Crystalfire Keep

by J. A. Cipriano

  “It works, trust me,” she reiterated, not that she needed to. The math backed her up.

  Dunya too was more than happy to brag-slash-educate us on how she did her DPSing but remained purposefully vague about the specifics of what Gems and gear she used. Her play style was all slow, big damage hits, all from melee range, with only the native durability of her class and whoever she had on tank and support to keep her alive.

  As she put it, “If you keep me alive, I can kill any MOB from any direction, just give me the time to swing and the opening to make it.”

  Vindril had the easiest time explaining things. While Vanguards were usually sword-and-board types and one of the most common tanks, there were more than a few that planned out a ‘tough DPS’ archetype, especially good for soloing. Straight up physical damage for the most part, Vindril did point out that he carried a Grade A Sparkshooter with Air Elemental Gems slotted for emergencies.

  “In my past experience, I was taught that a good soldier prepared for every possible situation,” the old Aurum explained. “While my strengths would favor melee options, I realize it may be necessary to bring the thunder, as we used to say in my youth.”

  Dunya giggled. “We still say that, you know!”

  Vindril harrumphed while Wazif tugged on his beard with a grin. “Well, do you believe we’re ready, Shale?”

  Crysta, Nahma, Burndall, and Kayla had already left, no doubt to continue to plan the whole guild thing. “I think so. I wish someone other than I had a Light Gem, but it won’t be a huge issue. By the time we really need them, you guys will earn it through the questline.”

  And that was how it happened. I had to swap party leadership to Wazif so that the others could start the quest line but it all ran smoothly from there. We followed the now-familiar path up into the Dominion Mountains with me leading the ways through the snowy trails, knowing exactly where to find Princess Kallisandre’s royal convoy.

  Foresight into what was about to happen started us off on a far better footing than before. Even better, this time through we had a full group of five as opposed to being only three. I charged right into the midst of them, keeping my eyes right on the gorilla-like Crystal Ogre, opening with a Defiant Display to keep its focus entirely on me. Though my first instinct had been to pick up the Pyrlin pack as well, Vindril and Dunya had suggested another approach.

  “I’m turning the big boy around,” I shouted above the din as I threw off the Ogre’s massive club. “Go for it, guys!”

  The Aurum blocked a Pyrlin’s claw with the haft of one mace, throwing it back. “Yessir!” Matching diamond-cut quartz Gems in his weapons blazed to life as Dunya, who had lingered back from the initial rush, advanced, her immense scimitar held aloft.

  Before the little fools-gold beasties could take another shot at Vindril, while I circled around the Ogre to keep his wide, arcing swings away from the rest of the group, the Vanguard twisted his body, maces pulled back, before unleashing a tremendous spinning strike, a whirlwind assault accompanied with lightning and thunder. Each sparking, flanged mace head slammed into and through Pyrolin skulls.

  To sing counterpart to the whirling storm, Dunya leaped the last few steps towards the scrum, shouting a surprisingly fierce roar as she swung her blade overhead, flames licking the edge. As she landed, the scimitar slammed into the ground with shuddering force, lava, rock, and flames bursting up from the ground. Through the fire, smoke, dust, and the faceted barrel gut of the Ogre, I couldn’t see anything outside of the green outlines of my groupmates.

  As if there wasn’t enough pyrotechnics, Wazif decided to add one last little bit so as not to be left out, hurling a large, cast-iron bomb straight out of a medieval history book, sputtering fuse and all. It splashed down in the middle of the conflagration and went (very predictably) boom.

  Vindril’s Whirlwind (Dual Wield) tears through the area!

  Dunya’s Volcano Slash erupts from below!

  Wazif’s Grade S Spark Bomb (Fire) explodes!

  And there, in one tremendous sequence of an alpha strike, the entire weenie rush was down and out. I didn’t waste my concentration watching the combat log spam as all three consecutive area of effects went off, gore-coated chunks of mineral-infused goblin being thrown in all directions. Of course, that left me dancing with the shiny quartz giant solo for a few moments.

  The hunched-over beast gripped his granite club in both hands and raised it up for a massive smash. Before the big hit could come in, I raised my banner as I took up a defensive stance. “You can’t win, ogre! We’ve done this dance before,” I yelled as I activated my Entrenching Call, a cry that wove with a beautifully intricate rhythm that thumped in my heart. That was from Merina, whose outline I could see moving through an intricate and elaborate dance.

