Curafin nodded like he understood. “Yeah. That would have been Hell.”
“Purgatory,” I corrected him. “I just couldn’t do it.”
“So, what are you going to do with him?”
“I don’t know,” I confessed, kicking a stone across the ground. “Maybe, when we all get out of here, there will be a way to bring him to justice—real justice, in the real world.”
Curafin looked around, gazed up at the islands hanging in the sky, and shook his head. “Sometimes it’s hard to remember this isn’t the real world.”
“How do you define real?” I said with a soft smirk.
“Well…I don’t know really,” Curafin replied, giving me an actual answer to my quotation. “I guess if this world feels real enough then it is?”
“Relax, Curafin,” I chuckled. “I’m just messing around. I know what you mean.”
I glanced back over my shoulder at Chaucey, who was looking around the area, completely oblivious to the discussion going on ahead of him. It really was like looking at a completely different person. The memories of what he’d done in Carrethen were forever etched into my mind, but when I looked at the player walking behind me, I could only see the hollowed out shell of a person, and I couldn’t help but feel for him.
You’d never let me hear the end of this, Jack, I thought with a smile as I turned back and started down a slope into a lush basin covered with yellow wildflowers. The clouds still hung over most of the sky, and a thunder clap rang out as we came down the hill, highlighting the sharp contrast between the beauty of the zone and the chaos of the land.
I wondered what the Targanic would have looked like back in Carrethen, the way the developers had intended it to be. I couldn’t help but think it would have been a popular place for players, especially if there was a town or Bindstone nearby, but so far we hadn’t run into anything other than Horngrin and Condors.
“What’s that over there?” Chaucey asked. I looked back to see him pointing to the northwest, where the ground dipped down slightly at the base of a short rock face. A door had been cut out of the stone and a light flickered from within.
“Looks like a cave,” Baltos replied, the snarky tone still in his voice.
“Thanks, Baltos,” I snapped back. “Let’s go check it out.”
It didn’t look like a monster cave to me. There was nothing particularly imposing about the entrance, and there was a total lack of monsters in the surrounding area. Chances were, we’d found ourselves an NPC or a Bindstone. We approached slowly anyway, just in case it was a trap, but as I grew closer and was able to see inside, I saw my suspicions were correct.
“Hail, travelers!” an NPC merchant called out as we stepped into a shop that had been set up inside the cave. “Welcome to Beatle’s Boutique! The best, and only shop in the Targanic!”
“Why are the merchants always so friendly?” Baltos grumbled, leaning up against a wooden panel wall that had been wedged into the rock to make the space a little homier.
“How long are you going to keep being a sourpuss?” I asked him as I approached Beatle, a strange looking man with black hair and a bowl cut. Baltos just frowned as I opened up a trade window.
Beatle sold things you’d expect: Health Kits, Health Potions, Arrows, Antidotes and various pieces of armor. I scrolled through to see if there was anything I could use to upgrade with, and was surprised to find one.
Gauntlets of the Targanic Archer—Armor level 400. +17 to Bow Skill.
“Wow,” I laughed as I bought them for a reasonable amount of Pareals.
“Thank you for your purchase!” Beatle exclaimed with a gleeful laugh.
“Something good?” Curafin asked as he opened his own trade window.
“Nice set of gauntlets,” I explained as I equipped them. They were more like archer’s gloves than a piece of armor, with reinforced pieces of leather on the tip of my first three fingers. I flexed them in admiration, drew my bow and tested the draw. Maybe it was a total placebo, but I just felt even more accurate now, and the jump of my Bow skill to 433 didn’t hurt either.
“Health Potions,” Curafin chuckled. “Haven’t seen these in a while.”
“Me either,” I replied, reopening the trade window and selling every piece of junk loot I’d collected since leaving Cara. I had enough money to stock up on Peerless Health Kits and Superior Health Potions, and was pleased to see Beatle also had a stack of 200 Level 2 Armor Piercing Arrowheads, which added a 2% damage modifier to my bow, bringing its modifier to 152%.
