by Baron Sord
Her hair went from goo-encrusted to silky and lustrous.
If Layna had 65 Beauty before, it was now at least 100. 200. A thousand.
The pain on her face melted away and her brows relaxed.
Her eyes opened slowly, and for a moment, sun rays shot from them in beams. Eventually they faded away, revealing her natural sky-blue irises.
Overcome by emotion, I wept and giggled like a girl and hugged her as hard as I could.
To my surprise, the purple goo on me dried and caked and flaked away, floating upward like motes dancing in the sunshine.
Was I cured?
I tapped the roof of my mouth three times and checked my stats.
Nope.
Still dying.
Can’t win ’em all.
But the sun had baked away all the purple goo that had been stuck to me. At least I was no longer contagious.
The Mystic Goddess of Light has bestowed a blessing upon you.
+5 Luck points.
+10 Good points.
Layna sat up slowly, content and calm. Being completely healed did that to a person. “How are you?” Her words were gentle, caring, and exactly the same as they’d always sounded: impossibly perfectly real.
“How am I? Uh, dying? I’ve got a little over two hours. Jason’s still fighting, but they’re almost done.”
Layna turned to look.
Jason’s phalanx of men was chewing through the 30 remaining mobs. Only about 10 of Jason’s soldiers were left, but he was still going strong, hacking down whatever came at him. Dad was still going too, although he was hidden in the middle of the phalanx. Not surprising, considering he was only level 12 or so. He would’ve been long dead if he’d stayed front and center like Jason. But that didn’t stop him from shooting arrows out at whatever he could.
More importantly, the battle was almost over.
Time to start looking for Emily.
Somewhere under the roiling dark storm clouds hanging over the plateau, one of these dead trees held my sister imprisoned inside. But which one?
Ka-KOOOOOOM!!!!
Suddenly, the world went negative, everything going from dark to a blinding white as a black bolt of lightning from above fractured the night. One of the dead trees nearby exploded with a shower of black sparks.
“That’s profane magic,” Layna said ominously.
The tree started to move, bark cracking loud as broken bones. The trunk shuddered and fat roots pulled themselves out of the deep black mud. Rapid shattering sounds followed and the tree launched itself in the air, landing 20 yards away from me and Layna. The beefy limbs hung down menacingly from the headless trunk like an 8-armed ape with 8 root legs.
Tyrannoak Tree
Level: 32
Health | Stamina: 3000 | 2200
Mana | Mind: 1000 | -
Size: Very Large
Armor: 1000
===============
Good | Evil: - | 300
Law | Chaos: - | 300
===============
“It wants to fight,” Layna said.
I suddenly remembered I still had 6 points from leveling up to 10 and I needed to distribute them. I didn’t have time to think about it, so I dropped all 6 into Endurance, bringing my pre-curse unadjusted stat up to 33. With my dropping scores and levels, I’d need all the Stamina I could get to make it through fighting this thing. It wasn’t much of a boost because of the demonic plague, but it was something.
Ka-PHOOM!
Another black bolt struck a nearby dead tree and another Tyrannoak pulled itself out of the ground with a crackling bone-chilling crunch.
Layna stood up swiftly. “Can you fight?”
“For the moment,” I grumbled, standing slowly. My head spun once I was up. Dizzy, I almost fell over.
“Are you sure?” Layna demanded, putting a steadying arm around my shoulders. “Maybe you should find someplace safe and sit this out.”
I willed the world to stop spinning. It didn’t. Maybe I should’ve put my 6 points in Willpower. Too late now. I tried to shake it off. “My sister’s out there somewhere. She needs me.”
Layna nodded with grim determination.
A dozen more black bolts fired down from above in quick succession, turning the world negative white each time. Each black bolt awakened another Tyrannoak. They all pulled themselves out of the ground with that same bone crunching sound.
“Fucking great,” Jason sighed, now standing behind me and Layna with Dad and the remaining soldiers. Behind them, the battlefield was quiet. “I thought we were finished fighting.”
I said, “Jason, I—”
“Caught the demonic plague. How much time do you have?”
