Hope Engine

by Andrew Lynch

  I took a step toward the Moonbeast, transfixed by its grotesque power and faded beauty. Too transfixed, as my foot hit a stone, and despite Gurim’s stabilising, I fell to my knees.

  Suddenly, two extra beams of the brilliant, silvery white, arcane light shot out from now open eyes as the beast stirred. It tried to lift its head, to find what made the noise of a bite-sized morsel hitting the ground. The very edges of the eyebeams swept over me, but I was still in the darkness.

  I knew I should turn around. Turn around, slowly and quietly make my way out of here, collect my friends, and head back to Thanis. I didn’t want to die. I didn’t have time to die.

  But I also saw where that purple dark light was coming from. And that was why I couldn’t leave.

  A glow of my element that originated from a, for lack of a better term, staff. I mean, it was more of a gnarled, twisted, and barbed thorn. But it looked to be about my height, and, you know, was glowing purple. A purple in flux, lights and darks, emanating from inside the crusted bark of the giant thorn.

  I had to get it. Except… I knew I shouldn’t. I mean, I had to, but it was easily the worst idea I’d ever had.

  Location, location, location. The Dark Thorn was in the middle of the room in the Moonbeast. Yeah. In.

  It was jutting out from the Moonbeast’s heel, but it was in there deep. If I had to guess, it had sliced clean through the achilles tendon.

  Sanity check. That thing could one shot me. Its nameplate showed it as an elite, just like the Child of Light was back in Hursh’s Situation. But it probably couldn’t chase me. I mean, I didn’t know much – anything – about a Moonbeast, but it had to follow basic anatomy. Also, I knew my Greek folk lore. Androcles pulled the thorn from the lions foot, and the lion became his bro. Moonbeast bro? I could work with that. I could see past his ratty, diseased appearance to the good heart that lay beneath. I’d call him Arthur. Yes, Arthur, that settled it.

  Pulling my eyes away from the Dark Thorn, I began to circle around the edges of the cavern. I would approach from beneath and slightly behind. Sure, Arthur would be my bro, but I didn't want him to see me before I’d pulled the thorn from the proverbial paw – right now, he was pretty pissed off, and understandably so.

  I was almost in position, I just needed to pass one of the tunnels, when something clicked for me. The other tunnels had their own silvery white lights, bobbing along inside them. There were three tunnels. That meant, there had to be at least three more Moonbeast in here with me. That was scary, but not three times as scary as a single Moonbeast. Diminishing returns kicked in at some point. I knew that Arthur could wreck me all on his own, so did it really matter that his buddies could as well? Nope. What did worry me was why he was up here all on his lonesome. Why weren’t the others helping him? They were so magical, maybe this was a ritual of some kind, or a sacrifice. Or, maybe, the properties of dark magic were so powerful and negative to arcane, that they were all being kept in their tunnels. Maybe Arthur looked that ragged because his body was being poisoned, and all of the other Moonbeasts would soon starve to death as the dark magic acted as a barrier, blocking them from ever leaving.

  It was times like these that I wished Angie was not only still here, but also pocket sized so I could whip her out and ask some questions. Right now, my mind was leaping to rash conclusions regarding things I knew nothing about.

  I pushed past the opening to the tunnel. Looking down inside it, I saw shadows moving. It could have been a trick of the light as the single Moonbeast walked around, casting shadows of rocks, or it could have been multiple Moonbeasts. As exposed as I was, the light from the tunnel, and from Arthur, casting my shadow in both directions, I scurried to the other wall as quickly as I could. No time to think of the full extent of elite Mobs in this den.

  I was now at the perfect angle to approach. The ground between me and Arthur was nothing but knee-high crevices between rocks that were covered in grit. But that Dark Thorn was leading me on, whispering sweet nothings into my ear, like “You can beat The Eastern Shadow with me”, “Horace will stop disobeying you over trivial matters”, and “Bri will think you look super hot for taking such a powerful weapon”. That last whisper, although totally accurate, was a bit odd. I mean, Bri was cute, sure, but it wasn’t like I wanted to… oh shit. I did want to. Where did that come from? She was kind of mean to me, so why would I… oh, right. Because she was kind of mean to me. What a cruel trick biology played.

