by Rachel Aaron
The skeleton on her left stomped her sword flat to the ground with its boot. Meanwhile, the one on the right bent down to grab her shield and wrench it away. Tina strained with all her might, but since she was stuck on her back at the bottom of the crater, their combined strength, weight, and superior angle were more than she could match. No matter how she fought, she couldn’t free her sword or stop the skeleton above her from yanking her shield to the side, leaving her body exposed to the sword the left skeleton was now raising over her.
Staring up at the executioner’s stance, the fear Tina had felt earlier came back with a vengeance. She still didn’t know what was going on, if this was even a game anymore, but her body was completely, one-hundred-percent convinced it was about to die. Her panicked brain raced in circles as she tried to remember which ability she needed to use to save herself, but without her interface, she had no idea what still worked. The sword was coming down, though, so Tina decided that if all bets were off for her enemy, she might as well try something crazy, too.
Letting go of her sword and shield, Tina grabbed a basketball-sized piece of rubble and hurled it with all her might at the left skeleton. The improvised move wouldn’t have been possible in normal FFO. Now, though, the mini-boulder flew like a meteor right into the skeleton’s face, exploding on impact and knocking the monster flat onto its back.
A sword flashed on Tina’s right as the other skeleton tried to stab her, but its grip on her shield forced it to attack from an awkward angle, and Tina easily smacked the blow away with her armored hand. As the skeleton reeled, Tina grabbed the shield it had tried to rip away from her with both hands and rolled backward. The skeleton clung desperately to its prize, but now that it was alone, she was the one who was stronger and heavier, and she yanked it off its feet, ending up on her back again with the massive skeleton on top of her and her shield in the middle.
It was a dangerous position, but now that she was no longer trying to hold on to her sword, Tina’s left hand was free to shove herself up. Once she got her legs underneath her, she pushed up with her entire body, hoisting the shield—and the skeleton on top of it—over her head. Then roaring with fury, she turned her shield and slammed it back down again, crushing the skeleton that was now beneath it into the shattered road. Since her legendary shield, forged during the Age of Skies, could take a beating, Tina stomped her boot down on it next, smashing the trapped skeleton several inches into the stony dirt. She was about to stomp again when she heard retching noises followed by SilentBlayde’s cry of distress.
“Oh shit, David! You’re not allowed to choke to death on a healing potion!”
The shout made her cringe. She was turning to ask SB if that was pan-elixir number one or two being barfed all over the road when the skeleton she’d knocked over with the rock clambered back to its feet. Her dropped sword was right beside it, just a few feet away, but if Tina took her weight off her shield, the skeleton she’d trapped beneath it would get up, too. That left her with no weapon and no door-like shield while facing an end-game monster meant to be fought by 3 or more players.
Tina wanted to run, or panic, or do anything other than fight this terrifying, un-winnable battle, but the image of that unknown player’s head bouncing across the broken cobblestones was seared into her memory. The blood was still on the ground, bright red and accusing, reminding her that it was her fault. She’d let the skeleton slip by. If she messed up again, someone else would die, so Tina swallowed her fear and raised her empty hands instead, curling them into metal-gloved fists as the monster charged.
Screeching like a band saw, the huge skeleton brought its curved sword down on her with both hands. It was an easy-to-follow attack, but when Tina raised her arm to knock the sword aside, she discovered that the injury she’d taken earlier wasn’t as minor as she’d thought. The burn from the ghostfire no longer hurt, but it was still there, sending a deathly numbness down her shoulder and into her arm as the skeleton’s sword slammed down.
She didn’t have the strength to block it, so the attack smashed Tina’s raised arm into her own face. Still unable to cut through her god-forged armor, the giant blade slid down her gauntlet in a shower of sparks and dropped to land between the knee and thigh plates of her left leg instead. No longer hampered by inch-thick rune-forged metal, the flaming sword chopped clean through the relatively thin chain that guarded her joint and into the stony flesh below.
