The Dragon's Wrath: Ashes of the Fallen

by Brent Roth

  Necks had snapped back and forth as heads and bodies collided with the solid wall behind them. Sounds were muffled by the electricity coursing through their veins, as minor goblins fell to the floor, some dead, some stunned. Those that lived, were rendered temporarily immobile.

  They stared at me with those wide hourglass eyes, baring their fangs and clutching their heads and spade-like ears. Then two guards stood up, readying their shields and spears once more, with only a slight hesitation showing as they grew weary and wary. Caution had crept into their minds, as their reaction times were dulled by the thought process that second-guessed their every action.

  Sticking to instinct and reacting off muscle-memory, I was now faster.

  Spears thrust in my direction were slow, as my senses were heightened from adrenaline. Twisting to avoid the trajectory of the spear tip, I retaliated with a fury of my own. Rage had started to consume me as I wanted to inflict as much pain on them as they had done unto me.

  I needed to reciprocate the favor that they had shown me.

  A single minor goblin stood up first, only to stand without a head as it rolled on by.

  Then another jumped up, with a sword swung immediately after… only for the sword to find itself without an owner as a hand fell to the floor. A third goblin was up, the same one with a broken nose and blood dripping across its face. Leaning in with a second shield bash, I sent it into the wall as its head was crushed between the two forces. Stepping back, there was a fourth minor goblin still alive on the floor but a swift kick and hack into the back of its neck ended it right then and there.

  A heavy thrust and a lunge came from the guards but I blocked and deflected simultaneously, all the while shifting my feet so as to get an angle on the one-handed goblin clutching and screaming. A quick slash and it reacted, shifting its one hand from its other arm to its neck as blood seeped out. And then just as I had turned my attention back to the two guards that were now left, a bolt of bluish-white frost fluttered on by as frost flakes floated on down to the ground below.

  Then, suddenly, impact occurred and a white frosty mist enshrouded the goblin only to be evaporated by the blazing hot fireball that followed it.

  Flames bursting and radiating outwards, the heat could be felt on my face as the goblin guard reacted to the sudden strikes of the two spells. Roaring with its high-pitched voice and throwing its head back partially in fear and partially due to the pain, it waved its spear wildly about as it cowered behind its shield.

  Digging a heel into the ground, I leaned forward and thrust my shield into its waist and shoved with all of my might, causing the goblin to tumble backwards into the rock wall. Completely off balance, the goblin guard struggled to get its footing as it slipped on the mossy patch beneath its feet. Taking advantage of the momentary lapse of functionality, I raised my axe in an instant, only to bring it down into the exposed face of the goblin. Bones crushed and shattered from the impact, the axe was wedged deep between the eye sockets as I shifted a boot onto its chest and kicked out.

  Yanking the axe free from the executed guard, I turned to face the last one.

  One on one, it stood no chance.

  Then another frost bolt hit, and another fireball.

  Explosions of white and red intermixed for my enjoyment as the polar opposites canceled each other out. Without any mercy, I raised my right hand and dropped my axe to the floor, shooting a single beam of lightning out and connecting the two of us as our fates were now interlocked. I stared on, at the pulsating lightning, the single tether of raw energy surging forth at predetermined intervals as it stripped flesh and burned the monster from the inside-out.

  It wanted to scream, but it couldn't.

  The guard resisted, it fought, it managed to regain its movement but its vocal chords betrayed it. The goblin wanted to curse me, it wanted to yell, but another frost bolt smashed into him, staggering him for a moment.

  Then, a fireball impacted directly to the side of his head as it jerked violently to the side. The impact sent the creature careening to the deck as it struggled to get back up. The goblin guard tried to move, but my channel had never ceased. And then, with one last valiant effort, it stood up. Raising its head the goblin looked at me with defiant eyes as it fell back onto its knees. Keeping my channel steady, a half-second passed as the goblin finally collapsed onto the ground before me.

