The day’s grind and the cold finally crashed down on Frost. He made to leave, to head back down to the cavern and build a fire. To rest.
A roar stopped him in his tracks. A roar only as far as the hunting plain. Something was doing just that. Hunting. A pungent odor drifted on the air. The odor of rotting eggs.
Red-and-black let out a low rumble, deep in its throat. Clicking, Frost stretched his Echolocation as far as it could reach beyond the waterfall. The falling water itself either killed visibility with its violent froth or blurred the outside world with its translucence.
With Deadeye aimed, Frost side-stepped until he stood in the middle of the hollow. Red-and-black positioned itself beside Frost, its attention focused outward.
On occasion, the drake would bare its teeth. But it made no sound. Frost waited, his breathing loud to his ears, heart thumping, the waterfall’s roar somehow seeming muted. He was ready to unleash every skill in his arsenal.
Frost stretched his Echolocation to its farthest range, some three hundred feet. Something massive approached the lagoon. Its footfalls reverberated. A shadow engulfed much of the turquoise luminance. The rotten egg stench grew near unbearable.
Frost froze. Holding his breath, he prayed the monster could not see or sense him or Red-and-black. The shadow shifted.
In his mind’s eye, Frost swore a head had swiveled toward him. Eyes like flames burned into his. The beast snorted. There came the lap, lap, lap of water-drinking. The massive shadow receded.
He let out a relieved breath. But he still kept Deadeye aimed. He stayed in that position, pressed against the wall and the drake.
Time passed. Frost couldn’t tell how long, but it must have been at least an hour. The monster’s roars had become sporadic. With his arms tiring, he resorted to resting Deadeye across his legs, ready to bring it to bear at any moment.
He fought against the urge to relax. The urge to sleep. He could not afford to do either. With Deadeye’s handle in a death grip, he swore to remain awake, to remain vigilant. Their lives depended upon it.
Vision blurry, he squinted at the waterfall and the turquoise glow beyond. Was that a shadow? He leaned forward. He snapped his head up when he realized he’d been dozing.
Battling weary bones, he busied himself with thoughts of Gilda. What’s she doing now? Is she leveling somewhere? What new spells has she gotten? Does she miss me as much as I miss her?
A roar reverberated. How close, Frost couldn’t tell. Chasing away the wayward thoughts, Frost tried to focus. He hoped morning would soon come.
CHAPTER 8
Frost snapped his eyes open. Something screeched. No, not one thing. Many. He brought Deadeye up and aimed at the waterfall.
Frowning, he considered his position. He didn’t remember sitting or lying down. But he was sitting, back against the hollow’s wall. A mound of warmth beside him resolved into Red-and-black, curled up, slumbering, head facing toward the waterfall and the brightness beyond.
Brightness. Frost narrowed his eyes. Early morning, he realized. The screeches were the drakes in their daily hunting ritual. As much as he’d tried, he’d failed to stay awake. They were lucky to be alive.
Yawning, he lowered Deadeye. He tilted his neck to one side and then the next to loosen it. Frost paused, head still tilted. He’d stretched out of habit, expecting pain, soreness from all the activity, the leveling, and especially the two days of calisthenics. An onset of DOMS like in real life. But he felt no such discomfort.
He checked his stats. Strength and agility had increased by one point. He was uncertain of the algorithms used to convert exercise to attributes, but the increases convinced him he was on the right track. As aether had readily shown: improvement on certain aspects was a matter of usage. As in real life, so it was in-game.
Frost glanced at the drake whose musky odor filled the hollow. Red-and-black was at least four times his size. Its body rose and fell with each deep breath. Frost made to take his drake reins from his inventory and snap it around the creature’s neck but paused in the middle of the action.
How’d you feel when Sidrie basically shackled you? Forced you to do what she wanted. Frost sighed.
Red-and-black snorted. The drake climbed to its feet and shook itself. Its neck curled a bit to the left, black eyes and convex gold pupils shifting backward to regard Frost. The drake let out a low gurgle.
