I released the Bard and he fell to all fours, crawling rapidly towards Toxhin. Once he’d made it to his feet, Toxhin pulled back a leg and kicked him in the neck, sending him flying to the brink of the arena. Jegg lay there whimpering, not daring to stand back up.
A snapping sound made both me and Toxhin whip our heads to the Trickster. Her bindings fell to the cobblestone ground and, in the blink of an eye, she had grabbed Lehn’s loot bag and disappeared into the crowd.
Congratulations! You’ve earned the achievement: Guardian Angel. You have successfully freed a player from the hands of a non-NPC Player Killer (PKer). Your reputation with the Ashen Kingdom has grown to the status of Friend!
Toxhin’s face grew an apple red, the veins now protruding from his forehead.
“You’re dead!”
7
Toxhin took a step towards me and then another. His head was bent down in an animal-like fashion. My body took a step back. It wasn’t me, it was my body. I didn’t tell it to do that. What the hell was going on? Why couldn’t I control myself? My mind didn’t want to back down… but I just couldn’t bring myself to stand my ground.
I was slowly retreating when Toxhin made an un-telegraphed rush towards me. He was screaming at the top of his lungs and swinging his mace wildly.
My backpedaling went from a slow stroll to an all-out backwards run. Both my mind and body agreed that I sidestep and try and strike at his back.
No luck.
Toxhin, albeit a horrible fighter, was still a lot stronger than I was. I used my pierce ability but he dodged it with ease.
Your Pierce ability misses!
Shit. Now what? I needed to escape, I needed to-
“Toxhin!”
Both of us stopped mid-battle to see Ushmoe the Badron standing out in front of the crowd. The arena had doubled in size as the players and NPCs had backed up out of fear of taking accidental damage.
“You stop this now! Don’t you see what a monster you’ve become? Can’t you see what your actions are doing? Are you that low of a person?” Ushmoe spit in his direction.
Toxhin ground his teeth, forgetting me for the second. I hit him with my strike ability.
You’ve struck Toxhin with your Strike ability! Critical Hit!
Yes! Maybe I’d make it out of this alive if my luck didn’t run out.
I checked his health status.
Toxhin’s Health: 99%
There hadn’t been any luck to begin with. Toxhin turned to me and front kicked me hard in the stomach sending all the air out of me with one big whoosh. I fell to my back, dropping my stick in the process.
Toxhin walked over to my weapon and snapped it with the heel of his boot.
Stick Durability: 0%
The stick turned to smoke and floated away just as did any hope that I had left.
A smile spread across his face. He lifted his mace over his head with both hands and, just before he used an ability, my battle feed blew up with:
Ushmoe has hit Toxhin with Disfavor. Ushmoe has attacked a player! Ushmoe now has the status as Ruffian!
Disfavor caused a 50% chance for its target to self-harm itself. That meant I only had a 50% chance of survival in this instance.
I closed my eyes.
There was a swoosh of wind in my face followed by a shriek of pain. Warm blood dripped onto my chin.
Toxhin has harmed himself with the Strike ability!
I opened my eyes to see the mace stuck to his groin by two of its many spikes.
I was transfixed on the horrific sight and couldn’t draw my eyes away. It was Ushmoe’s voice that snapped me out of it.
“Come on! Let’s go!”
I stood up and bolted towards Ushmoe who had already turned and was making his way through the panicked and disbanding crowd. Due to my longer legs and half-elvish traits I was able to catch up to him. We could both still hear the wails of Toxhin from behind us.
“I’ll get you two pieces of shit! I will! I’m gonna gut you! Ahhh!!!”
“Where to?” I asked.
“Ugh, ugh, I don’t know.”
Ushmoe was in a state of distress. I couldn’t tell how long he’d been in this world but it must have taken a lot for him to throw it all away by stepping in to protect me. Judging by his face, it didn’t seem like he was taking the situation well. It would be up to me to see us out of this mess. I couldn’t afford to fall apart now.