“Less than 3 hours.”
“Okay. You hang back. Start searching for Emily. She’s here somewhere. We’ll take care of the Tyrannoaks.”
GRA-GOOOOOOOONG!!!!
The sound was incredibly loud and entirely unnatural. It made my teeth vibrate painfully like they were about to fall out of my gums. It also made me nauseous. Maybe that was the effects of the demonic plague. No, all of us had felt it like a death knell.
“What the hell was that?” Jason asked, looking skyward.
A mass of black clouds billowed downward as something high above blasted through. A huge vortex of black energy rippled toward us and slammed into our group with hurricane force. It quickly dissipated.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then, the most paralyzing fear I’d ever felt seized every muscle in my body and locked them tight. Except one. I pissed myself. Hot urine soaked my leather fencing pants, ruining them. Then I started to cry, muttering to myself over and over, “MommyDaddyMommyDaddyMommy—” I was sobbing like a six year old who’d been beaten. I wanted to hide in the farthest corner of the deepest closet behind a thousand doors. I was screaming, “Moh! Moh! Mooooooh-MMYYYYYYY!!!!”
The rest of the group, except for Jason, were also hysterical, down on their knees, burying their heads in the muck.
White and black ribbons spiraled around me.
SigurdDärksvärd cast Will of Law on you. +15 to Willpower. +75% Resistance to Chaos magic. Duration: 1 hour.
My overwhelming fear faded back dramatically. It was still there, my chest was tight and breathing wasn’t easy, but it was manageable.
Jason said, “The fear will fade in a few minutes. Stand up and stay strong, people.”
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” Jason grumbled.
Him not knowing didn’t inspire confidence in me.
PA-PHOOM!
High overhead, a decaying gray form flapped massive leathery wings as it burst from the clouds, dragging puffy black streamers of mist across its wings as it sped toward us.
Wyrm Wraith
Level: 144
Health | Stamina: 50,000 | 30,000
Mana | Mind: 140,000 | -
Size: Gigantic
Armor: 4000
===============
Good | Evil: - | 606
Law | Chaos: - | 606
===============
It was some kind of dragon. A half-dead dragon that wasn’t dead. And it was 33 levels higher than Jason. Now I was worried, and it had nothing to do with the fear magic.
“GREEE-AAAAAAAAAAAAGGG!!” the Wyrm Wraith roared.
On its back was a hooded rider.
I said, “Are those the dudes we saw in that Raven video?”
“I think so,” Jason said.
Mind Wraith
Level: 150
Health | Stamina: ? | ?
Mana | Mind: ? | ?
Size: Medium+
Armor: ?
===============
Good | Evil: - | 1666
Law | Chaos: - | 1666
===============
Examining the Mind Wraith was a mistake because I felt my chest clench and my heart strain like something was squeezing it too hard for it to beat. Fortunately, the feeling faded when
I stopped examining it, but that didn’t stop me from losing 10% of my Health.
We were screwed.
I did the math.
294 levels vs. Jason’s 111?
I already knew from looking at stats in RO for the past week that level 150 wasn’t 15x stronger than a level 10 character. It was 150x or possibly much more. There was some kind of geometric progression to leveling. We’d be lucky if Jason and our group could take out that Wyrm Wraith. But this Mind Wraith too? How much Mana did it have? I was willing to bet it had quite a bit more than Jason’s 260,000. Did it have 350,000? 500,000? 1,000,000? And that wasn’t counting any buffs it had. Maybe the Wyrm was a Mana amplifier like Jason’s chariot?
I had no idea.
I swallowed hard.
Our elite group of a few remaining shock soldiers was not up to the task.
Not even close.
“SCREEE-OOOOOAAAARRRRR!!!!”
I recognized the twin screeching Godzilla roars immediately.
Jason’s white and black dragons. They soared in a wide arc overhead, heading on an intercept path for the Mind Wraith and the Wyrm Wraith.
I giggled like a little kid, “Nothing like a little backup when you need it.”
