by M E Robinson
With a grin, Aria grabbed her staff and traced a pair of runes next to each other in midair. The first was a large narrow V, with an appearance similar to that of the fire rune, only reversed and with a much narrower form. The second was a serpentine S, with an appearance reminiscent of a winding river.
“The narrow V is the rune for the Dart spell. It’s the rune that creates the magic construct in the form of a dart,” Aria explained, allowing the S-shaped rune to dissipate as she activated the Dart rune. With a small flash, a glowing violet dart shot out, slamming into a nearby trunk overhead. With a thunk, the dart embedded itself deeply into the tree, glittering briefly before dissipating, leaving behind a hole nearly half a foot deep in the bark of the tree.
“Woah, that’s pretty cool,” Eric breathed, watching as sap began to slowly pool within the hole.
“Isn’t it?” Aria agreed, happy to see his appreciation for her spell. Recreating the serpentine rune, she continued with her lecture, “Now this is the rune for water. You can also create a Fire Dart by changing the rune but I wouldn’t recommend doing that in the forest.”
“You mean I wouldn’t recommend it. You said it would be fine and then almost killed us when you set half the bloody forest on fire,” Turk interjected, earning a stuck-out tongue from Aria for his troubles.
Turning back to Eric, Aria smiled. “So that’s that. Now then, I’ve held up my side of the bargain. How do I cast Wind Blade?” Her excitement at the prospect of learning a new spell was almost palpable. Eric grinned as he watched her bounce impatiently on the balls of her feet. Reaching out, he traced the two runes for Wind Blade side by side in the air just as Aria had done only moments before.
“This is the rune for the Blade spell,” said Eric, allowing the Wind rune to dissipate as he injected his mana into the crescent moon shaped blade rune. “As you can see, it’s shaped like a crescent moon. There’s a quirk to this spell though, you can inject more mana to make it bigger. But from the experiments I’ve done, it seems that it costs more mana than you gain in damage. If you double the mana you inject, it does not double the damage. So be careful with it,” he warned, firing the prepared blade spell at the tree.
With a cutting sound, the violet blade appeared, slashing through the air into the same tree Aria had fired at. Slamming into the tree, the spell made a noise reminiscent of a hatchet striking wood as it left a three-foot-long scar on the surface of the bark. The mark left by Eric’s spell was nowhere near as deep as Aria’s. However, the affected area was much larger. Aria clapped excitedly upon seeing this, eager to try it out for herself.
“Was that other rune the wind rune then? That line with the squiggly bit at the top?” she asked impatiently, ready to try out her new spell right away.
“Yup, this is the rune for wind,” Eric demonstrated, drawing the Wind rune again. Looking at it closely, Aria nodded, committing the rune to memory.
Closing his eyes, Eric called the mana from his mana pathways, circulating it throughout his body. As the mana responded to his call, he opened his eyes, carefully drawing the Dart rune in the air. As the rune was completed, he injected his mana into the mana structure, careful not to disrupt the flow. With a satisfying flash, the rune began to glow. Taking careful aim at the tree, Eric released the spell, a violet dart emerging from his hand and slamming into the tree, leaving behind another deep wound in the bark.
[You have learned Arcane Dart!]
Looking at the system message that confirmed his acquisition of the new spell, Eric grinned, closing the window just in time to see the rune in front of Aria fizzle, glimmering violet shards sparkling prettily in the dim light. Stamping her foot angrily, Aria attempted the rune several times, with varying degrees of success. With a nervous look on his face, Turk continued to watch the road, pausing occasionally to watch Aria’s attempts.
While Aria attempted to learn the Blade spell, Eric began to play around with the Water rune, casting his three arcane spells at the poor tree, watching with interest as the system informed him of his success.
[You have learned Water Strike!]
[You have learned Water Blade!]
[You have learned Water Dart!]