  Boon ‘Entrenchment’ gained! All allies in range gain +12% Block, Dodge, and Physical resistance!

  Merina gives the Order to activate Dancer’s Cadence! All group members gain +15% (no reduction) Block, Dodge, Attack Rate, and Movement Speed!

  Stirred by Merina’s dance and my own inspiriting call, my shield was up, neatly blocking the titanic swing of the Ogre. The shockwave of the impact rattled my stony body, all the way into the ground as the earth shook beneath me. Fortunately, having already known the Ogre had this move, the tremor the blow produced didn’t scratch a single one of my friends.

  Crystal Ogre’s Earthquake Smash hits (blocked) you! You take 294 (-294 blocked) Physical Damage! HP 3726/4020

  Your Light Thorns pierce Crystal Ogre! He takes 6% (+3% vulnerability) Light Damage! HP 94%

  It was amazing the difference a month made. While the hit still rattled me, my advances in gear and Gems had outstripped the scaling for my increased level. What had driven me to my knees only weeks before now only set my teeth on edge as I shoved the massive club aside. As the sparks of Primal Light shot off the Elohjin Guardian’s Shell, those same blackened veins of corruption I knew were there started to snake through the Ogre’s body, Darkness reacting to Light.

  “He’s moving into his mixed damage phase already,” I called out as I raised my shield, concentrating on the Light Gem embedded alongside my Shield Slam stone. “Let’s try to take him down before he does too much damage. Be careful, he’s got some nasty Thorn damage in this mode!

  Dunya whooped as her minute form charged through the clearing smoke. “Just keep me alive, Merina! Here I go!”

  Though I couldn’t still get a clear look at the others aside from their glowing outlines, there was enough detail to make out that Vindril had drawn the blunderbuss-shaped Sparkshooter he had mentioned earlier, dropping into a neat marksman’s crouch as he took aim. Past him, Merina looked to flow effortlessly from her first dance into a second, slower one, like a carefully paced waltz, as Wazif’s hands worked the motions of a spell.

  The miner’s quick, simple magic went off first, a deep, soothing warmth rising up inside my chest as his Warm the Soul started to counteract the worst of my injuries. “Don’t worry, Shale! I’ll keep you going while our dancing friend sees to the little one.”

  The rapidly darkening Ogre still only had eyes for me as inky trails ran down his treetrunk slab of a weapon. Holding off for a moment, the Light surging into my shield, I waited for the beast to start his sidelong swipe at my side before letting that accumulated solar energy loose. The Primal Light burst outward, illuminating the Ogre with a burning corona.

  The Ogre roared, his aim thrown wide as he tried to shield his face from the pure, white radiance. His faceted skin blackened and cracked, shreds of dark corruption blasted to dust from the assault. Blinded and wounded, the Crystal Ogre still tried to lumber forward, maybe hoping to overrun his tormentor, but that only left it open for the coordinate assault to his back.

  Your Solar Shield hits Crystal Ogre! He takes 30% (+15% vulnerability) Light Damage and is Blinded! HP 64%

  A thunderous clap initiated the attack, the expanding blast from Vindril’s ‘shooter sundered the remaining clou
d of smoke and dust, finally giving me a clear line of sight to the others. A spray of electrically-charged lead bullets rocketed into the back of the Ogre, sending the monstrosity stumbling forward even faster. Black ichor sprayed out, soul-chilling fluid that would have hurt the Vanguard if he had been close, but doing nothing to him from twenty paces away.

  I started eyeing a dodge to either side in case Fatty decided to fall on top of me, even as I saw Dunya’s immense blade wind up off to one side of the Ogre, the only part of her visible to me now. Before she could make her best attempt to bisect the thing, the Dancer finished her measured steps and that driving rhythm that had been in my head was joined with a soothing, inspiring harmony. The air around each and every one of us replied to that harmony, the water vapor around us crystalizing into a faceted shield.

  Vindril’s Sparkshooter Shot hits Crystal Ogre! He takes 4% Physical Damage and 3% Air Damage! HP 57%

  Merina dances the Waltz of the Diamond Princess! Her Bangles of the Royal Court chime in response. All allies in range gain a Damage Shield equal to 15% of their maximum Health Points.

