Depths of Camlan

by A. T. Gilbert

  I focus my efforts on thinning the horde. The fewer things around to attack the better for all of us.

  Aim … Fire! Aim … Fire!

  [+ 41 XP]

  [+ 35 XP]

  [+ 39 XP]

  [+ 42 XP]

  As long as I stay focused on the smaller minions, I am able to hit them four out of every five times or so.

  Attention: You have unlocked Active Skill: Archery Level 7

  Description: Increase chance of hitting target +13%; Increase damage +3

  Reward +210 XP

  I wave away the notice. Perfect timing, now that the swarm of wasp minions is almost gone. Between my ranged shots and the tanks’ defensive strikes, we kill off the last of the swarm in another minute or so, which just leaves the boss.

  While I attacked the minions, Erinocalypse has been valiantly casting spell after spell at the queen, cutting the monster’s health down by about a third. For a small moment I’m kind of disappointed that she was able to accomplish so much by herself, but that’s ridiculous.

  That’s ridiculous. I should be grateful to her.

  I’m not, yet. But at least I know I should be.

  Progress?

  I have sustained some health damage from the swarm, but nothing really to worry about. In fact, nothing to even bother TexBadass with. Instead, with only the single boss wasp to worry about, I can settle into my position against the ravine wall and let my health regenerate itself.

  SteelFeather and Balderdash13 will be drawing most, if not all, of the attacks, so my only job now is to just hack away at the creature. Shot after shot. Alternating with Erinocalypse’s spells, we almost fall into a rhythm, chipping away at the monster wasp’s health as it repeatedly goes after the tanks. Callidus stays in Stealth as much as he can, becoming visible only when his cool down period requires it. When the wasp swoops down to attack one of the tanks, our scout glides in, unsent, and swipes solid hits over and over.

  Just when it feels like we have our rhythm set and are on our way to defeating this boss, the whole balance changes. Where the wasp had been flying down to SteelFeather and Balderdash13 to attack, it suddenly flies to the top of the ravine and remains there for an extra beat. Erinocalypse and I exchange a glance and continue our ranged attacks, but I’m worried.

  Whether it’s on a timer, or just the result of us cutting into the queen’s health this far, the wasp begins to rage. An aura of red surrounds it as it hovers high in the air. Rage Javelin appears in red font just below where it is flying and SteelFeather braces himself. I shoot off another arrow to try to interrupt the maneuver, but it’s futile.

  Like a spear hurtling through the air, the wasp fires a six-foot-long stinger at our party. Balderdash13 tries to dodge but she’s too slow. The stinger goes completely through her right thigh muscle and pins her to the ground.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The scream of pain Balderdash13 lets out is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to hear.

  Callidus emerges from Stealth mode right by her side and grabs hold of the stinger to pull it out. He tries to both be gentle with her and effectively yank it out of the ground and can’t do either one of them quickly. As he focuses on helping Balderdash13, the wasp prepares another move.

  “Callidus!” I call to him but he can’t hear me or isn’t listening.

  SteelFeather sees what is about to happen and moves to shield the teenager. But at the last moment the wasp swings around and shoots the stinger from the opposite side. Callidus doesn’t even know to brace for it and the spear-like weapon pierces the right side of his chest, knocking him off his feet.

  "Damn," TexBadass says next to me. "I don't think I can save both of them."

  Balderdash13 is our other healer but I’m sure she's still too weak to even think about conjuring. SteelFeather yells, waving his sword around to keep the queen’s attention on him and the wasp flies down to attack him.

  "No, no, no," TexBadass murmurs, frantically casting.

  In the corner of my field of vision the game flashes a red warning at me that Callidus is near death.

  “Tex,” I begin.

  “I know,” he snaps at me.

  He diverts his next spell to Callidus, carrying him out of immediate danger. But neither of the downed players are regenerating health on their own and both are very clearly in the path of attack.

