by Jason Cheek
Instead of disrespecting her commitment, I just began casting Light’s Blessing, Holy Shield, and Enhanced Mage Armor to give her all the extra help that I could for the coming ordeal and fight. Once finished, I squatted down and held up my hand as she slapped her palm into it with a happy grin. As we let go, I nodded for her to climb onto my back. As she secured herself in place, I stood up gripping the edges of my shield in both hands as Neristhana murmured a “thank you” to me under her breath.
“No thank you needed,” I replied under my breath without hesitation.
My new and old friends could chuckle all they wanted to at the small gnomeling saying she was my guardian. It was a common mistake made amongst players in MMOs. Gamers usually forgot that there were few if any differences with attributes or abilities in regard to the sizes of the different races amongst players. Just like they usually forgot that there was no difference between male or female characters’ abilities either. Phoenix’s build was a prime example of that, which she repeatedly used to catch the enemy off guard with. So, they could laugh all they wanted to. Neristhana was tough as nails and fought with a full-body fighting style that I’d never seen before. Going up against her with any preconceived notions was an express ticket back to the graveyard.
Now, that didn’t mean to say that having the gnomeling straddling my rucksack wasn’t comical as hell. One look at Bonnie Smash and Hefe gave me an idea of just how ridiculous we looked, but that wasn’t a concern as I eyed the people to either side of me. Getting nods back that everyone was ready, I began casting Regeneration on everyone in the line as I began jogging towards the other side of the ridge.
“Let’s move out!” I shouted as I leaped off the top of the ridge with my shield gripped before me. Behind me, I heard the rest of the line hurrying forward as I soared a good twenty feet down the far side of the pass.
Chapter One.Thirty
(Thursday, May 8th / Day 18 of The World.)
There was a moment there when I forgot this was a game as we sailed out over the steep pass. The drop down to the valley was enormous. Kind of like those snow skiing videos you see of skiers using a helicopter to jump down a particularly steep slope of a mountain. That was the last thing I saw before plunging into darkness as the moonlight was suddenly blocked by the ridge behind me. Somehow, I choked back the scream of terror that tried to rip from my lips, before my Darkvision triggered. Not that it was particularly helpful since it just let me clearly see the cliff-like slope ahead as we fell.
The belly-flop onto the frozen ice twenty-feet down partly knocked the wind from my lungs, but that was my least concern as Neristhana let out a muffled scream. That was because the rucksack that she’d strapped herself onto had dangerously shot out over my head from the force of the impact as gravity tried to snatch her off my back. The results of which meant left me completely blind to what lay ahead of me as the gnomeling’s urgent words came to my ears.
“Go left … left … now right!”
I did my best to follow the hysterical commands while trying my best not to flip us head over heels as I balanced on my Black Coral Iron-reinforced Defender and splayed my legs out behind me. It was the ten longest seconds of my life as the rocks in the frozen snow slammed against my armor hard enough to bruise. Though, I about pissed myself when Neristhana suddenly shrieked out an “Oh, shit!” as we went airborne.
Surprisingly enough, that bump was what saved us as the shield I was holding onto caught wind while my boots dragged on the frozen snow. It was enough to shift Neristhana and the rucksack back into position on my back as we slammed down onto the pass once again. I almost wished I couldn’t see again as the various boulders strewn along the pass came into sight a hundred yards out. While that sounded like a lot of distance in which to react, it passed in the blink of an eye as I focused on slewing the makeshift toboggan past the obstacles in our path.
The sounds of the wind rushing past our ears mixed with the horrendous grinding noises of the black coral shield sliding over fist-sized rocks in our path as we crossed the frozen snow, filled our ears. Not that it was particularly noticeable as we held on for dear life from the intense vibrations and hard impacts that tried to throw us off. It was a completely different feeling than when I’d slid down the Delonshire side of Fang Pass on my ass.
The taste of coppery blood filled my mouth as I bit through my lip while my breaths came in sharp gasps while we were shooting down the slope at an insane speed. It wasn’t that I was in pain, since my Regeneration spell was ticking off every second and the adrenaline rush drowned out everything else occurring to my body. The weakness in my limbs and shortness of breath I felt was more from the intense emotional impact of the experience than anything else.
