The Dragon's Wrath: Ashes of the Fallen

by Brent Roth

  With two floors underground the only issue would be fresh air.

  We could figure that out later.

  Everything so far had been going according to plan and even with the bits of rage clouding my judgment, I could still appreciate the speed at which everyone was working. The morale and production boost was a serious thing.

  They were working nearly twice as fast.

  A week, one real week or three in-game weeks was all we needed.

  And from the looks of it, [FWB] had returned home.

  That home of theirs though, hah.

  Well, it would be safe for the time being.

  An interesting thing about honor in the Viking era, was the concept of revenge.

  The honorable thing when wronged by someone, was to seek revenge. To regain your lost honor, to achieve vengeance, was the right thing to do. There was a saying, to the effect, "a slave takes revenge at once, a fool, never takes revenge."

  I was neither a slave, nor a fool.

  At least, in my mind that is.

  Maybe I was both, philosophically speaking that was entirely possible.

  A slave to the system, a fool of a man believing in his own freedoms… but that was neither here nor there. Vengeance was on my mind and it was to be carried out in due time. The idea, was to let your enemy believe they were safe; that you had forgotten, that you had been too scared to retaliate or some other nonsense.

  And then when they least expected it, you came in, sweeping in and destroying them with them none the wiser until far too late.

  That, was the honorable thing to do.

  That, was what I was going to do.

  The only thing left, was to improve myself.

  "Katherine," I said softly, but sternly. "Prepare, we're leaving."

  She nodded, in silence.

  Chapter 68: Rats, Just Rats

  (Friday, September 31st Game Day / Friday, April 2nd Real Day)

  "What if I told you, that none of this was real, that it's all just a dream," I said with a monotony that droned on. "And when this dream ends, there is nothing."

  Katherine stared at me for a moment, unsure of how to respond to my sudden declaration. We had been walking silently for over an hour, along the flowing creek that would lead us to the Rattanorv cave.

  The sky, overcast, provided us with plenty of shade on our long journey. It was a little cool out, having lost all of my blood-stained furs in the fire, but it didn't matter.

  It was still summer, for a few more weeks.

  "I don't follow, what are you trying to say?" asked Katherine after some time had passed. "Please explain your words, Sigurd."

  She had dropped all pretenses, strangely.

  I was no longer Sir Sigurd, Master, Liege, or Lord… now, I was the plain Sigurd.

  That's what I wanted, yet it was odd to actually hear it.

  "If I told you, that everything you thought you knew, was a lie," I continued on with my monotonous voice, void of any emotion. "What if I told you, Selene wasn't real?"

  "What are you talking about?" shot back Katherine almost immediately as she started to get visibly angry. "Have you lost your sanity?"

  Not stopping or giving me the chance to answer, her cheeks puffed and her nostrils flared as she raised her voice and started to yell, "is this your attempt to cheer me up?"

  Staring me down without hesitation, anyone could see that she was pissed.

  "Because, if so, you're failing miserably and I want no further part in this conversation!" she shouted angrily at me as she stomped off ahead of me.

  Ah, yeah.

  What was I thinking, anyways.

  My mind wasn't in the right place, it would be safer, if I didn't say anything.

  The long journey without distractions had given me time to think, time that, probably should have been spent thinking of something else. Too much idle time was never a good thing when distressed. The fact I was still bothered by losing an NPC Companion, also tore at me. In a way, what bothered me the most, was that I was feeling any emotion at all to losing a video game character.

  I mean, when your favorite squad member dies in an old-school RPG, you could reset the PlayStation and redo the level. Losing your favorite characters sucked… but you didn't go into a depression for half a week.

  This was ridiculous.

  And I was taking it out on Katherine, for no reason at all.

  Katherine was an NPC too, not a real entity. She wasn't a person that I should be worrying about. Yet, it didn't seem right, to treat her or the other NPCs wrongly.

  They were far too real.

  Yeah, an apology was necessary.

  "Hey Sigurd," messaged Barik out of the blue, right as I was about to catch up to Katherine to apologize. "I saw a stream, a guy fighting with lightnin', that ye mate?"

  Keeping the video function off, I kept the communication to voice only but muted it so others couldn't hear us talking. I didn't want Katherine to know.

  "Hey man," I replied as I tried to gather myself. "Yeah, that was me on the stream, if it's the one with a guild fight up in the North."

  "No shit, it looked like ye," he said without hesitation. "Need some help, hit 'em back? Got a few of the boys ready to go, give the word."

  "Nah, don't worry about it," I answered coolly, as my focus had finally returned. "Thanks though, I'll take care of them in short order so, don't worry about it."

  "Eh ye sure mate?" he asked succinctly.

  "Yeah man, I'm good, appreciate the offer though, maybe when you guys get up and running, we can partake in a little guild war or two."

  "Heh you're def' a battler ye' know."

  Ending the conversation there, I was glad he messaged me.

  Too much time alone thinking to myself, had let my mind go astray.

  I was focusing on the negatives far too much.

  Jogging up to Katherine, I decided to launch a sneak attack and grabbed her from behind, picking her up off the ground and performing a princess carry.

