Eli raised his sleeve, revealing the ever-growing black marking on his forearm, “Because we’ve been bitten too.”
Several moments went by, with the group arguing about the ramifications of their situation. Michelle almost left the party, not wanting to lose her character or get involved in Eli and Don’s situation. Stabbins was certain he wouldn’t be playing if the blight could wipe out the player and NPC populations. Both were seconds away from logging out before Eli pleaded with them for help.
“If we don’t stop this, how many players will it affect? How many are in the game full time, like Don? What happens to them? What happens to the NPCs, mobs, and the rest of the game. This shit could take over, starting with Scorn. I have enough of those orbs in my bag to destroy Dawnport, how many do they have?” Eli asked, his tone serious.
“About ten thousand,” Stabbins answered, sincerity in his voice. “They could take this island in a few weeks, especially if they take that temple. Who knows what kind of crazy buffs Chris and his weird quest giver dude will get if they take it over. If they take both, it would be nearly impossible to stop them.”
Don nodded along, before speaking up, “Which is exactly why we need to do something, and why we need your help.” The turta pointed a finger at Stabbins, “Your only hope of having a normal character is inside that temple. Our quest to get rid of this disease is leading us right to it. There has to be a reason. And you,” he looked at Michelle, “If you want our help to take out that outpost in the north, you know how to get it. If you want to keep playing this game, how it is, you need to help us stop this shit.”
Stabbins and Michelle looked at each other, unconvinced before both received a quest to stop the army assaulting the temple.
“Well fuck, now the games telling me to help you guys. I just got a quest to protect the temple—some sweet rewards and exp. I’m in. But, if I get blighted and have to start over, I will hunt you down and kick your ass in real life.” The woman’s voice came out jokingly, while flashes of fear danced across her face.
“Nope. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll be logging out. Fuck this game, and fuck Chris. He can clean up his own mess, and you all are free to do whatever the hell it is you want.”
Before the small man could finish his sentence, Don clapped a set of manacles around his wrist and tied him to a tree. The action caused Eli to take a step back, startled at his friend's behavior.
“I don’t think so, man, I don’t want to hurt you or force you to do anything you don’t want to do. But, you can’t just walk off and tell your buddies we’re coming.” Don said as he began replacing the man's gag and checking his bindings. “This has to get done. If you’re too big of a piece of shit to help us, then you can stay here as it gets dark. Try your luck with the phase beasts. You’ll be able to log out, but your character won’t respawn in a safe zone for an hour. Good luck.” Don spoke before motioning the group to the opposite edge of the clearing.
Michell looked back, winking at the assassin, “Have fun!”
The small party of adventurers argued for several minutes, about what the best plan of attack would be. Michelle wanted to wait until dark, then sneak in. Don wanted to float downriver, and head in through the back. Both plans were sound, but neither gave any real chance of attacking the leaders of the army. The group could take the temple and altar, but then what? They needed a fully formed plan of attack. One that didn’t include trying to fight through a throng of mutants and undead. Eli thought, staring out over the waves of skeletons that now waded into the lake. He had an idea.
“Hear me out; it could work. Not all the Stonekin down there are infected.” Eli said, hopefully.
“No fucking way. I’m not going in there alone.” Michelle replied indignantly.
“I mean, it could work. I think.” Don pondered aloud.
Eli’s idea was equal portions of stealth and guile. They would use Don’s idea of infiltration through the river while Michelle pretended to be part of the enemy forces, to take out the necromancer, and cause a distraction. If their plan succeeded, more than half of the enemy forces would vanish, while Don and Eli made their way into the temple interior to take control of the building. Hopefully, it had more defense mechanisms to fight off the remaining forces of blighted goblins.
“What happens if I get infected, then die? I could lose my character, or be stuck inside of some crazy rabid troll body,” Michelle protested. “I’m taking all the risks here. This is insane. What if they notice me before I even get there?”
“Then you run or kill yourself. If it looks like you’re going to be caught, or turned, you can just smash your brains in and wake up wherever you would wake up.” Eli replied.
