by Domino Finn
As much as I wanted to strike, Hadrian and his Brothers had pulled away from us. My brigade was facing off against the surrounding threats from the stands. I scanned the Arena for possible reinforcements, but the city watch had completely cleared out. Bandit hoofed nervously along the wall.
"Brugo," I said, offering a sheltering hand. "Come with us."
"Run?" he asked callously. "From this little man? Never."
Hadrian snorted. "You misread my intentions, Papa. It is not I who will do the honor."
Brugo's brow furrowed. He spun as his own shadows converged on him.
"No!" he ordered. "I am your master! I am the Protector of Shorehome! I hold the Squid's Tooth!"
Hadrian released a snide laugh. "A fool till the end. Didn't you ever wonder why Saint Loras gave you the soulstone to begin with?"
Brugo's face twisted. "An obvious deception, meant to ignite a war."
The spymaster's eyes fluttered impatiently. "Yes, but why did he give it to you?"
"Because I am the Papa of all Papas."
"You're an idiot. Loras didn't give you the soulstone, he gave it to ME. You're nothing more than my treasurer."
Brugo mustered himself after his initial surprise, eyes hardening into pure death. "Hear this," he boomed. "I will hang you in the fish market by your intestines, for all to see what real power is. Any of my Brothers that assist in this insurrection will contribute to a greater feast for the gulls." Brugo yanked the assassin needle from his neck and tossed it to the ground with a scowl. "Even my loyal pets, the shadows, will kneel before me or face my wrath."
The band of cutthroats backed away, cowed by their brash and seemingly invincible leader. The dark devils had no such fears. They advanced with menacing zeal.
"So be it," snarled Brugo. His axes flashed.
Black sparks ripped from the shadows, a series of strikes that would've killed normal beasts, one after the other too fast to count. Brugo took them on and advanced through both his bodyguards. He hurt them too.
Hadrian waited with the apathy of a man who'd seen the same movie play out time and again. Brugo put up a valiant effort, but he simply wasn't built to slice through the immaterial. Working together, the shadows swiped and feinted, picked and pulled, lashed and prodded, keeping the impressive fight going until the big man made a wrong move. A single miscalculation, overreaching his range the slightest bit, and whiffing.
The shadow monsters dove in. Nethery claws gouged grooves across his chest and belly. The wounds opened so deep, it wasn't just blood that escaped them. Bits of muscle and fatty tissue slipped out. Papa Brugo dropped his axes and buckled to his knees in a stadium-shaking rumble.
Hadrian smiled as his rogues surrounded him. "A man who leads by fear," he mused. "Are you afraid now, Papa of all Papas?"
Blood spilled from the big man's mouth. He tried to speak but choked on the words.
"You told it yourself, in your own story. A man must kill his mentor to evolve." Hadrian nodded and the two shadows lopped Brugo's head into separate pieces.
Until now, my people had focused on fending off the incoming Brothers in Black. Several of the rogues already lay dead, their cohorts feinting and biding time. When Brugo's ravaged body toppled to the dirt, the entire stadium was hit with the momentous tidings.
"It was you," I fumed, staring a hole through the Whisperer's soul. "All of it. You compromised the saints, divided the pagans, fractured Oakengard. You're the player secretly working behind the scenes, the one Lucifer worked all this time to thwart."
Hadrian spat. "His damned NPC evolution threatened everything. Look at what free choice almost brought this dead fool to do."
So Hadrian was the great enemy, the player who would wrest control of Haven. Suddenly all of Lucifer's moves made sense. The Whisperer had compromised the saints, so Lucifer sought to wrest them from power. Hadrian used NPCs and mobs as pawns and cover, so Lucifer gifted them free will. And it wasn't just him. The boggart witches must've figured the truth. It was Hadrian who'd made the move to silence them. It was him making all the moves, completely and utterly invisible behind his boisterous puppet leader.
"You must've known Lucifer was right next to you, in the Salt Sea," I said.