  My channel cut, the creature was dead.

  And then as I turned my head, Barik fell.

  As I had been thinking about my next move, the goblin chief used a heavy swing on Barik. He had easily blocked the blow with his shield, but the force of the impact brought him to a knee. And then as swiftly as the first strike, the chief thrust the halberd along the edge of the shield and twisted his grip, turning the hook-side of the halberd into the shield.

  The instant the hook caught onto the shield, the goblin pulled back and brought Barik down to the ground. Already off balance while down on a knee, the sudden yank of the shield that was attached to his arm left him with no recourse. The dwarf was splayed out before the chief, unable to react or even defend himself as his face was buried in the dirt. In an instant, the goblin chief twirled the halberd around, bringing it behind him and then swiftly brought it down into the back of the dwarf as Barik's body twitched from the blow. Blood splattered upwards as the halberd disappeared into the small of Barik's back, and as suddenly as the attack had come, the dwarf's body went limp.

  The attack was fatal… it was an execute ability.

  I didn't have the time to shout or to even care that Barik had died, as I had received a battlefield promotion from off-tank to main-tank. What had been a semi-routine, planned fight with some novelty, turned into a freestyle affair with a wipe nearly at hand. The only way to salvage the fight, was to pick up the chief before he murdered the casters in short order.

  Without thinking, I rushed forward, grabbing the spear of the nearest goblin guard that died a bit before as I met the chief midway. Thrusting the spear out as I intercepted the goblin just before it reached the casters, it easily deflected my attack with its halberd and counter attacked with a wide sweep that nearly clipped my legs.

  Jumping back, I pushed forward once more and attempted a shield bash but was met with a heavy swing that sent me back on my ass. Recovering quickly, I taunted the creature as it attempted to run past me. It turned briefly to face me, but a frost bolt hit at the worst possible time. The goblin turned back onto the casters, directing its hate towards the highest threat. In desperation I threw my spear and it landed cleanly in the back of the charging goblin to no avail.

  Chasing after it without a weapon, I caught up right as the casters began to run to the opposite side. I yelled, screamed at them to run towards me, but they were distracted and didn't hear me in their panic. The frost mage ran to the right as the goblin followed, while the other two ran to the left. I continued to chase, bee lining towards the frost mage as I watched him get trapped, caught like a rat and split down the middle in one fell swoop.

  Stopping in my tracks, I had enough mana for one last cast but I had no weapon, I threw my head back and scanned the ground for the nearest weapon but couldn't see anything suitable, then as if glimmering in the darkness, my axe was visible a good twenty feet away.

  I blinked and in an instant had traveled the distance, rematerializing out of the lightning on the other side, one singular flash step being all I could afford. Grabbing my axe, I rotated around and charged at the goblin that was now rushing towards Alan. Meeting it head on, I raised my shield and deflected the heavy thrust as it almost immediately twisted its hands and pulled back, hooking my shield on the edge and sending me falling onto my face.

  Rolling over and lying on my back, I stared up at the chief as it raised its halberd above its head, preparing for a heavy swing or execute. Kicking at the goblins shin, I managed to break the goblin's foothold as it slipped and swung harmlessly into the slippery rock beside me. Sparks flying as metal bounced off stone, I roll
ed to my right and attempted to get back on my feet before it could retaliate once more.

  It swung wildly, in a quick act of desperation to clip me.

  The blow was shallow though, and didn't break past my leather armor as no pain had registered. If it did register, I was oblivious to it now. Circling the goblin, it swung weakly, in an attempt to poke and prod my defenses.

  I deflected with my shield as I noticed my strength had started to wane.

  Then a fireball exploded on the goblin and it reeled back in pain.

  Taking advantage of the moment I swiped once with my axe and managed to cleave a small portion of its flesh off.

  It wasn't fatal, but it was enough.

