“Surrender the chosen, or face my wrath.” he shouted, the ball of fire now twice the size of Bynum radiating waves of heat.
What could she do? Out of mana and the crew in shambles, Bynum was about to kill everyone in a single attack. She knew what Skree would want her to do.
“Okay!” she said, letting her arms fall to her sides. They had lost the day and the only way she could save any of them was to give them Skree. “We surrender.”
“Bring him out!” Bynum said, not releasing his spell.
Something caught her eye then, a shape in the crow‘s nest leaping over the edge. Her eyes went wide as she understood what was happening.
“For the Captain!” Mills yelled as he fell, sword held in both hands as he plummeted toward Bynum. The armored man, whipped his head back toward the sound, but it was too late. Mills crashed into him, thrusting his sword through his neck as the two spun through the air before crashing into the deck with a crunch.
“Mills!” Priestess yelled just before the spell Bynum had been channeling detonated above the ship, sending a massive shock wave tearing across the ship, shattering masts in an explosion of noise and heat. The powerful explosion tossed her backward to slam into the railing and the world went dark.
Chapter 58
Bursting through the cloud cover, Skree continued to plummet toward the ground at breakneck speed. He had long ago stopped screaming; the fall having taken much longer than he would have expected. Now that the clouds no longer obscured his vision, he saw the ground rushing up to meet him.
Directly below him was a massive volcano, smoke billowing upward like a mighty tendril stretching to meet his falling form. Most interesting however, was the stark contrast of the scenery. One half of the ground in every direction was ash and smoldering lava, while opposite, was verdant greenery, lush forests and lakes untouched by the volcanic devastation. Even the volcano itself mirrored the larger world, half covered in towering trees, half covered in flowing lava.
As he grew near, Skree realized his trajectory was heading for the center of the volcano. Panicking, he flailed about wildly, trying to change his trajectory but his efforts were futile. In seconds, he would splash into the bubbling caldera overflowing with lava.
He braced himself for the impact, shutting his eyes tightly against his fear. If his destiny was to impact molten rock at a hundred miles per hour, he wanted it to be a surprise when the moment arrived. But it never came. Slowly, he cracked one eye open, then the other. He was hovering an inch above a basalt stone floor, in the center of the lava lake. tentatively reaching out, his fingers brushed the stone and the anti-gravity effect ended, he flopped onto the ground with a grunt.
Skree hoisted himself off the ground, dusting off his leather armor and looking around. The walls of the caldera towered above him, dozens of feet tall, thick green vines covered in flowers clinging desperately to the rock. The smell of sulfur mixed with the scent of fresh flowers was disorienting, an unimaginable combination.
A violent shudder reverberated through the basalt stone and Skree saw something moving in the lava pool. He watched the red hot surface bulge as something moved around the outer edge of the dais he was standing on, slowly circling his tiny bastion of safety. A massive clawed hand burst from the lava, slamming onto the edge of his island, the force of the impact sending him to the ground in a heap. Terror filled him as a second monstrous hand burst forth, landing on the opposite side of the platform.
He scrambled back as an enormous shape slowly rose from beneath the surface, revealing a black dragon, its body covered in glowing fractures like veins of magma. Skree watched in terror as the creature's eyes fell upon him, glowing with the deadly heat of a planetary core.
The creatures midnight black lips pulled back, revealing glittering fangs made of crystal or diamond, and a deep, throaty growl reverberated around the caldera. Raising its head into the air it roared, the intensity of the sound sending massive stones from the rim crashing into the lake all around him, sending lava spraying high into the air.
Lowering its head to eye level with Skree, a small female shape walked effortlessly down the dragon’s snout, hopping lightly to the stone. He did a double take as the tiny lizard hopped toward him, humming happily. It was clearlya kobold, no bigger than Priestess. She halted, her expression one of anger.
“Not even going to bow?” she asked angrily. The mighty dragon growled threatening violence.
