AVARICE ONLINE: KEL'VAN RED HAND

by Titus Nettles

  “Belar, he is mine.” smiled Voresh. “You saw what just happened. Find and kill the healer.”

  Belar took off without another word around the boulder. Alex tried to follow, but Voresh swung his sword between the two of them, blocking his path. The human’s scowl deepened as he raised his sword again in Voresh’s direction. The orc merely smiled in his direction.

  “Okay meat, let’s try this again…with feeling.”

  It was becoming apparent to Fer’shad that this Terran was more skilled with a sword and shield than he was. After the Terrans taunt wore off on Voresh and himself, he immediately used his own variant of that ability Aegis pull on him. His ability only affected one enemy in the radius. The enraged Terran attacked Fer’shad with reckless abandon with both shield and sword. But at least Voresh was able to engage the sword wielder behind them, now beyond what he hoped was the Terrans taunt range. It would be a one-on-one battle between the two of them now.

  As the effect wore off, The shield-wielding Terran began attacking more skillfully. Every time Fer’shad would attack, he would block with his shield, and then immediately counter-attack using a variety of ways. Sometimes he would block a sword strike with one hand, then instantly spin around and swing his short-sword to his right side. Other times he would use the same tactic to attack his left side. Fer’shad tried to counter-attack the way his opponent was, and the Terran just avoided the blow by ducking under it, then dashing forward and thrusting his sword against Fer’shad’s exposed thigh. The blows were shallow to his frame, but they were slowly whittling down his HP. Even with the constant buff from Aegis Bulwark, he was giving himself every 30 seconds, it was only a matter of time before the Terran got the better of him.

  Kel’Van had already figured out his opponent.

  As the two circled each other for another round of attacks, he had been analyzing and preparing how to finish off the rogue in front of him. There were basically only two types of rogues, even with myriad combinations that Avarice came up with. They were either specialized in heavy single-type damage with criticals or were primarily stealth types with stuns and damage over time attacks or (D.O.T.)s. This one was definitely the latter. Stealth types could only hide out of battle. Once engaged, they depended on the initial stun to set-up its bleed-out attacks afterward. Good for sneak attacks against boss fights and regular mobs in dungeons. Not as effective in a PVP battle, which for all intents and purposes was what Terran was in with Kel’Van.

  The rogue tried to dart forward with two jabs of his daggers from both hands, which Kel’Van easily evaded. The orc was using his short sword's length to keep his quarry at bay. This also allowed him the flexibility to attack more and push the rogue in a defensive position. To attack, the rogue would have to rely on Kel’Van to either overextend or to quickly attack if the orc missed. A gout of flame shot from the orc’s left hand. In response, the rogue dodged to his left. Kel’Van quickly stabbed forward, punching his weapon through his enemy's thigh.

  “FUCK!” screamed the rogue as he backed up on one leg with one of his knives, dashing forward to retaliate. Kel’Van easily knocked away the impending weapon with the flat of his sword as he pulled it out of the rogue's thigh. The rogue immediately fell on his back, dropping one of his knives and clutching at his left leg.

  “Hmph” said the Aberrant knight. Seems this rogue hasn’t acclimated himself for the pain threshold of Gladys mountains. A mere flesh wound to the leg, and he went down like a bag of bricks. This guy must have only did dungeon dives on a weak setting for pain. No wonder he was a stealth type. He didn’t like getting hit. Kel’Van was moving in to finish him off when the player was enveloped in white smoke filled with tiny ice crystals. He then stood tall and immediately attacked. Just barely missing Kel’Van face with his initial lunge. His remaining blade s flying centimeters from his face.

  “So the healer’s here too.”

  He couldn’t risk leaving the rogue to its own devices to chase down the healer. The player would then stun one of the others, possibly leaving one of his teammates alone and double-teamed. No, he had to inflict more damage than the healer could repair and hope that one of the others could reach the healer. Either way, he had to trust that the training he gave his team was enough.

