Garstil ran up to me. “You all right? What happened?”
I stood there staring at the body, its lifeless form oozing viscera onto the ground. “I hadn’t considered ranged attacks, and I choked. I didn’t have anything to defend with. My feet wouldn’t budge.”
Garstil nodded. “Had you had the other bracer, you could have shielded yourself. Hopefully, we’ll find another one in the mountain.”
We moved farther down the street. Morogan finally spoke for the first time in the last hour. “More deadmans this way. Deadmans attack farther party go. Maybe deadmans protect something?”
“It’s quite possible.” Garstil drank a mana vial. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and find something useful farther into the city.
The cold shivers in my spine were back. I stopped and looked for signs of danger. Morogan and Garstil noticed.
“What is it?” asked Garstil.
“I don’t know. Since I got into the game, I’ve felt like something’s been following me, maybe even hunting me. It’s not all the time, but now and then, it’s undeniable. I can feel something there, watching me, waiting.” I pointed toward the side of the street, and I swear the air shimmered, just for a second. I charged forward, my party on my heels. “There was something here. I swear I saw it move for just a second.”
Morogan approached the spot I was looking at and squatted down. He began to feel around in the muddy water. “Morogan feel footprints. Strange footprints. Not know what kind.”
“Let me see if I can help with that a little.” Garstil extended his left hand and formed a large dome around us that reached the ground. The rain stopped, coating the outside of his shield. With his right hand, he focused fire into the water at our feet. Steam began to rise, not quite hot enough to boil the water but enough to evaporate it. A few minutes passed, and the ground was bone dry. However, the dome was filled with steam, and it felt like a sauna with our armor and jackets on. A set of footprints, very alien looking, were clear in the hardened mud. “Well, at least we know you aren’t crazy.” He chuckled. “Plot thickens. Now we have invisible things to deal with as well.”
Morogan bolted upright. “Metal mans! Morogan remember Metal mans feet like this!” He pointed at the ground.
“That at least explains why it hasn’t attacked us.” Garstil dropped his shield, releasing the built-up pressure from the steam. It rushed out in all directions just as cold hit us and the rain resumed its battering. Neat trick.
“We need to get moving before the next patrol finds us. We can’t be far from whatever they’re trying to keep us from.” I tried to keep hopeful. Maybe this wouldn’t be another enemy trying to kill us.
Everyone in agreement, we continued down the street, wondering where the next attack would come from and what the metal man, as Morogan had called it, wanted with me. We rounded the last building on this street, and it opened up into a courtyard a city block wide. At one point, this must have been a wondrous park, trees and vegetation flourishing, a true wonder to behold. I could almost see it in my mind’s eye. But what I actually saw was nothing like what I imagined.
Petrified trees lay exploded at their trunks, toppled and leafless in every direction. Buildings were caved in, walls were blown out, and the street and sidewalks were torn up or crushed. Pipes and cabling were exposed on the ground like broken ribs. The entire courtyard looked like it’d been the center of a massive bomb. Everything was devastated except for a forty-foot radius around a fountain in the very center. It stood there as if mocking the devastation, perfectly pristine, frozen in time.
The marble fountain base rose two feet and was built from marble rocks, perfectly cut into a circle. Glowing blue runes surrounded every square inch of the water barrier. It was likely what was powering the shield protecting the fountain. From the center of the water rose a rock waterfall, and atop it stood the statue of a proud warrior, resting his hands like a guardian on his massive sword.
“Caretaker!” Morogan pointed excitedly. We approached the shimmering shield of energy.
“Do you think it’s safe?” Garstil didn’t want to risk it either.
A howl shook us, and we spun around to see a horde of zombies and zombie animals rushing out of buildings all around us. “Guess we’ll find out. In the shield. Now!” We rushed forward. It was a little tingly as we passed through, but nothing else happened. We watched in horror as the horde closed in all around us, ready to end us.
The horde surged forward, and we readied our weapons. They smashed into the protective barrier like water on rock. A loud thrum shook the air, and the horde was instantly vaporized in a blinding flash of azure light. The statue's eyes glowed briefly and faded out.
