by Paul Bellow
I rushed forward as they clanged onto the stone floor. The specter turned and gripped my neck the same way, squeezing hard.
Utagawa Yoshiiku's Death Grip WOUNDS you for 18 damage.
You have 16/46 health remaining.
You lose 5 intelligence.
You gain +5 charisma.
You lose 1,000 xp.
You have 64,871 xp
I struggled to break free of its grasp as I gasped for air. Josh brought down his club on top of the specter's head, causing it to drop both Eric and me to the floor.
The fall deals 4 damage.
You have 12/46 health remaining.
As soon as I hit the stone, I rolled away from the fracas.
"Where'd it go?" Josh asked.
"Over here," the broken voice hissed.
Axelrod and Sheldon both screamed as the specter grabbed them each by the neck.
Eric struggled to his feet after Bernard healed him with the wand of healing.
"I'm down," I yelled, hoping to get his attention.
"Kill the specter," Eric yelled then rushed forward.
Once again, Utagawa Yoshiiku dropped its victims to the cold, hard floor. Axelrod wriggled around before getting up, but Sheldon remained motionless...at first.
"He's turned," Ryu yelled then moved away from the body.
I stood and cast Divine Arrow of Energy on Josh, hoping he could take the specter out.
Your Divine Arrow of Energy fully resuscitates Yonan the Barbarian.
You have 175/260 mana remaining.
Seeing his in-game name gave me a shock, but I followed up with the same spell delivered to Eric.
Your Divine Arrow of Energy fully resuscitates Drex the Rogue.
You have 150/260 mana remaining.
I wished I could cast it on myself.
"Watch out," Charlotte screamed out loud.
I ducked as the specter appeared in front of me and clutched at my throat.
After rolling away, I stood, dizzy and about to fall.
Eric and Josh ran over and both hit the specter at the same time. The massive Club of Confusion hit first, followed by Eric's two magic blades.
The deadly Utagawa Yoshiiku screamed then disappeared. Sheldon, his skin pulled together tightly as if all the moisture had been drawn out of his body, shambled forward.
"You're mine," he hissed in a soft, raspy voice.
"Watch out," I yelled, but it was too late.
Sheldon the specter grabbed Josh's left forearm, causing him to scream out in pain.
"Enough," Axelrod shouted as he buried his battle-ax deep in Sheldon's back.
The new specter hissed before turning around. After it did, Eric and Josh both attacked at the same time. Sheldon the newly undead fell to the floor in a dry heap of flesh.
"Where's the other one?" I asked.
The specter appeared in front of me and reached out with its bony hand.
Bernard barreled into the creature before it could grab my neck. I stepped back as the specter disappeared yet again.
"Form a circle facing out," Axelrod yelled.
"There," I said, pointing as the specter appeared ten feet away.
Everyone rushed toward wounded Utagawa Yoshiiku and finished him with a buffet of blows, stabs, pierces and strikes. He hissed as Eric's main blade took off its head.
Combat is Over!
You get 13,600 xp divided by six party members
You get 2,267 xp
You have 67,138
You need 9,862 xp for level 8 Wizard->Warlock
"Everyone okay?" Axelrod asked as he looked around.
"We're all fine," Ryu said coldly.
"Sheldon's gone," I said. "And I'm almost dead. You going to heal, or what?"
He grinned, taking no offense at my harsh words.
"Let's not fight ourselves," Eric said. "Great battle except for the loss."
"He wasn't right for our party." Ryu shrugged. "Am I right?"
I shook my head.
"Are you going to heal us?" I asked. "Can you do anything helpful?"
"Sure," Ryu said, opening his black cloak as he walked over.
I felt my mana and health return as he laid his hands on my arms while standing in front of me.
You feel refreshed.
You feel healed.
You have 260/260 mana remaining.
You have 46/46 health remaining.
"Thanks," I said as coldly as possible.
"Don't mention it."
I know he didn't just wink at me, I thought as he turned to heal the others.
"He's trouble, Sarah. I've been trying to tell you."
I've been out of it, Charlotte. Cut me some slack, okay?
The stress of the battle and everything else overwhelmed me as I waited for Ryu to heal the others. I glanced down the tunnel and saw it change from smooth to rough.
"Where are we?" I asked. "Are we near the Pit of Doom?"
"Close," Axelrod said, peering ahead into the darkness. "Just this last stretch of tunnel."
"It wasn't made by the dwarves?" I asked. "More troglodytes?"
"A deep purple worm hole," he said, then added. "Don't worry. They're not around anymore. We killed the last of them a few years ago. They were too OP, so we hunted them all down."
I nodded, an uneasy feeling spreading through my body.
Two by two, we walked into the deep purple worm tunnel. I wondered about Axelrod taking out all of one type of mob in the game. Could someone do it for other monsters?
"And players too," Charlotte reminded me.
Keep it positive, I told her with my thoughts. Axelrod said there's not any left alive.
"Yeah, Sarah, but Utagawa Yoshiiku may have..."
Josh yelled, interrupting her, "The tunnel's moving."