Roaring in pain, Tina kicked the monster away and scrambled back, looking down to assess the damage. Sure enough, silver blood was welling up from the wound like a faucet, but terrifying as it was to see herself bleeding, part of Tina felt like laughing at how she only had a narrow gash instead of a whole missing leg. Just like the earlier wound in her shoulder, the ghostfire burned like crazy, but while she could already feel her leg going numb, it still worked. Not that that mattered.
In her rush to get back so she could check her leg, she’d stepped off her shield, which meant the other skeleton was now free to climb back to its feet. It didn’t even look damaged from its time in the dirt, its ghostfire eyes as bright as ever as it shook the gravel from its armor.
As two pairs of white-fire eyes floating in empty skulls locked onto her, Tina had no choice but to back up again, climbing out of the crater and back up on the road. Her right arm was now completely numb thanks to the spreading ghostfire, and her bloody knee burned like acid where the sword had cut through. She desperately needed to take control of the situation, but she had no sword or shield. She couldn’t even see her available skills without her interface, but all of Tina’s experience said that this was big-ability time.
The skeletons advanced slowly until they reached the edge of the crater. The moment they stepped up on solid ground again, they charged in unison, the tongues of ghostfire in their eye sockets dancing as they hurtled toward her, swords raised high. Wincing, Tina turned her back on them and slammed her arms together, activating her race’s Earthen Fortitude ability.
For a terrifying second, nothing happened. Just the whistle of giant swords streaking through the air toward her undefended back. Then Tina felt the kiss of earth on the soles of her feet as the blessing of the Bedrock Kings flowed into her. Strength and stability settled in her bones, her skin, her armor, and even her metal hair. She felt colossal in its grip, a mountain that could take any storm. But with the power of bedrock came the immobility of it as well, and as her body hardened into position, Tina gritted her teeth for the beating.
Sparks flew over her shoulders in rivers as both skeletons hammered their swords into her back. The normally crushing blows felt like bee stings compared to the mountain within her, but it wouldn’t last forever. She couldn’t see the cooldown with the interface, but Tina knew she only had eight seconds before the near-invulnerability of Earthen Fortitude wore off. After that, she’d be mincemeat.
Unable to move, Tina used those precious seconds to look for help. She spotted SilentBlayde giving a Cleric the Heimlich maneuver. The white-robed healer was gagging and barfing rainbow-colored pan-elixir everywhere. That was no good for her, but surely someone else was up. SB had had two pan-elixirs on his belt, after all. The Cleric couldn’t have barfed them both up.
With her time rapidly running out, Tina desperately looked around for someone else. Aside from SB and the healer he was keeping from choking, though, there was only one figure who wasn’t sprawled on the ground. A dozen feet down the road, an ichthyian Cleric who looked almost exactly like the one SB was helping was cowering behind a rock. Hopes soaring, Tina opened her mouth to yell his name only to realize she had no idea who he was. She had to know him—all the healers in tonight’s raid were Roughnecks—but without a nameplate over his head, she couldn’t identify him by character model alone. It didn’t help that all the best-geared Clerics wore the exact same white robes and there were four in tonight’s raid who were ichthyians, scaly fish people whose bug-eyed character models all looked nearly identical.
He was all she had, th
ough, so Tina yelled anyway, screaming at the Cleric to heal her, but the fish-man just turned away.
“It’s just a dream,” he said, placing his webbed hands over his ear holes. “You aren’t real. I’m just having another lucid dreaming episode, that’s all. There’s no way this is real. It’s never real.”
There was more, but Tina didn’t bother listening to the rest of his babbling. “SB!” she cried instead, looking frantically at the elf since she was unable to lift her arms. “Help!”
Far down the road, SilentBlayde stopped flicking rainbow-colored puke off his leather armor and glanced up in surprise, his blue eyes widening into an Oh shit look as he realized her situation.
The mountain within her was starting to fade now, the magic falling out of her like the stone it was. As it left, Tina knew she was screwed. SB was on the opposite side of the raid group from her. Even if he was strong enough to stop the swords falling toward her back, he’d never make it in time. Once she was dead, the Assassin would be outmatched. The skeletons would kill him and everyone else, and it would be all her fault.
