Look for the cracks between the plates. She could do that.
The problem was the plates kept moving, and the opening was there one second and covered the next. It was going to take her a minute to figure out how to fire an arrow that would damage the scorpion. There was a chance she might be better off running in and stabbing the fucker with her new hunting knife. Eight legs and a tail dripping with poison was a lot to worry about, but if she couldn’t do damage from a distance, Lorelei would have to get up close and nasty.
The scorpion was fully focused on Neema now. The warrior was holding her own, but for how long? Without help, all it would take is one missed step, and the Desert Wolf would be dead. Not that the warrior noticed. She smiled at death as if this fight was a welcome distraction from all the others.
Two more of Lorelei’s arrows bounced harmlessly away, and the ranger started to wish she had a giant fucking hammer. There was no better way to kill a bug than by squashing it into a paste. Since she lacked a dwarven war hammer and the strength to use it, she might as well try to use what was available.
This felt like the time when Tim would come up with some kind of crazy realization that saved all their asses. Lorelei looked at the top of the cavern, expecting to see some rocks she could knock loose with an arrow, but the top of the cave was smooth. Where was that big-brained bastard when she needed him? She had to be missing something. One thought kept running through her mind.
What would Tim do?
Nothing jumped out at her so she decided to take a much less subtle approach. Lorelei put her bow away and grabbed her new knife. She’d been trying to upgrade her skills with small blades, but finding the time to fit it in during boss fights was hard. This felt like the perfect opportunity to get some quality work in.
At least it’s not a giant spider.
Was it wrong that spiders felt more creepy when a scorpion was infinitely more deadly? Six armored legs to move on, and that didn’t include the two massive pincers. If the pincers weren’t enough to convince someone a scorpion was more deadly, all that someone had to do was look at the tail of death and the solid armored carapace. What good were eight legs and a little webbing against all of that might? Yet, she’d rather face two giant scorpions over the one giant spider.
Spiders were the worst.
Neema turned the scorpion to make things easier for Lorelei’s approach. The ranger didn’t waste the opportunity. Coming in from behind, she rolled underneath the giant bug and waited for an opening. The monster shifted to the right, and she stuck her blade into the gap between plates. Wrenching the knife free, she dove out from underneath the scorpion, sliding across the ground like a baseball player.
The boss did a belly flop that shook the entire cavern.
Dust flew up from the cavern floor as the boss started to climb back to its feet. Realizing that its attacker must have moved away, the scorpion turned and searched the room for her. Lorelei could have sworn she saw eight or ten eyes narrow as the creature locked in on her position. A leg swept Neema to the side as if she were a harmless fly, and the scorpion charged straight for Lorelei.
She used to think of herself as brave.
Facing down two werewolves on her own and escorting a family to the city of Tristholm while being hunted came to mind. The guild faced down bosses that would make the average person shit in their pants, but nothing prepared a girl for having a giant scorpion coming right at her.
And the fucker was fast.
Scorpions always looked like slow, lumbering creatures in the movies, but this thing was quick. Lorelei wasn’t sure if she could outrun it, and it wasn’t like she had a shield to keep her safe. Dodging around the creature’s attacks wasn’t that appealing when there wasn’t a healer with Cleanse nearby.
So she did what anyone would do. She ran. Not only did she run, but she ran fucking fast, as if her life depended on it.
Road Runner fast.
The one thing the ranger had going for her was that her class had a few viable escape moves. She didn’t spend a lot of time running away so the skills weren’t as robust as some of her straight offensive powers, but they were useful under the right circumstances.
Lorelei reached into her bag, grabbed a handful of sharpened caltrops, and tossed them behind her. With a thought, she activated the skill Aggressive Evasion, and the caltrops multiplied into the hundreds while spreading out in a fan behind her.
The scorpion slid to a stop, avoiding the metal spikes on the ground, but failed to consider where Neema was. The Desert Wolf let out a fearsome cry as her sword hacked into the scorpion's tail and severed the limb from its body. The guardian whirled around, knocking Neema away.