Skree took a moment to consider it before bowing to the small kobold. “I am so sorry.”
“Deeper!” She shouted, followed by an even louder rumble from the dragon.
He bowed as low as he could, his eyes falling on the floor.
The kobold burst into laughter, and to his surprise, so did the dragon. “Just kidding!” she said, tapping him on the shoulder. “You can stop bowing now.”
Frustrated, Skree lifted his gaze and met her eyes for the first time. Glittering gold iris’s stood out against her emerald scales. “You scared the crap out of me!”
She sniffed the air. “I smell nothing of the sort.”
His eyes rolled so hard Skree thought they might get stuck in the back of his head. “Not literally.”
“Oh,” she said, frowning ever so slightly. “Perhaps we should try harder next time. Is loosing control of your bowels common when your kind are scared?”
“I wouldn‘t say it‘s common.”
She grinned. “But you are certain it’s possible?”
Skree couldn‘t help but chuckle. “It‘s definitely possible.”
The kobold nodded with a devious smile. “Welcome to my realm. I am the Archon Karazarak and I challenge you to duel!” She propped her hands on her hips imperiously. Do you accept?”
Karazarak has offered you a quest - Archon’s Trial - Diametrically Opposed
The Archon of Creations and Destruction has challenged you to a game of Diametrically Opposed, a game they invented at the beginning of time.
Rewards: Unknown
Failure: Unknown
This time, Skree to a moment to consider. He had failed every single trial through what the thought was no fault of his own. “Before I accept, can I win?”
Karazarak huffed. “I am not just going to let you win.”
“What I mean is, is it possible for me to win and you to lose?”
“Who wants to play a game where they always win? That isn‘t fun.” she said with confusion before rolling her eyes and nodding. “You just came from Amser‘s realm didn‘t you. He is such a bore. You can win, I promise.”
He felt a weight lift off his shoulders. No more tricks, no more deception. “What is the trial?”
“My nature is that of creation and destruction. These two forces are always at war with one another, they feed off each other and so my duty is to maintain a balance between these forces. You may choose one aspect, creation or destruction, and I will oppose you.”
He nodded. It was a strange choice, and one he considered carefully. He did not like destruction for destruction’s sake, but if this was a game, it could easily be the stronger choice. Deep down, he wanted to save Raiya, to save the universe from chaos and destruction. “I choose creation.”
Karazarak bounced excitedly, clapping her hands together rapidly. “Oh, I was hoping you would say that. I love burning things!”
“How do we play?” He asked, looking for a table or game to have appeared.
“Its simple!” She said. Floating slowly away from him, she landed atop the dragon. Her scales darkened until they were the color of midnight. As the darkness filled her, scales on the dragon’s feet began to lighten, becoming a shimmering emerald hue. Color continued to move upward, the dragon rapidly changing color until no black remained. The dragon trumpeted in elation, unfurling its wings in a glittering cascade of light.
Skree squealed when he felt gravity disappear, his legs waving wildly like a swimmer in water just deep enough to keep you from touching the bottom. Seconds later, he was hoverin
g fifteen feet off the ground, looking down at the stone ring he had landed on. Hexagonal blocks covered the surface, and his new aerial view revealed the entire thing was a large hexagonal shape. Two lines appeared, one glowing emerald, the other black as tar, the latter was closer to him.
Karazarak spoke, this time though her voice lacked any mirth. She spoke in a deep, guttural tone of voice. “Your goal is to cover every hex up to the green line. there can be no destruction beyond that line. If you can successfully remove the power of destruction from your part of the board before I destroy everything up to the black line, you win. You begin the game with one hundred points of creation energy.”
In his vision, a bar appeared with the numbers 100/100.
“You spend one point to plant a seed of creation and it grows into a tiny forest, or jungle, or village. Each point you spend converts all connected squares giving you seven squares for the price of one. If you plant a seed of creation near destruction, it does not claim those squares. At the end of your turn, any hex bordered on more sides by creation than destruction is converted into creation.”
