Archemi Online Chronicles Boxset

by James Osiris Baldwin

  "Me? Oh, I'm alright! I stepped up to help fight at Krivan Pass and got killed a few times. Okay, look: you know what an undead is, right? Zombies, vampires, ghosts. Do you know what those are?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. If you see any walking dead, be really, really careful. You’re probably in enemy territory. You should check your character sheet to see if that jogs your memory, maybe."

  "Sure. Hey, I got a pop-up before saying I should log out and talk to a Mod about this memory loss thing. Do you know how I can do that? Maybe they can help."

  "Hector, we… " Rin trailed off. "I.. umm… Let me get Karalti."

  She hung up on me. With a sigh, I closed the window and went deeper into the Character Log. There was a Journal with a High Priority alert and one entry: ‘IF YOU DIE AND FORGET YOUR SHIT, READ THIS LIKE A MAN.’

  “Okay. At least I know past-me was smart.” I opened it up and let the voice log entry play.

  “Greetings, my future amnesiac self. It’s me, Past-Hector,” my own voice said cheerfully. “We’ve at war, where the risk of needing to die and respawn is pretty high, but we’ve had a problem with dying and forgetting shit. This is a brief summary of everything that’s happened in the last month or so. I suggest you pause this here, go look at your character sheet, then come back. Don’t worry, I’ll wait. For you. I mean… me.”

  Knowing I’d prepared for this eventuality was a hell of a relief. Feeling steadier, I surfed over to the Character Sheet tab. "Let's see here. Dragozin Hector, Tuun male, Level 21, Dark Dragoon... Nasaku Half-Blood Shadowlord? Dude, I’m edgy as fuck. No wonder I only have one friend."

  I scrolled through the rest of the sheet, looking over my abilities and skills. There were a lot of things related to dragons, so that was clearly a big part of my life somehow. Underneath all of that was information on the Nasaku Halfblood part of things.

  Vampire Halfblood (Nasaku)

  Vampires of all types reproduce by infecting their intended thralls with Hemostigma, a disease which reanimates a corpse with Negative Energy and causes them to rise as new vampires. But every now and then, things do not go as planned - the victim resists the infection and becomes something else - a half-vampire, half-mortal being with some of the hungers, powers and abilities of a Vampiric linage, but also some of the weaknesses. These abilities stack with any other existing mutations you possess. Vampires loathe halfbloods and will hunt any known half-vampires relentlessly, not least because they can inoculate potential victims by sharing their blood with them.

  The Nasaku are a vampire lineage exclusive to the living dead realm of Napath. See the Nasaku Bloodline sub-heading for special features.

  All Vampire Halfbloods possesses the following features:

  Acquired immunity to Hemostigma.

  Inoculation: You can inoculate other humanoids against contracting vampirism with your blood.

  Vampiric toxicity: Your blood and flesh are toxic to vampires, causing their tissues to rot and slough away. If a vampire attempts to drain your blood, they will take substantial Necrotic damage that cannot be regenerated.

  Deathly Facade: You outwardly resemble a vampire of your bloodline, detect as Undead, and may gain advantages or disadvantages to Renown-based checks depending on the faction you are interacting with. You may slow your heart rate and your breathing to inhuman levels, multiplying your ability to hold your breath in airless environments. However, you are not Undead: you are still a living mortal, and while you now age more slowly than a normal human, you must still breathe, eat and drink, keep your vital organs functioning, etc.

  Immune to Stranging: You can no longer be Stranged through contact with mana.

  Regeneration: like a vampire, you are able to regenerate wounds that would kill a normal human. When injured by normal weapons or obstacles, you regain 2 HP per second. Damage from silver weapons, Fire magic or weapons, or Dark or Light-elemental weapons is not regenerated.

  Allergic to Silver: Contact with Silver drains 5HP per second and causes Severe pain. Extended contact may cause scarring.

  Nasaku Bloodline Traits

  Descended from the undead Priest-Kings of Napath, the Nasaku have some unusual monstrous qualities that other vampires do not possess. Their hard metallic skin and fangs, their mechanism of feeding and resistance to sunlight are a few traits that distinguish these vampires from their pale northern cousins.