  “Damn.” TexBadass shakes his hands as though drying them off or loosening the joints.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m out. My mana is totally depleted. Damn it.” He spits on the dirt floor.

  “How long till it regenerates?”

  “I’m not sure. Too long, probably.”

  He indicates the wasp soaring down to attack again. It circumvents SteelFeather’s attempt to draw the attack and instead stabs its singer into Balderdash13’s abdomen.

  “Damn!” TexBadass yells it this time.

  Now the game flashes me the message that Balderdash13 is near death. I have to do something. With one eye on the wasp, I run to the center of the cavern. Once I reach Balderdash13 I cast my one, small Bestow Relief spell on her and at least get her out of the red. I have just enough time to plant my feet and reequip my bow and arrow before the wasp begins another attack. It aims at SteelFeather this time, and I manage to fire my weapon to hit the bug and knock it slightly off course. SteelFeather dodges easily and lands a new hit.

  Callidus has pulled the stinger from his chest. He is still sitting on the ground hunched over and bleeding, but at least he no longer is impaled by a six-foot-long weapon.

  I call to TexBadass. “How close are you?”

  He shakes his head. “Not yet.”

  I stand over Balderdash13 and grip the stinger that has her pinned to the ground.

  “Ready?”

  She nods and closes her eyes. I look over my shoulder at the wasp. I have maybe two seconds. With both hands I pull straight up; she gasps and then laughs uncomfortably.

  “Thank god.”

  I toss the stinger to the ground, just as SteelFeather throws himself into me, knocking me over and taking the hit from the wasp himself. Now our group has four members sprawled on the ground while we’re being attacked by a monstrous wasp. At least only three of us are injured. And at least we’re all regenerating health, albeit slowly.

  It’s not much, but I have enough mana to cast my healing spell three times and give each of the others a little boost, keeping them alive if barely. Callidus pulls himself to his feet and disappears with Stealth. I hope he’s going off to a corner somewhere to recuperate. As soon as Balderdash13 reaches her feet, she heals SteelFeather to full strength, timing it just before he takes another hit from the wasp. I duck out of the way, back to the wall of the ravine where TexBadass is casting a healing spell again.

  He nods at me, acknowledging my contribution, but doesn’t say anything.

  And all while he and I kept the team alive, Erinocalypse ceaselessly fires off spell after spell to take down the wasp. She’s so close; it only has a sliver of health left.

  I fire off an arrow, hitting the boss and making it stumble in the air.

  [+ 110 XP]

  It’s still alive, but barely. Too weak to fly, it stalks toward SteelFeather and Balderdash13 on its six legs. Its hefty mandibles click menacingly. Just before it reaches the tanks, Erinocalypse hits the bug square in the face with one last Fire Bolt, killing it.

  Congratulations! You have defeated Queen Bomber Wasp, the first of four minibosses in White Rock Ravine!

  Reward: 20 silver, Slaughter Ring, Mana Restoring Potion

  This cavern is your new save point.

  Accept?

  “Yes,” I whisper. Not that I am planning on dying but just in case I do, this is a much better place to respawn than all the way back at the Whispering Fox Inn. The increased XP brings me close to the next level, but not quite. Callidus is already looting the corpse, holding up and admiring new gear. I make my way over and realize the game has pr
ovided something for each of us. There’s gold to spilt six ways, but also weapons, armor and powerful crystals. Since we’re officially all part of the same group, the auto-distribution means each of us gets what the game thinks we most need and I’m excited to claim the ring. I don’t know why the game thinks I need the Mana potion more than Tex or Erin would, but I save it anyway.

  Name: Slaughter Ring

  Level: 20

  Description: +4 Strength, +1 Dexterity

  I can’t keep the grin from my face and know I must look foolish. I equip it right away, admiring the way the small red stones shine on my hand.

  “Asher.”

  I turn to see Erinocalypse standing next to me. She's wearing a new, golden, hooded cloak. Her expression is serious and I'm irritated that I'm going to get another scolding for overstepping my role.

