Crystalfire Keep

by J. A. Cipriano

  “We can work around the Gem problem easily enough but don’t worry about the affinities,” Kayla said. She glanced through her inventory before plucking a polished emerald out of her UI, the Gem materializing into a solid form in the palm of her hand. “While the Skill Affinities are bad, we can counteract that with Elemental Affinities. That’s why I take the time to ensure all my Support Gems are Water Elements or modded to be so.”

  The math backed her up. While I would never have offensive abilities as powerful as, say, Burndall, using Earth abilities would at least make such abilities affected. “True.” I snapped my fingers. “Hey, what if we did a bit of both, like a bit of offensive and a bit of something else in the same package?”

  Her eyes flashed up from the inventory to me. “Like, say, a heal and an attack connected through the link?”

  “Right, exactly.” I plucked out an emerald from my own inventory, not quite as perfect as the one Kayla had. “While all my Offense Gems are crap grade C and D stuff, I still have that Grade B Regenerative Pulse. If we paired it with a solid attack ability on your end, it could be good both for DPS and to keep us going in a rough fight.”

  I held it up so she could get a better look at its tooltip, something neither one of us had looked at for weeks.

  Grade B Regenerative Pulse (Defensive Spell)

  100 Elemental Power to activate

  16 second cooldown, Earth Element

  The regenerative energy of the forest slowly heals your wounds. Every 2 seconds for the next 8 seconds, you heal 10% of your maximum Health Points.

  She focused on it for a few moments before settling back on her stool again. “Hmm. Maybe. I guess that lacks versatility in my eyes. If you had a targeted heal, that would be better, something that you could be useful in all sorts of situations. After all, in a fight, it’s certain that someone is getting hurt and it isn’t always you, no matter your best intentions.”

  “Fair enough.” Sighing, I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. “I’m sorry, Mina, I just didn’t keep anything I didn’t think I needed for tanking. Better to sell loot to turn to real cash for my family than, you know, stockpile for a day I never thought would come.”

  Kayla smiled broadly. “Then let your relatively rich girlfriend provide something for you.” With her free hand, she materialized another emerald, this one with a cabochon cut, out of her inventory. “After seeing what Burndall was capable of with a melee weapon regardless of how bad he should be at it, I did some shopping, looking at various Elemental Attack Abilities as opposed to Spells. While I didn’t see much I liked, I grabbed a few for further testing.”

  She held up both Gems and opened her palms, letting me get a clear look at them. “Take a look at these and tell me what you think.”

  Putting on a display of false politeness by trying to push aside Kayla’s charity would be stupid and wrong, so I leaned in and focused on first the polished emerald then the cut one.

  Grade S Boulder Hurl (Offensive Skill)

  75 Elemental Power to activate

  4 second cooldown, Earth Element

  Summoning the strength of stone, you rip free a chunk of stone from the ground below and hurl it at a targeted enemy, inflicting 180-360 Physical Damage and 220-440 Earth Damage.

  Grade S Petrify (Offensive Spell)

  125 Elemental Power to activate

  4 second cooldown, Earth Element

  You create a link between the Elemental Earth and the flesh of a targeted opponent, causing their body to slowly petrify. This causes 112-186 Earth Damage per second for 4 seconds, as well as Slowing the Movement and Attack Speed of the target by 20%. If an opponent dies due to Petrify damage, it has a 20% chance of becoming a Mining Node of random quality.

  I let out a low whistle. “You have excellent taste, dear. Have I ever told you that?”

  “No, but I won’t disagree. After all, I do know my death-dealing implements.” Kayla grinned. “It is my primary job. I take it you approve?”

  “Let’s do it.” Reaching out across the little stump of a table, I opened my hand. “I’ll find a way to pay you back later.”

  Kayla giggled. “Look, Max, all you have to do is keep being you, be the man I’m in love with, and we can call it even, okay?”

  It was a little thing to say. In fact, you could say it was the expected thing for her to say, but it warmed my heart to hear it all the same.

