The Dragon's Revenge

by Conor Kostick

  ‘Are you OK?’ I shouted across to him.

  ‘Please look down there, left of the stage about four rows back.’

  ‘What am I…oh.’ Astonishingly, Braja was holding Sapentia tight and her arms were around his neck. ‘That makes no sense, I thought they didn’t like each other.’

  ‘My friend, very much makes sense.’ Raitha leaned in close so I could hear him over the music. ‘She came here looking for an alpha male who was different to the men she knew in Japan. She was hoping it would be you, but you are too young. I am no alpha male. Grythiss is…well, unattractive, I don’t mean to be rude, he’s an impressively dogged role player. Braja, on the other hand, is very interesting and most certainly tough.’

  ‘I suppose so.’ Had I really hoped to be in the position Braja was in now? Was it ever a possibility? I was a fool if I had believed in something so out of reach. ‘And why does he like her? He thinks she’s too bossy and shows off too much.’

  With that Raitha smiled again, his teeth glowing indigo in the club’s UV lights. ‘Ah, Braja protested too much, as Shakespeare put it. It is clear now that he was as impressed by her as were we all. And with Braja, there is something else. He is very conscious of being from the working class, which is a matter of pride for him. He wants to taste everything that the middle class enjoy to confirm his belief it is all shallow rubbish. This does not bode well for Sapentia.’

  ‘Oh well. Shall we leave? Get a cab back to our hotels? Get some sleep before a long grind tomorrow?’

  ‘Probably we should, but I think that it would be wise to try to get Grythiss to come with us. He is drunk.’

  ‘Where is he?’

  ‘Leering at American girls. If you look over by the far wall, just right of the middle, you’ll see him easily. Not many of the other dancers are so tall or so black.’

  As the swirling crimson and purple lights raced over the crowd, I could indeed see Grythiss, facing away from the stage and standing in front of a young woman whose compact dancing gave an impression of self-assuredness. It was hard to see her expression, but I couldn’t imagine that the clumsy lurches of Grythiss - whose dark head bent down over her chest from time to time - were likely to make a favourable impression.

  ‘I have an observation about Grythiss’s behaviour that I would like to share, may I?’ Raitha leaned in, so as not to have to shout.

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘All of us have hidden drives. I believe it very important to understand this and to be self-aware about this.’

  Since his pause required a response, I nodded.

  ‘With alcohol taken, we often see these drives, on the surface.’

  ‘Hah! Yes, I see what you mean.’

  ‘Exactly. Now we see lust in Grythiss that normally he restrains. This brings me to a question I think is important. Do we know Blackridge and Watson? Do we understand their drives?’

  This was an unexpected but interesting question and I glanced into Raitha’s earnest face before replying, ‘I would say that Blackridge is like my worst teacher. He thinks he is very important and what drives him is a desire to be worshiped.’

  ‘I agree. You put it very well. And this is why he is troubled by you. And, indeed, by all of our group.’

  ‘Watson. I have no idea.’

  ‘Nor do I. Do you share my belief, however, that Watson is very self-aware and that he is less genial and more purposeful than the impression he gives?’

  Again, I paused. ‘When I first saw him, stood in front of my class, I thought he was soft and would be slaughtered. But he did OK. When he offered me this job, I liked him.’

  ‘And now?’

  ‘After what Sapentia said I’ve become a bit paranoid. I can’t say. I think I still like him. He’s honest.’

  ‘I don’t like him and I don’t know if he’s honest.’

  ‘What about me?’ All of a sudden, I felt anxious for the good opinion of my best friend, as though it were in doubt. ‘What are my hidden drives?’

  ‘Hah!’ Raitha laughed. ‘You are like Blackridge, you want to be worshipped.’

  ‘No way!’ I felt indignant.

  ‘You are seventeen. For a person of seventeen to want to be a god is a good thing. It means you will not be put on a railroad and sent to your future by other people. For Blackridge it means crushing the independence of others and especially in those who can show up his shortcomings.’

  ‘I’m not at all like him.’

  ‘You misunderstand me.’ Raitha placed his hand gently on my arm. ‘In India we are less black and white. A trait is not always bad, nor always good. You, I admire very, very much. You listen to good advice and take it, because for you, success for everyone is more important than being the star of the show. Blackridge, I fear, would risk failure rather than concede he does not know best.’

