Hero

by W Borne

  As he reached the wagon, the woman turned and saw him approaching. She screamed and tried to get away from him. “Stop, relax, I am here to help,” Jaxx said. The woman continued to try to get away, this time in silence. Her eyes remained fixed on him, and then on his spear. Realizing he was frightening her, he leaned the spear against the wagon a few paces away and turned toward her, hands held wide in a conciliatory gesture.

  “Please, I am here to help you. I won’t hurt you.” Jaxx approached the woman, who had calmed a bit and stood trembling, tears running down her face. She was pretty, with almond skin and large dark eyes. Black hair fell down her back in a simply braid, and her dress was that of a working woman. One piece of blue fabric was bisected by a leather belt around her waist, and simple sandals adorned her feet.

  “Please, help me get free of this rope. Bandits attacked us and carried away my family. I don’t know where my husband or son is!” This admission was accompanied by sobs of terror.

  Jaxx approached her, and slowly reached down to his dagger. He took in his hand and reached towards her wrists. Her breath caught as he slowly sawed on the leather thong, and as soon as her hands were free, she turned and fled into the trees besides the road, almost tripping in her haste to get away.

  “Wait!” Jaxx yelled. He started after her, then stopped about halfway to the tree line. His spear! In his haste he had left it leaning against the broken wagon. He turned, then stopped. On the road, in a line was 4 men who had approached from the opposite side of the road from the one the woman had ran to.

  One, bigger than the rest by a couple inches, addressed Jaxx. “Ho there, traveler. Relax, and you won’t get hurt. Over his head floated his name, “Iakhos” along with “Level 8 Bandit.” He was dressed in simple forest clothes and sandals. A leather belt held a scabbard with the bronze hilt of a sword showing. He had some sort of scale armor on his chest and torso, with leather flaps exiting his arm holes and covering the upper parts of his arms. A bronze helmet sat on his head, with what used to be a red crest coming from the top. The crest was tattered and overall was in poor condition. But however bedraggled the man seemed, Jaxx was sure the armor was quite functional.

  “Why don’t you hand over any gold or silver you may be carrying, along with that fancy cloak, and be on your way? We wouldn’t want you to get hurt, would we boys?” At that, the other 3 men, who simply had “Level 5 Bandit” over their heads, began to spread out and encircle Jaxx. They were all armed with bronze swords, but had no armor.

  “What if I say no?” Jaxx already had a good idea about what was happening: it was a fairly common scripted encounter and frankly he was a bit disappointed that the AI couldn’t come up with a more entertaining scenario. But he figured he’d play along, as he was sure that Toxotis was watching from the trees and would back him up.

  Iakhos laughed, fingering his sword. “Well, in that case, I guess you would get hurt after all. Come now, be smart. You left your weapon behind and are alone. 4 on one would be bad odds even if you were armed: as it is, you have no chance.” The other bandits continued to circle as Jaxx stood still. He allowed it, knowing that it would put them in a better position for Toxotis, who he assumed was behind him in the trees.

  Iakhos’ smile disappeared. “All right, enough talk. Strip out of that cloak, hand over any valuables, and then lay down in the road until we are gone. I won’t ask again.”

  Jaxx almost laughed. Scripted right out of a Hollywood movie. He shifted his body, ready to charge. Might as well stay in character.

  “Yarrrgh!” he yelled as he charged forward toward the bandit leader. As he ran, he yelled “Toxotis, take them!” knowing that his friend’s arrows would be targeting the lesser bandits behind him. As he ran towards Iakhos, the man’s eyes widened at the sudden movement, but it didn’t slow his sword draw a bit as he whipped it from its scabbard. In the split second he had to look, Jaxx noticed the achingly sharp looking edge as the sword whipped towards him in cross draw slash. Jaxx dodged, feeling the sword bite into his left arm as he went right by Iakhos towards the wagon.

