“Sure thing, Boss.” His cloaked form slid off my shoulders and wrapped around an overhanging branch, looking to the world like an old, discarded piece of cloth.
It was late in the morning already. Confident in my companion’s ability to alert me to oncoming danger, I lay down and fell asleep instantly.
***
“Wake up, Boss!”
Someone was shaking me.
“Eh, what is it, Vic?” I asked sleepily. It was dusk and I had planned to sleep well into the night. My Shadow-Touched bonuses wouldn’t kick in for another hour anyway.
“You’ve got an incoming call, Boss.”
I frowned. Of course I am, why?
It’s okay, I sent the others but decided to remain to hunt on my own some more.
Icy snakes of fear crawled down my spine. None of them had returned? Kaedric was right, they should have made it back by now. Something must have happened to them.
In the forest, where the strongest roaming monster was level 13, this could mean only one thing.
The enemy was here.
***
The feeling of dread did not let go. The fight had finally found me. And they were early.
I wanted to rush after my troops and see if some could still be saved, though in my heart I knew they were probably all dead by now. Unfortunately, in my haste to act, I had forgotten to ask Kaedric to check if any of the soldiers were awaiting resurrection, and I had no way to reestablish the mental connection with him.
I considered teleporting back. The darkness had spread beyond the confines of the valley, so I could use it as a method of fast travel, looking for my troops. But I could easily overtake them, with no way of knowing if I had just missed them or not.
Instead, I jumped on Tempest’s back, prepared to sprint all the way back.
“Boss, wait!” Vic shouted.
“I have to find them!” I said urgently. “Despite the levels they’ve gained, they’re still barely trained and would stand no chance against a force of players.”
“I know that. I meant there’s a faster way.”
“What are you talking about?”
”Your Shadow Clone! You can use it to travel fast – really, really fast.”
I frowned. “Why are you only telling me this now?”
“I was easing you in; you were just getting the hang of it. But I think you can control it now. Get down off your puppy and use the technique we practiced.”
My demon wolf bared his fangs at Vic. The intelligent beast didn’t appreciate being called a ‘puppy.’
I did as Vic suggested. Repeating the meditation steps, I submerged my awareness deep inside my body then poured most of my consciousness into my clone.
I rose up in my newly formed shadowy body, slowly taking a three-dimensional shape, and looked around me.
“Now run!” Vic commanded.
I took a few running steps. It didn’t seem particularly fast to me.
“No, not like that. Run through the shadows. Go, I’ll stay behind and watch your body.”
I tried following his instructions. I focused on the thick forest shadows and poured myself into them. My shadow moved and the ground rushed below me in a blur. Then I found myself standing 20 meters away from where I was just standing. Damn, that’s fast!
Now that I knew how it worked, I concentrated, envisioning the path I wanted to take. My ghostly body sped through the thick forest at the speed of shadows.
I stopped a few seconds later and checked my map. I was about a kilometer away from the camp. It had cost me around 50 MP getting this far, but I was already regenerating them, albeit slower than usual. I grinned, put my mind back into the shadows, and blurred away.
I stopped every few seconds, checking for signs of my troops’ passage. Luckily the large band wasn’t especially stealthy and my level 13 tracking skill was sufficient to follow them.
This is awesome, I thought as I zoomed through the forest. With this ability, I could travel hundreds of kilometers. I could scout new places, maybe even make contact with new allies.
My train of thought was cut short as I spotted something moving ahead. Hobgoblins.
I had found my troops.
The hobs gave collective gasps of surprise when they saw my clone blurring out of the shadows.
“What is going on?” I demanded, my voice coming out as a hoarse, hollow whisper. “Why have you stopped? You should have made it back to the clan by now.” I was annoyed but mainly relieved to find them alive and well. I felt light … like an unnoticed heavy burden had eased off my shoulders. I breathed easier and looked around. It was suddenly clear why they had stopped.
Vaelin stepped forward. The lieutenant bowed his head. “Forgive me, Dread Totem. Our scouts have located a group of unknown travelers, so I instructed the men to lay low. I sent a runner back to get you, but I didn’t expect you here so soon.”
I nodded. I had figured as much. The enemy players had reached us a week before my earliest estimation. “How many?”
“A dozen, my lord.”
If Tal’s intel was correct, that amounted to a quarter of the first invasion force. This could be a golden opportunity to thin out their numbers before they reached our valley.
“I want to see for myself.”
Vaelin called over one of the scouts. The bow-wielding hob led me off the trail through the thick underbrush. We snuck together, careful not to let out any sound that would give away our presence.
As we moved farther, I sensed the players’ time coming into effect. It seemed that in the deep forest the radius of the time was smaller than normal, as we found the players camping at a small clearing not far away. I counted 12 individuals. They were a mix of melee and ranged fighters with two healers for support, all between level 15 and 25.
“Tell me again why we didn’t wait for the main group?” one of their sentries asked his friend.
The other player shrugged. “It was Rikush’s idea. She suggested we’d get more XP and loot if we beat the others there. It’s no big deal. They can’t be more than a few hours behind us. Rikush is a decent fighter and has a good nose for opportunities. Me and some of the others have joined parties with her in the past, so we decided to follow her lead.”
