The Mountain Valley War

by M. A. Carlson

  “Damned you spirit, hide me,” Duke Shrove hissed, but it was too late, he was visible. I struck at his knee, activating ‘Ligament Rip’ immediately hobbling him.

  Rose cursed as the Duke vanished before her ‘Charge’ could hit.

  Micaela threw another fireball, hitting the invisible Duke.

  Appearing again, the Duke howled in rage. “Slave, hide me and withstand those hits or I will do far worse,” the man raged, looking at his hand. A hand with two stone bands.

  “The rings,” I said. “They are his totems.” I lunged forward, striking at his hand but missing.

  Suddenly, the Duke looked panicked and tried to run only to get a face full of metal covered shoulder from Rose.

  “Not totems, fetishes,” Micaela corrected me. “His weakest probably.”

  I didn’t care what they were called. I moved, trying to get to the Duke before he vanished again. I made it just in time to step on his wrist as he vanished. I couldn’t see him, but I was definitely stepping on him. I stabbed down next to my foot. I was rewarded with a cry of pain, but he remained invisible.

  Then Micaela hit him with another fireball, and he appeared.

  “Why does he appear when you hit him but not me?” I asked.

  “Cause I’m not hitting him, I’m hitting the poor spirit he keeps imprisoned in one of the fetishes he carries,” Micaela said. “Hurry up and break the fetish, set that poor spirit free.”

  I struck down hard, hearing a satisfying crunch as one of the rings shattered. I reared up to hit the second when Rose suddenly tackled me.

  “Sorry, he got me again,” Rose explained.

  I hadn’t even heard him cast the spell. I looked back and the Duke was gone again.

  “This might take a while,” Baby complained.

  “We don’t have a while,” I said, looking at Mardi and Gras. I looked for Heath, but he was nowhere to be seen.

  Another fireball, another knockdown and I shattered another ring.

  “Your friends are dying, are you sure you should be attacking me like this?” the Duke asked . . . taunted.

  I stabbed him again, this time aiming for his heart only to hear the crunch of stone breaking. Why did I get the feeling I had just activated some kind of hard mode?

  The Duke laughed a wild, insane laugh. A laugh that seemed to be getting deeper. And was the Duke getting larger? And why was his skin turning purple?

  The Duke lifted the arm I had pinned effortlessly, making me stumble back a step. The Duke sat up and then got back to his feet, which didn’t look any bigger. Then I looked up at the ape-like head with two very large and evil looking horns growing from the Dwarf’s forehead.

  “Another Demon,” I said, looking to Pwn. “Can’t you banish this guy?”

  “Uh, no, he’s possessed, not an actual Demon,” Pwn answered.

  “Now,” the Duke’s deep and booming voice started. “Now, the real fight begins,” he shouted, shaking the room with the power of his voice alone. Then he beat his fists against his chest.

  Rose charged in again, hitting the brute but not moving him. He backhanded Rose, sending her skidding.

  “I will make you suffer,” Duke Shrove stated. “Starting with these two,” he said, leaping in the air and coming down on Mardi and Gras, their health bars instantly zeroing.

  “No!” I shouted. My friends’ screams around me echoed my feelings.

  I leaped at him, stabbing at the glowing side of his neck, stabbing him for a critical hit of -1,155-HP, then it was my turn to be backhanded. I crashed through the barrier around the throne shattering it and doing additional damage to myself. It didn’t keep me down. If I had some kind of enrage ability or skill, I was sure it would be active now.

  I leaped again. There was no highlighted weak spot, so I struck at the back of his knee again, activating ‘Ligament Rip’ then hitting him with a ‘Beginner Holy Fire’ and a ‘Beginner Holy Shock’, ‘Justice Strike’ and another stack of ‘Beginner Holy Fire’. I was pleased to have gotten that much damage before he backhanded me again.

