Dreaming Orora

by A H Alshehabi

  “A dragon?” Oz said, “Are you kidding me?”

  “Believe me,” Eric said, “the dragon is not the scary part.”

  “That’s Majoran,” Paragon said, his voice full of wonder and excitement, “the Dark One’s mount.”

  “Run,” Kensin said, “no time to be excited.”

  The dark figure dropped from his mount and walked inside. His gaze fixed on Fitch. “I have some incompetent followers,” a voice said inside Fitch’s head, the dark figure looked around at his soldiers. Some dead, some disappearing, others cowered, “I don’t care for any of you. You can all run while you can, except for him,” the Dark One pointed at Fitch. “Or you can stay and die.”

  “Um,” Oz said in the party chat, “Am I the only one hearing this?”

  “No,” Eric said, “he kinda does that.”

  Kensin looked at Yayoi and both nodded. “Guys, run, Yayoi will take care of him.”

  “Are you crazy,” Eric said, “she is the only woman amongst us, she is the worst choice to stop him.”

  “Trust me,” Kensin said and started towards the gate. The Dark One moved to stop him but Yayoi tossed a Kunai at him. It worked to divert his gaze. The rest of the team made a run for it.

  Fitch approached the gate but the Dark One stood between him and the way out. Yayoi slashed at the dark figure once twice before he turned around and grabbed her neck, “you are annoying me.”

  “Run!” Kensin said. Fitch saw all his friends out the gate; only him and Yayoi remained. Him almost at the door, her strangled in the Dark One’s hand. He stopped, he couldn't possibly abandoned her, “I said run,” Kensin screamed again.

  Fitch dashed towards the exit, looking back at Yayoi. She clawed at the Dark One’s arm trying to break his hold. None of this felt right to him. They all run, just leaving her behind.

  “Are you crazy,” Eric said, “He’ll put her in a coma.”

  Eric tried to run back but Kensin grabbed his arm, “I said trust me on this, cast us out.”

  “On it,” Paragon said and started casting. A teleport spell takes around thirty seconds to fire. Fitch stood next to them waiting. All looking at Yayoi. She grasped for air, her movement subdued. Whatever Kensin thought sure did not work.

  The Dark One tilted his head sideways and a crystal started to form around Yayoi’s feet. His hands started to sparkle dark energy rays and he got shocked. He tossed her to one side.

  “Interesting,” the Dark One said, “you have a pillar.”

  Eric’s eyes widened, “You got to be kidding me, that’s all it took?”

  “It’s a gamble,” Kensin said, “but I guess it worked. Yayoi, twenty seconds. Move it.”

  The Dark One guffawed, “very well, let me see you escape death.”

  He raised his arms and a dark spiral appeared before him. A scythe slashed through and a wraith grabbed it. Yayoi stopped bringing her index finger close to her nose, casting. She snapped and another Yayoi appeared next to her. Both ran towards the exit, crisscrossing.

  “Ten seconds.”

  “Come on, come on,” Oz said.

  The wraith glided majestically behind her, his dark rags flowing in the air. She was barely keeping away when one of the two Yayoi’s stopped, turned around and paused to defend. The wraith raised his scythe in one swift move and slashed. Yayoi put her little sword to meet the scythe, but it went through, cutting sword and flesh.

  The other Yayoi reached the group just as the teleport spell hit. The last thing Fitch saw was the other Yayoi turning to Ash.

  32 – Meet and greet

  For the last five minutes or so they flew over a green field peppered with white patches of thawed snow. Some trees and small bushes broke the green carpet swallowing the horizon. Few spots of buildings and tents dotted the area. Hok welcomed the change of view after the last hour of flying over water.

  The last hour proved hard for Hok. Perhaps a lot harder for his friends, but getting a trickle of updates from Eric about their fight to save Fitch served no more than torture. With Bale by his side, he couldn't teleport to them. He couldn't join the fight as well because of the distance they’ll have to cross. By the time it’d take him to reach the battle, it would’ve been over. Besides, bringing Bale close to the Dark One would not have been a good idea.

