AVARICE ONLINE: KEL'VAN RED HAND

by Titus Nettles

  “But he is all but naked now, isn’t he?” he thought.

  There was no longer any armor on the elemental. Only a weird diaper looking cloth preserving its modesty. Judging by how quickly the attacks he made against Fer’shad was, he was now faster without the armor. An idea came unbidden into his head on how to increase their damage output.

  “Voresh!” Kel’Van cried out.

  Now freed of the elemental’s attention thanks to Fer’shad, the Slayer ran to his captain’s call.

  “Target your special attacks here when your cooldowns are up.” He pointed underneath the diaper to Voresh, who grimaced and unconsciously covered his own privates, understanding his point. “ Belar, you and I will concentrate on the achilles tendon. These weak points should allow us to bring him this thing down quickly.”

  “Understood,” said Belar.

  Voresh just nodded his head, not at all comfortable with what he was about to do.

  ”Let’s go! The 15 seconds is almost up!”

  With a nod, Belar took off after the left leg. Once there, she began pummeling blows on the back of the elemental left calf. Kel’Van cast Seared Flesh on his sword and with a two-hand grip, used his weapon to chop at the Achilles tendon as if it was a tree. The first attack triggered the damage-over-time effect. Ticking at 35 hp for 10 seconds. His subsequent strikes were between 40 and 45 until he landed a critical attack for 60. The debris and dust flew freely as he began to put as many hits on the area before Fer’shads taunt was up. As he spied the leg moving to replant itself, he cast Stone skin and tried to scamper behind the elemental. Orko, now freed from Fer’shad’s taunt, swung his sword behind him, just missing the Aberrant knight as he hastened to the elemental's blindside.

  Voresh, almost visibly blanching, was still positioned just underneath Orko. The Slayer closed his eyes and leaped vertically in the air. As he got airborne, he unleashed his Rising Star move, right between the elemental's legs.

  Orko howled in pain and rage as he stumbled forward. Voresh dry-heaved as his feet returned to the ground. He recovered seconds later, chasing after the lumbering monster and swinging his sword at its calf. Belar, quickly on the heels of Voresh, began hammering kicks, slashes, and punches on the creature's right ankle. Orko stopped his fall by landing on one knee. While the monster was bracing his hand on the floor, Fershad slammed the bottom edge of his tower shield upon its fingers.

  Orko quickly swung his sword from his left side. Fer’shad’s shield caught the bulk of the blow along the side rim, but the attack knocked him off his feet. The elementals sword bit into an inch of his thigh as he landed only a short distance from Lan’kar. The young Holmgren immediately began healing the fallen tank with his own attacks on Orko.

  The elemental howled, and the dust and wind began to circle around him once again.

  Kel’Van immediately dived into a roll to get out of the vicinity of the oncoming attack. He surveyed his surroundings and found Fer’sahd in front of the creature with his shield press forward and Lan’kar behind healing him. As he ran towards him, he prepared a shout to tell his team to rally to the Aegis -bearer, but they were already headed in that direction. Pride bloomed in the chest of Kel’Van as he saw evidence of their growth as a team. They recognized the attack and didn’t need him to tell them the appropriate response. The team once again coalesced behind Fer’shad, with their backs turned to the outside to stem the wind and small rocks buffeting them.

  “11 seconds, and this attack begins to fade off!” screamed Kel’Van. They were all cuddled in a huddle under the shield.

  “What then, captain?” Fer’shad huffed as he angled the shield to cover more of their bodies.

  “ Same as before, believe it or not, this fight is almost over. Don’t get careless, stick to what we’ve been doing, and this guy is toast!”

  “Forgive me captain, but I do not understand the meaning of toast ?” asked Lan’kar.

  “Don’t worry, he’ll explain it over some women and drinks later!” smirked Voresh.

  Belar shook her head in Voresh’s direction. “Clearly, you are over whatever misgivings you had about the captain's plans, if you can think about sex and booze right now,” she smiled.

  Voresh gave an almost involuntary dry-heave. “Oh by Gaia no, Let’s end this thing and be done with it.”