“That could be all the way back at the empire, or who knows where on this shit-hole island. It won’t be Dawnport; I know that much.”
“Well, we could always all go in together.” Don started, “But then we might end up fighting our way through the entire army. And we won’t have a distraction.”
“Look, let’s just start heading towards the clearing to get a better look at what’s going on. We can decide then.” Eli said, bringing an end to their bickering.
They reached the clearing as the first sun-bleached skulls began poking from beneath the surface of the once-pristine waters. A moment later, dozens of skeletal warriors emerged from the lake, taking their first steps on the island. Suddenly, the shimmering barrier of light fell, and the remaining horde of undead waded into the lake. They would overrun the island before the group got inside.
“Fuck, we’re so fucked,” Don said in a panic.
“Well now what boys? What are we going to do?” Michelle asked, staring at the island in frustration. As she spoke, the piles of rubble scattered about the island shifted—remnants of falling buildings clustered together, forming dozens of small piles. Timber, stones, fallen leaves, and dirt began moving, twisting into place, taking the shape of a small goblinoid figure, roughly four feet tall. Their featureless bodies lacked any distinguishable qualities. They were humanoid, the size of a kobold or goblin, but were otherwise nondescript, with one exception. Their arms were changing shape.
At first glance, it seemed as if the small golems were struggling to form hands. Fear quickly replaced that thought, as their stumpy appendages changed into long serrated blades made of stone. As the first group of skeletons made their way towards the temple, the closest group of protectors charged.
The sounds of bones shattering and weapons clashing rang out all over the large island, but no grunts of pain or screams of agony followed. Undead horrors met the magical construct head-on, with no fear of being destroyed. Waves of undead crested the waters, joining the battle, while even more constructs appeared from the rubble. Eli’s attention turned to a strange orb of blue-green light that danced across the battlefield, repairing the golems with tendrils of magic.
“Uh, seems like we have ourselves a distraction. What’s the plan?” Don whispered.
Eli stared at the carnage displayed before him, unable to make a sound. This is not what he had expected. A moment later, a large rough hand slapped him on the back, causing his attention to shift.
“What was that for?” He said, turning to face Michelle.
“Plan. Now. Get on with it.” She said harshly.
“Oh, right? Don's idea. We go with Don's idea. We get as close as we can on land, then we get into that lake and swim to the other side of the island. Our priority is avoiding detection. So the farther we are from battle, the better. If those golems can hold out, we have a chance. We get into the temple, heal ourselves, and power up any other defenses that the place has.” He scanned the army of goblins, orcs, and undead, unable to find the pale-skinned elf. “At the very least, we need to see if an altar can heal the infected, if it can heal us. I don’t want us to die for no reason, so if we get there and we can’t make some counterattacks, we leave after curing ourselves, of course. Then we head back to the slums, warn the Wolffen, and plan an attack.
Maybe try to take over the abandoned Stonekin fort, or the mystery altar to the north-west before they can get their hands on them.”
Thirty minutes later, the group found themselves tucked behind a small embankment next to the river. A passing scout spotted them and turned to tell his allies when Michelle ended the thin Orc with a club to the side of his head. Not wanting to risk someone finding the corpse, they stripped and hid it under a stack of leaves. While searching the corpse, they found a simple wooden longbow and some arrows. Moments later, they were all shivering while they floated down the frigid river, hiding under fallen timber and branches.
Don’s racial traits helped to speed up the process of getting to the island. The Turta could hold his breath for up to an hour and move quickly through the water. After the three tied themselves together, the Turta started dragging them through the water while they attempted to stay hidden. The group formed a rough canopy of leaves and sticks to disguise their movements in the rapidly churning waters. Only once did someone glance at the suspicious-looking flotsam—the massive Ogre hybrid with the hand-held ballista. After firing a massive bolt through the center of the detritus, seeing no blood or bodies emerge, the man's focus returned to the battle.
