The Cheater's Return

by Brian McGoldrick

  The island we are approaching appears to be inside the crater boundaries and has a remarkable shoreline. With the exception of collapsed sections, it looks to have a consistent curvature, as though if it were seen from above, it would be perfectly circular.

  Looking at Raven Goddess, I just point at the island.

  After laughing, Raven Goddess purses her lips without speaking for a few moments. "There were others present for the battle, and one of them protected the barrows that already existed in this land. Most of them are filled with the valiant followers of the Gods that watched, but two are special. We each have to visit one of them."

  As the island grows closer, I can see more than a dozen grass covered barrow mounds, and they are not small. The smaller ones must rise a hundred meters above the surrounding land, but inland, I can see two that must be over two hundred meters.

  While Raven Goddess maneuvers the boat to a collapsed section of the shore, I take the chance to get a good look at the cliff rising from the sea. Where it is not eroded, the shore of this island is smooth and clean, as though cut out by a laser borer.

  When I step foot on the scree slope, I feel a chill in the pit of my stomach and look up toward the top of the slope. There is danger up there, deadly danger.

  Raven Goddess joins me, and after pulling the sailboat up onto the scree at the base of the eroded slope, we tie it to a rather large boulder.

  Raven Goddess looks up the steep slope and frowns. "We should log out now. Once we start into the interior of the island, we will be unlikely to have the chance.

  Earth: Yukon City

  May 14, 1337 AA

  As Patrick opened his eyes, the clock read 15:58. Hearing Raven Goddess' capsule opening, he popped the lid on his own and sat up.

  Morgan smiled. "That was not much longer than my own logout. How do you feel?"

  Patrick cleared his throat and frowned. "I have a splitting headache, but it's no big deal. I'll keep having them until I go into cryo-sleep."

  Getting up from his capsule, Patrick saw the message light blinking on his pocket assistant and picked it up. After going through the message log, he sighed.

  "Is there a problem?"

  Frowning, Patrick looked at Morgan. "More messages from Mi-Cha. She keeps texting me to call or come to the capsule center. Vinny also sent a message to a mailbox I have to keep in touch with him. He's asking me to meet him at the abandoned factory between 22:00 and 24:00 tonight. How long will it take to deal with things on Barrow Island?"

  Morgan appeared to be lost in thought and did not immediately answer. "We should reach a safe place to log out by 22:00."

  "Ms. Danan?" One of the bodyguards stood in the door to the back cabin.

  Morgan looked at the bodyguard. "What is it?"

  "Everything has been arranged with Mr. Armagh's family. Their belongings are in our plane's hold, and they are in an airport lounge awaiting their flight. We have men discreetly guarding them."

  "Thank you."

  "Yes, Ma'am." The bodyguard disappeared from the doorway.

  Morgan looked at Patrick. "Their flight is on an aircraft owned by the City of Mann. There should be no problems."

  Patrick nodded, but his thoughts were clearly on something else.

  "Does the message from Vincent Torino bother you?"

  Patrick shook his head. "I'm not sure what to make of it. Vinny almost never asks to meet me outside of fight nights."

  "I will accompany you, tonight."

  "Alright."

  Dead Islands, Toraigh

  First Month 8, 10 RC

  As I log back, a feeling of cold dread hits me in the pit of my stomach.

  I look at Raven Goddess. "We're in danger."

  Raven Goddess looks around and frowns. "I have been logged in for a few minutes, but I have not seen anything."

  I climb to the top of the slope. A burial mound rises from the grassy plain less than a hundred yards away, and at the base of the mound, a stone doorjamb and lintel is sealed with a stone slab. An overwhelming feeling of danger assaults me from all around, but the strongest source is the burial mound.

  "Danger is all around. There is something inside that mound."

  With deep sorrow filling her eyes, Raven Goddess frowns. "These were once the graves of the brave warriors that served a race of deceased Gods, but there are unnatural Powers that have haunted these lands for longer than men have walked them. Over time the restless spirits of those buried here have become corrupted, much more corrupted than I had realized. They have become dark and evil. Our goal is at the center of this island, but we must tread carefully.

