by Domino Finn
As much fun as the ride was, it took only a moment before we realized we were on a collision course with the easternmost of three bridges joining the Foot to the Forum. The same bridges that were too small for the barge to fit under. That first bridge had stone supports in the middle of the river.
"Uh... Errol?"
"By the Maelstrom, I see it."
Lash: Talon! Rogues are congregating in the north city. A lot more of them snuck into town than we thought. They're marching toward Oldtown. We need you here quick.
The sly kraken deftly slipped between the bridge supports. The barge didn't fare so well. It slammed into the solid stonework. Errol and I flew forward and crashed into the bricks, taking collision damage. He bounced back to the barge. The wood beneath me splintered lengthwise across the entire deck. I hung on sideways, hesitating a second too long before attempting to leap to safety.
Agility Check...
Failed!
Just as I deserved for laughing at Kyle's mishap, I landed face first onto the barge with my legs plunged in the water. I stowed the spear to drag myself back to the deck, but a slithery tentacle caught my boot.
"Head down, Talon!" Errol lit a firework and tossed it in the water. Since we were now going against the current, the small bomb drifted back toward us and exploded at my side. More damage.
"Stop!" I yelled. "If that's what you call help, you can stop right now!"
"Apologies," he said meekly.
"You'll light the whole barge on fire!"
Lash: Hadrian made an appearance with his shadowguards. No one in town is daring to initiate combat against them. We need reinforcements soon.
Kyle: Working on it. Rally the forces. The goblins and ogres too.
Trafford: I'm mustering the army but, if we're being honest, they're really just a band of misfits.
Lash: Where's Talon?
Talon: KINDA BUSY AT THE MOMENT.
Lash: Wait, what goblins and ogres?
Kyle: Our new builders. We have goblins and ogres. They'll fight too.
I clung to splintering scraps of the deck as the tentacle threatened to drag me under. Errol ineffectually poked at it. The leviathan was determined to beat us to Dragonperch. The only thing holding it back was the chain tied to the barge. I was thankful for that. Without it, I'd be fish food. Except our little obstacle wouldn't last long. Wood groaned under the kraken's intense strength. I equipped my climbing claws and dug them into the failing deck.
Talon: Is anyone close to Dragonperch? We need an assist.
Trafford: Aye, I can get there, but I can't fiddle with your jewelry sockets.
Kyle finally caught up and ran onto the bridge between the kraken and the barge. He stood over us, magnanimous. "He's right, Talon. It's got to be me."
"So what're ye doin'?" growled Errol. "Get t' that tower."
Kyle surveyed the landmark in the distance. The bronzed figure of Magnus Dragonrider sparkled in the midday sun. "I won't reach it in time. If the kraken beats me there, he'll block my entrance and I'll never get those water turrets up."
"No," I groaned, losing my fight with the tentacle. "Protect Oldtown. They need the turrets more than we do."
Kyle shook his head as he considered the range of unpleasant choices. "I got an idea," he said.
Errol dropped his sword and grabbed my arm, digging his heels against a storage box. The tangled chain bit in between the seams of wood planks behind him.
"You know, when you found me," started Kyle introspectively, "I was a coward. Not just 'cause I didn't wanna face goblins and boggarts and whatever else was in the wild, but because I didn't wanna face my life. I didn't take anything seriously. I lounged. I drank. Even when I went out, I died. A lot. And I didn't care. You changed all that, Talon, because you saw something better in me."
Errol's grip slipped. The claws on my hands strained. "Uh," I squeezed through clenched teeth, "thanks, dude. I guess. Do you really think now's the best time for a heart to heart?"
"Yes, I do. Because you taught me how to be a better man. A braver man. And I know the perfect thing for me to do right now. I can go back to not giving a shit and dying a lot."
Kyle sheathed his crossbow and bundled three lit fire potions in his arms. Then he turned around and faced the gaping maw of the kraken as it struggled to break free from its bonds.
"What are you doing, Kyle?"
The brewmaster smiled and screamed "CANNONBALL!" as he leapt off the bridge in full frat-boy glory.
There's something about seeing a big guy take a dive in a pool. Kyle belly flopped right down the titan's maw, fire erupting everywhere in and around him.
[Kyle] is dead!
Errol arched an eyebrow. "That stupid... apathetic... hipster-beer-swillin'..."
"He respawned in Dragonperch," I realized out loud.
"Magnificent... selfless... genius of a man!"
The kraken belched flames twenty feet high. The tentacle slackened enough for me to slip out and climb back to the barge.
"That idiot did it," crowed Errol, amazed.
I shrugged in admiration. "He sure knows how to blow himself up."
Arrows whizzed by our heads. The trailing skiffs were nearing our stalled vessel. They meant to sail all the way to Oldtown.
"This is where we get off," I said, pulling a torch from my inventory. The barge creaked under intense pressure.
"I ain't runnin' away from a little scrap."
"Errol, we're on a ticking time bomb that's about to break apart, stuck between scores of cutthroats and a bloodthirsty kraken." Mermaids surfaced and clutched the edges of the barge. "And the undine. Sorry, ladies. Didn't mean to leave you out. Although you'd be invited to more parties if it weren't for all the hissing and teeth and violent disembowelment."