The projectile had narrowly missed Michelle's head and snapped the rope connecting her to the rest of her party. Quickly, she grabbed on to Eli’s foot, causing him to thrash and shift their cover slightly. Don, able to move freely in the water, stopped and reattached the line before anyone noticed the commotion. Hearts pounding, expecting to be assaulted, the trio set off more cautiously towards the island. Not long after, the two non-aquatic adventures saw icons appear in their vision.
A small snowflake appeared next to Eli’s name, alerting him to a new debuff. His health bar turned blue, started slowly dropping, and he started shivering violently. Without looking at the notifications, or asking Aida, he knew what was happening. He was in the first stages of frostbite.
“Uh, Don, we need to hurry this up a bit. Michelle and I are going to freeze to death in a few minutes.” Eli said in a whisper, his teeth chattering.
“Almost there, man, just a little longer.”
By the time the group had reached land, Eli’s health had hit fifteen percent, and Michelle had hit thirty. Both curled up on the dry sand, looking for any warmth they could find. Don had landed them to the backside of the island after swimming for nearly two miles. The spot he chose was tucked away over a mile from the ongoing battle on the opposite side of the island. He knew that the two would barely make it, but had to get as far away from the raging battle as possible.
After a few minutes, Don had healed the two enough to stand and fight. Michelle’s natural regeneration kicked in as soon as the frostbite debuff had faded. It shocked Eli to see how fast her health bar rose, jumping from fifty percent to sixty in seconds. Anything short of losing a limb, or vital organ, would heal in minutes. A twinge of jealousy overtook him as he watched the numbers of his own health slowly increasing, then he looked back at the enormous amount of ground Don had covered while swimming. Looking down at the sharpened claws on his hands, disappointment sparked in his mind.
Well, shit. I should have chosen a better starting race.
“Oh, trolls have their downsides. They are almost universally unwelcome in non-troll nations. Even the other Stonekin hate them. They also take fifty percent more damage from fire and ten percent more from all other forms of magic. Even with that extra damage, they make some of the best tanks, if they can increase fire and magic resistances. They are probably the best starting race for tanks, for PvE or solo play, but most social players chose ogre, human, dwarf, or the plains elves. Fewer bonuses, but far less restrictive play style. She’s kind of forced herself into exile by choosing to be a Troll. Turta’s are great in the water and have natural armor, but their stat bonuses are relatively low, and they gain reputation twenty-five percent slower than most races. Every race has positives and negatives; they balance out. The larger the bonus, the larger the penalty.” Aida responded, filling in the information he had glossed over during character creation.
After their short break, letting their health and stamina refill, they set off towards the temple. The party made it to within one hundred yards of the entrance before the area fell silent, and a green light permeated the entire island. All sounds of combat had stopped, leaving only the marching of skeletal feet. As the sounds of the undead grew louder, closer, the green glow grew brighter. A moment later, every scrap of rubble, including the wall Eli and his companions hid behind, began floating into the air. All motion stopped as stone, scraps of wood, loose dirt, and entire trees were sucked into a single point in the sky, condensing into a massive ball two hundred feet above the battlefield.
“Move,” Eli shouted, sprinting towards the thirty-foot tall, solid wood doors of the Temple of Aeryntorr.
The ball started spinning, shooting off debris that rocketed to earth like small meteors. Bones snapped, and clouds of dust erupted all around them as the three adventurers fled to the safety of the ancient building. Skeletons pressed forward, heading straight for the exposed party. As Eli grew closer to the temple, he saw its doors open slightly, as if leading them to safety. Before the group could reach the doors, a small contingent of undead, blocked their path.
“We have to go through them. Get ready!” Eli shouted, forcing himself to rush into danger.
While running, Eli analyzed and counted his opponents. There were eight opponents; five skeletons and three zombies. The skeletons were all level one or two. The zombies, however, were of varying races and levels. One was a tall feline, Kaitzen, level six, and the other two were an ogre and a human, both level four. Eli knew that the skeletons would be no issue. Michelle could handle those by herself. The issue was the zombies, which were heading straight for Don. In an instant, Eli pulled up the familiar fist icon above the tall zombie's heads, followed by a green club over all three skeletons. On the two remaining zombies, he placed a sword.
