by K. T. Hanna
Rashlyn and Devlish ducked and dodged, swapping out with different attacks, and the monster’s health was inching down. Everyone’s mana was okay, as long as they were careful with it. Luckily they all had Murmur’s Mana Tide. She couldn’t wait for the damned bard to get Mana Song.
Havoc’s pet was definitely larger than it had been in the lower levels. Like Beastial, some of the necromancer’s hidden abilities involved his pet, which made sense. Beastmasters and necromancers were reliant on their pets for a chunk of their damage. Jinna’s dual wielding was a cut above the rest. His speed and precision almost caused her to let one of her spells drop, because she was wrapped up watching him. He activated Sneak tirelessly, and backstabbed the blasted creation multiple times, and still, all they could do was chip away at its health bar.
Dansyn was miraculous to watch. He’d obtained a new instrument from somewhere. Either that, or he’d just never had a need to use it before. He flitted here and there, his music soft and nothing like the battle music she’d originally had to turn off, but soothing and calming, it helped her focus. A faint stream of musical notes seemed to follow him around, lending to his magical air.
And then, the rotting bear hit eighty percent.
As its health status ticked down, it was almost like Murmur could see its movements in slow motion. After another massive attack on Devlish’s Telvar shield, it sank to all fours, opened its mouth and roared. Green, toxic spittle flew out over the copse, sizzling where it hit the trees, the ground—anything that it could eat through.
But even though she was certain it should have hit them, there was no acid eating through her gorgeous armor. None eating through anyone in the group. There were no screams and no disgusted mutterings from Sinister. Glancing around as they continued their attack, she realized Veranol was sweating, profusely. “Ver?”
As the bear-beast-thing ticked down to seventy-eight percent health, he nodded. “Yeah. But I can’t cast that dome again for at least another five minutes. It’s a protective ward, and it takes a shit load of effort and Mana Deftness.”
“But technically you could cast it at around forty percent as well, right?” Possibilities ran rampant in Murmur’s mind as she tried to figure out ways to counter that acid attack.
“I got the forty percent. I hope.” He smiled wanly, and she was pretty sure it wrecked him the same way her MA draining wrecked her.
“I’ll rune everyone as we get down to sixty percent; that might help fight it a bit.” She bit her lip, a tad worried about how they were going to make it through the next round.
“I’ll sacrifice my pet.” Havoc piped up, his tone somber. “It’ll drastically reduce my damage output, but I did get a new ability that allows me to sacrifice my pet for seven Bone Clouds, as I take the brunt of a special ability. I’ll have to time it right though.”
“Bone Clouds?” Beastial cracked a smile despite dodging another hefty paw. “I’m loving this shit.”
Havoc scowled. “I’m sure I can distance myself just out of your range.”
Murmur laughed. “Do whatever you can. Can you cast another pet in combat?”
He nodded, eyes never leaving the mob. “I can, but I won’t be able to take the brunt at twenty percent because Bone Clouds are a bitch to work up.” Leeroy let out a shrieking wail and pressed both arms toward their target. A trail of thick, black ooze began to flow from the beast into the pet, drops of it splashing down to the ground below as the beast squealed in pain.
Havoc’s grin was nothing short of eager. For just a second, Murmur rethought her whole opinion of her friend until she realized, she probably had the same eagerness on her face whenever she executed one of her new skills. While the others continued to hack away, Murmur kept her eye on the necromancers skills, mildly jealous of the class.
When Disestru was at sixty-seven percent, Murmur began to get worried. The sheer concentration this fight took out of her was exhausting. Dodging the swipes that seemed to extend infinitely was a job in itself. She directed her question at Havoc, trying to learn more about his Sacrifice Pet skill. “What’s your range? I can just cast the runes on the final one if we need.”
He shrugged. “From the description it should cover anyone within Disestru’s range. I just have to concentrate, because I believe timing the sacrifice is what makes it effective.”
“You believe, or you know?” Rash grunted as she barely dodged a swipe of an acidic claw.
