by Tao Wong
“My turn,” Kelly said when the gap between the gates opened far enough. Seeing the distance offered, she released her spell. Fire raged in front of the fortress, heat and flames dancing in the air briefly. Unlike the first time she had cast the spell, Daniel noted that this one was filled with a greater degree of flame and noise but it died quicker too.
As the Archers recovered from the sudden assault, the group finally opened the gap in the gates wide enough. Daniel and Gerardo ducked within, hefting their shields into place as they moved to guard their friends from the archers. Meanwhile, the remaining members of the team continued to push the gate apart, ensuring they had a wide-open line of retreat.
“Where is she?” Daniel said, eyes darting from side-to-side as he searched for the Catkin. A low yowl caught his attention and Daniel found himself spotting the Catkin who had found herself a barrel of water to hide behind. Held close to her was the injured Helbing, a pair of arrows stuck in her body.
“Rita!” Anguish filled Gerardo’s voice when he saw the state of the Helbing. He glanced over to Daniel, his eyes growing wide and a silent please in them.
“On it!” Daniel said, already channelling a Minor Healing II. Even if it was a highly inferior spell, the advantage of being able to cast the spell from a distance was too great to ignore, especially in a time like this. As the spell rushed forth from his hand, he felt a pair of hard impacts on his shield and another on his greaves. Once again, Daniel thanked Erlis that he had managed to find that Quest. Being a melee healer without armour would have been suicidal otherwise.
“Go!” Camilo commanded Daniel even as Tula and Casey, freed from their job of pushing the gate, returned fire at the archers. Immediately, the Orc Archer’s rate of fire and accuracy dropped as they began to worry over their own lives. With Camilo taking his place, Daniel took off running, skidding to a stop next to the injured pair.
“About time,” Asin said. A gauze bandage was pushed against the wounds around Rita’s body, but the bandage itself was soaked through. “Pull?”
“On my mark. Both of them,” Daniel said, hand moving to rest against Rita’s body. “Now!” With arrows pulled, Daniel cast his Moderate Healing spell, repeatedly layering the spell. Wounds began to close, but he grimaced as he realised that both arrows had managed to severe major arteries. Thankfully, both ends had curled up, reducing the blood loss. But still, his spells were not going to be enough. Not unless…
Daniel looked up, his eyes wide as he met Asin’s. She offered him the barest of nods, and he reached deeper even as she slipped away to stand guard. His Gift unfolded from within his body, wrapping itself around the Helbing.
Every cut artery, a memory. Every torn vein, an experience. Torn muscles, an evening with Kh’yra. A severed tendon, an hour in the mines. Each passing wound, a portion of his life, of his memory. It filled his mind with gaps, with holes. Sometimes, sometimes, it felt like all that he had been, all that he was could pass through his fingers into another. His ‘Gift’.
A shuddering breath, a cough. Daniel pulled back, letting his Gift wrap around him again as he turned back to his spells. This time around, the Moderate Healing spell worked even better than before. For this time, he knew her body, knew her physiology intimately.
“That hurt!” Rita complained as she touched the still raw wounds.
“Hold still and stay hidden. I’m going to add a Healer’s Mark to patch you up, but any major movements and you’re going to reinjure yourself,” Daniel commanded.
“Can do! But, are you okay? You’re looking a little pale,” Rita said, squinting at Daniel through the slits in his helmet.
“I’m fine.” Daniel brushed away her concern as he stood. He was fine. It was not as if he had not sacrificed his memories for others before. He just wished he knew what it was that he had lost…
His musings were torn away by the punishing impact of an arrow that landed directly on his armor. He staggered backwards, looking down long enough to see that the arrow had not punched its way through. Raising his shield, Daniel chose to run forwards with it, eyeing the scene of the battle.
Not much of one really, as Tula exchanged fire with the pair of remaining Archers. Now that Daniel had started paying attention again, the Archers turned their attention back to the mages who hid behind Omrak.
“How did you find a door?” Daniel exclaimed as he ran up to help his friend.
“Stable,” Omrak grunted, holding the piece of wood up in front of the mages. As Omrak finished speaking an arrow crashed through the wood, leaving its head sticking out inches from Omrak’s face. “Faster please, Hero Mages!”
