by Prax Venter
They both nodded, instantly communicating that they would stay alive to see each other again. Then she turned and sprinted into the darkening night, her armor popping on as she moved. Jack watched her for a heartbeat and then dashed off to the right.
The tall, lush grass was wet from evening dew, and he felt his boots grow slick with water as he tore through the vegetation. Jack saw blue flashes light up the archway and the tiny figures standing on its surface. It had to be Thymus’ Lightning Turret blasting foes stupid enough to get close. As he ran toward the shadowed darkness of the forest, his mind turned to Lex and wished he’d sent Haylee with her instead… and Kron and Thymus while he was at it. The fierce Bastion could no doubt handle herself, yet he imagined a forest of Lightning Turrets surrounding Lex as he willed the universe to do her no harm.
“Jack,” Alt said in his mind, “your protection fantasy might be possible, in a way. As always, your creativity and my resourcefulness are a powerful combination.”
“What are you talking about?” he panted out loud as he ran. “Why must you always be so damn cryptic?”
Alt continued, “I need to work this out. Please focus on the task at hand, I will not distract you further.”
Jack shook his head and cleared his mind as he pushed his legs to move faster.
He heard the shouts echoing off the trees before he saw anything, and drew his sword, looking for any valid targets. It wasn’t long until he burst from the tree line and found Pan, Meri, her son, and a handful of guards standing around. They all appeared safe, but he continued sprinting until he was among them.
“Everything under control here?” he asked, his boots skidding as he stopped.
A guard with a stubbly beard Jack couldn’t name spoke up first.
“These two hacked one to bits while we took care of the rest.”
The quiet lumberjack looked over to the quiet woman by his side and put a large arm around her shoulder. Meri nuzzled her head into his broad chest as Pan turned his eyes on Jack’s. There was a new confident steadiness there that he recognized as determination- a type of tenacity born from discovering someone you desperately want to protect. Pan continued to hold his gaze, and Jack gave him a nod of approval.
Everything was fine here, so he dashed off again, back the way he came. This time, Jack took the stone paver path, and the even surface allowed him to really pour on the speed. The Guard manning the Watchtower ceased his alarm at some point during Jack’s mad dash around Town, but he couldn’t remember exactly when that had been. He shook off the momentary calm that the silence brought and refocused on reuniting with the love of his life.
His blood turned to ice when he only saw Demi standing on the front stoop. The Innkeeper called out when she saw him.
“Find Ryea! I tried to stop her, but… she decided to check the cows.”
“What?!” Jack yelled but didn’t wait for an answer.
Behind him he heard the Bygone Hero sing a few ethereal notes before a bright green light blanketed a large area around the Inn. Jack put his head down and took off again, sprinting toward the Farm.
Despite the dim light from Demi’s beacon, the growing darkness hampered his attempts to see any of the cows- much less the stubborn Farmer- and cursed her under his breath. The fight was at the edge of the Wall, so he only searched as much as he could as he ran along the fence of the largest field. Jack reached the end and saw absolutely nothing, not even a shadow of movement, and decided that the doughy Ryea was probably fine.
The thick blades of damp grass slowed him down, but when he saw the distant torchlight illuminating the golden-haired Bastion and a few guards battling Demon Spawn, Jack found a potent wellspring of reserve of energy. Every hit Lex deflected pushed his legs harder against the rough terrain and a growing clump of ripped vegetation coated the front of his leather boots.
He counted four demons, including the one running in from the darkness beyond, and when he had a solid visual bead on all of them, Jack drew his sword. With a flick of razor-sharp focus, Jack activated Omni Strike, and his blade whistled through the air in front of him as he sprinted through the clinging blades of grass.
Demon Spawn -67 | Defeated
… x3
As the vicious creatures surrounding Lex vanished, a recognizable line of pure-white light appeared in the darkness.
Demon Spawn -166 | Defeated
Haylee had apparently joined them at this end of Town, and the three of them met near the Guard named Irun holding the torch.
“All clear by the gate,” the Dark Prism said, her eyes searching for more foes.