  ‘I can see that.’ For a moment, I leaned back into my seat, away from the strain of trying to hear Raitha. Then I tipped back towards him. ‘And I like you too, by the way. Though I have no idea what drives you.’

  ‘Oh, just the usual. The desire to be loved.’

  Dawn the following morning was a challenge. I’d only had two bottles of beer and had left the club relatively early with Raitha and a very reluctant but ultimately persuadable Grythiss. Still, I hated the sound of my alarm and I felt a distinct tightness around my head as I struggled to get up and silence it. If I was feeling rough, what was Braja experiencing right now? Or, heaven help him, Grythiss?

  It was with some surprise, then, that I saw them both standing at the map when I came into the campaign room. There was a distinctly subdued atmosphere in the chamber, one that was not simply due to the fewer number of players who were around at this early hour. People were talking in whispers and the look on their faces was concern. It was the elderly Katherine who was on duty and I came over to her, giving my two group members a nod first.

  ‘What’s up?’

  ‘Hello Tyro.’ She gestured towards the map. ‘An army of dark elves led by the General of Bow and the General of Sword in alliance with a black dragon have conquered Fort Hellsmouth.’

  ‘Wow.’

  ‘Unfortunately, our best characters had their spawn points in and around the city. They can’t get into the game any more. Check the board, the trapped players are in red.’

  ‘Jeez Louise.’ The highest-level player left in the game, the first green name on the board, was a rogue who was only at 23.

  Perhaps surprised at my form of words, Katherine raised an eyebrow and gave me something of a tired smile.

  ‘We’ve alerted Paul - Mr Blackridge - and he’s on his way in. He’s asked me to contact everyone for a meeting this afternoon at two. I believe he plans to raid to reclaim the spawn points long enough for our players to clip up and get out of there.’

  ‘That worked for us.’ And I explained how we cleared Braja’s starting location of goblins so that he could join us.

  Shaking her head, Katherine sighed. ‘This is a whole different league than goblins. It’s worth a try but the best we can do is draw the mobs away. There’s no way we can clear them. The Generals and their bodyguards are all a hundred plus.’

  ‘We have some tricks that might help, but we’re a long way off.’

  ‘Better get going then. I’ll have someone send you a message in-game with any news.’

  Before I went to find a set, I walked around the board to a very pale-looking Grythiss and a cheerful Braja.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ I asked Grythiss.

  ‘Terrible.’

  ‘Heroic performance last night, my friend.’ Braja slapped Grythiss on the back then turned to me. ‘Fourteen pernod and blacks.’

  ‘Incredible. And expensive,’ I murmured.

  ‘It was cheap compared to home. Too cheap. I let myself run away. I’m sorry if I was a problem.’

  ‘No problem at all,’ I replied at once. ‘Shall we clip up?’

  ‘Yeah, come on mate.’ Braja went to guide Grythiss by the arm, bu
t our tank shook himself free. ‘Raitha and Sapentia just went ahead, let’s find their room.’

  After the always-exciting surge of colour and sound of entering the game had died away, I found myself…in near complete darkness. That was very strange. Having prepared myself to clip up to find myself a recently dead character with no gear, I was surprised to see nothing at all. Or rather, a slight hint of an orange glow. Still, my UI was working, so I grouped up the team.

  [Group] ‘Where are you, Tyro?’ asked Sapentia.

  [Group] ‘Somewhere dark. Are you all OK?’

  [Group] ‘We are perfect. There is no sign of the vampire, nor even that a struggle took place here. The books are all back on their shelves.’ This was Raitha.

  [Group] ‘She has put me in a prison perhaps? I’ll try to find out more. In the meantime, how about you all leave the castle?’

  [Group] ‘It would be more use of our time if everyone helps look for new spells.’

  [Group] ‘I’m not sure that would be wise, Sapentia,’ I responded quickly, ‘remember, there is an enchantment in that room. Let’s not fall under the spell again.’

  After a long pause, which made me anxious, Sapentia spoke. [Group] ‘Very well.’

