“So, skills. I’m still a little confused on exactly how they work and what I should focus on.”
“Oh, yeah, skills. We need to get you caught up.” Don said, as his head shifted from place to place, scanning the surrounding trees. Noticing nothing unusual, he continued in a hushed tone, “You get skill points to allocate per level, and you gain them by doing things. The ones you earn per level can be put into any skill or sub-skill you’d like, except for unique skills. I think. But be careful. After a skill gets to level ten, it slows down a bunch.” The turta shot another quick glance at his surroundings as if he had noticed something. “Also, certain skills, sub-skills, and combinations of them can give you abilities. Like leadership, and my martial healing ability.”
“Aida told me about that. What I need help with is what I should do with my skills and what ones I should search for. I don’t want to outpace my intelligence score and bring my skill gains to a halt. Are there any special weapon skills, or defensive skills I should learn? That archer we fought had some stealth ability that made him damn near invisible, and he could shoot multiple arrows at once. I can cleave multiple opponents with a melee weapon, or make one strong attack, but not much else. We need to get better, fast. The lost temple isn’t just some dungeon to clear. It’s a stronghold, with one of the twelve altars, and it’s dangerous. We need to work together if we want to make it out alive. If we are going to be a team, we need to plan things out.”
Don stopped to scratch a nonexistent goatee before speaking, “Well, we both need to figure out our roles in the group. I’m planning on being an agility fighter, with some healing abilities, obviously. So, I’ve been focusing on my hand-to-hand fighting, staff, and healing abilities. Oh, and I’ve been getting better with throwing weapons. If you have any suggestions, I’m open.”
“I think we both need to learn more about stealth. If possible, we need to learn the ability that Charlie used. It’s just us two, and neither of us can take too much damage.” Eli said as he tugged at his ragged armor and frowned. “We need better gear, and we need to work on combat formations. With my bow and your kunai, we both have some range, but neither are reliable for a drawn-out fight. We have dependable ranged weapons, or shields. Have you thought about switching to a spear, or a naginata, maybe a Qiang? You know, something with the versatility of a staff, but a pointy end to jab people with.”
“I have,” Don replied, his words somber and quiet. “But, I’m not a huge fan of killing people. It’s kind of why I’m here, in this game. Brutality and murder aren't my things.”
Eli nodded, remembering his friend’s reaction to the fight with other players. Don had nearly broken. As he tended the now roaring fire, Eli’s thoughts drifted. The Turta had called him Shean; eventually, he would need to explain what happened. While pieces of dried meat warmed over the fire, Eli tried to empathize with the man.
“I understand completely, war and battle are terrible. Violence can change you.” He said, his voice calm and quiet.
“It already has,” Don whispered, with a blank gaze as he stared into the distance.
The words hit Eli like a ton of bricks. He knew from experience what war was like. It was the reason he fled to the Wildwood with his pregnant wife. Losing friends, and family over a conflict that you did not start, or have control over was senseless. At first, he thought of pride, honor, and duty. However, he soon learned that the only duty one had was to protect and care for those he loved. That’s why he fought; that’s why he survived.
Derek, his former friend, turned gate guard, had dragged him into the military. The stalwart nationalist had pulled him out of more fires than he could count, but it was Kata who had saved him. She had shown him that life was worth living, given him something to keep living for. As he thought, Aida's words lingered in his mind. Deep down, Eli knew that what he felt was a lie, written and coded by someone from Don’s world. His entire past was, but that fact did not make it any less meaningful. It did nothing to ease the emotions he felt. Nothing could.
“Some things are worth fighting for. Others are not. You have to find the thing that makes you want to wake up in the morning, to keep going, and you have to protect it.” Eli said, more to himself than to Don. “The world doesn’t care if you don’t want to fight if you don’t want to kill. It doesn’t even care if you exist. It’s a cold dark place that will never change unless you make it.” As he spoke, his breathing grew longer, and his shoulders slumped. “Eventually, you will have to make a choice. Protect the things you care about or let fate run its course. You can do whatever you want in life, but to get what you want, and keep it, you might need to hurt someone. Maybe even kill them. If you’re not willing to do that, then people and things you care about are at risk. Unfortunately, that choice is yours. No one will make it for you, and no one else will do it for you.” Eli stood, needing to be alone, his heart heavy. “Whatever you’re blaming yourself for, or afraid of, you need to work through it and make your choice. Do you fight and live, or do you roll over and keep letting things happen to you?”
