even start with me!" Cayden snapped back, moving at a dead run towards the melee. "I'm not letting you suicide by Warden, and you know it. We've got the small fry; you take down kahuna."

  Sarah's expression screamed her displeasure, but there was no time for argument. Instead, she called out another skill use, drew her arms into her sides in a defensive combat stance, then threw them out as one of the Warden troops was fool enough to attack her.

  Her counter-attack struck harder than it had any right to, the impact of her punch and the spin-kick that followed sending the lower level Warden troops sprawling, most of them in Cayden's direction, where he happily scooped up their attention with a use of his taunt.

  What were small fry for Sarah were still meaningful opponents for Cayden's impromptu party. The earlier battles had depleted a sizable amount of their TP, a loss that had mostly persisted as they spent TP running, and lost yet more to the damaging effect of the smoke. Fighting four elite Warden soldiers without access to a healer, while half exhausted would have been a tall order if Sarah hadn't already knocked out nearly a third of their HP as more of an afterthought.

  “No, no, no. You're fighting over here. Personal Skill Use: Taunt.” Cayden commanded as his previous use of the ability expired. Sarah's threat was so overwhelming that his taunt was struggling to keep up with it, even after she was no longer fighting them.

  Sarah's battle with the officer had taken her nearly twenty feet away in a handful of heartbeats. He had reach on her, and a skill with his spear that would rival any of the old wushu films Cayden had watched in his youth. The stone weapon whirled this way at that; a bright red tassel pained so lifelike along its tip that for a moment Cayden mistook it for fabric.

  Foot by foot the mounted officer was driving Sarah back, though he was doing little damage in the process. Each thrust or slash with that razor sharp point was met with a head fake or a juke. Sarah's body was constantly out of line with the weapon, her palm parrying the haft of the weapon when it came too close, a flip carrying her a half-dozen feet back when the officer committed to a thrust.

  The battle was nothing like the first time he'd seen Sarah fight. Back then, during his last attempt at rescuing her, she had been so far above the people she'd been fighting that she had only taken it as seriously as her anger allowed.

  A split legged skirt flowed beneath her as Sarah danced beneath a sidelong swing of the weapon's point. She turned from defense to offense in the blink of an eye as she took to the air and threw a quick one-two combo. The sound of Sarah's fists striking stone was enough to make Cayden wince in sympathy, but it wasn't enough to stop her as her slippered feet found purchase on the neck of the officer's mount. The thing bucked, of course, but not before Sarah was able to lay out another brutal combination that sent the officer reeling back in his saddle.

  It lashed out at her as she retreated, the haft of the officer's spear catching Sarah in midair with such force that it threw her into, or rather, through, the wreckage of a nearby flaming building.

  "Is she okay?" Michael asked as his Penetrating Strike skill lived up to its namesake by tearing a neat hole clean through the torso of one of their three, now two, remaining Warden opponents.

  “You something like think that will put her down?” Cayden scoffed, putting his back into a shoulder rush as he drove one of the officer's bodyguards back into the path of a mighty uppercut from Asch. “Check her HP. She is barely under half!”

  As if on cue, Sarah's voice echoed from the top floor of the burning building, a blur of motion erupting from its roof. "Personal Skill Use: Dragon Hammer Flash: Disaster!"

  The officer had been under no more illusion that his attack had killed Sarah than Cayden had, but his preparedness meant nothing in the face of Sarah's speed. The spear came up to meet Sarah as she plummeted from the sky, but she dodged its point with an almost disdainful ease. It would have still been enough to keep her from her intended target if he had been her intended target to begin with.

  Instead, the falling ax kick scythed clean through the torso of the officer' mount, killing the statuesque creature in a single instant and dropping its rider unceremoniously to the ground. Just in time for Sarah to lay a knee to his chest and begin a positively epic beatdown.

  If what had come before was superhuman to the point of absurdity, the beating Sarah laid to the officer was charmingly in the realm of reality. It had more in common with a UFC fight night than some Shonen anime, her slender body pressing down onto the officer with all of its weight, while her fists and elbows engaged in good old-fashioned ground and pound that would have been right at home in any back ally brawl.

  There was no skill used, let alone any skill use as Sarah rained blows down upon her pinned opponent. It wasn't even much of a fight, with Sarah in her element and the officer entirely out of his. If nothing else it reminded him of how far downhill a game of Dungeons and Dragons could go once a player figured out the grapple rules. A referee would have stopped the fight, and despite the danger, they were all in, Cay
den couldn't help but mutter a quote under his breath. "Stop, stop. He's already dead."

