“Maybe we’re not supposed to,” Maverick pointed out, tapping the end of her spear into the dirt. “We can’t just chicken out. We’re here, it’s an event of sorts. Let’s win back the Sanctuary and kick some demon ass.”
Bishop smirked. He was in complete favor of getting himself in a fight he might not win, but he worried about risking the others. His chest ached in remembrance of his last demise and his urge to dive head first into a fight they might lose forced him to step back and see the bigger picture. He had people relying on him to get them through situations like this. Leading them straight into the jaws of death was not part of the plan.
“There’s four Dark Knights that I can see,” Giles pointed out, voice shaking. “I don’t know, guys. They’re all around our level too, and a few are higher.”
“So what, we turn around and give up?” Arthur’s hands tightened on his new Warhammer as he glared at the gate to the Sanctuary. “We don’t give up, guys. Look at what we just did? We beat the dungeon on a single run. We can do this!”
A few of them nodded their heads in agreement, but Bishop still hesitated. “We could do a lot of damage to our gear. Remember the armor deduction.”
“Why don’t we just take a vote?” Shamus suggested.
“Or, we could ask them for help.”
Bishop frowned following Jimmy’s pointed finger down the path. A large group of players, at least ten, was marching up the path following identical NPCs to the priests already there. When they stared at each other, the first set faded away to be replaced by the second set.
“Hey guys, what’s going on?” the dwarf in front asked.
“Trajan, right?” Bishop asked, as he took the hand the player held out.
“Yeah, leader of the LongBeards,” he said chortling. “Though admittedly not all of us have beards.” The three women players in his guild rolled their eyes behind his back as he stroked his long, red beard. “Right, so we heard the Sanctuary’s been taken over?”
“Looks like it, and we were about to turn tail. We’re outnumbered.” Bishop nodded his head towards the wall. “There’s at least ten players in there, and that’s just what we can see from here. Plus the armor deduction, we weren’t sure we could make it.”
“And with us?” Trajan asked with an arched, bushy red eyebrow.
Bishop stared at their levels, even with the members of his guild, and their gear appeared decent, too. “We might just have a chance of not all of us dying.”
Trajan laughed, a deep belly laugh that jiggled his dwarf stomach beneath the chest plate. “Ha! No wonder everyone likes you, Bishop. Right then, I’ll talk it over with my group real quick and let you know what we decide.”
“So what’d they say?” Jimmy eagerly asked.
“He’s talking it over with his group, but I think if they say yes, we do this.” Bishop held up his hand. “All in favor?”
Maverick’s hand was the first to go up, reluctantly followed by Jimmy, cringing as he did so. Benji and Giles went next and soon the rest of the guild followed. They grinned at each other, rubbing their hands, and prepared their buffs and potions.
“Don’t worry, Jimmy,” Bishop told him. “If all goes well, you’ll probably live.”
“Very funny.”
Beside Bishop, Willy pawed at the ground and shook out his furry neck. “You ready too, boy?”
Willy yipped and the hackles on his back raised as his excited stance turned immediately defensive. Bishop checked his own store of potions and made a mental note to talk to Maverick about replenishing the guild’s stock when they made it back to Weston later. He double-checked his spec was still in sniper mode and he hadn’t overlooked anything useful in his bags he could use to help ward off the armor deduction. His brow furrowed at the gold shaped medallion in his bag.
“Oh shit!”
“What, what’s wrong? Did they see us?” Jimmy panicked, ducking down behind Maverick.
“Healers,” she sighed and ruffled his hair. “Bishop?”
“That item I picked up after the dungeon,” he said, sharing it with them so they could all see the stats of the object. “Think this fight will last more than ten minutes?”
“If it lasts that long, I’d say we’re doing something wrong.”
Bishop had to agree with Maverick. No matter how this fight went down, he doubted it would last very long, one way or the other. He held the medallion in his hand and waited for Trajan to rejoin his group with his answer.