Looking at the board, he felt he had a good grasp of the concept. Fill the board with his green spaces and convert any he could to remove them from the board.
“Here is the catch - Every point you spend becomes mine. If you spend all of your points at the start, you cannot place any more seeds until I destroy them. At the end of my turn, I destroy any hex bordered by more of my power than yours. The more energy you take from your reserves, the greater the calamity that can befall you. You understand?”
“I think so.”
“One more thing. Destruction can strike anywhere. I can plant a seed of destruction deep into your territory if I want, but you will have the advantage. You can easily snuff out a single seed of destruction.”
He focused on a hex and a small glittering light appeared in the center, bursting forth with the power of creation, a field of tiny trees burst from the stone, a small creek meandering through it. Seconds later, the green grass expanded, covering the connected squares in living plants. It was beautiful, a fully formed micro forest, complete with teeny-tiny animals. He grinned and got to work.
He planted seeds quickly creating one unbroken, uniform front line. After filling the first three rows, he had spent over half his points, leaving him with forty-four remaining.He decided on a strategy. If he put all of his hexes in a perfect block, she could focus her attack and divide his squares easily. He started to place a few small outcrops of forests and swamps much further out. The Islands of creation he could build from to box in her power. If she attacked his front line, he wanted to surround her.
With his board set, and no points in reserve he finally nodded. “Your turn.” To his surprise, every hex bordered by his swelled with green grass, more of the fascinating biomes appearing rapidly. There were actual lakes, mountain ranges and more.
Her bright golden eyes beamed, even more striking against her now inky dark scales. She laid out her seeds of destruction, chipping into his line and placing some seeds to create a wall between his islands and his main territory. He watched each move with a thoughtful stare. She was picking apart his front with relative ease and cutting his islands off from east connections. She was a pro at this, and suddenly, Skree didn't think there was nearly as much chance of winning as he had hoped.
Karazarak smiled grimly and nodded. Instantly, the seeds of destruction bloomed into fireballs, lightning strikes and in one case a small meteor crashed into his forest. The fire raced outward, consuming the miniature trees and animals alike. just at the edge of his hearing, he could hear the screeches of the terrified creature running from the flames.
A chime sounded in his head, breaking his eyes away from the raging destruction of the microcosm he had built. In the corner of his vision, he now showed fifty-four points he could spend. He got to work, trying to convert as many of her hexes as possible while expanding his own. He surrounded a wall of destruction she had used to separate two of his remote positions. If she didn‘t counter him, they would be his in a few turns.
Back and forth they went, each pushing, each placing seeds with care. There were times she had the advantage, once nearly taking the game, but always he bounced back. They played for what felt like hours, neither side able to win. Eventually though, he fell into a trap, one that had taken dozens of turns to set up, and he saw that he had lost. Destruction now covered every edge of the board in destruction, and it no longer mattered. with no way to break through the enclosing destruction, the game was over. no matter how long they played, her power would continue to grow, while he could no longer break through.
“I give up.” Skree said dejectedly. Yet again, he failed a trial. What was he even doing here? Why had Sawbones chosen him for this? Obviously not for his strategy, or wisdom.
Karazarak tilted her head back and roared, white hot fire bursting from her throat. “You lose! I win! Bwahahaha!” She jeered happily, reminding Skree of his younger sister who behaved much the same way when she beat him at checkers when they were kids. Effortlessly she leapt from the dragon landing on the ground in front of him. With a gesture, he sank gently to the ground.
“Thank you for playing with me. You didn‘t do too bad.” she said, patting him on the thigh. She smiled up at him. “Remember all you have learned here, and use it to take down our brother. Abrenacht is such a jerk.”
Skree opened his mouth to reply, but the dragon lunged an arm forward and flicked out one of its massive fingers, sending him flying out of the caldera and into the air so fast he could feel his skin pulling away from his face. He was speeding up so quickly he couldn‘t even muster the air to scream. He burst into the clouds, the world vanishing from his view.
