by Jason Cheek
“It’s one of the spells that came with my Nightmare start,” Mike said, after glancing at me to make sure it was okay to share out the information. “Slip into Shadows lets the caster re-enter stealth even if they’ve been seen by the enemy.” Seeing Zhou’s and Darkhorse’s excited looks, he explained further.
“The tree’s spell requirements are usually fifty percent Agility with a split of twenty-five percent for both Spirit and Intelligence.” He gave me an apologetic look. “Very doable for a dedicated rogue class, but much harder for anyone else if they wanted to cast the tree’s higher level spells like the Shadow Step I used to escape.”
“Well, that sucks,” I muttered unhappily. “I guess V-MMORG is trying to make it harder for people to share unrelated Nightmare skill trees with each other.”
Probably,” Mike agreed, before his eyes suddenly brightened. “I probably should have thought about this sooner, but there’s no reason why I can’t share this with everyone now.” Before any of us could ask what that something was, a system message popped up in front of our eyes.
Mike Eyedol is offering to teach you the skill Shadow magic. Do you want to accept? Yes or No
Congratulations! You have learned the skill Shadow magic.
Mike Eyedol is offering to teach you the new spell, Slip Into Shadow. Do you want to accept? Yes or No
Congratulations! You have learned a new spell: Slip Into Shadow.
Cast Time: Instant
Spell Requirements: 200 Mana / 50 Agility/ 25 Spirit / 25 Intelligence
Allows caster to enter Stealth when being observed. Does not function if under attack. Three second cool down between casts. Requires Shadow magic skill level 0. Range is self only.
“That should keep us all out of trouble,” Mike said, as he watched us excitedly read over the spell’s information.
“Holy hell, do you know what this means?” Zhou exclaimed excitedly, as Darkhorse chimed in.
“A group of rogues could seriously destroy an equal sized force with something like this!”
“As long as they’re not able to cast a bunch of AOEs,” Mike agreed, as Kenzie excitedly jumped on his back and slung her arms around his neck.
“I think I’m in love!” Kenzie squealed into Mike’s ear, as she tightened her arms around his neck doing a shoddy Ash impression from Pokemon. “I’ve gotta get them all!”
“Gggaaahhh, I can’t breathe,” Mike barely choked out, as the rest of us pulled Kenzie off his back, while I crossed my fingers that Sub-Leader Chuzedros wouldn’t just stab her in the back. I honestly didn’t know what to think about Kenzie knowing who Pokemon was, let alone knowing it enough to try to imitate the main character’s voice. Seeing the surprised looks on Zhou’s and Darkhorse’s faces, I obviously wasn’t the only one thinking that. Before any of us could ask Kenzie what the fuck that was all about, Mike nodded towards the growing commotion going on around us. “How about we shelve this discussion for later and get the flock out of here?”
Looking around in consternation, we saw what he meant. While we were carrying on about his Nightmare tree and Kenzie’s odd choice of anime shows, the scuffle between Global Brutality and Syndicate players had grown even larger as the players that had been recovering were pulled into the fight. Without waiting for an answer, Mike took off along the base of the ruined defensive wall at a run with Sub-Leader Chuzedros at his side and the rest of us trailing behind.
Automatically, my eyes went back to inspecting the damage from the siege, figuring I needed as much practical information as possible for the coming Hobgoblin invasion. Surprisingly enough, I could see the ruins of the defensive wall was mostly intact and, even now, offered protection against any bombardments coming from the fortress at the base of the mountain. I figured that was why the Chaos Storm Alliance leaders had chosen to make their encampment here.
Only the huge, iron-bound doors and the archway above had been completely destroyed during the siege. Although, I could also see massive damage around the top of the wall where modern battlements would have been placed. Even so, the walls themselves had held against the terrible bombardment. The damage was probably the results of the trebuchets that I’d seen from atop the mountain pass. Obviously, someone else had the same idea of introducing siege engines from Earth’s militant past.