  But these were thoughts for another time, because right now, my mind should not have been on them, as proven by me slipping and falling between two rocks.

  The eyebeams from Arthur switched on, and the now deafening screech rang off the walls with enough force to shake loose some of the dust. Luckily, Arthur was so decrepit that he never looked behind him. I was safe as long as I didn’t rouse any extra Moonbeasts from the tunnels.

  I crouched and shuffled the rest of the way over to Arthur, and that was enough to tell me that I needed to get into a serious leg workout regime. Crouching was using my stamina as much as sprinting.

  Despite being right next to the giant owl, bear, lion, thing, the arcane light hadn’t become any brighter to my eyes. It had the same intensity as when I first saw it. Had it been a traditional light, I would hardly be able to look at Arthur, but – magic.

  I could see the Dark Thorn properly now. It went clean through one of Arthur’s legs, and buried into the stone, pinning him in place. It occurred to me that I might have overlooked one aspect of this heist. A monster, four times the size of me, wasn’t strong enough to free itself. But I was?

  I’d come this far. I was right next to the most dangerous Mob for as far as Eyes only knew, and this could be the difference between life and death for my friends. The least I could do, was have a tug.

  I gripped the thorn with both hands, and–

  A flash of white light, and the metallic pads at my temples buzzed. “I will give you real power”.

  – instantly felt its power. I felt dizzy but the flash of white and promise of power had already begun to fade from my memory, like a dream remembered. I didn’t know anything about enchanted weapons, but I could tell that whatever this thing was, it had earned its place in this den of elite Mobs and managed to incapacitate one of them.

  I set my feet in a wide stance and braced for the pull. Then relaxed. Think, Severo, think! What was the plan here? Pull the thorn out, and then what? What if my buddy, Arthur, didn’t thank me? I mean, I’d still be holding the weapon that did this to him, and I didn’t actually know if Moonbeasts were intelligent. He might assume I was the attacker. Okay, so I pull the thorn, do a clean vault over Arthur’s legs, and sprint. He won’t be able to give chase, so I’ll make my way out at a nice leisurely pace once I’m out of his flailing arm reach. And, of course, if he does want to thank me, then that’s acceptable, and maybe I’ll share some meat with the nice guy. Great. I had a plan!

  Okay. I braced myself again, set my arms against the thorn, and prepared myself. This was stuck in the rock hard enough that a Moonbeast couldn’t get it out, so I would need all my strength, some pivoting, some lucky angles, and just had to pray I could free it before Arthur killed me with a random kick.

  Deep breath.

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  I pulled as hard as I could, and the Dark Thorn flew free from the rock without any resistance. Good in theory, bad in practice, as I fell backwards, stumbling into one of the rocky cracks. That proved invaluable, though, as a feathered leg swept just above me, as the scream of Arthur once again filled the den.

  Speed. Speed, just get up and run. I hauled myself back to my feet but had to quickly duck down again as Arthur’s legs continued to thrash. When I saw an opening, I popped up and ran directly towards the exit tunnel. I made the vault over Arthur’s legs in amazing style, two hands on his greasy feathers, and sticking the landing despite the rocks. I hopped over cracks with the grace of a certain druidic water elemental I k
new, swift and elegant. It was all coming together.

  Wait… I’d put both hands on his leg to vault. I’d dropped the thorn. Oh, Severo, you incompetent twat! I stopped and turned to look for the Dark Thorn but saw only a very angry looking Moonbeast. There it was. Behind him. I took a step back towards the lost staff, but Arthur screeched at me again, and swiped at me. I was out of his range though. I could do it. Circle back round again and get the timing right.

  Annoying, but possible.

  That was what I was thinking, when Arthur put his wings on the cave floor and started to pick himself up.

  Don’t panic. Maybe he could stand but couldn’t move. Certainly couldn’t run. I made a dash for the Dark Thorn, hoping the size of Arthur would give me enough time to get in and out. With his back turned, and him bent over, a low screech of pain coming from him, I got close enough to see the purple glow between the rocks again. I shot toward it and managed to grab it again. I wouldn’t let it go so easily this time.