  "Wha-what are you doing!?" she yelled instinctively.

  "Carrying you, relax," I answered softly. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier, it was selfish of me."

  "Put me down, I can walk," she replied while turning away.

  "No can do."

  She fought, resisted for a little while, but eventually she calmed down and put her arms around my neck while resting her head on my chest. We walked like that for a while, as my inhuman strength and endurance allowed for it.

  We talked a little, here and there.

  Mostly, I think, she wanted the physical proximity and the comfort of a body.

  She was actually depressed.

  An Artificial Intelligence, depressed over losing an artificial friend… mind-boggling, but I accepted it for what it was. My reality existed as far as I knew, and they- no, she, was a part of that reality.

  That's what bothered me.

  Yeah, this was my reality.

  And someone fucked with it.

  With the sun setting in the distance, we decided to make camp, not wanting to head any further in the dead of night. The last time was dangerous, being caught out and surrounded by deformed rats in the middle of a dense fog.

  We weren't going to make that mistake again.

  Katherine was glued to me now, completely wrapped around me, but I didn't complain or push her away. My mind was back on track and her presence cheered me up. She would keep me warm at night, and it was a comforting thing.

  That's all that mattered now; you only get one life, after all.

  As the shadows of the night slowly crept away and disappeared over the horizon, I found myself in a precarious position with Katherine half-naked and on top of me. She had rolled over, somehow, and lost her top in the process.

  A young healthy male, in this situation, is what I was.

  Magic is what I would like to call the disappearing act of her shirt and leather vest, but maybe it was uncomfortable… who knows. She was a beautiful woman, so it was
hard to turn my eyes away… ample curves, really.

  More than ample.

  Nudging her awake, she immediately blushed and covered up the second she realized what had happened. I could only laugh and smile, as she turned her back towards me and eyed her shirt a few feet away.

  Again, how that happened, I didn't know.

  All I could say, was I wasn't being all that forthcoming.

  A gentleman's lie, was how I termed it.

  Well, I now had a Soul Link with Katherine.

  Giving her a hug as she tried to get dressed, we rolled playfully about before a hoot from an owl interrupted the atmosphere that we had created. Realizing the fun was over, it was time to set out on our trip. The Rattanorv cave was only an hour or two away by foot, and I had every intention of clearing the place.

  I needed the practice, the experience, and whatever rare items might be in there.

  They beat me last time with the wave of casters, much like how [FWB] had formed their line of mages as well. If I could beat these rats and their hundred or so [Frost Bolts], I could beat a dozen or so [Fireballs] and [Frost Bolts] from some low-leveled players. This was practical training, in essence.

  Yeah, I still had some anger residing, too.

  These rats, would have to deal.

  "I can see one, standing guard at the front of the entrance," I whispered to Katherine, who was clearly agitated by the thought of returning to the cave.

  "Are you sure about this… last time, you didn't make it out," she reasonably questioned, as it was the truth and exactly what had happened before.

  Toggling [Keen Sight] back to its normal mode, I turned to Kate and gave a weak smile. I didn't know how this was going to turn out, but I wanted to try.

  If anything, I still had the confidence that I could pull it off.

  "Just try to stay behind me, use your mana as you see fit and if you want to attack or heal, I leave those decisions to you," I explained while drawing my weapon.

  With halberd at the ready, I began to circle around the lone [Wild Rattanorv Zeta] as it wandered aimlessly back and forth between the cave's entrance. The three foot tall creature carried no weapon nor armor and was more or less an overgrown rodent in appearance. The round body and greasy fur with a long hairy tail was characteristic of a European water vole… that was basically, what they looked like.

  A cross between a brown rat and a water vole, only larger.

  Plus, a semi-upright posture that lent to their bipedal evolution.

  Fat and fluffy yet greasy looking all the same.

  They were intelligent, as was evidenced the last time I tried to fight them, but they weren't athletic or dexterous in the least. With their evolution they gained more advanced communication and the ability to use magic, fittingly frost magic to go with their water affinity. They also clearly had lost some of their agility as they weren't quick.

  They were quite slow, actually.

  Successfully stalking the rodent, I was now within striking distance as it turned its head up with ears perked. Nose twitching, sniffing, as if it had smelled something different. Then it turned away from me and stared off into the distance.

  I was facing upwind and my scent was concealed as it blew downwind, carried harmlessly behind and away from me. I could smell the rat but it couldn't smell me. The very basics of hunting were being employed today, for I was hunting an intelligent beast.

  The rat then turned its face up to the sky as something caught its eye.

  I dashed, immediately closing the distance between us as I rammed the spear-tip into the back of the neck of the rat, piercing all the way through its soft flesh and weak muscle and coming out the other end. Lifting it off the ground I twisted the pole arm in my hands and threw the dead rat off, sending its corpse bouncing harmlessly onto the grass with hardly a sound.

  They were light creatures, despite how fat they looked.

  I turned into the entrance of the cave while waving at Katherine to follow.