  Ara laid atop the boulder as she cast a heal on R.J. The orc that had killed her the last time they were here had quickly stabbed his leg without remorse. She had barely enough time to do even that since her heals are 3-second cast spells. It was the same situation with Alex. She badly wanted to at least put a barrier between the two, but Geralds orders had been strict. Heal only. Which made sense when fighting elites. Their HP was usually higher than players. Especially now that they've actually gained a level since last they fought.

  “Gerald was right all along. They are players.” She thought. They had to be. Mobs don’t level. She had to stay mobile in order to stay out of combat but be able to spot heal when necessary. It had been a daunting task initially, with all of them spread out again instead of being grouped together in one place. None of this was going like it was planned, but if she could at least remain in the line of sight of her teammates, they may be able to outlast them. That is if she saved her mana and quickly healed as soon as any of them went down past 60% health. With her cast time for each heal, she couldn’t afford to wait any longer than that from fear of the heals coming too late to save one of them.

  She downed another mana potion. She was only down to 85% percent of her mana, but R.J. didn’t have a high health pool. That mage, or whatever class of orc he was fighting, was hacking his health down by chunks. As the azure-colored liquid ran down her throat, she spotted another orc. It was not as large as the others, but he held a massive ax within its grip.

  “Oh hell.”

  The orc was slowly creeping up behind Gerald. With him being so pre-occupied by the other shield-bearing orc, there was no way he would see him coming. There was no helping it. She was going to have to use her ice barrier spell to save him.

  “He’s almost in range,” she said under her breath.

  “There you are,” a voice purred.

  “Huh?” said Ara. She only saw a partial head above the boulder's surface she was laying on. Green skin, a mohawk haircut, and eyes that promised retribution were all that she could see. That is until a muscled arm quickly darted out and grabbed her by the leg. The face vanished, leaving only the arm that pulled the mage off the sheered cliff of the boulder.

  “This is taking entirely too long.” thought Gerald.

  He had been able to keep this monstrous orc at bay by his skill alone. It just wasn’t enough to get past him. He needed the other members of his team to provide the damage to take him down. Using another taunt at this point would be just a waste of time since there was no one in the vicinity to attack the orc in front of him. While the player was not as skilled as he was, there was no denying he was stronger and had more health points than he did. He had been blocking some of the orcs attacks, but the brute force of those strikes kept pushing him back when he did.

  “I’m going have to use stun and make a break for Alex and hope I get there.”

  He had cast stun twice already, and the cooldown was almost up.

  “Die Terran !”

  Gerald had instinctively turned toward the shout and spotted an orc with an ax raised far above his head running towards him. It was almost comical, other than he was the apparent object of the orcs fury. He dodged the orcs attack cleanly just by sidestepping the blow, its ax thudded into the dirt beside him.

  Stuck in the ground.

  The orc had the sense to look embarrassed at the situation.

  “Well, that wasn’t supposed to happen, said the abashed orc. While he was trying to pull his ax out of the stony ground, Fer’shad used his Auger Rush skill to ram his shield into Geralds side. The impact sent the armored warrior tumbling shoulder first into the hard ground. Fer’shad then ran after the warrior, and soon as he was in range, he popped his Aegis p
ull skill, enraging the downed Terran to race back at him and attack.

  “Oh for Gaea’s sake, c’mon!” Or’Fan cried.

  He hefted his buried ax out of the dirt with a mighty pull and a combination of curses accompanying his efforts. “Okay, let’s get to work.” He ran as fast as his legs could carry him with his weapon heaved on his shoulder. He soon came upon the Terran wildly attacking Fer’shad’s shield with reckless abandon.

  “Let’s see if I can not miss this time..” Or’Fan murmured to himself.

  He then heaved the ax on his shoulder mightily with a sickening crunch on the Terrans’ shoulder. The blow sent the warrior down on one knee. Though down, it still was swinging its sword with abandon at Fer’shad. Or’Fan placed his foot on the raging Terran's back and pulled his weapon free. The force sending blood arcing almost into his face and armor. Suddenly the redness left the eyes of the metal-clad warrior as he turned his body and faced Or’Fan.

