Exile

by Riley Morrison

With a strength he never knew his Might level possessed, Ajax hurled himself over the side of the basket, knocked aside the Steampunk’s weapon, and dragged her to the floor. She out-leveled him by far, so he would have to hurt her as much as he could before her superior stats overruled his. Lucky for him, the Steampunk class focus wasn’t on Might, but on Dexterity and Intellect, otherwise she could have picked him up and thrown him over the side.

  Ajax had her pinned under him, and she screamed as he crushed her with his body weight. His chain armor and inventory were making him weigh much more than her. He head-butted her with his iron helmet, shattering her nose and stunning her for a moment.

  Inflicted 37 damage

  2-second stun

  Ajax head-butted her again.

  Inflicted 26 damage

  It was no special attack, just the garden-variety savage ruff-and-tumble of a barroom brawl. “You tried to kill her,” he screamed into the Steampunk’s face. “We were trying to save Visaria, you stupid—”

  She gritted her bloody teeth and stabbed him in the side with a blade, and he howled in pain.

  -57hp (Crushing attack)

  The Steampunk shoved the blade deeper and he felt it hit his hip bone.

  -77hp (Crushing attack)

  He started losing blood.

  -3hp

  -3hp

  -2hp

  “Die, you traitorous scum,” she hissed at him.

  His vision swam, but he had sense enough to pop his Shield of the Lost Sun damage-reduction ability. The relief the ability gave him wouldn’t last long, so he had to make the most of it before the pain returned.

  Spitting blood up into his face, she twisted the knife. “Traitor.”

  Ajax roared at the top of his lungs, “I’m no traitor.” He held her down with one hand and used the other to drive his armored fist into her broken nose, again and again.

  Inflicted 23 damage.

  Inflicted 27 damage.

  Inflicted 18 damage.

  Inflicted 15 damage.

  Inflicted 13 damage.

  Then he grew tired. The adrenaline and fear had worn him down. Ajax reached around and grabbed her hand holding the knife. Using his superior strength, he overpowered her and ripped the knife free. “This is for Lillus.” He went to stab the Steampunk in the chest, but she held her arms up and stopped the descending blade.

  The dragons jerked violently for a moment, and the two of them were tossed about. But then the beasts stabilized, their wing flaps almost deafening. Ajax stared right into the Steampunk’s eyes as he pushed down as hard as he could on the knife. She stared up at him with a mix of horror, rage and fear. “Traitor,” she spat again. “I am a loyal servant of the Imperium. You are dirt.”

  Ajax ignored her insult. He was no traitor. The knife was inches above her now. A few more seconds and he would have her.

  A huge jolt to the basket shifted the descent of the blade and it instead sank into the Steampunk’s shoulder, pinning her to the floor. She screamed and tried to twist around under him, grasping at the hilt.

  “Take that.” Ajax was glad of the pain he had caused her. This woman almost killed Lillus!

  Then intense guilt made the elation turn to despair. What had he done? This was an Elite Dragon Rider of the Imperial Guard. One of his heroes. He hated inflicting pain on others, even people who had wronged him.

  The Shield of the Lost Sun ability had worn off, and he felt the full pain of his wounds, and had to watch the blood loss whittle down his health again. No matter, when this was over he would cast his healing spells.

  Suddenly, the Steampunk gave up trying to pull the knife free and instead her bloody mouth twisted into a sickening sneer. Lifting one hand, she grabbed hold of him with the other. “Say hello to my little friend.”

  In her hand was another explosive, this one bigger than the last.

  The Musketman’s final Tier-1 ability...

  The Collateral Damage Bomb.

  “Now we die together, traitor.”

  Instinct took hold. Ajax head-butted the Steampunk again, and pushed away from her. The force of his blow made her grip loosen on his arm. Knocking her hand away, he grabbed the side of the basket and heaved himself up. He held on tight with one hand as the dragons swayed, their wings flapping in a frenzy several feet from him.

  Heart pounding louder than the chaos around him, he dove for Old Nel’s back, but no sooner had he made the leap, an explosion tore through the air, hitting him full-force in the back and propelling him hard against the side of Nel’s saddle basket.

