Cryo Knight

by Tim Johnson

  But we are too weak to take advantage of it, Christian realized. They had no sword lasers and had barely survived an encounter with one Goblin Savage let alone two.

  Christian carefully peeked further out the tunnel and looked off the ridge to the rock face to his right. Like the rest of the cavern it was black and craggy. But if they were to climb it, it was only twenty feet or so across from where the little Goblin houses begun.

  From there, we could go from roof-to-roof and drop into the temple from above. We need just a few moments in the temple. If we don’t give ourselves away and if we don’t get spotted, we might be able to get in and out before they even know we’ve been there.

  The plan wasn’t without serious problems. They would be extremely vulnerable on the wall. They’d need to rush back and escape.

  If the archers below saw them, they would be turned into pin cushions. If the Savages were alerted, they would smash them to pulp with their hammers against the rockface.

  But there must be some way.

  Christian stayed on his haunches, analyzing the scene. He studied the rickety mining structure on the far side of the room.

  If we could find a way to bring that down, it could give us the distraction we need.

  Back on Earth, he would have used a grenade launcher. But he didn’t have one in Valeria, so needed to be smart with the weapons he possessed.

  I have Frost Bolt and Artic Gale and Alexia has explosive arrows.

  There were six load-bearing struts in the structure. If they could take out one, it could fall. Christian went through his options.

  His Frost Bolt I had a top range of 60 feet, and he didn’t trust it would do the damage necessary from this distance, even with his Intelligence upgrade. But Alexia had her explosive arrows from her Searing Shot skill.

  That might just work.

  The weight-bearing struts that lined the structure were made from thick wooden beams and stained black from the smoke of the fire.

  “Alexia, what’s the range of your Searing Shot?”

  “As far as I can shoot. Why?”

  “See that strut there in the center? If we can take that out, the whole thing could fall, giving us the perfect distraction to make a run to the Goblin Lord’s temple along the wall. We just need to shoot one of the struts out at the bottom.”

  “That’s not an easy shot,” she said. “But I can try.”

  “You shoot that and then we climb across the rockface. The falling structure is the distraction. Then we search the temple, grab the Astral Diamond and get out of here through the way we came.”

  Alexia peered out as well, chancing a look at the Goblins below. He could feel her resolve stiffen for the fight ahead.

  “Okay,” she said. “Okay, we can try it, but if anything goes wrong, we get back in this tunnel ASAP and get out of here.”

  “Exactly,” Christian said.

  He peeked again at the archers below them. They were the least skilled Goblins they’d come against so far, all level twos. But, if they traced Alexia’s arrow to their position, trying to kill six of them alone, without alerting the rest of the cavern, was unlikely.

  Alexia had picked her arrow. The Searing Shot arrows were thicker than the rest, with a circular mounting just below the arrowhead containing the explosive. She pulled it out, notched her arrow and pulled it back taut.

  Just then, Christian heard growls and shouts at the far entrance. The Goblins were readying themselves. A small orange bauble floated up into the cavern and then in the entrance he caught a flash of blue armor.

  It’s Sulfur!

  Christian thought he would never be so happy to see that blue bastard. Alexia looked over at him.

  “New plan?”

  “Same plan,” Christian said with a smile. “We’ve just got a little extra help.”

  Christian kept an eye on the entrance. Sulfur had put up some kind of magical barrier that was currently absorbing the volley of arrows, but two huge Goblin Savages were approaching them.

  Well, that’s their problem now. Karma is a bitch, Sulfur.

  Alexia notched her arrow and stood wide, pulling the bow back as far as it could go. She took a breath and Christian watched as she focused everything on her shot.

  Come on, Alexia.

  She lifted up her bow and fired. The thick arrow sailed through the air, up and over the cavern, towards the scaffolding. Christian watched as it flew near the intended strut, but missed, digging itself into the rockface.

  Shit.

  The arrow exploded against the rockface. Rock splintered and dust was kicked up, but the scaffolding across the other side of the cavern stayed standing.