Eli left Don in silence, walking to the opposite end of the camp to search through their stack of firewood. While taking the time to choose the perfect log, Eli opened his menu. More than ever, he wanted to learn everything he could about the mechanics of the game. With a thought, Eli inspected the book symbol in his HUD.
To his surprise, a translucent image of a book appeared in his vision. Its visage was easily visible, without blocking out his awareness or sight as if it was more mental overlay than a visual representation. In the heading, there was one line. Spells and Abilities. Its pages were all but empty, with only a few lines of text sitting on the page that said Abilities. Cleave, Track, and Mark were all listed, their text underlined and blue. He knew that if focused on them, he could bring up their descriptions, but closed the menu. It was fairly straightforward. His spells and abilities were displayed on the pages, and thinking of their title would bring up their descriptions. Shifting his eyes to the map in the top right of the screen, he willed it to grow larger.
This map, if it could be called that, was a massive representation of the known world. It was similar to a sea map in utility, with a few exceptions. There were hazy outlines of the main content and a few islands. These must be the locations I know of, but haven’t explored thoroughly, he thought. With a mental nudge, he shifted the map to show Scorn, as he knew the island better than almost any other location.
The map shifted, clouds swirling, and mountain ranges streaking by until the hazy outline of the island came into view. The previous scheme repeated itself, becoming detailed in the locations he knew best. Most of the southeastern section had fine details filled in with vivid colors. Dawnport, the Wildwood, and other places Eli had visited recently looked like the work of a master cartographer. The surrounding forests had lush green trees with horse trails peeking in and out of view like fine stitch-work on pine colored fabric.
A dense fog-like haze covered places he had never been, obscuring locations that he knew of, but never visited. Daggerfang keep seemed to change location in a random pattern around the southwestern edge of the map. A dense fog covered everything west of the cliffs that his cabin backed up against. The only things visible were the peaks of tall hills and massive trees. What surprised Eli the most was the northern half of the island. Everything beyond the mountains that split Scorn in half was under a strange cover of darkness. Expanding his map showed him only more unknown territory. From the northern tip of Scorn to the southern coasts of the Beastlands, the former home of the Beastkin, was black. It was as if it was being concealed by magic, or it had changed so significantly that no one could accurately estimate what it now looked like. He had previously seen maps of the region, but could no longer visualize what the area should look like.
As he thought about the significance of this map and the appearance of the strange blacked-out portion, he noticed a new scent in the air—the smell of rotting flesh. Painful memories of his
confrontation with Wayland resurfaced, snapping him to attention. A second later, twigs and branches snapped just outside of the ring of firelight. Whatever had been lurking in the woods was getting closer. Before Eli could act, Don’s powerful hand grasped his shoulder.
“Be alert, man, something’s moving around out there. Something big that smells like ass.” The Turta whispered, trying not to draw too much attention.
As soon as he finished his statement, a guttural roar filled the small clearing, and flecks of black semi-gelatinous liquid landed on the two adventurers like small raindrops. They shot to attention, facing the direction of the sound. Eli grasped the hilt of his axe and freed it from its place on his waist.
“I think it heard me,” Don whispered, a slight tremble in his voice.
Eli flashed a panicked look at Don and shouted, “Run!”
Large blood-covered paws, the size of dinner plates, sprang into view then slammed to the ground. The force of the impact caused the earth to tremble and a fallen tree to splinter into a thousand shards. The massive creature’s once brown fur had been stained black in places, sticking together in clumps, matted with crimson paste. Pieces of gore from some unknown, unlucky creature fell from between its five clawed digits. Its forelegs were the diameter of small tree trunks. Fragments of bone and sinew were visible through festering bite wounds and displaced flesh that ran up its stump-like appendages.
“Bear!” Eli yelled as he turned to flee. Don sprinted to his side, struggling to keep pace as he stumbled over branches and other woodland debris, unable to see in the dark. As they fled, the gargantuan brown bear stood on its haunches and let loose another vicious roar that shook the leaves of every tree in the vicinity. The pure terrifying shout poured from the beast spreading in a visible cone of force, stopping the pair from fleeing after only a few steps.