  The world flashed red, agony shot into his very being, and then all went dark.

  CHAPTER 23

  CRASH LANDING

  Wings of Deliverance activated

  HP restored to 50%

  Ajax gasped in air, his head spinning, pain tearing at him like dragon claws. He felt different somehow, like something deep inside him had been ripped out and something else jammed back in.

  It took a long second for him to understand what was going on. He hung upside down, the snow-covered ground drawing closer. A red bar in the corner of his vision flashed.

  His life bar. He was losing health.

  Wind rushed by his ears. I’m falling!

  He started screaming, until he realized the ground wasn’t rushing to meet him. Bending over, he found himself hanging off the side of Old Nel’s back, his leg twisted in the ropes supporting her basket saddle.

  Then he remembered everything.

  The other dragons, the Steampunk, the bomb...

  Lillus!

  Ajax tried to reach for something to pull himself up, but found his muscles would not obey him. His back throbbed terribly, and blood ran down his face and dripped past his ears. With horror, he realized not all of it belonged to him. Some of it gushed from ragged gashes in Old Nel’s side, and some even trickled from the blasted remains of the basket saddle.

  “Lillus.” She had still been in the saddle, but now... Don’t think about it. She isn’t dead.

  He fought to pull himself up again, using all his strength, all his energy, and finally managed to grasp hold of a hanging rope. Taking a deep breath, he heaved himself up one painful inch at a time, his foot still caught in the rope.

  My hit points must have been reduced to zero. Ajax shuddered. Perhaps this was why the Oracle had said he needed to be level 8 before heading east. Had he not gotten the Wings of Deliverance passive spell... he’d be on his last life, and everything—Lillus, the void, what the Imperator had done—would’ve been forgotten.

  But he could die soon anyway. Already the blood loss had reduced him to a quarter health. And why do I feel so different? He couldn’t put his finger on the feeling, but he somehow felt more attuned to himself, and the world around him. Almost like when I took my first digital breath in Visaria. What could it mean?

  When he managed to climb onto the dragon’s back, clasping onto whatever stray rope he could, he cast a Medium Heal spell. Just one. He didn’t have the energy for more right now.

  HP: 104/325

  “Lillus.” Wrenching his leg until it came free of the rope, he dragged himself toward the broken side of the basket. He noticed hills to his left. Old Nel had begun to descend at a faster rate. It would only be seconds before she landed.

  Reaching the saddle, he grabbed hold of it as his stomach suddenly lurched. The dragon hit the ground with a sickening thump that took the wind from him. He held on as tight as he could until Old Nel had settled. Her wings fluttered to the ground, and she took in a ragged breath.

  Nothing I can do for her right now.

  Ajax pulled himself to a kneeling position and glanced over the damaged side of the basket.

  “Lillus.” She was still there, the left side of her face covered in blood. Her eyes were closed, her face blackened by soot.

  Climbing in beside her, he grabbed her arm. She still had a handful of hit points, but they were dwindling.

  Casting his spells, he got her to half heal
th before turning a few on himself. They needed to get to safety to stop the bleeding, for he couldn’t keep them both alive without more mana potions to fuel his spells.

  Scanning the sky, he saw no sign of the other dragon. Perhaps the Steampunk’s bomb had blown it from the sky too.

  Old Nel let out a long and withered groan.

  Taking Lillus in his bloody arms, Ajax sat, held her in his lap and pulled himself to the side of the basket saddle with his legs. He let himself slide off the side of the dragon, then landed on the ground and collapsed.

  Lillus lay beside him, unmoving. But she still lived.

  Moaning, Ajax sat up and studied the dragon. He could hear its heart beating fast as it pumped blood around its broken body.

  Her hide was covered in blood, along with rips and tears from the dragon’s claws and shrapnel wounds, no doubt caused from the explosion. Other parts of her mottled scales were blackened from dragon fire.

  Old Nel swiveled her head to face him, her eyes glazed. “Is Pendrax dead? Did we win?”

  Pendrax?