  Hok double-checked his map; it should be right below them now. “Hold on,” he said and pulled the reins. The wyvern took a dive towards the ground, full speed. The wind felt great as it smashed Hok’s face bringing the ground closer and closer. Few feet off, the wyvern came to a jolting stop and hovered a foot or two above the ground. The grass blades danced below its wings.

  With a swift move Hok jumped off the wyvern and Bale followed after.

  “Holy shit,” a man said, “that is one bad ass ride.”

  Hok turned his head towards the source of the sound. A man stood on a small fence surrounding a white incomplete structure, a hut. Hok didn’t know the man, but he sure knew the other person walking towards them.

  “Hok,” Eric said closing in as Hok made his way forward, “I see Grey is out and about.”

  “Yeah,” Hok looked back at his wyvern, “poor thing couldn't wait to get out.”

  “Guys, come see this,” the man standing on the fence yelled and jumped off. Two more guys Hok didn't recognized showed up behind the fence and started their way towards them. More people meant they were getting closer to be ready to execute their plan.

  “I see you got yourself a crew,” Hok said.

  “Yeah,” Eric said pointing at the first guy approaching, “This here is Oz.”

  “Hey man,” Oz said, “awesome mount you got there,” he ignored Hok and walked towards the wyvern.

  “Thanks,” Hok said, his eyes on the two other men who just arrived next to them.

  “This here is Fitch and Paragon,” Eric said as the three men exchange their greetings. Behind Hok, Bale cleared his throat.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Hok said, “this is Bale, Warden of-”

  “-I’m, warden no more” Bale said, his lips smiled, but his face didn't.

  “I’m sorry,” Hok said.

  “Don’t be, not your fault.”

  “Well,” Eric said, “we are glad to finally have you amongst us Bale. Come let’s go inside our humble makeshift camp.”

  They walked towards the hut when Hok started to notice more details. Huge white wooden pillars held the pearl white ceiling. Between the pillars nothing but open space of a pale brown flooring. Not an incomplete structure, they designed it this way. Three figures sat in the middle of the open space. Some available chairs were scattered around, but they chose the ground. Must be Kensin and his friends.

  He stepped in and the wood started to screech below his feet. Not a noisy sound, but the way you’d expect wood to complain when stepped on. If it showed anything, it was a testament to the dedication and attention to details by the developers. Thought like these pulled Jack out of the game at times, but it made him appreciate it all the more.

  “Hey guys,” Eric said, “they are here.”

  Kensin and his friends rose to their feet and turned to face the new comers. A welcoming smiles on their faces. That didn’t last long as Hok noticed the change in their faces and sudden focus behind him.

  He heard the thumps of feet on wood next to him then Bale darted, sword first, towards the trio. He brought his sword up and crashed it downwards. It missed Kensin by an inch or so.

  “Wait,” Eric said and stepped between them raising a hand towards each party.

  Bale, grabbed the sword with both hands, turned around to see Hok and the others standing behind him, Eric between him and the three others. He turned his head towards Hok, sword still trained at the others, “you didn’t tell me you were working with those backstabbers.”

  For a second Hok thought about charging towards him, trying to subdue him. A shadow bind or a paralysis would be enough until he calms down, but then what? This has got to resolve itself. He rais
ed a hand, “take it easy warde-”

  “-I am no warden,” Bale screamed then stabbed the air towards Hok, “had I known you were working with them, I wouldn’t have gotten on that wyvern. I’d rather died then and there than siding with these monsters.”

  “I know you guys started on the wrong foot,” Hok said.

  The trio on the other side said nothing. Lips pierced and heads low. Eric still had both hands in the air, trying to be a wedge between the two.

  “Wrong foot? These are killers. They won’t hesitate to kill anyone if it helps their cause. I guess our lives are insignificant to you.” He turned towards Kensin, “After all we are just NPCs right?”

  “This guy is an NPC?” Oz said

  “Not now Oz,” Fitch said

  “That’s not true,” Eric said, “we had no choice. That was the only way to get the pillar. Please, you have to understand.”

