by Sarah Lin
Khassfhit launched a sphere of flame that exploded, but the fires flickered over the trolls' bodies without doing much good. Herena tried for a holy spell, but it did nothing because the Fellsilver power was alien, not unholy. For his part, Rhil'lahan rushed forward with fancy spins and slashes at the edges of the trolls' range.
Bloodwraith realized that this could actually prove deadly. The trolls alone would be dangerous enough, but as he glanced over his shoulder he saw that the shardwing and horses were getting close, and the dragon wasn't too far behind.
As he used a slash of force to keep the trolls at bay, Bloodwraith considered simply abandoning them to reach safety. It wouldn't be fair to Khassfhit or Herena, but they had been stupid enough to join Rhil'lahan in this idiocy. Just as Bloodwraith was trying to weigh his options, another box appeared in his vision.
[Victory! You received 17,993 EXP and nineteen Fellsilvered Corpses.]
For the first time, Bloodwraith felt actual happiness at seeing the overly cheery victory message. On a few occasions in the past he had felt relief, but this time he felt true joy. Because he was still engaged in combat with the trolls, the message could only mean one thing: his allies had finally arrived.
Would he need to give some sort of signal? Bloodwraith immediately realized it was unnecessary because Meara would know his exact location. He grinned as he gripped his sword tighter and prepared to strike.
"New group from the east!" Bloodwraith called. But the others didn't react fast enough and were taken off guard despite his warning.
Bloodwraith dodged aside from the first Fellsilvered horse and swung low to the ground, his greatsword severing all four of its limbs. That one went down, but the others were stampeding directly at him. He managed to spin aside from one, but another struck him, sending him stumbling to the side even if not injuring him much.
Only after he had blunted the force of the charge did Khassfhit finally manage to throw some fire at the charging horses. He should have been targeting the shardwing, which was now getting ready to dive from above, but perhaps his spells wouldn't be able to penetrate the defensive plates. With so many opponents around him even before the dragon arrived, Bloodwraith realized that he was going to have a difficult time, but at that moment, it finally happened.
A massive shard of ice stabbed into the shardwing from above, penetrating one wing before it smashed against its body. Not enough to destroy it, but the force sent it spiraling to the side, struggling to stay in the air instead of diving at them.
Looking to the source, Bloodwraith saw Gharavi standing on a nearby rocky crag, wielding a new staff. Though the Fellsilvered horses had circled around and were stampeding again, a small figure began to dart between them, knives flashing and teeth snapping. Horses collapsed left and right as Izzy blunted the charge all on her own.
The other adventurers stared in shock at the sudden arrivals. Rhil'lahan seemed so taken aback that he failed to realize that one of the trolls had gotten close. It struck him with a massive fist, breaking his arm and knocking him to the ground. He cried out in pain as he fell onto his back. With his unbroken arm he stabbed into the hand approaching him, but his sword simply stuck into the Fellsilvered troll and barely slowed it down.
At that moment Danniah rushed in, her mace swinging like a miniature sun and shattering the troll's arm. As Rhil'lahan stared in astonishment, she stepped between him and the troll. It punched down with its other fist, but not only did she block the blow on her shield... she pushed back.
A circle of flame exploded from her shield, knocking the troll off its feet and sending it smashing into the second troll, both of them tumbling through the rocky crags to fall some distance away. With both of them temporarily down, Danniah turned back toward them, the eyes of her helm glowing ominously.
"Oh, it was you guys!" She perked up as she saw who she had been defending. "Hello, Herena! It's me, Danniah!"
All of them stared at her in astonishment. Of course, they should have been focused on the fact that the shardwing was getting ready to dive again and that the dragon was almost in range.
Fortunately, Gharavi and Izzy came up to him at that moment, both smiling. All Bloodwraith needed to do was gesture in the direction of the two airborne opponents and they both understood. Gharavi raised her staff to her shoulder and gathered mana before firing a powerful bolt of lightning. It struck the dragon in the chest, and though the beast didn't stop, it did flinch and change its flight to a wider, more cautious arc.
