Exalted Realms Online- Harbinger of Chaos

by Jamie O'Leary

  To tame these water creatures, Maurolot had to employ various types of magic. He didn’t dare use any lightning or electric magic so as not to fry them, because he wanted to keep and control them as pets to do his bidding. He knew that the many creatures of Half-World were there for players to have as pets, beasts-of-burden, mounts, or other uses that benefit players. If you treat pets poorly, they’ll never obey. Maurolot also knew that he needed the sacred Water Crest — that Furgus the Gray obtained when he’d subdued the kraken all those years ago — in order to tame the kraken, but he still hadn’t found it. Without the Water Crest, there was no chance in facing the kraken, and this irked him to no end.

  Maurolot used every bit of magic he knew up to that point to search for the Water Crest. During one incantation, a seer cloud appeared before him, revealing the location of the Water Crest—it lay at the bottom of Lake Baijer, protected by the kraken itself. The wizard sat dismayed at the vision he was shown.

  Then, the mystical gears of his conniving mind began turning. He would get heroes to retrieve the Water Crest, telling them that the kraken had stolen the crest. Many came calling over the years, and they all died from the wrath of the colossal cephalopod. Then, there was one eager band of champions that believed the wizard’s ruse and leapt into action. They didn’t manage to defeat the kraken, but did distract the creature long enough for one of their comrades to swim below and swipe the crest.

  They returned to the Tower of Pearl as the kraken, now enraged at being tricked by mortals, stormed toward the tower. Maurolot took the crest from the heroes and locked himself inside the tower. The heroes banged on the walls of the tower and cried for help as the kraken emerged from the water, its tentacles flailing.

  They tried to attack, but were quickly broken and tossed aside into the water, where the current would sweep their corpses over the falls into the cascades below. The kraken then wrapped his powerful tentacles around the Tower of Pearl and attempted to topple the structure, but the magical pearl material was indestructible. The kraken eventually gave up and returned to the depths of the lake.

  Maurolot then resigned himself to his study, where he learned all the Water Crest’s magic. He would need to master its magic in order to subdue the tentacled beast, as he who controlled the Water Crest would control the kraken.

  The wizard emerged from his tower and stood before the edge of the lake. He held the Water Crest in his hands and chanted, “Innarak sothtak musumu othtak.”

  The lake began to glow from underneath and the water churned until there was a vortex in the center of the lake. The kraken rose from the center of the vortex, its tentacles hung limp beneath it, and it seemed as if it were in a trance. The massive monster was suspended over the lake as the vortex receded and the surface resumed its glassy face. Maurolot continued his chanting, and upon finishing the last syllable, the kraken awoke and splashed into the lake, sending waves crashing onto the lake’s shore.

  Maurolot finally had control over the Baijer kraken, which he planned to use to destroy anyone who dared to approach the Tower of Pearl. The wizard did this to both unsuspecting and willing players alike that sought to defeat him and steal his vast knowledge as well as his precious Water Crest.

  ***

  Darkwind and the others decided to split into two groups: Chezzy and Darkwind, and Josie and Nurox. A decent melee-slash-magic combo that would serve them throughout the tower. It was decided that the former would search the lower part of the tower since Chezzy could cast magic so they could breathe underwater, while Nurox and Josie were left to search the upper part of the tower. None of them knew what to expect, so their senses remained heightened. The tower could be empty, or it could be filled with a great many traps that wizards like Maurolot were known for using to keep their secrets safe from marauding players. The party diverged and began exploring the Tower of Pearl, determined to find the Water Crest.

  The main atrium of the tower was open and spacious. The iridescent walls gave off a glow in the light of a chandelier that hung over the center of the room. A staircase wound up the inside of the tower, the dark floors above dotted with lanterns. Another staircase descended from the atrium floor.

  “We meet back here in two hours, regardless of if we find anything. Then, we’ll regroup from there,” Darkwind said. He doled out commands quite naturally.

  “Got it,” Josie replied. “C’mon, Nurox.”

  As Josie and Nurox made their way up the staircase, Chezzy conjured a light spell. His staff glowed and he lit the way as he and Darkwind followed the stairs below.