  Iakhos recovered from the slash and then realized what Jaxx was doing: by dodging to his right, Jaxx had put himself in line with his spear that was still leaning up against the wagon. Even surprised, he was quick enough to kick out and trip Jaxx before he could reach the spear.

  Jaxx tumbled, his momentum enough to send him sprawling against the wagon’s side and broken wheel. Several large snapping sounds make him fear he had broken a bone, then realized his weight had broken the spokes of the wagon wheel. A desperate spin on the ground brought him face to face with his spear shaft, which he grabbed in desperation and tried to bring the spear head around towards Iakhos.

  As he brought the shaft around, a glitter from the edge of Iakhos’ sword flashed and he barely blocked the deadly slash from hitting him in the face. The impact shoved the spear haft back into his face, and the impact made his eyes water a bit. The pain was there, but seemed distant. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his rage meter beginning to rise. Jaxx realized that his Barbarian nature was beginning to take over.

  A bronze sword sliced your arm. +30 damage! HP 130/160

  With a roar, he spun the spear and slammed it against the bandit’s legs. With a whuff the man fell backwards, the power of the blow stunning him for a second. Jaxx took the opportunity to begin to stand, using his spear as a lever, when a body slammed into him. One of the lower level Bandits had joined the fray.

  The impact took Jaxx to the ground again, and he barely held on to his spear with his right hand. With his left he reached up and grabbed the hilt of the sword the bandit was swinging towards him. He squeezed with all his strength and felt the sword bend in his hand, trapping the bandit’s hand inside the hilt and causing him to yell in pain. Staggering backward, he tried to get the metal that was crushing his hand off.

  With him out of the fight for now, Jaxx again attempted to stand. At this point, one of the Gods must have intervened because another of the lower bandits was rushing him and tripped over Iakhos who was in the process of getting up from the blow to his legs. The lower bandit went flying forward into the side of the wagon head first. A loud crack announced that another of the lower bandits was out of the fight.

  You have slain a Level 4 Bandit! +50 XP

  Apparently permanently.

  Jaxx stood with the brief reprieve. He saw Iakhos was finally up and facing him, sword at the ready. The 3 remaining bandits were slowing spreading out around him as he stood with his back to the wagon. Jaxx double checked. Three? So Toxotis was still not in the fight. Where was he? Jaxx did not believe his friend would abandon him. Intense worry immediately sprung to live in his gut: if he died, he would respawn back at the inn in Delios, as Jaxx had figured out how to reset his spawn point. That had been a relief; Jaxx didn’t want to have to travel all the way from the Forest Glade where he had originally spawned in this world. But Toxotis would die forever if he were killed.

  With 3 opponents, Jaxx realized that staying on the defensive was suicide. With a roar, he feinted at Iakhos, then spun the sharp end of his spear towards the bandit to his right, who was marginally closer than the other two. His feint worked, and it gave him enough time to plant his spear head right into the chest of the bandit, killing him. The man stared at Jaxx, eyes going glassy as he dropped his sword. He had managed to stab Jaxx in the meat of his shoulder, dealing a shallow blow. His rage meter jumped again.

  You were stabbed! +10 damage. HP 120/160

  You have slain a Level 4 Bandit. +50 XP

  With the loss of another of his men, Iakhos paused. Suddenly the odds seemed much more even, and the large, muscled Barbarian in front of seemed like a much harder prospect than before. Iakhos smiled again. He still had his trump card to play.

  “I say it one more time, Barbarian. Drop your spear and lay down on the ground.”

  Jaxx laughed. “Why should I do that? I have already killed two of you; do you think that you are up to the ta
sk?”

  Iakhos smiled again. “If you do not, your friend is dead.” He pointed to his right towards the trees.

  Jaxx glanced that way, wary of a trick. His eyes widened when he saw his friend, Toxotis, being led out of the forest by the woman that he had “saved.” Apphia, the woman he had saved, was pushing Toxotis ahead of her, a sharp dagger in her hand. Her description over her head had changed:

  Apphia, Level 10 Priestess of Nyx

  “Lay down your weapon, Avatar!” she commanded, holding the dagger near Toxotis’ throat.