Lorelei gasped in terror as her lover hit the cavern wall and slid lifelessly to the ground. This couldn’t be happening again. Seriously, the game wouldn’t be this cruel to her, not when she was so close to having something special.
Never again.
She sprinted toward the scorpion without a thought to her safety and let out a roar that would have made Khalid proud. With her hunting knife in hand, she sprang into the air and landed on the guardian’s back. Three bounding steps forward, and the same blade went into one of its massive eyes, turning it into a useless paste.
The screech that filled the room was enough to make her lose concentration for a moment. Lorelei hacked at the boss as she slid toward the ground. On the way down, she managed to sever a leg. She hit the dirt and took a blow to the head as the scorpion danced away from her. Wobbling back and forth as she climbed back to her feet, Lorelei held her blade in front of her and waved it back and forth as if it was Excalibur itself instead of a hunting knife.
Against the guardian, it might as well have been a toothpick.
Her vision started to clear, and Lorelei could see that she was waving her blade at the scorpion’s back as it tried to run away. The creature fell to the ground a few steps later and started twitching. The legs curled inward, and the body disappeared in beautiful golden swirls of light, but there wasn’t a chest.
It kind of made sense since The Shroud was the reward.
Neema groaned as she pushed herself up. “That hurt more than I thought it would.”
Lorelei ran forward and pulled the woman into a hug that probably hurt her more than it had the chance of making her feel better. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”
“What? Feigning death is my only true survival skill.” Neema cracked a weak smile. “Now, let’s get what we came for and get the hell out of here.”
Together they limped toward the Viridian Shroud and their future.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Tim’s smile made his belly feel warm.
Yes, his smile made him feel that good, or maybe it was the wine? It was tough to tell. They had been at it for hours. He had one eye half-open and was using his left hand to brace himself against the table. If he made this throw, the game was over, and he could finally Cleanse himself and go to sleep.
If he missed, Tim would have to drink the last cup of wine, and there was a chance he’d pass out before getting to Cleanse himself. He hadn’t been hungover in so long that he didn’t want to start enjoying that feeling again now. All he had to do was find a way to concentrate for a little longer.
Tim deftly held the flaming ball between his thumb and index finger as he tried to aim. The cup was moving back and forth, or maybe that was him. He couldn’t figure it out, but it didn’t matter. All he had to do was strike when everything lined up. The ball was moving back and forth, and the flames were so pretty.
Concentrate.
Instead of trying to stop the sway, Tim embraced it. He thought of a speech Michael J. Fox gave about his golf game. Addressing reporters on how he could still play golf with Parkinson's disease, he simply said, “I just wait for everything to stop shaking, and I let it rip.” It was as good advice for life as anyone was going to give.
Sometimes you’ve gotta let it rip.
Tim wobbled for a moment, ca
ught his balance, and watched the ball in his right hand move from side to side. He passed his target but was swaying back toward it now. Just before the cup swam back into view, he let the ball fly.
The flaming ball flew through the air and came up woefully short of the cup.
Tim started to curse, but the ball took a crazy hop to the left, hit the rim of the cup on the bounce, and flew straight up in the air. A moment later, the flaming sphere came back down out of the heavens and landed dead center in the middle of JaKobi’s last cup of wine with a hiss.
Cheering erupted from all around the oasis, and money exchanged hands as JaKobi chugged his final glass of wine.
Always the gracious leader, Tim Cleansed JaKobi before himself.
There was no better feeling than when Cleanse washed the alcohol out of his system in an instant. Well, none better except the fun he had of getting good and drunk in the first place.
Tim moved over to the fire mage and hugged him. “That was a good game. You probably should have won.”
Already pouring cups for the next game, JaKobi grinned at him. “Next time, we’ll have to play before I’m on a three-win streak. Gets a little hard to aim after twelve glasses of wine.”