  The staircase was a tunnel that spiraled down to a subterranean level. It was dark and dank with the smell of fish. The ceilings hung low so that Darkwind and Chezzy had to crouch to enter. Chezzy swung his staff around, illuminating the rest of the room. There was a shallow pool of water over the floor, which was covered in algae. Tiny lake crabs scuttled over the stone floor.

  Chezzy moved forward, and in the center of the room was an opening in the floor. This was the source of the water. “Want to go swimming?” Chezzy asked.

  “I didn’t exactly bring my swimsuit,” Darkwind replied.

  “You don’t need one,” Chezzy assured him.

  “I’m not swimming nude if that’s what you’re getting at,” Darkwind scoffed.

  “No, no,” Chezzy chuckled. “Just stand there and relax. Now, focus on your breath,” he said in a soothing voice.

  Darkwind closed his eyes and relaxed. He could hear the room become muffled, and when he opened his eyes, his entire body was encompassed by an air bubble that was like a second skin. The bubble could flex and stretch, and couldn’t pop or tear. Chezzy conjured one for himself as well, and the pair dropped into the dark, watery hole.

  Nurox crept up the staircase, his sword drawn. Josie snaked silently up the steps right behind him, her blades ready for action. Just before reaching the second floor of the tower, Nurox stopped and motioned for Josie to be quiet. He gestured that he could hear something nearby. Josie perked up her ears to listen.

  There was some shuffling and low guttural grunts. It was a group of gorboks—large fishlike bipeds that stood over six feet tall, and who were not normally seen outside of their underwater hunting and breeding grounds. The gorboks carried crude spears made from bone. They were searching for something, and they smashed jars and ransacked the many books and potions that Maurolot had kept. The gorboks then left the second floor and ascended the stairs on the other side of the floor. Josie and Nurox stayed as much in the shadows as they could, careful not to be seen.

  “Stinks like old fish in here,” Nurox whispered.

  “C’mon, let’s follow them,” Josie said.

  She slipped past Nurox and snuck across the second floor to the other staircase. Nurox sighed. He couldn’t wait for this quest to end. Nurox quickly followed Josie across the room where they continued up the steps to pursue the gorboks.

  Josie snuck up behind one of the gorboks and put her knife into its back. It tried to screech but she twisted the blade and cut deep into its spine. It fell to the floor, alerting the other gorboks. It lurched toward Josie, but Nurox brought his sword down hard upon the gillman, nearly cleaving it in two. The gorbok’s acidic blood pooled around it, bubbling up and corroding the pearlescent floor.

  “You okay, Josie? You didn’t get any of their blood on you?” Nurox said as he looked at the acidic mess before him with disgust.

  “Yeah, I’m okay. I didn’t expect that,” she replied. “Maybe Chezzy and Darkwind found something.”

  “We have to move. There are more floors to cover, and we don’t know what other creatures lurk in this place,” Nurox said. They continued to look through the mess the gorboks made, but there was nothing interesting there.

  Meanwhile, Chezzy and Darkwind swim inside a giant room underneath the tower, which was filled with what could have been Maurolot’s treasures.

  “We’re coming back for this,” Darkwind sa
id. “Let’s head back.”

  Chezzy nodded.

  Darkwind and Chezzy emerged from the hole and retraced their steps back to the tower’s main atrium. They hurried up the steps to convene with Nurox and Josie.

  “Josie! Nurox!” Darkwind called out as the party finally reunited on the fifth floor of the tower. “Did you guys find anything?”

  “Things got a little fishy around here, but nothing yet,” Josie said.

  “How much more of this tower is there?” whined Nurox.

  “I don’t know, but we have to find out,” said Josie.

  They ascended another set of steps that led them to the sixth floor, which opened into another atrium. There was a main chamber in the center of the room, with a sealed vault to preserve whatever was inside and to keep out prying eyes.

  As they entered the room, Darkwind halted at the top of the stairs. He could see that there were gorboks in the room. Some of them trashed more trinkets, while others jabbed their bone spears at the vault door until they gave up.

