by Domino Finn
Decimus, surprised for the first time, hastily whirled to face me. He slashed both swords together. Taking advantage of Stigg's buff, I dashed backward, escaping him again. The angel's lips tightened as my health finally regenerated to full.
My skills had no cooldown, but they weren't free. They still cost spirit, which meant I couldn't dash around like a hummingbird or trigger unlimited tornado spins. Still, 75 spirit was plenty for what I needed.
Decimus lunged. I dashed to the side and tried another strike. He moved quickly, not letting me touch him. The angel countered with impressive precision. I dashed backward, just barely dodging a clean beheading. I thrust my spear forward, catching Decimus in the chest. Once again, my weapon bounced away uselessly.
He swiped and I dashed, but I didn't get away clean this time. His blade barely grazed my arm.
Critical Hit!
65 damage
I managed to stay on my feet in a wild spin. My health continued to regenerate. Fifty percent. Fifty-five. In the distance, Orik blindly pounded against Stronghold's wall. The fire at the gate was dying. Kyle hadn't been able to juice it with any more fuel. Only a matter of time now, but the titan wasn't waiting. Twice as tall as the great wall, he finally came to his senses and leaned over the battlements. Orik was scaling over it.
It was a win over breaking down the gate. Without the wall falling, the rest of the horde was locked outside. Still, the giant breaching the city was the endgame. He couldn't be allowed to reach the Pantheon, no matter what. Too bad he was too big to stop.
Decimus slashed me clear across the back.
Critical Hit!
65 damage
I dropped to my knees. My eyes widened as I gazed upon the grim scene.
Too big. Too unstoppable.
I turned to Decimus, standing victoriously above me.
I growled. I wasn't dead yet, and there were bigger menaces on this battlefield than him.
As his killing blow cut through the air, I dashed away from him. His sword whiffed. Instead of trying to fight back, I sprinted away.
Greater Regeneration has ended!
Crap. I was only at 33 health. One hit would kill me and my regeneration had run out. I was running from the angel so fast I didn't have time to down a potion. The line of screaming goblins came upon me too quickly. I planted my spear in the ground and triggered vault, flying above their diminutive heads.
Decimus followed. The pagans parted like the Red Sea. The ones that remained in his path were put down wordlessly.
I found a clear path and dashed. Then another and repeated. I charged straight toward the god-giant without fear for my life because, as far as I was concerned, I was already dead.
The angel was on my trail but I pulled away from him. The chaos was working in my favor. I dashed wildly between it, rapidly changing position, giving Decimus a tough time of tracking me. The madness gave me a chance to use a health potion, but I opted to refill my almost-empty spirit instead. That allowed me a few more dashes to carry out my plan.
Berserker's Frenzy has ended!
My last dash ended right after the notification. I cursed the bad luck. The skill was now in cooldown mode. I couldn't trigger it despite having plenty of spirit.
No matter. I was close enough to Stronghold. In the madness brought on by Orik's presence, several siege towers had successfully made it to the wall. The titan had passed completely over. Scores of pagans streamed in behind him, rushing up the tower ladders. At the top, they threw grapples and climbed up in such numbers that they overwhelmed any defense. The battlements brimmed with goblins driving back legionnaires. Dune, Stigg, and Caduceus fought back the first wave, but were forced to slowly retreat. My party protected the gate from the rapidly encroaching forces. Behind me, Decimus painted a swath of pagan blood, converging on his only target.
It was all going to hell. Somewhere, Lucifer was watching in delight. I reminded myself to tear him a new one next time we met.
I charged forward. Most of the pagans were so eager to scale the wall they didn't notice me among their ranks. I sped right past them to one of the siege towers. Instead of attempting to clear them off the ladder, I triggered vault and landed on the outside frame. With my new climbing ability, it was cake to pull myself to the top. I balanced on the railing and hopped on the goblins, using their heads as stepping stones. With deft steps, I ran straight up a tightrope, passing over the hands of hanging goblins. I leapt for the wall and looked over my shoulder.
