by Rick Scott
I use War Cry every chance I get to keep it focused on me. I check Lakota’s HP and see it dip down to 92%, but then bump back up to 95% again. What the heck?
“I think it has some kind of re-gen ability,” I say. “It keeps healing back up. Like a lot.”
“I’m on it,” Rembrandt says and stops firing to change the magazines in his pistols.
Rembrandt readies Bleeding Shot!
I dodge another swipe just as Rembrandt unloads with his new ammo. Lakota lets out a low moan as huge spurts of blood erupt from the places the shots land, staining its white hide. Its HP begins to drop steadily as Val Helena and Maxis continue to hammer into it.
They’re doing a lot of damage now. It’s bound to be building up rage, maybe getting close to using an AOE move soon. I prepare for it by casting Shadow Copy and narrowly dodge a headbutt and a trample from its hooves in the process.
We get it down to around 70% when it happens.
Lakota readies Great Bellow.
“Get ready to heal us up, Gilly,” Val Helena shouts.
Gilly and Rembrandt back up, while Maxis switches to Fists of Iron and Val Helena does a couple of moves that cover her with a shell of blue polygons.
Val Helena uses Defender!
Attack decreased, but Defense increased.
Val Helena uses Guard!
Armor rating increased by 20%.
The giant buffalo rears back and lets out its ear-shattering moo.
Lakota uses Great Bellow!
Your shadow absorbs the attack.
Maxis and Val Helena both drop down to around 15%, and my heart nearly stops when I see another message appear.
Lakota readies Avalanche.
Oh no!
“Gilly!” I cry. “Heal them up! Quick!”
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” Gilly says in a panic as she fumbles with her spells. “Which one do I use?”
Gilly casts Great Heal!
Gilly gains 0 HP!
Rembrandt gains 0 HP!
Reece gains 0 HP!
Val Helena gains 250 HP!
Maxis gains 250 HP!
A white light covers each of us as Maxis and Val Helena’s Health bars go up by 10%.
Crap! That won’t be enough!
“Use Heal III on her!” Maxis shouts as he changes stances again. “Don’t worry about me!”
Gilly does what she’s told and tops Val Helena up with a couple of casts. Maxis glows brightly as his fists take on a green hue.
Maxis uses Healing Blow!
Your attacks now recover HP for 50% damage done.
Maxis uses 1000 Fists!
Speed and damage of normal attacks are doubled and no longer use Stamina for 30 seconds.
My brother becomes a blender as he tears into Lakota’s side, his HP topping up with each hit. I’m so mesmerized that I nearly forget my own defense. I cast Shadow Copy right before the attack goes off.
Lakota uses Avalanche!
Huge chunks of snow and ice appear from nowhere, falling from the sky in a single massive sheet. I lose my shadow and Val Helena drops down to 15% again. My brother powers right through it, dropping to maybe 30% before his HP tops right back up to full.
I almost forget I’m tanking and barely miss a trample as Lakota goes back into its normal routine. I use another War Cry to keep up with the damage.
“Good work, guys!” Rembrandt says. “We should practice this more often, yeah?”
“What do you think this is?” Val Helena says with a goddess laugh.
My brother doesn’t say anything. Still peeved, I guess. He keeps slugging into Lakota’s side like a boxer working a heavy bag. We get the LM down to about 30% and then suddenly it breaks away and begins running back toward the herd.
What the heck?
“What happened?” Maxis shouts at me. “Why didn’t you keep hate?”
“I don’t know!”
“Guys, look!” Gilly points to where Lakota has stopped in the middle of the meadow, about a hundred yards away. Bright white light begins to emerge from beneath its hooves. The same happens for the rest of the Buffalo standing around it.
“Oh no,” I say absently. “I think I know what this is.”
I check the log to confirm it.
Lakota readies Recall the Herd.
“It’s going to teleport away!” I cry.
“What?” Maxis says.
“Wilbur said it would disappear in an hour. I didn’t think it would happen if we were fighting it. That’s why I attacked it ahead of you guys getting here.”
“We took too long?” Gilly asks.
I shake my head, unsure. “I guess so?”
Maxis curses. “So now, all of that goes to waste? I blew my 24-hour move on that thing.”
I look back to the giant white buffalo. It’s back up to 40% health. There’s no way we can kill it in time.
Unless . . .
I take off in a sprint toward Lakota as a crazy idea pops into my head. That thing on its back I saw—could it be what I think it is?
“Reece, where are you going?” Gilly shouts through the chat.
“I’m going to try something!”
I just hope I’m right.
I reach the LM and sprint up its side while it’s focused on casting its spell. I pull my way up to its back and spot the thing I saw on my HUD again, only this time, I see it clearly for what it is.
Target: Weak Spot
Yes!
I pull my blades and stumble toward the small, hairless patch of pink skin at the top of the animal’s huge humped back. I plunge into it with a series of attacks, taking off a whopping 1% with each hit. Wow! I get it to 30%, but I need to kill faster. I use Hide, and then hit it with a Backstab.
You Backstab Lakota for 60142 (601) damage!
Dang, what a hit! Suddenly, I see the permissive for my new Assassinate skill go active.
