The Dragon's Wrath: Ashes of the Fallen

by Brent Roth

  As I ran, I just imagined it all in my head.

  It was more fun that way, anyway.

  Turning the corner after exiting the passageway, I continued to sprint to the far edge of the room where the party had set up prior. Eight seconds had already passed due to the long run as the mage finally caught up with me, and I immediately began chanting once again. Two seconds had passed as the first goblin came around the corner and into my line of sight, right on time as I nearly finished my chant. Holding the spell for a second longer, I waited as the second goblin appeared a bit behind the first.

  Targeting the closest goblin despite the fact that it wasn't the one I initially hit earlier, I decided to go with what the situation gave me. The third, fourth, and fifth goblin soon appeared as they spit and cursed my existence while blindly charging forth.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the dwarf getting itchy as he wanted to taunt immediately. That wasn't the plan though, and he held his ground to the side of me for fear of getting hit by my spell.

  In a single second, the five goblins had closed the distance between us to a mere ten paces as I finished my spell cast. Right as the goblin at the forefront raised its sword in an attempt to slash at me, I yelled out once again, "CHAIN LIGHTNING!"

  A loud bang rang off as the bolts flew but two feet into the vanguard, instantly paralyzing it and causing it to fall to the floor at my feet. "Frost Bolt!" repeated the man next to me as the cold ball of ice smashed into the back of the head of the goblin underneath me.

  In the blink of an eye, between the flash of my lightning and the explosion of white frosty mist that enshrouded the goblin in front of me, the dwarf had lunged forth and used his [Call to Challenge] to taunt the remaining goblins onto him.

  With his loud bellow, the goblins instantly turned their attention to the short and stocky man with a shield as their eyes burned with rage. Losing what little sense they had, the goblins worked themselves into a reckless frenzy over the taunt and wildly hacked and slashed at the man who could barely withstand their attacks.

  Drawing my axe for but a split-second, I swung down with the force of a seasoned lumberjack as the goblin between my legs struggled to get up. Entering through the back of the skull and clearing through into the dirt below, brain matter and skull fragments splattered across my cheek as I immediately threw an arm out and yelled, "Arc Lightning!"

  The nearest goblin started to convulse in place as a solid tether of electricity formed between it and my open palm. Pulsating electricity surged forth as it burned the goblin internally, draining its health and my mana at an unprecedented and unsustainable rate. As the goblin's muscles contracted involuntarily, it was rendered defenseless and shook in place.

  Seconds later, arrows had found their mark into its head as a frost bolt pelted it in the chest. The second goblin collapsed to the floor as I turned my focus to the third goblin and began another channel of [Arc Lightning].

  All the while, in the four seconds since the fight had truly started, two heals had fallen on the tank. One had started three seconds early before the first blow had even landed, yet the dwarf was already at a near critical 32% remaining health from the onslaught of the [Guard] and the remaining goblins.

  As the dwarf desperately tried to defend himself from the [Heavy Thrusts] and the [Lunges] of the guard, I switched to the nearest of the last two remaining [Outcast Goblins]. A third tether and channel resumed, as I locked the goblin in place for the party members to easily dispatch of it. But right as the goblin was about to fall, my channel cut-out as my mana ran dry.

  No longer under any crowd-control, the goblin turned to charge me, as my threat was the highest of all the participating players in the group. It raised its sword as it closed the distance between us, cursing at me with what little energy it had left.

  Then, in an instant, the goblin released its attack and slashed away with a speed I was unaccustomed to. Grasping my axe as quickly as I could, I barely swung in time to partially deflect the sword blow as it sliced away a portion of my triceps.

  Gritting my teeth, I tried to ignore the pain as it flashed through my mind while bringing my axe to a high-guard. The goblin lunged at me as if to skewer me but a swift counter swing led to the axe finding itself deep in the goblin's neck as its sword weakly glanced off my leather armor.

