Spy: Reborn

by Angie A Huxley

  “I still think my spell could get us through,” Kip, who was the group’s Mage, said. “We don’t need to mess about with getting the right frequency and playing notes garbage.”

  “That’s what the Raven Clawers thought,” Henk replied as they stepped out into the bright sunshine and went round the back of the huge property. “They have a level 8 World Twister Conjurer riding with them and thought getting the Blight Cube would be a walk in the park. The Siren Spinner handed them their butts on a silver platter. I’m not going to make the same mistake they did.”

  “The Clawers are all morons,” grunted Brier. He put the gnoll avatar’s natural strength and affinity with weapons to good use in the Mercenary class. “They just rushed in without thinking. We’ll use strategy. I think if we do it right, Kip can get us through.”

  “We’re sticking to the plan,” Henk replied. “Casadraggrio says that using the Lute of Decimar is the only way to get past the ward, so that’s what we’re going to try. You know the parameters on this quest. We only get one shot at it.”

  They had all by now arrived at the overgrown garden at the rear of the property. Sat on a clear section of ground in its center was a strange looking flying contraption of brass and wood with a large rotor and long leather wings attached to a boxy compartment which was just about roomy enough to fit them all in.

  This was Boundless Optimism, the gnomish gyrocopter they had bought with most of the money they obtained for dealing with a gang of ogre bandits that had been preying on travellers heading in and out of the gnome town of Stremburg. Because Sonia played as a gnome herself, she had a natural affinity with gnomish machines and could pilot the craft better than the rest of them, and along with a Fast Travel enchantment courtesy of an upgrade, the gyrocopter could get them to destinations far quicker than on foot or by horse or boat. This meant that they could reach the Siren Spinner’s lair in a little over fifteen minutes rather than an hour or so.

  “Well, don’t blame me if it all goes belly up,” Kip said as they boarded the Optimism. He shot Argo a warning glance. “You better know what you’re doing, Argo.”

  “Don’t worry about him,” Aaheli said, swooping to Argo’s defense. “He knows what he’s doing. Don’t you Argo?”

  “Course I do,” Argo said as he got into one of the brass and leather chairs and strapped himself in. “I’ve been practicing with the lute a lot. I know exactly how to use its magic.”

  Brier crammed his hulking body into the seat opposite. He didn’t look convinced. “You said something similar when we took down the vampire prince in the sewers beneath Grandhope, just before we nearly got bitten to death by blood rats.”

  Argo shuddered at the memory. “This is way different. I’m ready for this one. I won’t be caught out again.”

  “I’ll believe that when I see it,” said Kip. “You were born to be caught out.”

  “Settle down back there,” Henk said from the front. Sonia had strapped herself into the pilot chair next to him and was starting up the engine. A judder went through the little compartment and the bones in Argo’s butt began to vibrate uncomfortably as the gyrocopter rose into the air.

  “Off we go everyone,” Sonia said as she gunned the controls. “Hold onto your lunches”

  The gyrocopter cleared the manor house and shot off across the verdant landscape. Though he hadn’t been lying when he said he had been practicing with the lute’s magical abilities in preparation for the quest, he was not as confident as he would have the others believe. Like with his acting, he strove to be as prepared as possible, but putting his skills into practical action did not always work out the way he hoped it would. Still, it was too late to worry about it now.

  To try and take his mind off the upcoming quest, he craned his neck to look out through the porthole. Lush forests and vast fields spread out beneath them and in the distance were the grim sentinels of the Torrenhar Mountains that girded the northern border of Drake Realm. As they moved further north, the landscape became harsher and more desolate, and they were soon travelling over a plain of barren grey earth, cracked and studded with twisted tree stumps. A large walled city rose up next to a river whose waters were brown and bubbled like hot mud. Plumes of black smoke rose up from the city itself and many of its grand-looking buildings of stone looked derelict and many had been gutted by fire. The large castle that dominated the city skyline was little more than a ruin, and a cloud of noxious yellow smoke hung above it.

  This was the city of Jarlhelm, the once magnificent capital of the Duchy of Velrona. At one time, the Duchy was one of the most prosperous and powerful territories in Drake Realm. It had been a force for good in the virtual world, providing law and order for a large portion of the allied lands beyond its borders. This came to an abrupt end thanks to the dark magic of the Siren Spinner, a malevolent ice fey who sought to extend her power and influence over the settled lands that flourished further to the south.

  Several years ago, her servants had dug up the Blight Cube from deep within the mountains and brought it to her. The Cube was an ancient necromantic artifact infused with death magic. It emanated an energy field that had turned the Duchy into a desolate wasteland and reduced the once great city of Jarlhelm to a festering heap of decay and corruption. The magic of the Cube prevented the NPCs who lived in Velrona from leaving and those who had not succumbed to disease or transformed into zombies lived in constant fear. Monsters stalked the land, providing experience and minor quests for players to build up their stats, but it was a notoriously difficult area to travel through and usually only veteran players braved the perils of the cursed Duchy.