  Arthur was turning to face me, so I circled him, trying to stay in his blind spot, which thanks to his glowing eyebeams, was easy to judge. He turned slowly, and he’d almost completed a full rotation, and I was back on my way out, heading for the exit tunnel. Easy.

  It was just as I thought I was out of trouble that I heard a footstep. Worrying, but okay. Then a second footstep. And another. Quickly.

  I chanced a look over my shoulder, and much to my great, big, fucking dismay and terror, it turned out that I had been very wrong about one’s ability to run with a severed achilles tendon.

  I ran as fast as I could, which, it turned out, was a fraction slower than a sick Moonbeast. Arthur was gaining on me as I made it out of the den and into the exit tunnel, which slowly inclined its way back up to the surface.

  Oh no. I was going to be killed by a Mob called Arthur. Damn it. I should have called him something more intimidating.

  I jumped from rock to rock, pumping my thighs and draining my stamina. I felt a swipe of air behind me. Arthur had almost hit me with a wing swipe.

  I kept running, and Arthur screeched once more. I looked back to see him bringing his wing down on me. I made a last ditch attempt, jumping away from him, but it didn’t work and I tumbled across the floor. Or, it did work. I was alive. He had hit me though, hadn’t he? I’d felt something.

  He’d clipped me. The jump had worked, clearing me of his giant wings. It was the gust of air that had sent me flying. I looked up and got my bearings. Giant white light behind me. Faint daylight ahead. The exit was near, and unless Arthur could trample an entire forest, I’d be able to escape into the trees.

  Something was missing. The Dark Thorn, again. Arthur had knocked it out of my hands. It was lying between two rocks, but it was behind the giant, enraged, one-hit-will-kill-me, Moonbeast. Shit. I had to leave it!

  I jumped to my feet, my brief forced rest having refilled my stamina bar a bit and sprinted for the daylight. Arthur wasn’t ready to give up after a near-miss wing swipe and gave chase again. I wasn’t a mathematical genius, but even I could tell that Arthur had time for at least two more attacks before I got anywhere near escaping. There was no way I could make this.

  I ran and I jumped and I pushed as hard as I could. I didn’t know how… I had a spell with a slow effect!

  Soulburn applied a slow to the target. I knew from my time at Hursh’s Situation that the damage would get blocked, but the slow might still be applied. I didn’t have time to turn around and cast it, though. I needed a distraction.

  As if on command, I saw Ixly and Bri’s silhouettes appear at the exit. But no, they were still too far away! I could try using my instant cast DOT. Maybe Arthur would be stunned by the incredulity of such a pathetic morsel attacking him. Probably not.

  Gurim! He could do something. He could try, at least. I’d only have one chance.

  ‘Gurim, distract the Moonbeast in three. Go!’

  As my left leg pulled away from the ground, I felt the little puddle of darkness stay stuck to the ground. I didn’t know what he was going to do, but that was his issue now. He had to the count of three, and then I’d do something stupid.

  I made two more big leaps between rocks, when I heard Arthur screech again, readying for his attack. As he did, I stopped and turned, my hands already coming up to aim Soulburn.

  Gurim, the clever little blob, had waited for that screech, and I saw him jump down Arthur’s throat. No damage done, but it distracted Arthur, making him stop his swing at me, and instead he tore at his own face.

  I wasn’t in any condition for accurate aiming, but something the size of Arthur didn’t need finesse to target. My Soulburn hit. I had expected a resistance to bounce away from his nameplate, but I did full damage. Admittedly, “89” didn’t even make his Life bar move, but still. Oh, yes. Bri’s explanation of magic resistances came to my mind. Dark and Light can’t be blocked. Arcane took full damage against dark, but the light creatures at Hursh’s Situation resisted at the appropriate levels.

  More to the point, the Soulburn debuff appeared under Arthur’s nameplate. At the same time, I received the notification that my familiar had been defeated. Summon you again soon, Gurim!

  I turned and kept running for the exit. Arthur gave chase again. His footfalls were noticeably slower. I checked over my shoulder, and sure enough, I was outpacing him.

  So, this is what it felt like when a plan actually worked. I kind of liked it. I could get used to it. Nice.

