Maya raised an eyebrow. “Not bad.” A smile crept onto her face and she lunged forward, a subtle green aura enveloping her entire body. The two curved blades whistled through the air, cutting the steam and creating turbulent waves in the steam with each strike. She moved so fast that Skree only blocked or avoid half of her attacks, several deep cuts in his arms were slowly leaking blood.
Skree attacked, his blades meeting only thin air as she danced away from him with ease. Growling, he twisted his fingers and cast Minor Restoration, the many gashes stitching themselves together.
“Oh great, a healer.” She growled. “No matter, I have just the aura for that.” She planted her feet, and crossed her blades, the green aura shifting to red in a shimmering wave. She leapt forward, slower than before but still fast enough to be deadly. She struck in a vicious onslaught, but the speed had decreased enough for him to dodge and block many of her attacks, but still so fast he had no chance to counter.
The instant she broke away, cuts opened all across his body, deep slashes the ran with blood. Icons blossomed across his vision, brilliant red tear drops too numerous to count at a glance. The regeneration icon from Minor Restoration also changed, now covered in a red X. His health bar was draining rapidly, and his healing spell was having no effect. Focusing on a single icon, he read the prompt.
Lacerated Wound - This wound stops all healing effects and can only be removed by the Cleanse spell. The duration of this status is ten seconds. Any new Lacerated Wound refreshes the timer of all non-expired wounds.
Skree had a moment of panic as his health bar continued to drain away. This opponent had a deadly set of skills he didn’t know how to counter. Her blade had only struck once in their last exchange, yet he had received nearly a dozen wounds. He had underestimated this woman and now he was paying the price. Skree used Analyze to get an understanding of what he was up against.
Maya Mazil, Level 22 Blood Dancer
Health: 410/410
Mana: 105/300
Stamina: 250/350
Race: Human
Skree had no idea what a Blood Dancer was, but it sounded dangerous.She didn’t have a lot of health or stamina, but her attack speed and ability to stop him from healing was a serious problem. Again she launched into an attack, blades whipping in a furious storm of steel, but instead of trying to block, he leapt backward as far as he could and cast Ice Dagger; the blade materializing and rocketing toward her. She slapped it away with ease. He fired several in rapid succession, each struck down as easily as the first.
Maya dashed forward, swinging both of her curved blades in a crossing pattern.He blocked the attack, yet two new wounds appeared, and the timers on every teardrop reset to ten seconds.
“You can’t win. My technique is unsurpassed. It’s called death by a thousand cuts, even though it usually takes far less than that.” She said, thrusting toward him in non-committal feints. She was taunting him. Skree knew there were two ways to win this fight, either eliminate her without taking another wound, or remove her ability to avoid his attacks. Not being wounded was out of the question. Even when he blocked her attacks, the wounds still appeared on his body. That left removing her ability to move.
He cast Entangle, vines bursting from the wooden floor, twisting and wriggling to catch Maya. To his surprise, Maya launched into the air and drove her blades into a wooden beam, feet dangling just above the writhing patch of living vegetation. She effortlessly dismounted, landing well outside the ring of vines. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she was sprinting toward him. Maya lunged, her blade aimed for his gut. Instead of dodging or blocking, Skree stepped into the attack.
The shard blade drove into his stomach, severing flesh and muscle with ease. The pain was so intense his vision flared white, but he gritted his teeth and pulled her into a bear hug, her blade trapped between them. Leveraging his enormous strength, he began to squeeze. She grunted and struggled but the difference in their raw strength was too much for her to overcome. Each gasping breath she took allowed him tighten his death grip. She tried to bite his face, but he pulled his head back and drove it forward, slamming her nose with his forehead.
She went limp for an instant and Skree forced every ounce of strength into his crushing embrace, feeling her ribs groan, and shift until they finally broke, a muted crunching sound filling his ears with each snapping bone. Her mouth opened and shut as she gasped for air, frothy red blood oozing from her mouth. He slammed his head forward again, and again until her eyes went glossy.