“Forest’s clear too,” Jack said, trying to catch his breath. “Apparently, Ryea ran to check the cows, and we should probably find her next.”
Lex’s dark brows came down as she turned toward the pitch-black darkness that was the Farm. Jack continued.
“You three go with Haylee to secure the gap. Lex and I will sweep back toward the Inn.”
They all nodded and split apart.
“Why would she do something so stupid?” Lex asked as they ran.
Jack didn’t have an answer.
They got to the farmhouse and found everything quietly glowing under Demi’s green-hued beacon.
“Ryea!” Lex called out into the night, but there was no answer. The gossipy Farmer was never hard to find, and both Heroes locked eyes, fearing the worst.
“Did any get past you?” Jack asked.
“I don’t know! It was dark!” Lex turned away and sprinted for the barn. She called out for her friend again, this time screaming at the top of her lungs. “Ryea!”
The barn door was partially open, and Lex kicked it so hard it slammed against the wall as she ran in. The Orb Pheasants began cheeping wildly, but the skinny Demon with the pointed ears dimly lit by the distant magic beacon demanded all of Jack’s attention.
“Heroesss!” the thing hissed with a sneer and held up a three-fingered hand that ended in long, black claws. This Demon looked like a hairless cat with pulsing black veins bulging throughout its skin, and Jack had an instant to realize he’d never seen one like it before the monster sent a ball of glowing black light directly into Lex’s chest.
Lex -60 | 315/464
The Bastion charged forward, screeching at the top of her lungs. Her sword was a blur as she hacked downward with vicious intent.
Stalker Demon -56 | HP 54/110
The creature tried to use its ability again, but Lex slammed her shield into its hand before stabbing it through the face with a savage scream.
Stalker Demon -56 | Defeated
As soon as the disgusting creature vanished, the Bastion fell to her knees, sobbing. Jack wanted to run to her but tore his eyes away to search the deep shadows. On his left was a wire fence that ran along the whole barn that served to pen in several dozen squawking bird-monsters. The area was open, and there was clearly nothing on that side. To his right, a row of twelve pens with piles of hay stood quiet and empty, the green light from outside spilling in through the wide-open door to the pastures.
There was no Ryea, no cows, and it took Jack a moment to realize there probably wouldn’t be any bodies to find. Would Townsfolk and cows vanish into white noise when they died just like everything else?
He shook off the disturbing concept and began a thorough search of the dark pens. As Jack moved from one to the next, his mind fixated on this new type of Demon and imagined seeing one crouching in the shadows somewhere in Town, waiting to kill more of his people. The Stalker Demon seemed different than the rest. It spoke, for one, and used ranged magic of some kind. It wasn’t a frothing wild beast.
The last pen contained only hay and shadows, and Jack’s heart sank as he realized the loudmouth Farmer who sparred with him his first day and whom he shared every meal with…
His mind involuntarily replayed their conversation as she walked him to the Tower to meet Lex at that first Exit. Everything slowed to a standstill when he remembered how she felt about missing
meat pies. His eyes passed over the empty cow pens again as the Orb Pheasants began to quiet down, leaving the Bastion’s sobs deafening by contrast. Jack’s heart broke all over again as he tried to imagine how Lex would handle losing someone else so close to her.
He intended to wrap his arms around her and not let go until tomorrow. Jack took two steps toward Lex when a pile of hay in the second-to-last pen began to rustle. His sword was up in an instant, ready to obliterate anything that came out, but he lowered it again quickly.
A leg covered in brown corduroy overalls extended outward from the stiff straw as the missing Farmer sat up.
“Lex, she’s alright! Ryea’s over here.”
The love of his life turned her wet, golden eyes up to his before scrabbling to her feet. She was at the gate of the pen in an instant and broke down again when she saw her friend.
Ryea wiped her eyes as she pulled some of the straw from her face.
“Please don’t be mad at me,” the doughy woman said in a voice that was much too soft to be hers.
