by Seth Ring
The attacking assassins jumped back, bringing their weapons up defensively to guard against a counter strike. About to step forward, a flash of motion caused Thorn to spin around, raising his arms again as another wave of assassins struck. Just like the first group, as soon as their weapons bounced off of Thorn’s armor, the assassins withdrew, but before Thorn could chase them, the third wave arrived.
His eyes narrowed, Thorn defended against the successive waves of attacks. His [Wolf Lord’s Heavy Armor] blocked the knife strikes, but with each hit he could feel a sliver of his health flake off. The assassins continued to attack like ocean waves beating against a rock, attacking and retreating in a pounding rhythm. Each wave was made up of six of the black clad assassins who operated with smooth precision without allowing Thorn to grasp the tempo of their attacks. Just as he felt out the rhythm of the waves, the next would come a beat faster or a step behind, forcing him to continually adjust his defenses.
Lurking behind him, the red masked leader crouched on a branch, eyes fixed on his back as it waited for an opportunity to strike. That opportunity soon arrived. Thorn, seeing that one of the black robed assassins was retreating slightly behind their companions, abruptly dove forward grabbing at their leg. Seeing his stretched out body, the red masked leader drew another dagger that looked like a needle and disappeared in a puff of shadow, reappearing above Thorn’s back.
Impossibly thin, the long dagger flashed down, stabbing through a narrow gap in Thorn’s back armor and neatly sliding through the chainmail underneath the plates. Despite feeling the sting of the attack, Thorn’s facial expression did not change in the slightest. Instead, he used the opportunity to take another step forward, his large hand closed around the black clothed assassin’s leg. Pulling the unfortunate assassin toward him, Thorn sliced it apart with the silver claws on his other hand.
Seeing that Thorn was ignoring him, the red masked leader gritted his teeth and struck again, determined to take Thorn down. This time, a red glow rippled around the needle-like dagger as it attacked, stabbing into Thorn again. Yet the Titan still disregarded it, even when blood began to flow down from the second puncture wound. Pretending he had not noticed his rapidly dropping health, Thorn lunged toward another black-clad assassin.
As he stepped forward his leg wobbled slightly as his knee lost strength and his body sagged to the side, revealing a weakness in his armor. Letting out a gleeful chuckle, the red masked assassin took advantage of Thorn’s weakness, flitting forward and aiming another strike with their narrow dagger at Thorn’s armpit. The thin point approached the gap in the plates, but it never managed to make it as Thorn’s sideways movement accelerated.
Dropping to his knee, Thorn spun, his massive elbow scraping the red mask of the attacking leader who had thrown his head back desperately as soon as it realized it had fallen for Thorn’s trap. Despite missing with his elbow strike, Thorn was undeterred and flicked his hand out, slamming into the assassin’s chest with the back of his hand.
Under the cold gazes of the black clothed assassins, the red masked assassin cartwheeled backwards, arms and legs flailing wildly. For a moment, it appeared as if their leader had succeeded in a graceless escape. But then he slammed into a tree trunk so hard the tree snapped off, the thundering sound sending birds fleeing into the air all over the forest. Instantly, all eyes turned back to Thorn who was slowly rising to his feet, blood still pooling at his feet.
[Akira.]
[You got it, master! Royal Grace!]
A warm golden glow swirled around Thorn’s figure and the dripping blood evaporated. [Royal Grace]’s regeneration effect began to rapidly fill his health even as it removed the bleeding effect the red masked leader’s dagger had inflicted on him. Standing tall in the growing daylight, Thorn faced down the remaining black-clothed assassins. For a few seconds they stood in silence until an arrow with grey fletching burst out from among the trees. Sliding under one of the assassin’s arms, it punctured through their ribs, nailing them to the tree they stood next to.
Without waiting for the assassins to react, Thorn jumped forward, aiming for the nearest enemy. Their leader undoubtedly dead and more enemies joining the fight, the black-clothed assassins were in no mood to continue their mission and immediately began to scatter. Thorn managed to grab one more, but the others quickly vanished into the forest, leaving three behind to the arrows that flew out from the trees.