"Of course," he sniggered. "So close, yet so far. I allowed the fool to outcast himself. Let him stew in salt while I fomented war and division and strife, all to consolidate my power."
"Except your power over NPCs is tenuous now." I faced the crowd of black-clad rogues. "You have the power of choice," I announced to all, whether nameless or not. "You don't need to follow this traitor. We will be stronger together!"
Hadrian showed his teeth. "Don't prove yourself a bigger fool than the NPC, Talon. The Brothers in Black aren't here to ally with the Black Hats, we're here to annihilate you."
Black Hat Alert:
The Brothers in Black have declared war!
Brothers in Black Reputation -100
I gritted my teeth against every determined rogue in the Arena. They were all in on this. Free or not, they meant to fight to the last.
I stepped toward Hadrian, dragonspear twirling. "At least, in death, Brugo forced your hand. Your charade is over."
Izzy's crimson robe gave way to her teal combat dress. Conan and Lash swung impressive weapons. Kyle guarded Glinda, our healer.
Hadrian remained cool. "And yet I still have control of the game board. Look around, Talon. My pieces outnumber yours. The goblins and bandits are my doing. We have you surrounded, within these walls and without."
"You can't beat us with a bunch of goblins and thieves."
"Put enough pawns in the right position and you can do anything you want."
My knuckles went white. "You're forgetting the rules, Hadrian. I don't need to kill the pawns—I just need to capture the king."
I triggered dash to skid between his wall of defenders. I immediately noticed something different. Despite having regularly used the skill for weeks, its activation felt incomplete this time. Its behavior was unexpected, as if I hadn't finished pumping skill points into it.
The confusion caused me to stumble. I lined up a hasty deadshot, but my intuition skill warning went off.
[Shadowguard]
600 Health
A limb of shadow broke through my guard and slashed, forcing me to roll away.
47 damage
DoT: 30 dmg/15 secs
The pain distracted from my skill misfire. Multiple buffs washed over the brigade.
[Lash] cast War Cry
+10% strike for the next 30 seconds.
[Glinda] cast White Circle
+20% magic resistance and +10% non-physical damage resistance for the next 60 seconds.
"Talon!" called Izzy.
The second shadowguard went straight for her. At first I thought she was calling for help, but soon realized it was a warning. The pixie spiked her winter staff to the ground and activated its legendary power. I had to retreat behind our front line or be caught in the sleet storm.
A blizzard of jagged ice and heartless cold caught the center of the uprising. The shadowguards cowered at the potent magic. Instead of shriveling completely, they hurried to cover Hadrian. The Rough Riders weren't so lucky. Colt and Chico were buried in snow. Jackie brought her arms together and shielded herself with some sort of magical vanguard. The majority of the other scrubs learned the brutality of the harsh winter.
Our backside was unaffected by the cone of weather. Lash erected a glimmering wall of yellow energy. Brothers in Black fought to work through it. Conan cut down any that came close. Kyle panicked their ranks with fire and corrosive bolts. Alpha Team and Bravo Team worked together as a single unit, faction buffs and expertise compounding into sheer overpowering deadliness.
[Glinda] cast Minor Healing on [Talon]
You are healed and instantly relieved of minor status effects.
My health bar filled to full. I nodded thanks as she hurried to the white knight, fighting off four cutthroats at once.
Talon: Jeez, Lash, glad we've got you on our side.
Lash: The little worm still got away from me. I could've sworn it was gonna be the fat man. I was just waiting to chop him in half.
Izzy: Save those reflexes for the real enemy.
The frost mage's blizzard died down. The destruction was vast, but isolated. Despite the reams of black cloaks on the ground, we were still heavily outnumbered. More concerning were the shadowguards once again slithering our way.
The wave of rogues shattered Lash's wall. Izzy conjured a hail of icicles to mow them down. I triggered deadshot. Again I felt a degree of hesitation as my skill triggered. I willed the uncertainty away and struck a shadowguard dead center.