  “Who are you?” asked Jaxx.

  “I am a Priestess of Nyx, Daughter of Chaos and Mother of Death, and I am here to seal your Doom,” she yelled, her eyes flashing with zealotry.

  A bit dramatic, thought Jaxx, but okay. Things begin to clear up. She was a trap to lure him in, and he fell for it perfectly.

  “Are you responsible for the attacks on travelers to and from Delios?” Jaxx asked, stalling. He was trying to think of a way to get her away from Toxotis. He knew that if he did as commanded, he would be killed. Not such a big deal for him, but he knew they would kill his friend too. Jaxx couldn’t bear the thought of Toxotis, NPC or not, digital construct or not, being destroyed. In the short time he had known him, he had become Jaxx’s best friend.

  “Not that it matters to you, but yes,” she answered. “Our Gods told us the best way to trap a would-be Hero such as you. You fell into our trap cleanly and stupidly, just as they said you would.”

  More classic villain dialogue. If Jaxx ever had the chance to rate this game or give feedback, he would suggest new writers.

  “If you let him go, I will surrender without a fight.” Jaxx hoped this would work. He could send Toxotis away, alive, and then if he died, he would meet him back at Delios.

  “Surrender first,” she said. As she spoke, Toxotis met Jaxx’s eyes. With a slight nod, his eyes darted left, then back to Jaxx’s. Jaxx nodded, catching his meaning. With a roar, Jaxx wound up and threw his spear directly at Toxotis.

  At the last second, Toxotis yanked his body out of the line of fire and pulled the Priestess hard to her left, causing the spear to hit her in the shoulder and penetrate through to protrude from her back. Her gasp of pain was loud, and she dropped her dagger to grasp the spear shaft that was sticking out of her shoulder.

  While this was happening, Iakhos, after hesitating a second when Jaxx threw his spear, rushed forward now that Jaxx was unarmed. His sword slammed into Jaxx’s shoulder, and his body pushed Jaxx up against the wagon.

  You were sliced by a sword! +20 Damage – HP 100/160

  Out of the corner of his eye, Jaxx saw the remaining Bandit rushing in to help, and he realized he only had a split second of time. But that last blow had caused his Rage meter to reach maximum, and with a gleeful feeling Jaxx activated his Berserk ability. Immediately all pain left him, and his HP and Stamina bars filled to full. He grabbed Iakhos in a bear hug and squeezed with all of his enhanced strength, picking the lead Bandit off of the ground and holding him in midair.

  Immediately, two loud cracks pierced the air as Iakhos’ arms broke simultaneously. He howled with pain and terror, and dropped his bronze sword when his hands could no longer hold the hilt. The lesser Bandit skidded to a stop, eyes wide in horror as he watched his leader held off of the ground by the red-eyed Barbarian, being slowly crushed to death.

  You have slain a level 8 Bandit (by crushing him to death, well done!). +600 XP

  Once Jaxx saw Iakhos’ eyes roll up in his head, he knew that he was unconscious and unceremoniously dropped him on the ground in a heap. He turned to the remaining Bandit, who was still standing stock still holding his sword. As Jaxx started towards him, he shrieked, dropped his sword, and bolted down the road, eyes glued over his shoulder to see if Jaxx was following him.

  But Jaxx had other priorities – through his red haze, he was focused on the woman. The Priestess Apphia had pulled the spear from herself and stood regarding him calmly. A small thread of rational thought wormed under the rage – worry about Toxotis, and the certain knowledge that he needed to end this quickly before Berserk wore off and he was drained of all Stamina.

  As he launched himself towards Apphia with a roar, a slight smile appeared on her face, and she raised one hand towards him. A slight shimmer in the air was all he noticed before he felt a vast force strike him and launch him backwards. It felt like an invisible door had been slammed in his face…by a giant.