Havoc shrugged. “Well, I know how it works in theory. I haven’t used it before. Only just got it before we came to the golems. Just be ready to heal us in case the theory doesn’t translate well to the practical.”
Murmur was pretty sure they were all sighing internally, but it wasn’t going to help now anyway. It wasn’t like he’d had a chance to use the ability in an actual fighting situation where it counted yet. Watching their target’s health tick down took forever.
Even though it enabled her to get a good grip on her raid’s abilities, time seemed to flow slowly while they fought. Veranol’s wards were powerful, and helped absorb a lot of hits. He seemed to keep them on the healers, tanks, and herself. His focus was exemplary, and Murmur wished she could emulate him considering how often her mind had wondered lately.
Jinna managed to dodge in and out of the thing’s back paws as it moved. It wasn’t fast, and occasionally its health would drop almost a percent as Jinna executed one of his Backstab abilities and hit a critical spot.
Having Disestru targeted, she could see as he motioned, landing back down on all fours, about to begin his attack. A high-pitched shriek split the air, and Havoc’s pet skeleton burst into splinters, shooting straight up into the air like a fountain of bone. No acid dripped on any of them, none hit the ground or the trees either.
Only Havoc doubled up in pain, fell to the ground, and gasped for air.
Murmur ran to him, kneeling down as the others continued the fight.
“You okay?” she asked, worried about him. He wouldn’t have cried out like that if it hadn’t hurt.
“Yeah. Those side effects they caution you about are nothing to sneeze at.” He grinned weakly, stood up, and began to resummon his pet. “Guess when they said you will feel a portion of the pain that would have been caused, although it will do no damage—they really meant it.”
Murmur cringed at the description. That had to be horribly painful. “Sorry. But thanks. Now Ver can take over at forty percent, and we’ll figure something out for twenty percent.”
“We could always play dancing around the acid drops.” Dansyn grinned, as he danced around anyway. Him and his bloody puns on words. It was an old test to see who truly sucked. If there was shit on the ground, you danced around it. Those who didn’t, failed the test.
“I can probably try and absorb the hit.” Devlish admitted grudgingly, even though it might only have sounded that way because he was currently braced for the next blow to try and knock him off his feet. “I can activate this weird ten second immunity thing I have.”
“What? It doesn’t have a name?” Jinna grunted.
“Shut it, dwarf. I can activate it sort of with timing like Havoc’s. I just don’t know if it’s going to be enough damage protection.” He didn’t seem entirely averse to dying for the good of the group, and grinned as he added the next. “I suppose Rash can tank long enough for me to hoof it back.”
“Don’t be an idiot.” Veranol spoke up. “I’ll ward you and Mur will shield you. That and your absorption should be enough to mostly keep you alive. Probably.”
Devlish laughed. “Oh fantastic, such a vote of confidence.”
“At least they’re willing to try,” Sinister piped up. “Me? I guess I’ll heal you, though it’s more fun to watch you die.”
Beastial glanced at her. “Sometimes I think you’re a very complicated person, Sin.”
She only answered with a grin.
&nb
sp; When the bear-monster finally got to forty percent, Disestru sank into its stance and did the usual spit, for which Veranol activated his ward again. However, it appeared Disestru’s attack had gained another component. From his crouching stance he then jumped forward, slamming both paws onto Devlish’s shield and the tank almost into the ground. Only Veranol’s ward saved him.
“Fuck,” Merlin whispered from his spot next to Murmur. “Rash, can you steal his aggro while he’s got that bubble on him?”
She shrugged. “I can try. My super skills involve dodging one hundred percent of attacks for several seconds. I don’t have anything that says look at me more than a normal taunt.”
Devlish grimaced.
“Wait!” The sudden idea came to Murmur, and she had no idea why she’d not thought of it before. “I’ll bind you. Swap for a bit.”
It took a few seconds, but Devlish freed himself of aggro mostly, jogging over to the side as his health filled back up, and Murmur bound him quickly. “I know it means you’ll have to run on the way back, but we can probably just bee line it for the city and go crashing through the trees.”