“My guild is ready to play with you guys. I mean how could we not? You’re the first ones to do a successful dungeon run,” he said. “Not to mention, the last three guilds that tried, including mine, had to do it at least three times.”
Bishop grinned along with his group. “Happy to have the LongBeards with us.”
Trajan waved over the rest of his guild and they introduced themselves.
“Right then,” Bishop said. “Who has not faced a demon player yet?” Several hands went up. “No worries. We have faced quite a few so my group will lead in this attack. Is that okay?”
“We’re with you,” Trajan agreed, holding his double-headed axe and grinning like a red headed devil.
“Good. Now, we’re going to split into groups. Healers need to stay out of range. DPS are in charge of keeping track of any strays and tanks? You’re going to be holding as much agro as you can on any Dark Knight players you see,” Bishop explained. “They are a pain in the ass and you cannot kill them on your own, at least not easily. The key is to keep interrupting their attacks, don’t let them get charged up.”
He gave everyone a few moments to find their designated group, giving each tank two to three DPS to follow behind while the others, especially the Hunters, stayed with the Healers.
“Now then, we’re going to form one massive group so we can use this item.”
He held it up for them all to see and Trajan’s eyes widened as he let out a whistle. “Damn, where the hell did you land that?”
“Lucky drop from a quest,” Bishop said. He pulled up the menu to create a larger group and it turned into a raid group. Once he double-checked everyone knew the plan, he held up the medallion and squeezed. The item turned into shimmering gold dust in his hands and floated over the heads of the entire group. Their bodies glowed bright green then blue, and Bishop saw his own life and mana double. “Sweet.”
He rested his fingers on his bow and motioned for everyone to fall silent. They were going to walk back up the road, sticking to the trees, and pick off the demons around the perimeter first. If they did it right, they might not draw the attention of the players right away. The more demons they took out before having to take on the real demons, the better chance they would have.
At least that’s what Bishop hoped.
He lined up his first shot, Increased Swift Bow, with Giles and three other Hunters beside him. They attacked as one, forcing the demons towards them. But the Hunters fell back to make room for the tanks who finished them off within a few quick hits. They did the same further down the wall, picking off demons until none remained outside the Sanctuary.
“Breaching that gate is suicide,” Arthur pointed out.
“That’s why we’re not going to breach it. Willy? Stay with the others and wait.” Bishop smirked, as he pointed to the stones jutting out along the corner of the wall. There were still demon players up top but, if they timed it right, they would be able to make it up there quick enough and open the gate for the others to rush in. “I’ll go. Who else?”
Time was ticking away on their added bonus of health and mana, and Bishop wanted to make it count. He moved towards the wall, followed by Maverick and Jimmy. Shamus hurried after as did one of the women from the LongBeards, a monk. Bishop watched Trajan usher everyone else against the wall near the gate, pressing their backs flat against the stone so no one could see them unless they leaned all the way over the wall.
Bishop braced himself on the lower stones, after slinging his bow over his body, and wait
ed. Trajan peeked out and waved Bishop on, eyes focused on the top of the wall.
Bishop climbed one stone at a time, his hands scraping against the rough surfaces. The worst part would be if he fell. Once he was near the top of the wall, one slip would do a hell of a lot of damage to his HP. A loud birdcall made him pause. He heard booted steps sound above a second later, followed by voices laughing. Players. He would have to remember to thank Trajan later for that. When the sounds passed, he heard another call and continued to climb.
At the top, he kept his eyes level with the top of the wall. Once he knew it was clear, he hopped over and waved for the others to hurry up before the next round of players showed up. Staying in a crouch, he crab walked to the other edge of the wall and stared down into the courtyard.
“Damn,” he whispered.
There, in the center, was the portal guarded over by the dragon they saw moments earlier. The dragon was without a rider at least, though it bore a saddle as if to hold one. There was a name he made out, now that they were closer, but he still couldn’t see its health.
“Saurgaurd’s Bane. Wonder if that’s the next Demon Lord,” he questioned.