We stood there, dumbfounded for more than a few moments. “Well.” Garstil looked around. “That was unexpected.” We nodded, still not sure what to say.
Morogan stripped his gear off and dropped it all on the ground. “Safe place. Make camp. Morogan hungry! Aba cook. Aba cook!” He hopped around excitedly.
I looked at Garstil, eyebrow raised. “What do you think?”
Garstil stripped off his gear as well. “The big guy’s right, we should be safe here. Consider this a ‘save point’ where enemies can’t attack. Looks like the shield is still strong. I’d love to know how it worked.” He began studying the runes around the fountain.
Noticing that the barrier shield was keeping the rain out, I too stripped my gear. I started to get the firewood out, and a stone tile on the floor sunk in, replaced by a fire pit, formed from stones. It even had firewood, and a cast iron pot hung from metal arms over the wood. Fire burst to life, instantly giving off a warm glow. “Whoa.”
My party members came to investigate. “Where’d that come from?” Garstil walked in a circle around the fire pit.
Still confused, but grateful, I followed him, also admiring it. “I’m not sure. I started to get the firewood out, and it just popped out of the ground and lit itself. I think whoever built this had planned to use it as a stopping point in the city. Somewhere safe to rest. Have either of you seen anything like this before?” Both of them shook their heads. “All right, let’s set up camp and get some food cooking. Morogan’s right, I’m starved. All that fighting sure built up an appetite.”
Morogan returned to breaking out the tent and Garstil to examining the fountain. The rain was letting up quite a bit, but it was still coming down pretty hard. Using the trusty ingredients we had brought, I prepared a beef stew and made it super thick. We sat around the fire discussing the finer points of the battle over our meal. Drinking from the fountain, we noticed a new buff as well.
Blessing of Life - 10% Increased Health for 24 Hours
Garstil took several vials of the water to use as buff potions later on. “These will come in handy at some point.” I handed him my empty health vial, and he filled it as well. “This fountain is a true wonder.”
We all jumped as a bolt of green lightning shot out from between two buildings and impacted the shield with a loud thrum and was reflected off at a complementing angle. The lightning obliterated a huge hole in the side of what looked like the remains of a church. The courtyard reverberated with crashing stone, and dust shook from several buildings. No other attacks came.
“I guess he’s a poor sport.” I laughed. “Food’s ready, dig in!” I handed each of them a bowl full to the brim with thick hearty beef and potato stew and a buttered roll each. We devoured the meal like there was no tomorrow. Hell, there might not be, for all we knew. We’d have to leave the protective haven at some point and cross to the other side of the city and beyond up the mountain. We had a long ways to go, and I could see it reflected in the eyes of my friends. The necromancer likely would wait us out. We’d run out of food or patience at some point, and he knew it. We all did.
Power thrummed in the air again, but no one noticed it. Again, it thrummed until I realized it wasn’t in the air but in my satchel. I reached in and pulled out the rock which old lady Magnus had given me and studied it intently as it
thrummed.
Garstil arched an eyebrow. “What’s up?”
Shrugging, I handed him the stone. “I just noticed it’s been thrumming since we entered the shield.”
He studied it for a minute, turning it over. His palm glowed slightly for a moment. “I used Identify Item on it, came back as unknown, whatever that means.” He handed it back to me.
Looking at it again, I noticed microfractures all over it. “Wait a minute, check this out.” I showed them both what I noticed. “I think something’s inside. Should I break it open maybe?”
Garstil shrugged. “No loss either way. I say go for it.” Morogan nodded as well.
I triggered Crushing Grip. A blast of energy blew out from my clenched hand but didn’t affect us. I opened my palm, and a ring rested in the dust and dirt.
Item Received: Ring - Soul of the Sword Bearer
+25 STR, +10 AGIL, Limited Night Vision
“Whoa! Look!” I showed them the ring and passed it around, both of them admiring the stats. “The old lady must have been holding this for a long time for that much dirt and grime to be caked on it.”