  Yanking the axe free, I kicked the goblin onto its back and raised it up once more.

  Dropping the axe with one fluid movement, it landed cleanly in the middle of the goblin's chest, right through the sternum and between the ribs. The goblin's chest now completely split open, I ignored the bulging eyes and blood flowing out of its mouth as I quickly ran behind the [Goblin Guard] and swung with all of my might.

  As I landed my blow, at the edge of my peripheral vision I could see that the archer and mage had finished off the last of the remaining [Outcast Goblins] as it fell to the floor. The side-swing found its mark in the ribs of the goblin guard that was completely unaware of my presence but it quickly turned and threw its shield back in reaction to my attack, knocking me onto the flat of my back.

  The sudden unexpected impact with the hard ground caused me to lose my wind as I gasped for breath, struggling to breathe for a moment. In that instant of struggle, the guard launched a [Heavy Thrust] at me that I barely managed to avoid as I kicked out at the dirt and rolled to my side. The spear lodged deep into the mossy ground and as he violently pulled his spear back, loose clumps of dirt were flung over me just a foot or two away, falling onto my face and getting into my eyes.

  In a precarious position, I was afraid of the next attack.

  But then a frost bolt hit the goblin from behind and as it turned its head to glance back, I used that momentary distraction to leap onto my feet and prepared for a second attack. As I raised my axe and pulled down with all of the muscles in my core, back and shoulders fully engaged, the guard raised its shield to meet me halfway.

  The sudden thud of the axe head clashing with the wooden shield reverberated through my hands as the shaft of the axe splintered and snapped in two, sending shards of wood flying into my face.

  Instinctively squinting my eyes so as not to be blinded by loose wood, I lost sight of the spear that was being thrust in my general direction. Pain instantly registered in my abdomen as I turned to look at the goblin guard in front of me.

  As the guard pulled the spear out and attempted a second thrust, a sword found itself lodged deeply in the back of its skull, to the point where part of the sword blade was no longer visible on the surface, and was coming out the front of the goblin's head. It was a fatal blow to the goblin and a sigh escaped my lips as the second thrust pierced through my chest.

  "What," I muttered as I reactively coughed out some blood.

  Collapsing to the floor, I couldn't help but wonder what had just happened.

  The fatal blow, wasn't fatal?

  Its brain was split in two… yet it was still moving, still fighting with barely any health remaining. A quick glance at my own health told me my fate was sealed, as the 2% remaining ticked down to 1%. The dwarf with his sword stuck in the skull of the goblin guard looked as if he was playing ring around the rosy with the goblin as they circled each other in an attempt to dislodge the weapon.

  The last thing I saw was a frost bolt exploding into a shower of frosty mist as my vision went black. In a moment I found myself in that gray-blue world with haze surrounding me. I could barely make out what appeared to be a graveyard from where I was standing, somewhere out in the middle of the forest.

  I had no clue as to where I had been transported to, but a glance at the flowing river in the sky told me all I needed to know. Following that intersecting river of blue and gray, I eventually made my way back to the entrance of the dungeon. Going through the portal as a ghost didn't have the same feeling… in fact, it was an empty feeling void of any of the normal senses.

  It was a creepy feeling.

  Returning to my body was the same as before, and
as soon as I accepted the resurrection I found myself being sucked back in. My vision went black one last time and then, I opened my eyes to find myself staring at the dark domed ceiling of the abandoned mining complex. Watching the light flicker about as shadows cascaded and danced above me, I couldn't hear any sounds of battle.

  Sitting up, I saw that the group was relaxing as well as they sorted through the equipment from the fight. It appeared the boss fight was largely a success. Minus my stupid mistake, all was well.

  Somehow in the midst of the hysteria, I had lost track of the dwarf and the guard's last movement. I partially wanted to blame the shattering of my axe as the main culprit but I knew that wasn't true. I let my guard down thinking the goblin had died from the blow to the head. Not in my wildest of dreams would I expect a creature with a sword split down the middle of its skull and coming out of its forehead to still continue to fight.

