Killstreak Book One

by Stuart Thaman

  “Good thinking,” Kadorax said. “Let’s get whatever we need and be gone. If there’s going to be a mass exodus out of Skarm’s Reif, I want to be on one of the first ships to leave the harbor.”

  Owing the Blackened Blades and the Priorate Knights no allegiance meant Kadorax and Syzak could leave the camp whenever they wanted. They didn’t have to wait for orders like most everyone else, and neither of them felt any particular duty to help the camp prepare for the absence of the majority of their fighting force. Kadorax spoke once more with Elise to learn what had happened after he had blacked out in the bottom of the jackal den and to thank her for dragging him back to camp, and then he and Syzak were off.

  The road from the forward camp to Skarm’s Reif was crowded with soldiers. Most of the men and women they saw along the way were knights, clinking along in their heavy, reflective armor, though they saw more than a handful of civilians going the other direction. Most of them were either would-be adventurers looking to swell the ranks or else profiteers trying to sell supplies, though there were a few men they passed who actually looked like they’d seen a fight before.

  Back in the town, everything was even busier than the camp had been. Ships were constantly coming and going from the port, more departing than arriving, and shop owners were busy boarding their windows as they made their own preparations to leave. The poorer folk had all gathered in a giant mass near the docks to beg the ship captains to take them away. They offered everything they had, most of which the captains quickly turned down, though Kadorax did see more than one young peasant woman accompanying a sailor aboard a ship.

  The Grim Sleeper was one of the tallest vessels in port, and its twisted, gruesome figurehead kept all but the bravest beggars from going anywhere near it. Kadorax and Syzak pushed through the crowd and spotted the captain at the railing, his typically ostentatious clothing making him easy to spot. Brinna was on the deck as well, sparring with one of the soldiers, and the rest of the crew was waiting to cast off the moment the two were back on board.

  “Welcome home,” Lord Percival said, clasping Kadorax in a warm embrace. “I’ve healed up quite nicely since we last saw each other. Turns out the priests in Oscine City know a thing or two about their spells.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Kadorax replied.

  “Before you get too settled, please accept my invitation to visit the galley. I’ve been told the chef has food prepared in anticipation of your arrival, and then Ayers has also requested a word below deck, if you aren’t too tired.” The captain doffed his hat and then had to clutch at the railing as the ship lurched away, caught momentarily by an unexpected wave.

  Kadorax stood for a moment to watch Brinna train, impressed by how far she’d come and the level of dedication she showed. He laughed silently to himself when he realized that the woman didn’t have a choice. Everything she’d ever known had died back on the other side of the Boneridge Mountains. She was an adventurer, and whether the choice had been hers to make or one born from pure necessity, it did not matter. From then on, the quality of her life depended on her skill with a blade. Kadorax had seen such determination in himself when he had first arrived in Agglor and come to accept his fate, and he enjoyed watching that determination in action.

  A small group of other crewmen were eating in the galley when Kadorax and Syzak arrived. They also found a handful of knights sitting to one side by themselves. Breaking their well-known stereotype as walking metal hulks covered in armor, all of the knights wore only simple clothing with their blue and gold tabards, though every single one of them had a weapon on their belt. “They’ve purchased passage?” Kadorax asked without giving the issue much more thought.

  Syzak explained how the group of knights was going to be dropped off in Oscine City as he grabbed two plates full of grilled meats and the hard, seasoned bread that seemed to be the only food consistently available on the ship.

  They had their fill, ignoring the knights in the corner all the while, and then made for Ayers’ smithy toward the rear of the boat. The burly man was shirtless and covered in sweat, and his workshop smelled like he hadn’t left it in days. The heat coming off the forge didn’t help.

  “Just in time,” the man said, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ve made enough improvements and repairs to the ship to get Minor Runecrafting: Rank 2, and Syzak brought me plenty of materials. I’ve made a few things since I saw you last.”

  “That’s exactly what I want to hear,” Kadorax replied. Just like in the video games he used to play back on Earth, getting new gear was one of his favorite pastimes.