As the last assassin disappeared, Thorn looked back over his shoulder. Out from the woods ran a human dressed in high quality leather armor, a recurve bow held in his hands. Seeing Thorn, he quickly thumped his chest with a closed fist and then, drawing a horn from his waist, blew it long. The sound of the horn echoed over the valley, and throughout the valley short responses sounded. Listening carefully, the man nodded and then turned to Thorn again.
“Greetings, my lord. I am Benshis, sergeant of the Freemen. I have alerted the others that there are attackers in the valley.” Obviously excited that he was meeting Thorn, Benshis stared at him with wide eyes. “By your leave I will pursue.”
Nodding, Thorn gave him a thumbs up. Seeing Benshis was still looking at him with stars in his eyes, Thorn waved his hand, shooing the sargent along.
“Ah, right. Thank you, my lord. We’ll catch them, never you fear.” Throwing those last words over his shoulder, Benshis disappeared into the forest after the assassins. Within moments Thorn heard the horns sounding again, drawing a net around the fleeing enemies. Feeling Akira land on his shoulder, Thorn removed his helmet and let out a deep breath.
[Thanks, Akira. That would have been really difficult without you.] Despite being completely healed, Thorn could still feel the spot where the red masked leader had stabbed him. The bleeding effect had nearly emptied his health, and without his abilities he undoubtedly would have died if Akira had not been around.
[Of course, master! That is why you should always bring me to fight!] Clambering up onto the top of Thorn’s head, Akira twisted herself over and stared into Thorn’s face. [I am the best fighter you know. I am really strong and I can beat up all of my cousins. I can’t beat my dad, but that is because he is invincible. Or my mom. But I am really strong, you know?]
[Yes, I know.] Grinning, Thorn plucked Akira from his head and fished out a treat for her. Jogging over to the broken tree, he rummaged around the body of the red-masked leader he had killed. Picking up a few gold, he was about to leave when Akira jumped down from his arms and grabbed something from under a fallen branch. Scampering back up into his arms, she put the black and red token that she had found in his hand.
The token was flat and showed the head of a greater devil with a drop of blood coming from its mouth. Tossing it into his inventory, Thorn began to run toward Moon Wolf Citadel. Finding it easier to travel during the day, he made great time, arriving at the citadel’s back gate within an hour. Checking the time, he saw he still had four hours until noon. Playing for a few days without sleeping wasn’t an issue, so he made his way to the main dining room and sent Akira with a note to ask the Wolfkin cooks to bring him breakfast.
Soon a steady stream of Wolfkin began ferrying platters of food between the kitchen and the dining room. Six different kinds of egg dishes, each made from at least a dozen eggs, were joined by steak, bacon, strings of pork, and apple sausage. Stacks of pancakes, fresh baked bread, steaming hot biscuits with twelve different jams, and two massive pies dominated one side of the table. The other held the meats along with two large tubs of yogurt, three different types of muffins, a baker’s dozen of donuts, and crispy hash browns. A giant bowl of various fruits dominated the center of the table.
One of the Wolfkin stood by a small side table that held milk, orange juice, a dark morning ale, and water, filling Thorn’s cups every time he drained them. Watching in awe as Thorn made plate after plate of food disappear, she nearly missed his cup after he tossed off his fifth glass of orange juice. Just as the orange juice was about to splash all over Thorn, a slim hand caught
the pitcher. Looking gratefully at Corvo who had just entered the room, she stepped back. Stifling a yawn, Corvo took one of the seats at the table and looked at Thorn in disgust.
“Ugh, how can you eat like that in the morning?” With a grimace he pushed a plate of sausage away.
