Rise of the Grandmaster

by Bradford Bates

  Rushing forward, Tim healed ShadowLily, then cast a couple of wayward heals at the rest of the group to take away any niggling injuries they might have. Satisfied that the group’s health was in order, he turned his attention back to the giant wolf.

  For some reason, Tim felt worse about killing the wolf than the people he’d assassinated. Maybe because the wolf wasn’t really bad, unlike the people he killed. It could also be that it was like a giant dog, and he couldn’t imagine someone stabbing a dog. He doubted he’d feel the same way if it was a bear.

  Please don’t let there be a bear.

  Coins appeared in his inventory as Cassie looted the body. When she turned to face them, Tim gave her a halfhearted smile. “I told you a solid nose-bopping was the key.”

  “That fucker almost ate my whole face. He didn’t deserve a nose-bopping.” Cassie looked at the toothmarks on her staff. “Let’s just hope there aren’t more of them.”

  But of course, there were.

  Three wolves and some kind of flying insect later, they finally reached the door leading to the next boss fight.

  The Beastmaster was inscribed on the giant door.

  “Explains the wolves,” Cassie said as she read the inscription.

  “That flying thing was intense.” ShadowLily shuddered.

  “Let’s just hope the Beastmaster doesn’t have another one.” Cassie rubbed her shoulder. “Those pincers fucking hurt.”

  Tim lobbed a healing orb at her. Cassie glared at him as the water splashed her shoulder. “Hey, just making sure you’re topped off.”

  “I’m not a drink.” Cassie mocked as she placed her hands on the door. “Everyone ready?”

  One by one, the group nodded. Satisfied with the results, Cassie pushed the door open. She looked back once to make sure the rest of the party was really ready before she strode boldly into the room. Tim trailed behind the group, taking in the lay of the land.

  There was a rocky outcrop on one side of the room, and what appeared to be a small stream carved into the floor on the other. Tim didn’t know what the two features meant yet, but he was sure they would be important during the fight.

  “Mind the water and the rocks,” Tim shouted to the group.

  “I’ll do my best,” Cassie said, turning her head from side to side as she looked for the boss.

  The doors at the end of the room opened, and another giant wolf ran into the room. Trailing behind it was an orc decked out in furs. He had a giant crossbow hanging from his back and two or three knives strapped around his waist. The Beastmaster looked at Cassie standing alone in the middle of the room and let out a rumbling laugh.

  Big mistake, fucker.

  If there was one thing that pissed off his fiery little sparkplug of a tank, it was people not taking her seriously. He got it. On the surface, she didn’t look like much of a warrior, but underestimating her was a big mistake. Tim knew from experience that she was damn good at her job and fearless to boot.

  The Beastmaster called to his wolf, and it returned to his side. He petted the beast affectionately as he watched Cassie. His eyes flickered in Tim’s direction for a moment, but he didn’t seem very impressed. Leaning down, he whispered something to the wolf and stood back up.

  Reaching for the giant crossbow on his back, the Beastmaster growled. With his weapon in hand, he extended one finger in Cassie’s direction and shouted, “Attack!”

  The wolf bounded forward as soon as the Beastmaster’s command was finished. The group had their hands full facing the wolves on the way to the boss. Now they had to fight a wolf and the Beastmaster at the same time.

  It wasn’t going to be easy.

  Tim was watching Cassie with a healing spell ready to go when a crossbow bolt slammed into his leg. How the fuck had he forgotten about the boss? He splashed the spell he had ready for Cassie on the hole in his leg. The spell helped, but having a bolt tear through your leg still hurt like a motherfucker before the healing started.

  Time slowed to a crawl as Tim watched the battle. Cassie was trying to maneuver the wolf so it was between Tim and the boss. He looked at his torn and shredded leg and focused on healing it. Another bolt flew past his head, breaking his concentration. It was time to move.

  “Persistent little fucker,” Tim growled as feeling started to return to his limb.

