by Oliver Mayes
19
Two Birds, One Stone
After another ten minutes of dodging large encounters and ploughing through small ones, they finally found the way out. Damien suspiciously swept for spider webs before entering zone two of the human race: Brociliande. Or as players preferred to call it, ‘Bro’s Land’.
While Tintagel consisted of wide open plains with scattered lakes and hills, this zone was a luscious forest. The trees were widely spaced and the foliage was not too thick, but they’d still serve better at hiding his movements than the open plains of Tintagel.
Damien was fully loaded with souls so at least that was one less thing to worry about, even if it had taken twice as long as he’d planned. The raid was about to start and he was still fifteen minutes away. He’d missed the opportunity to scout out his enemies, and the further Rising Tide went into the dungeon the more opportunities he’d miss to ambush them.
He slowed down as he neared the waypoint on his map, not wanting to be spotted having come all this way. The Maw was set at the bottom of a gigantic sinkhole situated at the edge of the zone. Damien had found it on his first play-through when he’d gone sightseeing.
It was no less beautiful than the first time he saw it. Thick green vines ran down the face of steep white cliffs, giving way to a lush mossy cauldron of life below. There was a modest waterfall trickling down the eastern side, feeding a stream that passed through the middle into a rocky opening that dominated the entire west face.
This was the entrance to The Maw. Stalactites of all shapes and sizes hung down from it, granting it the appearance of a monstrous mouth full of sharp, crooked teeth.
The players were gone, but Damien could see the signs they’d passed through: the remnants of a large campfire were gently sizzling by the side of the stream, surrounded by trampled earth. The early arrivals had probably used it to prepare buff-food for everyone while they waited.
The developers of Saga Online had sensibly ensured people would feel their own hunger and thirst while they played in an attempt to prevent them from neglecting their bodies. While in-game refreshments would have no effect on this, it was possible to cook food that provided temporary improvements to your stats.
Damien ordered his demons to his side, gathering his wits. Just getting here had been an ordeal and now the real challenge was about to begin. He needed to focus. He needed to remind himself why he was here. Taking on Rising Tide was only a means to tempt votes in the streaming contest to get a cash prize to save his mother’s life. Failure wasn’t an option. Success here at The Maw would grant good footage to start uploading.
With grim determination, Damien approached the mouth of the dungeon and gingerly stepped inside.
It wasn’t as dark as he’d hoped. Stalactites in the ceiling were embedded with green glowing crystals that cast a pulsing glow over their surroundings. The dungeon layout was surprisingly linear, yet also surprisingly large to make up for it. It was about the width of a highway and from what Damien could make out it was approximately the length of a highway as well.
He considered for a moment before dismissing a hell hound and summoning a wraith in its place. Now he had a hell hound for tanking and detection, a wraith for damage and sneak attacks and four imps for interference and crowd control. A more balanced group for the task ahead of him.
He started by sneaking, not wanting to reveal his presence to any creatures the Rising Tide party might have missed. When he found a horde of dead wolves splayed out under the light of a stalactite he moved in to give them a closer look. They might be able to tell him what he was up against. The causes of death varied, but Damien was quickly able to divide them into two groups: those with heads and those without.
The wolves with their heads intact had died in various ways but had one thing in common: they all had a gemstone, the same shape and size as those casting light from the stalactites, embedded in their foreheads. The only difference was that these gems were gray and inactive, much like the wolves themselves. That was strange enough, but the wolves without heads were stranger still: their heads were nowhere to be found.
The same pattern was repeated over and over, the enemies all wild animals either bearing inert gemstones or with their heads unaccounted for. When Damien found a group of three bears, all of which were headless with singed fur around their necks, he finally opted to start running rather than sneaking.
It felt like he’d been running forever when he caught a glimpse of a green flash far ahead. Then, to his horror, he realized the seemingly infinite passageway was coming to an end. A pulsing green glow, more consistent than the flash he'd just seen, was illuminating an entryway into a much larger space.
It was light at the end of the tunnel, but for Damien it was anything but.
By the time he caught sight of the players he knew it was all over. They’d reached the boss chamber already.
Damien’s mind raced. There was only one option left. He’d have to attack them while they were fighting the boss.
He was so tired yesterday that he’d foolishly declined to look up the details of the boss fight. He hadn’t planned on the group getting this far before he made his move. He hadn’t planned on a lot of things that were happening to him that week. ‘Winging it’ would be carved upon his gravestone.
The nine-strong raiding party moved to one side of the chamber and gathered around a warrior equipped with a lance and shield. Damien recognized the name from the schedule: Rhinohide, the main tank of the raid group. It appeared he’d taken on the role of party leader as well, pointing at players and briefing them before ushering them into position.
Once they’d all gathered against the wall, the warrior went by himself into the center of the room. Hanging above him was a markedly different stalactite: it was larger than the others and rather than being dotted with tiny green gemstones it contained a single gem, this one the size of a beach ball.
