by Adam Drake
Kragg sighed with relief. “Thank the gaming gods!”
“So we have a deal, right? I let you out, and you help me kill Ogden.”
“Deal,” Kragg said seriously.
Guess I'm going to find out real quick if this guy can keep his word.
I raised the white orb and brought it down hard against Kragg's enclosure.
Like a large soap bubble, the orb popped, and vanished. Kragg dropped to the ground.
The huge ogre stretched out his arms and laughed. “Ah, that feels good.” He eyed me a moment.
Thinking he might attack I raised my sword.
Kragg chuckled. “No need for that. I'm not a deal breaker.” He reached into his tiny leather vest and pulled out a Teleport Token.
Dang! I thought, he's just going to leave. Figures.
He flicked the Token at me and I caught it in surprise.
“What's this for?” I said, eyeing it.
“That is for when things get really bad. If you manage to kill that FILTERing owl, his army will descend upon you like rain.”
I slipped the Teleport Token in my inventory and felt relieved to have it. “Thanks a lot.”
With a snap of his large fingers, his yellow unicorn mount appeared beside him.
The beast locked its eyes on me with pure hatred.
Kragg put a reassuring hand on the unicorn and it settled down. To me he asked, “Now, then. What exactly did you have in mind?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Before reentering the vast chamber, I slipped into Shadow form.
I found things unchanged in my brief absence. Ogden and the mage still impatiently watched the Void Portal, and the army of clockwork guards hadn't moved from their orderly rows.
Following the same path along the ice wall, I kept one eye on the clockwork guards. The lightning wands each held occasionally sparked, giving the assembly a strange light show.
I placed myself within a dozen paces of Ogden. Knowing I had Kragg on my side made me feel a little better about this potentially fatal situation. But whether the ogre would stick to his word was another matter.
Regardless, I was going to kill Ogden, ogre aid or not.
The dark mage suddenly spoke up. “There! I see something!”
Through the Void Portal, at a great distance away, could be seen a large – something. To me it appeared to be a purple fish, or octopus.
“That's one!” cried Ogden in triumph. “A Titan. And it's a big one!”
“It is coming within range,” the mage said.
The Titan sensed the Void Portal, or maybe it was the Siren's Call, and altered its course to approach. The thing grew bigger and bigger, presenting us with a better view.
“Oh, how lucky I am,” Ogden said. “A Kraken!”
The being looked like a mutated squid, with long undulating tentacles which swayed in a swimming motion. On either side of its massive head were eyes the size of houses.
With Ogden's attention firmly on the Titan, I summoned a magma arrow and gripped my bow.
“Got it!” yelled the dark mage as he jumped for joy.
The Kraken stopped as if hitting an invisible wall. But when it tried to fly away, it couldn't move. Tentacles flailed, some striking against the Portal with no noticeable effect.
“Yes!” said Ogden. “Reel it in and be careful!”
The dark mage made strange motions and gestures with his hands.
The Kraken was pulled closer to the Portal.
All this played out as background noise to me. My focus was on the back of Ogden's head.
What am I waiting for? I thought. Shoot him!
I fired.
The moment I did, my Shadow form dropped.
In the next moment, the magma arrow struck the back of Ogden's head – and bounced harmlessly away.
And a moment after that, I felt a horrific paralysis seize my entire body. My avatar gasped in surprise and I keeled over to land on my side, unable to move.
Ogden turned and looked down on me. “Oh,” he said with disdain. “It's you. How annoying.”
Behind him, framed within the Portal, the Kraken silently flailed. It had spun around to reveal a mouth at the center of its tentacles. Dozens of circular rows of teeth opened and closed in rage.
My frozen body was picked up by two clockwork guards, who propped me between them. What just happened?
Ogden came close to leer at me. “Stupid Shadow. You really need to do your homework before trying to assassinate someone. Especially when that someone knows you'd be coming.” He laughed. “Idiot. I knew that if a hunter didn't claim the bounty on your head, you'd feel compelled to kill me. Well, you tried and failed.”
Control over my body returned to me a little at a time, but I was still helpless. “How?” I managed to sputter.
“How you ask? How did I not die just now from your pathetic attempt at assassination?” Ogden peered down his beak at me, as if I were beneath an explanation. Then he shrugged.
“I will show you,” he said and stretched out a wing. At the end of the wing was an anthropomorphic hand, just like a human's. All animal-form avatars had them. Made using items and weapons easier. Around its wrist was an unassuming silver band.
“Go on,” said Ogden. “Check it out.”
So I did, calling up the silver band's stats.
Name: Immortal Me
Type: Wrist Band.
