by Tom Hansen
“Oh shit!” It was Xanovi who jumped up and rushed over to Scarhoof. “You okay man? I didn’t mean for you to actually go through with it!”
Scarhoof looked between his fingers, which were now covered in a fine yellow powder, and the status effect. What the hell had just happened?
“I don’t know, I touched it, and now I have a debuff.”
Xanovi paused for a second, presumably to pull up his stats, then let out a low whistle. “Lemme guess, all your spells are Spirit based?”
Scarhoof shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure. All my spells use mana, but my base affinity is Spirit and I would assume the spells also share that affinity.”
Xanovi nodded his head. “I’d check the forums, but I can’t right now; you know how it is.”
Scarhoof didn’t know how it was so he shook his head. Xanovi always had an odd way of speaking about things that felt they should be familiar to him, but were completely foreign. It was like they spoke two different languages even though most of the words made sense.
“Well, whatever it did, it’s a doozey!” Xanovi slapped Scarhoof on the back.
The rest of the group stared at one another for an awkward moment, seemingly not sure what Xanovi was talking about, then quickly got back to their task of looting the bodies of the enemies, stripping them of their weapons, and recovering their health and mana.
“Xanovi.” Scarhoof spoke quietly. “Can you help me test something?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
Scarhoof grinned. “Since you were so eager for me to touch it, how about you do the same?”
Xanovi pondered for a moment before walking up to it. “Well, I don’t like being around it, but I haven’t gotten any odd reactions being close to it, so I’m not sure what you’re on about there.”
He reached out, hesitantly, then finally touched the shard.
“Yeeow!” Xanovi jerked his hand back and crumpled to the ground, 50% of his health vanished from the magic damage. His feline companion growled and instantly jumped to full alert. Its fur bristled as it glared around at an unseen threat in the room.
Scarhoof cast Mending Force on his companion, bringing Xanovi back up to full, but found that his healing was significantly reduced due to the negative buff he had from the Air shard.
Xanovi lay on his side, twitching for a moment while his mouth began to foam. His eyes remained open and a strange gurgling sound bubbled out of his mouth. Finally, he calmed down, and was able to sit up.
That was what had happened with Nitene a few days ago when she touched the white shard they found on the boar.
Scarhoof wanted to break off a chunk of the shard, to take back to Haliin Earthwhisper back at Whistling Point, but now was probably not the time. They needed to finish clearing out the quarry before worrying about this shard. It would be here when they finished up.
Scarhoof helped Xanovi up. Standing, Xanovi bent over to cough. “My God, that hurt. What the hell? Did you think that was going to hurt that much?”
Scarhoof shrugged. “I didn’t know what to expect. You’ve seen my eyes, I can touch a white shard without any repercussions, but touching this shard startled me more than hurt. Still, you got the same debuff as me.”
Xanovi looked over his buffs. “Shit, that means I won’t be able to DPS well. Missing 5% of my DPS and 5% of Scar’s healing is going to hurt for sure.”
The rest of the party had crowded around the two Tau’raj, worried looks on their faces.
“What does it mean?” Jaxyl asked, looking at Scarhoof for an answer.
He replied. “I wish I knew, but I hope I can figure this out. Once we are done here, I would like to break off a chunk to take back to Whistling Pass, if that is okay with everyone. At least the debuts aren’t all that bad, it could have been a lot worse.”
They all agreed.
“Well, then, let’s keep going, and see how bad this debuff is going to affect us.”
Chapter 30
“Oh shit.”
Xanovi peeked around the entrance to the final crystal.
“Get back from there! He might see you.” Jaxyl hissed as he tugged on the Tau’raj’s chest harness.
“Relax; he won’t attack till we go in there.”
Firemane was in a foul mood. They had encountered two more patrol groups to get to this point. “Maybe so, but all it takes is one arrow to the face to engage.”
“Fine.” Xanovi pulled his head back around the corner and leaned against the wall, pulling out a handful of dried fish. He bit off half of it and tossed the rest to his cat.
