Archemi Online Chronicles Boxset

by James Osiris Baldwin

  Suri’s shout of pure, berserk rage pierced the chaos. She was mantling over Vash’s fallen body as a silver dragon, the last of the NPC Knights, levelled up for a breath weapon attack. Suri had her sword clenched in her hands, her face a bloody, white-eyed mask of fury.

  [Suri Ba’hadir uses Battle Haze!]

  “Suri! No!” I wrenched my Spear free and kicked off the struggling dragon, back onto Karalti. “Get out of there!”

  The silver swooped in low, and as it did, Suri charged forward. A boiling nimbus of scarlet energy built around her, and for a moment, the energy took a writhing, Medusa-like form. The dragon tilted slightly as it sheared lightning down the length of the walkway – lightning that Suri soaked without breaking stride. With her hair standing on end, she roared and swung her huge sword up in a shower of sparks.

  [Suri Ba’hadir uses Gorgon Overdrive!]

  The dragon’s wings sagged, and instead of triumphantly soaring back into the sky, its head flew off into the air, spraying blood. The body crumpled and careened into the wall, smashing through the crenellations to cartwheel into the thirty-foot pile of zombies below. Violetta was nowhere to be seen; Lucien was turning around, his mount listing to one side from the blow to his head.

  “Suri! Get on the edge of the wall! We’ll pick you up!” My heart strained against my ribs, pounding in time with my head as I stabbed at the enemy dragon’s face. The spear burst through its eye. It lashed its head back with a cry of agony, then honked as Karalti clamped her jaws on her brother’s throat. She rabbit-kicked his belly as we spun tail over wing. I heard – and smelled – the moment my dragon’s hook claw caught and tore through the soft underbelly. The male white gave a piteous squeal, scrabbling weakly at the much tougher scales of Karalti’s ribs as she bunched up and pushed away, scooping the air. The eviscerated dragon ragdolled, tumbling bonelessly toward the seething necromass below.

  “We’re coming, Suri!” Karalti cried out, winging back over.

  Suri was braced in one of the crenellations with her grenade launcher, firing rounds at Lucien and Vesper as the dragon bore down on her. Time seemed to slow. We were coming at her from opposite directions, Vesper twice as fast Karalti in a straight dive. Suri cursed as she reloaded and fired, reloaded and fired, her scarlet hair plastered to her face with sweat and blood. The rounds didn’t even seem to slow Vesper down as he closed in, his jaws glowing with an intensifying nimbus of plasma.

  No no no no no! I couldn’t breathe. A thunderous roar built in my ears, drowning out every sound as a torrent of lightning lanced from the dragon’s mouth and struck Suri square in the chest.

  Chapter 47

  “SURIIII!” I couldn’t hear my own voice over the noise in my head, getting to my feet without thinking.

  [Suri used Dauntless! HP: 1/2076]

  As the light faded, I saw a glimpse of crimson through the dust. Suri was still on her feet, clutching the edge of the shattered wall with one smoking hand. She had a pin in her teeth and the grenade in her other hand, which she lobbed at the dragon just before he wheeled back into the sky. It caught in his teeth, and he moaned, pitching from side to side as he tried to shake it loose.

  The rumbling shook my bones. It wasn’t from my panic. It was water: eight billion tons of water, rushing down the riverbed from the north in a wall of mud, stone and debris. It swamped the barracks and the aircraft hanger, closing on them like a set of white-fanged jaws as it headed for the Wall.

  My pulse thundered under my tongue as we closed in on Suri. Karalti dove with her wings drawn in, head and neck rigid, her scales burning with heat. Suri swayed as she turned to us and raised her arms. Karalti extended hers, and grabbed her, carrying her up into the air.

  “Vash!” Suri said over PM. “Get Vash!”

  I looked down. Vash was there, sprawled unconscious in a pool of blood, his right arm a shattered ruin. But he wasn’t dead – there’d been no notification.

  “I can carry him and still fly fast!” Karalti dropped down so fast my ears popped, reaching out with her hind legs.

  But I was worried. The water was almost on top of us, and the Orozlan was far away. There was no sign of the pair of dragons – that wasn’t a good thing. “Get him and teleport, Tidbit: we can jump to the Pass as planned.”