  Good. Now, where was I? Stretching out my hand, I met with resistance and after pushing against it, heard the creaking of wood. As though a light had come on, I could see that I was in a room. Yet the sight was unusual. Everything was dim and coloured in greys, oranges and reds. Since there was no window, no doorframe with cracks around it, nor any lights, I presumed this was what infrared vision was like in the game. Confusingly, half-elves only got low light vision, not full infravision. Had I gained the ability along with my Wolf Form? In any case, it was pretty good for textures. Five long wooden boxes; a ladder; a scratched flooring made of planks.

  And what had I just moved in order to see this? Some kind of door? No, a lid. I was sitting in a coffin. In a room with five coffins.

  [Group] ‘Umm. I have good news and bad news.’

  [Group] ‘What’s the bad news?’ asked Braja. Simultaneously, Raitha asked for the good news. If I hadn’t been feeling giddy from my situation, I’d have pointed out to the two of them how they were opposites.

  [Group] ‘The bad news is I believe I’ve become a vampire.’

  [Group] ‘And?’ The question came from Sapentia.

  [Group] ‘And the good news is I believe I’ve become a vampire.’

  [Group] ‘What does that mean?’ asked Raitha.

  [Group] ‘I’m in a coffin in a dark room, I’ve got infravision. And oh…’

  I had been hurriedly checking my UI, looking for alerts, and had just discovered them.

  You have gained the ability Invisibility.

  You have gained the ability Giant Bat Form.

  You have gained the ability Cloud Form.

  You have gained the ability Read Thoughts.

  You have gained the ability Summon Bats.

  You have gained the ability Summon Rats.

  You are immune to weapon damage (exception: decapitation or wooden stake in the heart).

  You are immune to electricity, cold and fire.

  You are hungry and thirsty: you require blood.

  You suffer damage in daylight.

  [Group] ‘…Yep. Definitely a vampire. This is…well. I can turn into a bat and go invis. That has to be good.’

  [Group] ‘Where are you?’ Sapentia brought my thoughts back to my surroundings.

  [Group] ‘A completely dark room, for obvious reasons, with five other coffins in it. There’s one exit’—I could see it now—‘a trapdoor in the roof. And there’s a ladder. Wait a moment, let me open it and see.’

  With a leap of astonishing distance, I jumped from my coffin to land beside the ladder. That new agility gave me pause for thought. What were my attribute stats now? Let me see: Strength 23, Dexterity 23, Spirituality 11, Intelligence 15, Constitution 22, Beauty 9. Very nice! And that increased Con had doubled my hit points from 56 (level 7 at 8 points per level) to 112. Every time I gained a level I was getting my class increase (for hunters, that was 8) plus a Con bonus of 8. I was uber!

  Feeling confident and cocky even, I threw up the trapdoor with a loud bang, fully expecting to be in cellars of the castle. Just wait until Blackridge found out about this. It would make him green. In my complacency, I made a near-fatal mistake. I must have been just below the roof, because the room lit up with daylight. Unfortunately for me, this was like a fireball going off above my head.

  You are damaged by sunlight for 25 damage.

  You are damaged by sunlight for 18 damage.

  You are damaged by sunlight for 16 damage.

  You are damaged by sunlight for 19 damage.

  Every second that passed was melting me. Desperately, I grabbed the heavy iron handle of the trapdoor and pulling hard, returned the trapdoor into place with a mighty bang.

  You are damaged by sunlight for 20 damage.

  After taking a few breaths to calm myself, I spoke. [Group] ‘It’s the room directly underneath the roof and it opens to the sky. If you can get up top, you’ll be able to reach me.’

  You regenerate 2 hit points.

  Excellent. And what if I lay in my coffin? Would that heal me faster? Doing so, I waited, counting the seconds and making new hot buttons for my UI, so that I could trigger Invisibility, Giant Bat Form, Cloud Form, Summon Bats, Summon Rats and Read Thoughts at need. After eight seconds, I got the heal message:

  You regenerate 5 hit points.

  Aha! Not bad at all, a little over ten minutes like this and I’d be back to full strength. Laying in my coffin, I listened to the group chat as the others discussed their options and decided to go outside and for Raitha to assume Eagle Form (our ability buttons had reset) and take a grapple up to the top. Probably, I had a smirk on my face. With these new stats and abilities, I should be able to level the whole group unexpectedly fast. Especially if I was farming mobs that couldn’t actually harm me. Only, it would have to be at night-time…unless we went into an underground dungeon.

