by Wade Adrian
“No. But I hope to be the last.”
Toby let out a laugh. “Hope. Only fools hold to hope. Strength and a good sword are all a man has ever needed.”
Tim shook his head and muttered. “More Conan, great. I’m not sure where you’re going with all this.”
Toby couldn’t spare a glance to see what was going on behind him. He didn’t want those outside looking elsewhere.
Bulorn’s face no longer held any humor. “Then come out and show us your strength.”
“Us? That is the claim of a leader? A conquerer? Face me alone. Show me your strength. Anything less is the work of a coward.”
Tim shook his head. “No no no. He won’t agree to that, and if he does, he’ll be lying through his teeth. Paul won’t be okay with this.”
Toby ignored him as he kept his eyes on Bulorn. He had challenged him, called him out in front of his murder lackeys. Even if he planned to go back on his word, which he most certainly would, he’d lose face for not agreeing. Besides, they wanted him outside, and agreeing would make that happen.
He would agree to the challenge. He had to.
“I accept.” Bulorn’s face gave away nothing in his mind. He turned slightly. “Back it up. This is my fight.” He nodded and his fingers played across the air for a moment. He gave his guild orders just as Paul had.
Speaking of Paul, his quiet voice sounded from close behind. “What the hell are you doing?”
Tim moved over and shrugged. “Buying time, I think? Get ready to fire on them.”
“Hold.” Toby kept his voice low. “I said I’d go out. I’ll go out. If the leader goes down the rest may rethink fighting.”
Paul shook his head. “Unacceptable. He’ll have healers watching him, and probably an inventory full of health pots. Everything he does revolves around killing other players. Nobody does that on an honor system. He won’t play fair.”
Toby nodded slightly. “I don’t plan to either. If I get below thirty percent throw all the healing available, and start shooting. Our people can’t hit me anyway. I figure by then he will have broken the rules of engagement. For the sake of appearances and future recruiting, I don’t want to be the first one to do so.”
Paul sighed. “I still don’t like this.”
Toby smiled slightly. “No worries. Just keep our people on this side of the wall. I have a plan, but for it to work there can’t be anything friendly out there.”
Paul stared a moment before nodding. “Don’t underestimate him.”
Toby turned and headed back for the stairs. Once he was low enough to be out of sight Paul cast his guard spell on him, blue plate armor appearing and fading away again. As long as Paul remained close enough Toby’s defense would be increased and Paul would take on some of the damage that landed.
The tanks had the breaches in the walls blocked when Toby got there. Claire stopped him for a moment as he approached the wall. She and Jesse topped off his health with a few gestures. They were both close enough to help, if needs be. Claire gave him a nod. Jesse wore and evil grin and let lightning play between her hands.
They would almost certainly have their chance.
The tanks stood aside, though they didn’t seem any more pleased than Paul did.
Bulorn’s people had moved back to leave him alone at the front… though they were still well within arrow and spell range.
Toby was mildly surprised arrows didn’t strike him as soon a she crossed into the open. It would have been foolish, of course, he could always head back to safety, but it seemed like the kind of short sighted thing these people would do.
His sword in hand, Toby walked up to where Bulorn stood. He had a two handed axe. Its head rested on the ground as he waited.
From afar it was difficult to tell just how tall Bulorn was. Toby was barely taller than his shoulder.
The large man smiled down at him. “You don’t look so great to me.”
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters. It’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
Bulorn’s smile grew into a grin. “Exactly. I like you, Ironblood. Pity you have to die.”
“Happens to the best of us.” Toby stretched his neck and adjusted his grip on Soulbreaker’s hilt. He didn’t know how long Paul’s guard spell would last, or if it only required he stay within a certain range. No time to find out now. It was still active, but he probably wouldn’t want to risk moving much farther away. Bulorn had picked this spot for a reason.
The larger man hefted his axe. “I have slain many foes with this axe, but I think I’ll name it after you when this is over.”
“ ‘Foes’ might be an exaggeration, wouldn’t you say? I mean, if they didn’t fight back, couldn’t, or had no chance at all of winning… is that really a foe? I think ‘victim’ is probably more accurate.”
Bulorn’s face kept a small smile. “But by that definition you’re a victim.”
The axe cleaved the air before Toby so fast he could barely tell what was happening. If he hadn’t had his sword in hand before him he never would have moved it to intercept in time.
Sparks flew as the axe struck the black sword.
Bulorn smiled as he took a step back. “Quick little bunny. I like that sword. I think I’ll keep it.”
“By all means.” Toby backed up a step himself as he hurled Soulbreaker forward.
There were only a few feet between them. Bulorn’s eyes widened but he didn’t have time to do much else as the sword struck him in the chest.
He grabbed at the sword standing out of his ribs, but it disappeared as electricity played over it. The sword reappeared in Toby’s hands, already swinging. The shock wave appeared and disappeared in the same second. The distance between them was just barely enough for it to appear.
All mirth had faded from Bulorn now. He hefted his axe and charged in with a wordless cry.