Dad chuckled, “The cavalry has arrived.”
The white and black dragons heaved their massive chests and coiled back their serpentine necks before unleashing fury. A wide white blast of lightning geysered out of the white dragon’s maw. A wide blast of black lightning geysered from the black dragon. Both blasts spiraled together. The massive column of energy impacted the Wyrm Wraith and rider, swallowing them instantly in a white and black ball of destruction. The massive globe of crackling energy sank with the Wyrm and rider as they plummeted earthward in a long slow arc.
Me, Jason, Dad, Layna, and all of Jason’s men cheered, throwing our fists in the air.
“Suck on that!” Craig shouted.
I laughed, “Jason, there’s your Fist of the Northstar moment.”
“Not quite,” he chuckled with mild amusement, trying to play it down.
“Bullshit, Mr. Anime. It doesn’t get any bigger or badasser than that,” I laughed. Then I cheered, watching the spectacle of the falling Wyrm. “Hell yeah! HELL yeah.” It felt so damn good watching the thing that had imprisoned Emily crash toward an early death.
GRA-GOOOOOOOONG!!!!
The white and black energy was blown outward from the Wyrm and rider by black shockwaves. The Wyrm beat its wings hard, slowing its descent. When it recovered, it swooped low, firing right over our heads like an airshow flyover at high speed. There was no sonic boom, but the wind that followed it was going hundreds of miles an hour, blowing chunks of mud and debris in our faces. We all ducked and covered our faces.
“Fuck,” Jason hissed under his breath.
The Wyrm Wraith beat its huge wings, climbing higher and higher. The dragons circled slowly, encumbered by the attached chariot.
I said, “Can you unhook them from that chariot? It looks like it’s going to slow them down.”
“The chariot amplifies their mana too,” Jason said.
“Yeah, but wouldn’t they have an advantage if they were separated? They could attack the Wyrm from two directions.”
Jason grimaced, “If I unhook those dragons from that chariot, they will forget about everything else and instantly attack each other. They won’t stop fighting until one of them is dead.”
“Oh.”
“They have to fight as a team. It’s the Law.” Jason looked skyward.
GRA-GOOOOOOOONG!!!!
Another black shockwave rippled out from the sword of the Mind Wraith and buffeted against the dragons and the chariot. The dragons beat their wings and wheeled erratically as they fought to recover from the blast, the chariot thrashing through the air behind them. Eventually they righted themselves. Then the black dragon tried to take a bite out of the white dragon’s neck. The white dragon snapped back.
“Shit,” Jason grit his teeth and lifted his sword, firing a white-black blast from the blade. The line of white and black energy launched skyward like a cruise missile. Instead of hitting the Wyrm, it hit the dragons, lassoing around their necks.
“What are you doing?!” I gasped.
“Reminding the dogs who’s in charge.”
“SCREEE-OOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!!”
Both dragons shook their heads and refocused, steering the chariot toward the Wyrm in a tight arc, preparing to re-engage. I had to admit, I could watch this dog fight all day. But we needed to find Emily. Since the Tyrannoaks were standing around, probably because the Mind Wraith was too busy to tell them what to do, now was the perfect time to start searching.
GRA-GOOOOOOOONG!!!!
Another shockwave from the Mind Wraith blasted straight down onto the plateau and another batch of Tyrannoaks began pulling themselves out of the mud. The ones already free instantly went into action, surging toward our location.
“Phalanx!” Jason shouted.
His men surrounded him.
“Dad!” I shouted over the crunching of the Tyrannoaks and the clatter of steel against their bark-like hides. “Help me find Emily!”
Dad ran over to me and Layna. We backed away from the skirmish between Jason and his men and the mass of Tyrannoaks.
“Which one is Emily in?” Dad asked.
“I have no idea,” I said.
“How do we get her out?” Layna asked.
Dad grasped his double-bladed axe. “I guess we’ll have to chop them open.”
“Let’s do it.”
“Watch out!” Layna shouted.
Ka-CRUNCH!
