The Path to Peace

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “No problem,” Karen said as she stealthed, her shimmer beginning to move away.

  After a few minutes, the group set out after her. Bob and BJ stayed just above head height, so as not to give away the group’s position. Minutes went by in silence as they trudged down their current path. When it came to a split, Gerald pointed out arrows scraped into the rock wall and they followed the indicated path. After another few minutes, Gerald paused. “She found one ahead of us. She’s going to come back and give us a description of the area.”

  Karen appeared after a minute, her face lit by a broad grin. “Okay, the next one is also at a lava pool, but with his back to us. We should have an easy drop on him.” She quickly sketched out a very rough map on the ground with her dagger. “This is where he is, and this is the lava pool. If Tiny goes running in, the Tender should pivot in one of two directions to throw him into the lava. If we give Tiny three seconds before rushing in, we should be fine.”

  “I can do it,” Tiny nodded.

  “Don’t stun him,” Alburet reminded the Destroyer. “We need him to expend his Ability to throw people.”

  “Yes, master,” Tiny rumbled.

  “Karen, get back into the circle of sigils and be ready to rush him after he throws Tiny,” Gerald said. “I know you’ll do more at the start from stealth.”

  “I’ll time it for when you stun him,” Karen said. “Easy criticals really up the damage, with my bonus.”

  “We’ll ace him this time,” Alburet said, getting nods from the others. “I’ll get you out before you hit the lava, Tiny.”

  Tiny grinned. “I’m not worried.”

  “Let’s go fuck his shit up,” Karen said, fading back into her shimmering form. “Give me a minute to get into position, Tiny.”

  “Yes, mistress,” Tiny rumbled.

  Watching Karen glide away, Fluff felt a brief moment of fear, which pulsed from her. Stacia took her hand to calm her. “She will be fine, have faith in our wife.”

  Fluff nodded. “Sometimes I forget that we can’t die here, and worry that I’ll lose her.”

  Alburet rubbed her ears. “It’s just as real as our world, though the not dying is different.”

  Glancing at him, Fluff nodded. “What do you think Delta World will be like?”

  “Even more real,” Alburet said, “but we’ll find out together, won’t we?”

  A smile bloomed on her lips. “All of us.”

  “Aye, all of us,” Stacia said, kissing her cheek.

  Marysue frowned at them, but kept her mouth shut. Her own desire to explore a more immersive game was only held in check by the thought that she could push the issue after her six months were up. If Alburet and the others were going to be allowed to go, then she would do whatever she had to to make sure that she could also go to Delta World. Catching Gerald watching her, she gave him a tight smile.

  Lips pursed, Gerald let his eyes go from Marysue to Alburet and his wives before they drifted back to the woman he loved. Having been with her his whole life, he had a good idea of what was going through her head. He gave her an almost imperceptible nod; he would do what he had to to give her what she desired as long as he could stay with her, even if it meant sacrificing Alburet and the others.

  “Let’s get going,” Gerald said. “Time to teach these things what happens when they get in our way.”

  Their plan worked as well as they had hoped. Alburet managed to get Tiny dismissed before he impacted the lava. Gerald’s stun, along with a recently resummoned Tiny’s, were enough to keep the Tender from summoning the Lava Elemental. Kitten chipped in with a well-timed Daze to cut down even more on the Tender’s attempted spellcasting. As the Tender was about to die, it went to one knee and began to glow bright red, its body protected by a magic shield. Scattering, most of the group was just able to get out of the blast radius as the Tender exploded.

  “Well, that works, but we need to find a way to stop them from exploding,” Marysue said as she healed Gerald, who had caught the edge of the explosion again.

  “I’m not doing as much damage due to their resistances,” Bob said. “Maybe TJ would be more useful. He could save his stun for when the Tender gets low on life.”

  “We’ll try it,” Alburet said, dismissing BJ and Copying Tiny. “TJ, get its attention and force it to use its shockwave attack.”

  “Yes master,” TJ rumbled.