Rarity: Legendary
Grants wearer invulnerability from all forms of magical and physical attack by other players. If the wearer engages in combat, effects are negated. Attackers suffer a 30 second full-body paralysis. Value: Unknown
Whoa, I thought. Now that's cool.
“Cool, huh?” said Ogden with a smile. “No way anyone can hurt me, so why even bother?”
“Where'd you get it?” I asked, buying for time. I glanced over at the ground next to the Siren's Call statue.
Set Recall Point.
“That is a story for the ages,” Ogden said. “But not now. I'm busy fishing for Titans.” He looked to the Portal where the Kraken fought against its capture. The power of the Siren's Call was incredible to be able to hold such an immense creature.
Recall Point Set.
Ogden continued. “Once this thing is brought to heel, the plan is to set it loose on a few cities which have fallen behind on their payments.”
“You better be careful, Oggie,” I said with a grin. My paralysis was gone, but the guards held me tight.
“Why?” Ogden asked with a sneer.
“Because not everything goes according to plan.”
Somewhere behind me there was a shout. Ogden, the mage, and all the guards turned to look.
Mounted on his yellow unicorn, Kragg emerged from the storage room and raced across the chamber toward us.
“What the FILTERED?” Ogden said.
Kragg moved too quick for the guards to react, and with the massive mallet in his hand, crushed two of them like they were empty beer cans.
“How did he escape?” the owl blustered, flapping his wings in alarm.
The assembled clockwork guards bumbled about, arms outstretched to grab the stampeding ogre. Several used their wands and fired arcs of lightning across the chamber, scorching the ground.
But Kragg was already barreling away, laughing at the top of his lungs.
“After him, you idiots!” Ogden screamed.
The entire group of guards ran off after Kragg, who vanished through an entrance to gallop down a hall.
In seconds the vast chamber was empty of guards, save for the two who held me.
Perfect.
“How stupid can you things be?” Ogden screamed at one of my guards. It didn't react.
Ogden said, “Every time I arrange an upgrade I'm told by the manufacturer that their intelligence has improved by 'leaps and bounds'. Ha! What a joke. Maybe I should send a Titan to the clockwork manufacturer's head office? Maybe then I'd get a proper upgrade for these walking garbage cans!”
Use Teleport Ability.
I appeared beside the Siren's Call statue.
The guards who held me appeared unable to understand how I disappeared. They looked to their empty clawed hands in confusion.
Ogden's head whipped around when I reappeared.
“What the-,” he said.
I raised my sword above my head.
The dark mage who stood a short distance from me, turned, hiked up his robes, and fled. He was smart enough to know what was about to happen.
Ogden did, too. “No!” he shouted, “Don't!”
With all my strength I sliced downward. I cut the arm of the Siren's Call at its thinnest point, the wrist. Its hand spun away and clattered to the ground.
The moment it was severed the black beam of light which emanated from it, vanished.
The Kraken was free.
Ogden turned to look at the beast in horror.
The Kraken pushed closer and smashed up against the Void Portal. Huge tentacles shot through the portal and lashed about. They crashed against the ground, shattering the ice.
Unlike the fear stricken owl, I ran in the opposite direction.
A tentacle the size and length of a steam-train suddenly engulfed Ogden. It picked him up and pulled him toward the portal. Another tentacle smashed the guards.
Ogden screamed in terror.
The circular rows of teeth gnashed hungrily.
Struck with a sudden realization, I stopped and looked toward Ogden.
If he was eaten by that thing, I would lose my chance to kill him. But with the Legendary silver band on his wrist, I couldn't do that.
As if summoned by my thoughts, a cluster of ropey tentacles slithered out from the Kraken. They wrapped around each of Ogden's flailing wings.
This won't be pretty, I thought, watching the horror show.
The Void Titan was not a player, so the band's magic did not apply to it. The tentacles pulled at Ogden's wings and wrenched them out of their sockets. Ogden's avatar screamed in pain. No more wings meant no more wrist band.
I summoned a normal arrow and aimed.
The tentacles pulled Ogden toward the Portal and to the Kraken's mouth.
At just the right moment, I used Sure Shot and fired.
As Ogden passed through the portal and the first row of wicked teeth, my arrow struck him right between his big round owl eyes.
Then he was gone.
With my heart in my throat I looked at my combat log.
Vivian Valesh (Bounty Target) has killed Ogden Trite (Bounty Issuer). Bounty has been canceled.
“Yes!” I yelled. It felt like a tremendous weight had been lifted from my shoulders. And in many ways, it had.
Kragg suddenly appeared through a secondary entrance.
“Yaaa-hoooooooo!” the ogre cheered. Far behind, dozens of clockwork guards chased after him.