“I don’t know,” the first one said skeptically. “She seems a bit angry to me.”
His friend snickered. “Yeah, she’s got a temper, but she usually manages to keep it under control. Just stay out of her way when the fighting starts and you’ll be okay.”
So it turned out these players were just eager to kill us all by themselves. I gritted my teeth. They were a threat. They couldn’t be allowed to live.
I stroked my chin, considering our chances.
We outnumbered the players two to one and had two bosses with us – Yulli and Kilpi. Everyone was geared in enchanted items, and we had surprise on our side.
On the other hand, my own fighting abilities were limited as a shadow and I couldn’t use any of my items. Getting here also took a big chunk of my mana, over 500, and it was ticking back up slowly. My troops’ levels were still lower than the players, and the six veterans were the only ones who had decently leveled combat skills.
I grimaced. Too bad I didn’t bring any Ogres with me on this trip. A couple of the brutes would really help assure our victory. Unfortunately, the Eternal Night blessing hadn’t spread out all the way to this location, so I couldn’t use the long-range version of my teleport to bring in more troops or even come in person. I’d have to make do with the troops I had present.
I’m going for it, I thought with determination. Even if we lost, at least we’d take some of the players with us. Our casualties could always be resurrected, for a price. I con
templated dismissing the shadow clone and going in person, but I couldn’t trust the players to stay put. Some of them were already showing signs of wanting to start moving.
The important thing was to take out the healers first, then the DPS guys, leaving the tanks for last. Now that I had purchased the Taunt Resist perk, I felt much more confident in my troops’ ability to go around the tanks.
“Wait here,” I instructed the scout, then I zoomed through the shadows back to the main party. “Listen up, everyone.” I spoke with the whispered voice of shadows. “We’re going to attack.”
The hobs grinned, eager to shed some blood.
“Kilpi, Yulli, circle behind the travelers. Keep your distance, and be careful to not be seen. The rest of us will charge head-on. It’ll be your job to take out the healers once we do.”
The two hob bosses nodded. As veterans, they had the best chance to move around undetected. If I tried moving everyone to surround the clearing, we would no doubt be seen.
I looked at the determined and eager faces staring back at me. The seven lieutenants were trying to maintain their composure, but their eyes betrayed their excitement at the thought of blood and violence.
“Each lieutenant is in charge of two soldiers. Vaelin, you take the last three. I want each group to concentrate on taking down a single traveler at a time. Start with their ranged attackers, then the melee damagers, and keep the shield bearer for last. Everyone clear on their assignment?”
They all nodded eagerly, drawing their weapons.
I tracked the information threads coming from the two bosses as they moved away from us, circling the players. Once they were in position, I cast Shadow Hound.
It was the first time I’d cast a spell as a shadow and it was a strange experience. Instead of the mana pouring out of me to fuel the spell, I felt it coming from far away, from my real body. Casting spells through my clone was more draining than normal. I had to channel nearly 300 MP instead of the usual 230 cost to complete the casting. Four large, level 15 mastiffs formed up from the shadows. That left me with roughly 1,000 MP. I grimaced. The battle was really going to tax my reserves.
Next, I gathered my mana and spread it over the 22 remaining soldiers, buffing them with Dark Protection. A nimbus of dark energy appeared around each one of them then disappeared, absorbed into their bodies. That spell also took nearly 300 MP, leaving me with slightly over 700.
I chuckled, despite the seriousness of the situation. It was amusing how easily I’d gotten used to playing a tier 2 boss, casually casting spells that required a mana pool equal to that of a level 160 player.
Everyone, approach the travelers as quietly as you can, I said telepathically.
The hobs obeyed, moving forward slowly. The scouts made almost no noise, but the melee fighters and shield bearers were not as agile.
We’d made it within ten meters of the players’ perimeter, when one of the hobs stepped on a branch, sending a loud crack echoing through the forest.
CHARGE! I commanded. The soldiers and mastiffs abandoned all pretense of stealth and ran the rest of the distance, bursting through the trees into the clearing.
Most of the players were taken by surprise, but at least two of their sentries had heard the snapping branch and readied their weapons, shouting, “Ambush!”
The two archers started raining arrows on my storming troops, injuring several but not stopping the onslaught. My soldiers kept their ranks ordered and charged through the first row of players, engaging them with raised axes, swords, and a hail of arrows of our own.
GO, GO, GO! I screamed mentally for my two bosses. They came crashing through the woods behind the players, blocking the healers who were trying to distance themselves from the melee.
Adding my own contribution, I cast Shadow Web over three melee fighters, momentarily taking them out of the fight, then froze a level 22 archer. I couldn’t sacrifice him as my dagger was back on my physical body. The two spells drained me of another 100 MP.
My warriors and mastiffs were well organized, engaging all the players’ bowmen and melee DPS fighters. The groups of hobs relentlessly slashed at their targets, and the mastiffs snapped at their heels. Still, the disparity between my troops’ skills and the players’ was apparent. In short order, the travelers had regrouped with no more than 20 percent damage.