  Yeah, that just didn't happen every day.

  Oh well.

  I lost a lot of experience from that mistake, to the tune of 25% of my current level's maximum total. Well, at least I didn't have to worry about losing any items or a time restriction on resurrecting. Though there was a time restriction of fifteen minutes if you died from PvP, but the penalty there was only a 10% loss of experience and a 5% drop in money. You could actually earn a living if you were good enough at Player Killing, farming players as if they were creatures.

  "Always someone dying with this guy," the dwarf finally said to break the silence.

  "So even when you killed it the last time, someone still died?" I asked, a little puzzled that the boss was so difficult. I had honestly expected it to go quite smoothly, and thought it did until I screwed up.

  "Right, I died last time but the goblin went down while it chased the priest around," said the dwarf with a bit of laugh as he patted his friend on the back. "It was hilarious watching this elf 'ere run around with his skirt up, 'oh look at me prance, can't step on me gown now!'"

  "Oi jackass, it's not a skirt, it's a robe," the priest shot back. "All casters wear one."

  "Oh yeh, this caster 'ere doesn't 'ave a skirt does he?" the dwarf retorted while pointing a finger at me. "Movin' on, what do ye say to continuing down to the third?"

  "No issue with me, experience is what it is," I said with a chuckle.

  Since I basically lost all of the experience I had gained from the first floor, I figured it couldn't hurt to at least try and recoup some of the lost experience with a quick trash clear. Well, I did complete the two quest chains, so it wasn't a complete loss.

  A quick glance at the loot before us, there was another [Old Dory] and a [Cracked Aspis] from the goblin guard that no one really wanted along with a [Crude Sleeveless Leather Jerkin] and [Crude Leather Gloves]. Those two actually made for a fairly decent entry level tanking set, seeing as they were slightly above the [Worn Leather Vest] both the dwarf and I were wearing.

  As far as stats go, the only real difference was in the thickness and hardness of the leather. It wouldn't last long if you were stabbed a few times, as it would simply be shredded apart, but it would take a bit more effort from the opponent to pierce through.

  The game didn't really have a conventional loot system with random plus defense numbers or plus health numbers and offered a more realistic resistance based off material quality and design.

  What that meant for late game… well, I could only imagine once iron armor made its rounds and if steel plate armor is ever discovered, I would start to worry about the practical effectiveness of melee weapons or bows in general. A fully armored tank in plate armor would be a serious monster when super human physical abilities were added on top.

  I mean, weight and mobility were essentially the only drawbacks to such armor in the past, reduce or remove that liability and you have the definition of a super tank.

  Yeah, well I didn't have to worry about that.

  If I've learned one thing in life, it's that metal conducts electricity quite wonderfully. A bunch of metal cans running around the battlefield waiting for a lightning strike?

  Hah, I couldn't wait.

  After everything was piled and sorted on the floor, I was able to finally get a good look at our assortment of goods. There were seven poor quality swords, six enchanted rings with plus-two to a random attribute, two rings with plus-three, the aforementioned leather armor, shield and spear, and seventy-one inferior quality vendor swords.

  "Quite the haul, really," I said after looking everything over. "At least three-hundred copper for each of us, if not a bit more." My mind was preoccupied with what kind of NPC I could draft, or if I should invest in livestock or other goods to help develop my village. This was easy money and experience all in one nifty package, and certainly more enjoyable than hunting wolves ad infinitum.

  "I'm taking the leather if there's no objection," said the dwarf as he looked around.

  "None here, you're the tank," I replied as I eyed the plus-three strength rings. "I'll take the vendor trash and two rings, if you guys want the better stuff."

  "I don't need any of it," said the priest.

  "Same, maybe a ring but it's all junk," reiterated the mage.

  That just left the archer, but he didn't say anything.

