by N H Paxton
“Yeah, funny how that happens.” Ken pinched his face to the side like he was chewing on the inside of his cheek.
“Ken, have something for you,” I said, remembering the boots Mathias had given me during our last adventure.
“Yeah?” He stepped toward me quickly.
I pulled the snakeskin boots from my inventory and handed them to him. His eyes went wide as he stared at them. I checked the stats before he had a chance to take them from my hands.
<<<>>>
Snakeskin Boots of the Silent Hunter
Armor Type: Medium; Scaled Leather
Class: Rare
Base Defense: 38
Primary Effects:
+7 to Dexterity
Increases Stealth by 1 level
+50% damage on successful Backstab
Secondary Effects:
+10% Movement Rate
Snakes? I don’t know no Snakes.
<<<>>>
“These things are awesome!” Ken said as he quickly switched out his old boots for the new ones.
“Just do not ask Vlad where came from, da?” I said.
“Anyway,” Eberand interrupted, “we’ve got to kill this dude this time. We don’t really have time for a third chance, and I think we can do it.” Eberand stood from his chair, which promptly collapsed after his weight was clear of it.
“Well,” Anya started, “let’s kill us some Collector.”
Collection Agency Calling
“DAMNIT, I THOUGHT WE were close!” Garret slammed his axe into the side of an enormous Nightmare Spider, lifting it from the ground.
The spider soared through the air before splattering unceremoniously against the cavern wall. He dusted his hands off after the spider was dead. It was the last of the contingent of spiders the dungeon had thrown at us.
“Is not far, am sure of this.” I nodded to Garret and Anya, who were standing side by side at the front of the group.
“How can you be so sure? We left that ancient room a half hour ago.” Zeno wiped a small amount of blood from his nose with the back of his hand before chugging a Health regen potion.
Zeno was going through those little red vials like an alcoholic with cheap vodka.
“Can feel it, something pulling.” I wasn’t just feeling the pulling, either. I was hearing it.
There was a song on the air that apparently only I could hear. It sounded like the cry of a wounded dog, and it was getting louder. It pushed into the space within my head, forcing me to press on.
“Yeah, you’re officially cracked.” Eberand patted me on the shoulder as he walked by, his sword resting on his opposite shoulder.
“We should press on. I doubt we’ll be safe for too much longer.” Anya waved us forward, taking the lead.
The remainder of the tunnel grew in brightness, about twenty meters out. It began as a gentle blue that wasn’t terribly noticeable until we got closer to the exit. The song, or rather the strangled household pet, became almost painful as we reached the opening of the tunnel.
It let out at the main hall where we had fought the Dark Collector previously. The room was still a mess, the piles of artifacts in random, haphazard locations still standing.
“Wow.” Anya raised an eyebrow as she looked around the room.
The blue light from the pillars and the ceiling bathed everything in azure hues. And on the dais, as he had been in our previous fight, stood Valstrine. Except, this time he was taller.
“It’s about damn time.” His squeaky voice called out from the center of the raised platform.
Anya put a hand over her mouth as her eyes betrayed a smile. There was a slight snickering from her as her face began to turn red.
“That’s his voice?” Her muffled words barely reached me as I stared at his contrasted figure.
“It’s not so funny, little bitch.” Valstrine’s words were full of anger.
“You guys, I don’t know if I’m going to be much help here. I can’t stop laughing.” Anya doubled over, a full-on laughing fit taking her.
“You’ll be the first to die.” Valstrine stepped out of the shadows, his steps almost robotic.
A sound like steam and pistons whirring caught my attention as he moved. His actions were slow and blocky. Something about him had changed.
“Oh, has mechanical suit now. Cannot get better.” I hung my head and sighed heavily as I came to the realization of it.
He was wearing a suit of exoskeletal powered armor. The frames and joists of it were a combination of wood and steel, coupled together with gear-lined hinges and spring structures. Along his arms ran long cables, which were attached to a pair of heavy crossbows with attached repeater mechanisms.
