Troy looked back over his shoulder. Behind him, the wounded hydra was rising up the slope yet again. It was not far from him, but had turned and was approaching the place where Ajax was sheltering. Would the remaining hoplite be able to defend himself alone?
Troy couldn’t risk losing another comrade. And he had now seen the impact his weapons could make, infused with the white magical energy. But it was the only weapon he still held…
He paused, turning. Raising his hatchet which again glowed in his hand, Troy flung the weapon directly at the beast, hitting it full in the chest and causing it to stagger backwards. The hatchet landed home and dug into the beast’s side; after a few moments it dropped down again, but left behind a large and blackened area on its flank.
Skill boost! You have developed your weapon skills. +5XP
The beast was still clearly alive and as dangerous as ever, but there was no further time to help Ajax now. Troy kept running. The big hoplite would have to take care of himself – and Troy would have to get the hatchet back when the coast was clear.
Reaching Glaucus, Troy noticed that the boy’s magical and glowing golden wings had now disappeared; perhaps the potions were wearing off. He pulled his companion from the water, forcing the young man’s body around so that his head was clear upon the rock and now longer at risk of dropping down to the water. Glaucus looked very pale, and did not seem to be breathing.
Troy looked at his hands. The magic had proved useful for attacking the hydra and had also defended himself with it. Could it also help to heal the stricken Glaucus? It was powerful, so Harmonia had told him.
Focusing on his hand, he tried to make them glow with some kind of benevolent energy. Willing them to warm up, to energize, to infuse with magic. As he focused, he knew that he wasn’t at all sure what he was really trying to achieve; even if he managed to get his hands to gather some of that energy, what would he do with it? Blast electricity towards the boy’s heart? Somehow clear his lungs? Would that even work?
Gritting his teeth, Troy pushed both of his hands hard onto the chest of the boy’s limp body, took a deep breath, and then willed the white magic to do… something. And sure enough, a gleam appeared to leave his own body and cover the boy’s light armor for a moment, glimmering and shining for a couple of seconds as if the boy had been lit up from inside.
But then the glow faded, and still Glaucus was immobile, limp… not breathing.
Just then, Troy heard a shout from behind him, back in the direction from which they had come. His head whipped around. Two new figures were approaching along the ridge, running quickly. Two familiar figures, he realized – both female hoplites from the camp.
“Clio?” he gasped.
Sure enough, Clio was approaching, together with her companion Europa. They were making their way rapidly towards him, nimbly traversing the ridge and coming the same way that the boys had traveled just a short while before.
“Leave him,” called Europa as she reached the scene, and she then crouched down by Glaucus’s side. The athletic recruit then grabbed Glaucus by the shoulders, maneuvered him onto his back, whereupon she began to push hard upon his chest with the palms of her hands, her powerful arms bulging as she did so.
Clio, meanwhile, bow in hand, continued right past them and on towards the peak of the ridge where the hydra was now clambering over the ruins at its peak, its heads sniffing around towards where Ajax had hunkered down to hide. Troy hesitated, and then ran after her.
As she approached up the ridge Clio slowed, and then raised the bow, an arrow appearing in her hand, and set herself ready to shoot. But before she did, Troy reached her side.
“Wait,” he called out, and reached his hands out towards the arrowhead. Summoning up the same desire as he had done when touching Glaucus’s chest, he willed the white energetic magic to transfer to the missile. And sure enough, the entire arrow as well as the bow itself began to glow with a mysterious white power.
The hydra had now noticed the approaching pair of hoplites, and had twisted from its position on the rocks, its heads moving towards Troy once more.
“Now!”
But Clio didn’t need to be told. The arrow had already left her hand and flew in an almost entirely straight line towards the beast. It struck not at one of the snake-like heads but at its body, piercing the dark wound where Troy’s hatchet had previously damaged the tough leathery scales of its flank, and embedding itself fully, the entire length of the arrow disappearing inside the beast’s body.
This time there was a loud scream, followed by a rattling noise and a muffled explosion from deep within the monster’s chest. Ajax rose from his hiding place among the rocks and stopped to stare triumphantly as the wounded monster collapsed to the ground, the snakelike necks falling to the rock.
And for a moment, Troy asked himself if Clio’s blow had indeed killed it.
WORLD EVENT UPDATE: The beast divided! You gain 75xp!
But as he watched on, the three surviving snake heads split off from the rest of the monster’s body, each one beginning to move autonomously; the area where each had previously been joined to its body closing up as they moved, and forming into tails within no more than a second.
One of the vast snakes then moved up towards to Ajax, who once again summoned up flames to cover his hands.
But Troy didn’t see more of that encounter, for the remaining two giant snakes were coming towards Clio and himself.
He staggered backwards across the rocky ground, remembering that his hatchet was still lying… somewhere. Wherever it had landed after he had thrown it. Cursing, he drew the stump of his wooden club, and raised his shield.