Waves of sound crashed upon Eli and Don as the horror of death seeped into their core. As it stood to its full height, nearly 3 meters, Don stumbled and froze in place shaking. A small icon appeared next to his status bar, a skull hovering over a crouching man. Eli’s display flickered as his will nearly broke, his breath heavy and wavering. Then a notification flashed for a moment before auto minimizing.
Ursa Minor (Undead) LVL 9 used Thundering Roar. You take 5 points of force damage.
Effect: Fear (resisted)
Don screamed, his voice cracking and shifting in pitch as he fell to his knees. Again, the ground shook as the bear crashed back to earth. The weight of the creature impacted the ground with the force of a small meteorite, causing Eli's vision to waver. Small fissures opened at the creature’s feet as he pressed his weight into his charge; the earth beneath it split from the pressure.
Ursa Minor (Undead) LVL 9 used Seismic Slam.
Effects: Dazed I - You are dazed for 3 seconds. Movement speed, Reaction speed, and vision reduced by 25%
Not wasting its opportunity, the bear charged, rushing straight for the incapacitated Don, causing tremors with every step. Eli stood, understanding what was about to happen. His new companion was about to be mauled by this abomination. Before he realized what he was doing, his hand had already steadied his axe as he lept towards the threat.
Seeing that Eli was not curled over in fear, the bear attempted switched targets, throwing his mass his direction. Unable to change trajectory swiftly, its steps faltered slightly, causing it to slide through the fire. An explosion of coals and flickering embers burst into the night sky, showering the clearing in dim light. Just as quickly, the glow faded, and the clearing flickered with the sparkle of a million tiny embers. A few of the burning coals landed in piles of leaves, sending smoke into the air. Others landed on the bear, who did not seem to notice as patches of dried fur started to burn.
Raising an arm to his face, Eli shielded himself from the eruption of smoldering rubble. Preparing himself for battle, Eli gripped his axe and lowered his stance. A second later, he charged the beast. His legs screamed from the sudden change of pace and direction, as the distance between monster and man vanished. In a breath, Eli was beside the huge bear, its stench overwhelming his senses. Fumes from smoldering fur and rotten flesh enveloped him in a toxic cloud. His throat and nostrils burned as he choked down the putrid smoke. He knew what he had to do. He had to stall the beast and buy some time for Don to recover.
With every ounce of effort he could muster, he spun and lifted his axe as he ran past the beast. A flash of metal sparked off of a slow falling ember as his weapon swung in an arc toward a meaty hindquarter. The blade met resistance, biting deep and removing flesh. Something caught, then snapped, before the blade of the axe exited the other side. As Eli cleaved through the tough muscle, the bear roared with anger and stumbled back into the now smoldering fire pit.
Smoke and flames burst to life on the walking bear's carcass, deepening the orange glow of their campsite, and completely enveloping the clearing in the sickening stench of charred rotten flesh. Eli was turning to face his enemy when he caught a glimpse of Don. A timer had superimposed itself over the fear icon next to his friend's status bar. He had three seconds left until the effect wore off. Watching the numbers ticking away, Eli lost track of the ursine monster in the thickening smoke, an orange glow, its heavy breathing, and thunderous footsteps the only indications of its location.
As he peered into the smoke, he noticed a large silhouette growing closer. Eli took a step to one side and rolled as a chime sounded in his mind, and a nametag appeared.
Ursa Minor - (Undead, Unique) - level 9.
A spike of confusion crossed Eli’s mind, then terror, as five dagger-like claws burst through the heavy cover of ash. The deadly beast lunged straight for Eli’s chest. With a quick change of his stance, he swung his axe to meet the attack, holding it with both hands in a defensive position.
The heavy paw smashed the shaft of his axe into his chest with a loud crack and enough force to knock him back several feet. Eli’s vision swam as he laid on the ground, unable to move. Whether it was his ribs or the haft of his weapon, that cracked he was unsure. Aida must have minimized damage notifications because his health bar flashed before dropping by more than half.