  Staying clear of the barrow, we head to the north. As we travel, Raven Goddess keeps looking around, and the frown never leaves her face.

  "There are not many trees. We must gather wood. Sun and fire are the two things that the dark spirits dwelling in these barrows fear." Suiting actions to words, Raven Goddess begins collecting fallen branches from around the trees we encounter.

  Not all of the barrow mounds that we pass give me a feeling of imminent danger. There are some that just give me the impression that they contain a cold, brooding darkness. That does not mean that there is no sense of danger to them, just that there is not an immediate threat from them.

  As the sun nears the horizon, Raven Goddess becomes more and more visibly upset, and when the sun begins to set, she looks around nervously.

  The entire island is irregularly dotted with the burial mounds, and the place we are standing is an open meadow with the surrounding five mounds forming the rough points of a star. Between the more or less east and southeast mounds, a small copse of twisted trees gives me an uneasy feeling.

  Raven Goddess stares at the copse of trees. "We need more wood to last the night."

  "Okay."

  I approach the copse, and from my storage, I take out what would be a long, heavy broadsword, with a hand-and-a-half hilt, for a human. In my hand, it could be called a short sword, at best, but it will work to cut down a few trees.

  Unnatural shadows lie upon the copse of trees. Hidden in the shadows, I see a few pairs of piss yellow eyes, but I cannot see the bodies they belong to. As I reach the edge of the copse, they slink back deeper into the trees and disappear. Before I can get a read on them with Identify Monster , they are already gone.

  Not wanting to spend too much time near these trees, I hack into the trunk of one with my broadsword. Because I am afraid of snapping the blade, I use the back third of it, which is the thickest part. With the strength of a Level 10 Half-Giant body, it only takes me a few minutes to chop down two trees that stand about eight meters tall.

  Wrapping my arms around the trunks, I drag them to where Raven Goddess is setting camp. She has already cut and cleared the grass from a third of a five-meter circle, and with my help, the task is finished in a few minutes.

  "There are things living in those trees, but they hid from me."

  With her perpetual seeming frown still in place, Raven Goddess stares toward the copse. "They may become bolder under the cover of darkness."

  While Raven Goddess builds a fire and prepares food, I strip the branches from the trees and cut them into logs. Before I am finished, the sun has already fallen beneath the horizon, and shadows cloak Barrow Island.

  While we eat, the feeling of impending danger grows stronger and stronger. I cannot keep my eyes from darting from shadow to shadow, but every time I think I see movement, nothing is there.

  Raven Goddess stares in the darkness for a time. "The dark spirits have left their barrows, but fire is their nemesis. As long as we keep the fire burning, they cannot approach."

  As the night deepens, the flickers of movement in the shadows of the barrows mounds close in around our camp, but they do not come closer than about thirty meters. That is the furthest distance that is illuminated by the flickering flames of our campfire. In utter silence, blurry figures, darker than the dark of the night, circle around us, but they never move close enough
to be clearly seen.

  "You rest first."

  For a few moments, Raven Goddess stares at me, as though she is appraising me. "Very well."

  After Raven Goddess wraps herself in her blankets, I pace around the fire and stare into the dark of the night. The cold feeling in the pit of my stomach never lets up for even a second. There is danger out there that would swallow us whole given the chance, and only the light of our fire keeps it at bay.

  "Grrrrrrr." "Grrrrrrr." "Grrrrrrr."

  Near the middle of the night, the sound of growling animals drifts into our camp from multiple angles, and the soft susurrus of multiple feet moving through the grass reaches my ears. A feeling, like icy hands grabbing onto the base of my spine, joins the cold lump in the pit of my stomach.

  I stare out into the darkness at the area one of the growls comes from. Identify Monster .

  No Target

  I smile ironically. If I cannot get a visual lock on my desired target, the Identify Monster Ability will not normally work, but I still took a chance.