While I lived for experiences like these, especially in VR games, the adrenaline rush they put you through was physically exhausting to say the least. Similar to how an old-school virtual roller coaster could get you wound up physiologically, FIVR took that intensity to a whole different level. I swore the feeling was just as good if not better than doing something like this in real life, especially since you got the same adrenaline rush without actually being at risk of dying or being permanently injured.
I couldn’t even imagine how this must have felt for Neristhana who was strapped on top of my rucksack. It had to be like riding on the back of a crotch rocket going through a twisty road where when you were higher up you felt the leans to either side that much more. Besides, for her this was the real world, albeit death and broken bones were only a minor issue as long as there was a priest nearby. Still, there was no doubt in my mind that she was harder-core, since she’d come with me knowingly.
Hearing Hefe and AJ yipping excitedly behind me made me grit my teeth, before bellowing for them to shut up in raid chat as we past the midpoint of the pass. Below us, the rocky ravine-like pass opened up into a wider slope similar to what you’d see on a normal ski slope as the decline lessened to more of a forty-five to fifty degree angle. While that was a thankful relief on one level, it meant the forest at the top edge of the valley would be coming up soon as I kept my eyes glued on the way ahead of us. A hundred yards sounded like a lot of space to slow down with, but not when you were coming down the side of a mountain at breakneck speed without any brakes.
There was no way I could glance over my shoulder to see who’d made it and who hadn’t. Any shift would throw the black coral shield, which I was hanging onto for dear life, off course. Just as the first trees came into sight at the extreme range of my Darkvision, I angled our decent between the obstructions and threw myself off the makeshift toboggan to belly flop into the snow while tucking the shield up next to me.
Even then, I didn’t instantly stop. With the velocity that we’d built up, we skittered across the snow for another hundred yards or so before coming to a stop. Reaching up, I grabbed Neristhana by the edge of her cloak and pulled as I rolled over onto my back in almost a sitting position, due to the rucksack. The result was that I had a limp gnomeling lying on top of my chest gasping for breath while I limply laid back spread-eagled across the frozen snow trying to catch my own breath.
“I can’t believe you made me do that,” Neristhana said, as she pushed herself up from my chest to look around.
“Made you do that?” I growled under my breath as the gnomeling gave me a wink.
“Actually, it wasn’t as bad as rigging sail during a storm,” Neristhana said with a smile, before we were interrupted by a screaming Bonnie Smash and Hefe flying past us moving too fast. They came to a bone crunching stop as they hit a relatively large tree a second later just as AJ sped past on our other side doing a flat spin on his belly.
“Woohoo,” Hefe shouted excitedly, popping up out of the snow drift. Raising his arms up into the air, he jumped around like a boxing champ at the end of a match as Bonnie Smash slowly climbed to her feet behind him. “That was the shiznitz!”
“Fuck my life,” AJ shouted out happily, from where he slid to a stop a little
ahead of us. “That was awesome!”
“I thought we were supposed to be doing this silently?” Neristhana said to me under her breath, as the rest of the group came to a stop around us.
“Could you keep your fool mouth shut?” Terry Cobra said with a scowl, as Matt came to a stop next to her.
“Da,” Ivan added unhappily, as he came to a sliding stop next to me with his two guildmates. The three Russians seemed to handle the snow like they’d been living in it their entire life. “Is stealth mission, no?”
“Don’t let Star get you all worked up,” AJ said, as he stood up and shook the snow off his shield with a laugh. “He’s always over-planning for the worst.”
“It’s called being strategically aware,” Sarka snarked, as she walked up with Thomas. “Maybe you should try it sometime.”
“Come on, now” Hefe said, holding out his arms to either side as he turned in place. “Who’s going to be waiting out here doing nothing, when there’s a full scale invasion going on down in the valley bellow?”
“Oh I don’t know,” Sarka said, rolling her eyes. “A large guild of players who are paid to play?” As they started going back and forth, I received a mental warning that chilled my bones.