Lex pulled in a shuddering breath as she hopped the gate and threw her arms around the larger woman. As the Bastion wept on her shoulder, Ryea turned her huge brown eyes up to Jack. The light was dim, but he could tell she was in a state of shock.
“I came to calm the cows,” she said in a strange monotone voice. “They don’t produce as much milk if they don’t get a good night’s rest. I f-f…” She paused, taking a moment to swallow as if she were about to choke on something. Lex pulled back and held Ryea at arm’s length as the Farmer continued.
“I figured the Demons would be stopped at the wall. We haven’t seen any on this s-side…” She paused again and turned her unfocused gazed into the shadows of the empty pen. “I saw it murdering the cows in the pasture and had no choice but to hide. It… came looking for me, mumbling to itself about converting everyone. It whispered terrible things, and I was sure it was going to find me.” Ryea regained some of her focus and locked her brown eyes on Lex again.
“But then you kicked in the door and slaughtered it. I… I wanted to come out. To tell you, ‘I’m here. I’m alive’, but I couldn’t move, even after. But then I heard you crying… I’m so sorry, Lex.”
Lex responded by pulling Ryea in tight again, and both women held each other in the quiet of the barn for a long time.
- 22 -
“By the size of the enemy force we saw tonight, we have at least five or six days before the nearby Corruption should be able to spawn enough Demons for another attack. The appearance of that Stalker means they will come again, and with greater numbers.” Harrak paused and wrapped his huge hands around the fence that encircled the empty pasture. Jack heard the wood creak under his frustration. “We didn’t lose anyone this time, but we need to be ready to deflect the next attack.”
Jack, Harrak, Lex, and Sol stood in a row under a crisp white disk of a midnight moon. The whole Town turned itself inside out for the last two hours as everyone made sure there were no other Demon Spawn hiding inside the Wall.
“I still can’t believe they took all of our cows,” Sol said quietly. “We’ll have to start all over when young calves respawn in a few days.”
Harrak let go of the fence and turned to the owlish man. “Stalkers act as scouts and strike where they can to damage morale and weaken the Town. Their appearance now heralds the arrival of larger groups of spawned forces. It means the stronger influence of our bright and shiny Tower got the Corruption’s attention. I didn’t expect them to come to us this fast…. It could mean…”
Lex’s father let his broken mutterings hang in the cold darkness around them.
Jack crossed his arms. “You can’t just say something that and not finish, old man. What could it mean?”
“It could mean that our neighboring Towns to the south are worse off than I hoped- worse off than us. We’d be facing substantially larger attacks if one had fallen, but the appearance of a Stalker suggests that we are likely the biggest threat in the area.”
“What other Towns? How close are they?” The questions came spilling out of Jack, and Harrak held up his hand.
“It’s much too late for me to be giving you a geography lesson, son. I’m off to bed, but I’m sure one of these two bright people can sate your curiosity. Tomorrow we train twice as hard, and I want to see Townsfolk like Pan and Meri form up a backup militia and help stop anything that gets past the Wall…”
The Combat Master turned and stomped off into the night as he continued mumbling to himself.
Jack turned to Lex to see how she was doing, and she gave him a slow nod. She was also ready for bed.
Sol said he was going to stay at the empty pasture for a little while longer, and the two Heroes bid him goodnight. Jack took hold of the Bastion’s hand as they followed the path toward the Inn, and she squeezed it gently, turning her golden eyes up to his.
“The two closest Towns are Emberstone, to the southwest, and Pinefall, which is much farther south and a bit to the east. Blackmoor Cove is on the northernmost tip before the Endless Sea. But as you know, all I know for sure is home...”
Jack nodded. “Once we get this place nice and fortified beyond a shadow of a doubt, then we will go see these places for ourselves. It sounds like they may need our help.”
Lex sighed. “Visiting other Towns feels like a far-off dream, Jack, much less helping them.”
“Actually,” Alt spoke up in Jack’s mind, “I believe I’m close to working out a way to go beyond protecting Blackmoor and every other Town you assist against the Corruption. It’s complicated, and I don’t have it all worked out yet, but I should be able to run many simulations while you’re sleeping.”