No way!
Could this really work? I have a one in four chance if it does. Or I could try just hitting it again. I see the monster slowly turn translucent. It’s about to disappear! No time for normal attacks. It’s now or never. I use Assassinate, and a dark aura surrounds me as my new ability activates.
My weapons flash as I plunge my kunai into the beast’s exposed flesh.
A bleating moan escapes from Lakota as the huge beast wobbles beneath my feet, its Health bar dropping from 15% to zero in a flash. An area wide message appears.
Reece has defeated Lakota!
You successfully Assassinate Lakota!
You have defeated Lakota!
Gilly gains a Level!
Gilly gains a Level!
Gilly gains a Level!
Gilly gains a Level!
Gilly gains a Level!
Gilly gains a Level!
Gilly gains a Level!
You gain 850,000 experience points.
Congratulations! You have gained a Level!
Congratulations! You have gained a Level!
You are now Level 82!
You have gained 3 Attribute points.
Congratulations! You have completed the Quest: Taming of the Herd
Congratulations! You have gained the title: Lakota Lambaster
You gain +100 Favor with Brookrun Village.
You gain -500 Favor with Mountain Clans.
You may now access the Herd Resource of Brookrun Meadows.
I jump from the beast as it falls to the ground in a massive crash. I check the log again and note the -500 Favor. The quest didn’t mention anything about that. Who the heck are the Mountain Clans, anyway?
I push the thought aside as I eagerly check to see what drops the beast might have. I press my palm to the massive corpse, and it dissolves as I covert it to nano.
You find 5 Nano-Crystals
You find a hunk of Lakota Meat.
You find a hunk of Lakota Meat.
You find a hunk of Lakota Meat.
You find a Lakota’s Ring.
&nbs
p; You find a Lakota’s Horn.
The guys rush in to join me, Gilly leading the pack. She tackles me with a hug while laughing. “Oh my gosh! That was so cool! How did you do that?”
“Not bad, Reece.” Val Helena gives me a wink and a smile.
“Leave it to a bloody Ninja, mate,” Rembrandt says, cracking a grin. “Damn OP class.”
We all laugh, save for my brother, who’s still wearing a scowl.
“How much did it give you?” he says. “Let me see.”
Man, what a buzz kill.
I open my palm and focus on materializing the crystals I just absorbed. Five pink crystals the size and shape of miniature candy bars appear in my hand. Maxis snatches them from me. “I’ll hold on to these.”
“Hey!” Gilly says.
“Relax,” Maxis says. “They’re all headed to the same place. What else it drop?”
I check the other items next, and then send the links to the party chat.
Lakota’s Ring
+60 STR +2% Health regeneration per second
Blessed by the great mountain spirit, this ring empowers the user with boundless strength and vitality.
“This one looks made for you, Val,” I say and produce the iron ring in my hand to trade with her. “Plus, I think I still owe you a ring, anyway.”
Her big gray eyes widen when she reads the trade details. “Wow. That is good. Okay, you can keep the old one.”
She chuckles as she completes the trade and places the rough iron ring on her finger.
“What’s the horn do?” Gilly asks.
I check that link next.
Lakota’s Horn
Summons: Great Herd Stampede
Uses: Once per day
Lakota draws strength from her herd and is never far from reaching them.
Hmm . . . guess Lakota was a girl, after all.
“Summon a stampede, one use per day?” Gilly says.
“Useless gimmicky crap,” Maxis says. “What else?”
I link the meat.
Lakota Meat
Cooking ingredient
The prized meat of the great Lakota is perfectly marbled and more tender than any cut of buffalo meat.
“Now that’s an item that looks worth fighting over,” Val Helena says with a grin.
“Who wants to barbeque?” Gilly says with a cheer.
As we laugh, a bright white light appears behind me. I shield my eyes as I turn about and take a reflexive step backward as something pushes itself up from the ground. When the light subsides, I see an obelisk about four-feet high and made of crystal standing in the middle of the meadow.
What the heck?
[A Wayfaring Stone has appeared!]
“Holy crap!” I say. “Is this one of those things we’re looking for?”
Maxis sighs, folding his arms. “Yup. I told you, killing bosses can spawn ’em. If it works, you two can get yourselves home.”
“What?” I say.
Maxis merely nods. “Touch it and see.”
I reach out to touch the crystal.
[Node Terminal 27EE: NULL_ERROR_541]
Whoa. That looks familiar. It’s the same weird message I saw down in the mines when I touched that crystal column. Are the two connected? When I look closer, I see that it could possibly be the same material even.
“I got an error,” I say.
“Figures,” Maxis says, touching it as well. “Yup. Freaking place sucks.”
“Oh well,” Gilly says cheerfully. “Back to Plan A. Helping Val, and then finding Citadel.”
“Guess so,” Maxis says.
I ponder a moment. This stone has me curious. “Hey, there’s one of these in the village too, right?”
“Yeah,” Rembrandt says. “A little path behind the Common Hall leads to it. I checked it out already, though. No dice.”
I wonder if it will give the same node number and error message as this one. I can’t recall the node number of the one in the mines. But I think the error code was the same. Node 27EE. I make a mental note to recall that later when I check the Wayfaring Stone in Brookrun.