Decimus floated in the air now. Above the reach of the army, he'd ascended to my level, but his pursuit had halted. He didn't close on me. He didn't advance.
I stood in place on the battlements for a long second, only slightly aware of Caduceus healing me at range. I turned to Orik and then back to Decimus. The angel was afraid to engage the titan. Or, more likely, his programming prevented him from interfering with such a dominating game asset.
It clicked into place: As long as I stayed close to the cyclops, Decimus wouldn't pursue me.
With a triumphant roar, I kicked a frisky goblin over the battlements. His scream ended in a crack at the foot of the city. Then I charged inside. I vaulted into the air and triggered dash at the height of my jump. I rocketed right into the back of Orik's waist, just as he was disengaging from the wall, and grabbed on tight.
I turned back to see Decimus suspended in the sky with a frown.
"Nice talk," I said. "Let's do this again real soon."
The giant rose to full height and yanked me with him. The clump of grass in my hand held tight, even as my legs swung wildly below.
A single miscalculation and I would drop to my death just like the goblin.
Maybe I hadn't wasted a skill point on climbing after all.
0510 God of War
The titan was a slow, lumbering thing. Anything that massive and solid had no business moving outside of earthquakes. Unfortunately, Orik was slow but he wasn't tectonic-plate slow. His heavy, trudging steps shook the ground below him. Tremors ran up his body. I rocked violently, praying the clumps of grass I held onto were rooted deep.
This was more terrifying than I'd imagined it would be.
Talon: Where the hell are you guys?
Kyle: West gate still. Why?
Talon: Get to Oldtown.
Izzy: You crazy? The titan's in Oldtown.
Talon: Yeah, and I'm hanging on his back. Hurry up!
The lack of replies told me they were rushing to my aid.
Because Orik had retreated from the fire at the gate, he ended up breaching the wall farther south. That meant we were in Oldtown, near the river gate we'd snuck in. This part of the city was abandoned. The arrows and slings that continued to pepper the giant were from the battlements. The ruins themselves provided no resistance.
But the west gate was crowded with soldiers ready to fight, and as Orik headed north, the players and guards up there pivoted south. I braced my feet into the titan's backside and scaled laterally to get a view past him. Already I could see a line forming at the end of Oldtown.
Projectiles from the wall exploded next to me. Orik barely flinched. I almost lost my grip.
"Watch it!" I screamed to the chaotic mass.
Legionnaires struggled to keep order as the pagan horde ascended the siege towers. The jig was up. In minutes the goblins would spill into the streets.
Even worse, none of the attacks against Orik did much. He didn't regenerate. Besides the Eye he didn't have a magical shield. But his health bar looked as full as ever. He plodded forward through any resistance, a slow and steady Armageddon.
The first wave of resistance met Orik below. Swords and hammers dug into his igneous flesh. The giant balled his fists and pounded them to mush. More guards and players rushed in.
I had to help them.
I clung to Orik's waist. I assumed the skin here was weaker than below, but it certainly didn't seem that way. I wasn't sure if the titan was made out of rock or just wore it as armor, but it didn'
t appear to have many weaknesses.
I braced myself and triggered deadshot. I only received an error sound. I was inside 10 spirit. Not enough for the skill. More urgently, I had less than 20 seconds of climbing time left. I bit the spear as deep into the giant's side as I could.
As with the melee weapons below, the attack did result in damage. The movement of Orik's health bar was infinitesimal, but it moved. And just as with those others, Orik noticed. He twisted around, trying to get his eyeless cavity on me. His hulking palm rubbed down his side.
I released the clump of grass to avoid being smashed. A gigantic hand clapped over my position as I dropped past. I dug my hands into a tangle of vines around Orik's knee and jerked to a halt, wincing as my arm was nearly dislocated.
As I hung there, in pain, the titan's hand followed.
"Distract the giant!" rang out Lash's authoritative voice. "Don't let it get him!"
The vainglorious white knight was in the ruins below, decked out in full plate but otherwise exposed to attack. She swung her cleaver with both arms. It trailed a yellow blaze and struck the titan's Achilles tendon.