Frost was uncertain if the sound meant something good or if it was a show of aggression. “Heyyyy, boyyyy.” He smiled uneasily even as his heartbeat quickened.
Red-and-black gurgled again. The drake flicked its head toward the outside.
“You hungry? Me too.” Relief eased through Frost once it became apparent the drake meant him no harm. “But we gotta wait until your friends are done.”
On cue, the hunting drakes screeched. Red-and-black turned its head to peer outside. It whined. A sound Frost interpreted as disappointment. The drake settled back down on its stomach.
Frost’s Comm Orb dinged.
“What up, my dude, you know who it is,” Meritus’ nasal voice piped into Frost’s ear. “Got some great news. Not only did I get a lead from my Trade Conglomerate buddies on those empowered skills, but you were right about the weapons like Benediction according to tomes in the Halls of Illumination. There’re more of them for different classes.
“Even better, a gurash relic hunter named Nakada Masami in the Lothal dominion claims he got the info we need about both. It’ll cost us, of course. I can swing the credits, but there’s some items he wants in return.
“When we have the payment, we’ll meet him in Kojin, the Lothal capital, to make the trade. I’ll hit you with the list of items he wants in a little while. Then we can link up at an inn called the Wandering Man in Kikonai, a southern Lothal town in the Daiko nome.
“I also confirmed that hierkaneers can craft the empowered skills by way of Genesis Engines. Takes twenty of the normal versions and certain gems imbued with aether. If we decide to go that route.
“And in case you’re asking where the hell do we get access to another Engine outside of the Front. I heard the Engine in the Sanctum isn’t the only one hidden away in a dungeon.
“The bad news is there’s only one Engine per location. So, whoever takes an Engine gets to keep it until someone takes it from them. Or it’s destroyed. They don’t respawn.
“That’s all for now. Lata, homie.”
The news made Frost think about the Genesis Engines. Due to their design, he could see them being the cause of major PVP. Hell, perhaps even faction or dominion wars if the Coalition decided to stay out of such squabbles.
Time dragged as he and Red-and-black waited. Stroking his aether ring, he found himself worrying about Mom and Kai. His third day in game meant almost nine days away from the real world. He hoped they were both fine. Despite any misgivings, he had to believe Sidrie would keep her word. She would pull him from the game if Mom went into labor.
But what if she didn’t?
Frost shook off the thought before it festered. Instead, he imagined what Gilda and the others might be doing. He smiled as he saw blue-skinned Gilda, cocky as ever, twirling her dagger. Then there was Saba, the dresdor centaur with her habit of swishing her tail, and finding excuses to avoid fights when possible. Dante, the crimson-skinned gurash was Saba’s opposite. He’d rush into any battle. Thinking of them did make him miss his days as leader of Soldiers of Chaos.
Maybe I should start the guild again after all.
He was lost in thought when Red-and-black nudged him with its nose. Frost looked up. The morning had brightened. No drakes screeched.
“Let’s get some food then.” Frost stood.
The drake’s nostrils spread wide. It turned its head away from Frost, its golden pupils narrowing, and made a sneezing noise.
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��What?”
Red-and-black leaned forward and pushed Frost away again. It repeated the same sneeze. The membrane around its nostrils opened and closed.
Frost’s eyebrows shot up as understanding dawned. “You trying to say I stink?” He shook his head. “You don’t exactly smell like flowers either.”
The drake’s tail curled around and bumped Frost to the side. Red-and-black gurgled.
“Fine. Let’s go.” Frost assumed the drake meant for them to get a move on. His belly was rumbling something awful.
He led the way from behind the waterfall. As usual, a gray sheet riddled by radiant lightning hung over them. Today, the heat was a bit more oppressive, such that he appreciated the swirling wind.
Red-and-black came to stand beside him at the lagoon’s edge. Frost stared at the drake. Up close, in daylight, its color took his breath away. It was a mottled yet rich red and black with a sheen as if the scales were oiled. A dark scar stood out beneath one eye. Its previously injured wing was healed completely.