  "I saw what you did and I wanted to say thank you. You drive me crazy most of the time, but this time you did the right thing."

  "Um ... Thanks?"

  She shrugs. “Don’t let it go to your head.” She walks to Balderdash13 and leaves me alone again.

  That was … interesting. Somehow in all of this, in spite of TexBadass’s bossiness and my own attempts to show them all the best way to play the game, Erinocalypse has emerged as the leader. She’s the one that has the group’s respect. She’s the one we look to for signals.

  I’m cranky about this now that I’ve realized it, but I have to grudgingly admit it makes sense. And I can’t fight it. I just have to continue to do my best and hope they all notice.

  “Y’all set new spawn points?”

  “God, I hope that doesn’t mean this place gets even harder. We already almost died,” Balderdash13 says.

  “Anyone level up?” Callidus asks.

  SteelFeather raises his hand. “Yeah, I did. That plus this new chest plate,” he bangs on his chest, “means hopefully this dungeon gets easier instead of harder.”

  I’m ready to move. The sooner we forge ahead, the sooner we beat this dungeon and contain the corrupted code.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Once more the six of us fall in line with Callidus in front as our scout and file out of the cavern where the wasp carcass has now disappeared. I assume since we were offered the chance to set our spawn point there, it means the thing won’t come back, but those aren’t details Cho let us know ahead of time.

  Actually, I had totally forgotten that I can ask her.

  SirAsh3r: Hi, can you please confirm the mechanics of this dungeon? These bosses don’t respawn when we’re in here, right?

  Attention! Your message was not delivered. Recipient not found.

  Hm. That’s strange. I would think the message would still go through and just be waiting for her whenever she logs in again. I search again for her name, instead of just replying in the same thread.

  Attention! User not found.

  What? Did she change her name without telling us? How weird.

  “Hey, have any of you talked to Cho lately?”

  That earns me a couple dirty looks.

  “Aw, bless your heart. You need some help, SirAsh3r?” The emphasis on the Sir just makes TexBadass’s disdain even more apparent.

  "No, I was just confirming something. Or, I was trying to. The interface claims she's not available anymore."

  “Let me try,” Balderdash13 says. “Huh. Weird. My message isn’t going through either.”

  “Maybe … we’re just too deep in this server?”

  I can tell by the way Callidus suggests it that he doesn’t believe it, even as it’s coming out of his mouth.

  “Maybe it’s not the server,” I suggest. “Maybe it’s the code. That corrupted code deliberately cutting us off.”

  “Why would it do that?” Erinocalypse asks.

  I shrug.

  “It’s cutting us off,” SteelFeather says. “It’s isolating us. First the map, now Cho. It’s drawing us into the depths of Camlan and cutting us off from the outside world.”

  “That is some cult, brainwashing tactics right there,” TexBadass says.

  "Yeah, for whatever reason, the rogue AI is making these changes, trying to catch us up in its web."

  The six of us are silent for a moment, contemplating what this could mean. What have we signed up for?

  “Well, I guess we need to keep moving?” Erinocalypse suggests. “Unless any of you want to turn back.”

  We exchange looks, Callidus and Balderdash13 shake their heads.

  “I didn’t think so. Let’s go.”

  The path out of the wasps’ cavern is narrow again and we fall into single file, weaving our way though the ravine and toward whatever is waiting for us. After a couple minutes of walking in silence, TexBadass stops in front of me.

  “What is it?”

  He points in answer. The whole line has stopped. Whatever Callidus has found has blocked him. I get up on my toes to try to see, but there are too many bodies in the way. I'm impatient, but what can I do? Slowly the group inches their way forward. In front of me, each player moves to one side or another. There is something ahead of us that keeps us from moving forward.

  When I get to the doorway myself and see what has blocked us, I involuntarily let out a frustrated sigh.

