by Domino Finn
I opened my menu and brought up the map. Stronghold was surrounded by flat farmland. The west gate was the main gate, but there was an eastern gate as well. It was too late to try that out. But if we headed directly south over the plains, we'd eventually hit mountains. No main roads broached those peaks.
Kyle was cool with it so we headed that way. The bongo followed. I was personally looking forward to discovering new enemies. You can only pick off rats and toads for so long before you get bored. We crossed the dry grassy plains without incident. It was still close enough to Stronghold that the pickings were slim.
"You ever picked up that smithing skill?" I asked to break the monotony.
"I did," said Kyle under his breath. "But the skill point reset when my level did. I haven't spent it yet."
"That's probably a blessing."
"Yeah. When I was on lockdown, I was thinking about what you said about using my skills together."
I fired a skeptical expression at him.
"What?" he said. "I don't only drink beer and play shooters. You made a good point. I'm not sure what to do yet, but I probably wanna grow out my alchemy tree with helper skills."
I nodded. "Increase your output. While you were busy being productive, did you manage to make any more grenades?"
"Nah. For now, those three were my limit for the day. I only have the one left. Just the way it is. But here's the thing." He pulled out his glass orb. "We already agreed the damage of this sucker is convenient. It's not monster damage, but when it exploded in tight quarters, in the warren, it was a lot more effective."
"Context seems to matter a lot in Haven," I agreed.
"So wouldn't a corrosive do more damage in an enemy's bloodstream?" He unplugged the bottle and pulled his sword out. Slowly and carefully, Kyle dripped a spattering of black gel over the sharp edges of his sword.
I smiled. "Now you're talking. Just in time, too."
I pointed ahead. A [Devil Badger] had noticed us. It was a hairy, short-legged thing with a vicious snarl. It loped toward us aggressively.
[Devil Badger]
45 Health
I pulled out my spear but let Kyle take the first shot. Sure enough, his blow did more damage than usual. Even better, the DoT increased threefold.
The devil badger had decent health, though. Despite being a lowly critter, it was still at half life and readying a bite on Kyle. My upgraded deadshot easily took it out.
We didn't have time to celebrate. A couple more badgers aggroed on us. The tall grass must've hidden them. Two weren't a large concern. Between us, we took them out, but they did inflict a decent gash on Kyle. We also noted how the third enemy took significantly less corrosive damage. Kyle made sure to reapply regularly after that.
Whatever mobs we encountered, the deer stayed at a distance. She didn't fight. Each time, she was happy to see us win. She ran over and sniffed at us to make sure we were okay. Her expressive eyes within the cream-colored mask were endearing. I scratched her behind the ear and she tilted her head in joy.
"Dude," said Kyle, "you don't think it's weird that you're petting an AI animal? It's not like it's smart."
"She's gotta be at least as smart as a dog. She was programmed by people, after all."
"But she's still just a collection of routines. She's not real."
I shrugged. "You could say the same thing about us."
He didn't have a response. We reached the foot of the mountains and that usurped our full attention. Suddenly the land was our enemy. Our progress slowed and we needed to watch our footing carefully, but we wouldn't balk at the challenge. Ten minutes of careful climbing rewarded us with a nice view of the plains and Stronghold on the horizon. Haven had an impressive draw distance. None of that game fogginess fifty feet out.
The mountainside grew steeper and more treacherous. We struggled a bit but found a natural path with a reasonable slope. We weren't gonna climb a sheer face equipped as we were. The mountain bongo, on the other hand, was now in her home environment. Her hooves deftly found footholds among the rocks. She galloped across the mountainside, often appearing to walk on walls.
"Now you're just making us look bad," I said. "You know, we should name you."
Kyle rolled his eyes, but the bongo approached me and lowered her head to my hand. Suddenly, the [Mountain Bongo] tag appeared over her head with a blinking cursor.