It hurt him. The cyclops shuddered and bellowed.
Players flooded to the knight's aid. The barbarian and healer from her party. Other players I didn't recognize. Even the watchmen and centurions were in on the action now. The titan shook, enraged, causing me to slide further down his leg. As my spirit bar hit 0, I missed my last handhold and bounced, landing hard on the road below.
Multiple blows struck giant feet. Orik wavered against the sudden attacks. A sidestep threatened to crush me. At the last second, Lash clamped a powerful hand around my wrist and lurched me to safety.
Down here, when the giant stepped, our bodies vibrated and a cloud of dirt smothered us. I covered my face as the knight helped me to my feet and pulled me uproad.
"Look at this poser," snapped Lash, only messing around this time. Her friends smiled. The full helm turned to me. "Are you crazy? What do you think you're doing climbing that thing?"
"The Eye," I said, miming a horn on my forehead. "Only I didn't have enough spirit to hang on."
As Orik gathered himself, the other players retreated as well. It had been a rescue party. They'd come out to save me.
When we joined the mass of defenders, Izzy and Kyle were just arriving. I hugged both of them. Izzy's eyes trailed off to the towering titan forging ahead.
"This is it," I said. "This is the fight we all knew was coming."
The entire group was bathed in yellow light as Lash activated a group buff. My spirit bar jumped up a cool 100. "That give you what you need?" asked Lash.
I nodded my thanks. The white knight probably had a variety of group buffs. Something more offensive had no doubt helped them distract Orik long enough to rescue me. Who would've thought Lash, of all people, was a team player?
"Trafford!" exclaimed Kyle. He clapped the shopkeeper on the shoulder. "What are you doing out here? I thought you retired from the legionnaires."
"Aye," said the weathered man. "But that was before these beasties decided to fuck with my city." Players and NPCs cheered in unison. What wasn't to like about the miserable bastard?
"I asked him here," said Lash. "We're setting up a roadblock."
She pointed to the Oldtown buildings on either side of us. The second stories had collapsed long ago, but their foundations were solid. Multiple strands of thick rope trailed from one structure to the other.
"You're gonna trip him," I reasoned.
She nodded.
"Beats climbing," said Kyle, returning to my side.
The white full helm swiveled and held on him for a long moment. I thought Lash might make amends, given the situation and all, but she didn't do anything nearly as magnanimous. She didn't, however, verbally abuse him, which was a huge improvement in my book.
The ground rumbled as Orik advanced. The river created a natural bottleneck, corralling him north along the wall. Not only did that continue exposing him to the archers on the battlements, but it led him right toward us. Once the giant reached the west gate he'd cross the thoroughfare to the Forum, then head all the way to the Pantheon at the end, just as he had before.
That could never happen.
As if sensing the ambush ahead, Orik changed his course slightly. Still northbound, but hugging the river. I watched his stride: lugging and steady, but able to cover large gaps when needed. This was a creature who'd crossed over Stronghold's wall. The river wouldn't hedge him in.
I whistled sharply and Bandit hurried to me. I hopped on.
"What are you doing?" cried Izzy.
"Getting his attention."
The striped mountain bongo galloped straight at the behemoth without fear. She was a perfect mount. Maybe she didn't spit acid like Lucifer's pet but she'd give her life for me in a second. She already had in a redundant timeline.
Since the cyclops wasn't focused on us, it was easy to slip between his feet. I raked my spear against his leg as we passed. The hulking giant groaned so I looped around and did it again.
Without warning, his open palm came down. It impacted the ground just behind us, almost tripping Bandit. In answer, I scoured his fingers with my iron. Orik's face twisted in rage.
The titan sprung to his feet as we galloped away. Orik smashed another fist toward us and gave chase. He wasn't charging, exactly. Things his size weren't able to run like we could, but the giant had found the grit to speed up.
Bandit and I led the god-giant right to our merry band of defenders. Her hooves danced over the limp ropes on the ground. We retreated another block closer to the river bottleneck to sell the pursuit. I turned around and smiled.