“To the Haunted Well! Follow me!”
We stood in front of the musty well. I watched as the flowing wind ruffled the tiny hairs on the Badron’s nervous face. Toxhin must have had eyes and ears everywhere for we could hear him hot on our trail.
“You first!” I said. “Come on, let’s go.”
Ushmoe was shaking.
“I don’t want to die, Tharis.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I knew anything I said would be false hope, but I guess it was better than nothing.
I scratched his head and his ears perked up. “We’re gonna get through this, man. I got you.”
Something about those words or that head scratch put a little courage into the Badron’s heart. He looked up at me and nodded.
He jumped on the rungs of the ladder and quickly descended. I did the same.
Once we’d gotten to the bottom, Ushmoe destroyed the ladder with an orb strike. The ability was ear-splittingly loud in the tunneled well.
“Over here, Boss! They must have come down here!” we both heard Jegg exclaim.
Toxhin’s head peered down the well opening making my stomach sink. He whistled a creepy tune at us. We were trapped and he knew it. Ushmoe’s body was shaking vigorously and his eyes were darting left and right. Whatever little courage he had was now gone.
I did the only thing I could do. I grabbed his paw and ran.
The cockroaches and rats left us alone. At one point, I saw Zorgon’s head pop out of one of the many holes in the wall only to pull it back in. He wanted nothing to do with our troubles.
A small light appeared at the end of the tunnel.
“There!” I cried.
“Don’t you remember?” Ushmoe rasped. “It’s closed off! It’s a dead end!”
I was just about to respond when I tripped over a soft body that had been lying in the middle of the path. A feminine cry rang through the tunnel. I caught myself with my hands and took no damage.
A player stood up and brushed herself off whilst glaring at me.
????? Level ?? Trickster
“You!” I said, grabbing her by her shirt. “What is wrong with you?”
She tilted her head.
“How could you just grab that dead guy’s loot and hightail it out of there with no pause to even yell a thank you my way? Or better yet, stay and help!”
Her hand shot out and she stroked the stubble on my cheek.
“You are… very handsome. Not many faces are crafted like yours,” she said in a quiet and mystical way.
I stared into her green eyes and somehow lost myself in them. I pushed the hood off her head and her dark hair blew into my face and I lost myself for a bit in its aroma. A female human. Realizing what was going on, I quickly shook out of it and shoved her backwards.
“I didn’t choose this face.”
“What?” she asked, tilting her head again.
“I said, I didn’t choose this face. I’m guessing none of us chose our appearances. Someone else did, don’t you remember?”
The tunnel walls changed from cobblestone to an assortment of moving numbers. Life paused and nobody moved. Ushmoe’s head disappeared and reappeared back on his neck. The stranger’s cloak unequipped itself, revealing larger than normal pale white breasts and then re-equipped.
Everything went back to normal just as fast as it had gone into disarray. All three of us had been moved further down the path. The tunnel walls were cobblestone again.
Both Ushmoe and the Trickster looked around but said nothing as if afraid someone might call them crazy.
Ushmoe opened his mouth to say something but he was interrupted by the taunts of Toxhin coming from behind us.
“You’re dead! You’re all dead!”
The Trickster was the first to start running and Ushmoe and I quickly followed. The light at the end of the tunnel got closer and closer. As we approached the dead end, I became aware of a roaring noise that was more soothing than eerie. The loudness of it drowned out the pitter-patter of our footsteps as we came face to face with our only hope of survival blocked by iron bars.
8
Through the bars was a world so beautiful that it brought goosebumps to my arms. We were suspended in the crisp, blue sky alongside big clouds that were so fluffy and dense, one may think you could actually lay on them. A reptilian-looking bird covered with teal and orange feathers zoomed through the air with three of its babies flapping awkwardly behind her.
Water splashed onto my face and I angled myself in a way that I could look out to the left. Sunlight shined through the mist of a massive waterfall creating a vibrant rainbow. That was where the roaring noise had come from. I put my head through the bars and strained my neck just enough to see the water exploding from the cliff above. The water passed over us and plummeted through a cloud of mist. It was impossible to see the ground which made my palms wet with nerves. How high up were we?