  We're standing on a ledge overlooking water. To my right and my left, the other players have scuttled out along a narrow strip of rock that hugs the ravine wall. It's difficult to tell from this distance how deep the pool in front of us is, but it stretches from wall to wall. Ahead of us, a short waterfall carries the water from somewhere above, down into the pool at our feet, where the water seems to disappear under the rock below us. There's probably an underground river, leading out to the ocean. I wonder how safe this ledge is, if the water is cutting into it, if the game is programmed to force us forward. Or if the corrupted code has made some new adjustment and this terrain is nothing like what the developers envisioned.

  "Well," TexBadass begins. "Who has ideas?"

  Callidus points across the pool to the waterfall, calling over the noise. "It looks like the path continues under there, up along the side of the ravine over on the left. Maybe up and farther back into the dungeon."

  “But how do we get there?” SteelFeather asks. “Just jump in?”

  “Maybe.” I search the walls, the floor, even the surface of the water or some indication of larger puzzle or trap. I dig deep for my Power Perception, but either my level isn’t high enough or there’s nothing special here. If only there was a log nearby I could fashion into a raft. “Maybe I’m just missing it, but I don’t see any other way across. I think we’re meant to go through the water.”

  “And deal with whatever creatures are in there,” Erinocalypse finishes.

  “Exactly.”

  The water is dark, and slightly murky. Not in a gross way, but just enough that it is impossible to see under the surface. I can’t determine how deep the pool is or what is waiting for us in there.

  I’m reminded of my encounter with the River Nymph a few days ago. Maybe what is in here isn’t all bad. Maybe this water will give us a buff, or maybe something in the pool will reward us.

  Or maybe it’s just more monsters wait to kill us.

  “Okay, hang on,” Erinocalypse begins. “Let me throw up a bubble first. It might not do any good against whatever is in there, but we’ll give it a shot.”

  Enhancement received: Bubble of Protection

  Description: You will sustain -5% damage for the next sixty seconds

  The familiar chilly sensation covers me again and I am at least confident that we’ve done everything we can. And, hey, if we die, at least we know we’ll just respawn one room back. Could be worse, I guess.

  “I’ll go,” SteelFeather says. “I’ll probably sink straight to the bottom with all this armor, but oh well.” He laughs nervously and shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

  We’re quiet, watching him, wondering what to expect. He stows his shield, holds his sword above his head,
takes a deep breath and jumps off the ledge …

  … Into water up to his waist.

  “Yep, straight to the bottom,” he says with a laugh. “I guess we can just wade across.”

  Balderdash13 jumps in next and the two of them begin to cross the pool. I can tell from their movement that they’re just shuffling through the water. Since they can’t see their feet, they can’t be sure the water doesn’t get deeper, or that they’re not about to step into a trap. The whole concept of not being able to see where I’m walking makes me incredibly anxious, but what can I do?

  Callidus and Erinocalypse jump in next, and begin to wade across. Just before TexBadass and I enter the water, SteelFeather yelps in pain.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The water around SteelFeather churns, and flashes of fin break the water's surface. The swirling current spreads to the water around Balderdash13, with silver fins appearing more frequently. She turns in place, watching the attackers, axe held in both hands.

  "Oh, damn it. Ow!"

  They're both looking down, around, at whatever is attacking them. SteelFeather stabs his sword down into the water, but doesn’t seem to hit anything. Both of their health bars are steadily declining and TexBadass casts quickly to restore them.

  "What is it?" I call to them.

  Balderdash13 shakes her head. "I don't know. Piranha or something like it. Ow! Lots of tiny, sharp bites, even through my armor."

  Callidus and Erinocalypse halt their progress to watch, to consider how they can help. Callidus also begins stabbing deeper into the water with his knife. Erinocalypse has a spell prepared but she seems to be looking for a place to aim it. Without being able to actually see the enemy, it’s going to take us forever to pick them off one by one.

  Unless we don’t have to pick them off one by one?

  I inch sideways on the ledge, closer to Erin.