  Christian dared a peek below to see if the archers on the ledge directly below had noticed and was rewarded with six Goblin faces staring up at him.

  The creatures readied their bows. Christian threw his back to the rockface and the arrows whizzed up past his face.

  Before the Goblins could pull their arrows a second time he leaned out over the ledge and held out his palm in front of him. Calling upon his icy mana, he unleashed the Artic Gale spell. An ice storm flew from his hand, hitting all six of the targets. For a full three seconds ice lashed down against the Goblins, and they threw their arms over their heads, trying to shield themselves from the storm.

  Artic Gale

  Damage: 60

  Slow Debuff 40%

  Mana Cost: 75

  Mana: 2/100

  That used a ton of my mana reserves.

  Alexia was beside him, her arrows flying in a blur as she used Arrow Rain on the Goblins below. The skill was true to its word and as her hands moved in a blur, the archers screamed, each one suffering multiple wounds.

  Christian dropped down off the ledge into the fray, amongst the surviving Goblins. They were still suffering the slow debuff of the Arctic Gale, and with Christian’s improved Dexterity it felt like they were moving slower still.

  He spun and slashed with his blade, while Alexia continued to shoot them with impunity from above. In moments, the Goblins were dead.

  Alexia leapt down at his side. They surveyed the scene ahead; Sulfur and the rest were embroiled in a battle with the Goblin Savages, stopping them from engaging with the main force. The Goblin archers were taking potshots from behind a crude iron barrier.

  The rest of the Goblins were keeping their distance. Christian saw why. One of the Savages swung its war hammer; it took out three of the creatures from behind.

  However, the entire cavern was distracted, and the coast was clear for a straight run to the temple.

  Especially if we have smoke to shield us.

  “Alexia, can you give us some smoke cover?”

  She notched the arrow and fired it ahead, into the ground that would mark the center of their run. The arrow started to hiss and dissolve, giving off a thick white smoke, the perfect cover.

  Together they sprinted forward, the smokescreen covering them. They had made their way past the dissolving arrow and Christian could make out the temple ahead when five shapes loomed in front of them. Christian skidded to a halt with Alexia next to him.

  Out of the smoke, the Goblin Lord lumbered towards them with his sword drawn. Although only five-feet-eight tall, he must be twice the weight as the creatures Christian had fought before, his bronze plated armor showing his width. Around his neck were human ears looped on a string. The half helm covered his face, its metal carved into the shape of a fierce frown. The Goblin Lord’s eyes were pure green, contrasting with his leathery, black mottled skin. His four bodyguards fanned out beside him, their war hammers at the ready.

  The guards were level 15 and the Goblin Lord was a level 18.

  Well, shit.

  They ran towards him and Alexia.

  Christian went to summon his Frost Bolt to throw it at the approaching Goblin Lord, but he didn’t have enough mana.

  Damnit.

  The Goblin Lord swung for him.

  He frantically threw up his sword to d
efend the first strike from the Goblin Lord, parrying it shook him to the bone. Then he had a split second to dodge the path of a swinging hammer from one of the bodyguards.

  Christian was lucky he was quick.

  He paced back as fast as he could, back out of range.

  “Alexia, we can’t beat these guys. Take out the scaffold,” he shouted back at her.

  He heard Alexia’s boots pound the cavern ground and he turned and ran with her. Behind, he heard a deep guttural roar. One of the Goblin Savages had been slain. It fell to its knees and he watched as Kit whirled around in front of it, his katana opening the monster’s throat.

  Ahead was the scaffolding and close behind them was the Goblin Lord and his bodyguards.

  Alexia was already pulling the Searing Shot arrow from her quiver as they ran.

  She fired, and this time the arrow flew straight and true into the center wooden strut. The arrow exploded and the trunk burst, with splinters flying everywhere. They heard a crack as the strut gave away and the entire structure lurched away from the rockface.

  Goblins were flung from it and rained to the ground. Their screams cut off with a series sickening thwacks.