Finally, as Eric’s Water Dart slammed into the tree, a bright glow appeared beside him. Turning, he watched as the rune at the end of Aria’s staff glowed, indicating the spell was ready. As Turk and Eric looked on with interest, Aria fired an Arcane Blade at the tree, leaving a new mark on the unfortunate pine. Seeing the results of her new spell, Aria jumped in excitement, giggling happily as she observed the long scar left behind on the bark.
“Alright, let’s move away from here. I don’t want to draw undue attention,” Turk interjected from his position overlooking the path. Glancing at each other, Eric and Aria scrambled to follow Turk as he dove into the brush, leaving behind the freshly scarred tree as they quickly departed the area.
Chapter 9
As the group continued to make their way through Lichfrost Forest, the numbers of goblins that fell to them continued to grow. Playing around with his new Dart spell, Eric found that he preferred Wind Dart to Water Dart, also preferring the power of the single target Dart spell to the area-of-effect Blade spell. While the Blade spell was useful if the targets were all clumped up together, the mana cost required to make it big enough to hit several goblins in a loose formation was too high for continued use. The Dart spell on the other hand was a godsend for one-on-one combat. The Wind Dart had power similar to an arrow without any skills applied to it, which was pretty good for a spell he could use in the middle of melee combat, albeit after switching his sword to his left hand.
Sweeping up the loot from their most recent prey, the trio dashed back into the forest, panting softly as they made their way through the thick brush that clogged up the forest floor.
“Is it just me, or are we running into groups more and more often?” Eric panted, stopping to lean against a tree for a moment as his stamina regenerated.
“That was the seventh group we’ve encountered in the last half hour. They’re becoming more common for sure,” Turk panted, straightening up as he observed their surroundings, mindful of their position deep inside the forest.
“Do you think there’s something nearby? Like a dungeon or base?” asked Aria, fiddling with her staff.
Turk looked pensive. “It’s possible. These groups are clearly patrols. We’ve already stopped a few from running off, and I’m not sure if you two noticed but they’ve all ran in the same direction. Clearly there’s something in this forest. I’m just not sure if we want to know what while it’s just the three of us.”
Eric nodded in agreement. “The warning we got when we entered said that the recommended party size was ten people. We have 30% of that number. Even if we are stronger than the average party, I still don’t want to attempt ten-man content with just the three of us.”
“I agree with Kyp. Speaking of which, we should probably head back closer to the entrance to the forest. I don’t want to get tangled up with whatever these goblins are guarding,” said Turk.
“Couldn’t we at least check out whatever it is they’re guarding? We don’t need to charge in, just find out what it is,” pleaded Aria. Turk appeared conflicted.
“We can always turn back if we think it’s too dangerous. Plus, it’s not like we’d die for real anyways. It’s just a game,” she continued, grabbing Turk’s hand and opening her eyes wide. She almost looked like Jeyna when she was begging for chicken, Eric thought, doing his best to suppress a laugh.
“I suppose we can check it out…” Turk said uncertainly. “You good with that, Kyp? I don’t want you to die if we mess up just because this one got curious,” he said, pointing a thumb at Aria who rolled her eyes at him.
“I’m fine tagging along. I’m pretty confident in my ability to get away,” said Eric confidently, winking at Aria who’d been giving him her best impression of a puppy dog’s eyes from behind Turk’s back.
Seeing that he was d
efeated, Turk sighed. “Alright. But we’re going to go full stealth mode. We only attack a group if they see us or if they’re barring our way forward. And if we see more than one group we turn back. Got it?” Eric and Aria nodded at this, neither of them really wanted to die after all. They were just curious about what lay ahead.
Making their way north, the group avoided combat, slipping past the patrols that were becoming increasingly common sights on the path through Lichfrost Forest. Several times, the trio was forced to hide, pressing themselves against trees or underbrush as patrols passed through the woods only a few meters from their positions.
As another patrol passed by their hiding spot, the three once again began to dart through the woods. They’d been forced to abandon true stealth, instead opting for frantic dashes through the woods, throwing themselves into cover whenever they discovered a patrol. Scampering through the woods, Eric vaulted over a bush, ducking to avoid a low hanging branch. There had better be something pretty interesting at the end of this path, he thought with annoyance. The stealthy approach had been fun at first, but after twenty minutes of dodging patrols, diving into bush after bush, and whacking his head on low hanging branches, he was thoroughly irritated with Lichfrost Forest.