The ruined opening was ten-yards wide, which allowed us to sneak past the players milling around on both sides of the opening. Most were simply watching the growing fight between the two guilds or in the process of getting buffed for combat by the small cadre of support staff that had been set up to assist recently killed players. A common practice for most PVP’ing or raiding guilds to have on hand for their people. Silently hugging the wall, we made it through to the other side without running into anyone. A much harder task then it sounded like.
On this side of the defensive wall, there were numerous perfectly round mini-boulders strewn about the open area of the gauntlet. Almost as if a group of giants had been playing some massive game of Croquet. Obviously, they were the remains of the stones that had been used to pummel the wall into rubble. I couldn’t help but be curious as to where the Chaos Storm Alliance had been able to acquire such perfectly rounded mini-boulders for the assault. They were not made from the local rock and were too large even for a group of four players to easily load into the siege engines.
For now, I had to leave that question unanswered as we hurriedly sidled up next to the western side of the ridge and made our way towards the next ruined defensive wall sixty-yards away. Thankfully, this portion of the gauntlet was mostly empty, except for the stream of players in small raid groups hurrying to rejoin the battle. Although we were able to make some good time, the constant deep rumbling sounds of rolling thunder were quite unnerving, to say the least. At least, to me they were, since I kept having flashbacks to Julie’s enraged face as she completely thrashed my ass atop of the palace in Telrain with her overpowered blasts.
As we drew near to the two trebuchets hard at work hammering Domenic’s remaining defensive wall, my question as to the perfectly round mini-boulders was immediately answered. To my surprise, the Chaos Storm Alliance was using a group of Dwarven Earth Shamans to magically craft the perfectly round stones being used as ammunition for the trebuchets. It was a surprisingly smart and easy way to keep the siege machines in action. It removed the need to carry, transport, and place the heavy mini-boulders within the machine’s slings with muscle power alone. I silently made a mental note to see if I could get my hands on some Earth shamans of my own to use for our defenses at BrokenFang Hold.
I’m sure that there would be a few of my new Twitch fans that would be dense enough to complain that I was using the enemy’s techniques to enhance my own capabilities, instead of coming up with my own ideas. They could say that as much as they wanted, because, if it was a good idea, I’d make it my own in a heartbeat. Any player who didn’t would be a fool that deserved to die. If you had any doubts, just look at natural selection. Evolution was basically the method which species used to come up with a winning evolutionary solution that best allowed them to adapt to their environment and succeed against all others. Human history was basically the same story as that of our evolutionary roots. Civilizations that were able to adapt the best ideas and put them to use quickly and effectively were the ones who wrote history. Those that didn’t or were incapable of adapting new ways were … well history.
I silently laughed at my own thoughts as my eyes studied the way before us. This defensive wall was much busier than the first wall we’d passed through at the mouth of the gauntlet. Besides the two large siege machines and their crews, there were literally hundreds of ranged classes clinging to the partially destroyed battlements lobbing spells and shooting arrows. Similar to the first wall, the gate and the archway above had once again been completely destroyed by the heavy bombardment. Looking at the terrible destruction, it made me wonder if things would have been different if Domenic had enough time to upgrade the simple gates
in the walls to that of a traditional gatehouse you’d fine on Earth castles.
From my observation so far in The World, I had yet to see anything like a gatehouse or for that matter true battlements with curtain walls in the any of the pre-existing defensive structures I’d seen to date. As far as I could tell from my travels, BrokenFang Hold and the fortresses that were being constructed at either end of Fang Pass would be the first of such fortifications to be built within The World. I just hoped they would be strong enough to handle a pounding such as this. With these thoughts going through my mind, I followed Mike towards the gaping hole in the wall.
This time our passage would be much more difficult. An endless mass of players were hurrying past in loose formations or as singles to reach their preferred fighting positions as we carefully watched and waited for an opening. Even with the Slip Into Shadow spell that Mike had shared out, it was doubtful that our entire group would be able to escape if we were discovered by accident. All that it would take was one person running into us and that would be all she wrote.