“As long as we don’t get another bear.” He chuckled and ran back into place. Down to thirty percent, and their mana pools were starting to get precariously low. Such a long fight impacted their regeneration abilities significantly.
Murmur shuddered to think how bad it would be if she didn’t have Mana Tide on all the magic users, and she got the feeling that this bear had been intended for a larger raid.
At twenty-one percent Murmur cast her shield on Rash, Dev, Sin, and herself. She saw Veranol’s ward go up just before the bear crouched, and everyone braced for impact.
Apparently Devlish’s super absorption worked. But the acid ate through Murmur’s shield, Veranol’s ward, and dropped Dev’s health down about sixty-five percent. Frantically casting another shield, Mur watched as Veranol recast his ward, and just as Disestru came down with both front paws, she remembered her special ability.
Without a second thought, Mur reached within and pulled out Forestall Death, just as the giant mangled bear made contact with Devlish’s chest. She could still see Sinister’s heals landing on him, her heal over time as well as Ver’s, and hoped against hope that she’d been quick enough for her spell to kick in.
Somnia Online location: Ululate
Dunkel Inn—Meeting Room Two
Seven Days Post Launch
Jirald paced the tavern room they’d booked for this guild meeting. “We really need to get a guild hall. Sooner than later preferably.”
“Sure,” drawled Ishwa. “I’ll get right on that, your highness.”
Masha chuckled, hiding it unsuccessfully behind his hand.
Jirald’s eyes flashed, and he visibly tried to calm himself, stretching his jaw to release some tension while he remembered Sidius’s advice. He didn’t like to be as uptight as this game made him. Everything in this world was magnified. His thoughts, his actions, his need for recognition; that lust for revenge. As creepy as the NPC had been, he’d also made a lot of sense. He might even be right. Everyone around him had their own agenda too, but if he could get them to follow him, or at least head in the direction he wanted, then they were tools he could use.
In order to achieve that though, he had to keep a cap on his temper, and try and calm his thoughts down. Somnia had a way of bringing out his compulsions with pinpoint focus, and some of them were things he wasn’t entirely proud of.
Still, the goal remained, and to get to it he needed everyone’s help.
He forced a smile, trying to lift his lips in the way he would in the real world, only the locus face didn’t bend that way. At least not when he tried it. “Sure. Make fun of me now. I bet Fable already has a base.”
Jirald wasn’t sure if they did, but he was aware of Ishwa’s pride in Exodus, and how to rile the little gnome up.
Ishwa’s eyes flashed angrily. “Look, a headquarters doesn’t make or break a guild. It might help, but it’s not the guild. Our funds are getting close, and we have an eye on a good plot of land. We should have enough for the deposit soon.”
Masha raised an eyebrow. “Where’s this plot of land?”
“My continent.” Ishwa didn’t miss a beat. “Trust me, we want our base there.”
“Great. We need a tank.” Jirald, had grown bored with the conversation already. The seed of urgency planted, what they needed was to get the group together and start leveling. He was itching to hit the hybrid level. Itching to get closer to where he could prove he excelled at any class, even if he couldn’t go one on one with her anymore. Hatred mixed with a sense of self-loathing seethed inside him, making him stronger, building in the darkest place in his heart. He only hated himself because he was weak by comparison, because he needed to be more than he was, to be greater. Sidius told him what to do, and how to gain more power. The quest practically consumed him with a driving force to obtain the items, and receive the reward.
The sooner they set out, the better. With Jirald as damage, Masha as their healer, and Ishwa as a mage, they needed a tank, and preferably a ranger, and probably another caster. Then they’d plow through shit.
Ishwa seemed lost as he stared in front of him, but then the old gnome blinked and refocused. “Okay, I’ve got three coming, but only because I convinced them I’d make sure you were on your best behavior, Jirald. That little stunt you pulled with trying to attack another guild leader when we were near Ululate, the trouble you went through over in Hazen swamp, and the forum crap? That shit isn’t going to fly again. Keep that up and I’m going to have to boot you from the guild regardless of your history with it.”