  He was a bit of a quiet fellow. Fairly forgettable really, not even sure what his name was, honestly. Ah, well, I didn't actually know any of their names since we all had our name plates hidden.

  Taking as many of the ten copper inferior swords that were cracked and rusty as I could, I had devised a slight plan in my head. From the looks of the weapons they were certainly brittle and most of them had already cracked but the rust was only on the surface. The iron used to make them was still usable… if I could bring them back to the blacksmith, he could probably melt them down and smelt them into new swords. Raw materials essentially, and at a discount price.

  That was one way to corner a market, take junk people were willing to give away and turn it into a valued commodity that they would pay top dollar for. Shrewd, perhaps, but I saw it as utilizing what was given to me. In the far North, the northern wastelands were a desolate place with no potential. At least that's what they say.

  The joke was on them, though.

  Yeah, I couldn't wait to repurpose these trash swords. They were certainly worth more than the ten copper offered at the trade post as a raw material, and I intended to fill-up my oversized double-wolf pelt bag to the brim with them.

  With all of the gear sorted, it was now time to roll down to the third floor.

  Heading down through the passageway that connected the second and third floor, the change was fairly gradual but it was there. The pass had narrowed and was a bit shorter, while the rooms themselves were a bit smaller overall with a lower ceiling. Running or kiting would be more difficult down here, and I realized that a change of strategy might be necessary.

  And, of course… the smoke was still there.

  The ash was definitely thicker and could be visibly seen floating about in clumps as I almost wanted to cough. My eyes and nostrils continued to burn, only, a bit more intensely than before… much like I had figured when we entered the second floor. Yeah, I would be buying or crafting a mask of some sort for my next return trip.

  Covering my mouth and nose with my hand while squinting my eyes, I pressed forward until I came upon a group of goblins relaxing around a fire. I swear, they all did the same damn thing. Just sitting around a fire, eating rat or taking a nap… what a lousy life these goblins lived.

  Or maybe, it was a glorious one.

  Who knows.

  The typical progression was in effect but I didn't even bother to really look, they were trash mobs and would die within a few seconds each. The only thing I was really curious about, was the mage's spell repertoire. He only used [Frost Bolt] and nothing else, which I found somewhat strange.

  "Just out of curiosity here," I started to ask as we moved between trash groups. "Is frost bolt your main damage spell? I haven't seen you
use anything else."

  "Yeah sadly, at the moment it's my only reliable, chainable spell," he replied with a shrug. "It's our first spell, second is flash frost but that's just a crowd control shackle with a short duration, not at all useful here. Third spell is ice shard which is just a weak instant cast ability to use while on the move… I'm pretty much a one-trick pony at this stage of the game."

  Ah, I felt a little bad for him but, oh well.

  At least he had options I suppose, even if they weren't good ones.

  I was sure they would play some role later down the road, spell kits were usually meant to have some synergistic approach that might not be readily apparent so early in the game. I imagined his low-mana cost spells with built-in slows had some theme in mind. On the other hand, my high-mana cost, high-damage lightning spells with a stun were damn near perfect for Player versus Player scenarios, and I was kind of excited at what I could do with some of the future spells.

  Having a Wondrous Legendary Artifact certainly made things more appealing.

  Thirty some minutes after we had started clearing the third floor, we had arrived at the mini-boss in all of its miniature glory. Along the way, we actually had a rare find off one of the [Outcast Goblins] when it dropped a [Rusty Iron Xiphos].

  The sword was basically the Greek version of what became the Roman Gladius, and was a poor quality but common grade weapon. It was actually fairly good for the level and worth at least a hundred and twenty copper.

  The dwarf took that up pretty quick though, and no one really complained.

  Taking a look at the boss, I found myself pleasantly surprised as a smile crept up my face. There was a level 42 [Goblin Guard] which was expected, but there were also three [Goblins] and one [Outcast Goblin Priest]… who just so happened to have a very peculiar weapon on hand.