He almost tried to tell JaKobi he wasn’t exactly sober himself when they started, but what was the point? If the fire mage was this good wasted, he’d probably destroy Tim when he was sober. So instead, he tried to enjoy the win while he could. His next one might be a long time coming.
“Just remember, I’m one and oh.” Tim grinned, formed his hand into the shape of a zero, and pointed at JaKobi.
Okay, maybe he wasn’t as magnanimous as he wanted to be.
ShadowLily appeared a moment later and pressed a glass of honeyed tea into his hand. “Thought you might like a change.”
“It’s a welcome relief.” And it was.
Drinking had its moments, but now that Tim was sober again he planned on staying that way until morning. Khalid was going to talk to them about the next part of the plan when they woke up. Phase Three was about to take flight. Tim was pretty sure this was when they were going to take the fight to Jabari himself and maybe push past him to the Pharaoh.
It was about time they got to see what a proper desert city looked like. Until now they’d only seen the outskirts, the dregs of the desert. Tim wanted to know if they had pyramids or tombs. There had to be something more exciting than a handful of forts. The scenery in the desert might not be all that great, but the bosses had been phenomenal.
It could be worse. We could have great scenery and shitty fights.
Tim tried not to let his brain go down the rabbit hole of games he played with amazing potential. There were too many of them to count. Some of them ended up being decent games despite their flaws, while others were flat-out bad. He could almost imagine some asshole sitting at his desk knowing their game was shit and saying to ship it anyway.
Can’t recoup losses for investors without units sold.
ShadowLily pressed her shoulder into his. “What do you say we head back to the tent? I never did get that nap.”
“I’ll be there in a minute.” He lifted his glass. “Can I get you a refill?”
She leaned in and kissed him. “I’m fine.” Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t let JaKobi talk you into another game. I sleep better with you next to me, and if you start playing again, you’ll be up for hours.”
“I wouldn’t.” He could see the fire mage waving to him now, but he also knew if she didn’t say anything, there was a good chance he would have. So he amended his statement. “I won’t.”
Tim did his best to ignore JaKobi as he went to fill his glass again. A quick top-off of honeyed tea and he turned to head toward their tent. Before he got there, Tim had one last piece of business he wanted to wrap up before he called it a night. It was officially time to turn in his previous quest.
Quest Complete: Healing The People
You’ve healed the resistance fighters and cleansed the source of the corruption. Sadly, you’ve become a victim of your success, and until we liberate Naroosh from Jabari, you’ll be pulling double duty as the resistance’s primary healer. Welcome to the big leagues.
Reward: Ten gold coins
Was it wrong that his first thought was about how much the healing gig paid? He didn’t care, but he knew Khalid was paying the other healers for their work, so it was the first thing he thought of. Tim probably should have been excited about the opportunity to heal extra people. This was the kind of thing he needed to finish upgrading his circlet. If there was anything he loved, it was leveling more than one thing at a time.
Tim gave Cassie a friendly wave and a sly smile at Lorelei as she cozied up to Neema. Things had never been better. They were making new friends, the loot in the desert was phenomenal, and tomorrow they would liberate a city. At least he hoped that was what was on the agenda for the morning. He wanted to crush Jabari and strip as much influence from the Goddess Vitaria as he could. There was a lot of work left to do, but the Blue Dagger Society would be up to the challenge.
The questing would have to wait until tomorrow. Tonight he had a woman to satisfy.
Sometimes life was too good to be true.
