‘Well.’ Watson turned around and gave us his normal beard-framed smile. ‘What’s the schedule for today?’
‘I’m going to max my archery,’ I said, ‘then maybe grab another level or two until Scarlet finishes the arrows.’
‘Excellent. Best of luck then.’
Being the polite young man that I was, I could recognise a dismissal when I heard one. So I led the way out.
When we were in the lift, Raitha looked at Sapentia. ‘What did he mean, other forms of reprimand?’
‘Thrown out of his wonderful office, through the window, I suspect.’ It was Braja who answered.
‘Surely not?’
‘Usually, it is a car accident,’ said Sapentia, her heavy purple eyeshadow making her look sombre and prophetic as she tipped her head toward Raitha.
‘I came here to play a game,’ muttered Tuscl, ‘not fight corporate battles.’
‘With this set-up, the two are connected, Tuscl,’ Braja answered just as the lift doors open.
‘Meet you in-game after dark,’ I said. ‘Could you pick me up after sunset please Sapentia and take me back to Fang Island?’
‘Hai.’
Clipped up again, I enjoyed inhaling the salt-tinged air and standing in the protective shadows of the pirate caves. With a cheerful gesture I greeted two pirates who walked past me in the tunnel. It almost felt like they were old friends. I felt guilty that I needed to drink some blood to get rid of a hunger and thirst notice. After that brief fight, I went to the large cave in which the pirates stored all their ropes and tools and made myself a target by coiling a rope up on top of a pile of planks. Now I could fire into the rope and hope my arrows would be retrievable. In preparation for raising my Archery skill, my inventory was stuffed with bundles of arrows; all the same, I had to conserve them as much as possible, there was a long way to go to. Speaking of skills, it was time to allocate my new attribute point. Sitting on a crate, I looked over my character sheet and, as always given its importance to the chance to hit with a bow, increased my dexterity.
Klytotoxos: Half-elf, hunter, Level 50, Exp 101,540
Condition: Vampire
Natural Armour 8 + Crafted Armour 6 + Magical Armour 14
Total Armour = 28
Base speed 12 – Encumbrance 0 = Effective speed 12
Strength 23Hit Points528
Dexterity73Spirit202
Spirituality20
Intelligence15
Constitution22
Beauty 9
Skills:
Combat:
Dodge 194
Bite 207
Claw 195
1-handed sword 73
Archery 84
Crafting:
Bowyer 1
Gathering 1
Set Traps 10
Other:
Mobile Casting 38
Abilities:
Wolf Form, Invisibility, Giant Bat Form, Cloud Form, Summon Bats, Summon Rats.
Immunities:
Weapon damage (exception: decapitation or wooden stake in the heart), electricity, cold, fire.
Weaknesses:
Requires blood as food.
Suffers damage in daylight.
Spells Known:
Swift as a Panther; Gather Shadow, Swiftshot II; Leave no Trace; Spark; Heat Arrow; Frost Arrow; Find Path; Read Tracks; Strength of a Bear; Refreshing Camp.
Inventory:
Coins:
19 gold, 14 silver, 65 copper
Equipped:
Feet: Boots of Dark Elvenkind
Legs: Pantaloons of the Pirate Captain
Waist: Setharian chain hauberk
Left hand:
Right hand: Iron scimitar
Lower body: Setharian chain hauberk
Upper body: Setharian chain hauberk
Shoulders: Leather pauldrons
Cape: Warm fur cloak
Left arm: Leather armguards
Right arm: Leather armguards
Fingers:
Neck: Setharian chain hauberk
Head: Setharian chain hauberk
Stored:
Canvas bag: three candles, lantern, lantern, flask oil, flask oil, flask oil, flask oil, flask oil.
Canvas bag: iron spike, iron spike, iron spike, hammer, hand plane, drill, hand saw, bundle of charts.
Small wooden box: emerald, emerald, emerald, emerald, emerald, emerald, diamond, diamond, Cord of the Winds.