  “Well, shit.”

  Or’Fan closed his eyes and swung his weapon in a horizontal arc, meaning to take off the small human's neck. The human simply ducked, allowing the clumsy strike to sail over him. Then Fer’shad’s short sword cleaved into his shoulder from behind. Gerald screamed in pain as he fell back on his knees.

  Fer’shad kicked the human in the back, and it landed face-first on the cold stone surface of the ground.

  “Goodbye Terran, do not return here again.”

  With that said, Fer’shad lifted his shield above Gerald’s head, then slammed the bottom edge of it on his neck. He repeatedly continued until the squelching sounds stopped and the head was gruesomely separated from the body. Fer’shad turned to look at the orc that assisted him. Or’Fan’s weapon clanged on the ground as he put both hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

  “ You’re assistance Or’Fan is greatly appreciated!” He boomed. “ That fight would have gone on a lot longer without your aid.’

  Or’Fan merely waved. “ Yes…pant…any…cough…time.”

  Fer’shad eyed the orc with curiosity. “ Are you well orc?”

  “I’m fine,” he wheezed. “Just…need to catch my breath…is all.”

  Fers’shad looked to his right, where he saw the others still fighting their individual battles. “ Come, let us aid the rest so we can be done with this.” Then he took off in the direction of Voresh.

  “Yeah…I’ll be…right here..” the orc gasped as he fell down to the ground on his back, exhausted.

  The rogue clearly hadn’t bothered to learn how to use the weapons of his class. Even though Kel’van had the size and reach advantage with his sword, you would think this player would have learned to use his quickness better than this. But it was a common mistake made by players who primarily were P.V.E. or Player vs Environment. Because they mostly did dungeon crawls, they had only the surface-level skills of combat of a bar room tussler.

  Kel’Van did not share his problem.

  The hapless player swung his knife in an arc at Kel’van’s head. The knight merely moved his head to the left as he smacked the offending arm with the flat of his blade. He then immediately front kicked the rogue in the knee, making R.J. stumble forward just as the orc's sword slashed upwards across his face. The rogue reflexively raised an arm to his injury, but Kel’Van had already pirouetted behind him and viciously drove his blade into the rogue's back.

  The orc kicked R.J’s body off his blade, then a bright light surrounded the rogue and blinding Kel’Van momentarily.

  “Damn healer.”

  Kel’Van saw a puff a black smoke explode within the light and he hurriedly dodge rolled to his left. Seconds later, on cue, the rogue dropped out of a dark cloud, just above where he was previously standing, with knives piercing through the air, its target already beyond its reach, just missing its mark and slamming into the ground

  “His stun is on cooldown now…”

  Kel’Van barreled forward, his intent to drive his sword through the players’ neck. Some distant part of his brain analyzed this as the fight progressed. But at the forefront was just a man needing a focus for his unbridled anger. Kandice’s betrayal and information burned in his mind, and the player in front of him was going to be the recipient of that anger.

  “This player is crazy,” R.J. thought.

  He had fought mostly dungeons, but sometimes he fought other players 1 on 1 when waiting for his group to arrive. This guy was definitely different than any pvp player he ever met. What was unnerving him the most was that he just stopped talking. No bragging or anything. Just those eyes that said he wanted to slice him ribbons.

  “Well, you are going to have to work for that Mr. nutjob.”

  The orc rushed him with his sword swinging from his hips in an upward motion. The bone blade just missing his chest as he dodged to his left in a roll. He quickly recovered and charged the orcs side with both his blades cutting into his arm.

  “Finally!” he screamed in his own head. He had been trying to land a blow for a while, but the crazy orc kept him at bay with his own blade and fire attacks. He used Poison strike skill for the D.O.T. effects to eat away at his health points for the next 10 seconds. He was about to roll away when the orc's hand clamped on his wrist. He attacked the arm with the knife in his right hand, but it still clung tightly.

  Then the orc’s bone sword quickly found its way into the right side of his chest.