The mages ignored Omrak, squatted silently behind and focused on their spells as they were. Daniel glanced down at the small enchanted ball that had been grafted onto the arrow where the pair of Mages were pouring their Mana into, weaving spell and enchantment. While inconvenient to form now, it would have been even more inconvenient to carry around the highly volatile and explosive sphere. Beside the mages, pouring in his Mana as well was Eiju, though, by his own admission, his Spells leaned towards buffs. Still, it didn’t seem to matter.
“Tula? Anytime now…” Daniel called out while the rest of the team took shelter in what little cover there was – mostly behind the various individuals with shields.
“Trying!” Tula said after she loosed another arrow. This time around, a scream soon followed after. The Ranger grinned before letting out a little yelp when an arrow skipped off the ground to embed its tip in her calf.
“Damn it,” Gerardo cursed as he watched the arrow bypass his defense. No matter how skilled, being shot at enough, some point the defense would fail. Which was why the mages and their plan was so important.
“Ready!” Rob called out as the Mana suppliers removed their hands from the vicinity of the arrowhead. Casey nodded and lifted his bow, humming slightly as he activated it.
“Moving… now!” Omrak roared, twisting his body aside and taking the door out of the way. His view clear, Casey loosed the multi-enchanted arrow-sphere. It flew through the air, cutting across space so fast it left a glowing line of power behind it until it impacted the door. And stuck.
“Uhh…” Daniel said, staring in incredulity at the glowing arrow. Then he noticed. The way the glow began to spread across the door, how it slowly intensified even as the tendrils of gold and red covered the surface of the entrance.
“Cover us!” Rob shouted. Omrak reacted immediately, pulling the door back over to the group. Daniel moved too, propping the door up with his shield in one corner before turning his head away. On instinct, he opened his mouth, moments before the explosion came.
Fire and fury, an impact that felt like being run over by a wagon. The door shattered, wooden splinters flying through the air to shred muscle and skin, to tear and injure. Omrak screamed, his body taking the brunt of the damage. Daniel too, but his better armor, his better position saved him. And behind them, the vulnerable mages sheltered.
“Move, move, move!” Gerardo roared as the explosion ended. Daniel looked up, spotting the Orcs who had taken the brunt of the explosion behind the doors slowly getting to their feet. Then he turned, his eyes widening as he saw the pin cushioned, bloody Northerner next to him. His hand lashed out, his Gift reaching for the Northerner even as he wove his Moderate Healing spell.
“I live, Friend Daniel,” Omrak said, blood dripping down one eye. He swiped the blood away, and Daniel noted that the Northerner did not move from his hand. He even drew a health potion from his belt, downing the precious potion as his wounds healed. “And my Skill saved me from the worst of it.”
“Idiot,” Asin growled as she bounced forwards. Close enough for her to throw, the Catkin jumped again, leaping into the air before she cast her Fan of Knives at the slowly recovering group of Orcs. Her throwing knives were beaten to the Orcs by a storm of arrows which injured and killed some. Asin’s knives added to the death toll as did Casey’s glowing arrows. But ther
e so many.
Farhad and Gerardo entered at a run, and Eiju, having recovered, followed soon after. His friend healed as best as he could for now, Daniel threw one more Healer’s Mark on Omrak before he rushed forwards beside the Northerner. Of course, the big Northerner quickly outpaced Daniel, but there were more than enough Orc Spearmen for them all.
“Break them up. Don’t let them form!” Gerardo shouted orders to the group as he followed after Farhad, dispatching and keeping his teammate safe. His sword lashed out, his shield blocked and always, always, the pair kept moving forwards.
As fast as they were, Asin was ahead of them. She danced through the group, blades held in hand as she cut, stabbed and struck again and again. Each motion hit, sometimes drawing blood, sometimes bouncing off armor. But each blow brought with it a charge of electricity, shocking the Orcs and disrupting their recovery.
And between, more arrows fell.
Having reached the entrance hall of the fortress, Daniel took his time, finishing off Orc after Orc. Their longer spears were of less use, especially in the tighter quarters of the hallway and with their line disrupted. Again and again, his hammer rose and fell, smashing aside weak defenses and crushing bone and skin.