Wow. I didn't know what was going on but I was strangely honored. I studied the striped animal and landed on the expressive eyes under the mask. "Bandit," I said.
Her name changed and she hopped with glee. I was pretty stoked too. I wasn't sure what game benefits I'd attained, but I seemed to have acquired a pet.
A thwip echoed across the landscape. Before I knew it, a crossbow bolt slammed into my chest, just above the heart.
0220 Hitman
Ambush!
Critical hit!
42 damage
I collapsed. Kyle spun around, not fully aware of the threat. Another crossbow bolt grazed his arm. His new chain mail safely deflected it away.
I grunted, more in shock than pain. Two-thirds of my health was gone in an instant. I ripped the arrow free and downed a health potion, scanning the mountainside above us.
"There!" I cried, pointing to a rock offshoot.
[Goblin Assassin]
200 Health
He was lying on his stomach. A perfect perch against our vulnerable position. The crossbow went vertical as he reloaded it. He slipped two bolts into place before leveling it at us again.
"Move!" I yelled.
We scrambled. The first bolt missed wide. Bandit was just standing there, ten feet away. The crossbow swiveled to her. As it let loose, I swung my spear in front of her. It was a sloppy, desperate move. I lucked out big time. The bolt cracked in half when it hit my blacksteel.
Crown Unlocked: Faster than a Speeding Bullet
Knock an arrow out of the air with a melee attack.
1000 XP awarded
"Whoa," said Kyle. "I'm only 44 XP away from level 3."
"Focus," I warned, trying to ignore that I was a little over 200 points from leveling myself. Why couldn't we have killed a few more devil badgers before being ambushed?
Kyle poured black gel on his sword, then lobbed the half-filled grenade at the assassin. His aim was slightly off, but the explosion spread the tar in a decent radius. Damage notifications rewarded the effort. It wasn't a lot, but the goo ruined the sniper's perch. He hefted his crossbow and retreated up the mountainside.
"Don't let him keep at a distance!" I screamed, charging up the mountain. Kyle followed.
As we chased him up, all I could think about was how crazy this was. The pagan assassin had wasted no time. Little more than an hour had passed between the warning notification and the ambush, and I'd done my best to avoid their area. How the hell did the damned thing track me down so effortlessly?
I fared better than Kyle did on the mountainside. My higher agility and the occasional vault to hop an obstacle guaranteed decent headway. The potion had left me at nearly full health, too. The goblin noticed me gaining on him and spun around with his weapon.
Thwip! Thwip!
I triggered dash and shot to the side, easily clearing the path of the projectiles. The sniper widened his eyes in surprise and hastily loaded two more bolts. I vaulted again, closing the distance so quickly that he unequipped the crossbow in favor of different gear.
Just ten yards away, mid charge, I drove my spear forward and activated my upgraded deadshot. I slammed into him, greeted by a jarring clang. My spear shook in my hands. The tip had glanced off the goblin's new silver shield. It was a small thing polished to a mirror sheen, round with flattened edges on the top and bottom. I could only gawk at it for a split second because the goblin's other hand reared a spiked mace. While I was still off balance, the heavy weapon crashed into my ribs.
I recovered quickly. The sniper struck again but I backed away to gain some space. I followed up with a strike of
my own. Again, his shield knocked the tip of my spear away. This time I made sure not to fully commit and lose my footing. His mace lacked the range to overcome my spear.
I'd never dealt with a shield before. I wasn't a trained soldier. I had no idea what tactic to use and was still in shock about my missed deadshot. I tried a feint to the right. As his shield prepared to meet my blow, I swung inside and past his defense. I managed to partly plug him before he corrected and pushed my weapon away. The goblin was good at protecting himself.
After a few more traded strikes, I used the feint again. This time he was on to me. He lurched forward and pinned my spear to the ground with his shield. He stepped on the shaft to raise his short frame above mine. I was extended forward, a spiked mace racing to the crown of my head, when Kyle's longsword slashed right down the goblin's spine.