  She reached out and put her hand in mine, the moment the trade request blipped to life in front of me.

  Kayla would like to trade with you!

  Would you like to accept?

  “Fair enough,” I agreed, both verbally and mentally. The Boulder Hurl Gem popped into my inventory and I immediately shifted it into my free hand. Taking another brief look at it up close, I moved to slot it into the last open slot of my Ring of Promise. As I moved it closer to the ring, the emerald shrunk until it was minute enough to fit into the small socket in the ring, right in the open jaws of the third wolf’s head.

  Once it clicked into place, my ability bar updated, adding the Boulder Hurl icon at the end. Opposite of me, Kayla socketed the Petrify Gem into her own Ring and there was a spark as both Gems surged with an inner light. A moment later, that light subsided while my hotbar updated again, this time with the Petrify icon placed above Boulder Hurl, with a representation of a link from a chain joining the two icons.

  Your Boulder Hurl Gem and Kayla’s Petrify Gem are now Fused!

  Both Active Abilities will be under the effects of Gem Fusion for as long as they are slotted in your Rings of Promise. Once removed, your Boulder Hurl Gem will revert to a standard version.

  “Very cool,” I smiled.

  Kayla nodded. “You said it. So, do you want to take a look at that Darkness Gem or maybe you want to go rally the troops?”

  Settling back in my stool, I put my hands on my knees. “I probably should talk to them, get to know them a little better. I mean, by the time we were saving the princess, we had at least had one big battle together.”

  She winked knowingly. “That’s why I mentioned it.” Her expression grew serious. “They may not have a Light Gem among them outside of yours and that’s how we beat the Crystal Ogre after all. Besides, the best way to know if these folks can do this is by doing these quests better than we did.”

  “So, what are you going to do while we get our faces punched in?” While I asked that, I pulled up the infinite darkness of the Darkness Mod Gem. “I imagine your schedule has opened up a lot now that, uh, you’re not with the Sisters.”

  I knew how Amethyst’s betrayal was hurting Crysta but I hadn’t had the chance to see how it was impacting Kayla. Admittedly, it was pretty stupid of me not to have brought it up before, especially with what I had seen about Amethyst in the Vale. Again, trying not to let hindsight bear me down, I looked up from the Gem to my Promised.

  “I’m sorry, I should have asked you about this earlier, but … are you okay?” I frowned a bit. “You know, with what Amethyst did to you?”

  The question surprised Kayla, almost as if she hadn’t even thought about it since it had happened. “Well … I suppose I saw it coming. Maybe that’s why it hasn’t really hit me like it’s hitting Crysta. Even though Amethyst and I worked together in a lot of Crucible events, we never entirely got along.” She chewed her lip. “It still stings though.”

  Frowning a little at that, I pushed an initial, immature thought of revenge on Amethyst out of my mind. “I got the impression that Crysta had been with the Sisters since their founding or close to it,” I conjectured before holding my hands out to Kayla again. “I’m sorry that happened, even if you’re getting the softer end of it than her. Call me naïve, but I didn’t think Amethyst would be so petty.”

  Kayla reached out and put her hands in mind, clasping in a warm embrace. “Thanks, Max, not that an apology is really necessary. In the end, best to have that cut be clean, quick, and from her end.” She smiled. “In the end, I think it will be for the best and as
for what I’ll do, well, I guess other than providing advice if anyone needs it, I should see about getting in a Crucible match or two. Just because I’m not in the Sisters doesn’t mean I don’t want to keep my PvP skills sharp.”

  “Well, I will make you a deal.” I grinned as I gave her hands one last squeeze. “If we make it through this and everything turns out okay, I’ll be your next arena partner. It’s the least I can do.”

  Kayla laughed and slipped her hands free of mine. “Deal accepted. Now get a move on, fearless leader! You have troops to rally and all that good grid.”

  12

  I interposed my glowing Elohjin shield between my face and the familiar granite club of a Crystal Ogre as an equally familiar pack of Pyrlins clawed at Vindril, their fool’s gold claws sparking off his Kelly green plate mail. Snow whipped past the melee in the deep valley, surrounded by the immense, rocky peaks of the Dominion Mountains.

