by J R Davis
I regained consciousness to the feeling of a few hard slaps in the face. I opened my eyes, groggy and squinted at the figure in front of me.
“Well well, look who’s awake, Thank you for joining us in this auspicious occasion,” Ignis said smugly. He, Gnarl, and the elf archer from before all stood before me. Stood a lot taller than they should actually be. I tried to move only to realize exactly why, I was buried in the ground up to my neck. This was not good, no hands means no spells, messaging, or commands. I tried to reach out to the group via mental party chat, but was only met with an “out of range” notification.
I did what little looking I could of my surroundings, mostly desert with some grass patches, not even any mobs in sight. To which Ignis seemed to pick up on, judging by his ever widening grin.
“You see Robin, when I was a kid, I loved those old western movies. Not so much the heroes, always so predictable No, I liked the villains” he said, splaying his arms out wide. “You see, they were clever, crafty little devils who devised all sorts of tricks and torture. One such example gave me the idea for today” Ignis finished as he pointed behind me. I couldn’t look, of course, but I suspect that may have been the point. What exactly did he have planned here?
“Judging by that quizzical expression on your face, I take it you’d like me to explain,” Ignis said with a toying wink, crouching down to get as close to eye level as he could. “You see, a few miles due west of Nocturne there is a desert and in that desert, there is a dungeon with giant ants. They being the super predators of this area, there's not much else here”. Pointing behind me he continued, “few meters that way is the dungeon, they ain’t crazy high level but don’t need to be when it's 200 to 1and you barely got your neck to ground level”
“So you are just going to feed me to some ants?” I asked, more to confirm than a question. I had never been to this area, not surprised that Ignis would pull some shit like this though. He always gave me those hannibal vibes with how suave he was always trying to be, creepy shit.
“Basically yeah, I’m sorry it's not up to your standards, but we really must be going. They already aggroed, us being so close and all. Next time you may want to reconsider before meddling in our affairs, course pretty soon the village is gonna burn either way” the Cleric said as his eyes burned a crimson red. “Meddle again and I’ll take a more involved role in your punishment.” he added and proceeded to take off with his group mates.
As they got more distance and their footsteps no longer left and audible crunch in the ground, another sound was brought to my attention. The clicking and clacking of numerous insectile feet headed towards me. Louder and louder the clacking sound became until it was only a few feet shy of me. Still, I was not being able to even turn my head back to see my would be assailants.
Then, an ant torso skittered over my head as I felt the antenna of another ant brush the back of my neck. They were about the size of an adult pit bull. For a moment there was nothing. Presumably, the ants were trying to figure out what I was. That silence, however, was broken as I felt a tear on my ear, then the back of my head. Next another and another giant ant walked into full view, this one grabbing at my nose as the other took up position behind it. I yelled out in pain as my hp bar quickly depleted. 75%, 52%, 21%, the numbers dropped quickly as it became harder and harder to maintain consciousness. With a sickening crunch, my hp bar hit zero and the world went faded from view.
It was then that I drifted out of my body and two options popped up in front of me, wait for resurrection or respawn. Knowing I had no nearby friends to aid me, I moved to press respawn and my spirit form was pulled back into my body like a dog on a leash. The world going black as I plunged into darkness.
I awoke with a gasp in town. I was standing upright, in the middle of the same busy square I started the game in. Looking myself over I didn’t see anything out of place. My equipment looked to all be there. Didn’t look like I really lost any experience either. I did, however, notice a system message my inbox along with one from Ogma titled “Where you??”. Wanting to make sure everything was in order before talking with the gang, I set my attention on the system one. The gist of the information within stating that pre level 10, no exp penalty for death. Naturally, post 10 you would be on your own.
Next, I looked into Ogma’s message. Apparently Okane’s match had ended in a heavy loss from Hades and the group actually was wondering where I was. I had just disappeared right before the match and when any of them had tried to party chat me it gave that same “out of range” response. I quickly typed that I got jumped by Ignis and would give more details in person when I got back and sent the message. Bummer I missed Okane’s fight but We had bigger fish to fry.