Omrak, on the other hand, rushed forwards, forming the third prong of the attack with Farhad and Eiju. Together, the trio cut into the Orcs while Gerardo did his best to keep them safe. Asin, by this time, had fallen back, her initial momentum no longer sufficient to deal with the recovering group. Behind, Tula and Casey were rushing forwards to get better angles to support the group while the mages recovered their Mana outside.
Parry. Strike. Parry. Strike. Strike. Dodge.
The rhythm of the battle took hold of Daniel as he pushed forwards, interrupted only occasionally as he checked on his friends. By now, the Orcs had reformed, leaving nearly half their number on the ground. But facing the hedgehog of spears and shields, the Adventurers found themselves at an impasse. One broken, not in their favor, as a roar from behind the group alerted the Adventurers of even more trouble.
“That’s a big fella,” Rita said, startling Daniel who had just finished his last opponent. He stood there, panting as he attempted to suck in more air into his lungs while staring at the latest addition to the battle.
Orc Lord (Floor Champion Level 19)
Health: 430/430
Taller than even Omrak, the Orc Lord must have been at least nine feet tall. A creature of muscle and fury, it strode forwards clad in a nearly full suit of plate mail wielding a great sword. It roared again and the black-skinned Orcs parted, allowing the Orc Lord to face them.
“Farhad, Omrak. The Lord,” Gerardo snapped. “Eiju, Asin and I will guard you best we can. Daniel, keep us healed!”
Daniel grimaced at the words, staring at his Mana bar. Barely enough Mana to cast a single Moderate Healing spell left, after all the damage and spells he had cast. He debated using a Healer’s Mark but discarded it. This battle would be over before the slow-healing regenerative spell would be ready.
“Come, monster. I challenge you!” Omrak said, a hand moving to his face to wipe at the blood that slowly trickled down towards his eye, the entirety of his body glowing red as the rage suffused and strengthened him. The Orc Lord growled in answer but suddenly jumped forwards, his sword coming down.
Hand still in the air wiping the blood away, Omrak was unable to block the blow. Luckily, Farhad reacted in time, throwing himself forwards and blocking the attack with his crossed swords. Borne under by the greater weight, Farhad sagged to his knees as he shed the greatsword to the side. Hand gripping the sword, Omrak roared and swung his sword, joining Farhad in battle.
At the same time, beside the main fight, the spearmen surged forwards. Working each corner, Gerardo and Eiju could only hold off the spears, blocking and parrying the attacks. Luckily, Tula and Casey had found new angles and sent their arrows down the range, providing a much-needed distraction. As did Rob’s magically controlled spikes and the occasional flaming arrow from Kelly.
As for Daniel, he found himself the odd man out. His weapon was too short to aid in the crowded fight against the Orc Lord. He could not afford to move away from either of the melee fighters though as his most powerful healing spell was touch ranged. And engaging in battle with the deadly Spearmen would likely mean he might miss the opportunity to save a life.
“Ba’al’s tears,” Daniel cursed as he found himself behind the pair, waiting. He would step in when needed, with shield and hammer. He stood there, in perfect position to watch as the Orc Lord pounded his Northern friend and the dual-wielding, robe-wearing Adventurer.
“I will hold him!” Omrak panted out loud to Farhad. Daniel saw the Orc Lord’s eyes narrow at Omrak’s words but before he could warn his friend, Omrak had thrown a heavy strike at the other. Rather than parrying the blow, the Orc Lord stepped aside, dodging it and counter-striking Omrak.
Omrak grinned wide, throwing his entire body forwards as he brought the hilt of his sword up, catching the strike on his crossguard. Badly, as Omrak’s momentum and the Orc Lord’s strength pushed the cut into Omrak’s arm, leaving a deep, bleeding wound.
“Now!” Omrak roared, pushing against the Orc Lord and trapping his sword against his body and sword. Farhad ducked low, cutting at the Orc Lord’s legs and leaving bleeding wounds. Yet, it was insufficient for the monster roared, throwing Omrak back with a surge of strength. A foot raised and kicked outwards, catching Farhad in the face and tossing him back.