Cradling Deadeye, Frost headed toward the arkets with Red-and-black stalking beside him. Frost Concealed. He made to tell Red-and-black he was still there, but the drake was staring directly at him.
Could it see through Concealment?
Frost shifted left then right. The drake’s black and gold eyes tracked him. He circled around the creature. Red-and-black’s eyes shifted with him.
“Interesting.” Frost nodded, impressed by the seemingly natural ability.
Still Concealed, Frost made his way to the closest arket. As usual, he opened up with Staggering Shot. The arket died to Piercer and a single Aether Shot.
Red-and-black let out a gurgle. Its focus was on the dead beast.
“Go on.” Frost jutted his chin toward the carcass.
The drake cocked its head and regarded Frost with those deep black and gold eyes. It gurgled again.
“Hmmm.” Frost imitated biting into the meat. “Go on. Eat.” He pointed at the carcass.
Red-and-black bounded forward. In moments, it was tearing at the arket.
Smiling, Frost watched for a bit before he found and killed another arket. This time, he cut off a leg. He left the rest for the drake.
Frost ventured over to some rocks not far from the lagoon. He took the tinder and flint from his inventory, found some dried grass, and started a fire. He added some twigs. He sawed a chunk of meat from the upper thigh, skewered it on the sword, and roasted it, turning it to make sure it cooked well. Juices sizzled and dripped, making his mouth water.
Red-and-black’s shriek made Frost snap his head around. The drake was chasing a lamia. Body shifting in a wavy undulation, the lamia bolted for a burrow. Red-and-black clawed at the hole.
With a wry smile and a shake of his head, Frost turned back to his meal. He removed the meat from the fire and settled down to eat.
Soon enough, the drake joined him. In its jaws was a dead lamia. Red-and-black dropped the carcass next to the fire. The drake looked from Frost to the lamia and back again. It kicked at the lamia with a claw.
“For me?” Frost chuckled. “Thank you.”
The drake returned to its hunting.
After he ate, Frost made his way to the lagoon, deciding it was time for a bath. He stripped naked, forced the old fear of drowning down into his gut, took a breath, and waded into the turquoise pool. The water was cold at first, but his body soon adjusted. Frost basked in the moment. If not for the circumstances, he could have seen himself living in-game. He let his imagination run wild with the idea.
Angry screeches broke him from his reverie. The three bullies soared above Frost, headed toward the plain. Frost scrambled from the water. Heart thumping, he dressed as fast as he could manage, attention diverted between Red-and-black and the three drakes.
Red-and-black had stopped hunting and frolicking. Teeth bared, it stared up at the three newcomers. It shrieked a warning.
Fully dressed, Frost sprinted toward the confrontation. The bullies landed and approached Red-and-black from three directions, spitting and hissing. One of them faked a pounce. Another attacked from the opposite side.
The moment Frost was in range, he fired a Staggering Shot at the closest drake, the blue one. A second later, he followed the attack with Piercer at the gray drake.
Red-and-black chose that moment to charge the green drake. Snapping and snarling, they fought. Though smaller, Red-and-black was quicker and stronger. The green drake let out a piteous cry and darted away. It took to the air.
Frost turned back to the other two. But they had recovered and flown off. They headed in the direction of the aeries. Frost had a horrible feeling in his gut. He ran to Red-and-black.
“They’re gonna bring them all, aren’t they?” Frost didn’t expect an answer, but Red-and-black was already staring after its cousins as if it had the same thought.
Red-and-black whined. And did the most unexpected thing. It got down flat on its stomach, eyes focused on Frost.
“You want me to climb on?” Frost’s brows rose in wonderment. “I think we need these to make that work properly.” He produced the reins from his inventory and stored Deadeye.
Frost opened the reins, placed them around Red-and-black’s neck, and snapped them closed. The reins transformed. They became a circle of near indiscernible aether, powdery blue like a clear sky. Straps of aether grew from the circle, creeping down either side of the drake’s neck to where the torso began. The straps flowed down beneath the belly.