Damien was just wondering where the boss they’d been so diligently preparing for might be when Rhinohide whirled his lance around his head and thrust up to strike the gemstone. Light spilled out of the crack and the warrior leapt back before slamming his shield into the ground, bracing himself behind it.
There was a bright green flash followed by a brilliant pulse of arcane energy.
Opaque, luminescent magic enveloped Rhinohide entirely. The sphere dissipated and he reappeared, his health at less than half and his armor sizzling. One of the priests immediately threw out his hands and the tank was enveloped in white light, his health restored, the fire sputtering out. They’d clearly done this before.
All at once, the remaining stalactites crumbled into fragments. Rather than falling to the ground below, the rocks and boulders rolled across the ceiling into a single giant mass of rubble, drawn and held there as if by a magnet.
The rest of the party had been mere onlookers until that point, but now they started to take fighting stances and ready themselves. It wasn’t long before the rubble had collected itself into a huge misshapen ball which fell to the ground, coming to rest in the middle of the charred black circle the arcane explosion had created.
It was the weirdest boss Damien had ever seen. Only when it started to unfold itself did Damien realize its true form. A golem.
It rose to its full height, towering over the assembled players. Damien could just about make out the gemstone Rhinohide had destroyed embedded in its forehead, the green shine gone and replaced with the dull gray he’d seen in those animals whose heads hadn’t been blown off down the path behind him. At least now he’d solved the mystery of how they’d died. As soon as the golem stood upright the raid party leapt into action.
The fight had begun.
Damien was starting to have second thoughts. The group was a lot more organized than he’d anticipated and he couldn’t see any weak links. On top of that, he was the only one there who didn’t know what to expect.
They were swarming the golem, the warrior holding its attention while everyone else
looked for an opening. Priests focused on keeping the tank alive, occasionally throwing out smaller, faster heals to party members who’d been hit by flying chunks of rock. Melee characters ran up to its feet and wailed on it until they got its attention, at which point they’d run away and let the tank take over again. The mage and rangers kept their distance, pumping fireballs and explosive projectiles into the thing's face, where the other characters couldn’t reach. It all looked very well rehearsed.
It was Shankyou, the assassin Damien had mistakenly thought would be his biggest problem, who made the first mistake.
He sprinted around the edge of the battle, watching his footing rather than his enemy, when the golem swung and launched a handful of small green crystals directly across his path. Each was a direct hit. A series of rapid explosions swallowed up the party’s highest-level player. The party leader shouted out a single word of encouragement.
“Idiot!”
Damien cursed under his breath. There was one player he definitely wouldn’t be killing today. Yet as soon as the smoke cleared Shankyou was running again, his body coated in a metallic golden sheen. It was a Holy Barrier. He’d barely taken any damage at all. The lucky player threw their team’s second priest a wave of thanks as the shield faded, then circled round the boss and threw himself onto its leg before starting to climb.
Damien had seen it all, but his attention was elsewhere. When the boss had turned around to deliver its payload, he’d been granted a clear view of its back. Set between where the shoulder blades would’ve been was a glowing green gem, the same shape, size and color as the one Rhinohide destroyed before the battle began. The gem was obviously a weak point, which explained why Shankyou was now trying to scale the thing in order to reach it. If the explosion it would cause was anything like the one Rhinohide had triggered it should be more than enough to wipe him out. Of course, in all likelihood he would jump clear long before it detonated, but Damien had a different idea in mind.
“You, imp. You’re up. Wait for my signal.”
He turned back to see how much progress Shankyou had made. He was spending more time clinging on for dear life than climbing, making what little progress he could in between the earthshaking blows.
Damien didn’t want to send in the imp too early. The longer it was there, the more likely it would be spotted, or simply killed by mistake in the crossfire. It was only when Shankyou reached the golem’s waist that Damien sent it forward, keeping his commands short, accurate and careful. The imp was to stick to the outer wall and put the golem between itself and the players.
The party was far too preoccupied to notice the imp’s diminutive form as it scurried into the cave. Shankyou had already demonstrated what would happen if the golem noticed you weren’t paying attention and no one was eager to get berated by Rhinohide. It was no surprise the tank was stressed out, considering he was trying to dodge and parry a mountain.
Damien realized he’d distracted himself and his eyes darted to the monster’s back. Shankyou had already finished his ascent. Even now he was chipping away at the gem with his dagger. It didn’t do as much damage as Rhinohide’s charged lance attack, but what he lacked in power was made up for with speed. There was a clink that echoed around the cavern even through the din of battle, informing everyone that the gem had sustained serious damage.
Damien’s window of opportunity was rapidly closing. He abandoned all caution and urged the imp to get to the gem as fast as possible. The wings immediately unfolded and it flew toward Shankyou in a straight line. It was almost there when the gem shattered and long lines of green light started to emanate from it.
Shankyou immediately kicked off with both legs, putting his agility to use by backflipping away from the blast zone. The imp flew in underneath him and touched down on the deteriorating gem less than a moment later. Damien already had his finger raised in anticipation.
“Implosion.”