“Aba wear ring!” Morogan blurted out excitedly.
I hesitated and then put on the ring. My body rippled with energy, and my muscle mass at least tripled. Morogan and Garstil stood there, mouths agape. Looking in the reflection of the fountain, I barely recognized myself. I looked like a freaking beast.
Both my friends congratulated me, and we sat around the campfire, tossing the ring around and seeing what we looked like with both Morogan’s necklace and my ring on. We pulled it off amazingly. Garstil looked awkward in his robe. “Dude! You look like Thor but with black hair! You just need a hammer.” I laughed hard. He shoved me playfully and nearly knocked me out of the shield. “Oh, shit, dude!” I laughed as I fell. He helped me back to my sitting spot near the fire.
“Sorry, sorry, not used to being strong like this. I feel like I could throw a building!” Garstil laughed. Then pulled the rings off and handed them to each of us.
The ring began to glow brightly in time with the statue starting to hum. Loudly. All three of us jumped to our feet, trying to figure out what was happening. The statue’s hands raised a few inches, and the sword they held fell to the ground. Pieces of rock and dirt shattered off, revealing a beautifully engraved ornate blade. Runes, sigils, and circuit patterns covered every inch of the sword including the handle and pommel. It was the same material as my bracer. “No way.”
I reached out and picked up the blade. “No freaking way!” Gasps from my friends joined my surprise. I reached out and wrapped my fingers around the handle. The world faded to black. What the hell?
Solo Quest Received: Survive! Death here is permanent...
A voice startled me. “Art thou worthy?” It seemed to resonate from every direction. I looked up to where the sword had been and noticed the statue was here without the fountain. Its eyes glowed blue, and it looked down on me, judging me silently. “Art thou worthy?”
“Worthy of what?” I asked.
“Worthy of the mantle of The Sword Bearer,” replied the disembodied voice, echoing from everywhere at once. “Only The Sword Bearer may wield this sword. Prove your worth or perish.”
“Wait, wha—”
The statue backhanded me a good eighty feet. I landed on my back, sliding. The sword landed between the statue and me. Ow. That hurt. The statue began to walk toward the sword. I jumped up and ran for it. Halfway to the sword, I Dashed toward it, but the statue beat me to it. And kicked it away from us. The statue swung at me again, fists moving lightning fast. I managed to avoid getting my head punched off and kneed the statue in the stomach as hard as I could. Interestingly, the statue doubled over as if in pain. I took advantage and brought my fists down on the back of its head, sending it face-first into the ground. I went for the sword, running as fast as I could. I heard something discharge behind me, and I dove, rolling over the sword. I gripped the handle as I sprung up onto my feet.
Solo Quest Updated: Defeat the Guardian with the Might of the Sword Bearer
After I willed power into the new blade, it exploded with brilliant power, lightning arcing all around me. The statue grinned. A sword appeared in each of its hands. We both Dashed toward each other, clashing into blade locks. We parried back and forth for several rounds, blade for blade, move for move. I jumped straight up to try to get some leverage, but the Guardian jumped as well, and we continued to clash repeatedly in midair. To anyone watching us, it would look like some sort of anime fight scene.
We landed in a blade lock once again and jumped back, disengaging. The Guardian’s left sword vanished, and it tossed a blast of lightning at me. I blocked with my sword, and it absorbed the blast, building up a thrumming charge. The runes of the sword glowed brightly. I swung out, and the lightning blast shot off toward its face. The impact made my ears pop. The statue landed twenty feet behind where it had been standing. I ran at it with everything I had and Dashed at the last second. I skewered it with the rune sword and jumped upward, swinging with all my strength. The Guardian split in two and exploded.
Solo Quest Complete: You have defeated the Guardian!
Wicked! The sword began to glow in my hands. I held it to the sky out of instinct. Lightning shot from the heavens, pushing back the darkness.