‘There are sentinels somewhere within fifty-yards of the edge of the forest!’ Neysa’s urgently sent across our link.
‘We’ll be in position in just a moment,” Helgath reported at the same time. Immediately, I got a mental picture of the Krasnyy Volki wolf pack spreading out to either side of them, while they raced through the woods to get into position. The Half-Orc’s voice continued in my head as she added her own thoughts to the enemy’s possible location. ‘They must be in the trees. Otherwise, the wolves would have picked up their scent if they were on the ground.’
“Fuuuck!” I swore out loud, as my body jerked into a sitting position. Hearing my shout, Neristhana leapt to her feet as if she’d been tagged by a live wire. It all happened so quickly that no one had time to react. My mind was still processing the message, while everyone else was turning around to look at us in surprise. Well, not everyone. As my hands reached for the shield lying in the snow next to me, I noticed the three Russians in the group were reaching for their weapons like I was. That’s when I noticed an odd blurring affect in the shape of a semi-circle appear ten yards behind of Hefe.
As I slipped my wrist through the straps of my shield and sprang to my feet, my free hand began crackling with purple energy as Neristhana drew her Leeching Hand-Axe of Severing and pressed her back into my side. It was in that second that I realized the blur wasn’t a solid wall, but made up of individual humanoid shapes around five yards apart from one another. That was confirmed a second later when a system window popped open before my eyes with a surprising message.
You have learned a new skill Perception I.
Perception I – (Passive) Increase the chance of detecting Stealthed and Hidden objects, units, traps, and doors. 10% increase in chance of detection for objects twenty yards away, 20% increase in chance of detection for objects ten yards away, and 30% increase in chance of detection for objects five yards away.
The confirmation message was all I needed to know what I was looking at. Stealthed units were closing in on our group and I’d just been lucky enough to pick up a unique skill as they’d come into range. Before I could select a target to attack, a group of twenty Dark Elves clad in black leather armor appeared from out of stealth in front of us with their bows knocked with arrows and ready to fire.
Hefe and AJ whirled around in confusion to face the troop of Dark Elves as Bonnie Smash hefted her shield up preparing to fight. Sarka already had her shield up and sword drawn as she stepped up next to AJ who was just bringing his own shield up. The three Devil Dogs and Russians had closed ranks together with the Half-Orc Toxi as we all paused looking at each other warily. The biggest question on all of our minds was why hadn’t they just attacked from stealth?
Luckily, the bows weren’t aimed directly at us, or that would have started an instant fight. If anything, it was the only thing that allowed me to cast a quick Identify on the center figure standing before me, Uglorn Chuzedros, Dark Elf, level 42 Shadow Assassin. Seeing the light blue hue to the woman’s name, I immediately understood who they were. While the crackling, purple energy disappeared from around my hand, the muscular female stepped forward and gave me a stern nod.
“I am Sub-Leader Chuzedros,” she stated, in a no-nonsense tone. “The Head of Midnight ordered our shade to escort you to him upon your arrival.”
Sub-Leader Chuzedros was quite the looker. Her coarse black-hair done up with crisscross, short-braid cornrows was very exotic and seemed to match her thickly muscled six-foot, two-inch frame. With her high-quality weapons, leather armor, and stern face, she looked more than capable as she addressed us without concern.
“That’s welcoming news, Sub-Leader Chuzedros,” I said, standing up straight and shouldering my shield as I nodded for Neristhana to follow suit. It was about time we lucked out and didn’t have to fight every step of the way, I thought, with a sigh of relief. Sending out a message for Neysa and Helgath to join us with the rest of the Krasnyy Volki’s wolf pack, I met the Sub-Leader’s piercing green eyes with barely a pause in our conversation. “I’m Lord Ironwolf of the House of Kayden and these are my companions …”
The introductions went quickly as I went down the line of my friends and comrades. The confused looks on Bonnie Smash’s, Hefe’s, and AJ’s faces were quickly cleared up by Sarka as she explained that, similar to how guildmates showed up as blue names upon using Identify and were displayed on the mini-map, allies’ names were displayed similarly with a light blue color. They hadn’t known since none of them had dealt with any other large groups of players closely other than their own teammates, so they hadn’t realized how the game displayed the various relationships with alliances.