“If you've finished playing catch up, I’d like a moment of your time” that same familiar voice called from behind. I whirled back only to find Ignis leaning against a nearby building. The man was paying an irregular amount of attention to his nails. Going for the typical nonchalant gesture I was guessing. A more important notion being, why the hell was he here?
Seeing that he had my attention, the man continued. “See how easy it was to get here first? I could easily lock you in a death loop. Stay outta my business, will you?” Ignis said with a pointed look before turning on his heels and taking several strides away. As he left Ignis raised his right arm and made a looping motion with his index finger. Scare tactics, really, he was going to have to try harder. Of course, I could tell him off, but I’d much rather show the man. We had 2 in-game weeks before shit hit the fan and I had preparations to make.
I resummoned Charon, filling him in on what happened while he was out. Glad that I even could without a body. Perks of being a companion minion I suppose. The skeleton was not pleased to hear Ignis had gotten away, but we both knew he was gonna get it soon enough. By the time I made it back to the tournament grounds almost 3 game hours had passed. My time with Ignis likely accounting the majority of that missing time. I had no idea how long I was out before the cleric woke me. I met back up with Ogma and the crew, filling them in on my end of things. Apparently they had wanted to go looking for me and had been allowed to drop from the tournament to that effect. The Wolf’s Blood guild not being happy about it, but they had already seen enough of what we had to offer. Everyone, including Okane, had been allowed to join as trial members. We were to report in a few days for our initial briefing.
“It’s still pretty surprising that the guy kidnapped you in public” Lia commented. A mix of confusion and disgust battling for control of her face.
“I’m more surprised he got away with it, but people did have a pretty good distraction” Ogma added while gesturing with his head back towards the tournament.
“Yeah, the first thing he did was K.O. Charon before he could free me then silenced me so I couldn't call for help” I said with a shrug. The guy was a dick, but he was a decent strategist, I’d give him that. I’d almost call this a classic battle of good vs evil but, in our case, it’d be evil vs Morey Grey aligned depends on my mood sort of deal. I’d leave the white knighting stuff for the paladins and the M’ladies.
“Sounds pretty sucky, but I guess we should fill the guild in about that, now that we have a membership. That, and sort out what the battle plan is for kicking Ignis’s ass” Okane suggested and motioned us to go with him. “Oh, and before I forget…” he added slowly as he brought up his interface. After a bit of scrolling and a few affirmations, a notification popped up in the center of my screen. “Join Knights Of The Wolf’s Blood?” With the options for yes and no. I motioned yes and the window disappeared. A moment later a guild emblem of a white wolf's head from the side appearing next to my name. “Welcome to the guild, man.”
After filling in Lethe and the guild about what happened with Ignis, Morrigan suggested we use our remaining time to tackle a nearby dungeon. The reasoning being it’d help us level and work on better teamwork.
“I vote we try Hernes Forest, it's for lvls 6-10 and our party should b
e able to handle as it’s mostly animals and ghosts from what I've heard” Morrigan reasoned then the thief pointed due north.
“Well, at our levels we should be a shoo-in and we could use some good loot too” Ogma agreed, putting his arm around his sister.
“To that end, I also vote we try some combination attacks while there” Okane added. “We fight a bit too separately, even when together, and need to fix that so we will be a force to be reckoned with” the merchant continued as he strode ahead of the two towards our destination.
“I’m down, if we had to fight wolves again I was gonna lose it” I joked and fell into place behind them. Our group then made strides towards my very first dungeon brawl. As we made our way out past the tournament grounds and into the countryside, I could see that Charon was just a bit more vigilant, a bit more on edge.
The walk was a long one, far longer than I’d have expected in an MMO. I guess fast traveling either was not yet a thing or needed to be unlocked. Needless to say, I wasn’t too happy about the 45-minute trek to the dungeon's entrance. Still, the place definitely gave the “enter at your own risk” vibe.