  However, the structure didn’t fall. It leaned out, but still somehow clung to the rockface.

  Christian and Alexia didn’t have a choice. They couldn’t turn back. They could only go up.

  They threw themselves at the sloping structure, running up the switch-back ramparts of the lower levels.

  The Goblin Lord and his warriors followed them up.

  Alexia turned and let a quick shot off at the Goblin Lord that found its mark. Christian’s mana had regenerated to 27, not enough to summon a Frost Bolt.

  Alexia and Christian had to keep running.

  “Up, keep going up,” Christian shouted.

  Together, they climbed higher and higher up the structure, and the creatures raced after them. Christian noticed why the scaffolding hadn’t fallen. There were several huge metal pins secured into the wall with a thick rope that tied the scaffold’s walkways to the wall’s surface. He struck at those too, cutting the first, and then the second as they continued to climb.

  With each cut rope the structure began to sag and lean out further from the wall. The third securing pin pinged out by itself, sending the large iron pin flying across the cavern. The switchback ramps gave way to ladders, and Christian and Alexia had to leap up them, triple stepping the rungs to keep ahead of the Goblin Lord.

  They were at least fifty feet up and had climbed seven levels, when a Goblin miner blocked their path. It tried to move forward on the uneven decking and clumsily swung its pickaxe at Christian. Christian easily dodged the blow, and used the creature’s momentum against it, shoving it off the ramparts. It fell with a squeal.

  Finally, they were at the top and the structure opened into a platform. The whole thing was now leaning out towards the cavern, with the remaining equipment sliding off.

  Rope, hammers, pickaxes, and buckets of rock were showering down on those below in a lethal rain. The structure was now separated from the rockface and slowly rocking back and forth like a ship. The whole thing was kept to the wall by five feet of thick, taut rope secured by a single pin one level below.

  The Goblin Lord was almost on them. He came up from the center of the ramp, but it was narrow, and his bodyguards were forced to follow in behind, one at a time.

  Alexia readied her bow and Christian widened his stance, their backs to the gap between the platform and the rockface, near the back corner of the platform.

  The Goblin Lord spoke, and drool swung from its mouth. “My blade shall have your head. We’ll feast on your carcass tonight.”

  Christian managed to smile. “Not tonight you won’t. Alexia, grab my wrist.”

  Alexia gripped Christian’s wrist and he gripped hers back. Together they stepped off the back of the platform and dropped onto the level below. Christian spun, hacking off the final rope which kept the scaffolding upright.

  The scaffolding suddenly jolted forward, and Christian heard the screams as they were hurled off the edge from above. Then with a groan the structure began to slowly fall into the cavern. Christian pulled Alexia to the back of the structure. He threw himself forward against the cavern wall, grabbing onto the rope and held out his hand to Alexia. She jumped and grabbed his wrist as the platform fell away.

  For just fraction of a second, they hung there, Christian gritting his teeth as his grip slid down the rope. He saw the furthest of the core beams, a strong and wide tree trunk falling with the rest. Christian swung hard on the rope and managed to fling Alexia towards the beam. She fell through the air and slammed into it and clung on. He swung back and then forward and leapt onto the beam as it fell away. He landed hard, knocking the wind from himself but gripped the beam as the air whooshed past him, and they rode the great trunk down as it fell towards the cavern floor.

  “Jump!” Christian yelled. He and Alexia threw themselves off the trunk just as it smashed into the ground. He landed hard, tumbling and bouncing, like he had been flung from a gravbike. Damage notifications pinged in his vision. Pain lanced his body.

  He managed to stand. He had just 17 HP left, but nothing was broken. He saw Alexia lying not far from him.

  “Alexia.”

  She groaned and pushed herself to her hands and knees. Blood streamed from her nose and her arms were scraped up, but she was alive too.

