by N H Paxton
“Was not intentional! Vlad will fix!” I dug around in my bag for another grenade, the one that mimicked White Out from the Frostlock.
I fumbled it while pulling it out of my pouch. I had just enough time to see it fall in slow motion to the ground, where it bounced on a small heap of loam. I dove to the side, hoping to escape the blast radius, but no bitter, freezing wind leapt at my exposed skin. I uncovered my eyes, which I had unknowingly covered, and smiled at the small, unbroken glittering orb.
Then Ken stepped on it.
“Oh, no,” I whispered.
There was a gentle tinkling of glass, then everything was cold. Like being in Russia in January with no coat, no shoes, and no gloves. Not even vodka to fight back against the cold.
A tornado of ice ripped through my vision, and chips of broken ice as sharp as razor blades shredded my skin. I watched my Health bar plummet. The cold sapped my strength, slowing my movements. I watched a series of debuffs appear as I was buffeted by the winter’s fury.
<<<>>>
Debuffs Added
Lacerations: You are suffering from severe skin lacerations and will sustain 2 HP/sec bleed damage; duration, 30 seconds.
Frostbitten: You have been exposed to extreme, frigid temperatures. Your movements are slowed and your Stamina regeneration is reduced. 30% slower movement and 30% slower Stamina regeneration; duration, 2 minutes.
<<<>>>
At least I knew the grenades were powerful. I just wish I hadn’t discovered it this way.
“So... cold...” Ken was lying on the ground next to me, his arms wrapped around his chest, legs curled up in the fetal position.
His skin was blue, and his entire body shivered so violently it looked like he was having a seizure.
“Sorry.” I managed to stammer the words out through my own shivering.
I looked around, my gaze moving sluggishly as though time had slowed down. Garret and Eberand were still standing; it appeared as though they were outside the blast radius. The queen, on the other hand, was half covered in icicles and impaled with lances of ice. Its Health bar showed it had about 20% remaining. Its movements were slow and sluggish, and it looked like one of the two fighters still standing had removed its tail.
The tail, in all of its grisly, terrifying glory, lay twitching on the ground. It spilled a dark green ichor from where it had been severed.
Garret took a wild swing, the edge of his axe dragging something through the air that looked like fire. The attack left him wide open, allowing the queen to run a needle-sharp leg through his gut. Unflinching, Garret continued to swing the axe.
It tore through the limb that was currently impaling Garret, rending it clean from the queen’s body. The swing took Garret with it, and he collapsed on the ground. Sound returned to my world. and his tortured scream reached my ears.
“Must help.” I struggled, fighting against the agony and rigidity of my muscles.
I got to my knees by sheer force of will before collapsing back on my face. So many debuffs.
I watched Garret lie on his back, take the queen’s severed limb in both hands and, with a mighty yell, rip it from his belly. His body took on a deep red coloration, like an aura.
He rolled himself over, clawing at the earth, his fingers raking furrows into it. He stumbled to his feet, picked up the enormous limb he had severed from the queen, then cocked his arm back.
“Fuck you!” With the fervor and fury of a war god, Garret threw the limb at the queen.
It cruised through the air like a missile and ripped through the giant insect’s head. A sound like a popping melon heralded the sudden halt of the queen’s wings. It collapsed to the ground with an earth-shaking thud. Garret stood there, his hands by his side, then promptly fell forward onto his face.
Eberand rushed to his side. He turned Garret over, uncorked a vial of that hideous red liquid, and poured it down Garret’s throat. A cough and sputter were Eberand’s reward as Garret gasped, color returning to his face.
“That was awesome.” Ken’s voice was a whisper as he managed to get up off the ground, his body still shivering but no longer subject to violent seizures.
He chugged a Health regen potion of his own, tossing the vial into the nearby undergrowth. My debuffs were close to expiring, and I could feel the warmth returning to my limbs. I managed to stand with considerable effort and found my way to where Garret and Eberand were. Garret looked around, blinking, confusion evident on his face.