“Anything you can use, Chaucey?” I asked rhetorically. He was much lower level than anything in the zone, which meant that anything Beatle was selling would be far better than what he was wearing. Back in Carrethen his white robe and purple helm had been strong, but here in the Dark World, he was extremely underpowered.
“Yeah, pretty much everything,” he said, slightly embarrassed. “But I can’t afford any of it.”
“Well, seeing as how I don’t want you dying on me, you just tell me what you want, and I’ll pick it up for you.”
“Seriously?” Chaucey asked, completely surprised. I nodded.
Buying armor for Chaucey…never thought I’d see the day.
“This leather set?” I asked. “You want this?”
Beatle was selling a full set of studded leather armor that had the same green tinge as the Horngrin in the area. Chaucey nodded eagerly, and I bought every piece for him and handed it over.
“Thank you…” he replied, his voice almost a whisper as he replaced his white robe with the new set. It wasn’t exactly aesthetically pleasing, and looked a bit like he’d skinned a Horngrin Savage and smithed some studs into it, but it was way better than what he had been wearing. “Wow, 1100 armor level total.”
“Not bad,” Baltos chimed in. “Nothing compared to my 1740 though. Care for a duel?”
“Knock it off, Baltos!” I snapped. He was really starting to get on my nerves. I understood why he was suspicious about Chaucey and angry with my decision to restore and take him with us, but enough was enough. I stepped over and got right in his face. “Now, listen. I don’t know if I made the right decision here with him, okay? But the last thing I need is for a member of my party to be sowing dissent among the group. So, either get yourself together and come with us, or find your own way from here on out. You get me?”
Baltos looked shocked at my outburst, but managed to keep his eyes on mine. He was still obviously upset, but slowly nodded. “Sorry, Jane. I just—I’m having a hard time letting go of what happened.”
“Don’t think it’s not on my mind too, Baltos,” I told him. “This isn’t easy for me either.”
“We all stocked up?” I asked the group. Everyone nodded, looking like they were ready to go. We turned to leave, but before we reached the door, Beatle called out to us.
“Haven’t seen any of those Targanic Eggs, have you?”
“Say what?” Baltos asked as we turned back around. Beatle was grinning and rubbing his hands together like a happy child.
“Targanic Eggs!” he repeated. “They’re hard to get, being up on those floating islands, but I’d give you a handsome reward if you were able to bring me some!”
“Thanks, Beatle,” I replied. “But we don’t need any Pareals.”
“Not Pareals! Experience!” He laughed. “Lots and lots of it!”
“Experience?” I repeated.
“What’s he talking about?” Baltos asked.
“XP gems, Beatle?” I asked.
Beatle nodded enthusiastically. “Lots of them!”
“What’s he talking about?” Curafin asked.
“Well, they were very rare back in Carrethen,” I told them. “But there were these XP gems that you could get from quest rewards that you’d use to just give you experience like you’d get killing monsters.”
“Seriously?” Chaucey exclaimed. “Guys, we have to do this!”
“Who says you’d get any of them?” Baltos asked. He opened h
is mouth to continue, but backed off when I flashed him a scolding look.
“How do we get up there, Beatle?”
“Beatle will show you!” He laughed, leaping out from behind his small counter and brushing past us out the door. I followed quickly past him as he raced over to a pile of hay I hadn’t paid much attention to as we entered. He threw it aside to reveal a ramshackle catapult that looked like it was being held together with nothing more than pure persistence. Attached to the throwing arm was a basket big enough to hold a person. I looked up into the sky to see one of the floating islands drifting lazily above us.
“No, way…”
“Beatle will give you a ride into the sky!” he said happily. “Return with some eggs and you will be rewarded!”
Beatle braced himself against the body of the catapult and tugged a lever with all his strength, pulling back the throwing arm until it clicked into place.
“Is he serious?” Curafin asked skeptically.
“Of course he is.” I smiled. “What, are you scared of a little quest?”