“Why?” Gilly asks. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” I say. I’ll have to tell her about it later. “Hey, let’s head back and tell the villagers the good news!”
“Yeah . . .” Maxis says, interrupting me, “that we’ll be leaving in the morning. You guys are high enough level to move on, I think. We need to get this show on the road.”
“What?” Gilly says. “But I just hit 60. I can’t even use my bow yet!”
“We did good enough out there,” he says, and then looks directly at me. “So long as we stick together as a team. No more unilateral decisions, got it? You could have died out there today.”
My stomach flutters, and I swallow a hard lump in my throat. I want to protest, but I can’t say anything to deny the fact. “Sorry . . .”
“You made up for it though, mate.” Rembrandt pats me on the back. “That kill was brilliant. Reminds me how bloody magical a Ninja can be. I think we’ll be fine. We usually scrape through with much less out here, don’t we, Max?”
Maxis only grumbles.
“So it’s agreed,” Val Helena says. “We leave tomorrow.”
And then she turns to my brother and rubs his forearm. “But before we go, let me cook that Lakota meat for you tonight, Max. I promise you won’t regret it. A fine piece of meat like this can’t be left to go to waste.”
An awkward silence descends as the two grin at each other.
Gilly: OMGZ! D: Val is hitting on your brother soooo hard >_<
Me: I know, right? xD
Maxis raises a brow at her. “So you can cook, too?”
Val Helena just winks. “Guess I’ll have to prove it to you. Come on, let’s throw a feast before we blow town.”
They walk away together, leaving Gilly, Rembrandt, and me to stare after them.
Gilly: I think I’m gonna be sick. :P
I can do nothing but laugh.
Chapter 16: The Feast
The roar of laughter and the sweet smell of roasted buffalo fills the Common Hall as I take my seat at the center table next to Gilly. The entire village has gathered together. Along with the laughter, a trio of musicians play lively folk tunes on two fiddles and a flute, adding to the festive atmosphere. A hunk of prime rib the size of an entire cow sits on the table in front of me, and Val Helena does the honors of carving her masterpiece for the entire crowd.
It took ten whole nano-fragments to materialize the Lakota meat from my inventory, but looking at the final product, I think it was well worth the price. And I still have two more in my inventory, as well. I wonder if it’s something I could eventually take back to Mom. She’d love this. I think about her for a moment and feel a bit sad. Or guilty, perhaps. I hope she’s all right back there. We’re coming home soon, Mom. I promise.
My thoughts are interrupted as one of the serving women brings two thick slices of the roasted meat for Gilly and I. My mouth is watering already. I’ve never eaten steak before, and part of me is afraid that, after tasting this, even the real thing won’t compare. If I ever get that chance, anyway.
“This looks amazing,” Gill says, wide-eyed. She then looks to Val Helena, who’s armed with a curved blade that looks more fit for a samurai than a chef. “Great job, Val!”
The big lady laughs. “Wait till you taste it!”
Seated next to Val Helena is my brother, who seems to be admiring Val Helena’s rump as much as the rump-roast on the table. Next to him is Rembrandt, and further down is Wilbur. Opposite him, and filling the last seat next to me, is Blacktop.
“I’m glad you decided to come,” I say to the gnome when I turn to him. I’d taken a jog through the woods to invite him. Being the recluse he is, I wasn’t surprised when he declined at first. But the mention of the Lakota meat changed everything.
“I can’t say I like the crowd in here,” he says, looking o
ver his shoulder at the roomful of merrymaking villagers behind us. “But it’ll be worth it for a slice of that heaven over there.”
I laugh and take a sip of my freshly squeezed citrus juice. No ale for Gilly and I tonight. My brother’s orders. Not that I mind. I wasn’t too fond of the taste, anyhow. And I want to remember this night clearly.
Once everyone is served, Wilbur stands and clangs a knife against his tin mug to get the room’s attention. When it quiets down, he speaks. “Friends, let us all be thankful to the great goddess Karlis for this feast. And to the great Shard Warriors who have delivered it to us. Not only have they freed us from the goblin plight, but now they have returned us to the grazing lands!”
A round of cheers and applause fills the Common Hall as the villagers drum on the tables. “To the Shard Warriors!”
“And to our young master Reece!” Wilbur continues. “I trust that when the feasting is done, you’ll share with us the tale of how you vanquished this beast. Singlehandedly, I hear!”
What?!
Gilly: Sorry, I embellished the story a little. xD
Gilly laughs as I wave my hands profusely in refusal of the claim. “No, no! It was nothing like that!”
The whole table laughs, including Maxis, who lifts his mug to me. “To my little brother. Ninja extraordinaire!”
“Aye!” Rembrandt echoes him. “To the Ninja!”
“To the Ninja!”
I burst out laughing from embarrassment at how silly the proclamation sounds. For a moment, I can’t believe I’m even here enjoying this. I look to Gilly and give her a quick kiss and a gentle squeeze of her hand. “I’ll get you back for this.”
She only laughs.
“And to our chef,” Maxis says as he raises his mug again. “Val Helena!”