  “Hey, fish-dick! It’s not very nice to trash someone else’s house,” Darkwind called out. The gorboks stopped what they were doing and attacked. They hissed as they charged Darkwind and the others.

  Darkwind raised Helga and sliced through a line of gorboks that foolishly tried to go fin-to-toe with him. The gorboks’ blue, scaly flesh split open, spilling a putrid acidic blood all over the tile floor. Darkwind narrowly dodged the arterial spray of one gorbok, which singed his cape as he rolled clear.

  Chezzy conjured a bolt of lightning that spread across the atrium, which ricocheted off the walls. “Duck!” he cried out to the others.

  Nurox dropped to the ground. Josie lay flat, and Darkwind took a knee. The bolts flashed all around them, lighting up the pearlescent walls, frying the few gorboks left standing. Once the lightning dissipated and the gorboks were all disposed of, the party regrouped and moved forward to the main chamber to open the vault door.

  Nobody knew what awaited them on the other side of the door. After all, they were the first players to attempt this quest and make it this far. Nurox gulped with anticipation. Josie gripped her blades tight; she was ready for anything.

  The others ushered Chezzy to the front and stood back as he prepared to unlock the door, which had been sealed magically. The Water Crest must be in here.

  Chezzy sat on his knees and made several motions with his arms and hands. He chanted silently, his lips moving quickly yet without a sound, and he began to glow a burning red.

  “Stand back,” said Josie as tiny flares began to burst between Chezzy and the vault door. Darkwind, Nurox, and Josie fled away from Chezzy, who was now a figure of red light. They looked on as Chezzy stood up and touched the door, which sparked as his magic fought Maurolot’s until the tension was too much and the vault door shattered, revealing the chamber inside.

  “Whoa! That was awesome, Chezzy,” said Nurox. “You’ve really gotta teach me that sometime.”

  Chezzy patted Nurox on the shoulder. “It’s more difficult than it looks, big guy.”

  Josie motioned for them to go inside.

  They peered into the formerly sealed chamber. There was a bed with a variety of covers and blankets collected from across Half-World; tables covered in papers and magic tomes; shelves stocked with various potions that must’ve been valuable if they were kept locked up. Darkwind and the others scoured the room.

  “Guys!” Josie said suddenly. Everyone stopped and turned in her direction. She was staring at a deceased figure on a throne at the back of the room. It was Maurolot. Clasped between his skeletal hands was the Water Crest!

  “It’s the Water Crest,” she said as she almost instinctively ran up to the corpse to take the crest from its hands.

  “No, wait, Josie!” Chezzy shouted. He tried to catch her but she was too excited to hear him as she approached the remains of Maurolot.

  She unfurled his fingers from around the Water Crest and slowly removed the crest from the wizard’s final resting place. “Thank you much, sir,” she relayed to the corpse with a grin.

  Josie turned and faced the others. She held up the Water Crest. “See, that wasn’t so bad. I thought it—”

  Suddenly, the corpse of Maurolot came to life. Josie scurried backwards on the floor away from the undead wizard as it lurched forward out of its throne. “The Water Crest is mine!” undead Maurolot proclaimed.

  Everyone readied themselves for battle.

  Maurolot spread his boney arms outward and summoned a barrage of lightning bolts that shot across the room, barely missing Darkwind and the others as they escaped down the steps, making their way through the lower floors.

  Once at the main atrium, Josie searched for the secret door.

  “Muahahahahaha,” Maurolot’s voice thundered inside the tower. “Did you think you could steal from the great and powerful Maurolot and not pay the price?”

  Maurolot materialized behind them, his hands in the air, about to cast another spell. In a flash, Darkwind spun around with Helga, and slashed at the wizard. Maurolot dodged the strike and prepared to fry Darkwind with a lightning bolt. Electricity sparkled at the tip of his index finger, and Maurolot believed that he had bested his direct opponent. But Darkwind had anticipated this move and his blade was already racing towards the exact spot where Maurolot’s finger was pointing. SNICK! The digit dropped to the ground, wiggling like an overfed worm, and before Maurolot could realize what had happened, Darkwind screamed and cut the spirit in half at the waist. The wizard disappeared, leaving only a heaping pile of bones and some moldy robes behind. Darkwind stepped on the remains to ensure they were dead.