  [Group] ‘We can’t find the trapdoor,’ grumbled Braja. ‘Can you lift it?’

  [Group] ‘The problem is that the daylight would kill me.’

  Raitha gave a response. [Group] ‘Even if you could raise it a tiny amount, not enough to let the light in, that would perhaps show us where it is.’

  [Group] ‘All right; I’ll let you know when I’ve lifted the trapdoor.’

  With a certain amount of anxiety – after all, that last experience had been a scare – I got out of my coffin, climbed the ladder and raised the trapdoor a fraction. [Group] ‘Anything?’

  [Group] ‘No,’ said Sapentia.

  [Group] ‘Now?’

  You are damaged by sunlight for 1 damage.

  You are damaged by sunlight for 1 damage.

  You are damaged by sunlight for 1 damage.

  [Group] ‘Lizardman can ssseee the door.’

  [Group] ‘Great. I’m going to close it and get back in my coffin while we discuss what to do.’

  [Group] ‘What do you want to do?’ asked Braja.

  [Group] ‘Go to an underground complex in a passage tomb where Raitha and I were levelling up. The guide says it has yard trash mobs up to level sixteen and a boss who is twenty-four. We could set up in there and it wouldn’t matter whether it was day or night.’

  [Group] ‘I like this plan,’ said Raitha, ‘the place looked intriguing and there is hardly anything about it in the guide beyond what Tyro has said. There is nothing like exploring territory for the first time to take the grind out of grinding.’

  Sounding curt, Sapentia came in. [Group] ‘Fine. But we are not waiting all day. The others need us to level faster than we have been.’

  [Group] ‘There are five coffins in here with me. I haven’t checked them, but if they are occupied, that’s going to be some nice exp.’

  You are damaged by sunlight for 1 damage.

  You are damaged
by sunlight for 1 damage.

  You are damaged by sunlight for 1 damage.

  You regenerate 5 hit points.

  [Group] ‘Umm. I’m guessing you opened the trapdoor.’

  [Group] ‘Right,’ answered Braja, ‘now what? Should we all come down.’

  You are damaged by sunlight for 1 damage.

  The hit point messages kept streaming across my UI. So long as the rate of damage was less than my regeneration, I was fine.

  [Group] ‘If there are vampires in those coffins, then even with the sunlight to help us, we might be overwhelmed before they die,’ observed Raitha. ‘I suggest I fly down and try to prise one open with my beak. Should any of the coffins open, I can escape, whereas the rest of you would be trapped.’

  Though I couldn’t do anything to help while that trapdoor was open, I offered my thoughts. [Group] ‘That sounds wise, good luck, Raitha.’

  The flutter of wings was loud, even through the lid of my coffin. It was followed by a scratching sound and a creak.

  [Group] ‘Look out!’ shouted Grythiss. ‘Coffinsss’s open!’

  More groaning from wood and a powerful beat and crack of Raitha’s wings. It was tempting to peek out. So I did.

  My vision instantly transformed from infrareds to normal colours. A block of dusty sunlight marked a large rectangle on the floor. Around the dark sides of the room, all the coffins had been thrown open and five creatures were calling out in pain as they emerged. What were they? Vampires, presumably, although none of them looked at all like the castle’s owner. These were withered and emaciated humanoids, brown skinned, wrinkled and frankly, disgusting. It was impossible to tell their gender or even had they once been elves or humans. There was no danger in this situation, for the vampires were caught, unable to advance towards the light but suffering damage all the same.

  Dropping the lid back, I checked my hit points: 136 and slowly rising now, by 2 every 6 seconds.

  [Group] ‘Do you look like that now, Tyro?’ asked Raitha.

  [Group] ‘No, I’m a young, fresh vampire. Just the same as yesterday. Maybe a bit more muscle.’

  [Group] ‘Hah! Sounds good,’ he said.

  [Group] ‘What’s happening?’ I asked.

  Braja replied, [Group] ‘We have them crawling into the corners. They are doomed.’