by Brian Simons
“We can do this together!” I yelled. One of my treants fell from a tentacle and splashed into the water.
“Run, Cale! Good luck!” Grisel yelled, then bent down to touch the surface of the water. A sheet of ice overtook its surface, pinning the bases of the massive tentacles in place. Grisel dove into the water and vanished. My poor treant was immobilized in that ice shelf, a sitting duck for whatever came next.
I had come too far not to make it to shore. Nadine was waiting for me. All I had to do was touch land and leave this tentacled menace behind.
I looked down at the water and grew a lily pad there, controlling its growth to keep it atop the water as I stepped onto it from the boat. I kept my eyes on the water, raising lily pads like stepping stones and running west, toward the afternoon sun.
The water refused to stay still beneath my feet with Grisel gone and the monster shaking violently to free itself from the ice. Over my shoulder, I could see the tips of two tentacles whipping wildly through the air. I still couldn’t see land, and I was afraid I’d run out of MP before I ever did. Drinking an MP potion for the privilege of raising more lily pads seemed like an epic waste.
If only treants ate squid, or whatever this was. None of my plants had a taste for flesh.
Or did they? Mammoths weren’t carnivorous, at least not until Ripcord’s developers decided otherwise. Ripcord was a mix of the familiar and the unknown, according to Pickman. That lying, conniving son of a bitch may have helped spark my imagination just a bit.
I turned back to face the sea monster, two feet planted on an unnaturally sturdy lily pad. It broke free of the ice shelf with a powerful thrust of a tentacle. It splintered the boat with one of its slimy appendages and swatted at me with the other.
I tried to duck, but I wasn’t fast enough this time. The monster slammed its tentacle into my side and curled its wet arm around my torso. I tried to push myself free, but its grip was too tight. It squeezed me like a vise, wringing 8 HP out of me each second.
With me in its clutches, the monster raised its head, parting the waters. Just as Grisel had warned, it had a mouth. Its head was eight feet across, and its mouth spanned the whole front of its face. It curled thick pink lips back to reveal a row of sharp spines tightly packed like the teeth of a comb. Its bottom teeth interlaced with its top teeth to form a solid wall of gray, bony enamel.
This thing would make a meal out of me if the idea budding in my mind didn’t pan out. I only had 22 MP left now, and I had to choose where best to aim my attack.
As if taunting me, the monster opened its mouth wide and emitted a high pitched squeal. It curled its tentacle toward its face with me trapped in its grasp.
I didn’t need to touch plants to Grow them now, all I needed was water, and this creature had a gaping mouth full of it. I stared into the kraken’s mouth and grew a cactus. Right from its fishy tongue.
Maybe it’s because cacti plump up when they have access to water, or maybe it’s because my Grow speed was just that impressive, but after six seconds the cactus ballooned inside that monster like a parade float. After eight seconds its sharp spines pressed into the sides of the monster’s mouth and out its cheeks. The cactus continued to swell until the ten second mark, when the monster’s head burst open in a display of green plant matter and pink brain splatter, littering the ocean with raw glistening chunks.
The monster’s tentacles crashed into the water and the whole thing sank to the bottom of the ocean floor.
You have reached Level 29! Total skill points: 1. Total attribute points: 1.
You have reached Level 30! Total skill points: 2. Total attribute points: 2.
You have reached Level 31! Total skill points: 3. Total attribute points: 3.
I turned to conjure another lily pad, but it would be my last. I was out of MP. The lily pad sank under my weight, plunging me into cold waters.
I still hadn’t seen our island destination. I had to choose whether to swim back toward shore and hope Grisel would find me, or to swim west and have faith that an island waited within my reach. Turning back was hardly an option. We had sailed too far, and I didn’t know if Grisel could dredge up any other boats.
I swam west with all my might, watching my stamina gage drop with each stroke. I kept swimming. The faint outline of an island formed ahead. If it weren’t a mirage, it might still be too far for one man to swim.
I ignored the freezing temperature of the water and the heaviness of my soaked clothes. I swam and swam, but my stamina gage hit zero after roughly two minutes. I kept swimming at a slower pace, my lungs on fire as I strained against the current, my HP meter gradually dwindling now that my stamina was gone.
Sand. I saw it ahead. It was no illusion, but could I reach it? Half my HP was gone. If there were any other monsters in the water, I’d be a goner, but I had to press on. Three quarters of my health points had disappeared. The waves continued to suck me out to sea, then push me further ahead. It was a tidal cycle of despair, hope, despair, hope.
I swam ahead, the shape of trees coming into view. I was down to my last few HP. Then a massive wave pulled me from behind and shot me forward until I skinned my knees on the sandy shore. I scrambled to my feet, filling my lungs with a cooling sensation as my stamina meter regained a point, then two.
I may never make it back to Grisel’s rainforest, but that was ok. I had landed on Nadine’s island.
