Darkness Fallen

by Dave Willmarth

  Another look at his combat log showed him the rate of damage for the spell.

  Drain Essence damages target: -45hp/sec; -65mp/sec; -50sp/sec

  The mage, also under a barrage of arrows and magic attacks from Max, Lainey, and the others, didn’t appear to notice the drain on her stats at first.

  There must not be a physical sensation for the one that’s being drained, Alexander thought.

  Not needing health, mana, or stamina, Alexander stopped channeling the spell. Looking around, he saw Lainey firing off a near constant stream of demon-bone arrows. Fibble stood in front of Sasha, firing healing shots from his stick at her while shouting his now trademark “Pew! Pew!” Sasha herself had an arrow in her shoulder, which Brick paused to pull out for her as she grimaced in pain. The enemy archer must have managed to get off a shot.

  The dwarves and other citizen allies inside the compound had been warned to stay clear of the wards. Being primarily melee fighters, they were mostly standing around yelling encouragement and flinging curses at the enemy players. Several of them had singed beards, having taken some splash damage from one of the mage’s fireballs. One of the masters had produced a wand and was sending a steady barrage of fireballs back at her. Another was handing out throwing axes, which were quickly hurled by other dwarves at their targets. After seeing Sasha get hit, three of them moved forward and created a mini shield wall in front of her and Fibble.

  Alexander watched as the players’ health bars dropped quickly. In raid chat, he said, “Kill them and let’s get this over with. Captain, I don’t want them arrested.”

  As he cast another round of magic bolts at the players, he shouted, “I tried to get you to walk away!”

  The rogue had managed to free herself from the still liquid stone. Alexander hadn’t hardened it to trap her. She hurled a handful of throwing knives as she dashed toward the outer gate, moving behind her party to use them for cover. When she’d stopped taking damage for a few moments, she went into stealth mode. Alexander just shook his head. It wouldn’t help her.

  The two casters died at about the same time. Their low stamina stats and cloth gear meant their health bars didn’t last long. Especially since the healer had been interrupted nearly constantly since the fight began.

  Once those two were down, there were no longer any bodies to block Max’s multi-shot arrows. The rogue was broken from stealth with an arrow in her leg. She was one step from the outer gate and stumbled forward as she lost balance from her injury. Her head hit the outer ward, and she dropped like a stone.

  The last player standing, the archer, was still gamely firing. He’d managed to hit one of the dwarven masters, though not with a fatal wound. Lainey was sporting an arrow in her thigh, and Fibble was on the ground with one in his belly.

  Alexander cast bolt after bolt at the archer’s face. The archer leapt around as he fired, looking like a man with super-hot sports rub in his jock. He stopped moving, though, when an arrow from Max divided into five arrows about four inches from his face. The impact from all five in such a tight bunch threw him backward and didn’t leave much of his head intact. Alexander looked at his combat log. The whole fight had taken just over 40 seconds.

  With the fight over, Alexander reset the wards to teleport, then looked to make sure the wounded were being helped. Lyra was healing the injured master smith. Sasha was calming Fibble, trying to remove the arrow from his stomach. The tiny goblin was on his back, both hands locked around the arrow, whimpering quietly.

  “Fibble, you’re going to be okay. Just let me pull the arrow out.” Sasha was trying to be patient with her goblin protector.

  “Noooo! Crazy Sasha! Fibble dying! Bad man shoot Fibble in tummy! No pull on arrow! Pull arrow hurts!” He tugged a bit at the arrow as if to demonstrate. “Owww!”. Then he moved his hands to either side of his stomach and rubbed there. “Tummy all tingles again. Fibble dies!”

  Sasha tried to suppress a grin as she ministered to her dramatic little patient. He had leveled up again, and the ‘tummy tingles’ were distracting him from his wound. “Yes, dear. It will hurt for a moment. But Sasha will make it all better really quick! You’ll see.”

  Fibble didn’t look convinced. He looked from his tummy to her face, then back again, shaking his head. “Not let Fibble die?”

  Alexander knelt next to the little guy. “Fibble, you are family now. Greystone clan, remember? We would not let you die. But if you don’t let Sasha remove the arrow, the only other way to fix you is with a BATH.”

  Fibble’s eyes grew even wider. With a look of determination, he gripped the arrow even tighter with both hands and tore it free of his stomach.

  “Gaaaahhhh! Owww, ow, ow!” he screamed. Sasha immediately cast heals on the screaming goblin, and the wound closed quickly. After a few moments, Fibble quieted down. He began to poke at his stomach where the wound had been. Then, grinning, he leapt to his feet.

  “Sasha big magic! Make Fibble not die!” He rubbed his tummy, adding, “Tummy need food now!”

  Sasha giggled at the resilient goblin’s antics. She took him by the hand and led him toward the kitchen. Alexander chuckled as he watched them go.

  Max had already looted the players’ corpses, and the bodies were fading away. Most of the guild members were following Sasha and Fibble into the house. Captain Redmond and his guards were gone, presumably to see to their normal duties. The dwarves were back in the forge, joking about the one-sided battle. It was as if the fight had never happened.