Mere feet in front of us stood a gigantic forest full of ancient trees and thick brush. The entrance being a large shroud in the shape of a colossal door. Nothing could be seen past the large entrance yet it gave me the distinct impression that once in the only way out was through.
“And here we are,” Morrigan said with clear anticipation in her tone. Her daggers suddenly appearing in her hands as she turned around giving each a quick twirl.
“Yes, and here is the out plan” Okane added as he took a position in front of the large doorway. “We are going to use our normal formations with Ogma in the front with Morrigan and myself as DPS and semi off tanks for Robin and Lia.” Lia then taking a moment to quickly raise her hand.
“Excuse me, but do either of us really need a tank? We kinda brought our own” Lia commented and pointed with her thumb to the two Skeletons behind her. “They don’t have quite as much hp as you, but that's what a big friggin shield is for.”
“Ok then, new plan. Ogma in the front with the two skel bros on the sides guarding the rest of us and supporting Ogma in his tanking. Morrg can do thief stuff while they are distracted and you two blast em to high hell” Okane replied, raising his hand to his forehead and trying to rub the frustration out. “But here is the big part, we need to have better teamwork. So Morrigan, if someone roots an enemy, capitalize on that and use the shadows to aid in your positioning.” With all in agreeance, we passed through the shroud.
As the smoke cleared, we found ourselves on a small pathway amidst the colossal trees where an opening presented itself about a quarter-mile ahead into a clearing. It was a large circular meadow with various deer grazing. All five of them raised their heads to examine us, and to figure out whether or not we were threats. As they did so an ominous disembodied voice hailed us. “Begone from my lands, depart now or leave your bodies behind” it called.
“The boss maybe?” Ogma asked aloud.
“Well either that or his secretary” Lia replied. She took one step forward only to be met with piercing glares from the nearby wildlife. It was not just the deer either. It felt as if from all angles we were being watched.
“Why don’t we ask him ourselves then?” I added, having Charon move in front of and beside Ogma. “He certainly sounds like a gracious host.”
“Might as well get into position then, Ogma front and center, the rest of you know what to do” Okane ordered and we all moved into position. Our group taking a few steps forward with no real response, but after we got about 20 feet from the deer, the three bucks stomped their hooves at us and lowered their heads. Their large antlers a warning to any who would get too close. Realizing the fight was on any second, Ogma took his bear form and let out a mighty roar. The taunt causing even the three bucks to stiffen up a moment before inevitably falling into a charge.
The frontmost deer crashed into Ogma antlers first. The bear's large arms taking the brunt of the hit so his vitals wouldn’t. Having the primary target occupied, the remaining two aggressors plowed into Bonejamin and Charon with their large antlers clanking against the tanks shields. As they did so I triggered Grasping Hands on Ogma’s attacker. Morrigan then used Back Stab and dropped down onto the grounded bucks daggers first. The blades pierced the prone target dealing increased damage and taking a sizeable chunk from the deers' hp.
Morrigan rolled back into Ogma’s shadow yelling “blast em!” As she did. She didn’t need to tell us twice for Lia and I then unleashed hell. Barraging the injured buck with orbs as the other two struggled against our companions. As the primary deer’s hp dropped dangerously low, something odd began to happen. The two hinds that had stayed back were stamping and raising to their hind legs. I could see the telltale signs of magic welling up, something was coming.
“Guys, the other two deers are up to something!” I yelled and pointed with my staff. Our grouped responding just a second too slowly as the grounded deer was enveloped in a greenish-blue light. It had been healed up to full health and had a blueish aura about it. The two hinds kept up their casting, rendering that same blue aura to the other two attackers.
“That's not good,” Lia said with a grimace.“We are gonna have to deal with those two before we can handle the males”.