Thomas continued Sarka’s explanation, when she took a breath. He went over the colors of enemies and friends. If you were at war with a guild, they would show up as red while their alliance partners names showed up as orange and yellow, depending on the closeness of the direct relationship. I found it to be useful information even as everyone else rolled their eyes. Unlike Basic and Advance players, I didn’t have a mini-map with my Nightmare start, so this was all relatively new information for me, especially the part about Stealthed or Hidden units not showing up on the mini-map.
“If this is your entire group,” Sub-Leader Chuzedros spoke up, interrupting Thomas without any regard as her eyes swept our group with a look of disdain. “Then we can proceed directly to the Head of Midnight.”
In the space of just a few words, the Dark Elf had clearly expressed to everyone present what she thought about our quaint little group of low level newfar. Instead of getting upset, my friends and comrades just smiled at the snooty Shadow Assassin as I turned to her with a raised eyebrow. But, before I could reply to her comment, Neysa’s thoughts came to me.
‘There is a group of two-leg still hiding in the trees.’ Instantly, I received the impression of around twenty shadows in the trees watching us from thirty-yards out.
‘Should we kill them or let them be?’ Helgath asked next, as my eyes flicked over to the female Dark Elf’s.
“No, actually it’s not,” I said, with a twinkle in my eyes. Unfortunately, the stealthed units were too far out for my new Perception skill to make any of them out. With a shrug, my gaze settled on the Sub-Leader. “But, before we get to that. I need to know if the twenty stealthed units in the trees behind you are part of your group or not?”
“They are the part of our group staying behind to keep watch over the pass,” Sub-Leader Chuzedros confirmed in a tight voice, as the group of Shadow Assassins behind her shifted uncomfortably at my words. It was obvious they were confused at how their people had been discovered.
‘Leave them be,’ I sent to both Helgath and Neysa. Though, it was more for the Half-Orc than anyone else, since I’m sure no
ne of them wanted to experience a Cleansing spell. A second later, sixty-seven wolves came trotting out of the forest with a massive Silver Dire Wolf carrying a Half-Orc rider as a shrill bird began calling out urgently from the trees.
As one, the Shadow Assassins tensed and shifted formation as ten Dark Elves stepped forward to keep an eye on us, while the remaining ten whipped around to face the new arrivals. I couldn’t help the smirk that came to my lips. They were surprisingly jumpy for allies, I thought, as the Great Saber-Fang wolves came to a stop at the edge of the group, while Neysa just strode through the middle of their group to come to a stop next to my side.
“The rest of my people should be arriving shortly,” I said, giving the Sub-Leader a polite nod as her mouth gaped open. “Though, my suggestion would be to not leave any of your people behind to watch the pass. For all intent and purpose, it’s closed for the foreseeable future.” It was obvious she wanted to ask about the wolves and what I meant about the pass, but, before she could make up her mind to speak, Angie and the rest of her Druids in Were-form suddenly appeared from the pass above us. “Oh, here are some of my people now.”
With a hand signal, the Shadow Assassins reformed their original line while the wave of Werewolves and Werebears came racing down the frozen snow. As I turned around to watch their decent, I was once again taken with how vicious they looked as a charging force, albeit I was kind of surprised at how long it had taken them to catch up to us. From the tongues lolling out of their mouths, they must have seriously had to run hard to be that winded.
While the Dark Elves watched the Druids approach with mixed emotions clear on their faces, Tengsly came fluttering back to me to hover before my eyes. As Mike’s words came to my mind, I was surprised to see Neysa leap at one of the Shadow Assassins, until I realized he’d just raised his bow to shoot my messenger. The Silver Dire Wolf’s growling visage quickly explained to him that was a mistake as Tengsly chittered unhappily, before disappearing into the hood of my cloak.