Another blood-curdling roar rang out with the bear’s victory as if his foe was already defeated. Eli, lying on the ground in pain, ran a shaking hand over his chest, not wanting to look at his wound. As he did, blood spilled from three diagonal claw marks that stretched from collar to waist, staining his leather gauntlets a deep crimson and forcing his gaze to shift. As he looked at his savaged torso, he saw that splinters of wood were intermingled with flesh. He thought he saw something that resembled ivory. That’s it. I’m a dead man. Eli thought as he let his body fall to the ground in shock.
Laying next to him, Eli saw his axe. Its haft was cracked and bent. Maybe it was both his ribs and the axe that had cracked. Several notifications flashed at the bottom of his vision in rapid succession.
“Holy shit. You need to see these.” Aida chirped, as Eli hit the ground.
Ursa Minor - (Undead, Unique) - LVL 9 used Vicious Blows
You have been hit by Ursa Minor - (Undead, Unique) - LVL 9 for 103 damage.
*Critical hit*
*Knockback 5 feet*
*You are stunned 3 seconds*
*You have suffered a cracked rib: Movement -50%, Stamina Regeneration -50%
*Severe Bleeding I: -1% HP per second for 10 seconds*
Eli closed his eyes and took a deep wet breath, his opponent content withstanding its ground. Soon, Eli’s stunned counter dropped to zero. Now able to move, he rolled to his side and released two shallow, blood-filled, coughs onto the dirt. Impact vibrations rippled through the ground and into his body, causing a fresh wave of pain to radiate through his chest. Heavy paws slammed against the cold earth before scratching four in deep gouges in the soil.
“Well, fuck.” Eli sighed as he heard the charge of the now quickly approaching monstrosity. He knew he stood little chance of fighting this undead animal if one hit
nearly killed him. He willed his eyes open to face down his enemy for the last time. He would not die with his eyes closed. The beast’s fur and flesh were engulfed in flames and smoke as it lumbered closer, the wound on its leg barely slowing it down. Its mouth hung open in a snarl showing chunks of flesh, with fur similar to its own but somehow fresh looking. Its cold dead eyes showed no signs of pain or emotion.
Agony flooded Eli’s senses as he placed a shaking arm to the earth, bringing himself to a knee. Hot, foul breath washed over his face. Crimson streaked drool splashed against his shoulder, as Eli’s foe hovered over him. The monstrosity was inspecting prey. In an instant, the bear reached its head back, let loose a challenging roar, and attacked. Teeth, blood, and flesh filled Eli’s vision as he dropped his free arm to his side. As the gaping maw lurched forward, a shout echoed off of the trees, causing the bear to hesitate.
“Eli, move!”
At the sudden burst of noise, the bear's attention shot from its downed opponent to a new threat. Don was up, standing directly behind their enemy, shaking slightly, his fists raised. To Eli’s surprise, the monk's terror debuff had vanished. As the man came to his senses, he looked first at Eli, then to the giant flaming zombie bear about to eat his friend. The scene was something out of a nightmare.
To Eli, it looked as if his friend’s body was moving on its own if he struggled with his fight-or-flight instincts only to have his body decide for him. Don’s hands clenched into fists as he seemed to come to a decision. As he refused to leave someone behind. He would fight, he had to or they both might die. Between two blinks, Eli watched as Don unleashed nearly a dozen attacks.
Flashes of fists, elbows, and a sweeping kick at the bear’s already injured leg. Each blow landed in succession as if they were the beat of a drum, and each hit weakened the appendage. To his surprise, each of Don’s attacks sent a ripple of dim blue energy into the creature’s body, causing it to stagger. Bellows of pain and fury rang out into the Wildwood, as it tried to turn and face the new threat. It was no use. With each step of the monster's feet, Don circled the creature, as if the two were dancing. While moving, he continued to unleash heavy blows to its vulnerable hindquarter. Soon, a barely visible quake shook in the beast’s knee, causing it to lock into place. With a motion so fluid that there was no break in the rhythmic beating, Don pulled his staff from his back and swung it at the joint. The force of the impact was so brutal that it caused the appendage to explode backward, sending shards of bone flying through the air. A second later, the sound of a jar releasing its seal popped in Eli’s ears.
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