  Necrolord: The Vampire’s power to command animal Familiars does not apply to Nasaku. Instead, the vampires of Napath can call and command a single type of Undead at will. Nasaku Halfbloods also possess this ability, but their power is far more limited. You are a Shadowlord, able to raise and command wraiths and shadows. See your Magic skills list for details.

  Sunwalker: Unlike other vampires, the Nasaku are not damaged by sunlight and will not be killed if exposed to the sun. They are still sensitive to light, however, and you suffer a -10% penalty to all physical and mental skills in bright sunlight. Concealing clothing, shadowed terrain, and elemental Darkness Area of Effect spells can protect you from the sun. Regardless, you are now effectively nocturnal: you gain the Well Rested bonus only when sleeping in the daytime. Sleeping at night only leaves you Rested, no matter your environment or the quality of your bed.

  Will Worker: The Nasaku are renowned for their patience and willpower, which is exceptional even in the realm of vampires. You gain Enhanced Dexterity (+5) and Will (+10).

  Death Mask: The Nasaku are readily distinguished by their hardened, metallic skin and teeth. Very old vampires of this bloodline appear to be carved from old metal or stone, taking on an eerily sculptural appearance. This is a trait shared by Halfbloods.

  Elemental Weakness: All undead usually take extra damage from the Dark and Light elements, while being largely immune to Time magic. Due to their close relationship with the desert, the Nasaku instead take extra damage from Dark and Water elemental effects and are unaffected by Earth magic. Halfbloods share this elemental alignment to a lesser extent, taking +0.5x damage from Dark or Water magic and -0.5x damage from Earth spells and effects.

  Sand Form: Instead of a gaseous or animal swarm form, Nasaku vampires have the ability to dissolve into sand and reform at will. As a halfblood, you do not gain this trait. However, you are able to see and track a transformed vampire of your linage when they are in sand form.

  Vampiric Hunger: The Nasaku crave both flesh and blood, using their fearsome teeth to tear the former and their hypodermic fingers to drain the latter. You must consume 50 points of Mana from a living, sentient creature at least once per week to sustain yourself. If you do not find a way to feed your hunger, you will become a Revenant: a berserk killing machine with no self-restraint who attacks any living being in their path. After consuming 100 points of mana from one or more living creatures, you will collapse into torpor and rise after 24 hours of rest.

  Cradle of Sand: You regenerate your hitpoints and reduce fatigue at double speed if you are buried in sand. You will not regenerate hit points or fatigue while you are immersed in water.

  “Great.” I jumped back to the character log and checked the timestamps. This had happened to me recently, it seemed. I fired up the Journal entry again.

  “Okay, so I’m going to assume you went to look at the sheet and know who we are,” my past-self said. “Hopefully you haven’t been turned into a vampire or anything, because this is how shit went down…”

  Oops. I listened for a good ten minutes, taking it all in while my HP trickled back in. It was strange listening to myself talking, especially when Past-Hector gave an overview of his relationships: Karalti, Suri, Rin, Istvan and Vash, Soma, and others. Despite my cramped quarters, the sand did feel good. I scratched my cheek, frowning as the audio began talking about ‘the Demon’ and his armies. While I listened to that, I went to search for evidence of Suri in my logs, and was browsing them when a lovely, sweet voice broke through my thoughts.

  "Hector? It’s me, Karalti. You're alive, but what happened
to you? The last thing I saw was you jumping down to fight the creepy lady. Then I felt you… I felt you die over and over again."

  “Hey, hey, Karalti… it’s okay.” A dizzying warm flood of draconic anxiety, love, and concern washed over me like warm water. My head spun. “I’m okay, but I'm not in a good position right now. Don't worry, though - I'll find a way out of this. Rin said you could teleport to my location?"

  “I can, but you need to have a location marker on your map.” Karalti’s tone darkened with agitation. “I don’t see one, and Rin said you can’t remember anything. Did you die lots of times or something?”

  “Uhh… I think I died once, very thoroughly.”

  “Okay. Try and work out where you are, okay?"