  The knight shared a smile with the others at Voresh’s discomfort. He also felt the kinship he had often missed with his mates in the military. The ability to find humor at even the darkest of times. A kinship he planned on keeping by downing the monster in front of them.

  “The wind is slowing down,” the young Holmgren observed.

  “Let’s have at this beast then!” growled Kel’Van. He broke off from the group as the torrid winds made it slightly harder to see. Fer’shad stood up from his crouched position and ran full tilt toward the elemental. The others followed suit behind him, eager to finish the monster off.

  Fer’shad raised his sword and roared out his taunt.

  “THIS IS WHAT WE PLAY FOR!” were the words out of his mouth as the party ran behind him.

  Voresh and Belar pushed forward to the elemental's left side, while Kel’Van ran to its right. He quickly cast his D.O.T. then returned to the chopping of its Achilles heel with his sword. . Each blow sending more dust and rocks in the air with each strike. As he prepared his fourth blow upon the monster, the leg began to fall in on itself. No longer able to handle the weight on its injured foot, Orko fell forward as the lower leg twisted with a sickening crunch. The monster's body lurched sideways as it fell, landing just short of the left side of Fer’shad. The tank raised his shield higher to block some of the debris of the fall from hitting Lan’kar. He covered his face as the dust settled. Even with injury, the enraged monster was still fixed on Fer’shad.

  Orko recovered himself on his knees, still swinging his sword hand at the Aegis-bearer. Kel’Van ran directly to where both Belar and Voresh were pummeling and hacking away at the monster's remaining hale leg. The knight was steady, counting down the time remaining for Fer’shad’s taunt to end.

  “We have about ten seconds left. Belar, you and I are going to the front when I stop striking, Voresh you’re staying behind to do what I asked earlier. As soon as the monster reacts to your strike, get into a position where Lan’kar can heal you from line of sight.”

  They both nodded in agreement and resumed their attacks on Orko’s remaining leg. Once the knight saw only 5 seconds was remaining, he stopped his strikes and began running around the right side of the elemental with Belar trailing after him. The two warriors reached the boss monster’s shoulder when the taunt wore off. Orko’s eyes reverted to their original state, then he let loose an angry howl as the pain from his broken leg finally reached him. He tried to stand up, but the added pressure only crumbled what was left holding his foot to its injured limb. A sound like a gunshot sounded off as the foot crumbled into separate parts, and the stump crashed into the ground, returning Orko on all fours once again.

  Voresh had taken this time to get a running start. Then leaped into the air using Dawning Star on the monster’s backside. The move landed him vertically underneath the elementals “family jewels.” With his face bulging and turning a sickly shade of green, Voresh once again leaped then used Rising Star. The strike struck with a clang, followed by dust. Orko’s hands immediately clutched between its legs as he smashed his head against the floor in agony. Voresh hurriedly ran around the giant to get close to his teammates.

  While the monster was gripping its nether region, Kel’Van exploded from his position in a run with Fer’shad close behind him. Recasting both Stone skin and Seared Flesh, he closed in on the Orko’s forehead, lying face-first on the ground. It opened its gaze just in time to see the Aberrant knight plunge his bone sword with both hands into its right eye.

  (Critical Hit! Bonesword strikes Orko The Black for 140 points)

  (Critical Hits! Seared Flesh burning effect for 65 points for 10 seconds burning)<
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  “Grahhh!” yelled Orko.

  As he stood upon his knees, he reflexively backhanded Kel’Van with his right hand while bringing his left to cover the new injury. The knight was flung sideways, then slid across the ground. He instantly felt a rush of energy flood his body. A tell-tale sign that Lan’kar was healing him. He didn’t suffer too much from the blow thanks to the buff to his defenses, though he wasn’t going to get angry about a free heal neither. He got up rather quickly and watched as Fer’shad was already blocking the elemental from attacking him further. Belar was executing a combo with both her fists and feet on the monster's thigh. Voresh had swung his blade with an overhead strike on the opposite thigh. Then quickly followed up with a horizontal slash from his left, then again with his right.