  If only it were so simple.

  A lance of stone erupted from just out of view, the head of it catching Sarah cleanly in the abdomen as she drew back for another punch. The force of the magic sent the blue haired girl sprawling, her HP dropping precipitously into the red.

  Its source was nearby, the robe-clad Warden already working his hands through the motions of another spell that might have been enough to finish the job. And Cayden was in no position to stop him.

  "No, you don't! Personal Skill Use: Throw Object!" The words were Dinah's, punctuated by a grunt of exertion as that enormous great ax left her outstretched fingers. It tumbled end over end towards a mage who was suddenly far less interested in completing his spell than he was remaining alive. The caster threw himself sideways, narrowly avoiding the scything blade as it embedded itself in the wall of a nearby business.

  "Return!" Dinah instructed, the weapon rematerializing in her hand, it's owner already at a full run towards the mage. "I've got him; you cover her!"

  “Sarah! I've got... damnit!” Cayden swore. He was too late.

  Potions, like most MMO consumables, were limited in their use. You could drink any potion you wanted, but once you did, there was a timed period before you could use another. In Babel, this took the form of toxicity. If he were to take another potion within a few minutes of his first one, the second would apply a potion effect commensurate to the strength of the benefit the potion could have provided. Drinking too many potions could literally poison you to death, so if you were going to use one, always use the best.

  Which made it immensely frustrating to watch as Sarah finished downing one of her quick slotted items, a medium strength potion that didn't even return her to half health, rather than the full healing elixir he held in his hand.

  "Just cannot catch a break tonight," Cayden growled, sweeping aside the downswing of a hammer as one of the small train of Warden soldiers that had been following them finally caught up. Two quick swings of his sword and a single Southern Cross thanked the soldier for his bravery and left Cayden with just enough time to think.

  Things were going downhill fast. They were already nearing the end of the Minor Smoke Inhalation debuff, which meant Silver was well on her way into the medium variant. He knew for a fact that she wouldn't be able to hold up for long once the severe version kicked in, no matter how good her moves were.

  He had to make a decision.

  "Help Dinah," Cayden told Michael.

  “What? No. Where you go, I go.”

  He turned on the armored man, eyes narrowed. "Michael, this is not the time for this. The two of you can take down that mage if you land that Unstoppable, but we won't be able to get the Officer with the mage shooting at us. Let's take some kind of win out of this."

  Cayden made it three feet before he felt Michael's hand on his shoulder. “Cayden, you aren't-”

  "Michael." He replied, his voice icy. "You wanted to be part of our party so bad? Well, part of that means doing what you are told. Go help Dinah, or find yourself another party."

  With the helmet on, Michael's expression was inscrutable, but his body language was not. Frustration, anger, perhaps even humiliation. And then, without a word, acceptance.

  Sarah's battle with the officer had progressed a significant distance down the smoke-filled streets by the time Cayden looked back. The Warden Temujin, was on the offensive once again, his attacks slightly more reserved this time. He'd had some respect for Sarah before, but if Wardens could feel fear, this one certainly showed all the signs.

  It was a stalemate not at all in Sarah's favor, not as the flames licked out and the fire grew thicker. So Cayden changed it.

  His body rocked into the side of Temujin's body as his Leap Attack concluded. The damage was minimal, but it broke his balance in a way that Cayden was more than happy to exploit. A swing of his other arm came next, a shield bash whose stun would only last a tiny fraction of its normal duration against a higher-level boss mob.

  That fraction was all Sarah needed.

  "Custom Skill Use: Psycho Dragon combo!" Sarah cried, bounding forward with a four-hit combination. A left-hand jab inflicted another stun on the wounded officer, then a blow to the body from her right doubled him over. A second jab removed his balance almost entirely, just in time for the final kick to strike him along the jawline, the whole sequence finished in just under a second.

  Cayden realized he probably looked as surprised as the stumbling officer did. Custom Skill Use was a comparatively little-known facet of Babel. Use most often for PVP; it allowed a player to modify the pattern of an existing skill to make it more difficult to dodge, at the cost of being immensely more difficult to utilize. The game offered no assistance with custom skills, and they had to be performed flawlessly to avoid a penalty.