“What is this?” cried the Trickster. She pulled out two daggers and began slashing away. Sparks flew as the metal clashed against metal. Once she had overexerted her stamina, I targeted the bars.
Iron Bars Durability: 100%
“See? No use,” Ushmoe said. He was now pacing and picking at his fingers. “We’re gonna die down here like the freaking cockroaches and rats!”
I slapped Ushmoe hard, hard enough that his health dropped a percent. He looked up at me with an astonished face. “If we die, we die together!” I said. “We give this PKer a fight he will remember!”
Ushmoe’s face was still that of a fearful Badron but he did nod his head and equip his staff, albeit with shaky paws.
I went to equip my stick but forgot that it had been destroyed by Toxhin in the village square.
“Crap, I have no weapon.”
Ushmoe looked down and started his pacing again.
An alert popped into my vision.
Tahshine would like to trade. Do you accept?
So her name was Tahshine, huh?
I looked around but couldn’t see her. The composition of the bars moved a bit, catching my eye. If I focused hard enough, I could barely make out her outline. She was stealthed.
“Clever girl,” I said, accepting her trade.
My vision was now blocked by a rectangular trade window with several different openings that could be filled with equipment and items. A Rusty Hammer appeared into one of the boxes. Tahshine accepted the trade and so did I.
“Thank you, Tahshine.”
“Don’t thank me,” she whispered. “Thank Lehn, the artisan.”
We had a plan. It wasn’t the best plan, but it was a plan.
Tahshine would remain stealthed. And since neither Toxhin nor Jegg knew she was down here, she should be able to get behind them and perform double damage to their backs.
Meanwhile, I would attack the front with my hammer and Ushmoe would cast disfavor, heal, and send pop orbs.
Toxhin’s body appeared through the shadows, the mace already equipped in his hands. I wondered how he had traversed through the dark tunnel but figured he must have taken some sort of Dark Sight vial or maybe even a buff from Jegg. His eyes were bloodshot and he wasted no time. He targeted me and attacked.
I took a step forward and tried to cast my new block ability.
You need a shield to cast Block!
I took the full swing of mace to the shoulder and felt the bone give way. The force of the blow knocked me to my knees.
Health 11%
Toxhin swung his mace again.
Ushmoe healed you!
Health: 100%
You’ve been hit by Toxhin’s Strike!
Health 9%
This time, I was hit in the ribs. A cracking noise and my screams rang through the tunnel.
You’ve been healed by Ushmoe.
Health 100%
This must have been what hell was like. Constantly being tortured and then brought to perfect health just to be brought to the brink of death once more.
I readied myself for another blow but it was Jegg who cried out this time. I opened my eyes and saw Jegg turn to his attacker, a dagger sticking out the back of his neck.
Jegg’s health was already at 8% and dropping at a fast rate. Blood was dripping from the back of the dagger and splattering on the ground.
Toxhin turned his attention to Jegg but there was no visible enemy to target. Forgetting about me momentarily, he walked forward while swinging his mace wildly out in front of him which meant he was most likely familiar with Tricksters and their stealth ability.
“Show yourself!” he demanded.
One of his crazed swings accidentally struck Jegg in the side of the head, crushing the skull and creating a decent-sized dent.
Jegg’s Health: 0%
Jegg’s head pivoted clumsily towards Toxhin. He gave Toxhin a sad and questioning face before vaporizing into white smoke.
Toxhin didn’t notice the death of his friend but kept on swinging like a madman. I couldn’t see his stamina number, but surely it was being depleted at a fast rate.
A movement caught my eye. I saw the outline of Tahshine smoothly dodge a close call and move towards my position. She helped me up and ushered me back to the bars.
Toxhin looked back at us, drool slopping lazily out of his mouth. I watched his eyes finally see the floating loot bag of his dead partner. If I was expecting to see remorse, any at all, then I was wrong.