  The Beastmaster moved around the room, trying to keep his line of sight to Tim clear. The orc had a smile on his face as he slipped another bolt into his crossbow.

  Why wouldn’t the fur-covered pale-green bastard be smiling? Everything was coming up Beastmaster.

  Gaston flashed in from nowhere and cut the wolf’s exposed hamstring. The animal spun on three legs and sank its fangs into Gaston's arm. The assassin cried out in pain even as he plunged his other dagger into the wolf’s eye, killing it instantly.

  “No!” the Beastmaster shouted as he swiveled away from Tim and put Gaston in his crosshairs.

  The crossbow fired just as ShadowLily pushed it up, and the bolt flew over Gaston’s head into the rocky outcropping behind him. The orc backhanded ShadowLily and she fell to the ground, one of her daggers clattering to the stone floor. His knife moved down for a killing blow.

  “Not today, fucker,” Cassie snarled as she kept the strike from cutting ShadowLily in half. Sparks flew off her staff as the weapons ground against each other.

  Tim climbed back to his feet, but his leg was still a little shaky. He could worry about himself later. Right now, he had to make sure Gaston could get back in the fight. Cassie and ShadowLily seemed to have things under control now that they only had to deal with one target.

  But why the water and the rocks?

  Tim got the feeling something was about to happen, and whatever it was wouldn’t be good for them.

  The Beastmaster let out a shrill whistle as he tried to fight off the two determined ladies. Cassie’s staff bounced off one of his shoulders, but the orc hardly seemed to notice. He growled an obscenity and slashed in a wide arc with his dagger to create some space.

  Tim continued to heal Gaston as the assassin moved to join the fight. This was it, they had him now.

  As Gaston drew closer, the Beastmaster reached into his pouch and threw a handful of something in front of him. The team backed off, choking as green mist spread out in a circle. Their clothes seemed to be smoking.

  What in the fuck?

  Then it clicked. “Get in the water!” Tim screamed as he ran toward the stream carved into the floor.

  He sure hoped he was right about the stream. Otherwise, he might have just killed his entire team. Tim sprinted for the water, firing healing spells as he went. This was the first time he really got to use cleanse in a battle. The spell felt clumsy to his fingers, but it was keeping his party alive.

  With one last look to make sure everyone was going to make it, he threw himself into the stream.

  The water was cold, and he came sputtering back up to the surface. The Beastmaster was picking up his crossbow. He’d have a couple free shots at them as they climbed out of the stream. With his aim, that meant at least one of the party would probably die unless Tim could do something. Tim only had the one offensive spell, and he called on it now.

  Flames roared from his fingertips.

  It looked much more impressive than it was, but his flameburst spell was enough to make the Beastmaster fumble the crossbow. Tim was just starting to congratulate himself when he heard a shriek from above.

  He looked up in time to get his hands in front of his face as a giant falcon slammed into him. The talons shredded his arms and the beak took a chunk out of his cheek before the bird flew off in search of another target.

  He’d never considered himself the prettiest guy on the planet, but he was sure the hole in his cheek had knocked him down a peg or two. There was a reason Two-Face didn’t make the cover of a lot of magazines. Tim began healing himself and turned to find out if his companions were faring any better.

  Cassie was going toe to toe
with the Beastmaster as ShadowLily ducked in behind her, slashing at anything the boss left exposed. Gaston had a throwing knife out as he tracked the circling falcon.

  Gaston’s arm reared back, and the blade flew.

  A single feather fell from the heavens. The Beastmaster roared so loudly the room seemed to shake.

  Gaston turned away from his kill and rushed back to the boss. The Beastmaster slowly backed toward the rocky outcropping. Tim didn’t like it one bit. If he had designed the game, there would be one more monster in there. A ton of big and scary things lived in caves.

  The Beastmaster's back was nearing the opening when he growled again, but this time the tone was different. Tim started to yell a warning, but there wasn’t enough time. A huge grizzly bear emerged from the cave. Standing on its back legs, it bellowed a challenge at the group. The bear landed back on all fours and the Beastmaster climbed on top, pulling a spear from somewhere.