Surprise!
[Kyle] dealt 32 damage to [Goblin Sniper]
DoT: 15 dmg/10 secs
The assassin reared in pain, but that didn't stop his blow from finding me. The mace veered off target, slamming into my right shoulder instead of my skull. I heard a nasty crunch. My spear fell to the ground.
20 damage
Dislocation!
Your arm is dislocated. You cannot use weapons until it is fixed.
Lucky there were two of us because the goblin could've killed me then had he been ready. Instead he rolled away and squared off with my roommate. Kyle hadn't scored a crit but the surprise damage mixed with the corrosive was a good combo. The assassin still had two-thirds of his health, but he now knew we could hurt him.
I considered chugging another health potion but it would be nearly useless so soon after the first. Besides, I suddenly remembered every 80s action movie ever. After all, what was Haven if not a product of popular media? Instead of wasting the potion I lined up my shoulder with a rock wall and barged into it.
Your arm is back in place! Weapon usage is restored.
God, I was beginning to love this game. I lifted my spear and downed a spirit vial instead. Then I charged into the fray.
Kyle's sword work was improving, but the assassin was quicker and better. I flanked the goblin to even the odds but, honestly, he was quicker and better than me too. Together we had a chance.
Kyle was admirably fighting his way to level 3. With the crown I'd unlocked, we were both on the verge. All we needed to do was finish off the goblin sniper. And it began to look possible. We started to get the better of him. For every thrust and parry, I could see the worry in his eyes. Two strikes later, my blacksteel bit deep into his leg, causing extra pagan damage and slowing him down. Kyle hammered him with a powerful overhead strike. The assassin braced himself under his shield. The impact was legendary. The longsword shattered into a thousand pieces.
Seriously, it was just a hilt after that.
Kyle stared dumbly, jaw agape. Jeers erupted from the foothills. Three more goblins waved weapons over their heads as they charged to meet us.
[Goblin Warlock]
100 Health
They were still a few minutes out but we were boned and the assassin knew it.
I went to stick him again but he abandoned his current tactic. He just bowled into a dumbstruck Kyle and they both tumbled down the mountainside, taking minor damage but heading closer to pagan backup.
The goblin righted himself before Kyle did. He swerved to his feet. Kyle slipped further below on his hands and knees before steadying. The assassin had him lined up perfectly, ten feet above my roommate.
I charged downhill.
They'd tumbled out of range. Even at a full sprint, I wasn't gonna be able to get to them in time. I triggered vault and used the spear to push my body off the mountainside. In midair, out of pure desperation, without even knowing it was possible, I triggered dash. A horizontal force surged me forward. A dash along the slope would've left me in a sprint but now I was a rocket, coming down fast, homing in on the sniper. His back was to me. I was gonna beat him.
His mace blinked out and the crossbow reappeared in his ready grip. Thwip! Thwip!
Two bolts thunked into Kyle's head. I roared in anger as I triggered deadshot from above. My spear dug into the goblin's shoulder. As I landed, it drilled down through his body, ripped out his belly, and staked him to the ground.
Surprise!
Combo!
Savage!
You dealt 127 damage to [Goblin Assassin]
[Goblin Assassin] is defeated
850 XP awarded
Bones crunched as I landed. Luckily they belonged to the goblin corpse.
BWOOOOOM!
You have reached Level 4!
I ignored the deep chord and dramatic wash of flames, ripped my spear free with some trouble, and skidded down the slope to Kyle.
He was dead again. Mere moments from level 3.
"Fuck!"
The pagan backup was almost on me now. Two [Goblins] and a [Goblin Warlock]. I was outnumbered but stronger now, and at full health and spirit to boot. I salvaged Kyle's body for him, looted the sniper, and desperately waited for dash to recharge.
0230 The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
I didn't have many options. There was up, down, and... well, that was it. That's what I meant by not having many options.