  Christian helped her to her feet. The falling scaffold had trashed the cavern, with lumber strewn everywhere it looked like the aftermath of a bombing. Wounded and dying Goblins littered the cavern and in places the cracked timber of the scaffold had already begun to smoke and catch alight from the fires underneath. At the front of the cavern the battle still raged on, but the last Goblin Savage looked close to death. Arrows stuck from it at all angles. Kit the Samurai seemed to be best suited for battling those beasts, as he was fast and too nimble for them to catch.

  Just then, Kit had made a misstep and the Goblin Savage caught him fully with a great downward strike of his war hammer, smashing Kit from his feet. The Goblin Savage snatched up Kit’s body in one hand, locked its jaws around his middle, and tore the man’s body in half.

  Kit was dead.

  We need to move.

  Christian pulled Alexia towards the steps that led up to the dark temple.

  Behind them, the wreckage had begun to burn. Then something glinted and moved in the burning wreckage, it was the crown. The Goblin Lord threw off a weighty, burning beam from his back and managed to stand.

  The Goblin Lord roared and pounded the hilt of his sword against its chest. The surviving Goblins in the cavern seemed to rally to this war cry and abandoned their posts, limping or running towards their leader.

  Christian lifted Alexia up, looping his arm under her shoulder, and together they staggered up the steps of the dark temple.

  The Goblin Lord lumbered towards them. It was injured, it’s helm severely dented, the right eye just a bloody mess underneath.

  It had less than 10% of its health left and a deep gash marred the left side of its chest. Despite being wounded, it was still very much alive and the hand that held its sword seemed strong and steady.

  Christian rested Alexia against the entrance and unsheathed his sword, taking his place on top of the steps.

  The Goblin Lord roared and ran up the steps, sword raised high. Christian’s swung his sword down to meet the Goblin’s own, and the blades chimed out as they met in the air. Even gravely injured the Goblin was twice as powerful as Christian and his blow sent Christian falling backwards. Christian managed to check the Goblin Lord’s next blow. Their blades didn’t part but strained against each other. Christian pushed as hard as he could, but the Goblin Lord easily forced his own blade back against him.

  Christian was vaguely aware of the area around him erupting into a brawl as Sulfur and his soldiers arrived.

  But his eyes were locked with the Goblin Lord’s. One shone gr
een, the other wept blood. The Goblin Lord growled as he used his superior strength to push Christian’s sword further and further back; Christian’s elbows bent, and he thought his arm might snap.

  Just a moment longer.

  The Goblin Lord was leaning over him, the ears on his necklace resting on Christian’s chest plate. Christian’s blade began to press into his own cheek. But out of view and taking advantage of the Goblin Lord’s blind spot, Christian was summoning his mana. He loaded his the last of his ice magic into his palm. The hilt of his sword begun to frost over. He twisted and used the Goblin Lord’s weight against him. The Goblin Lord fell forward, crashing down. Christian turned, raising his palm high and then bringing it down as hard as he could as he unleashed Frost Bolt point-blank against the Goblin Lord’s skull. With nowhere to go the bolt smashed into the Goblin Lord’s face into the stone, like a hammer against a rock.

  Christian raised his sword and struck down with the tip of his blade as hard as he could, with a fluid downward stroke against the Goblin Lord’s throat.

  Notifications chimed, but Christian could see the damage he had done. The Goblin Lord’s black blood came in thick spurts across the cavern ground. The Goblin Lord limply kicked out as he died.

  You have killed the Goblin Lord.

  Level Up!

  Congratulations, you are level 7!

  +5 Stat points to distribute

  New skill unlocked: Ice Armor

  Items received:

  1 x Darkstar Blade

  1 x Splendid Suit of Armor

  50 x Gold Pieces

  All around him was fire and battle as Sulfur and the rest fought back the rest of the horde.

  “Christian,” Alexia shouted. “The Soul Crystal.”

  He whipped the Soul Crystal out from his Inventory and brought it down against the chest of the Goblin Lord, and watched as it seemed to suck a wispy vapor from the

  creature’s corpse. The gem was then noticeably heavier in his palm.

  1 x Level 18 Soul Crystal