While you’d think that would mean splitting up to get through would be a better option, that wasn’t a guarantee for success either. One person being knocked out of stealth would be more than enough to trigger the enemy into blasting the entire area with AOEs, especially if that someone was myself or any of the Devil Dogs. As a group, we could possibly slaughter the person before they got a warning shout out, but it was tough to say for sure or not. There were just too many ways for shit to go wrong in a situation like that.
The sad part was that dying wasn’t the worst thing that would happen if we were found out. Being discovered here and now would blow any chance of us pulling off the surprise attack we’d planned earlier. Hell, it could possibly make this whole run to help Domenic all for nothing. Yeah, getting caught was that serious. Hell, I couldn’t even risk killing anyone on the off chance that they’d notice my name in their system window. On top of it all, we still had to sneak back out of this shithole once we were finished!
In that case, you might question why was I choosing to take this level of risk when I obviously knew what the cost of failure meant. It kind of sounded insane once you thought about it. The truth of the matter was that the benefits more than outweighed the negatives. If I could get all of Domenic’s people raising zombies that would only enhance our combat situation. That, and I had a feeling Domenic wasn't going to listen to me about pulling out unless I got into his face and spelled it out for him. For those two reasons alone, I had to risk this gauntlet of death.
As everyone stepped back to let the trebuchet fire, Mike waved us forward as he took off at a sprint hugging the wall. We all crouched low under the swinging arm of the siege engine as it released its shot. Not that it was necessary, but having the firing arm come to a sudden stop over your head was somewhat like the feeling you got when ducking under the spinning blades of a helicopter. You didn’t need to, but it felt like a good idea when you were dismounting from the machine.
As we neared the hole in the wall, Mike began weaving between the small groups of players standing around and chatting with sure-footed steps. To be dodging around people in plain sight without any cover made me think of sneaking around while invisible in Skyrim. How you could dance in front of a guard without them even knowing you were there. So far everything was working like clockwork, I thought as Mike led us towards the opening.
Ha, yeah! I silently crowed as the way opened up before us. We were going to make it!
I don’t know if that thought was what jinxed us or not, but just as Mike was nearly through the gap in the walls, an unhappy mage came hurrying around the corner. It all happened so fast, I think I was the only one that saw it all going down besides Mike. Lurching to a sliding stop, I snaked an arm around Neristhana’s and Helgath’s waists, when Mike super-jumped.
Honestly, I didn’t know if it was an actual super-jump or not, but that’s what it looked from where I stood as Mike came flying at me. Super-jumps were a special move possible in most FPS games and in some MMOs. From everyone else’s perspective, Mike had suddenly slid to a stop before suddenly flying backwards four complete body lengths. Except for my fight with Apoxsee, it was one of the most impressive physical feats I’d yet to see in game. Too bad, the team was mostly caught off guard. I say mostly, because Helgath was already moving as my arm swiped through empty air.
There was no other option open except to fling myself out of the way. Pulling Neristhana into my chest, I felt Mike’s lower body slam into me as we both went flying out of control. Spinning sideways from the force of the impact, we crashed into the shattered wall, before hitting the ground with a muffled belly-flop as the Gnomeling broke my fall. Not that either one of us noticed our landing or odd position. We were too busy staring in horror as Mike and Kenzie windmilled backwards and collapsed on top of each other in a confused pile of arms and legs.
All that we could do was hold our collective breaths as we helplessly watched the mage barreling directly at them. Both Zhou and Darkhorse, who were still on their feet, hurriedly drew their blades and rushed forward. Zhou dropped into a defensive crouch ready to slip around the mage’s back, while Darkhorse protectively straddled the pair readying the follow up strike. Helgath, who had flattened herself against the wall when Mike had sprung backwards, now had her daggers out and was keeping pace with the newfar prepared to strike, while Sub-Leader Chuzedros had Shadow Stepped into an alcove higher up on the damaged portion of the wall.