Meanwhile, Izzy sprinted toward Danniah with her eyes on the shardwing. "Danniah! Up up!"
Danniah braced her shield in upward position as Izzy raced at her, then when Izzy leapt onto her shield, she pushed upward with full force. Izzy was catapulted into the air, colliding with the shardwing. Normally the giant insectoid monster, with all of its clawed legs, would have been more dangerous up close. Even from a distance, Bloodwraith liked to think that he could hear the snap of Izzy's teeth coming together.
The dragon's path took it closer to the city and several ballistas attempted to fire, but the dragon easily arced out of the way. It was getting smarter, or Belkarin was controlling it better. Bloodwraith turned to Gharavi and nodded at the dragon.
"Can you freeze it in place?"
"Maybe for a moment." She shook her head and tried anyway, aiming her staff directly at the dragon.
Her mana closed around it, surprisingly powerful, and actually managed to make the dragon tremble in place for a moment. That was enough, as the city guards Bloodwraith had given orders were no fools. When the dragon hesitated, they began to fire, ballista bolts hitting the dragon from all sides and the mana in them punching through the dragon's scales. They looked like tiny arrows in the beast's enormous body, but at least it had begun to bleed.
As the dragon broke through her mana Gharavi pulled back, wincing, but at that moment Meara walked up beside her. Even as she smiled at Bloodwraith, she handed Gharavi a potion. The sorcerer drank it without hesitation, then sighted at the dragon and released a bolt of lightning.
This bolt seared directly through the dragon's wing, tearing a large hole. Though the dragon gave a defiant roar, it began to spiral downward, crashing into the hills outside Cresthaven. A cheer went up while Bloodwraith checked that all their opponents were disabled enough not to be a problem.
"Did you miss us?" Meara asked the question with a smirk and was taken off guard when Bloodwraith grabbed her in a fierce hug.
"You have no idea. I've had to interact with normal people and it was horrible." But after that, he grabbed her shoulders and separated them. Instead his attention turned to Rhil'lahan and the other adventurers, who were still just staring in shock.
As they stared, the shardwing crashed to the ground in bloody chunks. Izzy popped up from the site of the crash, spitting pieces of flesh out of her mouth. Though her face was screwed up in distaste, she quickly adopted a smile of razor sharp teeth as she approached.
"Da!" She leapt into the air and latched onto his shoulder, rubbing her head against his helm. Without her cloak and with her clothing covered in the blood still dripping from her teeth, she unquestionably looked like a monster. Bloodwraith patted her on the back as he turned to Rhil'lahan.
"Tell the Governor that we're going to strike at the heart of the enemy. Stay vigilant, but I don't think they're going to attack Cresthaven much longer."
Rhil'lahan just stared. Khassfhit at least managed a nod - his eyes might keep wandering to Gharavi, but it looked like he kept enough presence of mind to follow orders. Herena was staring at Danniah, who walked up to Bloodwraith and put an arm around his waist possessively.
"You understand?" Bloodwraith asked. "Then go. We have work to do."
His words finally broke through their shock and they began to move back toward Cresthaven. The trolls had gotten back up, but their bodies struggled to move properly and they were focused on blocking Bloodwraith. Except that he no longer had any intention of going back to Cresthaven,
not anymore.
Instead he turned to his allies. He wanted to embrace all of them, but there was too much work to be done. In the distance he heard the dragon roar, not to mention the dozens of other Fellsilvered creatures. And more importantly, Alan and Belkarin were still battling for control.
"What happens now?" Meara asked.
Bloodwraith swept his gaze over them. "Your message said that you had a significant amount of Outsider magic? There's a defense I don't think we'll be able to break through with raw force alone."
"We have more than before." Gharavi raised her staff and he realized that she had used the bone wand as part of its core. Clever, and it likely enhanced her special anti-Outsider technique. Yet there was no time for that - the boxes tried to give him the weapon's statistics and he pushed them aside, instead striding down the road away from Cresthaven.
"Then we go directly to the Forest of Beginnings. It's time to end this."