“Don! Tall zombie, aim for the head. Michelle, get the skeletons and aim for their chests. If they break, they stay down. I got the other two.” Eli barked, charging straight for the undead.
After nodding in agreement, the three adventurers got to work. A moment later, Don engaged all three of the zombies. Without hesitation, the turta smashed the end of his staff into the lanky catlike zombie’s face, causing its nose and mouth to explode in a fountain of gore. Looking to his left, Eli saw Michelle run through a level one skeleton, leaning into the charge with her head and shoulder. The impact shattered it entirely before she annihilated the others. Eli grabbed his newfound bow, and let two arrows fly in rapid succession, each slamming into his targets' faces. One arrow flew through a zombie's mouth, before exiting the back of its neck. Other than causing them to stumble and lose balance, the attacks did little damage. While it would have been nice to kill them in one shot, that was not Eli’s intention. He wanted them to turn his way rather than surround Don, and his plan worked.
Not wanting to waste arrows, Eli slung the bow on his back and grabbed for his hand axes. His enemies were charging right for him, arms outstretched. The ogre was massive, over seven feet tall and wide, but its size made it slow. Knowing that he only had a few seconds to engage the undead human alone, Eli used Lunge. In a flash, he was in the air, his twin axes heading straight for the zombie’s skull. With all of his weight, he crashed into the slowly moving corpse. The axe in his right hand bit deep, splitting his enemy's brain cavity open, but not doing enough damage to kill it. His other axe missed its target, sinking into the zombie's shoulder and breaking its clavicle. A moment later, he felt a large meaty fist slam into his head.
Stumbling, momentarily dazed, Eli swung his weapons in a wide arc. His haphazard attack caught the larger zombie in the waist, causing it to fall to a knee. With a moment to scan the battlefield, Eli noticed that all but one skeleton laid on the ground, destroyed. Michelle stood, breathing heavily and covered in shallow wounds
, but Eli saw no serious injuries. Don was landing attack after attack on the kaitzen, but they seemed to do little damage. They were at a standstill, but one solid attack from the turta would bring that fight to a close. From the corner of his eye, Eli saw the first enemy he attacked right itself, before stumbling into the ogre. With both opponents scrambling to right themselves, he attacked.
After Michelle finished cleaning up the skeletons, the three zombies stood little chance. Don beat his enemy so viciously that its head collapsed completely. With Michelle acting as a distraction, Eli used his sword to cleave both of his foes head off. The three were relatively unharmed, but each had used a substantial amount of stamina. Distracted by their victory, the party barely noticed the growing swarm of blighted goblins making their way onto the island.
“Fuck!” Michelle screamed, “They’re coming!”
A moment later, Don was the first to pass through the doors of the large temple, followed closely by Michelle. Eli paused for a moment, checking on the location of the rapidly approaching army, then the now brightly glowing orb in the sky. As he watched, the nearly blinding light vanished. Then the asteroid fell, hurling itself towards the sea of undead.
Chapter 32
As the meteor of debris crashed to earth, Eli crested the threshold into the long-closed temple. With a slam, the doors closed themselves behind him, cutting off the sounds of battle. To Eli, it seemed as if the temple itself had led them to safety, or into a trap. He had little time to think, because of the boulder that would crash to the earth at any moment. Eli had no idea how heavy it was but knew that something that large would send out a shock-wave of destruction.
Eli continued into near-complete darkness, not wanting to waste time. As he pressed forward, he smashed into Don’s back, who had stopped, unable to see. Stale air and the scent of mold filled the interior of the large unlit building. Tiny rays of light, each a different color, shined in through intricate stained glass windows. The rainbow of beams created beautiful patterns and images that decorated the floor of the grand entrance, but they were not enough to see by.
Ascension Page 40