  Josie held the Water Crest up to the wall. Its azure glow revealed the door, and they exited the Tower of Pearl. Josie then walked to the water’s edge and held up the Water Crest over Lake Baijer.

  “What’s she doing?” asked Darkwind.

  The crest glowed brightly in Josie’s hands. Suddenly, various lake creatures emerged at the surface, including the kraken. These creatures were all under Maurolot’s control while he possessed the Water Crest, but now Josie would set them free. Her good intentions were amplified by the Water Crest, which broke Maurolot’s pet spell, finally emancipating the creatures of Lake Baijer.

  “How are we supposed to get back to the other side of the lake? It’s either that or straight down these falls,” Darkwind pondered.

  Josie then held the crest tightly against her and the waterfall stopped flowing. The lake was still and they could now easily row their boat back to the fishing village.

  When they returned from the Tower of Pearl, the chieftains welcomed them and the fishing tribes celebrated the death of Maurolot and the coming of heroes. The festivities lasted into the night and, as it wound down, Darkwind and the others discussed what was next. With all four elemental crests found, it seemed that their adventure together was coming to an end.

  “What will you do now, Darkwind?” asked Josie.

  “What do you think? Find that darn God of Chaos,” he said. “What about all of you?”

  “Nurox and I decided to use the crests to help those in need,” Josie replied.

  “I think I might return to the Tower of Pearl. It’s a good place for wizards,” Chezzy mused.

  “Good luck to you, Darkwind,” Nurox said, offering a handshake. Darkwind hesitated, staring at that hand for several seconds. He finally obliged, and they wished each other well with a mutual nod.

  “Try not to blow up the world with all that magic,” joshed Darkwind. He whistled for Max, who was lying next to a small campfire. His deermat companion came scurrying up the wet shore and leaped up onto Darkwind’s shoulder.

  Josie, Nurox, and Chezzy watched somewhat solemnly as Darkwind walked out of their adventure to finish what he had started so long ago. Darkwind was finally on his way to finding the God of Chaos, and nothing was going to stop him now.

  XXII

  Max sniffed
the cool morning air and caught the smell of bacon wafting from Darkwind’s skewer of breakfast meats. Darkwind needed all the energy he could get since he’d be trekking to Gothar region, far to the north. He came prepared with everything he might need to brave the wintery realm of Gothar.

  Darkwind had caught rumor that there was an ancient temple dedicated to Chaos built out on the desolate tundra—one of the very last places he had yet to visit in the entire world—, and that only the most devout players would dare seek what was out there. Darkwind knew this was his destiny. He would hike from Laramye in the east through the Kepol Pass and onwards north, past the tiny towns of Hemrig and Lodram, to the land of Gothar, which were barren and desolate, and covered in thick sheets of ice and blankets of snow. The temperature dropped as Darkwind continued down the rocky trail that had been carved out over the centuries by the old warriors that once marched on the war path here. Darkwind put on a heavier jacket that was lined with fur around the collar. Max snuggled up under the fur to keep warm. The mountains there were somehow even more harsh and inhospitable than their southern cousins. Gothar was not only the name of this large swath of land, it was also the name of the fortified town that ruled over it. That’s where Darkwind was headed.

  The town of Gothar was run by northern trading barons that created the outpost as a final stop for players before they ventured into the frozen wastelands. The town had a large wooden gate that seemed perpetually frozen over. Soft, fresh snow covered the ramparts of the town, each of which were guarded by the barons’ mercenaries, swords-for-hire who were actually hired to look intimidating to newcomers. They didn’t phase Darkwind at all as he entered the town and all eyes were on him, hands on their hilts as if they were ready to attack at any moment. The townspeople in Gothar were downtrodden and mostly destitute. They lived on the scraps of the barons, who were poor traders at best, eking out a bare existence near the top of the world. Darkwind approached one of the barons, whose shop sold thick leather hides.