List of Tim’s Current Stats and Skills
“Tim” level seventeen Battlesworn
Primary Stats
Strength: 13
Endurance: 18
Dexterity: 22
Intelligence: 42
Wisdom: 50
Perception: 6
Vitality: 4
Revitalization: 4
Luck: 7
Notable Gear
Weapons
Simple Dagger of Dexterity, +1 (X2)
Staff of Divine Retribution, +4 Intelligence +5 Wisdom
Orb of Concentration, +4 Wisdom +5 Intelligence
Armor
Tarnished Circlet of Divine Wisdom, +1 Intelligence +3 Wisdom
Wilbur’s Fur-lined Shoulder Guards, +1 to Perception Vitality, Revitalization, and Luck
Battlesworn Robes of Justice, +4 Intelligence +6 Wisdom
Jerkin of Unmeasurable Delight, +1 to all base stats
Paul’s Gloves of Mending, +4 Wisdom +7 Intelligence
Belt of Wisdom, +2
Hermit’s Pants for Special Guests, +2 Endurance +2 Intelligence
Boots of Tranquility, +2 Dexterity +2 Endurance, Increase mana regeneration by 2%
Jewelry and Accessories
Leather Wraps of Divergent Health, 10% chance for single target healing spell to jump targets and heal the secondary recipient for 50% of the value.
Wristband of the Goddess, 10% damage reduction to dark based attacks
Ring of Marginal Transcendence, +2 Wisdom
Necklace of Unshakable Will, +3 Wisdom +1 Intelligence.
Trinket of the Smiling Monkey, +1 to a random stat
Skills
Appeal to the Goddess: Novice rank one
Disturbance: Novice rank two
Infiltrator: Novice rank three
Quick Feet: Novice rank four
Night Vision: Novice: rank six
Snare: Novice rank six
Backstab: Novice rank seven
Throwing Knives: Apprentice rank two
Sneak: Apprentice rank three
Behold My Power: Apprentice rank four
Dodge: Apprentice rank five
Flame Burst: Apprentice rank six
Healing Storm: Apprentice rank seven
Who Needs a Shield: Apprentice rank seven
Small Blades: Apprentice rank seven
Curse of Giving: Journeyman rank one
Weaken Undead: Apprentice rank eight
Cleanse: Journeyman rank one
Divine Light: Journeyman rank one
Healing Orb: Journeyman rank eight
Stances
Way of the River: Apprentice rank six
Way of the Boulder: Apprentice rank nine
Buffs
Armor of Eternia: Apprentice
rank eight
Attacks of the Faithful: Apprentice rank eight
Open Quests
The Deserts of Naroosh
Chapter Forty
“Bring her to me.” The Pharaoh held out his hand.
The virgin had come from his collection. It was a high price to pay to contact the Goddess Vitaria but one he needed to make. The word from Jabari’s city of Nar’ha was that the resistance had defeated his strongest warriors and soon his palace would be under attack. The opposition had grown strong and secured outside assistance to aid them in their fight. Maybe if the Goddess was willing to lend them additional aid, they could squash the resistance before it could harm his oldest accomplice and what might be his only friend.
As if his position allowed him such luxuries.
Jabari and the city of Nar’ha were the very foundations of his plans. If Jabari hadn’t taken that first step so long ago, none of this would have been possible now. He was the ruler of a kingdom. It was everything he’d ever wanted and then some. Jabari provided the wealth and other than having to sign some bothersome documents now and again, the Pharaoh himself enjoyed the spoils.
There were enough problems for him to deal with inside his walls. All the bloodthirsty bastards he called nobles wanted the top spot, but none of them had the balls to take it from him. Or, more precisely, none of them were strong enough to take on Vitaria’s minions to get to him.
Phandar wasn’t a fighter. He liked the softer side of life.
He loved gold, drinking, and sex to the point he sold his soul to have it all. Not that he didn’t have to bribe, kill, and fuck his way right up to the point when he needed the Goddess’ help to further his ambitions. If it took sacrificing a million fucking virgins to make sure he stayed exactly where he was on top of the pile of shit called life, he’d do it with a smile. Whatever the Goddess demanded, he was willing to do.
Phandar bet his soul on her strength, and he needed it now.
The girl tried to pull out of his grasp. “Be still,” Phandar hissed.
Deserts Of Naroosh Page 39