  Its eyes burned with a demonic disposition as it hissed and cursed at me in non-broken English. It threatened me, semi-intelligently, as if it could scare me off. It reacted, as if it were real.

  I responded with another attack as it parried my blow and countered with a lunge, thrusting its halberd at me with the point of the spear impacting soft tissue.

  It barely hit but it connected, poking a small hole into my abdomen as warm blood could be felt dripping out and down my shirt. But then a golden light, a ray of warmth, descended on me and I instantly felt rejuvenated.

  I glanced at the corner of my visual screen, where a small transparent bar was visible, where Alan's mana bar was supposed to be. Yet, instead of a blue colored bar, there was nothing, nothing at all. He was completely out of mana.

  That was his last heal.

  There were no more second chances going forward.

  Reality sunk in, this fight was mine to lose.

  Adrenaline was pumping through my blood as the room suddenly seemed narrower and everything was moving faster yet slower at the same time. I had acute focus on the boss, the goblin's movements were slow but my body lagged behind. My mind kept up with the new pace but my body was struggling to maintain my movements as I dodged the next attack with a complicated ease and attempted a counter.

  My mind willed the axe forward but it came slower than I wanted as the goblin reacted with a counter blow of his own. Swinging my axe wide to deflect the oncoming attack with force, our weapons clashed and clanged together, sending sparks flying and bouncing off. The force of the blows repelling each other as the shockwave traveled down the shaft and through my arms, sending a tingle through my hand as I pulled back. My hand was numb, but I had no time to waste.

  Gathering myself almost instantly, I saw the goblin shift its weight to the rear leg as it brought its arms back, and without a second passing by, I instinctively knew what was coming next. In a tenth of a second the goblin's shoulders tightened up as it grabbed the halberd with both hands gripping tightly, tensing its core and then twisting and thrusting forward with a heavy thrust.

  A quarter of a second passed, I saw it coming.

  My reflexive ability reacting faster than my mind could process and send the signal, I watched as my body contorted and twisted to the right as my legs kicked out powerfully but I was too slow. I watched the halberd's trajectory as it inched closer and closer, only to suddenly divert as the goblin jerked back.

  I didn't know what happened, but it didn't matter.

  My heart was racing, every tenth of a second mattered, I didn't have the time.

  There wasn't enough time.

  The next attack came and all I could muster was a quick tumble, hitting the earth hard with my shoulder and rolling onto my back. Managing to return to my feet, I stood up and assumed a defensive stance with my shield held high. I turned to face the goblin and pressed the attack, but as soon as I brought my axe up another heavy thrust was forming and I instinctively knew I couldn't dodge, it was too late.

  I swung downwards and met the halberd's head with the blade of my axe, sending it slamming into the floor as I carried through with the swing. My focus was completely zeroed in, having reached my zenith, my max, I could properly parry.

  Another attack came, and I deflected it easily as I saw everything happening.

  But I could feel it.

  My reactions were starting to get sluggish, my responses were dulling… my mind, was getting tired. The goblin raised its halberd and swung down without much effort, yet I was barely able to deflect it in desperation.

  I could see it clearly, I could see everything happening as clear as day despite the watery eyes and the ashen dimly-lit interior. The room was so much brighter than it was before, so much closer, as if everything had been enlarged. But my reactions, my reactions were getting slower and slower.

  Faster, I needed to be faster.

  Then the next attack came, and I barely managed to deflect that as I lost my axe. I watched it fly off to the side and realized my stamina had depleted. My body couldn't do it any longer, I wasn't strong enough.

  My endurance had given in.

  The goblin readied its next attack, with an endless stamina that I envied.

  The axe-head of the halberd cleaved into my shoulder, but I muscled out of it. I couldn't feel my right arm, but the next attack was coming. I needed to block, I needed to raise my shield. Yet, as I did so, it shattered just like that, with wood splintering off and flying in every which way. Pain registered clearly in my chest as I looked at the shallow but large wound that had split me open.