Chapter 32
Though Bloodwraith hadn't wanted to arrive at the Forest in a weakened state, his allies came through for him again. Meara bought a wagon from a group of farmers and fed something to the horses. Whatever kind of potion it was, it kept the beasts moving at a rapid pace with only a flick of the reins. That allowed the rest of them to rest in the wagon so they would be fresh for the battle.
Since even at this pace they couldn't reach the mountain pass instantly, there was time to catch up on everything that had happened. He told them about Belkarin's reinforcements and they described their encounters with Marrin. It seemed that she was still alive and might even have passed them returning from Edsdam. One more tool that Alan could use against them.
It was a relief to be with his real allies again. When they discussed tactics in the upcoming battle, they were all willing to disagree with him instead of fawning over him like the people of Cresthaven. More importantly, they had ideas of their own, improving his efficacy instead of dragging him down.
They didn't know what they would be facing once they entered the Forest of Beginnings, but he couldn't imagine companions he'd rather have with him.
When the rush of initial conversation died down, what remained was a comfortable silence as they rested. But before too long, Izzy suddenly perked up. She rushed to Meara and poked at her cloak until Meara pulled out a piece of equipment for her. Taking it, Izzy cheerfully held it up to him.
"Da, look!"
[Drakeskin Jerkin
Armor: 14
Might +1, Flame Protection +25%
Durability: 25/25
Rarity: Very Uncommon]
He nodded in appreciation, while Meara glanced over her shoulder and explained. "We finished the quest to assemble drakeskin armor, but it was mostly pointless because it was weaker than what we created in the Testing Dungeon. You did get experience for that quest, right?"
"Yes, I did."
Izzy nodded cheerfully. "This one is good for me, right? I think it looks good! But I can't wear it or other things start breaking. I think I need another slot trait thing."
She was right, so Bloodwraith quickly went to select the trait for her again. While Izzy cheerfully pulled on the jerkin, he examined her box more carefully. By his count she had amassed a truly large number of Necromancy Points total - closer to 1000 than to 900. Since she'd gathered so many since she'd last made a real request, he finally spent 133 NP on the Remote Bite skill she'd wanted, then used the rest to improve her core statistics.
Investing Izzy's points reminded him that his gift for Danniah was still sitting in his Extra-dimensional Bag. He caught her attention as he pulled it out. "Danniah, I had the city of Cresthaven make something for us. I don't think it would suit me, but I thought you might like it."
When he pulled out the ornate shield of silver and gold, Danniah made a happy cooing noise. She took it carefully, as if it was a work of art instead of an incredibly durable piece of armor. "This looks amazing, and my old shield was getting so beaten up... the enchantments are good, right?"
"Oh, they're excellent." He looked at the box one more time to remind himself.
[Shield of Cresthaven
Armor: 36
Magic Resistance: 5
Max Stamina +25
Might +2
Vitality +2
Quickness +2
Durability: 80/80
Rarity: Rare]
"Actually," Bloodwraith said, "that reminds me. While I was here I stopped by Haral's shop and used the last of my gold on enchanted rings. By coincidence, I have something for each of you." He handed the Rings of Might, Intellect, and Quickness to his allies.
Meara gave a mocking scowl from her position in front. "Aren't you forgetting someone? I've put all this effort into being amenable and you don't even have a gift for me?"
Bloodwraith handed her a Health Potion.
Meara snickered and tucked it into her cloak. "What an awful gift. You know what I really want is more cureleaves."
Now that he understood the situation as well as he could, Bloodwraith decided that it was time to consider his power going into the conflict one last time. He summoned his personal box, this time ignoring foolish statistics like Affection or Reputation in favor of strength.