  Ayers began by lifting a large leather breastplate with a front piece of scalloped metal onto his anvil. “This thing will take a few blows, that’s for sure,” he said. “It’ll offer a lot more protection than the leather you currently have, and I reinforced the very center over your… uh, your rod, or whatever it is.”

  “You know about my soul rod?” Kadorax asked. He didn’t remember ever showing the blacksmith his chest.

  Ayers nodded. “I did a little research, asked around a bit. Not too many people have heard of your class, but one of the knights we took on board knew it. He said one of the old priors had been a bastion.”

  “Well, I could certainly use more armor,” Kadorax told him. Focusing on the gear, he brought up the stats in his vision:

  Reinforced Leather Vest - Empty Rune Slots: 2. Reduced incoming concussive and piercing damage. Effect: moderate. Passive while worn.

  Kadorax began undoing the tattered armor he was wearing, eager for the upgrade. When he had given the old vest back to Ayers to salvage into materials, the smith brought out a matching set of iron-banded leather greaves that would lock into place over the tops of his boots.

  “These will come in handy, I think,” Ayers said as he slid the greaves across the anvil.

  Guardian’s Enchanted Steel Spats - Grants the wearer immunity to all harmful ground-based effects up to level 20. Effect: profound. Passive while worn.

  “If only I’d had these before I shredded my back on a pit of spikes,” Kadorax lamented. “But they’ll be perfect. Though with all this metal, I should probably avoid falling overboard any time soon.”

  “Ha,” Ayers laughed. “Tell that to the knights. The only reason they’ve taken off their armor is for fear of not being able to swim. I swear, that lot likes to live inside their steel.”

  “You—”

  Kadorax stopped as Ayers drew a sword, a proper sword, from a fine sheath he had been hiding underneath a shelf to the right of his anvil. “Saved the best for last,” he said with a sly grin.

  Kadorax took the weapon gingerly and tested its weight in his hand. He still wasn’t entirely used to wielding a short sword, and he much preferred a dagger when given the chance, but the hilt felt right in his palm.

  “I had to make more nails and horseshoes than I care to admit just to bargain with a merchant in Skarm’s Reif for the recipe I used to make that sword, so don’t go swinging it into rocks and destroying the edge,” he said.

  “I’ll save it for skulls and spines, then,” Kadorax replied. He turned the weapon over to inspect the high level of craftsmanship. The dagger he had lost in the jackal temple in his previous life had been worth more than the entire Grim Sleeper and all that it contained, people included, but the weapon Ayers had made was still better than anything the bastion could have expected.

  “A deep fuller, too, as you like,” Ayers added.

  Kadorax gave it a few slow test swings through the air. “I can’t thank you enough,” he said.

  “Bah, you already have,” Ayers laughed. “I’ve seen more of the world from this ship than I ever would have stuck in Coldport. I just wish I didn’t have all those ranks in Advanced Carpentry… And look, there on the hilt, already have a rune in there.”

  Kadorax inspected the rune with a bit of wonder. He had used hundreds of runes in his life as an assassin, and their magic still captivated him. A high-level smith or enchanter could mak
e runes out of almost any material, though the one in the hilt of his new sword was stone, the typical variety, engraved and painted with ancient arcane symbols he did not understand. Summoning the weapon’s details, he was eager to find out exactly what the rune was capable of:

  Assir’s Edge - Increased damage inflicted against enemies who have recently wounded the wielder. Minor Rune of Vexing: Enhances the wielder’s ability to both resist and inflict fear abilities. Effect: moderate. Passive.

  “You’ve been busy,” Kadorax said, his voice full of admiration. “And I like the name. Well done.”

  Ayers offered a slight bow. He dug into one of the pockets on his apron for a moment and then pulled out three small stones, each of them a carved and enchanted rune. “Don’t use them all yourself, you greedy bastard,” he joked, sliding the runes over and beaming with well-earned pride.

  Kadorax inspected the runes only momentarily before offering them all to Syzak. “I have enough for one day,” he said. “Split them with Brinna.”