“Did we win?” Garret managed to croak the words out with a flinch.
Eberand smiled down at him, then looked over to the corpse of the unacceptably large insect queen.
“Yeah, man. You did it,” Eberand said.
The sun was beginning to set, and traveling in a swamp at night was not ideal. After a quick discussion and some looting, we decided to set up camp in the clearing I had accidentally burned. Thankfully, the surrounding wetlands were too, well, wet to allow the fire to spread very far. Small miracles.
Eberand had found himself a new pair of gauntlets, which were nothing to sneeze at. [Gauntlets of the Undaunted Adversary] now adorned his hands. They were covered in scratches and dents and gouges, much like the rest of Eberand’s armor. It was fitting.
Ken gained a new dagger, which was one of the nasty fangs from the queen herself. [Gnashing Fang of Venom]. It constantly dripped that hideous green liquid the queen’s fangs had.
Garret passed on the loot, taking only a handful of silver coins. He said something about it being for a good cause.
I received a ring, the [Runic Ring of the Unknown Keeper]. I chose to look at the stats later, as I wanted to gather the ingredients I could get from the queen’s body.
I found [Queen Scorponet’s Royal Jelly], [Scorponent Wing Silk] and [Scorponet Compound Eye], all of which were rare or better.
“Postscript to that battle? Don’t set shit on fire and then try to freeze us all to death. Not. Cool.” Ken was picking at his fingernails as we all sat around a small campfire, keeping the flames low in order to not attract too much attention.
“Was not intention. Still experimental, these grenades. Did not have time to field test. This is field test, da?” I went through my remaining collection of grenades while Eberand made a simple stew over the fire.
Garret was lying down nearby, exhausted. Apparently, being a Fury Warden expended a lot of his physical and mental energy.
“We survived, nobody died, and we got some sweet loot. I mean, did you really expect this journey to not have its pitfalls?” Eberand spoke softly as he stirred the stew.
The scent wafted over to me. It smelled incredible.
“I just...” Ken cut his statement short, a frown on his face.
“Uncertain?” I didn’t know why, but I could sense his concern.
He gave a short chuckle with a half smile, jammed his dagger in its sheath, then stood up and walked around the little stump he was sitting on. He stretched his arms over his head.
“I thought it would be easier, this whole Saving the World business. Is it always going to be this difficult? What if this dungeon we’re after is insurmountable for us?” Ken asked.
I pondered the question for a moment and opened my mouth to say something, but Eberand was faster.
“Then we try again. We come back, better armed and better prepared. Also, I didn’t know we were in the business of saving the world. I better get hazard pay.” Eberand tapped on his chest.
In the process, the branch he was using to stir the stew fell into the pot.
“Damnit,” he yelped.
Ken and I laughed while Eberand fished out the branch. Ken sat back down, a look of calm on his face.
“Yeah, we can do it. We’re the Ebenguard, we can do anything,” Ken said reassuringly.
I wasn’t sure what to say. Eberand could be an inspiring man when he wanted to be. It was good for him to be the leader of the Ebenguard.
“You guys are so loud my dead grandmother could hear you back on Earth.” Ga
rret sat up from his sleeping bag, irritation on his face.
He stood, slowly, and sat on a nearby log.
“Ouch, bro. Too soon.” Ken sighed, pulled his dagger back out, and went back to work on his nails.
“Eh, sorry man. I get irritable when I’m tired. So, what the hell is going on out here?” Garret asked the question we all had been thinking but didn’t want to say.
What exactly was going on out here in the Marshes? And why didn’t we know about it in Yunnam?
“Corruption, dude. It’s nasty stuff.” Eberand always seemed to have an answer that made logical sense.
Garret nodded along, his hands tucked under his arms, crossed against his chest.
“Okay, the treants have the corrupted tag, sure. But the queen didn’t. Her tag was just Guardian of the Hive or whatever.” Garret shook his head as he stared at the small fire.
I rubbed at the bridge of my nose as I tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together. According to the lore books I had read, the corruption of an Emissary could spread to creatures. But the book didn’t say anything about the corruption spreading elsewhere, such as into the ground or the surrounding air.