  The mountain breeze was blowing outwards, coming down from the mountain and through the cracks and on through the cave, and eventually, out the door. It was a different kind of downwind situation. One all the more favorable for me.

  The strong gusts of wind also helped clear the lingering smell of urine.

  No longer with a mask, this was a pleasant surprise.

  Stalking the corridor, I silently crept through the single path that had been opened to us as my eyes darted back and forth. They were unaware of our presence, for now.

  Reaching a corner, I slowed my pace as I took a peek around.

  On the other side, two Rattanorv were hunched over what looked like, a smaller rat. An actual rat… they were eating it raw, sharing it, even.

  Cannibals, no different from reality.

  A disturbing sight.

  Bringing the halberd to my waist and keeping it parallel with the ground, I took a breathe and steadied myself. I was starting to get angry… no, I had always been angry.

  It, was starting to consume me.

  Bursting around the corner with only the sound of the dirt and rocks being crushed beneath my feet, I thrust into the closest rodent as it turned its head. Straight through the eye socket, a solid thud was felt as I impacted bone and came to a halt.

  The skull had stopped the blow from being fatal.

  "Shit," I muttered immediately.

  Right on cue, the rat shrieked loudly with its piercing cries cutting through the cave interior. A squeal and squeak followed from the other rat, as I kicked it onto its back. Pulling the halberd free I raised it up and dropped it down with a ferocity that was warranted. The Rattanorv didn't even see it coming.

  And as the axe-head clanged from the contact with solid rock, the brown rat fell apart. Two perfect sides to a whole, falling in either direction.

  The other [Wild Rattanorv Gamma] had already begun to cast a frost bolt in desperation, but another kick sent it flying into the cold light gray wall. The hard collision with the rock wall stunned it temporarily, as it tried to get back to its feet.

  Attempting to stand, as if it were human.

  A quick thrust pinned it against the wall as it wiggled and squealed for a second, only to relax and eventually slump over the edge of my bloodied weapon. Retracting my weapon, I watched the body of the rat fall to the floor before me.

  Three down, a hundred or more to go.

  Nothing else had fallen to the floor, for there was no loot.

  These rats didn't have items.

  They, were only worth experience.

  Noises had filled the air and echoed about in a confusing manner as I continued to press forward. The rats were communicating with each other, unsure of what to do from this point on. In our last battle, they knew who we were… they attacked, retreated, and set up a counter attack.

  This time, they were under a surprise attack.

  They were the ones lost and confused.

  Footsteps could be heard, a soft pitter patter almost like rain drops. Numerous rats were running, slapping their small feet against the cold hard rock as they unknowingly ran to their deaths.

  Behind this corner, I would make my stand.

  I waited with the axe-side out and held above my head, patiently listening.

  The noise grew increasingly louder as the distance between us shrunk, seconds passed as only seconds were left. Then, as the first rat came by, I released my swing with a downward-arcing side swing, as if I were chopping into the base of a tree.

  No noise.

  Then all noise.

  The soft contact with metal on flesh felt as if I were swinging into mud as not one but two rats were caught on the end. Flinging their severed bodies off, I glanced back as the first rat that had ran past exploded in white flame and was sent flying back in the direction from which it came.

  Surprised, startled, I looked at Katherine as she chained another spell.

  Her white hands glowed as three spherical flames took shape. Having completed h
er cast, she released the three white balls of holy energy without delay. They cut through the air, and if my eyes weren't betraying me, changed direction as they flew around the corner and out of sight.

  Lost for words, I stepped forward to see the corpses of four rats on the floor. Looking past those bodies, I saw a white circle had formed underneath the collective of stupefied rats that were still left alive. The soft white hue beneath their feet had begun to glow, and then with a soft dim pulse outwards, the light reached its maximum extended distance and froze in place.

  For an instant, everything stopped.

  Then a rapid collapse of the circular light followed, shrinking towards the center as the light flickered and appeared to vanish for a split-second. A blink was all it took as I watched with curiosity and amazement for what would come next.

  Fire, would come next.

  Directly above the small circle of illuminated ground, a sudden eruption of searing white-fire shot forth and up towards the ceiling. The plume of [Holy Fire] pouring up and out, only to splash back down off the mountain rock above.

  The five [Wild Rattanorv Gammas] were caught and entirely engulfed in flame with their cries silenced by the intense flames. They were burning for what seemed like an eternity as all I could do was watch. A second and a half later, the fire diminished and the heat dissipated as swiftly as it had arrived.

  In the space where five Rattanorv had been standing no more than two seconds before, five unrecognizable corpses were laid bare in front of our eyes.

  Katherine was serious.

  And, she was fast.

  Nodding my head slightly sideways in a gesture to continue forward, I stepped over the dead bodies of the rats and pressed on. Katherine followed in silence, ready for whatever came our way.

  Silence, wasn't only coming from our side though.

  No, there was a mutual silence in place now.

  The entire cave had gone quiet as we came upon the path that had troubled me the last time. The rocks had split into two distinct pathways, a Y-shaped corridor. Both of which headed downwards into what I liked to call an abyss.