Clio, he could see, was facing off against the other snake, and she hit it with one blow after another with her iron mace, her blows only serving to parry attacks by the creature’s huge dagger teeth. Then, as it dipped lower, she rammed the weapon downwards, spiking through the snake just behind its head. But as with the wound that Glaucus had dealt it before, the tear in its skin magically closed up, and the snake kept on coming, its teeth slashing out towards her again.
Troy had problems of his own, however. The wooden stump had likewise taken on the white glow which had pervaded his shield and his other weapons, but it was too short to be practical as a main weapon against a foe which was striking low towards his legs and feet. It was all that he could do to use the shield to block it, holding it low to the ground and blocking one attack after another.
And then, thinking about how he had earlier worked together with Glaucus, he realized what he needed to do.
“Here, catch!” he called out to Clio, and flung the glowing wooden club towards her. Almost without looking, his friend raised her hand and caught the makeshift weapon as it flew through the air.
Skill boost! You have developed your quick thinking. +5XP
Just a moment before, she had again pinned the snake with her mace, this time holding it firmly to the rock and not releasing the weapon. And now, as Troy watched on, Clio moved around to the back of the snake and brought the glowing sharpened club down, removing the mace with one hand and forcing the sharpened and glowing club through the same wound with the other.
The snake let out a final hiss and then was still.
Back on the ridge, Ajax had managed to encase the second snake in flames, and the tall hoplite was now standing up on one of the rocks, watching on as his attacker began to burn to a crisp.
Troy, however, was still retreating, still using his shield to fend off repeated attacks from the last snake. He was making his way backwards all the time, however, and he was sure that he must be close to where Plato had fallen – and that meant close to the boy’s sword.
Just then, he heard his companion speak from behind him. “Troy,” came the voice, thin and wavering, but alive. Troy looked around and saw that Plato was getting to his feet. The potion must have been doing its work.
His friend then pointed ahead of him, and made a chopping motion with one hand. “
Use your shield!” Plato shouted.
And this time, when the snake struck out, Troy didn’t try to block the blow, but instead dodged to one side, letting the beast slide past him. Raising the shield in both hands, he brought the edge of it down hard on the back of the snake’s neck, decapitating it.
WORLD EVENT UPDATE: Task completion. You gain 150xp!
Skill boost! You have developed your creativity. +5XP
Level up! Hoplite level 4. You have gained two additional hit points.
And after that, it moved no more.
Level: Hoplite (Level 4)
XP: 0965 (unspent: 0515)
Hit points: 27/27
Luck points: 1
Mana points: 0
Equipment: belt; canvas bag; coin pouch; empty glass vial; greaves; hoplon shield; waterskin (72%).
Chapter 24: The Sand Dunes
In the deepening gloom of the evening, the hoplites gathered together by the ruins back on the ridge.
Europa had pulled Glaucus up there and continued to push at his chest in an attempt to try to get the young man breathing again. But as the five other hoplites gathered around the stricken boy in a circle, it was clear that he was beyond saving.
“There’s not anything left of your potion, is there?” said Troy to Plato.
But his companion silently shook his head.
“What are these potions you are talking about?” asked Clio, frowning.
Troy pulled the empty glass vial from his shoulder bag and held it up. “We were given these. To help us on our quest.”
“Healing potions?” queried Europa. The tall young woman had now sat back from Glaucus, her arms folded, looking stern but calm. She had tried her best.
“I’m afraid not,” said Plato. “But it did do something to me. That hydra got two really bad hits on me, and it dripped acid into both of them. I should have been dead too, by rights. Look – my armor is ruined.” He began to unclip and strip off what remained of his light armor, which was now full of huge holes.
“It’s true,” said Troy, “and poor Glaucus was only hit once, I think. But then again, he also fell to the ground, and then landed in the water.”
Europa stood, and made her way around to Plato, looking at his chest and then at the damage to his leg. “Those already look like old wounds,” she said. “I believe you are right – you have been magically protected.” She looked around. “The same for all of you?”
It was Clio who spoke up. “No,” she said. “Troy here used some white energy to enhance my arrow. I would never have slain the beast without that.”
“It was thanks to your shooting, mainly,” he replied. “Hitting it where it was already damaged.”
She gave a strained smile and then looked around at Ajax. “And that one has some kind of fire.”
But the tall hoplite was now staring at his hands. There was the slightest flickering glow above the palm of each hand. “The damn stuff is wearing off,” he said sullenly.
“Hmm,” grunted Plato. “Well, what did you expect, man? A permanent superpower?”
“And you’re welcome, by the way,” said Troy, scowling at his rival.
“Enough, boys,” said Europa, glaring around at them. “We all need to get moving. It’s getting dark. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t much like the idea of curling up overnight under the corpse of the hydra. We are not far from the coast here; Clio and I can lead the way. Now that we have helped you with your quest in addition to completing our own, of course.”
At this there was some mumbled thanks and nods from the boys.