  The shock was enough to break his rage and immediately he felt drained, as his stamina bar fell to zero and it was difficult to move. “A magic user!” thought Jaxx. The first he had seen. To be honest he had forgotten that one of the choices of characters had been a Sorcerer, so magic must exist here. He just hadn’t seen it until now.

  Apphia smirked and began to slowly walk towards Jaxx. “You should have surrendered, Avatar. I wouldn’t have hurt you, much. But my orders are only to deliver you alive. They said nothing about being in one piece.” She glanced down at her bloody wound. “And I owe you a bit of pain.”

  Jaxx groaned, straining his empty muscles to move, to get up and get away. In this condition, against her magic, he was helpless. Her eyes, which at first at seemed dark brown, were in fact black, and seemed to glow with her magic.

  At that point an arrow thunked into Apphia’s shoulder, on the opposite side of her spear wound. She let out a shriek, and diverted her attention from Jaxx to Toxotis, who was standing in the road behind Jaxx. He knocked another arrow and released it. This time, it hit an invisible shield in front of Apphia.

  “Forgot about me, did you?” Toxotis said. He began firing arrow after arrow, each one striking the shield and driving it a bit towards Apphia with each arrow. It was apparent that it wouldn’t last long, and with a hiss she raised her hand towards the heavens and chanted.

  Beautiful, black-eyed Nyx, cloaked in darkness,

  older than old, daughter of misty Chaos,

  mother of great and mighty spirits, I call to you.

  Transport me to your realm

  Through shadows and dust

  Immediately a dark mist enveloped Apphia, starting at her feet (and Jaxx could swear it came out of her shadow on the ground) and then the mist fled into the forest, moving from shadow to shadow in a wave of slinky, slithering blackness.

  Toxotis walked over to Jaxx, who had managed to sit up now that he was out of combat and his stamina was beginning to recover. He offered a hand, which Jaxx took, and helped heave him to his feet. Jaxx wavered a bit, still unsteady, but feeling extremely relieved that Toxotis was unharmed.

  “What happened?” Jaxx asked. “You were to scout the trees and back me up!”

  Toxotis looked down, seemingly embarrassed. “Yes, well, I fell into the same trap you did.”

  “What trap?”

  Toxotis looked up, a grin on his face. “A woman in distress. She came running straight through where I was hiding, and spotted me. She then ran to me, crying, flinging her arms around me. And then I was trapped by her magic. I couldn’t move more than a little. So, she disarmed me, flinging my bow and quiver into the woods, and then led me back to your fight as a hostage. You know what happened after that.”

  Jaxx clapped him on the shoulder. “I am so relieved you are ok, my friend. I spent that whole fight worried about you once I realized that you were not covering my back.”

  “It is a good thing your mighty strength was up to the task. And that your aim was good. Very few warriors can throw a heavy spear like that.”

  “It is you who won the battle, Toxotis. I was completely done. It was your arrows that drove her away.” Jaxx looked away, a bit embarrassed at having to be rescued.

  “Don’t worry about it. I won’t tell Hylonome that you had to be rescued today.” Toxotis pronounced this gem with a smug grin.

  Jaxx looked up sharply. “What? What do you mean? Why would I care what she thinks?” His immediate anger caused Toxotis to laugh even more.

  Jax
x angrily stomped over to pick up his spear and loot the bandits, hearing Toxotis’ chuckles the entire way. At that same time, he saw some blinking notifications and mentally clicked on them.

  Quest – Find the Attackers Complete!

  Difficulty – Hard

  Discover what has been killing travelers in the area surrounding Delios – Complete!

  Bonus – Eliminate the threat yourself. – Complete!

  Reward – 2500 xp, 5 gold, 500 reputation with Delios Village, Rare weapon (2H)

  Optional – Eliminate the threat alone – reward – 5,000 xp, 20 gold, rare armor piece

  Increased reputation with Artemis

  +7500 experience. Collect gold and rewards from Priestess of Artemis.

  Congratulations! Level 7 achieved!

  +2 Strength

  +2 Constitution