Maverick shrugged. “Probably. We can worry about it later. Where’s the gatehouse?”
Bishop nodded down the wall. “You want to take point?”
“Yeah, let Shamus come with me. You and Jimmy cover us.” She shifted into beast mode and kept as low as she could, her beast belly dragging on the ground as Shamus shimmered out of sight.
“You ready for this?” Jimmy asked.
“Are you?” he replied. Jimmy sucked in a breath and Bishop laughed quietly. “Relax man, just protect your woman and everything will be fine.”
“My woman?” Jimmy opened his mouth to say something else then closed it, squared his shoulders, and nodded firmly. “Right, protect my woman. That’s a good way to think of it.”
Bishop shook his head, then breathed in deeply as he rested his fingers on his bowstring. Maverick neared the tower housing the mechanism for lifting the gate. He assumed Shamus slipped inside when Maverick planted herself right in front of the door. He wasn’t sure why he assumed the gate would be quiet when it started to open...but the first crank of the gears echoed loudly across the Sanctuary.
Every single player and demon face turned and stared right at Maverick. She planted herself on her front legs before pushing herself up on her hind legs and snarling.
“They’re attacking!” a player yelled. “Get over there! Quick!”
“Jimmy, get ready to heal,” Bishop growled.
He lined up his first shot with the demons and fired Rain of Poisoned Arrows AOE, draining them before they even reached Maverick. He quickly followed with several Fiery Arrows, draining their health even more.
Maverick swatted at each one hard, biting and clawing as fast as she could. They surrounded her but, between Jimmy’s heals and his mana doubled, he kept her alive while Bishop laid waste to those she couldn’t get to herself. The gate lifted higher and higher with each crank of the gears. And just when the players reached their side of the wall, Trajan let out a loud bellow and the rest of the raid group charged in.
The demon players glanced from Maverick, beating down the last of the demons atop the wall, to the heroes charging in through the gate. As one, they changed course and flooded into the courtyard.
“Archers with me!” Bishop yelled, rushing down the stairs, shooting Stealth and Instant Shots as he went. Most of them were stuck fast and he and the others picked them off with Fiery Arrow, Swift Bow, and their Execute shots.
Giles and the other Hunters sprinted over to back him up once Bishop found a good place to stand, staying out of the main fight and dealing as much overhead damage as they could. Willy tore through the mass of fighting bodies, snarling and attacking. He threw back his head and howled. Bishop grinned as he let another Fiery Arrow fly. He would never tire of seeing that OP attack from his companion. Ten more wolves charged into the fray and the demon players were soon facing down with the heroes, majority of the demons dead. Coins clinked almost constantly into Bishop’s bag and he heard dinging all across the courtyard as Arthur and then Maverick hit level twelve. Bishop moved the Hunters closer as the heroes drove back the other players, but their time was running out on the extra health and mana.
A warning blinked in his field of view. Less than three minutes. There was no way they could end the fight that quickly.
He needed to do something drastic otherwise he was going to lose members of his group. He considered Assassin’s Tear and drew back his fingers.
“Heroes, move back!” he yelled, the second he loosed the string on his bow. The arrow shot like a rocket up into the sky as Trajan dragged his guild mates out of the way and the rest sprinted for cover. The demon players watched, confused, at their sudden retreat until the arrow crashed back into the courtyard.
The explosion rocked the Sanctuary and everyone was thrown back from it, though Bishop’s group was far enough away to avoid most of the damage.
The demon players were not so lucky. It wiped out three altogether and knocked the rest of their health down to half. Bishop climbed to his feet, grinning, but then the dragon drew in a deep breath and blew out fire over the demon players’ heads. Instantly, their lives shot back up to almost full and Bishop was back to cursing. Trajan lifted his axe and sounded the charge again. Yet, Bishop knew their time was quickly running out.
Glancing around, his eyes landed on the dragon with the open saddle, and a voice whispered against his ear: Use it, use it and see what true power is.