  “I’ll go find our next one,” Karen said as she stealthed and moved away.

  The next ten minutes were spent tracking down and killing the next Egg Tender they needed. Tiny, who had held his stun back, hit it as its life dropped below ten percent. During the five second stun, the group drained the last of the Tender’s life with well-placed critical hits. Smiling, the group exchanged a small cheer for avoiding the worst the Tender was capable of. This time, the dragon egg sat on the edge of the lava instead of sinking into it like the last two.

  “Should we do something to it?” Marysue asked as she finished healing the group up.

  “I’ll check it just in case,” Karen said, moving over to the egg and kneeling down to examine it. After a minute, she shook her head. “I got nothing.”

  “We can leave it, or we can see about breaking it,” Alburet said. “I think we should break one, at least, just to see what happens.”

  Fluff frowned, disliking the idea of killing an unborn child, even if it was going to be a dragon. Stacia rubbed her ears, “We check one, an’ iffin nothin’ happens, we leave the rest alone. It be part of bein’ an adventurer at times, Fluff.”

  Nodding, Fluff closed her eyes and let Stacia soothe her troubled mind. “One, but unless we have to, we leave the rest alone.”

  “Let’s see what happens, then,” Gerald said as he looked at the blade of his sword.

  “Let me,” Tiny rumbled. “If something bad happens, it is better that it happens to me.”

  “TJ,” Alburet said, nodding to the faded Copy of Tiny. “Best if it’s your Copy, Tiny. Resummoning TJ is better than having to resummon you.”

  “As the master wishes,” TJ rumbled, advancing toward the egg.

  It took a number of hits from TJ’s axe to break the egg open. Once it broke, a pathetic screech came from inside the egg, echoing in the still air. TJ shook his head and finished breaking the egg as the wail died away. A small, partially developed baby dragon slumped from the egg onto the ground. TJ bent to look at it, before nudging it into the lava.

  “Anything?” Alburet asked TJ.

  “I have a debuff,” TJ rumbled. “Matriarch’s Wrath; I will be the first target of the next Matriarch we meet.”

  “You’re going to hate life when—” Gerald began to say, when a deafening roar cut him off and the group fell to the ground clutching their heads.

  “My baby! What have you done?! You vile beasts!” A large Dragon landed next to TJ, picking him up with a front claw and dangling the Destroyer Copy before its eyes. “My child’s blood covers your body. I will devour you, then your friends!” She bit down onto TJ and vigorously chewed him, swallowing as the group finally shook off the stunned debuff. “Now for you!”

  “I got her first,” Gerald said as he Charged, following it up with a Shield Bash to stun her.

  His shield never impacted the hide of the Matriarch. Just before it reached her, a bright red light flared from her, stunning Gerald instead. “You’ll be next,” the dragon hissed at him as her claw came around to grab him.

  Fluff leapt, aiming for the Matriarch’s snout. Her aim was true, and she clamped her legs down as if she were astride a horse. Her hand streaked forward, just missing the eye and slamming into the bony ridge just below it. “No,” Fluff growled as her other hand came down, missing the other eye as the Matriarch tossed her head.

  “Insolent whelp, get off me!” the Dragon roared, tossing her head wildly to dislodge Fluff from her perch.

  That bought time for Karen, Tiny, and Alburet to rush forward and get into combat with it. At that point it became readily ap
parent to the others how massive the Matriarch was. Standing at least twenty feet at the shoulder, the people around it barely made it halfway up her legs. “Flank her,” Alburet called out as he ducked under the belly of the beast. “Tiny, take her until Gerald comes out of the stun.”

  Fluff went flying a moment later. Bob caught her by the armor, beating his wings furiously to try to cushion the impact for them both. “I got you again,” he panted just before they hit the ground. Fluff nodded and triggered Wild Charge to get her back into range of the beast as soon as her feet touched ground.

