Ascension

by B F Rockriver

  15 damage taken.

  Effect: Slowed - Movement speed reduced by 25%

  Eli’s eyes widened in agony, as his health bar continued flashing. Most of the red liquid in the vial was missing. The symbol of a blood drop, with the roman numeral for three at its center, blinked next to his status bar. His vision wavering, he focused on the text at the center of the bar.

  { HP: 60/160 }

  Sixty health left. At least I know exactly how much more damage I can take before I die, Eli thought, as a snap sounded out from behind him, followed by a whistle. Another arrow flew. Acting out of sheer instinct, Eli let himself collapse to the ground, then rolled. The missile grazed his ear, slicing it nearly in half, before landing with a thud in the armored warriors back. Somehow the attack on his ear didn’t count as damage.

  “What the fuck, man!” The warrior shouted, “I’m on your team.”

  Eli watched as the Elf shrugged and chuckled, an arrow still protruding from his thigh. Then, a flash of metal whipped through the air, as a kunai sprouted from the human’s chest. A smile grew on Eli’s face as the man looked down and screamed in rage. Laying still on the ground, he felt the heavy footfalls of two men locked in combat. Tilting his head up, he could see that Don’s foe was standing right next to him, blocking incoming fire.

  As Zach blocked and attacked fruitlessly, Don pressed his advantage. The human player was obviously unskilled with both his shield and weapon. He was also unaware that Eli was still alive. With quickness and strength that he didn’t know he could muster, Eli wrapped his hand around the human’s ankle and pulled. As his leg gave out beneath him, the distracted man fell off balance.

  While Zach struggled to keep his footing, Don spun, sweeping his leg in a wide, powerful arc. The attack landed with a crack, devastating the warriors still planted knee. In rapid succession, Don kicked again, this time downward, ruining the joint with a loud snap as the knee bent inward. As his enemy fell, Eli grasped for his rusty belt knife.

  A second later, the armor-clad warrior slammed to the ground, clutching his crippled knee, screaming in pain. With a single fluid movement, Eli slipped his blade into the gap between gorget and helm, deep into the man’s throat. A moment later, Zach Dasixpack’s cries fell silent. Attempting to stand, Eli thought about how wonderful the silence was. There were no screams of pain or pleading, and the nearby animals had all fled. Lost in thought, about how much he wanted to sleep, he looked up to see Don standing above him. The Turta was still bleeding and injured but readied himself for incoming attacks. Staring at the man, Eli remembered that the fight was not over. There was still an archer in the trees.

  Chapter 14

  The forest grew quiet as Eli broke the arrow protruding from his chest off at the shaft, before pulling it free. As blood spilled from the wound, staining his tattered armor, his bleeding debuff reset. His teeth nearly chipped, as he fought the pain, but the sensation faded quickly. Next, he pushed the arrow in his thigh through the remaining bit of flesh and repeated the process. His health dropped another five points as his bar began flashing faster.

  With a groan, he pulled a roll of bandages from his inventory and got to work wrapping his leg. As he finished, Don’s head pivoted rapidly, and the twang of a bowstring sang. Don dipped and rolled to the side, but not fast enough. An arrow planted itself into the Turta’s shoulder, its shaft snapping off at the skin, mid-roll.

  “Damn it!” The Turta shouted, as his health bar dropped to below half. “Fuck this guy.”

  “Calm down and watch for movement. He’s going to change locations.” Eli responded, his breath heavy. “We need to draw him out. You need to leave me here,” he whispered. “After I finish patching myself up, go after him.” He finished the roll of bandages by stuffing the scraps in his open chest wound and gluing them in with fletchers glue. “You’re just going to get yourself killed if you stand here and let him fire at you.”

  “Dude, I know. Eliminate the threat, then treat the wounded. I get it. But, how do you find someone who can just disappear into the forest?”

  “Look for the blur; it’s like a moving mist or steam. Listen for footsteps and follow the sound of his bow. You got this.”

  Another snap of the bowstring sent two arrows flying. Eli nearly finished mending his wounds, pressed himself to the ground, and rolled. Each movement caused agony, but he knew that he could not die here. Both arrows landed less than an inch behind him. Then Don charged.

  “Get back here, you sneaky fucking, fuck!”