“That’s a nice suit.” Garret raised his chin to the new mechanical creature, a slight smile on his face. “A shame I’m going to take it apart.”
“Nope, this thing was created by an ancient Dawn Elf engineer, the greatest of her time. Possibly, ever. I believe her name was Phoebe.” A series of hisses and whirs escaped the Dark Collector’s armor as he pivoted.
“Never heard of her.” Ken twisted a dagger in his hand, waiting for the command to strike.
“So, remember the plan.” Eberand tapped the side of his head with a gauntleted finger, and everyone nodded.
“Then let’s get to the ass-kicking part.” Garret unsheathed his axe and took off at a sprint.
“Let’s do this.” Ken disappeared in a blink, his body vanishing as he took a step.
“And bring down the hammer.” Anya kept her shield on her back as she charged toward the dais, her blade bursting into flame as she swung it above her head.
“That just leaves us,” Zeno whispered as Eberand ran past us, his greatsword dragging behind him on the glass-like stone floor.
“Is time to finish quest.” I unfastened my robe and pulled a pair of grenades off the bandolier at my chest. Fire flickered within their shells.
I nodded to Zeno, who raised his staff as I chucked the orbs into the air. A flick of Zeno’s off-hand set a sphere of deep red around the orbs. They rolled harmlessly against the red bubble as Zeno directed it into the air above the Dark Collector.
I noticed that the Dark Collector’s tag had changed since our last battle. This time it read [Valstrine, Fallen Gatherer of the Unfailing].
“Artillery ready!” Zeno shouted as I pulled Gamma to the ready, my heart pounding with anticipation of this incredibly complicated plan coming to fruition.
Garret’s axe scorched the air, burning a deep red from some buff he had in place, and it slammed into the left arm of the Dark Collector’s mechanical armor. Sparks flew as the axe head ground against the metal and wood of the forearm. A piston triggered, and the arm shot out, forcing Garret back.
He brought his axe down just in time to parry the blow.
Eberand struck next, his blow smashing into the front of the faceplate of the armored suit. The sound of cracking glass carried to my ears over the crashing of metal. A fracture adorned the front of the faceplate’s glass, just in front of Valstrine’s face.
Anya’s flaming blade slipped between a pair of joists in the armor’s right leg, throwing a shower of sparks and wood fragments from the location.
She ripped the sword free and jabbed it into the left leg, mirroring the first strike. Another explosion of materials, some of which were on fire this time.
Steam puffed out of the twin exhaust pipes on the back of the suit as it spun at the waist chassis, its arms extended in such a way that it launched Eberand and Garret backwards. Both had their weapons up to block the attack but were still knocked away in a shower of sparks.
Anya ducked under the attack and slammed her blade into the spinning chassis. It caught in an exposed joint and was torn from her hand, the flaming sword spinning in circles with the machine.
“Must be waiting for him to stop,” I whispered as I fired off a bolt of Damnation Corruptor.
The sickly green sphere rolled through the air, its traject
ory chaotic and uncontrollable. It made contact with the suit’s right shoulder, sinking into the machinery.
A blast of sparks launched from the machine as it shuddered and shifted, the wild spinning stopping. The upper portion of the armor tilted sideways, then the arms went limp.
A warning bell screamed through the air. Valstrine pounded against the controls inside the machine, his angry words in a language unfamiliar to me.
“Surprise!” Ken appeared above and behind the mechanical suit, slapping the sticky electro grenade I had created onto the back of it. A wicked smile crossed his face as he kicked off of the back of the machine, flipping back into the air and vanishing in a puff of smoke.
“Three!” Anya shouted as she took cover behind the lip of the dais.
“Two,” I whispered as I watched the grenade cast a harsh blue light behind the Dark Collector’s heavily armored suit.
“One!” Zeno shouted as he clenched his fist, the incendiary grenades falling from their bubble.
They fell in slow motion. The Dark Collector’s face grew more and more angry, his fists pounding against the control box inside the armored suit.