  Dunya’s blade started to move with growing speed as if the little Ember was using every ounce of her body weight to spin the sword towards the Ogre. Not to be left out from the fun myself, I planted my banner beside me, concentrating on the Boulder Hurl Gem in my Ring of Promise. As her blade struck with terrifying force in the Ogre’s side, I ripped a chunk of snowy rock from the valley floor, the Gem Fused Petrify infusing the rock with elemental power before I chucked it right at the Ogre’s ugly, blackened face.

  The Bladesaint’s burning scimitar cleaved deeply into the small of the Ogre’s back, slicing through crystalline skin and corrupted meat like the proverbial hot knife through butter. The soul-chilling ichor sprayed all over Dunya as her blade cleared the far side of the beast, even that immense sword not long enough to fully bisect the monster. The icy shield around her melted and she cried out as the pressurized ichor sent her staggering back

  Still, her vicious attack had taken its toll and left the Ogre wide open for my glowing boulder to slam right into his temple. The physical impact shattered crystal and pummeled skull bone, caving in the Ogre’s right eye socket and sending a spray of gore over my raised shield. The magic of Kayla’s Petrify Gem went to work from there, turning brain, nerve, and head into solid, unliving stone.

  Dunya’s Brimstone Slash hits (critical) Crystal Ogre! He takes 20% (+10% critical) Physical Damage and 17% (+8.5% critical) Fire Damage! HP 20%

  Crystal Ogre’s Corrupting Thorns hits Dunya! She takes 1,082 (-485 shielded, +108 vulnerability) Darkness Damage! HP 2148/3230

  Your Boulder Hurl/Petrify Fusion hits (critical) Crystal Ogre! He takes 12% (+6% critical) Physical Damage and 20% (-2% resisted, +10% critical)! He dies!

  The Ogre’s arms waved involuntarily for another moment or two before the petrification effect raced down through the Darkness-infected flesh and corrupted crystal. By the time the monster stopped moving, he was almost entirely a statue of crude stone shot through with black crystal deposits.

  Slinging the black ichor from my shield even as the Primal Light in it burned away at the corruption, I stared, somewhat stunned at the ease with which we tore through an encounter that had been so hard for Kayla, Burnie, and me. Sure, I knew all the reasons why: superior numbers, superior information, and solid leadership that had led to a solid plan. It didn’t make it any less of a shock.

  Victory! You gain 9.6% Experience (7.8% per Crystal Ogre + .3% per Pyrlin)! Experience 2,193,000/2,400,000

  Even as I tried to process it, Wazif and Merina both worked in tandem to cleanse Dunya of the black corruption of the Ogre’s ichor, soul-warming flames and a spinning pirouette that ended in a dazzling finale from each was enough to heal her Health right to full. Vindril slung his Sparkshooter with all the matter-of-fact professionalism of a career soldier and nodded to me.

  “Excellent guidance, sarge, and fantastic intel. I don’t want to think how that would have gone if we had gone in cold.”

  Refreshed, Dunya picked herself up, using her scimitar as a walking stick to steady herself. “I’m sure we would have been fine, I was here after all, but … yeah, it would have hurt a heck of a lot more.”

  “I guess we can all accept that you’re being as humble as you possibly can.” Merina grinned as she ran her hands through her ponytail of kelp. “Wow, I’m psyched. I did it. I mean, I knew I could do it but to actually do it for real …”

  Wazif, a good three inches shorter than the almost Amazonian Dancer, threw his arms around her in a warm embrace. “We didn’t doubt you for a moment! Not only did you keep us alive, you provided us with some delightful entertainment as well.” He let her go and they both shared a laugh. “I have to ask, though, can you tell us how much of the dancing is from the Gems and how much is from you?”

  I snapped back to the moment before she could answer, a beaming smile on my face. “Not to interrupt but let’s save that for later.” I gestured towards the narrow part of the valley where Princess Kallisandre and the surviving diplomats from the Ocean Mother stood, fear and relief mixed in their watery eyes. “We have a little bit more before this quest is done … but before you do the turn-in Wazif, I just wanted to say that you guys did incredible. If we keep this up, Crystalfire Keep is as good as won!”