  Eli’s bleeding debuff flickered. It dropped to Bleeding I before he had to roll around. Then it shot back to Bleeding II, as the wound on his side re-opened. His health was hovering at twenty points before it slowly started to drain again. I’m going to die here; he thought as his health dropped to fifteen points. Then I’ll have to make my way back or hope that Don can reach me in time with Williams' cure if he even has one. If it even works.

  “I can’t. I can’t die here. Not now.” Eli said to himself, the timer on his Blight debuff ticking away next to his health bar. “I may never come back. At least not as myself.” With anger and hatred sparking a fire in his core, he screamed, “This isn’t a game!” With a thought, Eli mustered what strength he had left and made his way to his bow. These outsiders have already taken too much. This ends here.

  Hearing a pained groan come from the edge of the battlefield, Eli looked up to see a bleeding figure pulling a knife from his gut, “Those two idiots deserve to die.” Flickers of a nearly extinguished fire-light danced across green leather armor, as the Forest Elf took a step forward. Don was nowhere to be seen. “But you. Who the fuck do you think you are, trying to ruin my payday?” A small icon of a red skull appeared next to the Elf’s name. “Do you have any idea how much shit from this game sells for outside? Do you have any fucking clue how rich this game can make us? Who gives a fuck about the NPCs or these idiots? I’m going to be rich.”

  Eli’s hand grasped at the end of his bow, but he knew he would not be fast enough. Looking up from the ground, he saw the thin elf pull a slender, menacing-looking rapier from a sheath at his side. He had to buy time.

  “We could always work together. I know where to find a stronghold.” Eli said, as the man slowly walked towards him. “I know where to find the Temple of Aeryntorr,” Eli said, rolling over. With his bow pressed against his back, his words coming out hurriedly, “I heard you say that people will pay a lot of money for access to a stronghold. We could be partners.”

  “Bullshit. You expect me to believe that a level three mongrel like yourself knows where a stronghold is. You’re hilarious.” He finished, pacing through the trees. The man chuckled, even though each step caused fresh blood to pour from his wounds.

  Where the hell is Don?

  “Let’s say I believed you. What would stop you from running off or attacking me as soon as you’re healthy? Or, just logging off and waiting for me to leave?” His steps were slow and mocking as if he knew Eli would die from the bleeding debuff at any second. “So, there’s really no reason for me to listen to you anymore. Now, be a good boy and die already?” The man spoke at Eli as if he were a pest, waving his rapier in small circles as if it were a wand, “Don’t make me bloody my new sword. I don’t want to waste durability.”

  The condescending tone was like pouring kerosene on a growing flame, causing Eli’s anger to erupt into a vicious fury. If he failed to act, the man would kill him. The Elf, Charlie, was only twenty feet from him, slowly pacing closer. Once the man was within range, Eli grabbed and threw his belt knife, then rolled to his left. His throw was clumsy, and the dagger wobbled through the air, but the man blocked it out of instinct. As Eli’s enemy stepped to one side, batting the projectile away with a flick of a sword, he readied himself.

  When the elf turned to face Eli, a thud rang out from his chest, and his smile dropped. Taking a staggered step back, the man looked down to find an arrow lodged in his chest. Eli had used the knife as a distraction. One mean
t to buy him enough time to grab his bow and fire an arrow. As the light of the dying fire danced across his face, Eli stared at his enemy and smiled. He knew that it was over. Seeing the sinister look in his enemy's eyes, the elf scanned his surroundings.

  While his prey searched the clearing in fear, Eli grabbed and knocked another arrow. Just as he pulled his string tight, Don stumbled into the clearing. Seeing his companion staggering and covered in blood, caused his smile to fade. Two barbed arrowheads had buried themselves into the Turta’s chest, and another sat in his leg. The Elf had taken his toll in blood. His companion’s appearance caused a momentary distraction, and Eli turned from his foe for only a breath. When he looked back, to fire his shot, the Elf had backed out of the clearing and into the nearby trees. A trail of blood leaving the only sign of his passage.

  Breathless words came from the shadows as if from everywhere. “If I ever see you two again, it’s game over.”