Chapter 59
From the darkness, Skree heard tinkling sounds. Far in the distance, a tiny light was growing in size. In an instant, he was no longer surrounded by endless darkness. Instead, he was standing on lush red carpet, row upon row of slot machines fading into the distance. Taking in his surroundings, Skree saw he was in a casino more massive than any he had ever seen.
Miles and miles of slot machines blinked and buzzed in every direction. Stepping closer, he saw every machine was different, each bearing a lifelike statue with a name below it. Every few seconds the wheels would spin on every machine, the clang of hundreds of machines locking into their final outcomes was jarring. None of the machines had any other brand names or gimmicks. His best guess was that every machine represented someone in the universe, their entire life boiled down to the spin of some wheels.
Occasionally, the sound of a machine hitting the jackpot broke the dull, mechanical rumbling of the wheels. The red carpet extended away in one direction, no matter how fast he turned, the carpet always remains centered in his field of view. Understanding the less than subtle hint, Skree started marching toward whatever awaited him at the end.
It seemed like he had walked for hours, the scenery never changing, just more and more slot machines as far as the eye could. Eventually he spotted something different, sitting at the end of the carpet. He started to jog, then run as the end of his path drew ever closer. Breaking free from the endless slot machines, he saw a roulette table extending into the distance, covered in what appeared to be an infinite set of numbers. The wheel was a normal size, but the numbers were changing faster than he could comprehend.
Standing behind the immense table stood Sharktooth, dressed in a generic casino worker uniform, down to a Sharktooth name-tag. “Feeling lucky are we? Step right up and place your bets.” the Archon said, waving his hand at the immense table.
Skree stepped forward, hands resting on the leather-padded edge. A stack of chips rested in front of him, each bearing the caricatured head of Sharktooth, as if his head wasn’t cartoonish enough already.Snatching them from the table, he counted his starting chips. Counting to five didn’t take long.
He spun the wheel, the red and black spaces blurring into a hypnotic pattern. �
�Please place your bets.” The Archon waved his hand expansively toward the never ending table.
“Not so fast.” Skree said, hefting the chips. “You owe me some answers.”
Sharktooth tsk’d. “I tell you what, first you place your bets and if you win, I will answer all your questions.”
“And if I lose?”
“Then I chose poorly.”
The words slammed into his chest like a wrecking ball. Again he hefted the chips, the cheap plastic clinking hollowly in his hand. He looked at the table again, the infinity of numbers fading into the distance made him dizzy.
“This is impossible. Even if I had a million chips, a billion chips, I will never hit a winning number.” Skree clutched the chips in his hand so hard his knuckles cracked.
“Improbable,” Sharktooth said non-chalantly, “but not impossible. Probability says you have no chance, but luck is all about hitting that one in a septillion odds.
Skree snarled, staring into the beady eyes of the Archon. He stared at the table, trying to form a strategy, but knew it didn’t matter what he chose. Every bet had the same odds of success, every square just as likely as any other. He could walk down the table for days, or weeks and pick squares that felt right, or he could do something unexpected. With a devious smile, Skree stepped forward and placed all five tokens on the double zeros.
Sharktooth nodded as if impressed. The Archon picked up the glowing white ball, flicking it into the ball track with a snap of his fingers. Skree watched as the ball continued to gain speed until it was moving so fast it was nothing more than a glowing white ring. “Very bold!”
Skree returned his nod and settled into watch the outcome. Slowly, ever so slowly, the glowing orb decelerated, dropping out of the ball track, bouncing into the air as it collided with the dividers. He gritted his teeth, heart racing, suddenly filled with doubt. Had he been too optimistic? Was betting everything on a single roll of the dice so to speak the right thing to do. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to relax. Every choice was the same. He would either win or lose, and it was out of his control.
Raiya- Early Game Page 40