His legs buckled, and they tumbled to the floor, Maya’s blood-shot eyes stared into his as he gasped for air. Checking his remaining health, Skree had a moment of panic. He was under fifteen percent and still bleeding out. The regeneration icon still covered in the pulsing red X. All he could do was wait for the timers to run their course and cast Minor Restoration the moment they expired.
He readied the spell, trying to cast it, but the pain in his stomach and losing so much blood made it hard to concentrate. His fingers felt like sausages glued to a baseball. More than useless. He bit his lip hard, the sudden pain forcing him to focus. The timers elapsed, and he cast the spell, just before his health hit four percent. Instant relief flooded his body as the magic went to work, stopping the bleeding and closing many of his wounds. The quick burst of healing had saved his life and the healing over time effect would continue to repair his damaged body.
He pulled the blade from his stomach, roaring against the pain as healed flesh tore once again. He lay there gasping, wishing for death but desperate to live. Twenty percent of his health had returned, but he wasn’t out of the danger zone yet. It would be another thirty seconds before he could cast Minor Restoration again, and it would take a half dozen of the spells to get him back into anything close to fighting shape.
He stared down at the blade in his hand and a prompt appeared
You have found Blood Dancers Blade, Rarity: Rare, Quality: Masterwork, Damage: 44, Durability: 312/500. Description: A Blood Dancers weapon is inscribed with runes that can be activated by a blood dancer to give them otherworldly abilities.
Despite the burning fire in his guts, he smiled. The blades were potent weapons, and he had desperately needed an upgrade and Maya’s blades would do just fine. Forcing himself to his knees, he pried the other blade free of her dead grasp, hefting it.
“Sorry Maya, but you know the rules. Winner takes all.”
Moving carefully, he slid the blades into the loops on his armor meant for the hatchets and found they fit fairly well. A few minor adjustments and they would rest perfectly against his hips. A sudden prickling of hair on his neck warned him of something behind him, but too late for him to react. A heavy boot crashed into his back, sending him bouncing into a wall. When the blinding pain had passed, he opened his eyes and saw Harin, hatchet in hand, gaping wound in his chest still not healed.
“You killed my friend!” Harin roared, stomping toward him.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Skree groaned, trying to pick himself off the ground. His arms shook, his legs trembled and with great effort, he stood upright.
Seconds before the thick warrior reached him, Skree finished casting Minor Restoration yet again, and a new burst of energy flooded him. Harin swung the hatchet with a sloppy overhead chop, which Skree easily avoided and countered, removing the man's hand at the wrist. Blood sprayed along the wall, the hatchet still clutched in a fist thumped to the ground. Harin grabbed his stump, tears welling in his eyes.
Skree rested Maya’s blade against his neck, tilting his chin until he got eye contact from the big man. “Are there any kobolds on this ship?”
“What? Kobolds?” Harin said, squeezing his eyes against a sudden, intense pain. “Not on this ship.”
“You’re sure?” Skree asked, pressing the blade a little harder against the soft skin of Harin’s throat.
“I’m sure, I’m sure!” he said, more pleading than telling.
“Thank you Harin.” Skree s
aid, driving his blade up through the man’s chin and into his skull. Harin collapsed, blood flowing from his neck, chest and stump. Sheathing his blade, Skree moved to the hidden compartment and spotted what he had been looking for.
You have found Samolin Concentrate, Rarity: Rare, Quality: Superb, Damage: 600, Durability: 1/1. Description: A highly concentrated form of the Kobold alcohol Samolin, this potion will restore 300 hit points instantly. Caution: Extremely Flammable.
Just like he though, it was Samolin, but heavily distilled into a much purer form. King Sawbones was right, this was some potent stuff. That made the next part of his plan even more likely to succeed. Moving toward the Steam Engine, he saw the massive furnace that sat below a boiling tank of water. He wondered how the flames continued burning with no fuel nearby, but then he remembered something important. This was Raiya, and nothing ever made sense in a world with magic.