I leaned to the left and peered ahead, unable to see anything.
"That's no tunnel," Axelrod said. "It's an undead deep purple worm."
Great, I thought as the floor, walls, and ceiling all shifted forward around us. The giant mouth closed, engulfing all of us in an undead carcass. It smelled worse than an outdoor latrine at a weekend concert.
"This isn't good," Axelrod said.
"No kidding." Eric sheathed his short blade then plugged his nose. "Can we break out the mouth?"
Thick, icky goo fell from the ceiling, burning wherever it touched.
I looked up then dodged further down the undead deep purple worm.
The deep purple worm's acid INJURES you for 17 damage.
You have 29/46 health remaining.
"We're being digested," I said. "How is that even possible?"
"Keep moving back," Axelrod yelled then rushed past me in the dark.
My elven eyes saw bones and rotting flesh lining the tunnel.
"I can't do this," I screamed, stopping in terror.
"Don't stop now, Sarah," Charlotte screamed out loud. "I'm hurt. Badly."
I glanced over at my shoulder and saw some of the acid had dripped onto her red and black body.
"No," I cried out in terror.
Eric placed his hand on my other shoulder.
"Take a deep breath," he said. "We've got this."
I took his advice then ran alongside him and the others, deeper and deeper into the deep purple worm's body. I'd never even heard of such a creature before. Would an undead deep purple worm kill us?
"She's stopping," Axelrod said. "Everyone stop and be still."
I didn't question his choice of personal pronoun as I stopped in the stinking slop under my feet.
"Are we safe?" I asked, glancing up and seeing no acid.
"We're deep in the creature," Axelrod said.
"In the butt," Ryy said then laughed.
"Are you serious right now?" I asked, glaring at him.
"It'll be funny someday," he said, looking at me with that strange face of his.
"Only if we don't die," I said then turned to Eric. "What should we do?"
He shrugged.
As he directed his violence through the massive club and hit the gooey flesh.
Acid sprayed out, hitting everyone.
The deep purple worm's acid GRAZES you for 6 damage.
You have 23/46 health remaining.
"Watch it, Josh," I yelled then looked over at Charlotte. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, Sarah," she said. "But I'm hurt."
"We need to break out of here," Josh said. "Do you have any ideas?"
"Stand back," I said, attempting to get solid footing in the glop under my feet.
"Be careful," Axelrod said.
I cast four Lances of Lightning one after the other.
Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS the deep purple worm for 17 damage.
Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS the deep purple worm for 19 damage.
Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS the deep purple worm for 18 damage.
Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS the deep purple worm for 19 damage.
You have 140/260 mana remaining.
"Take that," I yelled after the last blast of electricity shot out of my palms and hit the rear or the worm.
Even more acid fell from the insides of the creature's flesh.
"Back to the front," Axelrod yelled. "We've got to break out of here."
The flesh and bones beneath my feet moved, almost causing me to fall over.
"Let's go," Axelrod said then ran back toward the front of the worm.
I dodged another few drops of stomach acid as I ran after him and the others. We stopped inside the worm's mouth, the way blocked by four-foot long, razor sharp teeth.
"Stand back," I said, preparing to cast again.
"Wait," Axelrod said. "It might bounce."
"He's right," Ryu added.
"I got this," Josh said then ran forward while raising his club. "Time for a tooth extraction!"
With the power of both arms, he swung the colossal club and hit one tooth, shattering it in half. The worm let out a blood-curdling scream then ejected us out of its mouth.
I hit the floor of the tunnel and rolled along with the others.
You take 2 damage falling.
You have 21/46 health remaining.
I better not die from falling, I thought as I stood and turned to face the worm.
"That's the least of our worries," Charlotte said.
"At least there's no acid falling on us out here," I said.
The deep purple worm's mouth closed a moment before it spat a huge glob of green, acidic goo in our direction. I dodged to the ground, some of it grazing my back.
The deep purple worm's acid GRAZES you for 2 damage.
You have 19/46 health remaining.
"Come on," I shouted from my spot on the floor. "Let's kill that thing!"
I stood, Charlotte still on my shoulder, and prepared to send more lightning into the creature.
The worm charged forward, interrupting my spell. Eric, Josh, and Axelrod rushed forward to attack the giant, undead worm's head.
"I need more mana," I muttered.
Ryu appeared at my side and put his hands on my left arm.
You feel refreshed.
You feel healed.
You have 260/260 mana remaining.
You have 46/46 health remaining.
"Thanks," I said.
He smiled, a twinkle in his eyes.
"Don't mention it. Anything for you, beautiful."
Is he hitting on me? Now?
"Move aside," I yelled then let loose another spell as I yelled, "Lightning bolt, lightning bolt, lightning bolt!"
Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS the deep purple worm for 17 damage.
Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS the deep purple worm for 19 damage.
Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS the deep purple worm for 17 damage.
You have 170/260 mana remaining.
Despite the dire circumstances, Ryu laughed.
"What's so funny?" I asked him as the others attacked again.
"You've never heard that meme?" he asked.
I squinted my eyes and stared at him.
"Never mind," he said then turned to face the action. "Let's finish this."