How the hell was he supposed to use the dragon that just healed all of the demon players? He ignored the voice, but the cool down on Assassin’s Tear was too damn long and he had no other powerful attack to use and tip the scales in their favor.
“Bishop! What do we do?” Giles asked. “Those players are too strong! There’s too many left for us to keep fighting! We’re not going to make it!”
Taste what power could be yours. You know you want to. Do it, save your friends. It’s the only way. The Dragon will listen to you if you prove you are strong enough.
“Bishop!”
“I’ve got an idea,” he muttered. “Keep firing!”
“Bishop!”
He ignored Giles and took off back up the stairs. He had no idea where the voice came, whether it was in game or some dark part of his own mind, but he didn’t particularly care in that moment. It was right.
Maverick pulled away from the fighting and raced up another set of stairs to join him on the wall, shifting as she fell to one knee before him trying to catch her breath.
“I hope you have a damn good plan,” she gasped.
“Plan yes, good…not so much.”
She frowned up at him. “What are you going to do?”
His smile widened. “Have you ever wanted to fly?” He ran past her along the wall and further into the Sanctuary. The back wall was much higher, leading to an open tower that stood right over where the dragon rested.
“Bishop! Please tell me you’re joking!” Maverick yelled as she chased after him. “That beast just healed them and you want to use it?”
“Would that make you feel better? And I know, but I think if we control it, it will do as we command,” he yelled back. Or at least I hope that’s how this works.
“No! Damn it, you really can’t come up with anything—look out!”
Her words turned into a snarl as she shifted mid run. Her beast of a body launched itself over Bishop’s head as a demon player climbed up over the edge of the wall. Maverick tackled him to the stone floor and Bishop grew his bow to fire, but Maverick growled over her shoulder at him, shaking her head. He nodded and pushed past her and the players sprinting up the steps towards the tower and the dragon.
The craziness of his plan should have told him it was clearly not going to work, but Bishop was finished having anything hold him back. The dragon was clearly there for a reason. If they could
n’t read its health, then they weren’t meant to kill it, not yet. So why else have it there? Dennis had told him this game was geared for players who stepped out of the box and pushed the boundaries. Bishop could think of no better way to push said boundaries than attempting what he was about to do.
Sucking in deep bursts of air, he bent over double as he reached the tower and staggered out to one of the arched open doorways that led out into nothingness.
Show them what true power is, the voice whispered in his mind again. Show them what it means to fear nothing!
Bishop stepped until his toes dangled over the edge. He stared down at the dragon and the open saddle. The time on the medallion was in its last fifteen seconds. The only way he could make this jump and live was with that extra health. The time was now or never.
He pushed off the ledge, falling forward through the air. It bit at his skin as his hair flew back from his face. He heard several yells below him in the courtyard, but didn’t look. His eyes zeroed in on the saddle of the dragon. He moved his hands, ready to hold on anything he could as it drew closer and his body slammed into the back of the great beast.
Half his health disappeared in a snap and he grimaced at the impact. As he sat up, clinging to the great black and green scales of the dragon, the last remaining juice from the medallion died and the group returned to their normal stats.
“Bishop, are you crazy!” Jimmy screamed.
Bishop ignored him, and he climbed his way up the back of the dragon and into the saddle. It was three times too big for him but that didn’t matter. The fighting continued below him despite his epic stunt. He glanced around for the reins and spotted them lying across the saddle horn, leading to a bridle blending in with the great beast’s coloring. He picked them up, huffing and puffing at how heavy they were and he tugged. The dragon didn’t even react.
Maybe he was wrong and the dragon was just there to scare off any players dumb enough to try and attack?
No, that couldn’t be. He had talked with Dennis long enough to know the man would never put anything in this game without a reason.
Bishop stood up in the saddle and yelled as he tugged again. “Move your ass you great scaly beast!”
The Wraith of Valenastrious: A LitRPG Epic (World of Samar Book 1) Page 17