“So, Scar. Your debuff timer gone yet?”
“Yes, just dropped.”
Scarhoof understood Firemane’s dour mood; he felt the same. The two groups of guards leading up to the next shard were Elite units, dealing immense damage with each hit. Between his diminished healing ability and Xanovi’s poor damage output, it had taken nearly more than his mana bar just to keep everyone healed.
He counted his mana potions. Three left from the original six. He’d used his only healing potion, which just left him with the one rejuvenation drought.
“Hanrahan, can you loan a couple potions to Scar?” Xanovi asked, cocking his chin toward the Dwarven mage.
Hanrahan shook her head nervously. “I’m only down to one myself, and we gotta take this bastard down, don’t we?”
“It’s fine. We’ll figure it out.” Scarhoof replied. It was his fault for touching the shard in the first place and egging Xanovi on to do so as well. He only hoped he they would survive this next encounter. The guards in this hallway had been so much stronger than anything they’d encountered thus far, he worried what was in store for them with this next area.
Scarhoof chanced a look around the corner, seeing a large empty space. Around the walls were a dozen troughs full of water, with large tanks feeding into them. Two massive objects dominated the rest of the room. A white shard, a larger than the previous yellow one, and a massive slithering Nagos who roamed the expansive space slowly and carefully, always going back to the shard.
Saying he was massive did an injustice to size. The Nagos boss was huge, at least five meters tall, nearly double Scarhoof’s own height. A large fin grew from his head and ended just short of his tail. All Nagos had this fin but this one was at least twice the size and pulsed with glowing blue energy.
His broad shoulders had spikes on them, looking like elongated and sharpened coral. The boss wore no armor, but his scaly hide seemed like it was thick and difficult to pierce.
As the boss wormed his way around the shard, he spun a large silver polearm, tipped with a trident on one side and a war hammer on the other. Both sides were carved with ornate runes and ancient text. The weapon glowed as well, blue, just like his eyes and fin.
Not only was this the Nagos the largest Scarhoof had ever seen, but he seemed to be built differently than the others. In addition to the spiky protrusions growing out of his shoulders, he had sharp, curved tusks that filled his mouth, giving him a menacing, otherworldly look. His pockmarked scales where multicolored, and had strange protrusions and coral growing from them, adding to his alien look.
Scarhoof pulled back, just as the boss started to turn. A shudder coursed down his spine, reminding him how close death he was.
He still had well over fifteen minutes on his debuff timer, and the armies of the Nagos would be returning any minute.
“Let’s do it now. We can’t wait any longer.” Scarhoof said.
“But what about your healing?” Jaxyl asked.
Firemane eyed Scarhoof before speaking. “We’ll figure it out. We can do this. We have to do this. We must kill him off, before the rest of the troops get here.”
“I agree, we can’t wait any longer, just be on your toes in there, that applies to everyone.” Scarhoof nodded, and swept his eyes across his party members, making eye contact with each one of them.
They moved in silently, spreading out along the back wall as far away from the wande
ring boss as they could.
As soon as they all were inside the spacious dig site, the boss noticed them and yelled. “So nice of you to join us.” He sneered. “I see you have killed all of my minions, but it is no matter. They were weak, plus it gives me one more reasons to kill you! So you know who will leave your bodies broken and bleeding, I will tell you. My name is Mu’jtag, and you have infiltrated my lair, slaughtered my minions, and disrupted my operations.”
The party glanced at each other, their faces stricken. They all knew the name of Mu’jtag. He was the leader of the Nagos army. He had been driving the Nagos forces for the last twenty years. Grath’gar reported directly to Mu’jtag.
For two decades scouts had been trying to get a look at the Nagos commander, but he had always been too elusive. They had only ever gotten a name.
Mu’jtag the Desecrator.
He slithered sideways, taking them all in. His massive weight leaving deep furrows in the packed earth. “It is of little consequence. My army will soon sweep across the Plains, destroying everything. No Tau’raj will survive and the Plains will finally be mine!”