[Name: Raigar
Race: Human
Class: Barbarian
Alignment: Good
Health: 293/293
Mana: 47/47
Weapon Mana: 9/9
Stamina: 181/181
Level: 19
EXP: 944,637/2,214,338
Statistics:
Might: 78 (94)
Vitality: 44 (55)
Quickness: 52 (66)
Intellect: 27 (28)
Charisma: 14
Willpower: 24 (27)
Wisdom: 17 (18)
Luck: 21
Piety: 0
Combat Skills: Cleave (13), Fist of Rage (17), Sword of Rage (15), Shout of Rage (10), Skill Enraging (11), Rage of Rage (8)
Skills: Two-handed Weapons (19), Evasion (18), Survivalism (8), Herbalism (8), Manual Labor (2), Swimming (2)
Special Skill: Undead Companion (19)
Proficiencies: Greatsword, Heavy Armor]
[Inventory (Extra-dimensional Bag)
Equipment: Lodestone Greatsword, Armor of the Tyrant (set), Leather Gloves of Strength, Fellwolf Cloak
Rings: Improved Ring of Might, Ring of Quickness, Improved Ring of Quickness, Ring of Might, Sandstrider Ring, Greater Warrior's Ring, Barbarian's Ring, Old Man's Ring
Items: Peasant's Outfit, Health Potion x9, Mana Potion x9, Failed Potion x9
Key Items: Amulet of Reincarnation, Fellsword (unusable)
Money: 0 G, 67 S, 13 C]
He couldn't help but think at how different the numbers were than when he had first appeared in the Forest of Beginnings. Perhaps more importantly, how different his thoughts about them were. All those meaningless, arbitrary numbers meant more than he had known. Bloodwraith smiled as he touched the box to dismiss it.
That strength would take him through the upcoming battle, but he was done with planning and preparing like a merchant. Now it was time to put all the accumulated arbitrary points to use.
One more time he looked over his companions as a whole:
[Party Composition
Raigar - Level 19 Barbarian
Meara - Level 0 Peasant
Danniah - Level 17 Warrior
Gharavi - Level 18 Sorcerer
Izilthor - Tier II Undead Companion]
Their conversation died away as they drew closer to the mountain pass. Even before they were close enough to see it clearly, Gharavi's necklace began to shiver. She frowned and touched it, then stared forward.
"We must be getting close," she said. "That pass is definitely an unnatural space outside the normal world, but it feels like something forced the entrance open."
"I suspect that was Belkarin." Bloodwraith leaned forward, straining to see if he could spot the crystalline Tuner. "But I'm more worried about the entity that was
guarding the pass. I fear it may be one of the 'Tuners' that Alan requested from Earth. You were right to avoid the one in Edsdam, because I couldn't even get close to this one."
Danniah looked between them in concern. "If these things are so strong that even Belkarin can't break through, how are we going to get in?"
"That depends on how exactly the defenses operate. My hope is that given our investment in the same system, we'll be able to find a way."
"We probably can." Meara gazed skyward as she spoke. "But I think that we'll be letting Belkarin in too, which means that as soon as we get through, we'll start a battle. Are we sure we want to do that?"
Bloodwraith immediately nodded. "It's better than letting our enemies take even more time to prepare... especially Alan. He might be trapped in the Forest of Beginnings, but I'm willing to bet that he's making himself more dangerous in the process. No, I think we should try to end this now."
They kept that in mind as they rounded another bend and came in view of the mountain pass. Just as before, the Tuner sat spider-like in the center of it. Soft waves of power slowly emanated from the crystal, reminding him of the shockwave that had so easily pushed him back. While Meara moved the wagon and horses away, they began walking closer and preparing themselves.
Soon, a familiar box appeared in his vision:
[WARNING
Tuning is currently in progress in this region. Players should retreat until the work is complete, as tuning may interfere with a positive experience. Please continue your AdventureCorp journey in other regions.]
Danniah glanced up at it nervously. "Do you think it actually fights? It seems kind of... otherworldly. I don't think it would break if I hit it with my mace."
"I think we'll need to use the magic we collected." Gharavi stared at the crystals, her fingers subconsciously sliding over where the bone wand was hidden in her staff. "I didn't want to expend that power so early, but unless we want to bet on someone else breaking the stalemate..."
"We picked this path, so let's stick to it." Meara began walking forward, barely even looking at the entity standing in their way. "No matter how otherworldly it seems, it must follow some rules. Let's try to figure out its limits first."