  The man’s words lingered over the clearing as he vanished into the woods, leaving a small streak of crimson on the tree he had propped himself up against. As the man left, a whisper came from the body of the Gladekin, who was still bleeding but no longer in shock.

  “Well, that guy sucks.”

  With a sigh, Eli rolled over and stared at the fallen Gladekin, who was somehow still alive and sitting cross-legged on the forest floor. One hand laid in his lap, and the other dangled from what looked like a piece of limp spaghetti. The man was staring at his hands in bewilderment.

  “You know, this should hurt a lot more than it does.” The Gladekins said, his voice almost silent as he stared at his injuries.

  An eerie quiet washed over the small campsite before Don, who had slouched against a fallen log, erupted into a fit of laughter, “Oh man, I can’t believe that fucking worked.”

  Eli sat up, holding his side, and looked at his friend in bewilderment. “What do you mean?”

  As the kelp-colored adventurer slowly made his way to Eli’s side, he replied, “I mean, we’re almost dead, and that guy just ran off.” He chuckled between words. “I’m out of knives, man. I’m out of fucking knives.” He pointed at Eli’s bow. “And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but your bow is nearly split in half.”

  Eli watched as the man started shaking and holding his head. Sweat poured down Don’s brow, and his face looked as if he had seen a ghost. His breathing was erratic, causing him to wheeze. Looking at the man brought a creeping fear over Eli as he bled out on the ground. He had seen this before. The Turta was having a panic attack, and if he could not pull himself together, Eli would die.

  “Uh, Don. If you’re okay, I could use a little help here.”

  As if unable to process his surroundings, Don wept and rambled into his palms. “I mean, he had us. He fucking had us.” Smears of blood-streaked his face as he wiped away his tears. “I can’t do this, man. Not again. I can’t fucking do this!”

  “Don!” Eli shouted. “If you don’t help me right now, I will die.” His words came out harsh, attempting to force the healer’s attention. “Please, Don, you can do this.”

  “Uh, if you guys got an extra healing potion or something, I could use some help too. I mean, my arms are off.” The squeaky voice of the Gladekin chimed in, his pale skin nearly drained of blood, but his words surprisingly calm.

  As his health bar dropped by another ten points, Eli felt cold as his limbs tingled. He was losing too much blood, and the bleeding effect wasn’t stopping.

  “Don, now!” Eli cried, “Move!” His eyes locked on to his friends. Blankly, Don nodded at him and crawled in his direction. “You got this man. You can do it.”

  Without a word, Don made his way to Eli. His movements were rigid and slow as if he were struggling to control his body. More health slipped away, as Eli watched his health bar drop to a mere four points.

  “I’m so sorry, man. I’m so sorry, Shean. Don’t die. Please don’t die. Not again.” Don whispered to himself, inching closer to Eli before a cool-blue glow enveloped his body.

  A second later, Eli felt the firm grip of Don’s hand on his shoulder, followed by a surge of energy pouring into his body. One marker vanished from the small bleeding icon next to his health bar, as the only arrowless wounds closed. His health bar jumped to twenty-five but started falling immediately after. A sharp pain flooded his system, and fresh blood poured out of his side, as Don ripped an arrow free.

  You have taken 3 damage from a barbed arrowhead.

  Effect: Bleeding 1-

  Eli closed the notification immediately, not wanting to acknowledge its existence. The blue glow formed around Don once more, then a firm palm strike sealed yet another wound. The Turta repeated the process once more before the bleeding debuff vanished. After the round of healing, Eli’s health was stable at sixty-five HP and could move again. After taking a moment to breathe, he sat up, and he scanned the area, noticing that Don had moved over to the injured Gladekin.

  “Thank you,” the shrill voice called out, as Don miraculously reattached the man’s dangling hand.

  “What are you doing?” Eli called to Don, whose face lacked any expression. “Hey! What are you doing?” There was no response. The healer’s skin was damp, and his breathing labored. Having seen a similar situation earlier in the day, Eli shouted for him to stop, “Don! What the hell are you doing?”

  “This man needs immediate assistance. He’s losing too much blood. Get your ass over here and help me.” Don shouted, his voice shaking as he reached for the fallen appendage, his eyes shifting rapidly. To Eli, it seemed as if his friend was in another place, somewhere inside his mind.