Thorn just grinned and flexed one of his massive arms, slapping his bicep. The image was somewhat ruined by the large yogurt spoon sticking out of his mouth, but the Titan did not mind and dug right back in. Rolling his eyes, Corvo greeted Velin and Mina who had just arrived. Her eyes lighting up at the sight of Akira who was nibbling on a piece of fruit, Mina ran over to the Royal Ailuridae.
Velin greeted Corvo evenly and sat down on Thorn’s other side. Taking a plate of quiche, she served herself a piece and then put the rest of it on Thorn’s plate. After eating a few bites she put down her fork and began to go over the itinerary for the day.
“Thorn, are you ready to work on this quest? Peregrine should have already called the Emperor of the Sky, so you’ll need to be on top of your game.”
Giving Velin a nod, Thorn finished the last few crumbs of the quiche and pulled the sausages that Corvo had rejected closer.
“Good, once we’ve cleared the avatar challenge, we’ll need to decide who is actually going to go on the World Tree quest. Corvo, do you have any thoughts on this?”
“Yes, actually. You, Thorn, and Akira are pretty much a given. I think inviting Baxby along is a really good idea since you’ll be in a new area and you’re looking for the World Tree. He’ll be a major help in deciphering clues. Other than that, I think that the team would benefit from another combat focused player. Someone who can balance Thorn’s melee. At first I was going to suggest Delmore or Leaves, but they are going to be needed for grinding crusades. It is imperative that we collect as many commendations as we can before Thorn’s hearing. The higher his rank, the more support he’ll get from the Order of Flame.”
“What about bringing Jorge, or Oberlin?” Immersed in thought, Velin played with the food on her plate absently.
“Jorge is a close ranged striker. Too much overlap with Thorn. And besides, he and Oberlin already left. Jorge was talking about bleeding Thorn’s pockets dry by collecting the bounty on Ragnarok, and Oberlin was cackling about stealing everything they own.” Rolling his eyes, Corvo chuckled. “You realize that we’ve unleashed a scourge, right?”
“It serves them right!” Mina, who was at the other end of the table, butted in.
“She is correct. Ragnarok is the one who has not let up. We are just joining them in their game.”
“Sure, but sicking Oberlin on them? By the end of this it will be shocking if they have anything left. You know he has almost mastered his class right? He has a triple category class that he earned himself. Pure mastery.”
“Are those secrets you should be revealing?” Velin’s face was cool as she stared at the talkative avatar.
“Oh, relax.” Corvo’s head tilted slightly as he stared back. “We’re allies remember? All on the same team, which means we don’t need to hide things from each other. Or is there something I don’t know?”
Frowning, Thorn tapped on the table. The sound echoed through the room, instantly drawing all attention. Giving Corvo and Velin a displeased look, he pointed at himself, Velin, Akira, and then at Mina. He finished the last steak in three bites and stood up, flashing a thumbs up and brushed crumbs from his clothes. Gesturing for the others to follow him, Thorn led the way to the office behind the throne room and sat in his large chair. Pulling out a piece of paper, he began to write.
Baxby, Velin, Mina, Akira, and I will go on the World Tree quest. Corvo, I’ll be relying on you to make sure everything in the Valley runs smoothly while we are away. Please don’t hesitate to contact Velin as needed, and feel free to lean on Athena and the Society of Roses as you feel it is appropriate. The valley is our lifeblood, so we cannot afford for anything to happen to it.
“You got it, boss.” Giving Thorn a lazy salute, Corvo put the paper that Thorn handed him back on the desk.
CHAPTER TEN
Also, we have a bit of a situation.
Thorn shared his new quest with the others and wrote out a short description of his encounter with the assassins in the forest.
“What does this remind me of?” Mina mused after reading the note. “Blood Devils? That name sounds really familiar.”
“Exalted Devil Blood Berserker. That was Ouroboros’ class. The Blood Devils must be related to the greater devil, Karrandras.” Velin shook her head. “We don’t seem to be able to get away from him.”