You dealt 22 damage to [Shadowguard]
A wispy claw raked at me. I barely activated crossblock in time. Same skill misfire. The attack partially phased through my defenses.
Blockbreaker!
32 damage
I grunted and spun away, glad to have escaped without a DoT. What was going on with my skills? "Do you guys feel that?" I asked.
Izzy smacked a goblin rogue with her staff. "Feel what?"
"Some kind of... lag on your skills?"
Izzy sprayed the area with ice. "That's your level 10 overload ability. Didn't you read up on the changes?"
"I guess not."
Izzy batted a thief with her staff and rolled her eyes. "Overload lets you pump extra SP into your skills. Do it or don't, but be decisive about whichever you choose. That indecision is the lag you feel."
I readied a counterattack against the shadowguard. Instead of engaging me, it rushed past. Crossbow bolts phased through it without triggering damage notifications.
"Physical weapons are no good!" reported Kyle. "No wonder Papa Brugo lost that fight."
As with me, the shadow ignored him and slipped past. It tackled Glinda at the knees.
Leg Break!
[Shadowguard] dealt 84 damage to [Glinda]
"Healer down!" I called out.
A clap of Glinda's hands bathed her in cooling white magic. Lash was immediately at her teammate's side, slamming her cleaver to the ground and spawning a new energy barrier. The shadowguard whined as the wall deflected its next attack.
The second guard left Hadrian's side and charged Izzy. Frozen stalagmites speared up from the ground.
[Izzy] dealt 32 damage to [Shadowguard] (343/600)
[Izzy] dealt 32 damage to [Shadowguard] (311/600)
It worked. Their ethereal forms were susceptible to magic. But, even after Brugo's axes and the sleet storm, the red mobs had plenty of health to go around. The spirit dove forward, ignoring incoming damage, and struck at the frost mage with a lightning-fast attack.
[Shadowguard] dealt 67 damage to [Izzy]
The pixie yelped and fell away, quick reflexes the only thing saving her from decapitation. The follow-up blow merely knocked the winter staff to the ground. As the other shadow battered Lash's wall, I gritted my teeth and triggered dash. This time, there was no uncertainty. No hesitation. I powered forward and struck Izzy's attacker in the back.
You dealt 27 damage to [Shadowguard] (284/600)
Luckily, the dragonspear was a legendary weapon, imbued with enough latent magic to tag the shadows. Still, the damage output was disappointing, even with my mantle bonus for protecting the city.
Glinda selflessly healed Izzy as her attacker shattered the energy wall. Lash brought her cleaver down. Imbued with yellow energy, the shadow recoiled and snarled.
"Hadrian's unprotected!" boomed Conan. He was out of position and outgunned. Without Lash's magic backing him, he was doing his best to hold the line on his own. He was a hardy fighter but, at level 7, it was only a matter of time before he was overrun.
I focused on the Whisperer looting Papa Brugo's body, but I couldn't bring myself to chase him down with Izzy in dire straits. I charged the shadowguard, shoving it aside and trading blows.
You dealt 23 damage to [Shadowguard] (261/600)
43 damage
DoT: 30 dmg/15 secs
With Izzy covered, the brewmaster saw his opening. Kyle spun his crossbow around. One shot hit a random rogue in the line of fire, but the second struck his mark. Hadrian recoiled from the bolt in his shoulder. He snarled against the corrosive DoT.
"You and me both, buddy," I grunted.
Our line was failing fast. Cutthroats swiped at Lash's back. They distracted her enough to allow a shadowguard to sneak in a heavy blow.
Surprise!
[Shadowguard] dealt 77 damage to [Lash]
DoT: 30 dmg/15 secs
As she buckled away, the spirit turned and viciously swiped at Glinda.
Critical Hit!
Stun!
[Shadowguard] dealt 94 damage to [Glinda]
DoT: 30 dmg/15 secs
"No!" Izzy somersaulted to the fallen healer's side, erecting a wall of ice from the ground before them, once again frustrating the attacking shadow.