The moment Earthen Fortitude released her legs, Tina wheeled around. She might be outmatched, but it was her responsibility as a tank to be the wall between these things and the other players for as long as she could. If nothing else, maybe her blood spraying across the ground would snap that idiot healer out of his shock long enough to save the others.
The skeleton on her left went first. As it swung down, Tina lifted her right arm, choosing her numb limb for the first sacrifice. But even though she was anticipating the blow, the lingering ghostfire left her too slow by miles. She’d barely managed to get her hand up before the massive sword swept right past. It was about to land in her skull when its owner’s head was engulfed by a cloud of dark-purple powder.
The sword flashed past Tina’s face, cutting so close it flicked a single drop of silver blood from the tip of her nose. Reeling from the powder, the huge skeleton staggered backward, but the cloud surrounding its head followed every move, obscuring even the white ghostfire of its eyes.
With its ally blinded, the second skeleton took its chance to attack. When it raised its sword to chop at Tina, though, SilentBlayde appeared from thin air at its side, one of his gleaming silver swords already wedged perfectly into the joint of the monster’s arm. The flat of the blade prevented the ball from rotating fully in its socket, locking the monster’s arm comically over its head.
“I’ve got you, Roxxy!” SB said, keeping his eyes on the skeleton he’d just locked down. “Sorry I’m late. Anders was supposed to heal you while I got David up, but the A-man flipped out on me.”
Tina rubbed her numb arm in relief, glad it was still attached. “You got here when I needed you, Blayde. Thanks.”
SB took his eyes off the enemy just long enough to give her a wink. “Here,” he said, plucking something from his belt pocket with his free hand and tossing it at her. “Drink!”
Tina scrambled to catch the glass vial before it shattered on the ground. Fumbling with the cork, she didn’t look at what it was before she downed the contents in one gulp. The half cup of liquid tasted like normal water when it hit her tongue, but it washed away all the weakness in her arm and leg.
“What was that?” she asked, looking down at her once-again functional hand in wonder.
“Unfallen Water from the Age of Skies,” SilentBlayde replied proudly. “Ghostfire is purged with water magic, so—”
He cut off as the skeleton he’d trapped suddenly gave a violent shake. It didn’t look like much to Tina, but the force of the motion sent the wiry elf flying over her head. She was moving to catch him when he flipped in midair and landed on his tiptoes on top of the ruined catapult.
“Did you see that?” SB cried, pointing at his pose. “I’m like freaking Legolas here!”
Tina laughed. “Thanks, SB,” she said, pointing at the skeleton that wasn’t currently reeling blindly with a purple cloud over its head. “Play with that one for a minute. I need my sword and shield if we’re to have any chance here.”
SilentBlayde saluted and leaped at the towering undead knight, smacking the skeleton across the knees with his left-hand sword as he landed. It looked like a solid hit, but the ten-foot-tall monster barely noticed. It was still locked on Tina, almost trampling the slender elf in its rush to get to her.
“Umm, Roxxy?” SB said nervously as he danced back. “You kinda still have its attention. Looks like aggro system still works.”
“Just stun lock it,” Tina ordered, looking longingly past the skeleton at the crater where she’d gone down earlier.
The ninja mask hid his expression, but Tina could hear the panic in SilentBlayde’s voice. “I’m trying, but there’s no interface! I’m used to having all my macros and mods for abilities. I don’t remember how to activate everything by gesture only!”
Tina gaped at him. “What? How’d you use the blinding night powder, then?”
“It’s just a packet I throw! There was one in my belt!”
“I told you running all those mods was a bad idea!” she cried, ducking the skeleton’s sword as it swung over SB’s head. “This happens to you every expansion!”
They danced back and forth, with the monster striking at her while SB harassed and parried in between. A few feet away, Tina could already see the night powder’s purple haze thinning around the other skeleton’s head. Losing her patience, she leaned down and wrenched the lower half of the old stone signpost she’d cracked when she’d first woken up out of the ground. She was about to throw the hunk of rock at the skeleton’s face when SB sheathed his left sword.