  I stopped to heal myself this time before attacking again. I was about to attack again when I saw the Duke leap upwards, smacking Baby out of the sky. The poor Fairy never had a chance. This didn’t make sense. He was only level 16. I looked again to be sure, . What the hell? How did his level double? Then I realized, it was the Demonization thing. The Demon that possessed him was level 32. I knew then, this was a stupid plan. I assumed because of what I saw in that ‘Meditation’, I knew what to do. Our spies had confirmed he was only level 16. He should have been manageable. He wasn’t part of the siege requirement either. If we couldn’t beat him, that meant he was probably meant to escape and become some sort of major boss fight later. Well to hell with that!

  “Baby!” Rose screamed, attacking as hard as she could but once again, the Duke backhanded her away like she was nothing.

  The Duke was just playing with us, but I didn’t care. I would be damned before I let this guy beat us without putting up a good fight.

  “Rose, I’m going to do something crazy! Don’t let him move!” I said, looking up to see how much headroom I had. It was maybe three stories. It wasn’t much, but it would need to do. And hopefully, it would be enough.

  I jumped, activating ‘Recoil’ on the way up. It didn’t matter if I died doing this. If it didn’t work, we were all dead anyway. I activated ‘Holy Meteor’ and fell back to the ground accelerating, holy energy wrapping around the tip of my spear and widening until it engulfed me.

  I didn’t think Rose would mind too much this time if I died. It was payback for our friends, and that needed to count for something.

  I hit the Duke in his ugly face when he finally looked up and saw me. When the spear impacted, power exploded through him and exploded out of him. I saw a -17,298-HP float away from the body. And then he smacked me before I landed. I seemed to have negated the fall damage somehow, but hitting the wall brought it all back. Thankfully, ‘Recoil’ was still active, so I lived.

  Level:

  16

  Experience:

  72.74%

  Class: Initiate Warrior Priest of Issara

  HP (Health Points):

  32/3,500

  MP (Mana Points):

  0/2,550

  SP (Stamina Points):

  0/1,940

  But with that status, I wouldn’t be living much longer. Rose died a moment later followed by Pwn. I looked across the room at where the Demon Duke’s first attack landed. Micaela was on her knees, tears in her eyes that made the damage I suffered feel like nothing compared to the pain I had caused her.

  “Why do you mourn them?” the Duke asked, approaching Micaela slowly. “Why bother? You are one of the adventurers, are you not? You will die and come back, they will not. They are weak. They are below you. Why mourn for the pathetic?”

  “They were our friends,” Micaela replied softly, tears still flowing but there was an anger in her voice I had never heard before.

  “Friends, feh, pathetic,” The Duke said, raising both arms over his head.

  I struggled to my feet, with my stamina depleted as it was, that was a feat of strength in itself. Every step was a struggle. I wasn’t going to make it. Then I heard something, I didn’t think I would.

  “Summon: God Fenrir,” Micaela said, her voice barely a whisper the words seemed to resonate through the room, causing the Duke to take a step back, a look of fear on his face that I hadn’t seen before.

  “No! What have you done?” the Duke cried out.

  There was a breeze in the room now, but it wasn’t a room anymore. We were in a forest and there was a full moon in the sky lighting the small clearing. Then I heard the first thunderous footstep.

  “Micaela Crushhammer,” God Fenrir’s voice echoed through my mind and I was sure the same happened to Micaela. “You have called, and I have answered. With the death of this Demon scum do you agree our contract is fulfilled?”


  “Agreed,” said Micaela, her voice was cold, dead . . . and utterly terrifying.

  “No!” the Duke bellowed. “Chaos promised. I was promised power and eternal life . . . you cannot do this foul God!”

  Fenrir clearly didn’t agree as he finally stepped from the forest and into view. He was larger than when I first saw him inside the temple in Hurligville, at least twice, maybe three times larger. Thinking of Hurligville again I was struck by how long ago that felt.

  “Chaos lied,” God Fenrir stated. “Moon cutter,” he said and vanished.

  I heard his footsteps again, somewhere deep in the forest, but I was confused. The Duke still stood. I thought for a moment the God’s attack had failed but then the forest faded from view and we were back in the Duke’s throne room. I looked again at the Duke. He was still unmoving. Then it happened. A burst of light exploded inside the Duke's body and erased him.

  The room was eerily silent except for the sobbing Micaela.