  “Fucking HELL!” screamed R.J. as his legs collapsed underneath him. He dropped the knife in his left hand and gripped the sword plunging it into his body. Shaking, he looked up at the monster gripping both his wrist.

  “What are you waiting for!” R.J. screamed. He dimly wondered why Ara wasn’t sending anymore heals. But mostly, he wanted the pain to stop.

  “Oh god just let this guy finish me off oh god…”

  The orc breathing heavily, slowly and deliberately twisted the blade before withdrawing his sword out of the rogue's body. R.J. fell on his side, shaking and clutching the gaping wound in his chest. He felt more than saw the foot on his midsection, nudging him flat on his back. White-hot flame jetted through him as he felt the orcs, blade punch repeatedly through his stomach. Blood poured out of him in spurts, as his eyes looked up at the orc with an angry sneer painted on his face.

  “Go to hell fucker,” R.J. sputtered through red-stained teeth.

  “You first.”

  Then the orc plunged his sword through the rogues lungs and through his back, and the light fled from the battered player's eyes.

  The sky darkened. As the rain began to pour down, thunder cracked and arched across the skies. Kel’Van’s stood breathing wisps of white from the cold of the torrential downpour. None of which calmed the blaze burning hotter in his heart. He looked one last time at the body below him and walked away from the husk.

  The storm was getting worse. So was Alex’s chances of beating the mouthy orc in front of him. The scene was playing out almost exactly like their last encounter. Yes, the orc was more damaged this time, but the outcome looked just as bleak as before. His health points were still around 60%, while his own was under 40%. They circled each other, trying to find an opening to start the next series of attacks.

  “Come now meat,” the orc snickered. “Don’t let the weather sour this. We should finish, yes?”

  Alex knew he was goading him to attack. Worse, he knew it was working. Choking back the bile in his throat for taking the bait, Alex charged. He stopped when he got within arm’s length of the orc sword, then spun on heels with a swing of his weapon at the monster's legs. Voresh stepped back and blocked the blow by angling the blade downwards. Alex quickly switched from that attack and swung in the opposite direction, aiming for his hip. Voresh casually moved his sword to his left, never bothering to change the downward angle of his sword. Then the orc quickly front kicked Alex in his chest, the blow sending him sliding on his back through the rain-slicked stone and mud. He crashed into the boulder wall behind him. Alex tried to get up with his sword in hand an
d slipped, landing on his back again.

  As he stared skyward with the rain pelting down, He saw a dark figure in the sky flaring down upon him. Alex immediately rolled to his side as Voresh came crashing downward with his sword. The impact sent mud and debris peppering his body as he struggled to stand. Voresh stalked him with his weapon in hand. A visage of terror as the water began cascading in rivulets over his frame. Alex raised his weapon, preparing to strike out against him once more, then his eyes tinged red. He quickly turned his head south, then ran off at full speed. Voresh turned to see Fer’shad holding his sword above his head with his shield in front of him.

  Alex swung his sword repeatedly at Fer’shad’s shield. Voresh behind the Terran, quickly slashed him once, then twice, leaving an almost X mark across Alex’s back and armor. A hooded figure shouldered Voresh aside. He turned just in time to see Kel’Van spray a stream of fire across the back of the raging Terran. With the taunt effect seemingly over, the singed warrior turned and launched his skill Puncture at his assailant. Kel’Van dove to the side, sweeping his sword at his legs, clipping him. Voresh swung his sword horizontally. An audible snap occurred as Alex’s arm dangled limply at his side at an awkward angle. The burning Terran landed in a heap, screaming.

  “SSShhhiittt.” He howled.

  Then Kel’Van walked up behind him and poured steady flames onto the body till his hp dwindled to zero. What was left was a smoking carcass, as the rain continued to dull the flames of Kel’Van’s assault.

  “Captain-“

  “Find Belar and the last of these Terrans.”

  “ I think she is behind the boulder,” answered Fer’shad

  Kel’Van said nothing as he shouldered past the two of them and marched to the end of the boulder wall.