Pausing with her rock held high, Tina watched in amazement as SilentBlayde pulled a glowing crystal bolo out of one of his many pockets and whipped it at the active skeleton. As the bolo twined around the monster’s exposed ribs, the crystal ends crashed together, and electricity coursed over the skeleton, immobilizing it.
“Three seconds!” SB yelled as he pulled his sword back out.
Tina dropped her rock and dove, sliding past the immobilized skeleton to scoop up her sword from the broken ground behind it. She was going for her shield next when the crackling lightning went quiet, then the leather cord of SB’s bolo snapped like a whipcrack as the skeleton broke free.
The night powder keeping the other skeleton at bay ran out at the same time. As the air cleared, the skeleton whirled on her and charged, screaming that horrible scream. Wincing at the sound, Tina dropped and rolled, sliding her arm into the straps of her shield. The moment the comforting weight of the wall of metal was back on her arm, she pushed herself up and leaped to the edge of the gravel pit she’d created with her stomp. Too simpleminded to go around, the skeletons both charged directly into the pit again, floundering when they hit the loose soil. Tina was bracing to meet them when SB appeared at her side.
“What’s the plan?” he asked, gripping his blades as the skeletons struggled to climb up the rolling gravel toward them. “These guys are both two-skull rated. We’ve never beaten a pack like this with only two people.”
“Forget the game,” Tina said, gripping her beloved sword and shield tight. “We’ve got to fight for real now.”
SilentBlayde’s confused look was lost as the two monsters reached the top of the pit and slammed into her guard. Tina grunted at the impact, but this time, her feet stayed firm, stopping them cold.
“Sorry, assholes,” she said through gritted teeth, glaring over the top of her shield into the burning eyes of her enemies. “We’re not dying today. SB!”
The elf was moving before she said his name. In a single graceful motion, he leaped over her head to land on the closest skeleton with both swords, sending bone chips flying as he began carving into it from behind.
Chapter 2
James
James Anderson should not have been playing FFO tonight.
Work had been worse than usual. He’d pulled his shoulder saving a student from a bad throw at beginners’ jujit
su class, and now his whole arm was on fire. It was his fault, too. He never should have agreed to teach four classes in a row, but the money had been too good to pass up. Now, ten hours later, his muscles were shot, his brain was fried, and the dread of having to get up and do it all over again tomorrow was throbbing like an ulcer in his stomach. A smart man—a responsible man—would have gotten his sleep while he could, yet here James was, sitting on his futon, staring at his VR helmet like a fucking addict.
His calloused fingers tightened on the sleek black plastic. He’d ripped it off his head after Tina had hung up on him mid-apology, not that that was new. He’d apologized to her a million times over the years, and she hadn’t listened to any of those, either. Yet another reason he should put the helmet down. If he logged into the game, guilt would eventually drive him into raiding with the Roughnecks. Staying up late running a super-stressful dungeon was the last thing he needed, but he couldn’t stop looking at the inviting glow of the Forever Fantasy Online screen shining inside the helmet’s visor.
He wanted to play. Bad idea or not, he wanted to escape to the beautiful world in which the disaster his life had become didn’t exist. The one place where he could pretend he wasn’t a failure, if only for a few hours.
“Addict,” he muttered, shoving the VR helmet over his head.
The moment the warm plastic covered his head, his tiny bedroom vanished, replaced by the endless blue-black expanse of the character-selection screen. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden change, bright 3-D images of all his characters appeared in front of him and immediately started jumping and waving, pointing at their chests in a “Pick me!” gesture whenever James turned his head in their direction. After considering his options for a moment, James lifted his arm to point at the first in the line, his main character. The motion sensors on his helmet detected the movement, and the tall, catlike jubatus Naturalist pumped his fist in victory. Bad decision made, James lowered his body carefully onto the bed as his characters vanished, leaving him staring into the swirling dark of the loading screen.