  My jumping became more relaxed now, knowing I was safe. The eyebeams from Arthur flicked away from me, and on to Ixly who had managed to get to me already.

  I waved him off. ‘It’s okay, I made it. Let’s go!’

  He slowed and stopped. He shrugged and turned. Everything was okay now. I could come back for the Dark Thorn later once Arthur had returned to his den.

  I slipped on a rock, my foot getting wedged at the bottom. Ahh. Oh dear. I looked behind me, and Arthur had given up his chase, realising his defeat, and started to plod back towards his den. It was okay. I was safe. As long as Arthur didn’t notice I’d stopped running.

  I tugged at my foot, but it was truly stuck.

  ‘Bit of help?’ I called.

  Ixly turned. Bri, further on, turned. And Arthur turned as well.

  I didn’t know if he could understand the words, or if it was just the noise that had attracted him.

  Ixly saw what I’d just done, and moved to me quickly. He was much closer than Arthur now. It was still okay. No problem.

  Ixly’s giant hands gripped my leg and he applied a slow pressure, trying to wordlessly free me.

  The white eyebeams settled on me, once again. It was fine. Ixly was already here, no problem.

  The white light began to grow, and get more intense. I looked at Arthur, who wasn’t heading our way, but his wings were slowly flapping up and down, and a low, ululating cry was coming from the back of his throat.

  Problem.

  Ixly tugged again and my foot pulled free. But something wasn’t right. The air around us had grown cold, and… Ixly’s Life was being ticked away.

  ‘Run,’ he said, and gave me a small push.

  But before I could get out of the blast radius, white light flashed into lethal life around us, and for a few painful moments, I couldn’t see. I suddenly had a splitting headache.

  Once my vision returned, and all I could make out was the glowing Arthur, and the tunnel exit, I felt an arm grab me.

  ‘Eyes damn it. Run!’ Bri shouted.

  I realised I was stumbling all over, feeling disoriented. ‘What happened?’

  ‘An Elite level spell, what else.’

  ‘Ixly? Ixly was right next to me. Is he okay?’

  ‘He’ll be fine.’

  ‘Oh, thank the Eyes! Good.’

  ‘Yeah. In a few days. When he respawns.’

  Chapter 34: Death and Friends

  ‘He won’t hate you,’ Bri said wearily, again.

  ‘I know, you said, but he died
because of me,’ I said, again.

  ‘If you know, and it’s because I said, then stop asking.’

  We were almost back at Thanis. I could see the lumber mill through the trees.

  We’d run to begin with, making sure Arthur couldn’t nuke us from behind, and then once no Moonbeasts had given chase, we walked. In silence. I’d never gotten anyone killed before. It wasn’t a great feeling. It felt like dying, but without the pleasant side effect of being dead.

  ‘Honestly, Severo, get a hold of yourself. He’ll respawn soon, and as long as it’s before The Eastern Shadow appear, then it will be fine. Regardless, it’s done now. There’s literally nothing you can do to change it.’

  I knew she was right, and I needed to stop moping like a little kid in front of her. I needed to save face. ‘Yes. You’re right.’ She loved hearing that, always a good way to start any conversation with her. ‘I’m sure he’ll be back in time. Definitely.’

  I ignored her blatant sideways glance at me and forged ahead through the last of the trees.

  ‘My, my. Thanis is starting to shape up okay, isn’t it?’

  She shrugged. ‘I’ll comment when it’s finished.’

  Okay, it wasn’t that impressive. We’d only been gone half a day, but all the foundations were in place. In fact, if I cancelled work on the walls right now, we’d have a pretty nice-looking moat.

  ‘Well, I think it’s nice. Good to see everyone pulling together, you know? All three of our minions working in unison. It’s heartening to– umm, do those honour guard look angry to you?’

  As we had almost reached the foundations, I noticed that Ixly’s honour guard were moving to intercept us, along with the pointy hatted Geeko. Horace was making a beeline to me from the other direction, waving his hands frantically.

  ‘I wonder what this is about,’ I said to Bri.

  ‘Oh, just mourning. Typically, each class gets two minion types, as you know, and one type reacts with sadness, the other with anger. I think it’s obvious which gets which in this case.’