Superb hickory bow.
Stack of a hundred arrows.
Stack of a hundred arrows.
Stack of a hundred arrows.
Stack of a hundred arrows.
Stack of a hundred arrows.
Stack of a hundred arrows.
Stack of a hundred arrows.
By reaching level 50 I had opened up the possibility of learning a new spell: Coat of Thorns. This was nice armour buff that gave me a damage shield. Opponents hitting me with medium or small weapons would take damage in return. Although the damage wasn’t much (about 5 per cent of their attack bounced back), it was a great fit with my being a vampire. With it, I should be able to pull mobs much higher level than myself and even if I could hardly hit them, so long as they didn’t have a means to harm me, I could count on this spell to bring their hit points down. For me in particular, it was a perfect spell for solo progress.
If I stayed in Epic 2 after the end of the project, I would definitely buy Coat of Thorns, for now, however, there was no point. Everything depended on a few successful shots from my bow (and Raitha’s) and having a damage shield made no difference to that.
Satisfied, I flicked away my character details, stood at the end of my archery range, aimed at the pile of ropes and started firing.
The skill up came on my twenty-third shot. I got to 86 Archery after another twenty-seven shots. This was going to be slower than I had hoped. Seven hundred arrows later, my skill was 112. Having lost thirty arrows to breakages, there was a question in my mind of whether I had enough on me to reach my cap of 255. Perhaps I should ask someone to bring me more.
During that time too, a new message appeared on my UI, which at first I assumed was the return of the desire for blood warning. In fact it read: You feel a strong urge to return to Lady Cruoris. ‘I really don’t’, I said aloud, hoping there would be no penalty for ignoring the alert.
While I was picking up arrows and prising them out of the rope target, I got a message request from Scarlet, which I took.
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘Hi Tyro, do you want the good news or the bad news?’
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘Bad news please.’ I always said that. I was a ‘get the bad news out of the way’ kind of person.
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘Oh. Actually, it doesn’t really work that way around. The good news is that I succeeded in making six dragon slaying arrows out of eight tries.’
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘That’s incredible! Well_’
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘The bad news is a character called Kraken took three. Mister Watson said I had to hand them over. They wanted all six but I wouldn’t give them the others without checking with you first. What do you want me to do?’
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘Get in touch with Sapentia and give the arrows to her. She’ll deliver them to me. Whether I pass them on to Kraken or not, I don’t know yet. I need to talk to Watson and find out…presumably Kraken or one of his friends has a better chance than me.
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘Who is Kraken?’
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘One of the main investors. He works for Blackcoin and was project manager here last year.’
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘Oh.’
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘Yeah. They are the ones that are paying for all this. So if they want the arrows I guess that’s their right to make that call.’
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘I didn’t like him. He was very curt and rude.’
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘I’m going
to unclip and find out what’s going on.’
Should I have been angry? In fact, I found myself relieved. It was a big responsibility, having to assassinate the dragon on behalf of the whole project. But now perhaps I was done here. Maybe we all were. The thought of being back home and telling Mum all about the trip was appealing.
After the dizziness from leaving the game ended, I saw that I didn’t have to go far to find Watson, he was right there and Katherine alongside him.
‘Ahh, Tom, I have some good news.’ His smile, as ever, was superficial.
‘Go on.’
‘Scarlet made six successful attempts out of eight on the arrows.’ He paused, presumably expecting me to respond with some expression of pleasure.
‘And the bad news?’ I asked as coldly as I could.
‘Ahh. Scarlet messaged you?’ Watson was no fool and his manner became business-like at once. ‘There was some discussion with our investors as to the best way to proceed. They have a warrior above level fifty who can use the arrows, so they took three.’
‘Warriors?’ I shook my head. ‘Their Archery cap is what? Two hundred? This is a job for a hunter. Also, all six arrows should be held by the same team, in case of a miss.’