Instead of pulling back her bow and preparing to fight, there was a small sprinkling of loose stones as the rock the Dark Elf had Shadow Stepped to suddenly started to tilt. The only thing Sub-Leader Chuzedros could do on her perch was brace herself on the rocks above so she didn’t start a mini-avalanche. Seeing the tight look on her face, I couldn’t help but mentally shake my head at the plethora of bad luck that had hit us in one go.
You have to remember, this was all happening in stealth. No one else could see us or appreciate the perilous position we were in. One side of my brain was howling at how we were totally screwed, while the other half was laughing its proverbial ass off at the ridiculousness of the entire situation. It was in that moment of disaster when a female voice cracked out like a whip as all of our heads automatically swiveled around in surprise.
“Wankerson! Where in the hell do you think you’re going?” A woman in heavy armor with a very familiar face demanded of our fleeing mage. As he came to an abrupt stop a half step away from stepping on Mike and Kenzie, I swear my balls shrank to the size of nuggets as a group of fifty or so high-level players came hurrying up from the other side of the wall. They came to a stop in a jingle of gear in the center of the hole in the wall.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sandra,” Wankerson whined, as he nervously turned around to confront the woman. “I was just looking for the steps to climb to the top of the wall.”
Hearing the name, I immediately figured out who she was. Basically she was Julie’s self-assigned girl-Friday and roommate. Don’t ask me why she was so infatuated with my ex-girlfriend. I swear she had a girl-crush on her or something. If I remembered the story correctly, she’d even dropped her fiancé like a hot potato when Julie said she needed a girlfriend to pick up guys with. My thoughts were interrupted, as Sandra snapped angrily.
“Are you a freaking idiot or what,” Sandra angrily snarled, as the man fearfully shrank back from her rage. “How many times do I have to tell you morons that it’s Evil Sandra?”
As she continued to bitch the man out, I slowly climbed to my feet being careful not to bump the Chaos Storm player who was quite literally standing a foot away from my face. Neristhana carefully followed my lead as we silently crouched down and pressed ourselves under an overhanging block in the wall, barely in time to miss the press of players trying to watch the show. Across the way, Mike and Kenzie were very carefully untangling their limbs. Due to how slow they were moving, it made them look like they were playing a
game of Twister. As they were just pressing themselves up against the far wall, Evil Sandra finished harassing the flustered man.
“Just get into formation and shut your mouth,” Evil Sandra said in a voice filled with disgust. Looking at the Ranger next to her, she continued in a voice loud enough for Wankerson to hear. “Hey Shapo, if he forgets my name again, just kill him every time you see him for a week.”
“My pleasure,” Shapo said, without hesitation, as Evil Sandra raised her voice.
“Okay let’s move on out, so we can teach that idiot Dante a lesson,” Evil Sandra said, before heading off at a run with the rest of the players following after her.
“We’re moving as soon as their gone,” Mike said in a low voice, as the rest of us silently nodded in agreement. It wasn’t like anyone could hear us in team chat, but it was a natural reaction to whisper when surrounded by the enemy like we were. As the last player ran past, Sub-Leader Chuzedros’ stern voice rang out.
“The opening is clear, but there are still many enemies on the other side of the wall!”
“Scout ahead.” Mike ordered, in a tense voice. “Find us a path through, Sub-Leader.”
“Sire,” Sub-Leader Chuzedros replied, as she instantly disappeared in a swirl of shadows from her perch.
Before any of us could move to follow, the stone block she’d been bracing against came tumbling down into the gap between the two walls. It wasn’t just one stone, but several as the large block coming loose created a mini-avalanche. Surprisingly enough, the noise was barely loud enough to be heard over the continuous sounds of battle. A few of the players near the edge of the wall looked down at the mess with a few disinterested glances, but other than that there wasn’t any further concern, as they went back to blasting targets in the open field.
“Let’s move.” Mike said, as he led the way once again through the gap with Kenzie all business at his back. This time, as the rest of us fell in beside him, there were no additional surprises as we climbed over the scattered stones and stepped into a shitstorm.