He pulled open the furnace door, a wave of intense heat forcing him to turn away. He spotted a network of pipes leading to, or away, from the furnace and steam tank. If this worked the way he hoped, he could take this giant ship down in a matter of minutes.
In the battle at the Warren, Carver had thrown a skin of Samolin into the air for Priestess to shoot with fire. When she did, it create a powerful explosion that leveled two dozen men in an instant. He stared at the Samolin Concentrate in his hand, wondering how he could blow up the ship and escape with his life. An idea struck him, one he could not be sure would work, but he had to try. He considered using his new power from Sharktooth to determine the chance of success but decided now wasn't the time. It was too unpredictable and he could only use it once in a month. He would save it for a moment of true desperation.
Rolling the body of Harin over, he cut the breastplate free, then his shirt. He carried them to a nearby barrel that contained water, soaking the shirt. He pulled the wet fabric out of the barrel, letting it fill up the curved shape of the breastplate with a few inches of water. He lay the fabric down flat, and rolled the vial of concentrated Samolin like a burrito, then set it in the puddle of water.
Carrying the whole setup like a tray of food in the cafeteria, he set it in the furnace as carefully as he could. He would need every second to escape. The skin on his hands blistered in the immense heat, but he slammed the door shut, picked up his hatchets and sprinted out the door. He had to get back to the cargo hold quickly or die in one hell of an explosion. Once the water completely evaporated, it was only a matter of time until the Samolin blew this ship to pieces.
Running like a madman through the corridors, Skree encountered few people, most of whom shouted a challenge and gave chase, but he was in an all-out sprint for his life. He blasted down the final central corridor, down the stairs into the cargo hold. He could hear shouts and boots stomping toward the cargo hold. He stepped up to the hole, looked down the fifty feet to the water and grinned.
He had done it, in a moment, the Samolin would detonate and destroy the ship. Sailors poured into the hold rushing toward him. A thunderous boom rocked the enormous ship, causing the sailors to stop and look toward the other end of the ship.
He cast Water Breathing and waved goodbye, stepping over the edge into the open air. Plummeting toward the water, Skree locked eyes with his greatest enemy, Emperor Tamarand, being hoisted back to the exploding ship in a cage with half a dozen of his elite guard. Skree held up both hands and flipped him the bird.
In that moment, Tamarand nodded, as if to say not bad just before he opened a portal and stepped through, vanishing an instant before the entire ship detonated, driving Skree into the water with incredible force. He saw a myriad of icons appear beneath his status bar before the world went black.
Chapter 63
“Wake up!”
Skree struggled to open his eyes. Every inch of his body ached and throbbed with pain. He gasped for air, coughing up water and blood in equal parts. Groaning, he rolled onto his back, holding a hand in front of his face to block the blinding sunlight streaming down from high above.
“Wha… Who…” Skree muttered as the world ebbed in and out of focus. Incoherent thoughts flitted at the edge of his awareness. Something had happened. An explosion. There was a battle at sea, and someone left. No, everyone fled.
A strong pair of hands pulled him to his feet, sending a fresh wave of debilitating dizziness racing through him. A splash of water shocked him back into awareness, and his eyes finally focused on the person holding him.
“Orcs?” he said, staring at the zebra-striped skin and orange eyes of a massive orc. His eyes darted from side to side, seeing dozens of the monsters surrounded him on all sides.
“Good, your brain still works.” The orc holding him said with a chuckle. He set Skree down, holding his shoulders until he was sure Skree could stay standing on his own.
“Wait, you’re Commander Estrix.”
“Yes. And you are Captain Skree, the human who wants to help my kind. Are you sure your brain is still functioning?”
“Sorry, it's been a hell of a day.” He shook away the last of his confusion. “What are you doing here?”
“We were still out on patrol when we spotted pillars of smoke in the distance. We sailed this way immediately, hoping for easy salvage but imagine my surprise when we find hundreds of dead, destroyed ships and tons of debris ripe for the taking.”