Lost in his thoughts, Eric slammed into Turk who’d come to an abrupt halt. Stumbling forward, Turk caught himself, turning to glare at Eric who raised his hands in apology. Shaking his head, Turk jerked his head towards a small gap in the trees, raising his finger to his lips to indicate that they should remain silent. Curiously, Eric and Aria crept towards the small gap, peering through the leaves to see what had made Turk so cautious.
[Quest Received: Goblin Encampment]
While investigating Lichfrost Forest, you’ve stumbled upon a goblin encampment. The goblins should not be this far south. Raze their camp to the ground before reinforcements arrive.
Rewards: Increased reputation with Novanalba Military groups. ???. ???.
Nestled in a recently deforested clearing in the forest lay a bustling encampment. Surrounded by wooden walls that had doubtlessly been made from the chopped down trees, the camp was fairly small, not even a quarter the size of Tonbura village. However, the level of activity around the camp showed the importance the goblins assigned to it. As they watched, a patrol came marching along the path, the wooden gates swinging open to admit them. Entering the encampment, a fresh patrol emerged from the camp, passing the returning patrol on their way past.
“I don’t think we can take this on ourselves. This is clearly meant for at least ten players. We need to retreat. Now,” said Turk, a sense of urgency in his voice.
Eric nodded, observing the numerous sentries posted upon the walls. “They seem to be in a state of unrest right now. Possibly because of us. I agree with Turk, let’s retreat,” he said, retreating away from the gap in the leaves. Aria offered no protest, simply following Turk as he led the way back towards the entrance to the forest.
Dodging patrols, the group began to flee south, heading for Stillwood Forest. On more than a few separate occasions, they were forced to lay low. Pressing themselves into the mossy earth as patrols searched the forest alongside the path.
“Why are they searching so seriously now? They weren’t like this earlier,” Aria whispered nervously as a patrol disappeared into the forest behind them, having narrowly missed the trio’s hiding spot.
“Probably because of us. We’ve killed quite a few of their patrols. Once they didn’t return, they probably went on alert. It’s also possible another patrol discovered the corpses we hid in the forest,” Eric replied softly, peeking his head above the tips of the bush he was hiding behind to verify the patrol’s disappearance. Confirming that they’d safely passed, he motioned to Turk who nodded and stood up, leading them once more southwards.
“But they’re just NPCs, aren’t they? Why would their behaviour change so much just because we killed a few groups?” Aria argued, batting at a circling mosquito as she did, smushing the offending insect into paste.
“Fate’s a next-gen MMO. NPCs are more than just cutouts with predetermined lines and actions. It’s quite possible that these goblins are far smarter than even the best AI of older games,” Turk explained.
“I get that it’s realistic, but how are we supposed to grind when they’re hunting us down?” asked Aria, puffing her cheeks out in dissatisfaction.
“Grinding doesn’t seem as necessary in Fate as it did in other games. Plus, we were warned that we should have ten players when we entered Lichfrost Forest. If we swept up the path with ten players, then the five-goblin patrols would have posed no threat. We probably could have attempted to take on the camp if we had ten players. It’s not the game’s fault that we came here with just the three of us,” said Eric.
“Yeah. Well I still think that- KYAAAAAH!”
Whatever Aria may have thought was going to have to be figured out later, Eric thought with a gulp as he looked at the surprised goblins that had appeared in front of them. Aria had collided with the foremost goblin, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. The remaining four goblins were still looking slightly shocked at the sudden appearance of the trio, but that wouldn’t last long Eric thought grimly, reaching for his sword.