  “Roger!” Karalti delicately snatched Vash off the ground by his waist, dragging him off into the air, and flew hard and fast toward the oncoming torrent. “Malkut sah’haro-”

  Violetta appeared in front of us. One moment, our way was clear – the next, we were headed straight into a wide, blue, fang-lined maw. Karalti shrilled, then screamed as a great pair of talons seized all four of us from behind and carried us up into the sky. It was Vesper – and as his needle-sharp claws dug into Karalti’s arms, pinning them, I saw – and felt – her hands spasm with pain and Suri slide away.

  “NO!” Before I knew what I was doing, I slid down my panicked dragon’s neck, clinging to her scales as I flung out a hand, a leg, my Spear – all just a second too late as Suri slithered through Vesper’s fingers and fell toward the tsunami as it smashed into the wall, still reaching for me.

  “You live! You finish this fucking quest, Hector!” Her voice buzzed in my ear. Hard, determined. Dauntless. “I-”

  The water took her final two words as it surged toward the wall, but I knew what they were. I screamed her name, recoiling from my HUD when the audio notification appeared, as impartial as ever.

  [You have lost a Hero: Suri Ba’hadir]

  Vesper wheeled lazily in the air, booming in triumph. He was twice Karalti’s size, and held my thrashing queen dragon up against his chest and belly in a possessive clutch that turned my stomach. My eyes burned, and bile – pure, ice-cold revulsion – curdled in the pit of my belly and forced its way into the muscles of my face. I had to grieve Suri later. She wanted to win.

  Vesper began to mutter the barely-familiar words of the Teleport spell. There was no time to lose. With a snarl, I charged the Spear with Shadow Lance and rammed into the soft webbing between the dragon’s fingers. It didn’t cost him much HP, but he roared in pain – and then in alarm as the Blindness debuff took hold. It counted down fast, but it was enough to make the titan veer off course. He scooped with his wings, instinctively veering away from the Wall as a towering rush of water slammed into it and blew the whole thing out into the battlefield. The Demon had only barely begun to recall his troops, but their retreat was fouled up by the craggy, cratered terrain. Rocks the size of train cars smashed into the clamoring zombies, followed by water - so much water that it exploded whatever it hit. Korona was smashed, and as the water blasted through the gates, it ignited with oily yellow-green flames, pouring a waterfall of sulfurous fire down onto the undead below. Spectral horns began to blare up and down the line, as the army tried in vain to pull its most vulnerable troops back from the destructive torrent raging toward them. But no one or nothing could run that fast - not through the swamp.

  “What are you doing! I said Teleport!” Lucien’s angry shouting briefly broke through the thunderous noise.

  “Hold on, girl.” I activated Spider Climb and scurried up over the dragon’s hand, forearm, and up to his bulging bicep. Impressive as he looked at a distance, up close, Vesper’s scales were buckled and lifted like old wallpaper. “As soon as he lets go of you, freefall and teleport to the Pass with Vash. You have the coordinates, right?”

  “Yes. You have it on your map. But what about you!?” Karalti barked and honked as she struggled. She was so worked up that she was sweating blood through the seams of her scales, drops of mana blown away by the wind.

  “I’ll respawn wherever you are.” I climbed Vesper’s arm like a palm tree as he began to chant again, faster this time. “You have to get away. I can’t lose you, too.”

  Archemi dragons had few weak points. The only places that weren’t thick with bulletproof scales were the spaces between their fingers and toes, the lower arch of their belly around their privates, and their armpi
ts. I scaled up to the white dragon’s armpit where his arm met his wing-shoulders, got a grip, and slammed my spear into the softer flesh there. Once it was wedged in, I grit my teeth and snarled. “EAT SHIT!”

  Umbra Burst lanced out in a wave of searing, numbing cold.

  [You have inflicted the Frozen debuff!]

  An agonizing contraction wracked the dragon’s body. He let out a high-pitched squeal and flopped over on that side, the wing suddenly flapping and useless. Karalti wormed free, Vash still clutched in one back foot. She flipped over to blast the dragon’s other wing with fire, breathing the words of the spell at the same time. “Malkut sah’haro apsis!”

  My dragon folded into a single point in space and vanished. I allowed myself a second to shake with relief, then bared my teeth and began to climb.

  “What the fuck was that!? And why are we lighter all of a- Oh you fucking piece of Tier 6 trash!” Lucien was cursing his struggling dragon as Vesper powered through the debuff. “Do you know what Baldr will do to us if we don’t find her, you dumbfuck stupid-!”