The rift appeared directly on top of the gem. While the golem was far too large to be affected, Shankyou was considerably smaller. His graceful dive was rudely interrupted and he was torn out of the air, smashing head first into the very thing he’d just been trying to escape from. The collision damage was calculated first, costing him a relatively modest chunk of health.
The exploding gem in his face did the rest.
Shankyou’s last contribution to the raid was a confused scream before he was vaporized. Damien’s HUD flashed. Experience from a level 23 player rushed to fill his EXP bar and in the blink of an eye he was level 11. It worked! The boss had dealt the killing blow, but as long as Damien damaged them beforehand he’d still get XP for the assist! He could do this!
Back in the fight, Rhinohide was roaring profanity. He had no view of the golem’s back from where he was standing and no idea there was any foul play.
“That’s a kill point minus, you imbecile!”
Damien sniggered and quickly motioned for another imp to come to his side.
His strategy seemed sound; now he needed to figure out his target priority. As long as he left the tanks and healers until last they should survive for a good long while, keeping the boss busy and Damien’s other targets alive. If he killed the damage dealers, it would slow down the fight and give Damien more time to pick them off.
The golem had entered an enraged state as soon as the gem was destroyed, hitting harder and faster than before, but it was also shrinking. It had started the fight as large as a two-story building; now it was shedding rocks rapidly with each step and swing. Rhinohide was dying faster than his dedicated priest could heal him and soon he had to retreat. The moment he did so the whole party broke rank, running around in all directions as they tried to dodge the walking rockslide. No longer tethered by a tank, the golem stomped after whoever happened to be closest.
The movements of the players were fairly random, but it was obvious they were trying to avoid moving too close to each other.
Damien had a solution to that.
He mobilized his next imp, sending it to fly high above so it would be ready to drop down at a moment’s notice. He saw a chance to catch three people in an Implosion at once, but one of the priests was among them and unfortunately Damien needed him alive. For now.
It wasn’t long before a much more savory option presented itself: the golem had set its sights on a mage and was chasing after her while the paladin followed off to one side, trying to stay close in case he needed to intervene. Damien decided to help him along.
The imp plummeted out of the sky to drop down between them and Damien cast Implosion. The two hapless players flew across the open ground and smashed into each other before collapsing in a heap. The mage took far more damage than the paladin, but Damien only needed to register a little bit of damage on each so the game would define them as his enemies before they were destroyed. Neither of them managed to get their bearings before the golem raised a craggy foot and smashed them into dust.
The first Implosion had been concealed behind the golem’s back, but this one had been executed in plain sight with everyone watching. The party might not have known exactly what was happening, but they knew imps and black holes were not a staple of this boss fight.
Fortunately, they had their hands full. The golem had shrunk to half the size and a large green gem, even bigger than the two that preceded it, had been revealed in the center of its chest.
That wasn’t all that had been revealed. Magma was oozing between the cracks in the boss monster’s carapace, coating its body in liquid death. When it stood in place the lava pooled around its feet, preventing anyone from standing too near. Damien could tell it was the final phase of the fight.
Rhinohide had resumed his role as tank, leading the creature around in a slow circle to prevent it tracking lava over the entire arena floor. Everyone else was fighting with everything they had. It was time for Damien to do the same. He sent in the rest of his forces.
The hell hound led the charge with the imps following just behind, bursting
into the cave before charging straight toward the primary healer. The enemy party hesitated, not knowing whether to keep fighting the monster in front of them or the demons attacking from their flank.
It was the ranger, Jinks, who reacted first, taking the arrow she’d already nocked and firing toward the new threat. She was smart, smarter than Damien would’ve liked. The arrow sailed over the hell hound and Damien thought she’d missed until it sunk deep into the torso of his second imp.
It was a one-hit kill, the imp disintegrating even as it fell to the ground.
Damien only had Noigel to rely on for Implosions now. This ranged player would have to go. The hound changed directions and dashed toward her. Jinks hastily strung another arrow but couldn’t release before the hound barreled into her, knocking the two of them into a fresh pool of lava. In a matter of seconds, the pair had ignited. This was not great for Jinks, but the hell hound was used to being on fire as a matter of course. Now enflamed, it latched itself onto the ranger’s arm and held her in place as her health plummeted.
Her dilemma divided the party.
Rhinohide was screaming for everyone to kill the boss as fast as possible, but the party’s second warrior, Roranoa, had other ideas. He turned away from the boss and ran past it toward the prone pair, obviously hoping to save his comrade. The reserve priest, Dryfus, desperately cast healing spells on Jinks to buy her time for Roronoa to intervene. As long as the hell hound was both biting her and cooking her alive, any attempt to restore her health was futile.
With the hell hound performing admirably, Damien turned his attention to the wraith. The lava illuminating the center of the room had prevented it from joining the charge, but in the chaos it had skirted the edge of the boss chamber until it was behind Dryfus. In Roronoa’s absence, he was quite undefended. It lurched forward, armblades raised, the warm amber glow of the nearest lava pool enough to expose it. It would have to act quickly, before its health and stats dropped too low.