  Gerald finally shook off the stun, looking up to find the maw of the Matriarch pointed a few feet to his side at Tiny. “I’ll take—”

  The Matriarch let out another thunderous roar, cutting Gerald off a second before a torrent of flame rushed out of the monster’s open maw. Tiny all but vanished from view as the stream of fire washed over him. Marysue was shoved aside by Stacia barely in time to avoid the damage. The flame lasted only a few moments, but by the time the Matriarch stopped, Tiny’s health was well below half and Stacia, along with Kitten, was gone.

  “Fuck,” Alburet cursed as he hammered at the belly of the beast. He knew that he would be able to resummon her at the end of combat, but that did nothing to calm the growing rage inside him. “She is mine! Damn you!”

  Karen and Fluff both felt his barely chained rage and their own attacks increased. “You shouldn’t have done that,” Karen hissed, slamming a dagger into the knee joint of the Matriarch’s front leg.

  “Insects! You will be crushed,” the Dragon snarled as her leg lashed out, catching Karen and throwing her back, then dropped to try and pin Alburet under her.

  Fluff changed her Wild Charge target, slamming into Alburet and sending them both tumbling out from under the Matriarch just before her belly slammed into the ground. Tiny roared and slammed his shield into the Matriarch’s maw, stunning her, thinking she had crushed Alburet.

  Gerald, who had frozen for a second thinking Marysue was going to die, was shocked when Stacia sacrificed herself for Marysue. With a snarl, he spun back and attacked the dragon with an anger he’d never felt before. The beast had tried to injure his beloved and had cost him a friend.

  Bob slammed onto the Matriarch’s head, digging his claws into her stunned eyes. “I don’t do melee often, but when I do, I always go for the eyes,” the Imp growled.

  “Bob,” Tiny called out as his axe carved another line across the scales of the Matriarch, “did master get out from under her?”

  “Fluff rescued him,” Bob called out as the dragon let out another loud roar, stunning them all again.

  “Filth! Vile beasts! I’ll devour all of you,” the Matriarch shouted as she reared up, one paw grabbing Tiny and the other ripping Bob from her eyes. Without pause, she pushed both of them into her mouth and began chewing.

  “Fucking bitch,” Alburet managed as he untangled himself from Fluff and the two of them clambered to their feet. Karen stepped up beside them, her face grim. “For Stacia, for our friends,” Alburet snarled, letting the rage inside him take over.

  Both Fluff and Karen agreed, and felt his rage flow from him and into them. As one, the trio raced back towards the Matriarch. Gerald, shaking his head at finding himself the sole tank, did what he could to buy them a few seconds to re-engage.

  Gerald used the area of effect stun of Ground Stomp to buy them time. Sword swinging, he managed to gash the beast under the chin. Triggering Wrist Slash to slow the Matriarch’s attacks, he followed it up with Shin Kick to slow her movements. “Alpha Company, attack!” he called out, just before the trio reached the mob.

  Karen’s rictus grin vanished, along with the rest of her, as she triggered Vanish to step back into stealth. She reappeared just as the Matriarch started to shake off the stun, her Sap and Backstab combo restunning the Dragon for another few seconds and doing a decent chunk of damage to the beast.

  The stun from Karen let the other two get under the Matriarch. Fluff’s claws sank into the Matriarch’s belly as she triggered Piercing Strikes. Her attack speed went up as well, as Alacrity redoubled her speed. Alburet’s maul sent shockwaves thundering up through the soft bits of the stunned Matriarch. While he didn’t have the Abilities in melee that the others did, his rage seemed to fuel him.

  Marysue, kept busy healing those she could as the damage piled up from being hit and thrown around the field, was surprised at the ferocity shown by Alburet, Karen, and Fluffball.

  “Enough,” the Matriarch cried out, beginning to flap her wings. “I’ll deal with you from above.”

  Gerald was pushed back by the buffeting of the Matriarch’s wings. “If she gets airborne…”

  Fluff dove for the right wing as it came down, her claws digging into the soft unprotected membranes. Karen, as if reading her mind, did the same to the left wing. Alburet, without a cutting weapon, did the best he could to crack a rib.