An intense wind blew through the room. The lightning grenade flared bright, then exploded, covering a sphere a meter out from the epicenter with blasting electricity.
The incendiary grenades struck next, their fragile shells shattered by the electricity arcing everywhere. A pair of intensely hot explosions rippled the air around the exo-suit. The flames lapped at the wood and steel frame, igniting places on the wood and melting small portions of the steel. The Dark Collector’s Health bar had been brought down to nearly seventy percent from our first phase of the plan.
“Okyuha,” I said to myself as the mechanical armor danced in the harsh light of the explosions.
“It didn’t kill him, but damn was it awesome.” Zeno gave me a grin of appreciation, twisting his staff in the air.
“Ready for phase two, boss man?” Ken popped into view next to me, his body wrapped in the smoke from his reappearance.
“Am always ready,” I intoned.
“Let’s get it.” Zeno slammed his staff on the floor.
Six writhing bolts of blood and ichor appeared, hovering over his head in an arc. He gave an exaggerated nod to Ken, who whipped a dagger into the air at the Dark Collector, then vanished. The dagger traveled at a snail’s pace, but Ken had mentioned that it built up damage as it traveled.
“Move, move, move! Get that stun lock on him!” Eberand was shouting commands as he ran at the burning, stuttering machine.
Garret exploded through the air, his leaping attack impressive. His greataxe whistled in the air as he drove it into the back of Valstrine’s armor.
Eberand reached the boss at the same time, his greatsword turning in the air above his head. He shouted, the blade taking on an earthen hue.
“Even without my sword,” Anya yelled as she charged the Dark Collector with her shield up, “I am still a wrecking ball!”
She collided with the force of a semitruck, causing the armor to teeter on its enormous legs.
Eberand’s blade struck the opposite side with a resounding clang, crumpling the armor’s left leg. A hiss of steam and an explosion of smoke heralded a ruptured actuator, which sprayed oil all over Eberand. He danced back, flicking the stuff off of his body.
“Damn that’s hot!” Eberand yelled as he danced and struggled to get the scalding liquid off.
“Blood, boil as you soar,” Zeno chimed, his voice going through singsong repetitions. “Lay waste to the souls of those you scorch.”
Zeno spun his staff in front of him, then pointed it at the Dark Collector. The bolts of blood he had conjured blurred through the air in quick succession. They slammed into the location where Eberand had cracked the glass of the faceplate. The bolts splattered the glass with blood, making visibility difficult at best.
Anya recovered her sword as the dagger Ken had thrown slowly collided with the front of the exo-suit, landing in the same place Zeno’s bolts had collided.
The glass cockpit of the armor imploded, pelting the Dark Collector with chunks of razor-sharp glass.
The dagger continued its path and punched through Valstrine’s shoulder, blood spraying from the wound as he tried to move away from the blade, causing the mechanical suit to fall backwards.
I fired a volley of six Shatter Spikes, which arced through the space, each taking their own independent path. They slammed into the downed machine, exploding into chaotic flaming dust. The dust clouds lit up with the power of chaos and fire, causing the Dark Collector to squeal in pain.
The crunching and grinding of gears and metal filled the air as the machine came back online, the stun from the lightning grenade finally wearing off.
“I am tired of these games,” the Dark Collector shouted. He slammed a lever forward, causing the mechanical suit to launch itself forward, landing on the one good leg.
“Take cover!” Anya’s warning was too late. Enormous crossbow bolts, the size of full-length arrows, erupted in a spray from the machine’s outstretched arms.
She held up her shield and managed to deflect or stop over a dozen, while Garret flicked up his hand, covering himself in the green holographic shield he had used in the workshop and during our last fight with the Dark Collector.
Eberand held his greatsword up to protect himself, but a pair of bolts made it past the great hunk of metal, punching through the armor covering his left leg and right shoulder. He fell to his knees, clenching the blade tighter to block more rounds.