Fighting all three goblins head-on was a poor tactical decision, but so was running away. The mountain quickly steepened behind me. It would shift my sprint into a slow, arduous climb, with my back exposed to the threat.
The two goblins waved daggers angrily as they raced uphill, just fifty feet below. The warlock, the one I was really concerned with—he just stopped. He pulled his brown robes close and thrust his scrawny arms skyward.
Shit. He was casting.
I hastily checked my skill tree and inventory for anything that could help. The crossbow. Maybe I could interrupt his spell. Maybe I could take advantage of his distraction. I hefted the weapon into my hands and struggled with the loading mechanism.
I wasn't trained in using the thing.
It was a [Dual Eagle Crossbow], a heavy, double shafted thing that looked mean and professional. It took me precious seconds to get the bolt loaded. The next one came easier. I raised the crossbow and the two advancing goblins dove to the ground. I turned my sights on the warlock, flames now rippling up his arms, and let fly.
A bolt whizzed through the air a good ten feet over his head. He didn't even notice.
The warriors had followed the projectile's path. They turned back to me with puzzled expressions.
I tried to play it off casually. "First time," I announced.
They snickered and advanced again. I raised the crossbow. That got them to duck, at least, but the jig was up. They knew I wasn't skilled with the weapon. And I only had one shot left.
A whoosh of oxygen ratcheted up my panic meter. A giant globe of fire as tall as the goblin warlock burst into life above his head. It wasn't a fireball; it was a fire planet. A miniature sun. The mystic gazed up maniacally at his creation before sending it forth. The other goblins fell back a safe distance from the raging inferno beaming my way.
I sidestepped to the left and the fireball veered toward me. I skittered right and it homed in on me again. I gulped and dropped the crossbow. My dash was recharged. I would just need to time it perfectly. That or find out if Haven had sunburn cream.
As I packed the crossbow back into my inventory, my eyes fell on the assassin's shield.
[Mirror Shield]
A favorite of the Atlanteans, mirror shields are primarily designed to reflect magical energy but are also surprisingly robust against physical attacks.
That sniping bastard. No wonder he'd been so hard to kill, deadshot or no. As for me and the impending fireball, I really had no choice. This was the equivalent of an MMO layup. Like finding a red key while standing next to a red door. I had to try it out.
I equipped the mirror shield and defiantly placed it in the path of the oncoming heatstroke. Bracing against the hellish meteor with a little r
ound shield went against my every instinct as a human being, let alone a quick-on-my-feet scout, but willpower prevailed. The flames slammed against me as I screamed into oblivion.
And then something kick-ass happened.
Without leaving so much as a contact burn, the three-and-a-half foot sphere bounced right off the mirror shield and headed back down the mountain. The goblin warriors hugged the ground as the rogue fireball passed over them. The warlock didn't take evasive action. He just stood there, eyes wide, watching his own creation hurtle toward him with unstoppable might.
He exploded in a mini mushroom cloud right where he stood. The charred remains barely constituted a corpse. The two remaining goblins turned to me in wonder.
I shrugged. "First time with that too," I said, a little more confidently.
They bared their teeth and charged. With the ranged threat subtracted from the equation, I scrambled higher up the mountain, equipping my spear and triggering a vault to get a lead. When the cliff steepened I focused on hand holds, putting the weapon away and using both hands. I hit a dead end and used dash to cheat upward. The rock face became more sheer but I was making good time.
The problem was the damn pagans were as well. Either they were natural climbers or had a great strength-to-weight ratio. They advanced at the pace of a brisk stroll, even and effortless. Neither had even bothered to unequip their daggers.
I was further up so my going was tougher. As the ground transitioned to a wall, they gained on me fast. I wasn't even in a position where I could equip my spear anymore. The only thing I could do was double down and keep going higher. The slope became a cliff, where a minor slip meant plummeting to my death. Maybe I could pull a Donkey Kong and barrel into them on my way down.