  "Raven! Danger!" My words are sharp but not loud.

  Raising her head, Raven Goddess glances around and rises to her feet. "I cannot see them, but they sound like canine or lupine creatures."

  "I took a gamble on Identify Monster and it failed to get a target. With this fire, my Night Vision is useless."

  Raven Goddess cocks her head to the side, and she appears to be listening for a moment. "They are coming closer. It should not be long before they enter the light."

  In less than thirty seconds, a long lean shape belly crawls into the light.

  Corrupted Wolf (Fighter) Level 18

  » HP 10,500/10,500

  In Primacy Online V , Identify Monster did not work on normal animals that were native to Avalon. It only worked on the things that came through the rifts. I would assume that the rules governing spells, Abilities, and Talents are still the same.

  The rifts and the Monsters that come through them have a been a common feature of all the releases of Primacy Online , but considering that, according to Raven Goddess, there is only one world, Tathlum, that would make sense.

  The Corrupted Wolf has a muzzle that is twice as wide and nearly three time as long as what a comparably sized normal wolf would have. Its eyes are the same piss yellow as the ones in the copse of trees, and its patchy fur has an unhealthy, reddish-brown color. Two more like it are slinking closer from different angles.

  "Extermination 10 difficulty? A Corrupted Wolf? What the fuck is that supposed to be?"

  Viciousness twists Raven Goddess' features into a fierce mask, and her eyes almost appear to glow in the night. "The Fomhoraigh's experiments twisted much of this land and the creatures that live upon it. There are many, many corrupted and mutated creatures living here. Anything that has been corrupted or mutated by the twisted energies used be the Fomhoraigh is no longer natural to this world."

  The Corrupted Wolf in front of me looks to the right and left. When I look to the left, the Corrupted Wolf on that side appears to be making eye contact with the one in front of me. At the same time, all three rise to their feet and charge toward our camp.

  "Aoooouuuu!"

  One of the Corrupted Wolves goes after Raven Goddess, and two of them come after me. I wait until the Corrupted Wolf coming from the side is almost on top of me, and I lunge toward the one coming from the front. The tip of the staff hits the Corrupted Wolf directly in the throat. The second one leaps at my throat, but the impact knocks me back out of the line of its attack.

  As I stagger back, trying to stabilize myself, the two Corrupted Wolves slam into one another, and hit the ground in a tangled heap. Once they are back on their feet, the two of them look at one another, before focusing on me.

  I take the slight breather to glance at my combat log.

  Corrupted Wolf: -388 Untyped Damage: 107% Skill Expression (+170% Damage)

  Damn. This is not going to be a quick battle. Even with hitting the Corrupted Wolf clean in the throat, it did not count as a critical hit. Since they are intelligently coordinating with one another, it will be harder to put them at a disadvantage.

  As the Corrupted Wolves split up and move to flank me, I attack the one I already hit with a sliding thrust.

  "Yipe!"

  Ding!

  Skill Synthesis Complete

  You have created the Skill: Sliding Thrust

  The impact sends the Corrupted Wolf flying almost ten meters, and I spin to block the attack from the other one. Leaning my weight into my block, I jam my staff crosswise into the Corrupted Wolf's mouth, but the force of the impact still sends me staggering backward four or five meters.

  When the Corrupted Wolf clamps its teeth down on my staff and does not let go, I whip it through the air and slam it to the ground on its back. The thing still does not want to let go, and I slam it to the ground, again. As the impact forces it to release its grip, I jerk my staff from its mouth and circle around behind it to keep it between the first Corrupted Wolf and myself.

  I take a quick glance at my combat log, to see the effects of the new Skill.

  Corrupted Wolf: -237 Untyped Damage: 113% Skill Expression (+230% Damage) Sliding Thrust (+100% Damage)

  It is too bad that it is only a Skill and not an Ability. The damage boost would have been 2-3x as much for an Ability.