Impressed, Frost nodded. “Wow. That’s different.”
Screeches echoed from the direction of the aeries. Drakes took to the skies like flies lifting from a corpse.
“Shit.” Frost scrambled onto Red-and-black’s back.
He reached out and gripped the reins with both hands. The moment his fingers closed around the circle, the aether coiled up his hands and around his wrists. The effect was similar to a simurgh’s harnessing ability. Something gripped his thighs and ankles. Glancing down, he saw aether had locked him in. The coils of it around his ankles reminded him of bolsters on land mounts.
“Epic.” Grinning, Frost leaned forward into the drake’s neck. It seemed the natural thing to do.
With a flap of its leathery wings, Red-and-black leaped into the sky. Swirling winds streamed by Frost, ruffled his hair. The ground dwindled below.
A Drake In Need
Objective Complete
Help abused drake:
1000 experience points
500 Ignis dominion credits
Capture a Young Drake:
Objective Complete
1000 experience points
500 Ignis dominion credits
500 Khertahka dominion credits
Earn Your Wings:
Objective Complete
Learn how to fly a drake:
1500 experience points
500 Ignis dominion credits
500 Khertahka dominion credits
Frost nodded his approval for the quest completions.
Drake screeches echoed. Hundreds of them. Darkening the sky, the lament of drakes sped toward Frost and Red-and-black.
Frost had the urge to use the reins in his grip to direct Red-and-black. He could head out to sea as fast as possible. But they’d be just as dead if they didn’t find land. He needed to get his bearings first. Realizing this wasn’t the first time Red-and-black had to flee from its own kind, he let the drake have the lead.
With the ground a blur beneath them, Red-and-black banked sharply and aimed at the mountainside away from the chasing drakes. It followed the meandering stream and shot out into open space. The stream became another waterfall below them. Red-and-black dived, an arrow streaking down, skimming the falling water.
The move and speed sent
Frost’s stomach lurching up into his mouth. Frost squeezed the reins tight. He leaned forward and down onto RnB’s rough scales, the drake’s musky odor filling his nostrils. His eyes teared up in the whipping, howling wind that drowned out all other sound.
Red-and-black veered left. It swept around rocky outcrops and past several more waterfalls. The drake beat its wings and climbed. Up. And up. And up, they soared. The air chilled. Above them, lightning radiated within the gray murk like frenetic strobes. Finally, the drake leveled out. It landed on a mist-shrouded plateau.
Heart still racing, Frost took a long, slow breath. And screwed up his face at a stench as if someone had eaten eggs and farted.
“I hope that wasn’t you, homie.” Frost smiled as he rubbed Red-and-black’s neck. “Looks like we lost them.” The drake screeches were distant things below.
Peering out into the open space, Frost swore he could just make out the Coalition base far in the distance. Beyond it, the sapphire of the Empyrean Sea yawned to meet the azure sky. A dark line sat on that intersection point. A line that meant the mainland. The continent of Marang.
The foul rotten egg odor rose again, this time a bit stronger. Struck by a sudden sense of danger, Frost yanked on the reins and kicked his legs, activating the bolsters. The drake leaped forward off the plateau’s edge. Frost snatched a look over his shoulder.
Less than a hundred feet from where they’d stood, a massive reptilian face peered out of the mist. Ruby scales glinted for a moment. Black and silver void energy crackled around the head. Eyes like flames stared at Frost.
IM named it Imanok. A GUM. A void dragon.
The monster tilted its head to the gray mantle above. Lightning spewed from its maw.
Frost had no time to relish their narrow escape. A drake screeched below. A glance down revealed the three bullies and a dozen others making straight for Frost and Red-and-black.
But Frost had the advantage of several thousand feet of height. Angling Red-and-black down added its momentum to its flight speed. Their pursuers dwindled behind. Grinning, Frost allowed himself to relax.
The Forsaken Crypts Page 9