  Hurrying to re-enter the fray, the knight mentally numbered Fer’shad’s cooldown needed for him to re-apply his taunt. Soon as it reached 1, the party’s tank roared Aegis-pull at the elemental. He timed it right before it tried to pick up its weapon. Again, he was amazed at how quickly and easily his team slid into their roles. He also saw the deadline ticking in his lower right side of his D.S. They had 35 minutes till the new update started, and this needed to end, not now, but right now. As the others continued their assault, he dashed behind the monster. He jumped on the elemental’s back and began to take leaps vertically on its spine towards the head. Kel’Van had jabbed his sword in its back for purchase, when Orko raised its torso off the ground to strike at Fer’shad. Once the blow was struck against his shield, the elemental lowered itself, and the knight pulled himself up and wrapped his legs around the neck rodeo style. He then slid to his right, nudging himself between the monster's neck and shoulder.

  Kel’Van thought he had about 12 seconds left before the taunt wore off, and Orko reaches behind himself and crushes him like a grape. He clutched tightly with his legs and hip and grasped his blade in both hands.

  “Die damn you,” he whispered.

  The knight cast Crimson Blade on his weapon, fire spreading upon his sword in waves, then plunged the blade in what was left of the ruined eye socket of Orko.

  He pressed his sword in as far as he could go. Twisting to and fro in an effort for it to go deeper. Meanwhile, the elemental's constant attack and movements loosened the grip his legs had on the behemoths’ neck. He pulled out and stabbed his blade in once more into the wound, trying to push jis weapon into what passed as this monster's brain. Kel’Van mentally miniaturized the combat log and concentrated on the task at hand. He could feel his weapon went in a bit farther this time by how far the blade traveled. He twisted the sword again, getting deeper before he pulled it back out. His mental count was down to 5 seconds before he had to leap away from his roost.

  4 seconds

  He dug his sword in again with all of his might, pushing past the narrowing passage of the socket. He reignited his Searing Flesh spell also to add to the damage.

  2 seconds

  Kel’Van roared, pushpng his blade all the way in into something soft and giving. Then he unclenched his legs around Orko’s neck and pushed off with both feet, leaving the blade embedded in Orko’s face. He landed on his back just the stone flesh spell was 5 seconds away from ending.

  “I think I’ve had enough of being knocked on my back to last a lifetime…,” he said to himself. He looked at D.S. to see how much HP Orko had, and it was all but gone.

  “Arggghhh!,” was all that could be heard as the taunt wore off. The whole body leaned back on its knees as if a knock out punch was thrown. Then Orko went limp as his head sagged to the side, then fell forward face-first into the ground. His face lulled to the side as he breathed his last. As Kel’Van came closer, he saw his sword embedded further into the socket from the impact.

  “Finally,” he huffed. Then he sat on his haunches and collapsed on his back.

  Breathing heavy, he closed his eyes and tried to gather his thoughts. By the time he reopened them, Voresh was standing over with an upside-down smile. He wasn’t alone either. All four of the others stared down at their leader spread eagle on the ground. Kel’Van couldn’t help but return the smile.

  “ You guys are right…breaks over.”

  He got up and walked over to the towering enemy laid out just a few feet away. He stretched out his hand, and the body disappeared in grey and black smoke. In its wake, it left behind a pile of weapons and…bone? He supposed he could use these for crafting more gear later. The knight filed it under “ I’ll deal with it later” and mentally absorbed the bones into his inventory.

  As he looted the body, the experience points flooded into the party members in a rush. Everyone gave off a faint glow as they leveled up to 13; with it came the instant healing of wounds and restoring stamina and the like. Except for Lan’kar, who repeatedly gave off a soft blue light, reaching 3 levels almost at once. The boy stood there, transfixed at his rapid growth, trying to come to terms with it.

  “Captain?!” he cried out.

  “Congratulations Lan’kar. Don’t be so surprised, you fought a Boss level elemental and lived. If anything, I’m surprised you didn’t gain more levels.” With that, he began looking over the gear items.