  Needless to say, the feeling of déjà vu was strong, almost frighteningly strong. Sure, in almost every other way, this time riding into this valley to find the embattled diplomatic envoy from the Ocean Mother and the monstrous minions sent to finish them off was entirely different. It was the familiar cries, the familiar sights, that was what drove it all home in my brain.

  True to Kayla’s words, I was determined to ensure that this run would be better and easier than our first one. After leaving Kayla in the inn, I moved out into Whitepeak’s little square where the others were still chatting, Burndall having a quiet chat with Nahma and Crysta going back and forth with the rest of the new recruits.

  “Hey guys,” I said, causing all eyes to turn towards me. “I wanted to go ahead and take a couple of minutes before we head to Granholm to go over what we’re about to do and get an idea of how those that are coming with me played. We’re going into scaling content and while this first encounter isn’t insane, the sooner we adjust to fighting together, the better.”

  Wazif nodded along with the rest of the new crew. “Sounds like a good idea to me, Shale.” He smiled at Crysta. “Thank you for all the advice. I’m sure it will be a big help.”

  The Ranger nodded with a little smile of her own as she turned away from my charges, patting me on the shoulder as she passed on her way to join Burnie and Nahma’s little discussion. I gave that little cluster a glance, firing off a private message to Burndall as I turned back to the others.

  Shale: Hey, man! Not sure if anyone else has poked you about this, but what would you say to the idea of us starting a guild with you as both second-in-command and the power behind the throne?

  I couldn’t see his reaction but from the way there was an abrupt pause in the chatter behind me, I know he reacted.

  Burndall: Dude, that is a brilliant idea. I’m guessing you’d be the big boss?

  Shale: I don’t think anyone would accept anyone else.

  Burndall: I’m all in. Do the ladies know?

  Shale: We touched on it while you were talking to the new folks.

  Burndall: Cool. Mind if I discuss some particulars with them and bring Nahma in on this? I’m assuming you want all of our peeps in one basket, right?

  Shale: Go for it. I trust you implicitly, Burnie.

  I was only half-paying attention as Wazif, Dunya, Merina, and Vindril huddled around me, no doubt waiting for me to organize things. Wrapping up my little direct chat with Burnie, I looked up to realize that all eyes were on me. Trying not to show how uncomfortable I felt, I cleared my throat and started to reorganize the group structure as I started talking.

  “Sorry about that, folks. I don’t know how much Nahma has told you about how these quests will go or what you might have read on the internal wiki, so we’re going to focus more on how you guys do your jobs.” I found myself relaxing as I went on. Talking shop, the nuts and bolts of the game and how different playstyles worked, was one of the more enjoyable elements to me. “However weird you think it might be, know that I’m not going to question ‘if’ you can do the role. The devs say there are a million ways unique ways to build a champion and I hold them to that.”

  With one last mental swipe, the group was set and the raid was disbanded. My group UI updated and the familiar arcs of character status, level, and vital statistics came into view.

  Shale, 45 Craggar Warlord, Tank

  HP 4020/4020 EP 3000/3000

  Wazif, 17 Ember Mystic, Support

  HP 1230/1230 EP 1560/1560

  Merina, 60 Nix Dancer, Support

  HP 8410/8410 EP 6300/6300

  Vindril, 23 Aurum Vanguard, Damage

  HP 2100/2100 EP 1960/1960

  Dunya, 48 Ember Bladesaint, Damage

  HP 3230/3230 EP 3100/3100

  “So, who wants to go first?”

  Merina folded her arms again, as if she was raising shields or something, while Dunya, her massive sword now sheathed parallel to the packed earth on her back, was more than eager to speak up. “I hit things with a sword,” she proclaimed, sarcasm thick in her tone and tiny fists on her hips. “After that, they die.”

  “Maybe I should have made it clear that I was looking for some sort of specifics,” I muttered, scratching the back of my head. “I think that’s obvious to everyone, Dunya, but maybe a little bit more would be helpful?”