  “Understand what? That it’s ok to kill us so you get what you want?”

  “Please,” Eric said taking a step towards Bale and raising hands, “I’m begging you, please understand. We had no choice. They had to kill her to get the pillar. There was no other way. But we still need your help.”

  “My help? You need my help? Where were you when we needed your help? Where were you when Galawar was attacked? Where were you when my outpost was attacked? My home…” Bale said, his voice faltered, the sword lowered a foot or so, “It’s all gone. I have no home now. And you are asking for my help?”

  “I’m really sorry,” Eric said, “I lost my home too. I lost everything I got. I saw my wife turn to crystal before my eyes…” he paused for a second, his gaze on the floor, “And I’m not the only one. Ask Kensin,” Eric pointed at Kensin who hung his head low, “ask Kosaki,” he pointed at the other Japanese guy, “You think if there was anything that could’ve been done we wouldn’t have done it? That’s why I’m asking you please, you hold one of the keys for this. It’s the only way we can help and save those we love.”

  Kensin and his friends bowed.

  Bale stood there for a moment then lowered the sword and sheathed it. “Just know this, I’m doing it for my people. For my home. When this is all said and done, we are once again enemies. And I will get my revenge.”

  ~

  One more restocking duty and Jack should be off work for another week. He had to take time off from work to ensure his undivided attention for the coming events. As far as cost went, it amounted to nothing more than few days from his annual leave and a dozen frozen meals. He hated the Chicago winter weather and was more than happy to be stuck at Orora for the coming few days.

  He stretched his arm to place a cereal box in the top shelf when the sound and vibration of his phone startled him. Keeping the phone on the ringtone mode was against company policy, so he grabbed for it fast and hit the button on the side to silence it. A call from Eric. He looked at Emma, again his only coworker for the day, and raised his phone mustering the best “can I please” face. Emma smiled and nodded back.

  He went in the back store and took the call, “Hey man.”

  “Jack,” Eric said, “Hope I didn’t disturb?”

  “Well, I’m at work but this Emma girl don’t mind and the execs never show up here, so it’s all good.”

  “She’s a keeper that girl I tell you,” Eric chuckled in the other end.

  “Yeah, yeah. How is everyone doing?” Jack said everyone but he sure meant Bale.

  “Will, they’ll need time to get used to one another,” Eric said, “but time is something we can’t afford. For now, Bale is setting alone looking eastward.”

  “Eastward?”

  “His outpost I guess. I asked him if he wanted to visit but he didn’t seem interested so I didn’t want to bother him further.”

  “I have few more hours at the store before my week long leave. I think it’ll be enough to get this done.”

  “I sure hope so.”

  “You are going to gather the rest?”

  “I can, but we are still missing the catalyst. No point in getting everyone now.”

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Jack said with a big grin. The commotion with Bale must’ve made him forget all about it, but Eric sure needed some cheering up. “I have some good news about that. I saw someone that could help us. I’ll tell you more once I’m in. Let me get back to work for now.”

  He ended the call and got back to the store. A customer just finished checking out and grabbed his bags. Jack opened the store door and the customer passed through, “thanks for shopping with us.”

  Jack went back to Emma, “hey, thanks for letting me take the call,” Emma smiled back and Jack turned around to take his leave.

  “Um…” a faint sound came behind his back that he had to turn around to make sure he didn't imagine it. Emma looked down, rose faced, “I bought a VRR last week. Think I might be joining the game.”

  “Oh, that’s great,” Jack approached the counter, “didn’t know you were into those things.”

  “I’m not, just wanted to, you know,” her face flushed even more, “I was thinking…” she looked down at her feet, “you might be able to show me around?”

  “I’ll be more than happy to,” Jack said, then remembered his next week schedule, “I’m taking a week off starting today, I’ll be busy in game so won’t be able to help you.” a sad smile grew on Emma’s face, “Can you wait for the week after?”