Toxhin hit the bag with his mace, destroying it immediately. He pulled out his own bag and drank a bottle of ale.
“He’s trying to restore his stamina!” Ushmoe cried, pointing his staff at Toxhin. “We should attack now or kiss our lives goodbye!”
Life. The word stuck in my head. I’d been alive for barely a week and, yet, I felt like my life was not my own. My thoughts were my own, sure. But my movements, they were mostly foreign to me. Sensations such as pain, taste and smell were there, but I somehow knew there was more depth to them. Every time I questioned my existence and my reason for being alive, I either forgot entirely or was left with a dirty or guilty emotion. But why?
The tunnel’s walls flickered to moving numbers and then back to cobblestone. A crazy idea formed in my head.
“Everyone!” I yelled. “Back up to the bars! Quickly!”
I took a few steps back until I could reach behind me and grab hold of the cold iron. Ushmoe didn’t question my reasoning but was glad somebody was taking some sort of initiative. I felt Tahshine grab my shoulder and grip it tightly.
“Hey, Toxhin,” I said, pausing to think of exactly what it was that I wanted to say. I needed the perfect words and the perfect phrase.
Toxhin stopped drinking his ale. “I’m gonna enjoy this.” He wiped his mouth and threw the bottle against the wall sending, an explosion of glass and ale. “This world will forget you as fast as you were created!” He took a step towards us.
Toxhin would never know that it was his words that supplied us our escape.
“Who are we in this world?” I asked. “Are we our own? Or are we merely puppets of some manipulator?”
The walls again morphed to numbers. The ground below our feet disappeared. It was now as if we were standing on glass able to look down at the world below us.
I continued, “Do we own our identities? Are our minds our own? Or is it all a mirage, one big ruse that keeps us from questioning?” Both Ushmoe and Tahshine were looking at me as if I had lost my mind, and maybe I had. “Well, I’m sick of it!” I said, yelling at the top of my lungs now. “Who are we, Toxhin? Who are
we? I will no longer allow some other being to control me! I refuse!”
One moment, I was in the tunnel ranting about what had been stuck in the back of my mind for my week’s worth of life and the next moment I was free. I now shared the fresh air and the sky habitat of the reptilian birds. One nearly flew directly into me but evaded at just the last moment with a graceful barrel roll.
I was free from the wrath of Toxhin and free of the village of Ashvell. I had freed myself from my controller. I was my own, now. I was free. I could just feel it.
And I was falling.
Wind rushed through my hair and my stomach jumped into my throat. I gave one last look up at the barred tunnel and what I saw made my heart lurch.
Ushmoe was there, waving a hairy paw at me through the bars. He mouthed the words, “Good luck”.
9
I didn’t have time to worry about Ushmoe. There would be no way to save him if I didn’t survive my fall. Tahshine was with me. I knew this because she was latched on to me, her arms squeezing tightly around my throat.
I looked down and saw the water quickly making its way to reach us at a terrifying rate. Did I even know how to swim?
I called out to Tahshine, but the wind carried away my words. I looked around, frantically trying to find anything I could that could slow us down but there was nothing. We had been transported too far from the edge and were now plummeting to an unknown fate.
Out of my own instincts, instincts I did not know that I had, I pointed my legs and Tahshine did the same. The cool water hit the bottoms of my feet so hard that it was like hitting stone. My knees buckled into my chest and my back smacked the surface sending gold stars through my head.
Health: 92%
Everything was calm. I opened my eyes and saw a blue world filled with all sorts of exotic fish swimming as fast as they could to get away from me; a trespasser had just barged into their world.
My lungs started to hurt.
Air Capacity: 30%
Air Capacity: 29%
Air Capacity: 28%
It was a slow countdown, meaning I had been underwater for a while. Had I been knocked out? And where was Tahshine?
The Lionheart: a LitRPG Novel (No Respawn Book 1) Page 5