“Hey, have you seen the view from up that high? No, you haven’t. But I have, when one of those dino-birds had me hanging upside down with its claws around my ankles!”
“He’s right, Jane,” Baltos agreed. “It seems risky.”
“We should at least check it out,” I replied. “There’s no telling how much those gems of his might be worth. Even if they’re not much for us, maybe they’ll get Chaucey to a level where he won’t just get one-shot by everything between us and Neydeesa.”
Chaucey looked at his feet, obviously embarrassed. I decided not to waste any more time and hopped quickly into the basket.
“How do we get down again, Beatle?” I asked him. “By the way?”
“It’s very easy. You will see!”
And with that, grinning like a skull, Beatle pulled the lever.
65
Targanic Eggs
I soared into the air like a missile, hurtling towards the island with incredible speed. I cried out, but my voice was lost against the roar of the air whistling through my ears as I soared high into the sky.
The view beneath me almost took my breath away as I watched my party grow smaller and smaller as I flew. I glanced up as I approached the island. Beatle’s catapult was calibrated perfectly, my trajectory so perfect that all I had to do was extend my legs beneath me and land easily on the soft grass that seemed to have been prepared for me.
I took a few safety steps forward to get myself away from the edge, and as I turned around, saw Baltos pop up out of the air to land in front of me.
“Wow!” he exclaimed, standing there dumbfounded. I reached out and grabbed his hand and tugged him towards me as Chaucey came hurtling towards us. He didn’t land quite as gracefully, and stumbled forward a few steps before crashing into Baltos, almost toppling him over.
“Gah!” Baltos grimaced, shoving Chaucey aside. “Get off.”
“Sorry,” Chaucey apologized, brushing himself off.
“Look out!”
It was Curafin’s voice, and I spun around in time to see him do a complete face plant on the landing area, losing about a quarter of his health in the process.
“Really?” I asked, chiding him a bit. “It’s not the world’s hardest landing.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, getting to his feet and healing himself to full. I turned around and gazed out across the island.
It was much rockier than below, almost mountainous, with shallow pools of water here and there. Around them were clusters of white, polka dotted eggs, obviously the ones Beatle was so eager for us to bring to him.
“There they are!” I cried out, racing forward to the closest group. But before I could reach them, something slammed into my chest and knocked me back. I cried out as I slid through the dirt towards the edge of the island.
“Over there!” Curafin shouted.
“Help!” I cried out as my top half went over the edge. I flailed my arms, searching for something to grab onto, but the rock was sheer and my fingertips found nothing. But just as I was about to plummet over the side, a hand snatched my ankle.
“Got you!” Chaucey cried out. I curled up as much as I could, trying to reach out a hand to him, but both of his were clutching my leg. Somewhere behind up there was a battle going on.
“Curafin! Baltos!” I shouted as Chaucey did his best to pull me up, but he was flat on his stomach and it was all he could do to keep me from falling over the edge. Again, I tried to curl myself back up and find something to grab onto. This time, I closed my hand around something, a root, and pulled hard.
The root gave way, spraying dirt into my face, and I fell backwards, my momentum yanking Chaucey even closer to the edge. Everything above my knees was now dangling precariously hundreds of feet above the ground.
“Baltos!” I screamed. I could feel Chaucey’s grip beginning to falter. I was slowly slipping, and as I scanned the ground for a safe place to land beneath me, I couldn’t find one. There was no pond, no trees, no thick bushes—nothing but flat ground and a fall that would surely kill me.
“Baltos!” Chaucey screamed, panic in his voice. I could hear the fighting going on between my group and whoever had attacked me, but if someone didn’t come help us quick, I was done for.
Chaucey’s grip faltered again, and I swung out one last time, desperate for something to grab. But there was nothing. I slid again and accepted the fact that I was going to die.
Back to Cara, I thought miserably as Chaucey roared at the top of his lungs, doing everything he could to hold on to me. But just as his grip failed, another hand snatched my leg, and I looked up to see Baltos at his side.