  "Roger that." The footsteps were getting closer. "I'll be in touch. I've got company."

  "Okay." There was a pause, and a swell of emotion so intense that my breath caught. "I love you… even if you can't remember me."

  I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the sensation strengthen my resolve. “I love you too.”

  Karalti cut the link, and suddenly, I was back to my cold, sandy reality. I swallowed, composed myself, and fell still as the heavy stone lid above me began to slide to one side.

  The lid tumbled off, and two leathery, well-preserved ghouls reached for me. Sand slid from my body as they lifted me up under the armpits, helping me to sit upright. The first thing I saw was a big, brawny, bronze-skinned man with piercing dark eyes that gleamed with satisfaction.

  “Yes. Perfect.” He nodded. “Show me your hands.”

  I held them up. My hands and forearms gleamed with a dull, dark iron sheen, as if I had dipped them in filings. The nails were short, thick and pointed. I felt my face. Sharp features... sharp teeth. Teeth that sounded like metal when I tapped my nail against them. My skin was cool to the touch all over. When I felt my neck, there was no pulse - but I felt my heart fluttering in my chest.

  The giant carried a weapon in one hand: a beautifully made steel spear, glinting with traceries of scarlet light. When he saw me looking at it, he grinned widely, baring a set of interlocking, shark-like fangs. “Come, Hector. There is one final test.”

  Slowly, I pulled myself out of the sarcophagus and hopped down to the ground. They’d left my pants on – that was nice of them. I crossed to the giant and stood at ease, not sure what he wanted.

  He held his wrist to me. “Place your left finger on my pulse and drink. One swallow… it will seal your status as my Damu.”

  Hesitantly, I took his wrist in my hands. There was no pulse, but through my fingers, I could somehow see the map of veins underneath his skin when I closed my eyes. No sooner had I realized that than my nails began to lengthen and narrow, until the end was a perfectly sharp needle point. I flexed my index finger in against his wrist. It broke the skin with a snap, sliding into the vein. I breathed in, chest rattling, and felt icy energy slide up through my finger, along my arm toward my heart. And when it hit… a warm glow suffused me, a combination of afterglow and the sensation of the best meal I’d ever had, all wrapped up in one heart-shuddering moment of contentment. The symbol on the back of my other hand, my right hand, burned with an unpleasant sensation.

  “Good.” He held the spear out to me. "Welcome to eternity, my child. Take your weapon and ready yourself for a cold journey. We have a great work to accomplish."

  Nodding absently, I took the Spear - and as I did, a powerful sense of deja vu swept over me, and then a sense of warm fullness as memories of the very recent past shunted into my brain like a download. Suddenly, I knew exactly what I had to do.

  I smiled up at Ashur like he was my favorite person in the world. I hoped it was a good performance: my life, the lives of my friends, and the life of a god depended on it. “Yes… Sire.”

  Chapter 51

  The four of us left for the Dragon Gate just after sunset: Ashur, Violetta, myself, and Violetta’s dragon.

  "There." I pointed at the wobbling, gleaming star in the sky. "If we fly for that, the Gate and the Thunderstones should be where its orbit passes over the mountains."

  "Excellent." Ashur was decked out in his golden war finery, a great hooked sword strapped to his belt, and a scepter in his hand. The scepter was carved of ivory and was set with a star sapphire the size of an eyeball: a stunning blue-black crystal with a brilliant white flash. It called to me and the Spear like a long-lost lover. "Once we have slain the Black God, I will have Hector summon his Queen dragon. Thus the bargain shall be fulfilled between your Master and I. I am only glad it did not require another war."

  "We will need Hector and the Spear for the other gods," Violetta replied. "My emperor will pay you handsomely."

  The vampire chuckled. "In other stones, perhaps?"

  Violetta fixed him with a blank stare. “You will have enough power to save your homeland. I would not push his generosity.”

  I smiled like a doofus and nodded to everything my new 'Master' had to say. After watching me take my first vampiric baby steps, he was utterly confident that I was just another happy little undead thrall. Violetta didn't seem so sure. I made a point of staring hungrily at the back of her neck as her creaking Blue dragon climbed into the icy cold vault of the sky.