  I equipped the Boots of the Winding Path with a thought, checked my quickslots, and used the saddle straps to pull myself up behind Lucien. Like me, he had passed the Trial of Marantha and could see behind his own head. He whirled, mouth hanging open for a second before he tried to run at me and nearly fell flat on his face. He was still tied to his saddle with the anchoring lines, three quick-release straps snapped to solid iron rings.

  “Kinky.” I darted at him Spear-first.

  "How the hell-!" Lucien threw his shield and lance, then pulled his swords. After gaining several hard-won levels, Lucien's movements were no longer a blur to me. But he was still fast - real fast, fast enough that I had to focus on him or risk being overwhelmed before I could follow him. As we officially entered combat, I was finally able to see his level. I hadn't had time to notice it the first time, when he'd attacked me on the parade ground. But now that he was trapped, there was time.

  “Thirty-five? You’re twenty fucking levels lower than your dragon?” I swiped at him as he slashed at the lines tethering him and stumbled back. “Damn, dude, seriously. I knew you had to be compensating for something.”

  “Fuck off!” Lucien struggled out of the last of his bondage. Even though he was terrified, he was dodging each strike without any real effort, and as soon as he remembered that he was still seventeen levels above me…

  I activated Mantle of Night with a low bass pulse of power, spun the spear around in a blur of fire and built into a sprint. He bought his swords up to block. I Jumped and landed behind him, and as he spun, slammed the crackling haft of the spear into his back like a golf club. Shattering Darkness froze his armor solid, crazing the metal and knocking his damage reduction down enough that I had a chance of actually hitting him. I only got in the one hit: he dodged the next swipes of my weapon, dancing awkwardly along Vesper's bucking back and nearly going to one knee as he veered and gravity pushed down on us. My well-trained footing was secure, but for all his Dex, Lucien hadn't been training the skills required to make best use of it.

  "Why are you always so fucking SMUG!" he spat. “You can’t lay a scratch on me, and you know it.”

  I fixed him with a steely glare down the length of my polearm. "I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I've been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Qaeda, AND I have over three hundred confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I was the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target."

  He bared his teeth, not getting the joke. "You think you're some kind of tough guy?"

  "I will beat you the heck up with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this playground, mark my words. You think you can get away with saying that baloney to me on top of this wingy-dang-dang? Think again, doodie-head. This one’s for Suri." I switched to a more age-appropriate version of my favorite vintage meme before I shot forward, boosting myself with Mantle of Night again. For ten seconds, I was almost fast as Lucien.

  He sneered, and his body ghosted out and blinked away. He shot behind me, but I was ready - with Umbra Burst. The attack barely scratched Lucien's health, but it pushed him back and gave me room to Jump as he lunged forward in a whirling, slashing attack that dripped with violet poison. I soared up in a backflip, watching the dragon's back slide from underneath me, and landed right at the base of his tail. The huge, heavy saddle was strapped down there. I tore the Spear through the leather. The broken ties began to flap in the wind.

  "You're pathetic, Hector!" Lucien snarled. "My armor has magic that stabilizes me on Vesper's back. What do you have?"

  "Practice." I sprung up again, and as Lucien lunged to meet my Jump attack, hit Master of Blades, then Rain of Glass. He screamed as the bolts struck him, as did his dragon: the attack was powerful enough to do fractional damage. I dashed on the landing and struck the cinch strap. It passed through a hole in the dragon's wing and wrapped around his belly. The band snapped, and I dashed a second time as Lucien snarled and threw his swords at me. They spun like glowing boomerangs and slashed through my immaterial form, ripping out the other side and sending me staggering forward with pain. Shadow Dance reduced damage by 90% now, but still:

  [You have taken 439 reduced damage!]

  "Die!" Lucien darted forward again, blades glowing with feral violet energy. This time, I wasn't fast enough to dodge: I blocked him with the Spear, relying on my reflexes, my training, the flash of firelight on his blades, the advantage of distance the polearm gave me. It was desperate, breathless fighting, violet light clashing with scarlet and black. Then Vesper tilted sharply to the left, and the loosened saddle slid beneath our feet. Lucien yelped with fright, the second I needed to dash in and scoot underneath him. I caught onto the saddle grips, looked up to see the rogue flying over me, eyes wide, teeth bared in an insane leer, and let go to skid and tumble toward Vesper's neck. Just in time. Lucien's blades bit deep into the thick leather, shredding it. I cut the chest strap on the way past.