Into the gap, Daniel darted forwards. His shield blocked the next strike aimed at Omrak’s head, his eyes narrowed as he swung his hammer at a hand. His Find Weakness Skill was screaming at him, telling him of the few weaknesses the monster. Too few, but the fingers were one of them.
Too bad the Orc Lord managed to twist his sword aside, blocking the blow and scraping Daniel’s back. Grunting, Daniel Shield Bashed the monster as he staggered forwards, panting out loud as he gave himself a moment of rest.
“I am not done!” Omrak roared, his last healing potion bottle preceding the Adventurer’s body. Farhad slunk sideways, tackling a Spearman that had found a gap with Eiju. Together, Daniel and Omrak attacked the Orc Lord, the trio trading minor wounds.
“Can’t. Beat. Him,” Daniel panted out. He had triggered Skill after Skill in an attempt to give them some advantage. But thus far, he had failed. The Orc Lord was stronger, faster and more importantly, not already winded by a fight beforehand. By his side, Omrak was even more tired, his attacks visibly slowed.
“Take the chance,” Omrak replied. When the Orc Lord threw another cut at Daniel, Omrak blocked it with his own sword and shoved the monster backwards. This pushed him deeper into the Orc infantry’s lines and exposed his side to a punishing kidney punch. But even as Omrak sagged, a grin split his face as he breathed the Skill activation out. “The Lightning’s Call.”
Channelling all the pain, all the injuries, all the anger that had built within him, Omrak unleashed the attack in the midst of the group. Even though he was deep in the lines, the lightning still reached out and struck his friends. Eiju, in the midst of a block, found his arm trembling as electricity arced through his body. So pure was the pain that he did not even notice the spear that tore open his shoulder blade. But worst of all was Daniel. Clad in full iron plate mail, the Adventurer was a lodestone to the lightning, a beacon for the attacks.
The Adventurer screamed as the pain assaulted his body, drove him to his knees. Blood filled Daniel’s mouth as he bit his own tongue, his body shuddering as the electricity grounded itself through him. But, as Omrak knew, Daniel had an advantage. A Gift. And reaching within, forcing himself to push past the pain, the Adventurer sealed his screaming nerves, offering himself a moment’s respite and focus.
“I. Call. You,” Daniel breathed out, slamming the hilt of his hammer into the ground. The impact caused the hammer to glow, its summoning function finally activated. Daniel had been carrying that Boss Im
p around with him for months now, refusing to use it due to the low probability of the ‘capture’ effect of the hammer triggering. But now, he had no choice.
As the healer collapsed to the ground, his Gift working overtime to slowly fix him, a cloud of red smoke rose from around the hammer. From the cloud, a large, muscular red figure wielding a whip could be seen. The Boss Imp grinned, needle-sharp teeth widening as it looked at the monsters around him.
“Free at last!” the Boss Imp roared and swung its whip at the nearest Orc Spearman, wrapping the end around its neck and pulling the poor, barely recovered creature to him. Gripping the ends of the whip, the Boss Imp twisted its hips, lifting the monster into the air by its neck before slamming the black-skinned Orc into the ground.
“Not what I had planned,” Daniel muttered as he came to and looked around. Pushing his Gift back into place as his body stopped spasming, Daniel realised that the Boss Imp was busy tangling with the spearman rather than focusing on the Orc Lord like he had planned.
In fact, as his eyes widened, Daniel realised that the Orc Lord was beating on the weakly defending body of Omrak, the Orc Lord having lost his sword somewhere during the intervening period. As Daniel struggled to his feet, Eiju threw his spear at the Lord’s back, the glowing spear piercing the monster’s back and leaving a sickly green colouration.
A brief second later, a pair of arrows, one glinting red and one burning blue, slammed into the monster’s back in rapid succession. The blue arrow froze the armor before the red arrow shattered it, sending shards of metal into the creature’s back. As the monster roared, Rita appeared from the shadows, the tiny Helbing jumping into the air and plunging her dagger deep into its body before using her body weight to rip the wound open.
Bleeding and wounded, the monster backed off Omrak’s prone form, only to be met by Daniel as he charged forwards. Triggering Shield Bash just before he slammed into the monster, Daniel and the Orc Lord fell backwards through the hallway door. A blow by the Orc Lord took away Daniel’s hammer, and the pair began to grapple in earnest.