  “She needs all the armor enhancements she can get, and Minor Rune of Protection should help quite a bit,” the snake-man replied.

  “I have plenty of leather to make her a set like the one you have,” Ayers said to the shaman. He rifled through a bit of his scraps and found a few pieces that would work.

  “She’ll have two rune slots, then,” Syzak added. “I’ll give her the Minor Rune of Escape and keep the Minor Rune of Chance for myself.”

  “Keep at it,” Kadorax told the smith as he left. He was ready to be gone from the heat and mustiness of the cramped room. Beyond that, he still hadn’t looked at his own stats since returning from the chaos, and Ligriv had told him he had advanced a level. He liked waiting to progress levels sometimes, but only when the chance of battle was extremely low. Something about knowing the advancement was waiting for him, waiting for his decision to make it permanent, brought a glimmer of satisfaction to his smile.

  Leaving Syzak to his own devices, Kadorax casually made it above deck where the sun was shining brightly and the air smelled of salt. Lord Percival was at the helm, and Brinna was still busy training with one of the crew, taking far more hits than she managed to deliver. Kadorax strolled to the railing and watched as Skarm’s Reif became smaller and smaller on the horizon. So many other ships were departing alongside the Grim Sleeper that the city was sometimes hard to see, bobbing in and out of view as the ships crossed paths.

  Basking in the sunlight, Kadorax brought up his character sheet to investigate his ninth-level options. The first thing he noticed was that Encroaching Insanity had progressed another rank. He was still a ways from acquiring Living Nightmare, but the rapid degeneration of his mind was not something he could ignore. Unfortunately, there also wasn’t anything he could do to abate the debuff. He tried not to let the realization get him down as he read through his newly available skills:

  Chaos Shock: Rank 3 - The bastion pulls two slivers of chaotic energy into the world and thrusts them forward, creating a random magical effect augmented by a second impact quickly following the first. If neither of the slivers hit an enemy, there is a small chance that Chaos Shock will not be expended. Effect: minor. Cooldown: 24 minutes.

  Guardian of the Deep: Rank 1 - The bastion reaches into the depths of chaos, beckoning forth a hideous amalgamation of tentacles, magic, and destruction. The guardian will attack the first living thing it senses, and it will not stop until it is killed. Higher ranks allow the guardian to receive basic commands. Effect: profound. Cooldown: 10 days.

  Bathed in Silence: Rank 1 - Surrounded by the eternal quiet of chaos, the bastion no longer needs to announce when abilities are used, and words spoken softly cannot be heard by enemies without enhanced perception. Passive.

  Kadorax was at a loss. On one hand, he fully understood the absolute necessity of a passive talent that removed his requirement to speak during fights. A similar passive had been one of his highest-ranked skills as an assassin, and it had shaped everything about his entire combat style. On the other hand, Guardian of the Deep sounded too incredible to ignore. Under normal circumstances, he would have been able to find someone else of his class to ask for advice and to help plan his entire build, but he had not met another bastion of chaos incarnate. As far as he knew, he was the only one.

  Standing at the Grim Sleeper’s railing, he read through the two abilities several times. “If I knew when—or if—I’d get another silence talent…” he muttered to the wind.

  For a second, Kadorax thought of asking Syzak for advice. But he knew what the stealthy, slithering snake-man would say. The silence talent would always be useful. Guardian of the Deep would only be useful once every ten days. Kadorax pounded a fist onto the top of the railing, immediately picking up a splinter and regretting his stupid outburst. “Stupid railing…” he growled, though he wasn’t really upset.

  Doing the only thing he knew made any sense, Kadorax dismissed his character sheet and postponed the decision altogether, content to simply watch the waves and enjoy the feel of the warm sun beating down on his back. It would be the dead of winter before long, and while the ocean around Skarm’s Reif and Kingsgate would remain quite warm, the rest of Agglor would see snow before the month was out, if they hadn’t already.