21
I stumbled a few steps from the ocean to make sure I was clear of the water, then I lay down on the sand. Clumps of dune grass grew sporadically, but I lacked the MP to learn their essence. I wanted to get up and run, to push my way through the bushes and palms and find Nadine. I could barely think straight though. I was helpless against my fatigue, my low HP, my absent stamina, and my shaking limbs. I lay there for an hour just gathering my strength, and took the time to use the skill and attribute points I had just earned.
I had planned to put two of my points into Grow and one into Pollen. Pollen’s tier 8 would bring my chance of inflicting blindness to a cool 50%.
I started with Grow. Its tier 11 was nothing special, it just improved my cultivation speed again. Tier 12, however, would remove water from the list of environmental ingredients I’d need to raise plants. With that, I could conjure any plant I had Osmosed with just MP and my say-so. I improved Grow again, and that turned out to be the last tier. I had mastered it.
I was suddenly very happy I hadn’t started by sinking points into Pollen. Having mastered Grow, I had a host of new abilities open up to me. I only had one skill point left though, so I’d have to choose wisely.
CURRENT SKILLS
Engraft (Tier 1) (MASTERED)
Grow (Tier 12) (MASTERED)
Osmose (Tier 4) (MASTERED)
Pollen (Tier 7)
AVAILABLE UPGRADES
Animate (Tier 1): At tier 1, bring basic common plants to life to aid you in battle or conduct menial labor. [30 MP to cast]. Requires 1 skill point to unlock.
Beanstalk (Tier 1): At tier 1, raise a magic beanstalk from the ground to escape into the sky to safety for 60 seconds. [50 MP to cast]. Requires 1 skill point to unlock.
Mulch (Tier 1). At tier 1, convert existing plants gradually to soil. [5 MP per second to cast]. Requires 1 skill point to unlock.
Pollen (Tier 8): At tier 8, Pollen has a 50% chance of blinding enemies. [2.25 MP per second to cast]. Requires 1 skill point to unlock.
Uproot (Tier 1): At tier 1, Uproot allows you to tear plants from the ground, forcing them to crash into your enemies or serve as bridges and other environmental aids. [9 MP to cast]. Requires 1 skill point to unlock.
I could just go with my first instinct and bump my Pollen skill up a notch, but I was too eager to play with new magic. Animate would make me a king among plants — eventually. I would have to start with the same run-of-the-mill greens I first learned in Cortina. I chose to stick with my trusty treants for now and find something else to unlock.
Beanstalk seemed n
eat, but it also seemed like another form of running away, which I wasn’t keen on doing any time soon.
I was definitely tempted to pick Uproot. I pictured clobbering monsters with freshly fallen trees. Long term though, Mulch seemed to make the most sense. If I was stuck on an island where I’d be raising lots of plants, it was good to know I could clear the land and start fresh when I needed to. I unlocked Mulch, satisfied that I was on my way to becoming a mage that could hold his own.
Turns out, Grisel was right. Green magic was slow to progress, but could lead to some very powerful skills. If I had tried to come this far solo, maybe I would have been able to do it after all, albeit after a lot more time grinding away at killing curlynxes and harbingers. That was time I wasn’t willing to sacrifice. Every moment lost was another moment that Nadine would have to live in this terrible place alone, or risk a run-in with the Stricken.
Next up were my three new attribute points.
Every step of the way, my battles had been close calls. I was always one mammoth tusk away from becoming a scattered pile of dead pixels. I put two points into Power to bring my HP up, and put the last point into Acuity for the MP gain.
ATTRIBUTES
Power 3 -> 5
Speed 6
Acuity 21 -> 22
HP 180 -> 260
SP 45
MP 210 -> 220
Now that the hard choices were behind me, I got to my feet and walked away from the ocean, leaving the sand behind. There were wooden planks here along the ground forming a path that led uphill. Some of the planks had rotted, and others were missing altogether. In a few spots, fallen palm trees blocked the way. Whoever had made this path hadn’t tended to it in quite some time.
I continued uphill. The island had some of the same beautiful flowers growing wild that I saw in the rainforest, no doubt planted by Nadine after spending time with Grisel. Each new flower gave me hope that I would find her at the top of this hill.
Up ahead was a small house. I picked up my speed until I got to the door. “Hello?” I called out. The door was ajar, so I pushed it open and stepped inside.
This was the house of a florist. Tall stone urns sat in the corners, and small glass vases filled every available space. The flowers in them were desiccated though, dried by neglect and the passage of time. A few were turned on their sides and broken.
“Hello?” I called out again. No one answered.
I stalked through the house, wary that some vile invention of Ripcord’s game developers sat behind each next corner, waiting to delete me from existence. I found nothing. No monsters, no players, no Nadine. Not even a mouse. The house was empty except for broken furniture and dead plants.
I went back to the house’s door and stared out at the water. There was no sign of the rainforest or the continent beyond. I closed the door and walked toward the cottage’s only bedroom. The bed was musty and covered in dust and leaves. The window shutters had long since fallen off their hinges.