“Besides,” Europa added, “who’s to say there aren’t other dangerous beasts in the vicinity?”
“What about Glaucus?” said Ajax, standing and pointing down at his lifeless comrade.
“Your friend is lost to us,” said Europa. “This body is only digital, after all. Let’s just hope he enjoys boot camp. Plato – you might as well take his light armor to replace yours. And take his other things, too. It wouldn’t do any good to leave them here.”
Ajax frowned and stepped forward. “I’m taking the axe back. To remember him by.”
Plato nodded, handing over Glaucus’s axe, and tentatively unclipped the dead boy’s light armor. Troy took the opportunity to pick up his own weapons from where they lay. Fortunately, both the hatchet and dagger were undamaged despite being infused with energy and thrown at the acid-spewing hydra.
Soon the five recruits were walking in single file along the narrow ridge, retracing the steps that each of them had taken when coming to the ridge.
“When you said ‘boot camp’,” said Troy, “you meant that his death is permanent, right? Unlike the NPCs.” He was walking at the back, with Europa just in front of him.
The young woman turned, clutching her spear in front of her as she marched. “That’s what happens, didn’t you hear? If you die in Sparta Online, I mean.”
Troy shrugged, frowning. “We considered it possible, but we weren’t certain. So Andros told you?”
She nodded, turning to look ahead of her once again as she replied. “Of course. It’s the most important question to ask the guide. I mean what else did you expect? They couldn’t kill us in the real world. But the risk of death has to mean something, too.”
“Yeah. It does.”
Skill boost! You have developed your knowledge. +5XP
Troy continued along. When collecting his weapons, he had picked up a trio of arrows from the ground, and now stowed them inside his bag. But doing so made him think again of Glaucus’ valiant efforts against the hydra; dropping his bow and switching to using his axe had ultimately put the young man in danger.
They had all been set up to fail by the captains, it seemed. If Troy hadn’t lucked out by finding the potions on their way, it would all be over, for without the magical energy, the hydra would have killed them all.
But on the other hand, the location of the village – on the way to the swamp – was surely no coincidence. The potions were tools, just like the shields, all waiting to be found by questing hoplites. The challenge must have been designed that way. So perhaps he and Ajax should have done better – acted faster when putting their magical gifts to use. If they had, perhaps Glaucus would still be alive…
“There’s something else you should know about the folks back at the camp,” he said to Europa after a pause, and she glanced back once again.
“This had better be good,” she said, frowning. “I don’t like it when people pester me with gossip.
“It’s more than that, I promise.”
“Go on then.”
Skill boost! You have developed your interpersonal skills. +5XP
Noting the enhancement – perhaps he had been more persuasive than he had realized – Troy began to relate to her what they had heard from the Helot village. “And so I believe that the captains have been working to undermine us this whole time,” he finished. “They probably want us all to die, in fact.”
Europa was silent for a long time after this, and Troy began to wonder if she had even been listening. But at last she spoke:
“In that case, they will want all of us to be sent back to bootcamp,” she said. “And the sooner the better, right? So as you were talking, I was wondering to myself why they wouldn’t just murder us all straight away, as soon as we arrived. Why give us any training at all?
“But I think I’ve figured it out. It needs to look like the project has played out. From the outside, that is. It can be a failure, but they don’t want it to have been obviously undermined or infiltrated, because that would lead to it getting stopped straight away. They need to be subtle about it.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” said Troy, nodding vigorously. “After all, why have they been pushing apart and giving us reason to fight one another from day one? They seem to want us to hate each other, rather than becoming a team. Getting us to hurt each other would let them off the hook.”
Europa tutted a few times, thinking. Then she
shook her head. “Perhaps. But on the other hand, perhaps that is what is needed to make a Spartan tough. That means it’s going to be really hard to know which parts of the training are faked and which are just… difficult, but in a way that fits with General Cook’s original plan.”
“Well,” said Troy, “I intend to find out.”
“And I will help you.”
Troy smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
As they spoke, Ajax – who was walking just ahead of Europa – looked around at the pair. “Is this really the time?” He asked, sneering slightly. “Glaucus just died – or don’t you care?”
Troy frowned, a feeling of tiredness washing over him all of a sudden. “I really, really care… Of course I do. I feel terrible for him. If there was any way I could change what happened, I would.”
“We are all sorrowful for your friend,” said Europa. “But that’s not really the point, is it? We are going back to Sparta. And we need to know where we stand.”
Troy nodded emphatically.
“Look, I do understand what you have said,” said Ajax. “I’m not an idiot. And I for one am always willing to argue for justice.”
“But it’s going to need to wait,” said Europa.
Troy frowned. “Why?”
She glanced around at him one more time. “Because the Trial of Hippolyta is straight after we get back. It’s a make-or-break moment for me and for Clio and everyone in our dormitory. It’s a show of strength, speed and skill in front of every citizen in Sparta.”
Nemesis (Sparta Online Book 1) Page 18