A Tyrannoak slammed four heavy black branches into the midst of us. We all tumbled to safety, rolling in the mud, but the tree wasn’t waiting for us to recover before attacking with the other 4 arms.
“Spread out!” I shouted.
Dad had already charged his axe with green energy and hacked a limb off the Tyrannoak.
It spun defensively, then whirled and whacked Dad aside with 3 heavy arms. He went flying.
Layna had her bow out, firing glowing golden arrows into the lumbering trunk. Each time one landed, and they all did, the trunk sizzled and seared like cooking meat on a hot grill.
The Tyrannoak arched its trunk painfully.
“Keep doing that!” I shouted, trying to decide what I should do. Something told me my saber was useless against an oak tree. Dad’s heavy axe was the right tool. And I certainly couldn’t disembowel it. That meant my added Stamina wouldn’t help. I’d have to try lightning. I charged my saber. When it was loaded to 1/3, I fired.
My white-blue lightning strike struck the trunk and…
Bounced right off!
It ricocheted directly into Layna and bounced over to Dad, knocking them both on their asses.
“Fuck!” I screamed, running to Layna, only because she was closer. She was dazed, but she wasn’t dead. “I’m so sorry! Layna, are you okay?”
Groggy, she nodded. At least she’d had her full health when the bolt had hit her.
I felt something looming behind me. I knew instinctively the Tyrannoak was going to smash all 8 limbs into my back and pulp both me and Layna into the mud. I spun just in time to see it rear back, ready to crush us.
I held my saber up feebly. It couldn’t possibly deflect the attack, but I had no other choice.
KA-CHUNG!
Something suddenly caged the Tyrannoak, forming around the trunk and stopping it mid-swing: a solid stone cube, about 10 feet on a side, one half white and the other half black. The tree’s bark cracked as it flailed its branches in the air, now completely unable to hit us.
Dad had been around the back of the Tyrannoak when my lightning bolt had hit him and the white-black cube had imprisoned it. Had he been killed by the lightning? Trapped inside the stone cube? Or both?
KingFarthurT:> Dad! You okay?
Walter_Simon_Byrne_1978:> Yeah. A bit bashed up from your lightning bolt, but I’m okay.
Walter_Simon_Byrne_1978:> No worries.
KingFarthurT:> Be there in a second.
I helped Layna to her feet.
“Thank you,” she smiled.
I pushed her hair out of her face. “I’m really sorry about the lightning.”
She smirked, “Please don’t use it on the trees again, okay?”
“Yeah. Oh shit! I just realized something!”
“What?!”
I didn’t have time to explain.
KingFarthurT:> Jason! Was that your cube?
SigurdDärksvärd:> Yeah.
KingFarthurT:> What if Emily’s inside? Can she breathe?
SigurdDärksvärd:> Fuck. Uhhhh… I’m gonna guess if she could breathe from inside a tree trunk, she’s no worse off now. I can remove the cube after we kill the rest of these Trees. Talk to you after.
Bone crunching battle sounds echoed from around the cube. Dad walked slowly out from behind it, obviously the worse for wear.
Layna said, “Walter, do you need any healing? I have elixir.”
“Sure,” he said, wincing noticeably. “I could use something to ease the pain.”
Dad drank Takatcha from Layna’s bamboo tube and instantly looked 100%. “We need to start chopping trees.”
“Good plan,” I said.
Layna looked at me. “Do you need anything, Logan?” She smiled at me for a long time. For a moment, she looked like she was going to kiss me.
I almost forgot where I was. “No, uh, I don’t think so. I still have enough health to keep going. Maybe when the curse gets worse.”
She touched my wrist, “Whenever you need it, let me know.” She was doting, which was somewhat irritating. But only somewhat.
“Yeah, sure. I mean, thanks.”
We made our way away from the main fight, leaving Jason and his phalanx of soldiers to batter the Tyrannoaks. With their heavy plate armor and big swords, they were doing a much better job than we could. Overhead, the dragons and the chariot were going at the wraiths, boom after boom shaking the skies. This place was a war zone. At least we were on the periphery and not in immediate danger.