Leaping forward, Eric’s leg shot out, slamming into a second goblin which crumpled as he finished drawing his sword. Turk charged forward as well, leaping over the tangled mess of limbs that was Aria and the goblin she’d collided with to place himself between their mage and the remaining goblins. Using his shield, he received the panicked blows of the three goblins, who’d foregone drawing their sabers in favour of swiping at the fighter with their claws. Hunkering down, Turk looked backwards and kicked at the goblin wrestling with Aria, stunning it and buying time for her to jump to her feet, dashing backwards to gain some distance to cast her spells.
Bringing his sword down upon the back of the goblin he’d struck at earlier, Eric was rewarded by a large drop in its healthbar. Raising his sword once more, he hacked downwards at the goblin. Unfortunately, this strike was intercepted by another goblin that had managed to draw its saber, parrying his blow and forcing him back a step. Having recovered from the party’s sudden offensive, the second goblin thrusted its saber at him once more, forcing Eric to jump backwards to avoid it, allowing his original target the time to recover, drawing its saber and glaring at the half-elf. Preparing to use Dashing Cut, Eric suddenly stumbled forward, his healthbar dropping by a staggering thirty percent. Whirling around, he came face to face with the goblin that had collided with Aria, its saber dripping with his blood. Raising its saber high, the goblin charged towards him, intent on landing another hit. With a furious glint in his eye, Eric parried the strike, reaching forward to grab the goblin by the neck as he did so. With a furious roar, he lifted the goblin from its feet, slamming it neckfirst into the ground.
“Now Aria!” shouted Eric, leaping backwards away from the coughing goblin.
Cold energies swirling around the head of her staff, Aria nodded, firing her water dart towards the helpless creature as it attempted to get up. With a pained chwiit sound, the goblin was thrown forward, only for its momentum to be suddenly halted by the sword that had just emerged from its back.
Withdrawing his blade from the goblin, Eric whirled around. Turk was struggling hard, doing his best to stay alive against the three remaining goblins. Activating Dashing Cut, Eric charged back into the fray, his sword lashing out to strike at a goblin about to stab Turk from the side. With a pained howl, the goblin retreated, nursing the fresh wound on its arm as it transferred its saber to its other hand. Parrying another attack meant for Turk, Eric’s eyes were suddenly drawn to the fourth remaining goblin, standing back away from the others. A series of runes were embedded in the air above it and it held a fiery red crystal aloft in its outstretched hand. Seeing this, an ominous feeling arose inside Eric’s chest.
“Stop it, Aria!” he roared.
Pointing her staff towards the goblin, Aria b
egan to cast another water dart, but it was too late. With a vicious grin, the goblin finished casting its spell, the runes glowing as a fiery orb burst from the crystal and into the air, soaring high above the trees where it exploded into a series of fireworks. At any other time, Eric would have stopped to admire the scene, the red and violet flames rolling through the air as an enormous flaming symbol resembling a closed eye filled the air.
Completing her own spell, Aria fired a water dart at the goblin, still watching the aftereffects of its spell. With a small grunt, the goblin flinched backwards, the spell having taken out a large portion of its healthbar.
“We have to hurry, reinforcements are probably on the way for these guys,” Eric informed Turk grimly, parrying another blow aimed at the warrior and returning it with a slash of his own as he did so.
“Trying,” Turk grunted, slamming his shield into the face of a goblin and using his sword to stab at another.
As the party fought, the situation slowly began to stabilize. Turk and Eric held the frontline, ensuring that no goblins made it through to Aria as she cast spells whenever an opportunity arose. The goblin mage had rejoined the battle, seemingly no longer interested in magic as it drew its saber and pressured Eric, turning the battle into two different two-on-one fights with Aria in the background.
Dispatching one of his opponents, Eric turned his attention towards the second goblin. Turk was still holding steady, his healthbar flashing dangerously low but stable now that he only had to contend with two goblins. Seeing an opening, Eric lunged forward, his fist digging into the stomach of the goblin as its saber flashed uselessly over Eric’s head. Coughing up a glob of blood, the goblin stumbled backwards. Refusing to let up, Eric chased it, his sword battering its saber away as he shaved off the last of its healthbar with a slash across the shoulder.