  Chapter 4

  New Lands

  Once Thagin and Drellin, had returned with the listed supplies, and all the guild members were back at the compound, Brick opened the portal back to Dire Keep. Lola greeted them as they passed through, directing the wagons and beginning the inventory. Before the group could disband, Alexander called out, “Hey guys! Planning a trip up to the garrison tower this afternoon. I’m going to work on fortifications, and maybe do a little exploring. Who’s interested in going?”

  Everyone raised a hand except Beatrix, who needed to log off for a bit. “All right. Grab some lunch. Take care of any repairs or whatever. We’ll head out in an hour,” Alexander said.

  Using guild chat, he reached out to gather a few others. “Lorian, are you nearby?”

  “I am near the demon caverns. So far there has been no visible activity.”

  “We’re going up onto the plateau to look around. If you’re interested in exploring, you’re welcome to come with us. We head out in an hour. Though you can catch up later if you’re busy.”

  “As far as I know, my people have not walked those lands in centuries. It would be interesting to see. I will leave a hunter here and join you,” Lorian replied.

  Alexander switched gears. “Kai, are you available?”

  “I will be in the keep shortly. The duergar have gathered and wish to take the oath,” Kai replied.

  Shit. Forgot that was today! Need to take care of that before we leave.

  “Okay, thank you, Kai. I’ll see you when you get here. Have you seen Fitz by any chance?”

  “He is in his tower, with Lia. She is cleaning and repairing the damage from their… disagreement the other morning.”

  Alexander wisely decided to stay out of that particular bit of business. Instead, he headed for the donjon to find Silverbeard. The old dwarf met him just as he was approaching the main door. A mob of duergar trailed behind him. Silverbeard updated him as they moved into the courtyard.

  “There be one hundred and forty-five duergar here to take the oath. Since ye were away when they arrived, I showed ‘em the new livin’ quarters.”

  “Thank you, Master Silverbeard. Your efforts are much appreciated, as always.” Alexander patted the dwarf on the shoulder.

  “Bah! Ye gots a keep under threat, dragons, trolls, gryphons, and duergar runnin’ about. This be more fun than I had in a century, lad!” Silverbeard winked at him.

  Alexander turned to Gelag and the duergar. “Good afternoon, Stoneb
urners! Are you all prepared to take the oath?”

  Gelag and the councilors nodded their heads. There were a few in the crowd who mimicked the motion, though they did not understand Alexander’s words. He really needed to figure out the translation issue. At least until they learned to speak each other’s languages. Kai appeared in the courtyard and approached the gathering by the main doors. Once again, the oath would be taken under the obsidian dragon carving above the doors.

  Kai spoke to the duergar in their own tongue, surprising more than a few. They turned to him with rapt expressions. At the point where he must have explained to them that the oath would bind their souls, several looked nervous. But all of them nodded their heads or spoke in affirmative-sounding tones.

  Then Kai administered the oath, and one by one the dragon symbol appeared for each of them. Accordingly, the citizenry of Dire Keep more than doubled. There were now 289 citizens, almost all of them NPCs. Plus, the four gryphons. Alexander made a note to find out if they wanted to become citizens. Or if they even could. They were not humanoid, but they were sentient.

  After welcoming Gelag and the rest of the duergar, Alexander left them to get settled into their new quarters. Silverbeard and Lola were going to meet with them and determine where each of them would best fit into the community based on skills and inclinations. Some would become miners, smiths, guards, and hunters. And something new for them, some would become surface farmers and traders. Others preferred to remain underground. Alexander didn’t blame them. It was a huge adjustment to move to the surface after a lifetime underground.

  Fitz appeared in the courtyard with Fibble at his side. The little goblin was definitely taller than when they’d originally found him in a cage not so long ago. The levels he’d gained clearly improved his physical attributes, making him a bit taller and stronger, if not much smarter.

  Alexander approached the wizard. “Good afternoon, Fitz. I was thinking. We’ve got stone golems to use for exploring the plateau. Instead of trying to move them through the mirror, we should go ahead of the others and create the new portal. Then we can bring everyone through at once.”

  “Aye, lad. I was thinking the same. Grab the dwarf and let us get started,” Fitz agreed.

  Alexander messaged Brick, who soon joined them in the courtyard. After a quick word to Master Silverbeard, they were ready to go. Fitz delivered himself, Brick, Alexander, and Fibble to the main floor of the garrison tower. Moving to the massive main door, he used his magic to break the seal and open it.

  Outside, the forest was lush and thick with ancient trees that towered into the sky around them. The sun shone through gaps in the canopy in scattered bright rays that illuminated clusters of large ferns and berry bushes on the forest floor. The air was alive with the sounds of birds, the rustle of leaves in the breeze, and chittering of small wildlife.

  Smaller trees had sprouted up in what had once been a cleared area that extended two hundred yards out around the tower. Alexander could see rusted remnants of armor and weapons among their roots, and sprouting from the grass here and there. The forest was slowly reclaiming this place.