Errol cocked his head. "On the other hand, the nudity be a plus."
"Errol!"
"Point taken. But we've not reached Black Hat territory yet, an' we've got just as many rogues in the marketplace."
"That's why we're gonna sneak into Trafford's welcome shop and use the catacombs entrance in his basement. We can reach Dragonperch from there."
"An' just let me get this straight. Ye choosin' death by animated bones o'er kraken then?" An arrow stuck him in the ass. "Argh! Okay, okay, the universe be tellin' me something."
The lead longboat drifted close. Cutthroats brandished daggers, sickles, chakrams, and all manner of original blades.
River water rushed over the deck as the barge bowed into the bridge supports. The wood strained to exhaustion. In the end, the triple-gauge steel held true but the boat didn't. The chain tore through the lumber with a snap. I grabbed Errol and triggered dash as it lethally whipped by us. The ship buckled and tore in half.
Errol and I fell. The wild chain caught his leg and pinned him to the deck, still wrapped around the boat, still dragged by the kraken. With its new slimmed-down figure, the half section of barge surged between the bridge supports. The other half of the ship bounced chaotically against the riverbanks, still attached to our section by two deformed logs, but folded and twisted sideways and dragging in the water like a train car.
Sections of wreckage pinballed into pieces. Fireworks and powder poured into the river, knocking angry mermaids away. The spill of sticky gel rode the rushing water. Sputtering flames leftover from Kyle's deathblow landed on the barge. Even soaking wet, the magical fire still burned.
Talon: Kyle. Kyle, we need you to hurry.
As our runaway train twisted upriver and under another bridge, Errol and I worked at the chain pinning him down.
Trafford: I've got him here in the tower with me. Inviting him into the party.
Kyle: What's up, bros?
Talon: Angry kraken! Wrecked barge! Flaming fireworks!
Kyle: Right to the point, huh? Not big on small talk.
Talon: KYLE!
Kyle: Alright, alright. Sheesh.
We swished under the final Front Street bridge and winded around the last be
nd in the river. Dragonperch loomed ahead, the kraken almost there and dragging us along. The fire on the crumbling deck spread ever closer to the oil spill. Errol stared at me in alarm.
Talon: Hold off draining the river. Activate the river turrets on my go.
Kyle: Roger that.
I stopped mucking with the chain and instead focused on the wood frame below. Re-equipping the climbing claws, I scratched at the deck like a dog digging for a bone. Flames bit at my heels. Slowly, surely, the surface splintered away, creating enough space for Errol to squeeze his ankle past.
Talon: Now!
Errol and I leapt off the barge, landing past the brickwork edge of the Oldtown bank. The kraken's zealous speed brought it headfirst into stone pillars that sprang from the water, straddling where the open drawbridge would be. The four columns acted as oversized bollards, two to each side, effectively trapping the titan in a cage.
As we tumbled to a stop on the shore, the momentum of the barge carried the debris into the pillars in a series of earth-shattering crashes. The turrets activated and autofired projectiles, all four centered on the kraken in the middle. Flames took to the ruddy chemicals and snaked lines across the crumbling deck. A stray fire brushed an unassuming fuse, a single decorative sparkler that buzzed and fizzed along happily for exactly three seconds before both barges erupted into a volcano of freedom.
[Undine] is defeated
[Undine] is defeated
[Undine] is defeated
[Undine] is defeated
Fire Damage!
137 damage to [Kraken]
152 damage to [Kraken]
Stun!
120 damage to [Kraken]
Several longboats rounded the Front Street bend in pursuit. They'd reached the northern edge of Oldtown and were preparing to disembark, a spearhead of Shorehome forces which snaked throughout the entire river. Scores of undine surfaced and made for the riverbank.
Streams of fire shot through the sky and rained to the dirt and water in smoking husks. All it took was one piece landing in a floating oil slick. The surface of the water lit up orange. A burst of fire steamrolled north, tracing the path of our spill. Floating kegs of powder exploded as they were consumed. The invading forces widened crazed eyes as a wave of unrelenting death scorched through them.
[Rogue] is defeated
[Cutthroat] is defeated
[Undine] is defeated
[Enforcer] is dead!
[Rogue] is defeated
[Bandit] is defeated
[Undine] is defeated
[Goblin] is defeated
Crown Unlocked: Serial Arsonist
Take out 15 enemies with fire.
1000 XP awarded
I ignored the combat notifications because they kept on coming. Instead, our heads slowly turned as we tracked the backwards path of the flames. Even with the distant river out of view, resultant booms resounded farther and farther away as a trail of fireworks and smoke lit up the sky.
Within the span of seconds, the entire Albula River was engulfed in a deadly blaze.
Kyle: 'Murica!
1430 Defender
Errol and I panted on the ground, utterly discombobulated. The series of explosions had buffeted us with sound and heat. My ears were ringing. Luckily, the physical debris had missed us. Charred husks of empty boats littered the shore. The water was a burning hellscape.