“You and Robin go take care of those two, we will buy as much time as we can” Okane replied as he took an axe swing at Bonejamins aggressor. The attack barely piercing the blue glow. The deer then bucking Okane and knocking him to the ground. At the same time, the two other bucks mirrored each other as they pushed Ogma and Charon back, their guards no longer suited to hold them. The blue aura apparently being a dual defense and offense buff, making it near impossible to take out the male deer without dealing with the hinds first.
Lia and I started off at a run towards the two deer. They took quick notice of our closing in and retaliated by casting something new. They both stomped their feet and lashed their heads about as a brown aura appeared right where we were about to step.
“Heads up we got incoming!” I yelled as earth spikes broke through the ground, piercing us both for 110 damage and sending us rolling forward.
“Root em, no dancing means no casting!” Lia ordered. I nodded and we both raised our staffs to meet each deer. Employing Grasping Hands once more the surprised animals could only yell in surprise as the skeletal limbs pulled them to the forest floor.
“Good, now focus on the one to the right, shut her down before they can team up again” Lia again commanded. I compiled and we both took aim at the rooted figure. Volley after volley was shot at the deer as we rained down hell upon it. The rooting effect losing its strength after a few volleys yet the injured animal was held in place by our attacks.
“You guys about done? We could use a little help over here!” Okane yelled, clearly struggling to hold his bearings against his own opponent.
“Well, I was planning on catching up on some Flix after this, but in your case I can make an exception” I called back as we closed in on the two hinds. Lia occupied the uninjured one as Proceeded to use Drain to sap what little hp the deer had left. I knew I had to immobilize the animal yet my root was still on cooldown. Naturally, I did the only thing I could and mounted it to ensure it wouldn’t be able to run off. In theory, it wasn’t a bad plan, but in application, it was a damn stupid thing to do.
The second I mounted and used Drain, the deer went wide-eyed. Bucking and squirming to its feet with myself still draining the creature as it darted off in literally every direction. I went from necromancer to cowboy in .5 seconds as the thing bucked and twirled about. Even as I clung to its neck for deer life (hah get it?) the draining stayed active since I still had direct contact.
“Woo! Ride em cowboy!” Ogma cheered before letting out a loud “ack!” as the antlers on his opponent punctured his shoulder.
“Not helping!” I cried as the deer spun itself into a stupor and m
e along with it. Still, the damage was racking up and the deer showed such as it slowly winded down, its movements becoming sluggish. In one last attempt to finish it off, I aimed my staff at the deer's head and activated Dark Orb at point-blank. The blast dealing 97 damage to the prone target and finishing it off in one fell swoop. A notification popping up to let me know I had gotten 105 experience for the creature. I was glad for the experience, but my job was far from done.
By the time I had finished my career as a ranch hand Lia had already dispatched her hind. Myself getting a little bit of experience for my prior efforts. We both turned our attention to our remaining party members. It seemed that during our own skirmish with the hinds, the remaining group had to double up just to not be trampled by the empowered bucks. The hinds now dead though caused the buff on them to dissipate, leaving just normal woodland assholes in their wake.
The bucks did have some damage, especially the one Morrigan had happened to have been fighting, but such was minimal. Now that the buff was gone it was open season so they best call me Elmer. Getting into range, Lia and I rooted 2 of the 3 bucks. The remaining target being handled by Morrigan. I had faith she could handle it until we freed up the tanks. Seeing that their opponents were locked down, Ogma and Okane along with the skel bros wasted no time ganging up on the two they were facing. In a flurry of slammed claws, axe blows, and shield bashes, the two bucks rendered into deer jerky by the zealous group.
Our quarry now finished, Okane handed Ogma a healing potion. Ogma taking it gratefully with a nod then proceeding to uncork the tiny bottle.
“Not that I’m not grateful for the potion, but what do we do if someone gets critically injured during a fight?” the large man asked.
Well, Zootwick and I did create a sort of fix for that, but I am not sure whether you would appreciate it on the fly” Okane replied with a bit of a frown. He then moved and pulled out an orb of about the potions size. The material looking something akin to thin leather.