  This state of affairs remained unchanged and it looked like the Siren Spinner was unassailable in her mountain lair, bolstered by the power of the Blight Cube. However, a few months ago, the quantum artificial intelligence known as the Over Monitor, which was responsible for regulating Drake Realm and generating a never-ending supply of random events and quests for the game’s players, decided to mix things up again.

  Three kingdoms that were once allied to the Duchy, growing concerned that the malevolent power of the Blight Cube was starting to spread into their own lands, decided to try and rectify the situation. A special quest was established where adventurers were invited to venture into the Torrenhar Mountains to destroy the Blight Cube and liberate the Duchy from its torment.

  Unlike most of the quests the Over Monitor generated, players who chose to take up the challenge would be unable to repeat it if they failed or were killed in the attempt. This was because the three kingdoms had offered a reward of two hundred thousand sovereigns and access to the Vaults of Kronda which contained a treasure trove of rare and powerful equipment and artifacts.

  A player or a team that completed the quest would advance considerably as a consequence and quite a number of attempts had been made, though all of them had ended in failure. Once the quest was completed successfully, it would never be repeated again for anyone else to try, so the stakes were high and the Manticore Crew had set their sights on it. This was going to be the most ambitious quest they had ever attempted so far, and Argo was going to play an intrinsic part in its success.

  Skirting past the miserable city, the gyrocopter headed towards the rocky foot hills that led up to the mountains and came in sight of a wide plateau. A sheer cliff wall was at the far end of the plateau and the mouth of a cavern was set at the base of the cliff. A sprawling web of icicles covered the opening and strange-looking glyphs had been carved into the rock all around it.

  Sonia brought the vehicle down to land on the edge of the plateau and the adventuring group disembarked. The pleasant summer heat of the Witchstorm Estate gave way to a bitter chill wind and the foul stench of decay came up from the corrupted landscape below.

  Henk drew his sword and peered around at their surroundings. Due to the fact that after every quest attempt the parameters of the quest completely changed (so that nobody experienced the same adventure twice), t
he Manticore Crew was on high alert. “Everyone be ready,” warned the Paladin. “Kip, do a scan, the ground might be littered with traps.”

  Kip raised his staff and muttered an incantation. A soft blue light came out of the crystal mounted on the head of the staff and touched the ground. The Mage moved the staff slowly left and right, and stepped forward. A foot or so in front of him, a glowing red pentagram with a jagged-looking rune inside of it appeared on the rocky floor.

  “Fire Jet dead ahead,” Kip said. “It’s a big one too.”

  “We’ll go right,” Henk said. “Move slowly and carefully.”

  With Kip leading the way and using the Detect Magical Trap enchantment that was built into his staff, they moved along in single file at a painfully slow pace, keeping their eyes peeled for snares or tripwires that could activate more conventional hazards.

  “Whoa,” Henk suddenly said, reaching out and grabbing Kip’s shoulder. The Mage was walking directly in front of him and stopped dead. “Don’t move a muscle.”

  “What is it?” Kip asked in a tight voice.

  “There, just by your foot,” said Sonia, coming forward and pointing.

  Argo turned to check what they were looking at and spotted a near invisible cord stretching between two boulders either side of Kip. The Crew backed up a little and Sonia knelt down to examine the cable.

  “It triggers a trapdoor,” she said at length, and taking out her dagger she deftly cut the cord. It snapped in half and activated an unseen mechanism in the one boulder. A square piece of rock gave way, revealing a long drop and a Punji pit waiting at the bottom. Kip made a face when he glanced down at the long stakes below.

  “Good thing Henk has sharp eyes,” Aaheli said with a dry smile. “Or you would have been Swiss cheese by now.”

  A few muted chuckles went through the group and Kip scowled. “I can’t be expected to scan for magic traps and look out for anything else you know. Besides, I might have been able to cast a levitation spell before I hit the bottom.”

  “Your magic’s not that good, Kip,” said Henk. “Not yet anyway. Remember, none of our abilities are that good. We’re way out of our depth coming on a quest like this. I only decided to try it because of the insider information I received from Casadraggrio. That’s the only thing that gives us the edge over the competition. We have to be extra careful at all times. Got it?”

  “I got it,” replied Brier. “If we don’t ace this, we’re going to be a laughing stock. I’m not going to risk that happening no matter what.”

  “You’re also not going to risk the sovereigns you bet that we were going to complete this quest either,” said Sonia. “You never should have shot your mouth off at the Gargoyle Inn. The less people know about what we’re doing, the better. We don’t want anyone interfering.”

  “I only told Skregg and a few of the boys about it,” Brier protested. “Not everyone knows. Plus, the Over Monitor keeps secret the identities of everyone that requests to take on a special quest and no other player can enter this area while we’re attempting this, so we’re not going to get fleeced.”

  “I still say we should be discreet,” Sonia said.

  Argo sighed, wishing that they would stop bickering and get on with it. His nerves were ragged by now, and he was just waiting for something to go wrong—it always did, and more often than not it was thanks to his goofiness.