  “I have to agree with the sarge,” Vindril added. “To formulate a proper battle plan, he needs more than, well, nothing.”

  Dunya’s glowing eyes narrowed a little as her brow scrunched up. “What more could you need to know? Are you trying to copy my build or something?”

  I hadn’t considered that particular suspicion could be an issue, but it made sense. Whatever she had come up with was something she thought was special like that, maybe even unique. When I was younger, I’d probably be protective of it too.

  “I don’t,” I assured her, “but even if I did, I wouldn’t know how it works, not like you do.” Her eyes calmed even if her posture was still puffed up and combative. “The things we need to know to make a good strategy aren’t anything like that, well, they don’t have to be, at any rate. No, I’m looking for information like … is your damage elemental, physical, or a mixture? Do you need to be purely in melee or do you do ranged attacks too? Is your damage bursty, meaning I need to more carefully control the aggro of the bad guys or is it a constant pace? Do you need to be in a proper position to do the best damage?”

  I shrugged. “That’s only an example. Just like there’s a ton of possible builds, there’s a ton of possible variables that it might be important for your groupmates to know so that we can maximize the potential we all bring to the table.”

  That looked to placate Dunya as she shrunk back a bit. “Oh, well, sure. You’re right about that.” She clasped her hands in front of her and looked down at them sheepishly. “Sorry, Shale, it’s just … well, you know how people in this game can be, I’m sure.”

  “I think we all do.” I took the moment to look around at the others. “It’s probably why Merina’s spent half the time I’ve known her, as little as that is, sabotaging herself and the other half standing up for herself.”

  Wazif nodded. “People everywhere, not just in this game, do that. They let preconceptions ossify their thoughts to the point they don’t want to consider anything other than what they already know to work. I run into it all the time” – he gestured toward the sky – “up there.”

  “I’m not sabotaging myself,” Merina mumbled, almost too softly to hear. “I’m only trying to be flexible. I don’t want you guys to fail because of me.”

  Vindril cleared his throat as he adjusted the twin maces on his hips. “You won’t fail and we won’t fail. I fully trust the sarge to lead us to victory, well, as long as we do our parts and tell him what he needs to know.”

  “You already have me around.” Dunya grinned up at the Dancer. “So we’re already ahead of the curve.” The Ember Bladesaint turned her attention back to me. “But yeah, I’ll tell you what you need to know. To be honest, it’s kinda cool to have to thin
k about this and actually tell someone. Most PUGs I run into don’t care how I kill things, just that I do it before everyone dies.”

  The Nix chimed in as well. “It is refreshing for someone to ask, I agree. Most people flat out assume I can’t do it, so they don’t even look into how I try to see if it’s possible.” Merina finally uncrossed her arms, settling her hands on her hips. “Considering how long it took for me to put my build together, I only hope I don’t bore you to tears talking about it.”

  “Well, you’ll do better than me, my friend,” Wazif laughed, thumbs hooked in his broad toolbelt. “I don’t even have a build per se and I don’t even know what role to finally settle into. I only have a load of utility and crafting Gems with a pack full of alchemical weapons to try to use.”

  “We will figure it all out and we will make it all work,” I assured the group. “So, let’s try this again. How do you guys do what you do?”

  It was a productive fifteen minutes or so. Once Merina had opened up, it was hard to get her to slow down, just like she implied it would be. She listed off every piece of the rare Royal Court Dancer’s Regalia set she wore, as well as a variety of Gems I’d never heard of. It had been a while since I had been forced to keep the internal wiki’s Gem listings open to get an idea of what she was talking about as she went on.

  Her entire support build hinged on an interaction with certain set bonuses of her silken armor and a line of ‘Dance’-tagged Gems that normally provide only the Dancer with various defensive and healing Boons. With the set bonuses and judicious use of Raid Call Modifier Gems similar to the one I used in my banner, Merina could spread those Dance Boons around the whole party and raid, if need be.