  Hammerton War Effort: Total Victory – Completed!

  You and your comrades have done it. The war is won! Duke Shrove du Anvil and his Demonic corruption have been stopped and the province is now free. Although a pyrrhic victory, you can rest easy knowing peace and prosperity will flourish.

  Reward: +250,000-Experience, See Colonel Grandmite for additional rewards

  I didn’t want to see that.

  Quest Alert: Demon’s Rising 6 (Recommended Level 17-19) - Complete

  The Demons have been defeated. The General torn asunder and the spy banished. All that remains is the one responsible, the one who dared summon Demons into this plane of existence. Find and defeat him before he tries again.

  Reward: +75,000-Experience, Title: Demon’s Bane, 2 Bounty Voucher – Rank A, 20 Bounty Voucher Rank C

  Or that.

  Congratulations! You’ve reached Level 17!

  +1 to bonus Holy Spells, +1 Intellect, +1 Charisma

  Or even that. I felt sick, being rewarded.

  Eventually, I kneeled down next to Micaela and wrapped an arm around her, trying to comfort her. If she knew the truth . . . no, I couldn’t go there right now.

  At some point, Olaf came as did Colonel Grandmite and a number of other soldiers after they busted down the door. I didn’t ask about the players outside, but I guessed they were transported out of the province once they lost.

  It was painful to see the Dwarves mourn, knowing I could have prevented it. But I made my bed, now I would need to face the consequences.

  Colonel Grandmite broke the silence. “Send word, let all citizens of the province know. The war is over, let the healing begin, and for the love of God Ivaldi, let peace take hold for the rest of our days.”

  At least I knew that would be true . . . hoped that would be true. As the fight against the Duke proved, I didn’t know everything, couldn’t know everything. I only glimpsed the chessboard and saw a few moves ahead. I overestimated my ability.

  Chapter 38

  I hated myself. My friends were mourning our lost friends and I could have prevented it. It didn’t matter that they were AI’s, they were real enough inside this world. I did nothing and now my friends were in pain. And when they learn the truth . . . I was afraid of losing them.

  “Where the hell is that piece of garbage?” Rose snapped.

  The garbage, in this case, was Heath. He never came back. He didn’t contact me either. I was really worried something had gone wrong.

  “I’m sure he’ll turn up. He might have gotten into trouble elsewhere,” I said, trying to calm my girlfriend.

  “He was Gras’s friend, closer than the rest of us,” Rose snapped. “He should be the one doing this.”

  I couldn’t argue with that. It would mean more if Heath was here. But he wasn’t. Instead, Rose and I were standing outside of the Leatherworking shop Gras first showed us.

  “Come on,” I said, taking her hand in mine. I gently guided her forward and into the shop.

  “Hello,” said the young Dwarven woman. She didn’t sound as vibrant as before and I could see red rimming her eyes.

  “Hi Loral,” I said, feeling a stab of guilt.

  “Oh, it’s Sooty’s friends,” Loral said, wiping at her eyes a little.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry for your loss,” I said, frowning. “We were with him . . . before that, he gave me a letter.” I stumbled over my words as I took the letter from my bag and held it out to her.

  “From Sooty?” Loral asked, stepping around her counter cautiously. Her hands shaking as she took the letter.

  “We’ll leave you to read,” I said.

  “Stop,” Loral said. “Wait . . . please. I do not want to be alone right now.”

  “Of course, we’ll stay,” Rose said, moving forward and wrapping an arm around the young Dwarven woman’s shoulders.

  I had no idea what Gras put in his letter. I was nervous.

  Loral sniffled then carefully opened the envelope. The letter was on folded parchment and easily in Rose’s view.

  “What does it say?” Rose asked. “I don’t know that language.”

  Loral chuckled. “Only Sooty would write me a letter in Goblin,” she said. “We both learned as children in case we were ever kidnapped by a Goblin like in ‘Malorie’s Manacles’. Have you ever heard the story?”

  “I have,” I answered, feeling relieved.

  “I haven’t, will you tell me?” Rose asked.