  That Sarah not only had a Custom Skill but was able to use it this well despite how rusty she must have been was startling. Asch wouldn't be the only one with questions for later.

  "Sarah, it is time to go," Cayden said, moving to put himself a step between Sarah and her downed foe.

  “Once we've got hi-”

  “No Sarah. Now.” Cayden pressed. “How long do you have before you start choking?”

  “Long enough.” She scowled.

  He moved to take another step between them, but Sarah brushed passed him, rushing Temujin once again as the latter sought to bring his spear into action. “Sarah! You... ugh!”

  “Cayden.” Silver's voice reverberated in his ear. It cut in and out, it's clarity increasing as Sarah pressed Temujin further and further down the street. “The Wardens have broken through. They'll have the whole curtain wall within the minute. I think it is time for us to go.”

  “We aren't going to get there anytime soon.” He complained. He'd blindsided the Warden officer once, but that wouldn't happen again. They were just too fast, their moves too crisp and practiced for him to edge in upon their battle. “Get everyone out and have Victoria close the portal. We'll find our own way home.”

  A second passed, then Silver replied, his headset indicating that she'd switched to a one on one channel. “Be careful, okay?”

  “Perish the thought that other people might hear you care, huh?” He teased.

  “Hoped you wouldn't notice. Aren't you a little busy?” Her voice positively dripped with sarcasm.

  “I see all!” Cayden said in his best, over the top 'voice of god.'

  Laughter played through the connection as Silver giggled in spite of herself. “Don't die. You idio-.”

  If either had anything more to say, there was no more chance to say it as his comm went dead once more. Whether by luck or by design, Sarah had turned the battle back in his direction, her pressure presenting him with the officer's rear as the Warden was driven back in his direction..

  “Skill Use: Leap Attack.” Cayden uttered under his breath, not wanting to draw attention to his re-entry into the battle.

  It didn't matter, the Warden officer was ready for him.

  As Cayden descended upon him, the officer swept the point of his spear through a wide arc, forcing a retreat from Sarah. Then, in the same breath, it stepped back, driving the butt of it's weapon skywards to intercept Cayden without even glancing back to acknowledge his existence.

  Temujin's Western God hits you for 1296 Physical/Magical

  With just the haft?! He thought incredulously, the whole of his body weight held motionless on the rear end of the Warden's spear as though he'd been impaled. If it had been the business end of the weapon, he probably would have been.

  He was to Temujin, what Temujin's rank and file had been to him.

  “Cayden!” Sarah shouted in alarm as the Warden began to advance, finally tossed the young man away with nothing more than a flick of its wrist.

  Then just as quickly it stopped. Its head turned in Cayden's direction as he struggled to his feet, stone features twisting together
into an expression of malice. The transformation alone was an unsettling sight, to say nothing of the fact that it was the first real emotion they'd seen from any Warden.

  “Cayden.” It repeated his name in an unnatural voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once, attention now focused more on him than the immediate threat posed by Sarah. “The commander and the thief. You will suffer in measure to your authority!”

  “Skill Use: Grasp the World!” Cayden cried in alarm. His heels dug into the cobblestone bracing his body just in time to receive the point of his enemy's spear on an upraised shield arm.

  Temujin's Eastern God hits you for 891 Physical/Magical [Perfect Block]

  Shield destroyed!

  The shining speartip, infused with the power of the enemy's technique, pierced his shield. It pierced his arm as well, but that was somewhat lower in the grand scheme of things compared to the fact that the enemy had nearly killed him through a perfect block. Right below the fact that the Warden was readying for another attack, in fact.

  “Natha Sere.” Cayden invoked the runes of teleportation without a thought as he reached out a hand as stroked the nearby conflagration. It was a short jump, one that carried him barely a handful of feet to a burning pile of refuse at his opponent's rear. The jump was disorienting for him, but equally confusing for Temujin who found himself spearing cobbestones rather than flesh. Neither distraction lasted long, however, the Warden officer already whirling for another attack as Cayden brought his sword up, point outstretched and level with his shoulder. “Skill Use: Justice.”

  His body lunged forward under the control of his skill, the tip of his mageblade biting deep into the side torso of the Terracotta warrior who had failed to arrest his charge. His body lingered there for a split-second, before the grip on his sword twisted, a horrendous crunch accompanying the action as he slashed the now horizontal blade out of side of the wounded boss monster, a bright line left in its wake.