Jirald swallowed his original response and simply nodded. The gnome was right, even if it was difficult to admit. And it was all he could do not to flare up in anger. His temper had become more unmanageable, almost unreasonable. Sometimes it was like wrestling with an alligator. He needed his guild and the few people who’d actually managed to remain friends with him despite the incidents he’d already caused. For him to remain a member, he had to watch his behavior more. Painful as it was to admit it, Murmur drove him mad, and that madness rubbed off on his guild mates like a bad stench. “I’ll rein it in.”
Masha cleared his throat. “You? That’s a first. But if you’re willing to put in that much effort, I guess I’ll heal your ass.”
Jirald dropped his head, eyes focused on the ground as he counted to five in his head to stop his stupid temper from jumping out of him. Masha was one of the good ones. He judged based on how well one played their character, not on stupid things like personality or how well people got along together.
Suddenly Masha’s hand was on his shoulder, giving him a tight squeeze of camaraderie. “Don’t get too hung up on things just yet. We have a long way to go in this game, and it’s not easy. The mobs aren’t stupid; you’re going to need your wits to survive. We’re going to need kickass damage to make it, too. So get your head out of your butt, and act like the gamer you are. When you’ve achieved other measures of success, then you can own whomever you want to.”
Jirald blinked at the healer and realized Masha was far more observant than he let on. A grin crossed the rogue’s face. At least he hadn’t alienated Masha. Now all he had to do was get his hands on some of those black Shards and Sidius’s quest would reward him well.
Rash stepped in front of Disestru, hitting her Dodge ability to avoid all incoming attacks for eight seconds, and Murmur continued to debuff the huge monstrosity, constantly eyeing Dev’s hit points in the corner of her vision and willing Forestall Death to kick in. It seemed like it took an age, but suddenly his hit points started rising again, and he simply stood up where he’d dropped.
She heaved a sigh of relief, noticing that her chest had become painful, and realized she hadn’t been expecting him to stand back up. In-game or not, watching someone die wasn’t her
favorite thing.
Devlish’s health topped out when Disestru hit eighteen percent, shaking his head as if to clear some disorientation. He eyed Murmur with a definitive nod. “Well, that was fucking painful. But thanks Mur. I like that better than the experience loss from dying.”
Rash began to Backfist, returning the next four attacks successfully, while Devlish triggered Terror on the huge deformed bear in order to build up hate. Finally, after what seemed like an age but was only about two percent of its health bar, Dev regained the majority of the aggro, and Rashlyn stepped back. Which was good. Rashlyn was a fine tank—excellent even—but this mob was definitely not good for a monk. While she could dodge about ninety-five percent of all of its attacks, the ones that did land sent her plummeting down to twenty-five percent life, and shields and wards and heals frantically tried to help the life bar fill back up before the next attack connected.
Murmur let out a pent up sigh of relief, not fond of the close call that had been. Discovering each other’s skills as they fought was probably not her best tactic. As the game got more difficult, she knew they’d have to wipe multiple times before they could defeat a boss. In order to keep her alive, she was probably going to have to stay close to Merlin so he could Evac her if shit hit the fan.
Havoc maintained his DoTs, his pet back up to full power after his resummoning. It cut a formidable figure as it floated above Disestru. Exbo and Merlin’s shots were finally sticking into open wounds that no longer closed on the beast, causing it to balk in pain, the damage significant.
Dansyn wove around its feet in an intricate dance that slowed it even more, and Mellow blinded the boss with a flash powder that showered yellow dust over its eyes, making it blink rapidly and lash out blindly with its paws.
Finally, Dev landed a blow with his axe that pierced through the weakened ancient hide to hit the heart. The resounding thud made them all stumble as Disestru landed in a heap on the copse floor.
Congratulations, you have slain the disease-ridden Disestru. Make sure you check yourself for any after effects. His lair may have some useful items for you; it might just be worth finding it. Be cautious. It’s said that some people may worship beings like this monstrosity. You may have just made an enemy.