  She beamed with a smile, “Yes, I still have the one month free trial.”

  “it’s a date.”

  While death is never permanent in Orora, there are consequences to dying in the field. You’ll wake up in a weaken state if revived in battle. What that means is your HP will be halved and so would your attack and defense power for the next five minutes. You’ll also lose some XP (10% of the amount you need to level.)

  Die again while weakened and the effect will compound. You do the math. The advice is, don't die.

  33 – The quest 3

  “I told you, I did that for your own good.”

  The old man said this for the third or fourth time, but Maia had none of it. The anger boiled inside her at what he did few days back. Perhaps the atmosphere around them did not help much as well.

  By the time she got back up on her feet and they followed Eb to find the old man, the war broke open. The Galawar army’s patience drew thin and they advanced towards the Beastmen’s camp. The fighter Beastmen in retaliation advanced towards the city and the once open space between the two armies became a raging battlefield.

  Three times Maia saw her HP dipping dangerously low by some area of effect or a stray Beastmen fighter. The place erupted around them with huge magic spells and clashes of weapons. Rain and Borg protected her from all incoming enemies, but they couldn’t do much about area of effect spells aside from warning her to run and healing her after the fact.

  When they met up with Jade, she used a spell called Iron Skin on her. The spell provided Maia with an energy shield that absorbed damage ten times her max HP. While it helped, ten times a level eight assassin’s HP didn’t stand a chance against all this display of devastating spells. Tornados ripped through the field, meteors pounded from the sky and ice spikes erupted from the ground three or more stories high. As cool as they looked, the damage to her character would’ve been unfathomable.

  Eb kept yelling and urging the guys to come to his location because he didn't know how long he could keep up with the old man in all this mess. Couldn't blame him really, if he managed to see throw the spells, the number of people around could throw any pursuer off. But that rang true for Maia and the others as well. They followed Eb’s indicator in their mini map, but between them stood death, a hundred times over.

  It took them ten minutes of chase and pull back to reach Eb, another ten to get a hold of their target. Thankfully Eb was right about the old man. Surprise and embarrassment showed clear on the old man’s face when he first saw them, but soon he gave in to the suggestion of moving inside the ci
ty to have a better talk.

  “Believe me,” the old man said leaning on his staff, “I was only considering your safety.”

  The six of them stood to one side of an ally off the main road leading to the main gate. It was the best nearby place to gather away from the cries of war around them. They tried the small motel on the street corner, but the place served as a refuge camp for NPCs from nearby settlements and no longer welcomed guests.

  Rain and Eb leaned on a sidewall, Jade sat on the ground next to Eb. Maia stood on the other side keeping the old man in the middle. Borg kept watch at the mouth of the ally.

  “So,” Maia said, nostrils flared, “killing me was the best idea?” her voice came stronger than she intended.

  “Would you have gone back if I told you otherwise?”

  Maia thought for a minute. Perhaps he was right, she went all the way to that new continent, even stomached a boat ride to do it. She wouldn't have entertained the idea of backing out.

  “No,” Maia turned her head sideways; Borg peeked out the alleyway, keeping watch for some reason. Jade and Eb actively stayed out of the conversation. “But that was my decision to make.”

  “I know,” the old man said, “and I know you don’t care about being killed because you’ll just go back to your home point.”

  “And I would’ve sat it there if you gave me the chance,” Maia’s voice took a higher tone, it came out rather squeaky. Borg turned his head to watch them; the others averted their eyes from them. Perhaps Maia was blowing this way out of proportion.

  The old man sighed, “That’s the whole point. We were on our way to possibly meet The Dark One. There is no coming back from a death by his hands.”

  The guys opened their eyes at the last words, “No coming back?” Rain said, “The Reaper?”

  The old man closed his eyes and nodded.

  A perma death? Someone or something could erase characters? Surly no game did that to its players. “The Reaper?” Maia said, “As in death?”

  “A creature some said belonged to the Dark Order,” the old man said. More confused faces popped around including Maia’s. Mental note: really need to check out the lore.