  The motherfucker was riding the bear like a horse.

  “Kill the boss first!” Tim screamed at the group as the grizzly charged forward.

  Tim knew what this was, or at least he thought he did. What was happening now felt just like a classic enrage scenario. It was a race against time to see who died first, the four of them or the Beastmaster.

  Cassie deflected the spear but took a claw in the shoulder. Her bo staff clattered away, and the bear reared up to crush her. As the bear's giant front paws came down, ShadowLily pulled Cassie to the side but ended up with a spear in her arm for her trouble. The grizzly shoved ShadowLily to the ground and chased the fleeing tank.

  Gaston. Where in the fuck is Gaston?

  Tim rushed forward to heal his favorite girl. He knelt by her side and focused on closing the wound from the bear's paws first. Who would have thought The Revenant would provide training for healing bear attacks? He kept the healing flowing as he turned to follow the battle.

  Cassie reclaimed her staff, but the bear tore it away in a single strike. The Beastmaster had risen, ready to spear her through the heart, when Gaston finally appeared.

  Rushing forward, the assassin ran up the back of the bear and stabbed the Beastmaster in the back. The orc fell from his perch and Gaston followed him to the ground, landing heavily on his body. Tim watched as the burly assassin’s arm rose and fell as he stabbed the Beastmaster like some kind of psychotic sewing machine. There was no way the orc could live through that.

  The bear let out a cry of sadness and ran back to the cave without doing any more damage to the group.

  The party was torn and bloody, but they’d beat the second boss. Now it was time to collect their loot and take a break. They’d come back tomorrow and finish off the dungeon or die trying.

  Tim looked at his soaked and battered companions and smiled. He had the best team in the world, and they were making better progress than he’d expected. It wouldn’t be long now before they could put this dungeon and Malvonis out of their thoughts completely.

  “Who would like to do the honors?” Tim asked as he looted the Beastmaster for the key. He barely even registered the gold as it came into his inventory, but he thought it looked about the same as last time.

  “You do it.” ShadowLily winked at him. “It was your idea to jump into the water. It saved all our asses.”

  “About that.” Cassie frowned at Tim. “How did you know it would work?”

  Tim thought about coming up with some bullshit explanation about how he’d played a lot of games where the environment around you during a boss fight gave you clues, but instead, he told them the truth. “I didn’t. Frankly, when I jumped in, it was a coin toss.”

  “You risked our lives on a guess?” Gaston growled.

  “An educated guess,” Tim squeaked. “There was no way I could heal you of that acid damage. I knew there had to be a way to neutralize it.”

  Gaston clapped him on the back. “Death by the unknown is better than melting, I guess.”

  Tim felt a little shudder run through him as he thought about the scene from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Melting by acid didn’t look like a pleasant way to go.

  Tim took the key from his inventory, walked to the door of the antechamber, and slid it into the hole. The double doors opened, revealing another chest in the center of the room. He reached the chest and bent slightly to place his hand on the lid.

  Belt of Wisdom +2

  Another generic item, but better than anything you could buy from a shop at this level. Tim thought about it for a moment and realized maybe he’d been expecting too much from the dungeon’s loot.

  At lower levels in any game, the loot was pretty standard. You didn’t normally get big set bonuses and cool effects until higher levels. The last thing developers wanted to do was waste time creating cool items you’d throw away after a few levels.

  Tim added the belt to his inventory, then equipped it. Looking down, he noticed it was cord like friars used to wear, rather than an actual belt. It was pretty cool-looking, and he’d never turn down extra wisdom as long as he was healing.

  “Nice belt,” ShadowLily said as she shouldered past him to put her hand on the chest. She grinned as she stood up. “Nice, I scored a hood. Now I’ll look like a proper rogue.”

  Cassie came forward next. “Not too shabby.” She pulled out a new bo staff and twirled it. “It’s a little bit lighter than my last one, but it feels solid.”