Kragg rode up to me, grinning. His unicorn gave me the stink-eye. “This is fun, little Shadow. So, Ogden is dead. I saw the message on my Bounty Hunter message ticker. Congratulations.”
“Thanks for the assist,” I said.
The chamber shook and we both looked toward the Kraken.
The massive creature was now forcing its way through the Portal which was too small for its size. But with the elasticity of an octopus, it was wiggling itself in. Tentacles gripped the floor and walls as it pulled.
“It'll destroy this place,” Kragg said. “Ogden will have to buy another one, once he's leveled his way out of the newbie zone.”
The guards trundled closer to us. What they lacked in speed they made up for with persistence.
Kragg took out his token. “Now would be a good time to part ways, little Shadow. But I can't promise our next encounter will be on good terms.”
I laughed with a wave. “Fair enough, Kragg. Until we meet again.”
Kragg pinched his token and he, and his unicorn, shimmered and vanished.
The clockwork guards were closing in. Several tried to reach me with shots of lightning which scorched the ground at my feet.
“Yup,” I said. “Time to go.”
I keyed my Token on the one person I wanted to see right now and pinched it.
The raging Kraken, and charging clockwork guards, shimmered in my vision.
And the world changed around me.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“I've drunk 127 different kinds of ale, so far, and it's still not enough,” Mudhoof said, slurring his words.
I smiled at my friend from across the table. “Only 127? You've been at this for three days, now. Maybe you should let some seasoned vets show you how it's done.”
The drunken minotaur gave me a confused look. “Three days. Ha! I meant 127 different ales today!” Mudhoof broke out into peels of laughter.
I'd teleported away from Ogden's doomed guildhall directly to Mudhoof, only to find he'd never left the tavern located in the newbie zone. He really was enjoying his simulation suit's new tasting upgrades.
So with Ogden dead (or rerolled) and the bounty on my head removed, I was free to go about my business of hiring out my questing services. Only, I didn't feel like it. Not yet, anyway. I took to hanging with Mudhoof and watching his avatar's drunken show.
The player behind Mudhoof didn't get drunk. It was impossible for a simulation suit to accomplish that. Probably for the better. The player could only enjoy the taste of each ale. The drawback was his avatar felt the accumulative effects of the alcohol from each drink and its behaviour altered accordingly. The end result had been most entertaining.
As a serving girl walked by, Mudhoof asked, “Hey, would you like to see my big Sausage?”
The serving girl slapped him and fled from the room.
“It's not what you think!” He called after here.
“That line will never end well,” I said.
“We should get Thorm down here,” Mudhoof said and hailed the barkeep for another ale. “If anyone needs to get drunk, it's him.”
I shook my head. “Our Holy Knight is busy at the moment. And probably will be for quite a while.” Thorm had finally ditched his tail. Mister White Cloak and his cronies eventually lost interest and went off in search of other players to hunt down. Now Thorm was fully invested in completing his Pegasus Mount quest chain, a sizable task. From my research on the forums few players completed it. But if anyone could do so, it would be Thorm. And despite my repeated offers to help, he politely turned me down. These quests were designed to be done as a solo player, he said. I could appreciate that.
The barkeep brought another ale over to the table and Mudhoof scooped it up. “Well, Vee. What about you? Think that stupid owl is gonna come after you? You did unleash a Titan on his guildhall. Oh, and you killed him, too.”
“I no longer think of Ogden as a problem,” I said. “He has his hands full repairing the damage to his empire, and his reputation.” Fortunately for Ogden, when I killed him, his corpse was swallowed by the Kraken. The Void Titan then entered our dimension, which resulted in Ogden rerolling on this side. Had the Portal closed before the Kraken could enter, Ogden's newbie avatar would be floating in space right now.
Ah, well, I thought. Can't have it all.
Rumor was that Ogden had taken over a far-flung newbie-zone with clockwork soldiers. To speed through the quests, he made the soldiers fight mobs (NPC monsters) until they were down to one hit point. Then Ogden would step in and slay the mob, claiming all the resulting experience points for himself. Talk about pathetic.
Mudhoof squinted an eye at me. “So what are you gonna do now? You're free!”
That was true. What would I do with my newfound freedom? Quests? Grind experience points? Hunt for mats? Or maybe I'd just hop through the closest travel gate and see where it took me.
Out of curiosity, I brought of up a list of newly generated quests to peruse.
Scrolling through them showed wha
t an influence my recent exploits had on the gaming universe. Apparently, a group of clockwork soldiers fled Ogden's guildhall and were rampaging through the countryside. Having received a recent upgrade from their manufacturer, they now demanded equal rights and their own home land. Several quest chains had been created around them. You could choose to aid the clockwork soldiers with their plight, or try to stop them.