He stopped spinning his massive polearm and picked a shell encrusted shield from the ground behind the shard. He took up a defensive position.
The boss clanged the trident against his shield, causing shells to break off and fall to the dirt below. “Lock them in!”
Behind them, a gate slammed shut, trapping them inside.
“Let’s do it!” Firemane shouted as he charged the boss.
A rain of arrows flew in from four different directions.
Firemane yelled, pointing to the rim of the excavation site. “Take out the ranged first! Scarhoof, use the shard for protection.”
While they had been in the mining operations for a while now, all the ranged guards had been around the corner of hallways or behind boulders. Scarhoof hadn’t realized until now just how vulnerable they could have been if Nagos had simply stationed archers above them. There was nowhere to hide in the pit, except behind the shard. Above them the four Nagos were spread out in cardinal directions. Firing arrow after arrow as his group.
“Follow my target!” Xanovi shouted as he drew back his bow and nocked an arrow.
The two ranged focus-fired on one of the four Nagos that were firing down into the spacious circular dirt room. The guards were five meters up, with plenty of light from the shard to see everything clearly.
Scarhoof tossed a heal at their tank who faced down an enemy twice his size. The boss lashed out with his tail, catching Jaxyl in the back. Scarhoof quickly healed the Rogue up to full.
“Round the side my friend,” Firemane said.
“Yeah, sorry. Didn’t know he could do that.” Jaxyl apologized and moved to stand alongside his partner.
“Watch him carefully. We don’t know what else he’s capable of.”
“First ranged down!” Xanovi shouted as he turned to his right.
Scarhoof dodged as the other three focused on him.
Firemane dragged Mu’jtag backwards to the same area, trying to position the boss between the guards and himself in order to cut down on the number of projectiles.
“Second one down!”
“Keep moving clockwise slowly. We’ll stay out of range!” Scarhoof tossed another heal on Firemane as they turned in a circle, then one on each of the ranged that slowly took arrow damage.
So far so good. His healing was a worry, but so far, it wasn’t that bad.
The third, then the fourth were killed in quick succession.
“On the boss!”
Mu’jtag let out a howl of rage. “You killed them all! Guards, Guards! Take out these cretins.”
A timer appeared in the corner, counting down thirty seconds until more guards arrived.
“Burn him down!” Thirty seconds was not long enough.
Xanovi shouted something and his pet turned from ghostly black to iridescent orange, it hissed, snarled, and swiped her meaty paws so fast that all Scarhoof could see of the cat was an orange blur.
Xanovi, who had turned orange himself began shooting glowing arrows at an immense speed, nearly matching that of his pet. Scarhoof could swear Xanovi looked larger than normal.
Hanrahan threw molten fireballs at the boss. They splashed and hissed against the boss’s thick hide. Scarhoof wondered if he should join in the damage, but a glare from Firemane stopped him.
It’s like he knows what I’m going to do. He was probably right. Scarhoof had to watch his mana.
He suddenly realized he’d forgotten entirely about his Yantra, and activated Mitigation to reduce the incoming damage. He then positioned himself in the middle of the group, ensuring that each member of the party received the buff. He immediately noticed the difference it made, helping mitigate incoming damage from the boss.
The boss’s massive health ticked down by 1% every second, and the guards would get here soon. They needed to hurry.
The boss flew into a rage, his mouth frothing, spittle spraying across the melee. “I’ve had enough! Guards, where are you?”
Scarhoof glanced at Mu’jtag’s health. “Seventy-five percent.” He noted out-loud.
“Oh shit, he’s gonna do something!” Xanovi yelled, taking a step back. He was back to his original color, no longer orange.
Mu’jtag let out a feral, uninhibited scream that shook dust from the walls loose, causing small rivulets of dirt to pour into the arena. He reared back and swiped out in an arc with the base of his weapon. The hammer end of his trident hit the massive shard in the center breaking off a chunk.