Toby raised Soulbreaker to stop the high blow form the axe head, but Bulorn twisted the axe haft forward and used the blunt axe handle to strike Toby across the chin.
He stumbled back a step and raised his sword once more. It took a moment for it to move. A stun effect… Toby moved in the real world as he always did, but his character lagged behind.
Letting Bulorn in close was a mistake. He knew killing players. Toby only had experience fighting monsters. He might have been surprised by Soulbreaker’s returning effect, but it hadn’t taken him long to get over it.
And that was Toby’s best trick.
He doubted Bulorn was so limited.
Toby ducked under a strong horizontal swing, an orange arc following the axe.
Not so different from his own then.
He swung low, striking at the man’s legs. His one standing advantage here, no pun intended, seemed to be that the man wasn’t accustomed to fighting someone so short. His swings were high… or he might have been going for head shots. Were head shots a thing here? Rather late for that question.
The axe blade bit into Toby’s shoulder before he even saw the other man swing.
God damn it.
He stabbed Soulbreaker straight ahead. Red and white light surrounded it as it was the second attack in his combo. Bulorn was struck full force and knocked back a step. He had been in too close to avoid the attack.
Toby was fortunate that the blow to his shoulder had been the first in Bulorn’s combo, since he had avoided the previous attack. If he missed his next attack he would have to start over as well. But if he landed it the Trio effect would fire. It might be his best chance…
He tried to watch as Bulorn moved. Toby kept his sword up to make defending easier. Axes were slow… at least they should be slower than swords, but this one seemed to defy that rule. He was doing something different, something special. Maybe the axe had some magical effect, or…
Toby stepped to the right just in time to avoid the downward swing. The axe bit into the dirt beside him.
He had barely seen him move. But how…?
Toby swung to th
e side, the trio effect of bright red fading to white trailed the sword. It struck Bulorn hard in the shoulder, but he shook it off. Toby couldn’t see the other man’s health, but such attacks had dropped powerful mobs. Mobs strong enough to kill him.
And yet Toby had not missed a swing yet. Bulorn was built to deliver punishment and soak it up without any finesse. He had not so much as tried to drink a potion yet. He had to have a mountain of hit points. Dumping stat points into stamina would undoubtedly make his life of PVPing easier. It would be the smart thing to do, so Toby would have to move forward assuming he had.
Bulorn nodded a few times as he pulled the axe out of the dirt. “You can hit, and you can take a hit. Ironblood suits you. Unfortunately, it won’t last-” His voice cut off as Soulbreaker struck him again. The sword’s hilt stood out of his back, the blade standing out from under his chin.
The large man turned with a roar and swung with all his might. The attack was far slower than the last two. Toby managed to duck low and avoid the first and sidestep to avoid the second.
Soulbreaker reappeared in his hand as he moved.
Speed was not the large man’s strong suit, then. Either he or the axe had some ability that made the blows seem faster, but it wasn’t a constant thing. He had deliberately paced those attacks to fool and confuse Toby.
If Toby could keep him on the defensive, or keep him mad enough to not bother trying to be creative, he might have a chance. His hit points were not full anymore, but he had to have more than Bulorn.
Well, hopefully.
Toby waited for the next slow swing, but instead of moving out of the way he ran headlong in and battered the axe aside. He swung twice as quickly as he could, getting the duo and trio effects in the process before he backed away again.
The axe bit into the dirt where he had been standing.
He was fortunate that striking Bulorn’s axe counted as a hit as far as the combo system was concerned. He hadn’t dared to count on the effect.
Bulorn narrowed his eyes at Toby. “Yes. Very quick bunny. You know, you really might have a chance here.”
Toby leveled his sword, not willing to drop his guard for a moment. “Thanks. That’s a spiffy axe.”
“You like it? Not something you’re likely to come across, it only applies to PVP fights, really. Here, let me show you.”
He stood still a moment before the axe head appeared right next to Toby.
There was no time to move. No time to react. The axe bit into his left arm and red tinted the edges of his vision. His hit points were below half.
But he got it now. He understood.
He backed up a step and chuckled.
Bulorn raise his chin, seemingly unsure what to make of the gesture.
“It’s faking your movements. It has some cool down, but when the effect is available and you swing it doesn’t start the attack animation until it’s nearly hit. You seem fast with a slow weapon, but it’s all smoke and mirrors.”
Bulorn blinked a few times before barking out a laugh. “You think so? Even if that’s true, knowing that doesn’t really help you, now does it?”
Toby shrugged. “I don’t actually know much about this game. I learn from what I see. Now I learned about you.”
Bulorn smiled. “Oh?” He raised his axe but stayed where he stood, well out of range. He swung the axe down hard, burying the axehead in the dirt.
The ground shook as rocks burst from the earth making a beeline for Toby. He held up his sword to block, but he was still knocked backwards.
His health had taken another hit.
Bulorn stood with his axe on his shoulder. “You only know what you’ve seen? Then you know nothing at all. I could have a hundred abilities. More. Every last one a surprise to a fucking noob like you.”
Toby rubbed at his chin. “And here I thought we were becoming friends.”