  The Grim Sleeper pulled into the frantic Oscine City harbor amidst a slew of other ships. Security on the docks was massive. City guards patrolled everywhere, and several large groups of knights were organizing even larger groups of militia into regiments to be deployed.

  “Here we go,” Kadorax said solemnly. Syzak nodded at his side. “All of Agglor is going to war. We just need to figure out where we’re going to fit in among all the fighting.”

  “Need to identify where the jackals are coming from first,” the shaman reminded him. “Let’s talk to the knights. They look like they know what they’re doing.”

  “Agreed.”

  Brinna adjusted her leather armor. “Think I’m ready for a war?” she asked.

  The woman had gained a level from her training with the crewman, and her newfound confidence showed clearly in her voice. She was eager, though eagerness often got people killed—especially in war.

  “Once we know exactly what’s going on, we’ll figure out where we need to be and what we need to do. Just try to keep your head down until then,” Kadorax said.

  The three adventurers followed the Grim Sleeper’s contingent of knights down to the docks, where they met up with others from the Oscine City priory. The armored knights marched through the crowd, leading them up into the pristine city so alive with panic and excitement. The prior was standing with a circle of his retainers and officers outside a tavern that was still in the process of being converted into a priorate outpost. Blue and gold banners flapped in the wind from one of the second-floor windows.

  “We meet again,” the prior said with a grin as he recognized Kadorax approaching. “I thought you’d had your fill of knights the last time you were in Oscine City.”

  Kadorax laughed off the subtle abrasiveness, trying to defuse the situation in order to gain as much information as he could. There wasn’t a large Blackened Blade presence in any of Agglor’s cities, and he knew any he found in Oscine City would likely be from Skarm’s Reif like himself, so the knights were his only source of reliable intel.

  “What’s the latest on the jackals?” the bastion asked.

  “That depends,” the prior replied, his eyes narrowing. “What do you know?”

  Kadorax had to wait while a group of knights brought information and supplies to the tavern and received orders from the prior. “We heard the king’s daughter was kidnapped, but that information is old and might be unreliable.”

  The prior’s expression was one of surprise. “Then you know nothing, it seems.”

  “I’m sure you’re a busy man,” Kadorax prodded.

  “Yes, yes, of course,” the prior said after a curt laugh. “What you heard was the initial report, nothing more. The king’s da
ughter was kidnapped, that much is true, though that was only the beginning. A Gar’kesh was with the group of jackals who captured the princess. My knights slew the beast as it tried to come ashore not far from here, and alas, the body was washed out to sea.”

  Kadorax wasn’t sure he believed it. If every Gar’kesh the jackals summoned was as powerful as the one that had laid him low, there was no way a group of unprepared knights from Oscine City had slain one. He imagined the bit about the corpse washing out to sea was just a convenient way for the knights to do a little boasting without being called out on their lie. “Have any others been spotted? Are there any more Gar’kesh roaming about?”

  “Oh, there’s a vile beast alright, and here in Oscine City, no less,” the prior said. His sly smile spoke volumes toward the secrets he harbored. “You remember Atticus Willowshade, yes?”

  Kadorax had only heard the name a few times. Atticus, if that was even the man’s—the creature’s—real name, was a warlock of some renown. Or perhaps infamy was a better way to describe him. No one knew exactly what to believe, but one of the most retold rumors in Agglor detailed a war some hundred years ago. Along the northern rim of the mainland, there had once been another kingdom. Now, no one went to the north. The land was desolate and barren, a waste inhabited only by Agglor’s gruffest and meanest of intelligent races. The rumors said that only Atticus knew the names of the cities and kings who had once ruled the north. He knew their names because he had been the one who had brought them down, single-handedly, and within a single night as well.

  “You’re telling me that Atticus Willowshade is here in Oscine City?” Kadorax asked.

  The prior nodded.

  “And the citizens haven’t fled for the Boneridge Mountains?”

  “Not yet,” the prior replied. “A contingent of knights found Atticus in those very mountains, as it turns out, so I’m not sure that’s the first place the people would want to run.”