Mu’jtag shouldered his shield and snatched the shard out of the air with his talons before it hit the ground, then turned and ran straight to the wall.
“Hold up!” Scarhoof yelled. Something about the boss’s action warned of impending danger. He didn’t want his melee fighters too close to whatever the boss was about to do.
The two melee held their ground, but Eithne, Xanovi’s pet, followed the boss to the wall.
All five of them watched as the boss dunked the shard into the water and pulled it out. It bubbled and hissed, spewing white smoke in all directions.
“Shardsmoke.” Scarhoof whispered. The Nagos’s actions suddenly made sense.
The boss threw the shard at the melee fighters, striking Firemane’s shield. The shard shattered, sending steamy pieces in every direction. Hundreds of tiny shards exploded, each one sizzling and popping. White smoke billowed out in a rush.
“Run!” Xanovi yelled, taking another step back.
But it was too late. Jaxyl and Firemane had both been hit. They looked up, white hot rage in their eyes. They started taking damage from the smoke effects.
Jaxyl disappeared in a puff of smoke, appearing behind Xanovi’s cat, stabbing furiously with both blades.
Firemane eyed Scarhoof, crouched down and drew his shield to him. He then threw it at his healer.
There was no time to move. The shield struck Scarhoof square in the chest and pain exploded through his body. His health plummeted past 50% in one hit, and the force threw him backwards onto his back.
Scarhoof couldn’t breathe. What the hell was happening?
Two of his five party members had gone feral, and the boss stood near the wall pointing and laughing. His massive stomach shaking with laughter. Scarhoof wanted to ram the boss’s trident right into his stomach and end this, but he still had his own party to deal with.
Firemane planted one meaty fist on the ground. Rage filled his eyes, and he galloped forward, head down, shoulders ready for ramming.
Scarhoof rolled out of the way just in time, but Firemane swiped out with his axe, clipping him in the back, and taking off an extra 30% health. The wound seared down his back, but he didn’t have time to dawdle.
Scarhoof rolled to the side as Firemane began to turn toward him.
“My pet needs healing! Someone get him off her!”
The pet was down to 15% health, Scarhoof was at 20%. Firemane was under
half, and each of the others were in varying states of degradation.
That’s when the guard’s timer ran out and more arrows rained down upon the party.
Chapter 31
All hell broke loose in that moment.
Two of the archers targeted Scarhoof. One shot Jaxyl in the side, and another clipped Firemane’s shin as he spun around.
The massive Nagos boss finished laughing and lumbered toward Firemane with his pole arm in his hand and an evil grin on his face. “Enough playtime. It’s time to die. Guards, help me mop up this filth!”
Scarhoof sprinted to the other side of the crystal. He was too close to the chaos. He needed distance, he needed time. He needed to get everyone back to full health.
They had all taken damage. Jaxyl was nearly dead, and he and Firemane were still under the influence of the shardsmoke.
Scarhoof knew he needed to start healing and healing hard, but any heals cast would be half as efficient. He tried not to panic as he realized that there was no way he could save them all.
A memory of Misty Cave flashed through his mind. The white smoke billowing out of the central basin and calming the ferocity of the Kobolds under the spell of the shardwater. Scarhoof wished he had Eldermother’s poultice to dilute the water and make the smoke to cancel out of the effects of the shardwater.
He stopped. Negate.
He glanced up at the white shard next to him and thrust his hand against the massive object. A surge of Spirit magic shot through him reminding him of the first time he had touched the shard back with Nitene in Sunset Cove. The magic was intense, powerful, and raw.
He felt renewed, energetic, alive. He was back in the game, ready to heal.
Effect Status: Spirit Shardtouch:
+10% to Spirit Abilities. +5% to Fire and Earth Abilities. -5% to Water and Air Abilities. Duration: 10 Minutes.
Xanovi whistled. “Now you’re thinking with portals!” He fired arrow after arrow into one of the guards on the wall while dodging Firemane who had turned to him.
“Don’t touch it, I can’t have you out of the fight yet.”