Hadrian cried out and rolled away from another volley of crossbow bolts. The shadows were alerted to the danger and backed away, but only slightly. The two ghostly figures joined arms and spun, creating a vortex between them.
[Shadowguard] and [Shadowguard] cast Void Orb
The ball grew into a black hole and fired toward the healer.
Lash rolled from the black hole's path. Izzy and Glinda braced behind the ice wall as darkness consumed them both.
In a snap, the magical void blinked out of existence. Izzy, Glinda, and the ice wall were gone.
1390 Shadow Dancer
I braced my spear against the shadowguards while blinking dumbly at the combat notification window. This battle was doing a number on me. I really had to get my act together.
Talon: What the hell, Izzy! What happened?
Izzy: ... I'm not sure. We're alive. In a black hole. I can't see anything.
The spymaster delighted at our panic. Our healer and crowd control were now gone. Kyle reloaded his weapon. This time a shadowguard was in place to protect Hadrian. It solidified enough to take the hits, but the damage was minimal. With his master safe, the second shadowguard advanced on us.
"This is bad," muttered Lash, downing a health potion in the absence of her teammate. Conan fell back to us.
"Screw this," muttered Kyle. "I'm not going down like a chump." He pocketed the crossbow. A rounded shield with a flat top and bottom snapped into his left hand. His right glowed as he equipped a bronze gauntlet. It had been looted from Bishop Tannen, one half of his magical set. The glove and mirror shield was a new loadout combo for Kyle, and it didn't look half bad. His expression flipped from frustration to determination. "I may not be level 10 yet, but I'm not running. Bring it on."
The shadowguard sensed something awry. Where it had previously ignored the brewmaster, it now came at him warily. It tested the shield which completely reflected the attack. Kyle spun the holy gauntlet in answer. Golden light flared. The shadow flew away from Kyle like a popped balloon, a trail of smoke following it for ten feet. The shadow roiled in smoky anger.
Combo!
Holy Weakness!
Stun!
[Kyle] dealt 86 damage to [Shadowguard] (198/600)
The Whisperer's eyes widened to dinner plates. Every rogue in the Arena sputtered. Players in the crowd cheered and climbed down the walls. Attendees worked to open the portcullises.
"Away!" snapped Hadrian. "Get me to phase two!"
The Brothers in Black formed a wall as a shadowguard pulled their boss away. I charged, planted the spear, and vaulted over their line.
Izzy: We're free. But... We're east of the city.
Lash: Say again. You're not in Stronghold?
Glinda: No, we're on the eastern road. It'll take forever to get back.
Lash: Try.
Izzy: She's right. The fight will be over.
As I ran, my eyes found the mountain bongo at the side wall. "Bandit!"
She kicked a hoof in the dirt and snor
ted in understanding. I didn't know how she did it, but she was on the same page as me. As one portcullis was raised, the mountain bongo galloped from the Arena at full speed.
Talon: Sending you a ride.
Conan dropped to his knees, bloodied. Lash barged into his attackers, taking heavy damage herself. Before the tanks could be downed, players and NPCs from the stands flooded over them. More spilled to our flanks, harassing our enemies. The wounded shadowguard, far from defeated, lashed out at those nearby.
Hadrian and his shadow continued retreating. I wasn't sure what phase two was, but I didn't want them getting away. I batted a few rogues with my spear, forcing deeper through their ranks until my strike was parried by a platinum lance. Jackie the dragoon.
"You," I spat.
Such was the gift and the curse of MMOs. We'd dealt with the Rough Riders before, finished them off when they waylaid us, but defeating enemies in virtual worlds was only a temporary victory. Respawns allowed grudges to go on indefinitely.
"The Rough Riders make sense now. You were Hadrian's people all along. Raiding the Shorehome countryside, skirmishing to pose enough of a constant threat to unify the Brothers in Black in the city."
She smiled wickedly. "Scared the goblins and humans both. Kept them pledged to the city, and scared nosy wanderers away."