Ken appeared and disappeared from sight as he danced through the shadows to avoid the bolts. He was a touch too slow on one disappearance and was lifted from the ground as a bolt struck him center mass, carrying him a short distance before depositing him against one of the room’s extremely tall pillars.
Zeno threw his hand up, and an orb of shifting red appeared around us both, blood trickling from his nose as he did it. The shield deflected a dozen bolts before Zeno fell to his knees, fishing a Health regen potion from his belt and chugging it hurriedly.
I took the chance to fire off a quad volley of Impaling Chaos, aiming for the limb joints of the mechanical armor. If we could prevent it from moving, he would have to eject, and then we could take the fight directly to him.
The bolts landed true, piercing through the armor of the joint spaces, drilling into the internals, then imploding.
I waited for what felt like an eternity before they exploded, ripping the left arm and left leg completely from the armor. The pieces landed several meters away, smoldering hunks of scrap equipment.
“No, damnit. No!” The Collector’s squeaky voice pierced the room. He pulled a toggle.
The entire front of the mechanized suit exploded off, slamming into the shield Zeno had erected. The impact knocked Zeno to his knees, the shield faltering for a moment before he clutched his chest and the bubble collapsed.
Valstrine stepped from the collapsed piece of equipment and thrust a hand into the air. The space around him erupted in a violent wind, pushing Anya and Garret back.
Eberand rose from his kneeling position, an empty glass vial in his hand. The space Ken had occupied last I saw him was empty, the back half of the bolt he had been shot with lying on the ground.
Anya stabbed her sword into the stone floor, small cracks spreading from the impact site. She cracked her knuckles, then waved her hands over her blade.
“Become Living, Heartstriker.” Her tone of voice was dark and terrifying.
The blade shook slightly before ripping from the stone. It slashed the air a few times before finding its place next to her. A quick flourish of Anya’s hand saw another blade in her grasp, from somewhere under her shield. The woman was full of surprises.
Garret twisted the haft of his axe, the sound of metal sliding against metal providing the background for the weapon transforming into the war pick.
Eberand raised his blade into the air and shouted, the enti
re room vibrating with his voice.
<<<>>>
Buff Added
Fragments of the Forgotten Legend: Once in a great while, a person accrues so much skill, so much power, that they become a legend. Whether the legend is true or not makes no difference. What matters is that the individual believes in them, infusing their soul with the power of said legend. While Fragments of the Forgotten Legend is active, the Lore Warden’s party has a shield that reflects 20% of the damage they are dealt back to the attacker. There is no limit for the amount of damage reflected.
Effect: 20% of damage from all sources is reflected back to the attacker. Duration, 3 minutes.
Ignore the legends of those who came before you at your own peril. That will be your undoing.
<<<>>>
A small object, no larger than a pebble, appeared, orbiting my body. I snapped my fingers, activating Power Overwhelming and beginning phase three of the plan: Annihilation.
<<<>>>
Buff Added
Power Overwhelming: Infuse your body with the power of chaos, improving all of your combat stats by 50% for 30 seconds. There is a cost to this, however, as pushing your limits will rapidly drain your Spirit, Stamina, and Health after its use.
Effect 1: Increase Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Spirit, and Vitality by 50%. Duration, 30 seconds
Effect 2: Damage Spirit, Stamina, and Health by 25% at end of ability.
Effect 3: Spirit, Stamina, and Health regeneration rate reduced by 50% at end of ability. Duration, 30 seconds
Be careful what you wish for. There are consequences for every action.
<<<>>>
I felt a surge of intense power flow through my veins as the air around my body erupted in black flame, then receded. Arcs of power, like micro-sized lightning bolts, danced across my skin.
“Is time for final phase in plan,” I called over to Zeno. He was kneeling on the ground, still holding his chest.
“Yeah, need a second. All of this blood magic is sapping my energy pretty bad.” He pulled another Health regen potion from his belt and chugged it, tossing the empty bottle over his shoulder.