  The attacks slowed the Matriarch’s ability to get into the air, giving Gerald the opportunity to join Karen on the left wing. “Will this ground her?” Gerald asked Karen. Getting no response, he took his eyes off the Matriarch and glanced at Karen.

  Karen’s face held nothing but rage as she dug bloody cuts deep into the wing. Shaking his head, Gerald went back to trying to keep the Dragon grounded, but vowed to ask her about it later.

  “No! I won’t be kept hobbled like some ground-bound worm,” the Matriarch roared. Leaping backward into the lava pool while flapping her injured wings, the buffet threw them back toward Marysue. Legs sinking into the lava, the Matriarch seethed in anger; she had never been injured like this before. “Die,” she said, and took a deep breath.

  Gerald leapt in front of Marysue, hoping to shield her from the flames to come. Alburet grabbed Karen, turning her away from the beast and putting his back to the Dragon’s open maw. As the flames rushed forth, Fluffball went airborne, Leaping above the torrent of fire.

  The flames covered the four on the ground. Alburet was reminded of a blast furnace. Looking at his red skin, Alburet could see small blisters forming. He could see more on Karen where he wasn’t able to shield her completely.

  Gerald hissed in pain, feeling blisters forming on him as he used his body to shield Marysue. Tough Hide wasn’t helping enough, so he triggered Unbreakable to reduce the damage further. He could see Marysue wincing as she used Burst Heal, trying to weather the storm.

  Fluff landed to the side in a three point stance, then came out of it like a blitzing linebacker aiming for the Matriarch with vengeance in her heart. With a leonine roar, she got to the Matriarch just as the flames were stopping. Digging her claws into the jaw of the Dragon, Fluff kicked off the ground and threw herself up over the head of the beast, landing on the Matriarch’s neck.

  As Fluff’s claws sank into the neck of the Matriarch, the flames cut off. “Why won’t you die?!” the Matriarch roared and began to shake her head to rid herself of the Lunari clinging on her neck.

  Once the flames abated, Marysue used Divine Heal to top Gerald off just before he Charged back at the Dragon. Following him, she cast her normal heals over Karen and Alburet, who seemed oblivious to the damage they’d taken.

  Shield Bashing the Matriarch to prevent it from dislodging Fluff, Gerald grunted as he watched the Lunari digging her hands further into the hide to secure her hold on it. Slashing repeatedly, he was able to land a number of wounds on the beast before Alburet and Karen got to his side.

  Both Alburet and Karen leapt up, catching the Dragon’s brow ridge and climbing the beast before it could shake the stun off. Blinking in shock, Gerald continued to attack the front of the mob as they scaled it.

  “Get off of me!” the Matriarch trumpeted, shaking her head again.

  Karen had been using her daggers to climb and was able to hold on, but Alburet went flying away. With a scream of rage, Karen stabbed her daggers into the left eye of the Matriarch, eliciting a scream of pain from the Dragon.

  Alburet tumbled acros
s the ground. As he came to a stop, he shook his head, realizing he was free of the all-consuming rage that had filled him. Marysue’s healing energy washed over him and he looked back at the Matriarch to see that it was almost dead. Atop the Dragon, Fluff and Karen shook their heads, also coming back to their senses.

  “We can do it,” Marysue yelled at them from where she stood, well back of the fight.

  One eye blinded, the Matriarch’s life hit ten percent and its single working eye focused on Marysue. “It’s you—you are why they won’t die.” Her ruined wings had just enough lift to carry her over Gerald as she launched herself from the lava, aiming for Marysue. “I’ll take you with me at least.”

  “Not on my watch,” Gerald snapped. Intervene got him in front of Marysue just before the foreclaws of the Matriarch hit. Gerald was thrown to the ground and the sound of twisting metal echoed as the Dragon’s claws wrapped around his shield. Gerald was badly hurt, but survived the assault, still pinned by the huge claws.