  As the Manticore Crew made its way around the Punji trap, Argo did take heart from the fact that it was Kip and not him that nearly ended up skewered. Kip was always boasting at how good his magic skills were, and he was quick to rip into Argo when he made a blunder.

  Well, this time Kip couldn’t put the blame on him. This time it had been Kip who had not been looking where he was going and had ended up with egg on his face. It just went to prove that nobody was perfect and that Argo had not made a single mistake since they got here. Maybe his luck had changed and things were going to turn out better than expected? Maybe destroying the Blight Cube might not be so difficult after all?

  Suddenly, his foot pressed something metallic and he heard a loud click. A spear of dread went through him and he stopped dead. Aaheli, who was walking behind Argo, let out a sharp breath.

  “Guys, what was that?”

  “I don’t know, but it sounded like trouble,” Henk said. “Did someone step on something back there?”

  Argo looked down at the metallic disk under his foot. It was caked in thick dust and barely visible against the rock floor. “Sorry guys.”

  Brier swung his grizzly head around and scanned the landscape. “No trap has sprung. Whatever it was, it hasn’t done anything.”

  “Might be a dud trap,” said Sonia. “Looks like we might have caught a lucky break.”

  Just as she said that, a few feet away to the left of the party, a slab of rock opened upwards, revealing a secret compartment. There was a strange metallic rasping sound from within the compartment and Argo watched in horror as dozens of large spiders spewed up from below onto the plateau. The spiders were roughly three feet high and four feet long and made of dazzling blue crystal. As Argo watched them swarm towards the Manticore Crew, his HUD brought up the stats of the monsters:

  Crystalline Spiders

  Level

  03

  Health

  10

  Stamina

  20

  Because Argo was still a low level player, he was unable to access the monster’s other stats such as strength, constitution levels and so on; only players at level ten or over got access to more specialist information.

  Those were pretty standard opponents for players with the Crew’s experience, but the Crystalline Spiders’ bite could freeze its victim for thirty seconds—which was a lifetime when in combat. Argo counted at least forty if not more of the monsters coming towards them, and his gut twisted; so many of the monsters in one assault could wipe them all out in a matter of minutes.

  “Get back!” Henk yelled to Argo, bringing up his sword in a defensive motion. “Brier! Sonia! Keep him safe!”

  The Rogue and Mercenary took up positions in front of Argo, while Aaheli, Kip and Henk made to face the oncoming attackers. Aaheli nocked one arrow, gripped another in her fingers, and loosed them one after the other. She caught one of the spiders straight in the center of its head, bringing it down instantly with a critical strike. The other arrow took a large chunk of health out of the monster next to it. Kip’s hand glowed with yellow light and he began casting several energy bolts into the swarm, shattering the crystalline legs of the first wave and causing those scuttling behind them to collide into their fallen companions to create an undignified heap.

  Henk swept forward and struck out with his longsword, bringing it down on crystal bodies and legs with heavy calculated blows. Semi-transparent numbers flashed up over the monsters, indicating how many HP they lost to the Crew’s assaults. The three of them formed a defensive wall and the spiders focused their attention solely on the adventurers, giving Argo, Brier and Sonia breathing space. Sonia stocked herself with a decent supply of stacked shurikens in her ghost pack. Argo watched on as she hurled them strategically, cutting into the monsters’ health bars, helping Henk, Kip and Aaheli in thinning down their ranks.

  Argo observed the battle from his protected position. He had drawn his short sword, but did nothing with it. He was not the best when it came to combat, but he wanted to do his part to help his friends. When he edged forward, Brier ordered him bluntly to stay back. Argo was the only member of the Crew who could effectively use the enchantments worked into the Lute of Decimar, which would dispel the defense ward that protected the Blight Cube. Without him, they would never be able to successfully complete the quest, though Kip would beg to differ. But following Henk’s plan, it was vital that Argo stay unharmed.

  Forced into the role of anxious observer, Argo remained in position. Despite the disparity in numbers, Henk, Aaheli and Kip wer
e holding their own and the number of crystalline spiders had reduced considerably. The spiders attacked savagely with single-minded determination, yet they could not gain the upper hand against the Crew’s discipline and solid combat formation.

  Henk sliced through the onslaught with languid grace, chopping through legs and crystalline braincases while being covered by Aaheli’s arrows and Kip’s destruction magic. Becoming more engrossed in the fighting, the Paladin pushed deeper into the throng of spiders, eager to try and take down as many as he could. As each monster fell, they released several purple orbs of experience which Henk, Aaheli and Kip automatically absorbed as they were closest to the action.

  This spurred Henk on, and in a sudden act of rashness, he made a full frontal attack at a cluster of six crystalline spiders to his right. He struck down four in quick succession, but the fifth dodged his strike as he rushed forward to finish the job. In doing so, he ignored the sixth spider which suddenly jumped onto his back before Kip or Aaheli could do anything.

  Henk let out a sharp yell and tried to shake the creature off him. It clung on with savage tenacity and bit deep the exposed flesh on the side of his neck. Henk stiffened and a patina of glowing frost spread over his face and body. He stood rigid, sword in mid-strike, as the crystalline spider’s paralysis took hold.