Achievement! TITLE UNLOCKED: The Sword Bearer
[Item Received: Bastard Sword - Might of the Sword Bearer
Item Level: Unknown
Damage 20 - 30 Slashing*
Damage 20 - 50 Piercing*
Speed Slow
Required Strength: 2H: 10, 1H: 25
“Aba back!” yelled Morogan. “Where Aba go?” he asked.
Garstil rushed from the other side of the fountain, “Are you all right? You just vanished when you grabbed the sword!”
I lowered the sword, and its runes glowed brightly before they began to fade out. “Everything’s fine, guys, sorry to scare you. I got teleported to Otherworld and had to fight some Guardian of the sword. It looked just like this statue actually. Shit, I could have died there apparently.” We examined the sword. “Worth the risk, I think.” As I thought about how I would latch both swords, I felt a click and heard a whir come from the mechanism on my back. A second claw popped out on the other side. I grabbed my old sword and swung them both overhead and latched them to my back. “Awesome,” I said. The statue’s eyes glowed blue for a second and then went out. As did the shield.
“Uh, guys?” asked Garstil. “We’ve got a problem. A really big problem...” An army of undead came shambling out of the darkness between the buildings.
Shit. “Morogan, break down the tent, we gotta move, now!” I grabbed what gear I could put on as the zombies slowly marched toward us. I managed to put everything on and drew both swords and waited. Garstil lashed out with chain lightning and took down a good chunk of them. Zombies exploded into giblets, spraying the ground all around them.
Garstil smiled. “Aba, you take the hundred on the left. I’ll take the hundred on the right.”
“Sounds like a good time,” I said, smiling. I willed power into my weapons, holding them both to the sky. The storm clouds belched out a massive bolt of lightning, hitting the tip of the rune sword. Power reverberated from me, shaking the ground and sending cracks out from my feet. I Dashed forward and met the enemy head-on. The first slash of the rune sword neatly parted five zombies at the waist, but the lightning that arced out took out twenty more as the bolts chained from body to body. I turned and slashed with the left and took out two more. They rushed forward, surrounding me. Leveling the swords outward, parallel to the ground, I spun in a three-sixty, dispatching a good number of them, and the lightning arced out taking out even more. In no time, we’d cut or blasted through the army charging at us.
“All packed!” yelled Morogan. “Go, go!”
I started backing up, facing the enemy. “Slow and steady, watch the flanks.” We backed away from the fountain, cutting do
wn any enemy brave enough to approach weapons range. Garstil zapped a few that were a slowly creeping up on our sides but shying from melee range. We’d made it a few city blocks before we relaxed just a little.
Garstil turned to me. “Let’s make a run for it. Take out anything that rushes us.” Morogan and I agreed. We booked it as quick as we could. A few zombies tried stopping us and ended up as body parts in the street. As we approached the main gate to the city, another of the massive beasts awaited us. On the wall above stood the necromancer, staring down at us from within his dark hood.
I skidded to a halt, my party members plowing into me.
“That’s quite far enough. Hand over the sword, and I won’t have my pet feast on your bones,” he said.
I stared up at him. “Sorry, my bones aren't FDA approved for animal consumption.” Garstil snickered.
“What exactly does that mean, outlander?” he asked, confused.
“It means fuck you and fuck your pet. Get the hell out of our way.”
The necromancer cackled. “You think because you’ve bested a few of my minions that you can survive my onslaught?”
“That sound like invitation?” asked Morogan, pulling out his mace and shield.
“Yes, it does,” said Garstil, pulling lightning into his palms.
“Now!” I Dashed upward over the beast, drawing both swords and coming down hard. I severed its head from its body, and it rolled to a stop at Morogan’s feet. He just stood there and gawked. Meanwhile, Garstil instead fired upward at the necromancer, shearing off a massive block of the stone wall. The explosion shook dust from the wall which mixed with the rain. He’d missed the necromancer.
“We have friends,” said Morogan. Garstil and I turned around. If one giant critter hadn’t been bad enough, fifteen had to qualify for a “bad day” in anyone's book.
Legend of the Sword Bearer: Tempest Chronicles Book 1 Page 9