Yet Horace had said the area where the old temple was had been corrupted by the Emissary’s corruption. Was it possible that something could be corrupted without the corrupted tag? It was doubtful. Even in a world as alive as this, it was still a video game. It still had rules it had to follow.
“I’ll take first watch.” Eberand’s voice was firm again. He was back to being the leader.
“No complaints here. Is that stew done? I’m sitting at level-two Hunger.” Ken sat up, putting his dagger away for the second time.
He eyeballed the stewpot, and I could nearly see the drool pooling in his mouth.
“Yeah, hold tight.” Eberand poured some stew into the four bowls that sat nearby, then handed them out.
The warmth from the bowl felt wonderful against my hands as I sipped the broth. It was made from a combination of edible plants that Ken had gathered while Eberand, Garret, and I set up the camp. To finish the stew, Eberand had added chunks of Scorponet meat to it. It gave the stew a spicy, gamey flavor that I almost couldn’t get enough of.
“Stew is amazing.” I slurped a chunk of Scorponet meat out of the bowl and chewed it happily. It reminded me of the consistency of shrimp, which I found odd.
“Damn, dude, this is good.” Garret had already downed his entire bowl and was handing Eberand the empty. “Ya made enough for seconds, right?” Garret asked with a smirk.
“Dude, do you ever eat enough?” Eberand took the bowl from Garret and poured what was left of the stew into it.
Garret ate it quickly, then set the empty bowl down on the ground.
Silence settled on the party as we all thought about what awaited us in the morning.
“I hear tell you saved my life, Ebs.” Garret’s voice suddenly took on a sullen, serious tone. He stared at the fire, the silence suddenly seeming that much more intense.
“It was a narrow thing. Your HP bar was dropping faster than I knew what to do with.” Eberand collected the bowls from everyone and wiped them out with a large rag, then stowed them in his pack.
“I used Furious Rage,” Garret stated.
Eberand furrowed his brow at the mention of the ability. I leaned in closer to get a better understanding. Ken just sat, his face shadowed in his hood he had silently pulled up. There was a chance he was snoring.
“I can keep fighting beyond the limits of my maximum HP, but only for a bit. It gives me temporary hit points, like those abilities in Dungeons and Dragons back on Earth. But once the ability wears off, I lose all of it. If I’m in a deficit, I’m dead.” Garret’s face was a stone now, hardened against the fear of death.
He had gambled hard, almost as bad I had on Earth with the Russian Mafia.
“That was a rough gambit. I’m glad it worked out.” Eberand had turned away from the fire, busied with cleaning up the stewpot. He sounded distant, hollow.
“Just wanted to say thanks. I laid it all on the line there, and you were there to back me up,” Garret said.
“I’ve always got your back.” Eberand’s response was quiet. The somber end of the conversation heralded the end of the day.
In Darkest Darkness, or Something Like That
I WAS AWOKEN BY A LEATHER glove on my shoulder, gently shaking.
“Lord Vlad, you’re up.” Ken was third watch, and I had drawn last watch.
I climbed from my sleeping bag, feeling the chill from the cold night air even though we were in a humid swamp.
“Nothing to report. Some noise out toward the south, but nothing I could see, even with Night Eye. Sounded like small animals, probably rodents or game critters. Nothing big.” Ken gave me a nod, then lay down in my sleeping bag.
“You are to be excusing, that is my bed.” I pointed at Ken with an accusatory finger.
Ken chuckled, then covered himself up with my blanket.
“Yeah, but mine’s cold, and yours is warm. It’s cool, I don’t have any weird disease. Besides, you’re not going to sleep anymore tonight anyhow.” Ken threw up a hand, then rolled over, his back to me.
He was right, I was to keep watch until sunrise. I looked at my in-game clock. It was 02:30, still four hours until full daylight. I went to say something to him, but he was already snoring. That man could fall asleep immediately, anywhere.