  “I can use a spell to triangulate an approximate position,” Violetta said. Her voice grated on my ears, which seemed slightly more sensitive than I recalled. “We will make several jumps, so as to get an accurate location.”

  "As you wish." The elder vampire wasn't strapped onto the dragon. He hung on with one clawed hand, gazing up to the stars and enjoying the sensation of the wind on his face. "Long have I waited for this day, Hector. I look forward to showing you my homeland as it is restored to its former glory! The Hanging Gardens, the mighty rivers, the artists and metalworkers!"

  I glanced past the spread of information in my HUD to see if he was looking to me for an answer, but he wasn't. I had several windows open: my Quests window, the ArchemiWiki, the character log. "What about my dragon, sire?"

  "What use does a future master of life and death have for dragons?" Ashur boomed. "Vainglorious, petty, selfish creatures. You are the child of Ashur of the Ten Thousand Swords! You have the makings of a masterful tactician, destined for far greater things than mooning around after one dragon. You could have the power of a thousand dragons! A thousand queens! With Matir's power, we will go on to conquer Vlachia, then Dakhdir. You have the Ruby – perhaps we will take Khors as well."

  "Yeah, for sure. The more the merrier." I tried my best to sound enthused, still listening to my HUD narrator as she read out my quest updates.

  [Sub-Quest failed: Bayou Warriors]

  [You gain 725 EXP: Completed Subquests]

  [You have new Quest Updates!]

  Unto Death

  Myszno, in the south-east of Vlachia, was formerly one of the most beautiful places in the country. Now it is a ruin, blighted by undeath and ruled by a powerful vampire lord.

  You accepted a grant to travel to this troubled land and reclaim it from the vampire’s claws – a terrible proposition, given how powerful he has become. But with great risk comes great reward. You could become a true Count in Vlachia, with land, property, and income.

  After fighting to unite the Myszno Defense Force, you decisively smashed the Demon’s Army against the walls of the Prezyemi Line, though at great cost. Now it is time to finish what you started. Karhad and Egbolt are within your grasp - will you succeed, or will you die trying?

  Difficulty: Level 20+ (extraordinary)

  Rewards: EXP, 60 build points, Charter to Resettle the Duchy of Myszno.

  The Shrine of the Elder Gods

  Follow the Star - and remember, Herald: be subtle and clever.

  Everything blanked out as the blue dragon rumbled the words of a spell. I paused in my listening as reality folded in around us like a sheet, enclosing us in a black nothingness. When it unfurled, we were hanging over a range of wild, snowcapped black mountains. Gusts of sno
w and ice blew into our faces, skittered over the dragon’s scales.

  Violetta held her hands up, palms facing one another as they glowed. “Next jump. Brace.”

  We vanished a second time, and a third... each time, appearing over steep mountainous taiga. A black river cut through the narrow stone valley below. deepening and becoming more thunderous each time we blinked between locations. On the fourth try, we appeared into a raging storm, hovering over the lip of a waterfall that plunged down into a black abyss of space. Across the crevasse were two enormous obelisks that stretched up from the depths to a height greater than the nearest mountain. The monuments spat and arced with power. When the swirling clouds overhead convulsed with lightning, the obelisks drew the blasts and channeled them, absorbing the energy into the glowing vertical lines of script that decorated them.

  “The Thunderstones,” I murmured.

  Ashur rumbled. “Do you feel the way it makes your blood crawl, boy? The Dark God hates the dead.”

  This area didn't feel bad to me. It felt like an old graveyard. Peaceful, but spooky. The Mark of Matir throbbed dully on the back of my right hand. “Yeah. This is the place.”

  “Tempest doesn’t like it,” Violetta said. “Be on guard.”

  The great blue dragon soared into the canyon, breaching the fog and revealing the mouth of a great cave that was so perfectly dark that even my wildly enhanced vision couldn’t penetrate it. Only a dragon or other flying creature could have reached this place - and even a dragon struggled to enter. Tempest’s wing-tips grazed the entry to the cavern, and he grunted in displeasure as we flew deep into the heart of the great mountain that loomed above.