“Gotcha!” he cried out as he and Chaucey both hauled me back to safety. I leapt to my feet just in time to see an archer, in all red leather, aiming a short bow at Chaucey’s back. There was no time to warn him. I drove both of my feet into his chest, knocking him out of the way just in time. The arrow whizzed harmlessly over his head and I quickly swapped to my daggers and dove at the archer.
Using Rush, I opened with Mutilate and drove both daggers into his side as he whirled to get away. The damage was good, and Curafin leapt in with his flaming sword, but our attacker ducked and fired at me with a quick succession of shots. Each arrow struck me, not dealing a lot of damage on their own, but together, it was enough to drain more than a quarter of my HP.
I leapt at him again, but he was fast. He rolled out of the way and vaulted off a boulder, spinning in mid-air, and fired a Scatter Shot at the ground. Almost all of Chaucey’s health vanished.
“Heal him!” I shouted at Curafin as I activated Eviscerate. The blow landed, and I followed up with Eye Gouge, but the stun didn’t go off. Whoever our attacker was, he was high level, at least as high as me. He had no helm, and his hair was long and brown and cascaded down over his shoulders, but his face was sunken and sickly, like Gehman’s had been.
He was Sunken.
He didn’t even bother switching to a melee weapon. He just kept firing at me at close range. I swatted two arrows aside and tried my Disarm skill, but it didn’t work. Baltos charged him, both fists slamming into his cheek and dealing huge damage. He followed up with a beast of an Uppercut that sent him flying.
“Get him!” I shouted. Curafin and I both seized the opportunity and began slicing him up as he fell to the ground, and by the time he landed, he was critical. I refreshed Rush and unloaded on him, not giving him a chance to recover. He tried to get to his feet, but my next attack finished him off and he collapsed to the ground, his body limp and his eyes lifeless.
“Shit!” I exclaimed, breathing a huge sigh of relief. I inspected our fallen attacker.
Walten—Level 118.
“Who was that?” Baltos groaned.
“A Sunken,” I replied. “That’s what they do.”
I knelt down and looted his body to see if he’d dropped anything of use, but it was mostly junk. I’d hoped to find his bow, simply out of
curiosity, really, but all I found were some random pieces of overpriced plate mail from his inventory and a couple of Superior Health Kits.
“How did a Sunken get up here?” Curafin asked.
“Who knows?” I shrugged. “Could have just wandered over to Beatle’s catapult over and over. Or maybe a Condor dragged him up.”
“We really need to find a Bindstone,” Curafin reminded me. “If you rescued Baltos from a monster, there’s no telling where he’ll end up when he dies.”
“Ugh, if I end up back in the body of that thing—”
“You won’t!” I said quickly, interrupting Baltos before he could scare himself too badly. “And if you do, we’ll go back in there and get you. I restored you once, I can do it again.”
Baltos looked at me then nodded, a look of determination in his eyes. I turned around to see Chaucey standing awkwardly by himself. A strange feeling ran through me as I looked at him. He’d saved my life, there was no question about that, but he’d also tried to kill me back in Carrethen. In fact, he’d tried several times, and he’d killed Gehman and who knew how many others? How was it that in the Dark World he was such a different person?
His memory was gone. He remembered nothing of Carrethen but the few small things he’d told us. But that couldn’t magically make someone a different person, could it? The Chaucey in Carrethen was the Chaucey I saw standing before me, but if that was true, why wasn’t he trying to kill us? Why had he bothered to save us?
Was it simply because of his level? Level 50 wasn’t enough to go up against any of us and he knew that, no matter how skilled of a fighter he was. But even still, he could have just let me drop off the edge of the floating island, but he didn’t. He chose to save me and I just couldn’t understand why. It was like watching a lion help a zebra find food.
“Sorry, I couldn’t really help,” he said, obviously ashamed. “My shots barely did any damage against him.”
Lord of the Flame: A LitRPG novel (Call of Carrethen Book 2) Page 31