  As Dunya and the rest cheered and gathered around the Princess, I thought back to what Kayla had told me. She had said that if we could do this better than we had originally, there would be nothing to worry about and she was right. We might only be nine, but that would be enough. Of that, I was now sure.

  13

  “It’s not that far away now,” Kayla said softly, barely audible above the crackling, roaring inferno that engulfed the North Rift. She leaned on the railings of the Flameward Bridge Sky Tower, gazing off towards the distant glow of Crystalfire Keep. To the north, the massive slabs of blackened stone that made up the bridge stretched outward, a thin ribbon of magically-warded safety that reached out to the Water Kingdom beyond.

  While her attention was on the Keep, mine had drifted to the twinkling fires just to the south of it, to the Shadowyard. A graveyard meant for those Barrier Knights who had died from the corruption of the Darkness and thus unable to be restored by the Life Crystals, it was now the site of construction for the war camp from which we would go out to take the Keep.

  “No, it isn’t,” I said, stifling a yawn as I leaned next to her. “Not in distance and in time. I wonder how the keystone quests will work once the camp opens. Hard to fight a Dark Rider with all those vendors and NPCs around.”

  “For sure.” Those big, watery blue eyes glanced sidelong at me. “You’ve really been pushing yourself these past few days, haven’t you?”

  I stood up straight, arching my shoulders and trying to pretend I wasn’t nearly as worn out as I was. “Eh, I’ve done longer stretches. It’s no big deal, Mina.”

  Your Trust with your Promised has decreased by 1 point to 25!

  Kayla laughed as she shook her head. “Bad Max, no cookie for you.” She turned away from the glowing spectacle of the Keep and sat against the railing, the chaotic firestorm silhouetting her slender frame as she looked at me dead on. “You know, you can’t lie when an AI that’s plugged into your brain is reading your every intention. Even if the Filter wasn’t there, I am quite adept at sniffing out a lie.”

  “Legal work?”

  “Yes, that’s certainly given me experience with much better truth-stretchers than you.” She smiled. “No offense intended, of course, and I like to think that’s actually more of a compliment to you.”

  I sighed and nodded, rubbing my temples. “Fair enough. I don’t want to worry you though.”

  “Max,” she sighed as she reached out towards me with an open hand, which I took into one of my own, “I understand that, and I could even come up with an argument as to why that might be good when it comes to the others. To hide it from me, though, that won’t wo
rk. We’re a team here, we’re partners, and you need to be open with me about when things are hard for you. I’m here to help, well, support you and that doesn’t just mean some seriously clutch heals.”

  I squeezed her hand and cracked a wry smile. “You’re right like you usually are. I guess … well, you know I take care of my sister. I’m used to having to work my butt off to take care of things under some pretty rough circumstances. Having help, help from people who aren’t in my family and actually care, is a novel concept.”

  Kayla grinned and squeezed back. “Well, get used to it. So, let’s start over.” She cleared her throat. “You’ve really been pushing it the past few days, haven’t you?”

  I laughed and took a deep breath. “Yes. While I’m still within my safe limits as dictated by the Safe and Sound NSAF policies, the extra session each day has been wearing me down but … not in the way you might suspect.”

  “Keep going, I’m all ears.” The calm smile on her face and open expression reinforced that claim.

  “Well, it’s not a physical strain, not really. It’s more … well, I’m sure you know about all the studies and reports on NSAF addiction. I’m not trying to insinuate that I’m feeling that way, not exactly, but it is somewhat like that.” I blew a sigh out through my teeth. “The longer I spend in the deep dive, though, the more torn I am by it. I’m loving every extra minute I spend here, questing, making new friends with Merina, Dunya, and Vindril, and most of all, spending time with you …”

  “But you have a whole real life on the other side, with your sister and your family who need you.” Kayla pushed off the railing, slipping her hand out of mine as she stepped up to me. Her arms snaked around my waist as she hugged me. “I want to tell you to not worry about it, that we don’t need that extra session but … the weekend is ahead, right in time for the Keep opening. The whole gang is free and … I sound so selfish, don’t I?”

  I chuckled as I put my arms around her shoulders. “No, not really, because you know the stakes or at least you know them well enough.” I rested my forehead against hers. “I’ll make it through. We’ll either kick so much butt that it’ll be over in a day or two and things can go back to normal, or we will get so far behind that it won’t matter.”