  Rushing to his party members' side, Eli grabbed his arms and shook him. “If you heal him now, you could die. We don’t have any mana or stamina potions. Wake the fuck up!” Not getting a response, he shoved Don to the ground and slapped him.

  At the pain, Don’s eyes snapped open, as if he was waking up from a long sleep, and he looked around in a panic. His breathing quickened, and he pulled his arms free and scrambled away from the Gladekin as if he were still a threat.

  “Hey, what the frick man, he was about to fix my hand.” The Gladekin said as Eli walked over to his party member, “You’re a jerk.”

  Eli paid the small man no attention as he knelt near his friend, “Hey, everything’s okay. What’s going on?”

  “Yeah, man, I’m good. I just got caught up in the moment. I-,” Don’s word came out shaky, and his face was scrunched up in confusion. “I don’t deal with this type of shit well.” Eli attempted to look the Turta in the eyes, but the man refused to meet his gaze. Then Don changed topics, refusing to give his mental break any further thought, “Uh, we gotta find that box, and uh, loot that dude. Our disease debuffs are running out of time. Let’s get moving.”

  Eli reached out a hand and helped Don to his feet. “Yeah, you’re right.” Before walking over to the Gladekin, he pulled the Turta close and patted him on the back. “But, first heal yourself up, and take a breather. We’re going to talk about this later.”

  In silence, Don nodded and pulled arrows from his body. The small man to Eli’s right was clutching at the stump on his right arm with his freshly healed hand, shifting nervously. As Eli approached, he bent over to the dead human and inspected his corpse.

  “Now, we hear that you robbed an old man and his kid earlier today.” Eli said, his words came out in a growl, and his sharp canine teeth showing while he spoke, “We know that you took his cart and a strongbox.” After making sure that the warrior was, in fact, dead, by picking up his axe and removing his head, Eli knelt next to the man, who had wet himself, “What we don’t know is where you hid them.”

  At Eli’s words, Kyle stammered, “Th-they’re hidden in the woods, just beyond the treeline to the north, u-under a bunch of branches and stuff. Take it, take all of it. I didn’t sign up for this. I just wanted to have fun. They told me they would get me a long-term immersion pod.” The Gladekins words came out faster than his mouth was used
to speaking, causing them to stumble over each other, as he waved his stump toward their stash. “Just don’t cut my hand off again. It hurt. I had the pain setting turned to max.”

  “Why would you do that? Who would want to feel their hands being chopped off?” Eli asked in confusion.

  The Gladekin, who sounded like an actual child, dropped his head in shame, “Zach said it gives you bonus experience. I fell for it.”

  From nowhere, Don laughed at the man’s words before speaking in a sympathetic tone. “Oh man, those guys are assholes. One leaves you to die, and the other tricks you into turning the pain settings to max. Let me guess; they also told you they would cut you in on the deal, make you rich?”

  “Y-yeah, Charlie did.” The gladekin said, pausing to look at the treeline. “He said that after we got enough loot to sell, he would send me my cut through Buddy Cash. You know, that money transfer app.”

  “You need to find some new friend's man. It’s illegal to sell stuff from the game. I went into law the day after the game came out. The in-game currency became more valuable than the real-world stuff. Nearly wrecked the global economy.” Don said, making his way over to the shaking man, who was definitely a child. “You get caught, they send the financial crimes unit after you. There’s an entire unit dedicated to chasing down people who use VR to do wacky shit like that.” The tall green man nudged Eli out of the way with a gentle push and clasped Kyle on the shoulder. “Look, man, I know you’re not a bad kid. So, why don’t you tell us where the box is really hidden, and I’ll heal up that hand when I have enough mana.”

  While Don spoke, Eli stood, making his way north. He wanted to see if Kyle had been telling the truth when he spotted the cart.

  “Carts here. If I search it and don’t find that box,” Eli shouted, his words trailing off intentionally.

  “Dang, okay. It’s under the log.” The small man yelped, knocking on the log he rested against. A second later, he waved his good hand toward a large rock, partially buried underneath it. “Check under the rocks; we hid it there. Take it, just heal my hand, please. I don’t have enough coin to hire a healer, and now I can’t get back into Dawnport to see a priest.”