As if opening his eyes for the first time, Skree saw he was on the Orcish warship that he could have captured but did not, instead choosing to leave it under the Orc’s control. Things might have ended much differently.
“Can you take me back to Theseldora?” Skree asked, hopeful to get back to his friends. They probably saw the smoke and assumed the worst. They likely thought him dead or captured by their enemies.
The Orc raised an eyebrow. “Take you to Theseldora? Home of the most fearsome orc killers in this side of the endless sea? Did you hear thatboys? The Captain wants us to give him a ride to Theseldora!”
Every orc on the ship burst into guttural laughter. Skree tried to shrink in on himself, realizing just how silly his question was. Estrix slapped him on the shoulder. “No my friend, it's time for you to see our home, and meet the great elder of our tribes.” Estrix explained, holding out a water skin.
Skree took it gratefully and drank deeply, the cool water soothing his salt dried lips. Despite his current situation, he was filled with excitement. His friends had escaped from the black fleet, Tamarand’s flagship had been destroyed and now he was traveling toward the orcish homeland to meet the elder. Not too bad for a days work.
Commander Estrix gestured for one of his crew. “Please show our honored guest to a bunk. He looks like Abbeth dung.”
Skree scowled at the commander. “See if you look any better after surviving that.” He said, pointing at the bobbing and burning wreckage of two massive ships, one his and one formerly owned by Emperor Tamarand.
“Just stating the obvious. You need to rest. I can’t fathom how you are still alive!
Skree nodded in agreement, he could really use a nap. “I guess I’m just a lucky guy.”
“When we found you floating face down out there, you had one hit point remaining. Our Bone-mender cast a healing spell just in time to save your life. Must be the luckiest human on Raiya. Go on below, we will be salvaging here for hours.”
~~~
The orc quickly led him to a small berth with a bunk and disappeared from sight. With shaking legs, Skree toppled into the bunk, ready for to sleep for a week but before that, he needed to check his prompts.
Congratulations, your crew has destroyed an unknown warship - Black Wind. 25,000 experience. 1 Profession Point received.
Congratulations, you have destroyed an unknown flagship - Emperor’s pride. 75,000 experience. 1 Profession Point received.
Congratulations, you have reached Druid level 20. You have earned 5 attribute points, 5 unspent. You have earned 5 skill points, 5 unspent.
“Hell yeah!” He said excitedly as the pr
ompts flashed before his eyes. He had earned a significant amount of experience for destroying the flagship, but it surprised him that he had received credit for destroying a second ship. Even though he had not actively participated in the battle, he must have remained in the captains role the entire time. Despite his excitement, the weight of his failure came crashing down upon him.
They had lost the Sawbones, dozens of crew members including Mills, who had become one of his best friends in such a short time. Priestess, Fenna and the others were fleeing for their lives back to Theseldora after nearly losing the Typhoon. He had broken his bond with Zuka to spare him almost certain death. He knew the journey would be dangerous, but how could he have known that Tamarand would find him so easily? Everything bad thing that happened was his fault. He activated the Heart of the Island without considering the risks. Just like the Blue Stone Island, the forces of Abrenacht had found him within days of activating the Relic’s powers.
Sharktooth said that the Relics were like brilliant beacons to the dark Archon once activated and the foul being would be able to open a portal in the area close to it. Once Tamarand was transported close enough, he must be able to follow it like a lighthouse on a dark night at sea. Once again, his mistakes had costs the lives of others. But not all was lost. He was on his way to the home of the Orcs to meet with the elder, a unique opportunity for him to gain new allies in the fight against Abrenacht. They had lost more than almost any species on Raiya, and were on the brink of extinction. He would offer them an olive branch and an opportunity to change their fate, to reverse the decline of their people. The real question was; What could he offer them now? His ship was destroyed, his settlement was just a dream, a hope on the horizon with no way to make real.
Raiya- Early Game Page 44