‘They agree with that too. So they have reconsidered. With your unique immunities, it might be that you can get shots off when they can’t. So they want you to take the other three.’
‘And go with them?’
‘Yes.’
‘What about Raitha?’
‘Not needed.’
‘All right.’
Both Watson and Katherine looked surprised, though I didn’t see why they should. Was I missing something? According to my contract, my bonus for killing the dragon only applied in the event of my leading a successful raid against her. That was no longer going to happen, it was going to be a small group operation. So it didn’t matter to me if Yuno’s investors wanted to handle the execution of Mikarkathat themselves. Probably, they were much higher level than me and had decent gear, sufficient to cope with an angry dragon while they fired off the necessary three shots. I suppose this news did make all our effort to level up fast redundant and if it had been a huge chore to get to 50, perhaps I would have been resentful. Honestly though, the necromancer’s tower and then Fang Island had been fun.
Then, there was another consideration that had immediately leapt to mind as I heard the invitation. It would be very interesting to join up with this mysterious Kraken and his group and see what they were like both as players and people.
‘Excellent,’ said Watson, ‘can you get a teleport to the stone rings near Carrickmor? They will be waiting for you.’
‘Not until sunset.’
‘You need to maximise your archery skill?’ asked Katherine.
‘Well, that too. But my vampire condition prevents me going outside in daylight.’
‘Of course!’ Watson frowned. ‘I’ll check with Kiro and see what he wants to do. Do you mind waiting here?’
‘Is the canteen okay? I’d like to get something to eat.’
‘Certainly.’ Watson hurried and out and, giving me a quick smile, Katherine followed him.
Having skipped breakfast, I was hungry and this was as good a time as any for a break. Walking into the canteen I was struck by how quickly people could change their minds and attitudes. Not much more than a week ago, the judgement of the crowd was that I was an egotistical show off, bad for team spirit and the project. All I saw then were harsh expressions. Now, it was all smiles and even gestures to suggest I should bring my food over.
Pineapple pieces, Earl Grey tea (the closest I could get to Barry’s, they didn’t really understand tea in America) and a stack of strawberry pancakes. On the chalk board menu, these specials had sounded mouth-watering. Instead, they were plate watering. Strawberries and pancakes turned out not to be a good combination, the fruit making the pancakes soggy.
Despite the good will all around me, including that evident in girls not much older than me, I sat alone. Admittedly, there was something of a reclusive streak to my nature but also I wanted space for Watson to come and brief me in private.
It didn’t take him long, I was still wondering whether to bother with the last pancake. Pulling out a chair he sat down heavily.
‘They can’t wait that long and are going to go ahead. You and Raitha are plan B, in case they fail.’
‘Sure.’ I pushed my tray back and caught Watson’s eye. ‘It’s hard to believe this is all coming to an end.’
‘Hopefully.’
‘Do you say, “touch wood”?’ I asked.
‘I’ve heard the expression.’
‘It’s what we’d say in Ireland.’
‘Speaking of Ireland. What are you going to do when this is over?’ Watson looked over the top of his glasses, so as to really focus on me.
‘Finish school. Go to college…Try to build a paying follower base for my gaming.’
‘You could work here, you know. For Yuno.’
‘Doing what?’
Watson shrugged. ‘What are you good at?’
‘Playtesting,’ I said at once. ‘Finding exploits.’
‘I’m sure you are,’ he replied after a pause, ‘but that doesn’t pay very well.’
‘What do you suggest?’
‘Take a course in management. We’ll pay. You are the kind of team leader we want. You understand everything. You listen.’
‘Like Blackridge does?’
‘Don’t underestimate Paul. He inspires incredible loyalty.’
‘Anyone can, with favouritism.’
This drew a sound very like a tut, then Watson stood up. ‘Think about it.’
‘I will.’
Watson left me and after a decent interval I went back to the game and to the dull, repetitive task of capping my Archery.