"Kinda smells o' smoked salmon," remarked Errol.
"That other smell's not burnt pork."
"Aye, I just hope poor Grom managed t' get out o' the water."
"You're telling me. We just took out the head of the spear in a single stroke. And we cut off the riverbank from attack. No one's rowing through this inferno."
"Lash said they're comin' from the north."
"I know, but we've bought ourselves time to muster a defense. We've diverted a two-pronged attack into one. And the kraken..."
Our gazes swiveled to Dragonperch, where a billowing column of black smoke twisted over the water.
"Nothin' could've survived that," said Errol.
"I wouldn't be so sure..."
We inched toward the riverbank and peeked in. It was hard to see anything. The water was simultaneously bright orange and blackened with ash. I scanned the spammy combat log for helpful info. It was hard to find anything with all the deaths. Interestingly, most of Hadrian's men weren't players. The bulk of the Brothers in Black were comprised of NPCs and ex-pagan mobs.
"Behind us!" warned the captain. He whipped out his rapier and spun it backward, puncturing the black leather of the enemy. Three more rogues converged.
I drew the dragonspear and joined the fray. Although we outmatched the cutthroats, they were led by a decent player. They worked together as an effective team, swooping in with dual strikes and covering for each other. It was impossible to block all their attacks, but our higher levels did eventually win out. After the first two were cut down, we made quick work of the others.
DoT: 10 dmg/10 secs
I winced against the minor poison and fingered a small health vial before remembering I'd used my one for the day. I could do nothing but put up with the momentary pain.
"Well, now," said Errol.
Loot:
47 silver
[Refined Jade]
[Refined Topaz]
The pirate always did have an eye for the shiny stuff. As the poison wore off, I sighed and checked my status.
Health: 197/300
I was doing okay, all things considered. I wondered if the same could be said for the rest of the faction. We took in the grim scene of Oldtown.
Scattered bandits roved the ruins. Their numbers were small, for the moment. Just whatever thieves had managed to offload from the river before we could stop them. The Black Hat membership bravely mounted a defense, but we weren't an army. To our favor, neither were they. Most participants in the conflict were mid-level soldiers. High-level players like Lash and Hadrian would determine the swing of battle.
That said, this wasn't a duel or an Arena free-for-all. For keeping a rallying force out of my district, we were grossly outnumbered and ill prepared. The defense of Oldtown would be a proper battle. That meant we needed a sound strategy.
Talon: Kyle, we need the turrets back on land.
Kyle: But the kraken...
Talon: If we don't save Oldtown there won't be anyone left to save from the kraken. Do it now.
The stone pillars at the drawbridge lowered into the river. The land rumbled as the same turrets arose along the inner borders of Oldtown, like outposts. There were only four of them so they lacked the traditional utility of a wall, but we had people to fill in those gaps.
I opened a map. Because of the way Oldtown was situated between the river and the outer wall of Stronghold, Hadrian's men only had two routes of attack, both natural bottlenecks: through the narrow northern entrance from the main thoroughfare, and along the riverbank. With Dragonperch's drawbridge shut, there were no bridges to cross, and even the kraken was shying away from the river surface.
Black Hat Broadcast:
Defense turrets are posted around Oldtown. The river is secure for now. The Brothers will attack from the north. If you can get to the outskirts, hold the line. I'm aware a lot of rogues already breached the border. Alpha team will sweep the interior. Watch your backs until we get there.
Talon: Kyle, drain the river. We don't want to let anything hide down there.
Kyle: One river socket, coming right up.
Underwater valves groaned as they moved for the first time in hundreds of years. Errol scanned for threats as the Albula drained, exposing high walls of weathered but sturdy brickwork. Players across the river stared in wonder as nature itself was tamed by the sanctum of Dragonperch. Curiously, several rogues weaved among the player populace without attacking them.
I couldn't believe it. Order in the streets during a siege of Oldtown.
I tried not to be offended about it. The townsfolk had joined my fig
ht in the Arena, but a larger battle was afoot now, one involving a legitimate army, a flood of vicious undine, and a legendary creature of the sea. If rando low-level players were allowed to sit back and watch free of danger, what other options did they have?
Damage notifications poured in as the water level dropped to five feet. Exposed undine could no longer shy away from the flames, and they were too low to escape the walled river. They scrambled to faraway safety. Some didn't make it.
As the water settled, I frowned at the foot of Dragonperch. Ashy water swirled against smooth brick near the bottom of the channel. The kraken was nowhere to be found.
"It turtled," I grumbled in frustration.
"Good," urged Errol. "The people be needin' us."
I gritted my teeth and nodded. We turned and sprinted through Oldtown. Stray bandits took cheap shots at the weakest faction members. Errol and I cut a couple down before he broke away to fend off another pair.
"The vault!" demanded a voice in the other direction. "Open her up if you mean to live."
"Go to hell!" screamed Drummond. I spun at the sound. The diminutive, bald banker stood boldly against Chadwick and a band of ten men. Errol was busy behind me.
"Piece of gangster scum!" I yelled, pitching my foot in the ground and charging the brand-new vault.