  "Come on, Hector! Stop running and fight me! I'm only Level 35, right?" He leered at me as he stumbled and slipped across the unstable saddle.

  “This whole Baldr cosplay thing is weirding me out, man.” I dug the cleats of my boot down into the dragon’s back as I took a defensive stance, waiting him out. “I admit you’ve got the creepy smile down, though. And the haircut.”

  "I know what you're trying to do, Hector. You really think cutting the saddle loose will stop me?" He taunted, edging forward to keep his balance. "I already healed up from your most powerful attack. And that WAS your most powerful attack, wasn't it?"

  “Is that a rhetorical question?” I raised the spear and slashed the second-to-last strap, the one around the base of Vesper's neck. As Lucien rushed toward me, I put a boot under the edge of the saddle and kicked it up.

  It was heavy, but at the speed we were traveling, I only needed half a foot of gap for the whole thing to catch like a hang-glider canopy and lift. Lucien swore as it peeled up under his feet, and I lost sight of him as the huge flat expanse of leather and metal flapped up and to one side, caught by the one strap I hadn’t cut: the one under Vesper’s already injured arm. Suddenly, the dragon found himself having to fly with massive drag on that side, and his rhythm faltered.

  But Lucien was gone.

  He’s a Rogue class. My breath caught. Not gone as in dead. Gone as in-

  The knives took me in both shoulders, puncturing the heavy leather and metal of my armor and sliding in behind my collarbones. I Shadow Danced away just in time, and when I reappeared, I went to hands and knees, coughing blood.

  [You take 1003 reduced backstab damage!]

  [You are Bleeding!]

  [You have Tetanus! You are Paralyzed!]

  "It's useless, Hector. I always poison my weapons." Lucien drawled as he carefully half-walked, half-crawled over to me. He was hanging on with a death grip, and only his level and raw Dexte
rity was keeping him on the dragon's back. He stood over me, confident in the duration of the debuffs, and pushed me over with one foot. "Rictus Venom. Causes Paralysis that can only be removed with a Cure Disease potion. Most people try and cure it with an Antidote."

  My jaws were clenched, my muscles rigid and immobile. I began to slide helplessly across the dragon's back, halted when Lucien caught me by the foot, dragged me back, and sat on me. "Remember what I said in Cham Garai? You can't Brer Rabbit your way out of this one. Something like that. Well, you did, but I was weak, then. I'm stronger now."

  I burbled some foam from the corners of my mouth.

  He raised the sword over my head, just like he had the last time. But now, there was no weak grip, no hesitation in his dog-red eyes. Just cruelty.

  "I fucking love PvP," he laughed, and bought the blade down.

  Chapter 48

  [Purify has cured your disease!]

  [You activated Mortal Grudge!]

  Lucien struck for my heart. The blade connected just as my body turned to pure shadow, blowing apart like smoke around his weapon - the Heartstrike that he drove into his own dragon's spine.

  [Speed increased by 25% for 60 seconds. 2.5x Adrenaline Point regen for 60 seconds]

  [You have been struck with a Death Sentence! Countdown: 60 seconds.]

  Vesper shrieked, his back bowing, wings seizing as his Bonded dealt him a critical hit with a poisoned weapon. The dragon was twenty levels higher and had five figure HP, so he didn't die - but he bucked furiously, shaking and rolling in his agony.

  "What the FUUUCCCCK!!?" Lucien was flung off into the air by the force of it as I rose, a pillar of shadow and fierce, feral energy that wound through my flesh like thorns: thorns that pumped a cocktail of endorphins and adrenaline straight into my lizard brain. I felt strangely dissociated as I shot forward into the air after Lucien, the Spear raised like a javelin. The first bolt of Aether slammed into him, knocking him flying end over end, and then four others split from me and lanced at him from multiple directions, shredding armor and organs and spraying blood like ink into the air. My mind seemed to work at twice its normal speed: I Jumped, then hit Master of Blades, Rain of Glass, and then dashed forward. More shards of energy smashed into the stunned assassin, picking at his HP and knocking his weapons from his hands.