Although there was no need, the whole group gathered with me at the caves to see us off. With no news from Watson about the death of the dragon, Raitha and I were going ahead with our own mission. Our intention was to use our ability to fly to take a short-cut over the mountains.
Sapentia handed me the three Arrows of Dragon Slaying she had earlier taken from Scarlet. ‘Is there anything else you need? Take anything that will help.’
Braja stepped forward. ‘I got you a healing potion each.’
‘Thanks. Hopefully they won’t be needed.’
‘The sun has set, shall we depart?’ Raitha sounded eager.
‘Lizardman salutesss comradesss who face a mighty dragon.’
Tuscl offered her hand and when I shook it simply said, ‘Good luck.’
‘No pressure,’ said Braja, ‘just several million dollars at stake, not to mention our bonuses.’
‘Any advice, Sapentia?’ I asked her.
‘Don’t miss.’
To the sound of chuckles, I walked out of the cave and into the twilight, then triggered my giant bat ability.
The world created by sonar was interesting, subtly different from ones created by heat or lights. Gone were the moon, stars, black outlines of cliffs and mountains and any distant landmarks, instead, I was given a vivid close-range picture in pale blues, where everything that moved, be it as small as a mouse, was visible to me in an iridescent blue and white. A useful form of vision for hunting. For travel, my half-elf low-light vision would serve me better and as my UI had the option to toggle between that, infravision and sonar, I chose low-light.
Flapping above the treetops, I moved westwards, the caves already receding rapidly and the waving arms of my friends barely discernible. A screech alerted me to the arrival of Raitha, whose flight was far swifter and more skilful than mine. While he could circle in and out of my path, I lurched with a lumbering beat of my wings and never in a straight line, rather I was making progress through a series of S shapes.
‘Shall I release an east wind from my cord?’ The eagle drew alongside and even though I was expecting it, to hear a soft-spoken human voice issue from such a fie
rce-looking bird was strange.
‘Good idea.’
Almost immediately, I felt the effect of the magic that Raitha had triggered. A strong breeze came from the sea behind us, pushing us higher and faster. And we needed to climb. While the black lines of the mountains ahead of us showed they were not as severe as those of Fang Island, they reached the same heights.
For thirty or forty kilometres ahead of us, moonlit forest poured from mountain valleys, like a dozen rivers feeding a silver sea. And while most of the forest seemed to have a dark, quiet depth, here and there was a dot of colour, like that of a bio-luminescent fish. A forest elf bonfire? A cluster of magical sprites? A wizard, performing a spell? A clan of orcs, cooking their dinner? The idea of continuing to play Epic 2 after this mission was over was appealing. Especially if I could keep my current character and explore new regions like the forest below me, regions that no other player character had ever visited.
Eventually, after an hour or more of beating my enormous wings, the forest gave up on its efforts to climb the mountain slopes and we were flying over more severe terrain, where streams ran past boulders and open grass like thin silver threads, occasionally cascading as waterfalls. Here, there were no magical lights glowing turquoise and green, nor the yellow and orange dots of a fire. If I switched to infravision, though, I could see blurry circles of a red so deep as to almost be black. Cave entrances, the lairs of what type of creature? Communities of humanoids, like goblins, perhaps? With an underground civilisation? King Ppyneew was not too far from here, his caverns being the one of the toughest raid regions in the game. Or were the heat signals coming from individual monsters? Like a Cyclops, Werebear, or something more dangerous still, such as a Rakshasi. Again, the challenge of exploring the mountains, finding new quests and new treasures was exciting. And the recordings of my group’s deeds would surely attract a decent following online.
Higher still we flew now, continually assisted by the magical following wind, over slopes of scree and cliffs of bare rock. Here and there were clusters of gorse and even some brave, stunted trees, clinging on in the protection of a shallow recess in the rock. Patches of snow lay on the ground, forerunners of the permanent weight of snow that lay on the mountaintops that were still high above us.
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