Maybe the harbinger was right and Nadine had taken her own life. Maybe not. Maybe she died on this island at the hands of another player. Maybe the Stricken killed her, or swallowed her whole. I couldn’t know, but I could torment myself by playing all of these scenarios in my mind, each more gut-wrenching than the last.
I sank onto the mattress. It was lumpy and mushy, and probably full of moldy leaves. I didn’t care. I had come all this way to find Nadine, and not only was she long gone, but I was marooned on this island. Her former home.
I felt my eyes sting with the tears I was holding back. Two years’ worth of tears from living in Nadine’s former home without her. I couldn’t do it again, not here. Not permanently. Last time, I threw myself out of an airplane with a backup plan. I had Ripcord. Now, I had nothing.
I conjured up some hemlock and held it in front of my face. I could end this now. Obliterate my data. Stop the shaking in my bones and the sobs that were now escaping my throat.
Or I could Grow my own supply of lite, and chew myself into an endless stupor until someone else came here and killed me so I wouldn’t have to. I took the lite leaf from my inventory. One quick chew would transport me away from this abandoned isle and back to the warm sunny islands of my honeymoon.
I could chew them together and die dreaming of reuniting with my wife.
I threw it all aside. That wasn’t the answer. There were no answers anymore. I whipped up a handful of valerian and sank my teeth into their putrid roots. I consumed plant after plant until the soporific effect built up. I was tired of searching without finding. I closed my eyes and let sleep overtake me.
22
A loud banging roused me from the moldering mattress. My forehead was covered in sweat. I felt like I hadn’t slept a wink but I knew I had been out for a while because my HP, MP, and stamina meters were all full again.
I stood up from the bed but lost my footing. I was still groggy from the valerian. I took another step forward as the banging sound got louder.
I glanced back at the window, shutterless and open to the world. The early morning sun shone on calm weather. If it wasn’t a storm, then what was making that noise?
I stepped out of the bedroom and into the main space of the house. The kitchen was covered in cobwebs, the dining room table had caved in from rot. The sitting area sat empty and sad.
It was the front door. Someone was banging on the front door. And whoever it was, they were crying.
My eyes shot open. I shook my head to cast off my sleepiness and focus. It was the Stricken. I had been here one night, but they found me. He found me.
I stood there, motionless in the middle of the house, as the sobbing and wailing of a hundred tortured souls grew louder. The players he had appended to his wild hunting party were crowding the door.
I ran back to the bedroom. I didn’t see any pale faces through the window so I climbed through it. I ran down the gentle slope that led from the back of the house toward the opposite side of the island. It wasn’t long before the Stricken followed suit.
A fog of dark energy followed him, casting a pall over the island as it blocked the sun’s early rays. The sounds of eternal mourning followed me as I ran. I pushed branches forward as I catapulted through the lush island vegetation, snapping them backwards when I let go in the hope that I would knock players off course. A few went down, but others trampled over them and continued the chase.
I reached to my left and my right, summoning succulent cacti covered with silverthorns. They swelled until they encroached the pathway, sandwiching two sullen players between them and pinning them in place with their sharp thorns. Other players rushed around them like a river parted by a large rock. I spun around, whipped up some spring ivy, and coiled it around the cacti, squeezing until the plants exploded into a burst of silver shrapnel.
The whole mess was mana well spent. Five seconds of Grow and 11 MP later, thorns flew everywhere. Some of the players in front were thrown forward, bleeding and fallen. Still, more emerged from the back of the pack.
I ran for a dozen seconds more, trailing a dense yellow mist behind me, pollinating the air with sticky spores. A quick glance over my shoulder showed a handful of the Stricken’s minions running off course and crashing into nearby trees, but others remained unaffected.
I could whittle down his infantry only so much. They would get back to their feet and continue after me while their unafflicted brethren kept at my heels. A few well-timed tendrils of spring ivy could strangle their necks and drop them dead, but I didn’t want to kill these people, even if they were trying to kill me or drag me into their shared personal hell. These puppets of death were real people once, and no matter how miserable and murderous they were, they weren’t in control here. Only he was.
I spent most of my stamina points just getting to the shore and stopped short before my feet took me straight into the water. There were no islands on the horizon, no distant respites to abscond to. This beach, on Nadine’s island, would be my last stand against the scourge t
hat had hunted down so many players before me.
A crash of bodies flooded the beach and circled me. They lurched forward as they wracked with sobs, their ashen faces streaked with tears. Their eyes were all pupil and no iris. Perhaps my Pollen had been so ineffectual because their vision was already clouded by their own suffering.
I raised a wall of bamboo in front of me and summoned a forest of banyan from above. It meant casting multiple Grow spells at once, a real MP killer. It was worth it though. I trapped all of the hive-minded mourners I could see in the twisted branches of the banyan, the strangler fig, a tree known for taking over its host and gradually replacing it.