“Well, we sorta kicked down his door.” Scratching his chin, Corvo gestured toward Thorn with his head. “Our esteemed Lord Greymane took over the race that he has been working so hard to corrupt and broke his champion in half. It makes sense that we would still be running into his influence. What I am most interested in is this ‘high priestess’ lady. From what you’ve described, the relationship between her and the giant wolves is really complicated. She was able to send Maugrim to bring you to her, and talks with him enough to know that you were around. Yet Maugrim and his master, Mani, are asking you to kill her? Curious.”
True. We need to talk to Elder Havva about this.
“I agree, but we don’t have time right now. Your date with the Emperor of the Sky is in half an hour.” Velin said, checking her clock. “This might need to wait until we get back.”
“Yeah, Velin is right. It is pretty important that we focus right now. Once the avatar quest is cleared we can worry about how we are going to deal with the high priestess.”
[Master, someone is coming. They smell like a bird. Really stinky.]
[Akira, be kind.] Thorn chided his battle pet as he turned to look at the door. Just as his glance landed on it, a small figure sauntered into the room. Swaggering across the room, Peregrine slapped her little hand on the top of Thorn’s desk and vaulted right up. Standing up, she was slightly taller than Thorn who was lounging in his chair, a fact she seemed to relish greatly.
“You ready for this, Lord Baron?” It was obvious by Peregrine’s tone that she doubted it.
Thorn’s body rose from his chair as he got to his feet, towering over Peregrine despite the fact that she was standing on his desk. Looking down at her, his face broke into a grin.
[Akira.]
[Yes, Master!] With a flying leap, Akira jumped from Mina’s lap, bouncing off of the desk and landing on Thorn’s shoulder.
Lifting a hand, Thorn gestured for Peregrine to lead the way.
“Follow along. I asked the Emperor to meet us at the peak of Fang Spire. He gets, uh, antsy when he gets close to sea level, so I tried to pick the tallest mountain around.”
“Fang Spire?” Mina asked Corvo with a whisper.
“It’s the southern twin of the Twin Peaks.” Corvo pointed in the direction of the mountain to the south of Moon Wolf Citadel. “Fang Spire and Grim Spire are the official names of the mountains. Fang Spire is fourteen and a half thousand feet, while its twin, Grim Spire is only twelve thousand seven hundred-ish.”
“Huh, you learn something new every day.”
“Especially if you hang around mister ‘I know everything’.” Peregrine, who was leading the way out of the fortress, rolled her eyes. Glancing over her shoulder at Thorn, she let out a sigh. “Don’t say I never did anything for you, Lord Baron. The extra height might not seem like much, but it will mean that the Emperor is in that much of a better mood. Truthfully, I don’t actually know how you are going to overcome this quest. It is about as fair to you as a straight fight would be to me.”
Raising his hands, Thorn shrugged. He did not know how he was going to complete it either. The quest gave no hints so he was just going to play it by ear. Originally, he had been quite worried about how he was going to talk to the giant bird, but meeting Mani, the massive silver wolf, had planted a seed of hope in him.
His connection with Akira allowed him to communicate with her mentally, an a
bility that Mani had as well. Thorn was hoping that mental communication was a mark of all such legendary creatures. If it wasn’t then the quest would likely devolve into a complete farce.
Leading the way out of the fortress, Peregrine and the rest of the group began to climb Fang Spire. Despite her small size she moved quickly, reminding Thorn of a gust of wind that blew this way and that. One moment she would be standing still and the next she would move swiftly to a rock up ahead. As they climbed, Thorn could almost imagine that he was simply going on a hike with his friends. The day had warmed up nicely, and a gentle breeze kept the sun’s rays from being too hot.
Up in the endlessly blue sky that covered the valley, a small speck could be seen turning lazy circles over the group. As they climbed, Peregrine would occasionally let out a piercing whistle, listening for a response from Roko who flew above them. Each time she heard the Imperial Roc’s cry she would adjust their path up the mountain. Due to Roko’s guidance, the group smoothly climbed up the mountain, skipping past any obstacles in their path.