  I slam my staff into the back of the Corrupted Wolf that is scrambling to its feet and back off.

  "Raven, are you doing okay?"

  "I will only need a little more than another minute to finish this one. These creatures like to hit and run. You seem to be taking your time." Raven Goddess laughs.

  "You're fighting one, and I'm fighting two."

  "That should not be an issue. You have enough mass to make three of me with plenty left over."

  "Ha. Ha."

  I do not need to look to know that Raven Goddess is grinning mirthfully.

  After looking deeply into each other's eyes, the two Corrupted Wolves charge at me again. This time both are coming from the front, and instead of engaging them, I dive and roll to get clear of the pair.

  "Grrrr!" "Grrrr!"

  As the two Corrupted Wolves growl, they both glare at me. I do not know if animals normally glare at people, but there is no doubt these two are. I am sure if they can still be called animals. It might be more accurate to call them Monsters.

  The Corrupted Wolves attack me with one going high and one low, but again, I avoid their attacks. While I wait for Raven Goddess to finish her Corrupted Wolf, I keep dodging the pair that I am fighting by wide margins and poking at the wounded one with my staff.

  I really want to get my hands on some Half-Giant sized armor.

  "Yipe!"

  It takes closer to two minutes, but in the end, Raven Goddess' Corrupted Wolf falls to the ground dead. With a malicious grin, she comes to attack one of my victims.

  Without the two Corrupted Wolves double-teaming me, it does not even take thirty seconds to finish beating the one I have been working on to death. With a final whimper, it dies, and I go after Raven Goddess' Corrupted Wolf.

  As she stares into the darkness surrounding our camp, Raven Goddess frowns unhappily. "The spirits are still out there. They might send something else before morning."

  "We can only deal with things as they come. Get some more sleep."

  "Okay." Raven Goddess' frown does not disappear, but she still lays down.

  Opening my character sheet, I tap on Sliding Thrust in the Skills section.

  Sliding Thrust

  » A Skill that allows the possessor to slide forward and deliver a heavy thrust to the chosen target.

  » Attack delivers an extra 100% damage.

  » Attack possesses a fixed chance to knock back any target hit by it.

  Sliding Thrust is not a bad attack at all. It may only be double base attack damage, but with no cooldown and no Mana cost, it is almost OP.

  Dead Islands, Toraigh

  First Mon
th 9, 10 RC

  The lightening of the dawn sky wakes me. After Raven Goddess relieved me, I only slept for maybe three to four hours, but with the Stamina that I have that is already plenty. By the time I reach Level 20, I will be able to function on two hours of sleep a night, and if I am not recovering HP or MP, I will find it almost impossible to sleep for more than that.

  "The dark spirits have returned to their barrows."

  Sitting up, I look at Raven Goddess. She is preparing food. Every time I see her cooking, it gives me an odd impression. During the time I knew her in Primacy Online V , if she was among her followers, she almost always had an attendant that cared for her daily needs, and when we were travelling without any others, she would use summoned servants to cook and wash her clothes. In all honesty, I did not think she even knew how to cook, but she is actually not bad at it.

  "You are thinking improper thoughts, Insufferable Man." Her tone has changed, and it feels like in her mind 'Insufferable Man' has become a title or name.

  "What's improper about still being in awe that the Immortal Ice Queen can actually cook without burning water?"

  Despite her glaring at me, there is no anger in Raven Goddess' eyes. "Insufferable Man, you should be thankful that you are allowed to eat the food that I cook."

  I do not try to repress my wry grin. "Thank you, oh mighty Immortal Ice Queen! Thank you, for feeding this lowly mortal."

  "I really do not like that name."

  "You choose to call yourself Goddess but don't like being called Immortal Ice Queen?"

  As Raven Goddess looks at me, the darkness that seems to hide behind her eyes is clearly visible. "I called myself Raven when I started playing. Solely because of my appearance, others started calling me Goddess, and I changed my name to Raven Goddess with the start of Primacy Online II ."