  A rumbling started in the back of the room as brown and black debris filled the air. Then a crack appeared on the stone wall directly adjacent to where they first found the elemental kneeling. The wall crumbled like stale bread bit by bit, until a mural could be seen in its place. There, on its right side, was the familiar symbol for their keys to unlock.

  ”Well, there is our entrance..”

  The first piece of loot he picked up was a chest piece. The armor was obsidian black, the same color as the elemental they just defeated. It had a leathery feel on the inside and was cushioned with fur. The outside was almost entirely made of bone. He could feel the enchantment radiating off the armor. Reading the description, he could see it was a set-piece to the gloves Fer’shad already possessed. Orko’s The Black Chest Armor +9health +7Stamina.

  “Here is your second set item, you definitely earned it.”

  Fer’shad took the proffered item with both hands. He quickly pulled off his original leather armor and donned the heavier gear. The sleek design matched his dark gloves perfectly. A dim glow emerged from both items while he was admiring their aesthetic design.

  “Somethings changed, captain,” Fer’shad said ominously.

  Kel’Van smiled knowingly at Fer’shad. “ That feeling that you have is from the set bonus. Every time you put on an additional item from a given set of armor, you will get a stat buff. Look at the stat section on your D.S. to see what has changed with your armor.”

  Fer’shad stopped his motion and his eyes had a faraway look, the tell-tale sign of browsing through their D.S. “It says, I have gained 2 items) Adds 50 Max Health.”

  The captain nodded his head in agreement.” For every item you receive of the same set, a new effect will be added until you finally reach all five set items. You should be able to see all effects of a full set under the set description. But the effects only works while wearing the armor.”

  “I see, thank you captain.” He then walked around, getting a feel for his new armor and stats.

  Kel’Van then picked up a large black staff of metal and rock. There was a space near the middle made of some dark metallic substance, while the head was an oval ball. Similar to the orbs that circled Orko at the beginning of the fight. The stats read : Staff of the earth +7magic and +5 Magic damage. “

  “This no doubt, belongs to you Lan’kar.”

  The young Holmgren had a grin on that stretched from one side of his face to the other. He reverently accepted the staff in his hands, then raised it to the air while he inspected it.

  “Thank you, captain.”

  The next two items were boots. Both of which were black and sported a +9 to stamina. One was made of cloth and bone. This one also had an additional +7stat boost to health, the other +10 to magic. He smiled and tossed the bone and hide boots to its obviou
s owner Belar, while he began putting on the other pair for himself. She caught the boots in mid-air. As she stood afterward, the blue glow emanated, signaling her second effect for gaining another set-piece, 50 max stamina. The same effect accompanied himself upon replacing his old boots with the new ones.

  “Last but not least is Voresh,” smiled Kel’van.

  In his hand, he hefted a large two-handed sword. It was no surprise that the blade bore a strong resemblance to the sword wielded by Orko, only this one was a bone variant. It was dark, single-edged, with notches on the tip made to serrate through tough surfaces. He read the stats as he handed off the sword to Voresh. Orko’s Sword of Woe +7 damage and +9 stamina.

  The knight looked at the time remaining. 28 minutes…He sighed and looked directly at the newly arrived door. “ Let’s enter this Temple and finish this.”

  CHAPTER 40

  Kel’Van pushed his hand onto the door idiom and watched as the temple doors opened inwards. Fer’shad led in first as the rest came in behind him in their usual diamond formation. It was a large oval-shaped room bathed in an eerie purple light. The source of the dark illumination was a perfectly shaped ball hovering over a raised dais. A long flight of stone stairs that curved toward the top, lead directly up to the colored orb. The foot of the stairs was occupied by 5 kneeling statues with their backs toward the party. Two were placed on the west end of the stairs, and two more on the eastern side. The statue in the middle was bowed in total supplication, with its head touching the ground. The others were on one knee, just as the Elemental Orko was when they found him.

  “Greetings Mortals…”

  The booming voice reverberated within the room. It was both deep and unnerving, like what a father would sound like to a child being disciplined while he looked down on them. The party went into a defensive crouch looking above them to find where the voice was coming from.

  “ Fear? Now you show fear?... I will take it as deference before a god…Why do you stand before me in my temple?”