  Ajax realized the dragon must be confused. She watched him expectantly, her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth as she panted.

  Old Nel was dying.

  “Yes, we won. Pendrax is dead and his Dread Legions destroyed.” Ajax staggered to his feet, the snow around him red with the dragon’s blood. Limping over to her, gritting his teeth, he put a hand on her neck. “You fought well. It’s over now.”

  “No, it’s not over. It never is.” The ancient dragon trembled. “The young blue is dead. He fell from the sky, his proud dragon rider with him.” Nel’s eyes slid shut. “Known him since a hatchling, I had. Gone now. Gone...”

  Tears fell from Ajax’s eyes at the pain in the dragon’s voice. “I’m sorry.”

  Old Nels’s head lowered until it rested on the ground, her tongue falling into the snow. “I sleep now.”

  Then the beating of the dragon’s heart fell silent.

  CHAPTER 24

  GAME OVER

  A notification popped up in Ajax’s mind’s eye.

  Quest Failed

  Once you are ready, you need to go east to speak to the generals of the Imperial Army and end the invasion of the Republic. How you go about this task is left to your discretion.

  Failed. Before it had really begun.

  Ajax stared out from under the shelter of the pine tree, shivering inside his armor. His mana had dwindled to almost nothing, and he had only managed to keep Lillus alive by his passive mana regen granting him enough MPs to cast another Medium Heal on her. He’d bandaged her wounds (and some of his) using the torn shreds of his Standard Cloak.

  But his efforts wouldn’t be enough to save her.

  His own HP was dangerously low, and none of his long-cooldown abilities (other than Shield of the Lost Sun) were available to him. Using Shield every time it became available would only prolong the inevitable. He would have enough mana to keep one of them alive indefinitely.

  But not both.

  Ajax sobbed. It won’t matter when night falls. The cold will kill us both. If she went first, he could use his once-a-lifetime resurrect spell named Awaken on her, but without further aid, she would only die a second time.

  Staring out at the snow-shrouded countryside, he saw that Old Nel’s corpse had already become food for carrion. A pack of wolves led by a giant worg dug their snouts into the bloody tears in her hide, snapping and snarling as they fed on dragon meat.

  Terrorwing she had once been called, a proud dragon who had fought in the wars against Pendrax. Reduced to an old and withered shadow of her former self, and sent to her death by a petty Imperator who cared nothing for Old Nel, or for her contribution to Visarian history. Ajax made a fist, his hand shaking. If I survive this, I will find a way to kill you, Ithilda. You’re nothing. Nothing.

  Lillus stirred. Ajax put his arm back around her, fixing up her cloak so that it sheltered her face from the cold.

  “Ajax,” she spoke, her voice little more than a whisper.

  “Lillus... Oh god, Lillus.”

  Her teeth chattered together. “So cold.”

  “I know.” He had nothing to start a fire with, and even if he did, he would be wary doing it. So far, the wolves had not paid them any mind, content with their dragon flesh. But when they had eaten their fill, they might come seeking new prey. Worgs were known to kill even when they weren’t hungry.

  “Nel’s dead, isn’t she?” Lillus’s breath misted in the air.

  “Yes.” His chin fell to his chest. “We’re alone, and I...”

  “I know.” She turned and kissed him softly on the cheek. “It wasn’t meant to be this way. The Oracle foresaw us meeting the generals and convincing them to stop their war.”

  He rested his cheek against hers. “What will happen when we’re gone? Will I still be the Chosen One when I respawn?”

  Now Lillus sobbed. “No one will be respawning anymore.”

  Ajax snapped his head around to face her. “What do you mean?”

  “The computers that are Visaria have degraded. The void is corrupting the code bit by bit, and not so long ago, the programming dealing with player respawning became compromised.” She paused. “This life we have now—will be our last. If we die here and return to the confines of our own minds, the Oracle will lose to the void and we will be doomed.”

  Poor Cynthia and all the others we left behind at York. Then the full context of what Lillus had just said hit him. “So the remnant of humanity will be frozen for eternity in the stasis pods, never to be woken. Never to see the sun again.”