  Gaston sauntered up to the chest last. “Another bandolier.” He shrugged. “I guess the luck of the goddess isn’t with me today.”

  “If you end up with a third one, I promise to buy you something nice.” Tim grinned at the man, thinking about how they couldn’t have done this without him. Tim always hated it when he walked away with a bunch of vendor trash. You could only equip the one item, and if the item was bound to you, it couldn’t even be given to another player.

  “I think freedom from Malvonis will suffice as a reward.” Gaston winked at him. “But if a nice bottle of whiskey happened to find its way to me, I wouldn’t complain.”

  “Whiskey, it is.” Tim wrapped an arm around the big man and turned him back the way they’d come. “Now let’s get out of here.”

  The black swirling vortex that greeted them at the dungeon’s entrance was now right outside the antechamber door. Tim looked at the others and stepped in. A moment later, he reappeared in the cavern outside the dungeon. They were almost done; he could feel it, but pushing on now would be a mistake.

  All of them needed a break and a chance to go over their spells and upgrades, but tomorrow they would end this.

  Thank the goddess.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  “Damn, that feels good,” Tim said with a sigh as he slipped into the hot water.

  As much as he loved showers, he was starting to get used to this bath thing. Maybe it was because even though he was fully healed, his muscles were still stiff from the battles. And maybe when he saw The High Priest, he could ask if he had a spell to help with that. Or maybe he just needed to find out what CBD was called here.

  The hot water soaked into his sore muscles as he pulled up his stats. Things looked a little different after he acquired his new loot, took down two bosses, and turned in his quests to lady Briarthorn and Ernie.

  Tim had almost forgotten about his quest to kill Juan Pablo, but the innkeeper hadn’t forgotten. As soon as they returned from the dungeon, he handed Tim his reward. The reward had consisted of an increased reputation with Ernie and Gaston. He felt like he was doing a pretty good job of boosting that already, but a bonus never hurt.

  He wondered if he could see his reputation with certain individuals anywhere. He fiddled with his user interface for a bit but didn’t see anything right away. Shoving the unhelpful screens to the side, Tim focused on what he really wanted to see.

  Tim had gained a level and had plenty of notifications to go over.

  His stats had taken a pretty good bump from all his new gear. When he was fully decked out in his healing outfit, his stats
had really gone up. Apparently almost getting killed a lot had done wonders for his luck. It reminded him of the beginning of Gladiator when Russel Crowe looked at his second and said, “Still alive.” He was still alive, mostly because of other people saving his ass.

  As the healer, it probably should have been the other way around. He’d also increased in ranks in his spell usage, and received a new skill rating.

  Skill received: Appeal to the goddess

  Rank: Novice Rank One

  You asked the goddess for help, and she granted it. Now you owe her a favor, but it can’t be that bad, right?

  You may use this skill once a month. The goddess may choose to ignore your pleas for help. She is quite busy, after all.

  To increase this skill, continue to shine in the goddess light and act upon her will when she calls upon you.

  That was a weird fucking skill.

  Although the goddess had saved Cassie’s life, so it could come in handy. Did shining in the goddess’ light just mean to keep doing what he was doing? So far, he felt pretty good about his standing with the temple, but he’d have to remember to ask Paul about it when he had the chance.

  All in all, their little dungeon run and his quests for Ernie and Lady Briarthorn had moved him along quite a bit. Not to mention the level he gained. Now he just had to get his last available skill point allocated so he could head upstairs and see if ShadowLily would put on her kinky club outfit for him again.

  The gear he was getting made Tim’s Wisdom stats soar, but maybe he was focusing on one stat too much. If he was mostly going to be healing now, he might as well try to get his intelligence up to the first baseline at twenty. Then if he was still relying on his daggers to get him out of trouble, he’d work on his dexterity.

  Tim put the point into intelligence and confirmed the change before dismissing the window. He felt better about his time in the game now that he was doing more healing and less stabbing. If things kept progressing like this, he was going to have a lot of fun. The only thing he had to worry about as far as the temple was concerned was the next mission from Paul.