  I had fallen onto my back from the blow, and now looked up as the goblin towered above me. My head was throbbing and I was frantically trying to move my hands and legs to get back up, but then I saw it. I saw what was going to happen long before it happened. The goblin chief had brought the halberd back along the ground, switching grips and then bringing it behind its back.

  Raising it to the sky as if it was a tribute or offering to the Gods.

  How long was this going to last.

  It was taking its sweet time.

  I couldn't tell how long it had been since the execute movement had begun, but it certainly felt like it was over ten seconds by the time the halberd had started its descent. As it came down I was helpless to move, I was trying, but it felt like something had sapped all of my strength as the realization finally set in.

  I was completely out of stamina.

  My body was no longer responding to my mind, and in truth, I wasn't even sure if my mind was working properly at this point.

  I was coherent, but only so.

  Then it hit, and in an instant the world turned black again.

  By the time my vision returned, the spirit world had welcomed me back once more. That world of blue and gray, distorted and blurry with only the flowing river in the sky to direct me towards my destination… it was depressing.

  We were so close, yet we failed.

  I took a deep breath and then followed it up with a rapid succession of smaller breaths. I was gasping for air. My chest heaved up and down as my hands were shaking and my mind was pounding. As the adrenaline had faded, I was now regressing to a state of normalcy. My overly focused senses were shifting back to normal.

  My view seemed to widen and darken simultaneously, no doubt in reaction to my pupils no longer being dilated. It was an uncomfortable feeling, as I realized that everything was for naught. To come so close to killing the boss, only to fail at the very end wasn't a happy thought.

  If we wiped midway through, that was fine.

  Maybe even if it was a quarter or three-fourths of the way through, that would be alright with me. But I was certain, that the boss was only a few attacks away from falling. I didn't know how much health it had left, as I didn't have the time to check.

  All I knew, was that it was really, really close.

  Letting out a sigh, there was little reason to get upset.

  We could always give it another go… we were close enough to get it done.

  I sat for a minute, in my spirit form, trying to relax.

  My head was actually starting to hurt, but hopefully it was only temporary.

  Well, I only had to wait for the guys now.

  The others would appear any se
cond, arriving with their ghostly selves at any moment. Yet, another minute passed and I was still sitting alone at the graveyard. A few minutes went by, and five ghosts of strangers materialized next to me as some other party had wiped inside the dungeon. Alan and Ethan, though, never showed up.

  Something wasn't quite right here.

  They were still alive somehow, which didn't make sense.

  "Maybe they leashed it and reset the boss," I muttered to myself.

  Standing up, I ran back into the dungeon and made my way through the five floors until I came across the other four members of my party, alive and well in a room filled with corpses. Corpses of goblins were strewn about, fourteen to be exact, as the party was sorting through the loot. Sorting through the loot and fourteen corpses… that meant one thing, and one thing only… we did it.

  There was no way that could be true.

  "What took ye so long Sigurd?" asked Barik with a huge smile.

  "Well, fuck that," I said out of character as I shook my head and started to grin. "You mean we managed to kill the little fucker after three of us died? You're shitting me."

  "Hah, damn right we fucking did it!" cheered Ethan enthusiastically as the others joined in. "And we were the first to fucking do it too, hell yeah!"

  I was still somewhat disconnected from it all.

  They were yelling and cheering but it became incoherent to me as I watched the scene unfold. A part of me wanted to celebrate too, to jump up and down and shout or whatever people did when they were excited… we had the world record for this dungeon.

  That made us, for a brief moment in time, somewhat special.

  Sure, it wasn't a big thing, it wasn't a serious raid.

  This was nothing more than the second instanced dungeon in the game, and we happened to get here first while the game was still relatively new. We were ahead of the curve and there wasn't a lot of competition at the moment… but that didn't stop us from feeling good.

  Ah, but my head hurt.

  I taxed my mind a bit too much, during that fight.