I shrugged, then hugged myself against the cold. I would get used to it soon—it wasn’t actually that cold out. The humidity in the marshes made it feel much colder.
An hour passed with no incident. I busied myself with looking over the herbs and items I had collected during our time here. A few things were of considerable value, like the [Scorponet Heart] and the [Black Morabe Apple], but most everything else was common trash.
My favorite item by far was the Queen Scorponet’s Royal Jelly. The description of it was incredible. I was very much looking forward to using it in a potion or poison of some kind.
<<<>>>
Queen Scorponet’s Royal Jelly
Item Type: Component/Herb
Item Class: Legendary
Royal Jelly is an incredibly rare and powerful type of honey produced exclusively for the queen of a hive. This particular one is even more uncommon, because it is produced by the Scorponet, which isn’t even a type of bee.
Possible Herb Uses:
1 - Invigorate Health
2 - Prevent Movement
3 - ?????????
4 - ?????????
5 - ?????????
<<<>>>
I knew that Invigorate Health was the primary effect of the HP Regen potion, and I had plenty of ingredients that accomplished that. I was more interested in the Prevent Movement ability. Moreover, I was especially excited to know what kind of movement the poison would prevent.
Would it just paralyze? Or would it block celestial or dimensional movement? Could it stop someone from teleporting? These were questions I wouldn’t be able to answer until I was back in my lab.
I looked at the item I had received as my share of the queen kill. It was a piece of jewelry, which was fairly rare in V.G.O. It also fit my class, which piqued something in my head akin to suspicion. I shook my head, pushing the thought aside.
There was no reason for suspicion. The loot gods simply created things that were necessary. I took the ring out of my bag and held it up against the filtered moonlight. It was a beautifully crafted silvered metal ring with runes etched all along the outside.
<<<>>>
Runic Ring of the Unknown Keeper
Armor Type: Ring
Class: Ancient Artifact, Keeper Attire
Base Armor: 0
Primary Effects:
Intelligence bonus = 0.5 x character level
Spirit bonus = 0.25 x character level
Crafting Speed increased by 15% (all jobs)
Engineered Weapons have 50% chance to not consume ammunition
&n
bsp; Secondary Effects:
Increase XP gained from all sources by 5%
Increase money gained from all sources by 1%
1% + (0.1 x character level) chance to create Soul-Emblazoned Equipment
Restriction: Can only be worn by Keepers
There are rumors of those who hold watch over things—Keepers, they call them. It’s said they bind souls, withhold evil from destroying our lands, and erect great citadels to things that Should Not Be.
<<<>>>
I didn’t know anything about what Keepers were, but this was the second time in as many days that I had heard it or read it referenced. I hazarded putting the ring on to see what would happen if someone didn’t meet the requirements for an item and tried to use it.
“Only way to know things is to do.” I held my finger out, ready to slide the ring onto it, when I spotted movement in my peripheral vision.
“What in hells?” I jumped up off my stump and looked in the direction I thought I’d seen it run.
There was nothing there, but there were footprints in the muck. They headed south. Ken had mentioned noises from the south, could they be connected?
“Should wake Ebenguard, but will only be a minute.” I triggered Purifying Fire to light my way as I followed the footsteps in the soft, loamy soil.
They were uneven, almost like the thing I was following was running, but stumbling. They led me quite a distance south until I arrived at a strange transition point. I realized I had been looking down the entire time and not at all paying attention to where I was headed.
“Okay, am lost.” I stopped and turned in a tight circle, surveying my surroundings.
At my feet, the muck and overgrowth of the swamps changed to stone and ash. It was quite jarring. The stone, which had an enormous spire of rock jutting from the center of it, was a perfect circle. The footsteps, of course, ended right at the stone.
“Where is tracker when need one?” I circled the stone spire, which looked a bit like the roof of a citadel in Saint Petersburg, but on the ground.
It had unusual grooves cut into it like ancient stone tiles, running vertically to a point. The entire thing was supported by pillars at one-meter intervals, arching out a few centimeters before making their way to the top.