  Loral folded the unread letter and held it to her chest. She then told the dark children’s story for Rose.

  “Is that how you figured out how to help Micaela?” Rose asked, looking at me.

  “Yeah,” I answered.

  “Sooty was always worried that one of us . . . erm . . . one of the bronze Dwarves would sacrifice him if Goblins ever tunneled into the city. So, we learned the language so he would be able to convince them to let him go. It was a silly child’s thing, but it was something we did together,” Loral explained. “Anyway . . .” she trailed off as she unfolded the letter again and began to read, fresh tears starting to form. Suddenly, she was looking from the letter to me and back again.

  “What?” I asked, nervous.

  “He asked me to help you, all of you,” Loral said. “He wanted me to make sure you all stay safe and have the best Leatherworker he knew looking after you and your leather needs. You leave tomorrow? Right after the funeral, right? I will be ready to leave by then.”

  “Wait, what?” I asked, confused. What had Gras done?

  “Are you sure that’s what you want?” Rose asked. “We . . . we weren’t able to save Gras. Are you sure you trust us to keep you safe?”

  “Sooty believed in you. I will as well,” Loral said, a sense of finality in her statement.

  Gras, what have you done?

  “Then we’ll be happy to have you along. But no stupid risks. No following us into dangerous situations. And absolutely no dying. Deal?” Rose asked.

  “Deal,” Loral said, a real and genuine smile on her face despite the tears that continued to fall. “I need to start packing,” she said, looking around her shop.

  “Then we’ll see you tomorrow,” Rose said, giving Loral a hug.

  A few words were exchanged, and Loral escorted us outside and locked up. She was heading to Krangle’s to buy a wagon and oxen team and hire a Wagoneer to get her to Root City.

  “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” Rose said. “And it will be nice to have a leatherworker with us.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “I’m sure. We’ll do better this time,” Rose said confidently, gripping my hand and squeezing it.

  After everything that happened, my friends and I checked into a hotel. It didn’t feel right to stay at Mardi’s. Still, we needed to stop there and see Barkley. We had a similar letter from Mardi to give to him.

  The Guards to Mardi’s temple saluted us as we neared. I didn’t feel like we deserved it after taking her away from them. I wouldn’t have blamed them if they
hated us. Instead, the entire atmosphere of the city had changed overnight. The general state of fear that hung over the citizens was replaced with hope. Due to the state of Anvilton, most of the citizens were staying in Hammerton until repairs could be affected. Shale and Bronze Dwarves shared in their mourning and joy over the peace that had taken hold. It reminded me why I did things the way I did.

  We found Barkley in the kitchen. He was passed out on the floor with several empty liquor bottles surrounding him.

  “Any left to cure him?” I asked as I started looking through cabinets.

  Rose found a bottle with maybe a shot of liquor in the bottom. The only problem now was the snoring butler. “Fill the sink,” Rose said.

  I stoppered the sink and opened the faucet. I wasn’t sure if there was actual plumbing or magic at work, but it didn’t really matter.

  “Cold water,” Rose said, bodily lifting Barkley from the floor and carrying him toward the sink.

  As soon as it was full, Rose dunked Barkley’s head under the water, getting no reaction at first. Barkley twitched once then jerked, putting his hands on either side of the sink as he pushed away, and Rose let him.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Barkley demanded loudly, then winced in pain. “Oh, God Ivaldi, why?”

  Rose thrust the nearly empty bottle at the man. “Drink,” she ordered harshly.

  Barkley took the bottle and drank, his color returning to normal quickly. The man straightened up and tried to smooth out his uniform to no avail. “My apologies for the state of things,” he said.

  “Mardi would be so disappointed in you,” Rose said rather harshly, surprising me.

  Barkley though, he just looked down in shame. “Sorry, ma’am.”

  “Don’t ever let me see you like this again,” Rose snapped. “It dishonors our friend.”

  “You are right, ma’am,” Barkley said.

  Rose then looked to me and motioned to Barkley.

  It took me a second to understand what she was communicating. I took the letter from my bag and held it out. “It’s from Mardi . . . she asked that I give this to you.”