  Lillus didn’t have to answer. He knew what awaited them if they died.

  Noticing his mana had regenerated high enough to cast another Medium Heal, he restored some of her HP.

  “Thank you.” Lillus rested her head on his shoulder and watched the wolves feeding in the distance. After several minutes of silence, she spoke. “I don’t think I can go far like this. You must leave me here. Go and find a doctor, then—”

  “No, I’m not going anywhere.”

  She frowned. “Listen to me. You have to. You’re the Chosen One. I’m not important.”

  “Never.”

  Now she glared at him. “So you would sacrifice everything and everyone for me?”

  “I love you.” It was out before he could stop it.

  “Stop being so selfish, fool. Your love will mean nothing if the void wins.”

  “I’m not leaving. I’ll find some way to get us through the night. Then when the sun is up, I can—”

  “We’re in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by predators. This is part of the Wild Lands. Weak as we are, we will never get out of here alive. But on your own, with your healing spells to keep you alive, you might.”

  Ajax buried his face in his hands. I can’t leave her. Please, don’t make me have to make a choice like this.

  “Please, Ajax.”

  The wolves began yelping and howling. Ajax lowered his hands to find a wall of flame had engulfed Old Nel’s corpse and the wolves feeding on her. “What the?”

  Lillus clutched at him. “Dragon.”

  He started to climb to his feet. “I see it!”

  TALON DRAPED THEM IN his blanket. He’d provided them both with rejuvenation potions and proper bandages. “Now, I will tell you what happened,” he said, leaning against Firesoul’s belly. The dragon stared over at the seared corpse of Old Nel, thinking whatever dragons think when they look upon their own dead.

  “After we became separated, I led my brethren away, hoping all three would follow me,” the Dragon Rider said. “Two did, and I led them on a merry chase to a mountain range a hundred miles north of here. I know that area well, as I patrol there once a month.” He shook his head. “Bron and Simon were always idiots. They never saw me coming.”

  “Did you kill them?” Ajax found it hard to believe one dragon could take down two. Other than a few burns, Firesoul appeared uninjured.

  Talon
shook his head grimly. “I had to.” He patted his dragon. “After we flew among the peaks, we entered a giant cave opening and as soon as we were out of their line of sight, we flew up and hid among the huge stalactites. The fools flew right under us, and Firesoul blasted them with her breath. My two brethren died instantly, and the two dragons soon after.”

  “Wow.”

  Lillus took small bites of an apple she’d taken from her bag. “Quick thinking.”

  “Just comes with experience,” Talon replied. “We dragon riders aren’t used to fighting one other. In fact, I don’t think this has ever happened before. Why did they attack us? I’ve been comrades with them for years.”

  “The Imperator made them.” Ajax gritted his teeth. “The Steampunk I fought called me a traitor. Ithilda must have lied to them about us. I think the Steampunk thought she was protecting the Imperium.”

  “Arla, her name was. Good woman. Sorry to see her go.” Talon sighed. “So now what? When my brethren don’t return, they will send other riders out here to hunt us down.”

  Ajax had no idea what they should do. On a whim, he took out the Slithers of Deception. “We still have—” He caught his breath. “What the?”

  Written on the first page was a message.

  The void is already here, and there is nothing you can do to stop its spread. The voices speak to me, even as I write this. They tell me that the void wraiths know you now, and they are coming for you.

  With the utmost contempt,

  Imperator Ithilda.

  PS: I hope that Demon Mage is dead. If she isn’t, she soon will be.

  “No...”

  Lillus snatched the page from him and read the message. “I knew there was something off about her.”

  Ajax recalled the madness he had seen in the Imperator’s eyes. Perhaps it had been the void’s doing. “What do we do? How can we stop the void now?”

  Lillus reached out for Ajax. “Help me up.”

  Ajax climbed to his feet, his burned back and knife wound still trickling blood. Limping over to her, he held her hand as she pulled herself up. “First, we find a doctor to heal us, then we head south west.” She led him toward Talon. “Dragon rider, you must take us to the Oracle.”