  “It be a wonder,” Brick mumbled, looking about at the pristine surroundings. “Untouched by man or dwarf for so long…” His voice trailed off.

  Alexander understood. There was a majesty to this place. His heart felt lighter just standing here, breathing in the clean forest scents. This was a place to relax. To sit beneath an elder tree and dream of better days. And in better days, he’d do just that. But for now, they had to make this place more defensible.

  “It is beautiful,” he answered Brick. “We’ll not damage it any more than we must. The elder trees will live on. We need only clear these younger ones for our needs.”

  Fitz interrupted. “And speaking of our needs, let us begin work on the portal. Alexander, some stone if you please?”

  Alexander closed his eyes. Using his earth sense, he searched the depths below him. He could feel the stairway under the tower, and the immense chamber far below where the portal had been, toward the north. He could also feel a tunnel system off to the west a bit, though he could not tell if it was simply lava tubes, or human-made. He located several large deposits of obsidian, granite, quartz, and limestone. As well as other forms of stone he did not recognize.

  Looking at Fitz, he asked, “You mentioned we need to be a distance from the destroyed portal. Where should we place this one?”

  Fitz looked toward the north, then turned south and paced about a hundred yards as Alexander and Brick followed. He stopped in a clear space and drove the butt of his staff into the earth. “This will do quite nicely, I think.”

  Alexander reached into the earth below and used his Earth Mover skill to raise a large block of obsidian, slightly larger than the ones he’d raised for Brick’s smithies. He figured they could always use the extra stone. With his higher level, and better gear improving his stats, the job was much easier than before. He didn’t need to stop and recover his stamina or mana before it was done. Though it did still drain him quite a bit.

  He stepped to the side and sat against the trunk of a young oak tree while Brick separated out the needed stone and formed the pillars for the portal with his shaping ability. Then he activated his Mage Sight in order to watch Fitz infuse the portal magic into the stone. Each time he witnessed this, he managed to understand just a bit more about how the portal magic worked.

  As Fitz completed the work, he nodded his head. “The positioning is far enough from the other portal that it will have its own discrete location. I’ve tuned it so that it will open to, and can be opened from, the keep, Greystone Manor in Stormforge, and Broken Mountain.”

  “Thank you, Fitz. That’s perfect. Are you up for raising a wall around the tower? Since you’ve placed the portal here, we can set the wall right behind it, then circle the tower at a hundred-yard distance.” Alexander said. “That will leave us another hundred yards of clear space outside the walls. Or it will once we’ve removed the younger trees. We can make use of the lumber and let the farmers cultivate the open space.”

  “Aye, that seems about right,” Brick agreed “We should have gates to the north ‘n’ south. And we’ll be needin’ more fields ‘n’ livestock ta feed all the new mouths.”

  Fitz simply nodded in agreement and began raising sections of wall thirty feet high and ten feet thick. He paced his way from the portal in an eastward curve as he worked.

  Alexander moved so that he was due south of the tower, and raised a massive section of stone thirty feet deep that extended forty feet up. This would be the southern bailey. “Brick, this is the southern gate. Can you shape a tunnel through it, with inner and outer doors? Maybe twenty feet high and wide enough for… two wagons?”

  “It’ll be me pleasure!” Brick rubbed his hands together and stepped up to the stone. Like Alexander with his teleportation and earth moving skills, the more Brick practiced, the quicker he leveled up his shaping.

  Alexander left him to it, moving to the west and raising wall sections in an arc that should curve around to meet up with Fitz on the north side. With only a 200-yard diameter, the circle didn’t take long to complete. In just over an hour they had the full circle raised, and Brick was already working on the northern bailey gates.

  While Brick finished up, Fitz and Alexander headed back toward the tower. Alexander opened up guild chat. “We’ve got the portal complete, and the walls are nearly done. Fitz will open the portal in a few minutes. All those who want to come and explore, be in the courtyard. Lola, please bring eight of the stone golems with you. If the farmers wish to bring through any livestock, the walls will keep them contained. And there is plenty of fresh grass to graze for now.”

  That reminds me, we need water, Alexander thought. He reached with his Earth Sense into the ground yet again. This time in search of an underground spring. He searched to the east, where he knew the river to be. But he didn’t need to go far at all. Apparently, the builders of the tower had t
he same idea. He found an underground spring had been routed to flow up into the tower. He formed a small underground connection and directed part of the flow to where he stood. He then formed a stone bowl about twenty feet wide and six feet deep and let the flow from the stream bubble up in the center. This would create a small pond for the livestock to drink from.

  Continuing on to catch up with Fitz, he found the portal already open and the guild members stepping through. Lola had already arrived with the stone golems, who were standing motionless, waiting for instructions. Each of them stood roughly eight feet tall, with thick bodies formed of dark stone. They had short legs and long, powerful arms that reached nearly to the ground. Their heads seem to perch directly atop massive shoulders, with no visible neck between.

  “Jeeves, can you hear me, buddy?” Alexander called out. He was standing near the portal and the southern wall.