I cast again.
Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS the deep purple worm for 19 damage.
Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS the deep purple worm for 17 damage.
You have 110/260 mana remaining.
"I need restoration," I yelled, looking around for Ryu.
"Right here," he said from behind me.
I felt his hand grip my shoulder. Warm, pleasant energy washed over my body.
You feel refreshed.
You feel healed.
You have 260/260 mana remaining.
You have 46/46 health remaining.
I turned to see Josh, Eric, Axelrod and Bernard standing in a line about twenty feet away from the giant undead worm of putrid death. The smell permeated everything, but it was the last thing on my mind.
"Hold the line," Axelrod said, brandishing his battle-axe in both hands. "Don't let it spit again."
Instead of spitting, the worm shook then shot forward at a breathtaking pace, it's mouth wide open, ready to swallow our entire party whole again.
"Out of the way," I yelled, hoping they understood what I was about to do.
The four in front split in the middle, two going left and the other two going right. I let loose with all my fury.
Your Lance of Lightning INJURES the deep purple worm for 15 damage.
Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS the deep purple worm for 17 damage.
Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS the deep purple worm for 16 damage.
Your Lance of Lightning INJURES the deep purple worm for 12 damage.
Your Lance of Lightning HITS the deep purple worm for 9 damage.
Your Lance of Lightning MAULS the deep purple worm for 21 damage.
You have 170/260 mana remaining.
Eric turned around, eyes wide open at my open display of power.
I smiled as the deep purple worm cried out in pain.
"Finish 'em off," Axelrod yelled.
I watched as he and Josh ran toward the still shaking worm carcass to deliver killing blows.
Combat is Over!
You get 25,000 xp divided by six party members.
You get 4,167 xp
You have 71,305 xp
You need 5,695 xp for level 8 Wizard -> Warlock.
"Everyone alright?" Axelrod asked as he backed away from the still shaking deep purple worm corpse.
"I'm almost out of mana, but I'm healed up," I said, still energized from all the magic that had rushed through my body.
"We need to rest," Ryu said. "I need to replenish my magic."
"No, we keep going," Axelrod said. "The air here is too putrid to rest anyway, and we're not going back."
"I'm tired," Ryu snapped.
Axelrod walked over to him and stopped.
"Does it look like I care if you're tired?"
Ryu's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.
"Is it safe walking over the worm's corpse?"
The whole thing had collapsed in on itself and littered the floor of the cave with blood, guts and weird purple bones. I hated the smell of death more than anything.
"We'll be fine, but we should do it quick," Axelrod said, turning. "Let's go."
I glanced over at Eric as the dwarf ran onto the dead worm and headed further down the tunnel.
"This game is messed up," I said then walked around him to follow Axelrod.
I moved as fast as I dared in the swamp of worm guts on the floor of the cave, not wanting to fall and cover myself in the icky goo. Would the acid still damage us? I wondered.
"Yes," Charlotte said in my mind.
"Good to know," I said out loud.
"What?" Eric asked behind me.
"Nothing..."
I let my voice trail off as we all concentrated on clearing the mine-field of
debris left by the biggest worm I'd ever seen or even read about before.
"That was disgusting," I said as I cleared the tail-end and found stable, dry ground.
"It's all a part of adventuring," Axelrod said. "Get used to it, darling."
Did he just call me darling?
"Hurry up," he yelled as Ryu finally made it past the dead deep purple worm.
Axelrod turned and walked deeper into the dark depths. Would we ever reach the Pit of Doom?
"I hope we don't," Charlotte said.
Part of me wished we wouldn't either, but opening the level might lead to a real way out of the game and back to reality. Despite the fun in the beginning, the realism of everything was getting to me.
We continued walking in silence, all of us tired. An hour later, the others stopped.
"What is it?" I asked, moving between Eric and Josh.
A few feet away, the tunnel ended abruptly with a gigantic hole a few hundred-feet across leading down. I peered over the edge, unable to see the bottom.
"How are we supposed to get down there?" I asked.
"The elevator was smashed to pieces in the great battle of Oriam, so we'll need another way," Axelrod said, one hand on the head of his axe and the other stroking his beard.
"I've got no magic to help," I said. "Didn't you think of this before?"
"Give me a break," Axelrod said. "I thought they might've fixed it by now."
I shook my head, further doubting his abilities as the leader of our group.
"My ring of climbing will help me get down," Eric said, peering over the edge. "But that's not a good idea."
"No, we need to stick together," Axelrod said then sighed deeply before continuing. "We need to go get the floating platform."
"A what?" Eric asked.
"It's dwarven magic. We can use it to float down to the bottom of the pit safely and rescue all the captive dwarves trapped from returning to this level."
"Oh, that's all?" Eric asked sarcastically.
"We should camp here for the night and rest up," I said, gripping my Staff of the Caverns tightly.
"Good idea," Bernard said.
"Fine," Axelrod said. "I'm wore down too, and the smell isn't so bad here. Nothing should fly up the from the pit, so we'll only have to watch in the one direction."
"What about the black dragon?" I asked.