Jack mentally gave Alt a ‘yeah sure, whatever’ and focused on the woman standing next to him. She seemed distant, and he could see by the look on her face how close to breaking she was tonight. Jack squeezed her hand and pulled her along to their room at the Eye o’ the Storm. They quickly snuggled together under the covers with Jack taking the big spoon position. It had been a long and exhausting day, and the last thing he remembered was kissing the back of Lex’s neck before passing out.
He jolted awake soon after when Lex pulled away from his arms and got out of bed. With bleary eyes, Jack watched her get dressed.
“Where you going?” he asked, groggy from his short dip into deep sleep.
“I wish we could hide in bed all day, but we’ve got a Tower to climb, Jack.”
He opened an interface to check the time, then sat bolt upright. They had ten minutes to get down to the common room or be late for Demi’s Ten to Close breakfast.
“What the…?” Weariness clung to Jack’s mind as he tried to work out what happened.
“Yeah, sorry,” Alt said telepathically. “I may have borrowed some of your resources for processing power last night- but, when you hear what I found, you’ll think a slow start was worth it.”
Jack rubbed his eyes and filled Lex in. “Apparently, Alt messed with my sleep so he could work some miracle.”
Alt continued. “I’ll wait to talk about it when you get in the Tower. I know it’s what you would want, and to pull this off, it will take the three of you acquiring as many high-value items as you can in a short amount of time.”
Jack, Lex, and Haylee ate a quiet breakfast, and during the short walk to the Tower, Jack remembered that Alt had a valuable gift for Haylee. Despite the tiredness permeating his bones, he noticed a swiftness in his strides coming from excitement that wasn’t entirely his. The AI linked to his mind felt like a dog vigorously wagging its tail.
A few steps later, and after the other two Heroes entered first, Jack clasped the iron ring then faced today’s Floor 1 layout.
They stood under a deep blue sky surrounded by fields of vivid red grass. Bright-yellow flowers randomly broke up the red landscape in scattered patches, and in the distance, Jack saw white balloons hovering motionless against the soft, warm breeze that passed over his skin.
He
took in a deep breath of the sweet, fragrant air and was thankful that this first Floor was moderately pleasant. Jack turned to face the two women standing nearby.
“Alt has something to say to everyone, so here he comes…”
He activated Call Alt, then picked the last option in his Alter Alt interface. A moment later, Alternate Jack stood among them.
“Greetings, Haylee and Lex, there is much to discuss. But first, I would like to bestow a gift.”
Lex’s golden eyes were wide as she watched a transparent, blue wireframe of Jack take a few steps toward Haylee. Alt held out his hand, and Haylee focused her attention on the trade interface he must have initiated.
“I’ve been holding this aside for you, for when you reached Hero Level 25.”
The girl’s gray eyes bounced as she read the stats on the bow, and her light eyebrows began to arch.
“Alt…” she began, slowly, “your interface looks… intriguing.”
“Ah, yes. Some side effects of my power to change reality.”
Lex sucked in a breath of surprise and turned to Jack. “This is why you were damaged yesterday! You attacked yourself with your own ability?”
Jack nodded. He wasn’t sure how Lex was going to take this shadow of a copy.
Haylee tapped her fingers on something only she and Alt could see.
“Thank you. I absolutely love it,” she said.
The blue hologram dipped his head and then turned to address the team as a whole.
“It was Jack who suggested I give Haylee the gift myself. I might never have even considered gaining the ability to hold or transfer items before he had proposed it. Because of our experiment yesterday, I learned a few extra tricks regarding my aforementioned powers to change reality. When Jack’s vivid imagination was exploring fantasy options for protecting Blackmoor during the attack last night, I had an epiphany.
“There is a very rare building called a Wizard’s Athenaeum that I can force into existence. If Jack assigns Thymus, he can potentially unlock a vast store of knowledge regarding powerful rituals. I am able to see some of the potential outcomes to these magical procedures, for example, modifying Hero abilities, Town buildings, or even merging the two into particularly powerful results.”