“Hardly. I almost had respect for a fellow warrior, but I can’t have any for someone so weak.” He shook his head. “You’ve already shown me all of your cards. Combo strikes, shock wave, and a unique skill on the sword. Not so different from my axe, except that it’s less useful. The throw doesn’t even hit as hard as a normal swing.”
Well, that was news. He hadn’t ever exactly gauged the skills. It always looked more impressive… but it wasn’t an ability anyway. If most people threw their weapons they didn’t get them back.
Bulorn shook his head. “And you’re the big bad of this event. Fucking hell. God damned pathetic. I’m not even sure I want to kill you. I don’t want to be associated with this shit.”
Toby hefted his sword. He had a few tricks left…
“Well that’s not very nice.”
He swung horizontally, well outside his melee range. A shock wave appeared and pelted Bulorn as he stood.
Toby didn’t wait to see his response. He swung the sword back the way it had come, sending out a second. He’d never tested the idea but…
The second shock wave was bigger.
Bulorn raised his axe to defend himself, but only just as the second landed. He still took a hit from it, though the damage was reduced.
Toby didn’t care. He swung again. The third attack in the combo, the shock wave that flew out was wider and the leading edge was bright white with the energy trail fading to red at the back.
It knocked Bulorn hard enough for his guard to break, his axe falling to the side as the wave overtook him.
Toby swung again and again. He sent another set of three at the man as he reeled. All three landed and Bulorn lost his feet.
The axe was strong, and it had a unique effect. But it was still slow. The sword had no such disadvantage in speed and the skills he had chosen paired well.
He hadn’t been entirely sure they would… but he seemed to recall the shock wave counting as the first hit in the chain before. It triggering all three was a guess… but Bulorn was right, he didn’t have much else to fall back on.
Bulorn lay still.
19
Toby kept his sword high as he approached. The man wasn’t dead yet. His people certainly would have acted if that was the case. Was he giving them orders? He might be using the time for that. Trying to distract his opponent.
Or just lying there chugging a gallon of health potions and eating ten whole cheese wheels.
Or maybe just playing opossum. He wasn’t moving, so that one seemed more likely.
Once again his inexperience with the game was proving detrimental. Miller had chosen his champion for this cause poorly… or well, if he had intended for them to fail from the start.
Toby closed to a few feet away. Just outside of melee range.
Bulorn remained motionless.
He was planning something… hell with it. Toby raised his sword high and swung straight down. He didn’t intend to play along.
Bulorn disappeared.
Toby nearly fell backward when the large man reappeared with his axe high overhead and already descending.
He hadn’t teleported. He’d waited. Waited for the axe’s effect to be ready and for Toby to be close enough for him to make use of it.
And he’d fell for it.
Like a damned noob.
Bulorn laughed as the axe blade careened downward and struck deep into the dirt behind where Toby stood.
His laughter stopped as Toby remained upright. He glanced up. “Wait… what?”
An icon blinked off to Toby’s left, beside his hit point bar.
Uncanny Dodge had just gone off. The minute long countdown for it to function again was ticking and the stack was reset back down to five percent.
Bulorn didn’t known everything after all.
The axehead was buried in the ground beneath Toby, the haft between his feet.
Toby swung hard at Bulorn. He pelted him again and again with sword blows. The final trio attack hit him twice. In his haste to get away he left his axe where it was trapped. Another gamble… but it had always taken him a moment to free it from the dirt when it
stuck there. Toby wasn’t about to give him that time.
The larger man pulled a dagger and slashed, catching Toby on the leg.
He didn’t care. He swung the heavy two handed sword again and again.
Bulorn cried out and tried to climb to his feet but Toby would always strike him to the dirt again.
His hit points couldn’t hold out forever.
By the end he was practically crawling in the dirt, his heavy breaths easy to hear.
Toby held the sword high. “I don’t suppose there are any women who will lament your death?”
Bulorn’s eyes shifted around. “What?”
“Damn.” Toby drove the sword home, burying the black metal blade into Bulorn’s chest.
He stopped moving.
And his name plate vanished.
Bulorn the great and mighty was dead.
And Tobin Ironblood had killed him.
Toby wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that… but he didn’t have time to ponder it. He wrenched his sword free of the corpse and turned to the line of Bulorn’s people still waiting.
He raised his chin. “Your leader is dead.” He hooked his left thumb over his shoulder. “My people have had time to heal and prepare.” He held up Soulbreaker, still red with the digital blood of their friend. “I don’t see any benefit to this fighting. So what happens next is up to you. Will you join him in the dirt?”
White light played over him, followed by green. He didn’t need to look back to understand what was happening. Claire and Jesse were patching him up. Good thing, too. He was pretty low for a bit there. If Uncanny Dodge hadn’t gone off…
A burst of black smoke appeared beside him.
Eh? What did Tim want. Coming out here was dangerous and-
He barely moved his head in time. The wicked curved dagger had jabbed straight for his face.
Another burst of black smoke revealed a second attacker. They swung a mace low.
Toby backed up a few steps.
There were more attackers than they had seen… and those they could see were purposefully misleading them.