The blind giant had fallen for the trap; hook, line, and sinker.
"Now!" screamed Lash.
Players hidden behind the buildings heaved the lengths of rope. Snaked around support columns like pulleys, the setup allowed them to mitigate the tremendous mass of the titan. Orik's foot barreled into the tripwires. The first two ropes snapped with little resistance. The players securing them flew forward, helpless against his strength. But the union of several other ropes proved mightier. Orik's foot slowed and stopped short. The giant canted forward.
For a second, the stars in the night sky were blacked out as the titan loomed over us. But we'd cleared ample space and there was no danger. Orik pitched downward.
With his left foot trapped behind his weight, his left knee opened a crater on the ground as it hit, followed shortly by his left hand beside it. Orik's body swayed forward, but he pulled backward before completely losing his balance. The giant settled on his haunches, crouched but stable.
"Hit him hard!" boomed Lash.
Arrows took flight. A mobile ballista manned by legionnaires let loose a heavy-duty spiked projectile. Izzy launched a crystalline stake with a perfect spiral. Kyle fired corrosive bolts. Mystics launched spells. Artisans fired gadgets and minions. Explorers and soldiers joined in with ranged weapons. A swarm of pure damage railed right to the lowered tip of the downed titan's horn.
The windows to the soul.
Ruby light projected a small barrier in front of the gemstone. Every other part of the giant had been easy to hit—it was actually hard to miss something so massive—but the Eye of Orik was clearly protected by incredible magic. The makeshift barrage, the sum of all our strongest attacks, exploded violently against the shield, mere feet before their mark. Blinding flashes of light. Jarring shockwaves of sound. It was an impressive coordinated effort that jolted the giant's head backwards.
But when the dust cleared, the cyclops appeared no worse for wear. The magical red barrier faded back to invisible. Orik had absorbed a hearty dose of splash damage. A bit less than a twentieth of his health bar was missing. But that had been our best shot. A trap sprung. And Orik only looked mildly annoyed.
The cyclops backed away.
I squeezed my legs into Bandit and charged forward.
"Keep him down!" I yelled.
The giant started to push off his right foot, but his left knee was still planted in the ground. His hand, beside it, frosted over with ice. Izzy was gluing him to the ground. Orik grimaced and the glacier cracked. I kicked harder.
Bandit leapt into the air and landed on Orik's frozen hand. She galloped up the slope of his arm as I stood on her back, precariously balancing and holding a horn for support. The ice trap shattered and the giant pushed to his feet. His arm jerked but Bandit pressed onward, accustomed to steep slopes.
"Just a bit more," I urged, leaning forward.
As Orik stood, his arm went nearly vertical. I pounced off Bandit's back as she spun and skipped safely to the ground. I triggered a midair dash and launched upward, latching onto a giant ring of iron embedded in the giant's chest like a rusted nipple ring. My boots lost purchase. I hung on for dear life and looked down as the titan reared to full height.
Intense vertigo overtook me. I was way higher than before, towering over the city walls. I don't especially like heights. Bandit retreated to the safety of the pack of defenders as they all watched me, mouth agape. I wanted to say something cool but I was too busy crapping my pants.
The cyclops had enough of the roadblock. Instead of bowling forward, he actually did something strategic. The god-giant turned south and retreated from the dense crowd. He opted to go east instead, a straight shot past Dragonperch and the river, right through Hillside. There were players there, of course, but most of them were running for their lives or hiding out. It'd be easy for Orik to head north to the Forum from there. And all he had to do was step over an itty bitty river.
But I saw my opening. Orik was so focused on the new path that he didn't notice me going along for the ride. This time, I didn't make the mistake of stabbing him and announcing myself, and I had spirit for days.
Orik's chest rocked back and forth in a steady gait. I found footholds and climbed higher. It was hard going but I couldn't be conservative. Once Orik crossed the river, I'd be too late. I dashed upward and barely caught a cluster of dry roots. Then I crested the giant's shoulder and climbed to my feet.