A large, buff woman wearing a black steel cuirass and wielding a trident shouted, “They got the drop on us but they’re weaker than we are. Fight back, you weaklings! Put your skills to use! Healers, hit the ones injured the most.”
It seemed that at least one of them was a competent commander. Unfortunately for her, she did not notice the attack from behind. The two retreating healers weren’t smart enough to keep their distance from each other. Kilpi pummeled his shield into one of them, knocking him down, then slashed at the other, interrupting his casting. Yulli displayed her bowmanship as she unleashed two arrows at once at the downed healer, pinning him to the ground.
The rest of my troops weren’t faring as well. Finally out of their shock, the players retaliated, showing their higher combat skills. The rangers easily disengaged from my less-skilled troops, putting some distance between them and shooting arrows. The DPSs charged into my troops, hacking and slashing, their armor deflecting or negating our own counterattacks. A tank roared a taunt and a confused expression appeared on his face as none of my hobs turned to engage him. The three webbed melee fighters still struggled to tear their way out of my web, but it was holding, for now.
Making a quick judgment call, I zoomed through the shadows to the edge of the clearing and cast Heal Followers. At the Apprentice rank, the spell’s range covered all of my troops, instantly healing ten percent of their injuries. I followed through with another Freeze, stopping one of the retreating archers. I had 450 mana remaining.
You and you, I projected to two of the lieutenants. Engage the frozen archer, take him down! Vaelin, your squad take out the other one.
The three hob squads repositioned themselves, taking a few hits as they did.
Despite having two healers engaged, three warriors webbed, and two frozen, the remaining five players were giving my other three squads a hard time. The hobs were doing their best to give back as good as they took, but their health bars were plummeting. Even the hounds’ shadowy substance took a hit from the players’ magical weapons.
One of the five players took out a small blue item and threw it at one of the squads. It exploded in a blue flash, freezing one of the hobs solid and slowing the other two. A tank bashed the frozen hob, shattering him into little pieces. An Insta-Kill. The other players rained blows and arrows, taking down two more of my soldiers. My soldiers fought back, but most were injured. The Dark Protection buff proved its usefulness as it occasionally flared up, lessening the damage or mitigating an attack altogether.
Kilpi continued to slash at the downed healer, bringing him to half his health. The other healer cast a protection spell, and Yulli’s next two arrows barely penetrated his thin robes.
I had a split second to decide whether to attack or heal. My troops were faring badly, but if those healers got away from us we would be in even more trouble. I launched a trio of drilling arrows at the downed healer. What the hell is up with his name? I couldn’t help wondering as the next message popped up.
Drilling Arrows hit CombatMendingUnit#147 for 68 damage, [21 +23 + 24]
Immortal Killed!
Boss Tier 3 Progression: 4/50
The first archer I froze was starting to break through, so I channeled another 50 MP to keep him contained.
I had 385 MP remaining.
A few seconds later, Vaelin’s squad killed the frozen player, and a second after that, the other one was brought down as well.
“The a-holes got sonic-enchanted weapons!” a player shouted. “Since when do mobs at this level use magic equipment?”
No one answered him. The disorganized players were each fighting their own battle, too busy to answer.
<
br /> With a combination of skills and items, the three webbed players broke through their restraints and joined the fray. Two of them were shield-wielding tanks and they howled their taunts. It was just as ineffective as the first one.
Despite their failure to pull my soldiers from the softer players, my troops still sustained casualties. Three soldiers and two lieutenants fell.
Meanwhile, Kilpi and Yulli were attacking the lone healer. He desperately tried to heal himself, but his health bar was dropping too rapidly. “Help!” he yelled. “These two are bosses!”
Fully engaged with the rest of my troops, the other players were too busy to come to his rescue. With a well-placed hit, Kilpi delivered the killing blow.
Four players and eight of my soldiers were out, and my mana was running dangerously low.
Of the seven squads I had created, only four were still whole. Backed up by two remaining mastiffs, they were attacking with fervor, trying to kill the five damage dealers. The freed player tanks closed on them from behind.
I couldn’t cast Shadow Web again; I’d ensnare my own men. The Dark Protection buff was about to expire. I braced myself and channeled 150 MP to keep it active for another minute.
Only 235 MP remaining.
I couldn’t risk depleting my mana by freezing more players, so I launched another volley of spinning arrows at one of the injured fighters, killing her as well.
Immortal Killed!
Boss Tier 3 Progression: 5/50
The players fought viciously, though without any real sense of group tactics. They dropped three more of the injured hobs and the last two mastiffs. They could have easily dealt twice that damage but were simply too disorganized. The tactician in me noted their mistakes with an almost clinical detachment.
Still, moderate warriors or not, they held the advantage over my troops and were closing the gap in numbers quickly. It was now seven against 13.
Finally finished with the healers, the two bosses joined the fray. Yulli unleashed a steady stream of arrows, each hitting a different player, dropping his health by a few percent. Kilpi bull-rushed into the melee, his shield leading the charge, throwing away two of the players and pummeling a third into a tree. “He’s using a boss ability!” the large woman shouted. “Kill it before he uses his AoE again!”
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