by Rick Scott
Your shadow absorbs the attack!
I blur to the side with nano-dust as the giant salamander again bites into the snow. I target its big snowflake-like “ears” and unleash a rapid series of attacks, desperate to counteract the massive hit that Aiko just performed.
You hit the Frost Salamander for 337 damage!
You hit the Frost Salamander for 323 damage!
You hit the Frost Salamander for 338 damage!
You hit the Frost Salamander for 341 damage!
Still it seems to do nothing to grab its attention.
“I need to feed you hate!” Aiko says from behind me. “Just hang on.”
She buffs herself with several abilities and then vanishes from view.
Aiko uses Misdirection.
Aiko uses Poison Blade.
Aiko uses Hide.
The Frost Salamander ignores me, like the pissant I am compared to it, and cranes its stubby neck in search of Aiko. She appears a second later, again dropping down from out of the trees to perform a buff-enhanced Plunging Attack.
The beast loses another 5% of its health as Aiko stabs it in the back of its neck and then cartwheels off to the side. The monster focuses on me, like I was the one that just hit it. It lets out a hiss and steamrolls in my direction.
Hoy boy!
I yell at it with another War Cry, but my scream is filled with just as much fright as fight. I take off Sprinting away from it, running in a zigzag pattern through the knee deep snow and towering trees. Snow and ice comes flinging at me from behind and the ground trembles as the massive salamander gives chase.
“You still with me, Aiko?” I yell through the chat.
“I’m keeping up. Thanks for that save, by the way.”
“You can thank me by killing this thing as fast as possible!”
I check its Health bar and note that Aiko has already dropped it to 84% and its HP keeps ticking down with whatever poison ability she applied to her blade. It drops another percent and I realize it must be a very strong poison indeed. We could probably kill it by just kiting it to death.
The Frost Salamander hisses and roars behind me as it loses another 5% of its health.
I risk a look over my shoulder to see Aiko removing her blade from its back. In that brief moment of distraction, I recast Shadow Copy and rebuff Shadow Haste. I give it another War Cry for good measure and then take off again.
“Keep it up!” I yell. “Just like this.”
We do so, falling into somewhat of a routine. Aiko sticks to scaling the trees and dropping down on it with Plunging Attacks, fusing me with hate from her Misdirection ability, while I simply focus on running for my life. We get it down to 40% and I begin to worry about my Stamina running dry when a debuff icon appears on my HUD.
Exhaustion -25% Stamina.
Oh crap.
I can feel it just as much as I can see it on my HUD. My legs are burning from Sprinting through the snow, my lungs are on fire and they hurt every time I take a breath of the ice-cold air. I push on and pray Aiko can kill this thing within the next few minutes.
Then I see something new.
Frost Salamander readies Frost Fire.
Un oh…
When I glance behind me an arctic blast of air erupts from its throat like the discharge of a snowblower. It hits me like a hurricane and strips my shadow instantly. It radiates out in a cone and the trees around me crystalize with a thick layer of ice.
“Reece! You okay?” Aiko cries, alarm in her voice.
“I’m good,” I say, recasting Shadow Copy and taking off again. “If it’s just that one AOE we’ll be fine.”
I keep maneuvering the Frost Salamander through the trees as Aiko takes its health down 5% at a time.
We get it to 35%.
30%.
Suddenly Aiko cries out again, “Reece, no! Don’t go that way!”
Huh?
I’m about to ask her why but I piece it together for myself…albeit too late.
Foot-long spikes drive straight through my feet.
Your shadow absorbs the attack!
Darn it!
Once again, I’m thankful for having Shadow Copy up. I pause for a split second to cast it again. I get the spell off, but then a stray claw from the Salamander immediately rips my brand-new shadow to shreds.
Double darn it!
I need to gain more distance before I recast it again. I Sprint to keep out of its range but then my thoughts freeze as a new message appears.
Frost Salamander readies Frost Fire.
Oh Crap!
I instinctively try to recast Shadow Copy again, but it’s still on Cool-Down.
No!
Frost Salamander uses Frost Fire.
The hurricane force breath hits me with a brain-numbing cold that chills every cell of my body. Pain radiates through my body like I’m on fire, so strong I fear I might pass out. I scream in agony as my HP bar is depleted by a third.
“Arrrgh!”
Two more debuffs appear on my HUD as my body becomes encased in ice.
You are Paralyzed.
You are Slowed.
You are Frostbitten.
“Reece!” Aiko cries.
The monster barrels into me, shattering the ice like glass and I lose another whopping chunk of my health.
Frost Salamander hits you for 977 damage.
I go flying and strike a tree.
You take 54 damage.
My vision blurs and I taste blood in my mouth. I can barely breathe. I try to perform a Retreat to remove my paralysis, but nothing happens.
You are too tired to perform that action.
What? This is worse than I thought. I see my Stamina is sitting at -10! I have a flashback to my negative Agility days and look to my debuffs for the cause.
Frostbitten.
Your Stamina is rapidly depleting.
Crap. That’s worse than being paralyzed! I check my HP next.
124/1732 HP
The Frost Salamander charges at me a second time, homing in on the prey it just smacked for a home run. I struggle to move, frozen by both pain and paralysis. I’m gonna die. I’m going to die and Gilly and Becky are miles away!
“Stay away from him!” Aiko cries and side-swipes the beast with a Plunging Attack across its head. The Frost Salamander bellows with a roar and its whole body shifts to follow her as she rolls into the snow. I feel too weak to move. I’m lying helpless as Aiko faces off against the giant monster alone.
“Aiko, be careful…” I strain to get out, but my voice is weak and garbled as more blood fills my mouth. I probably have a punctured lung or something; breathing hurts far more now than it did before.
Aiko doesn’t look at me, her chest heaving as her violet eyes stare with razor-like attention at the salamander. I see wild fear within them as well, but determination too. The Frost Salamander launches at her and she leaps into the air, flipping backwards and Wall Running up a tree. The monster slams into it and she flips down onto its back with a Plunging Attack. Her blades cut deep and she removes a couple more percentage points of its life.
“Come on!” she shouts. “Try and hit me!”
She has no War Cry, but the monster has completely forgotten about me now. Perhaps Aiko removed that Misdirection effect and all that hate she built up has been redirected back to her now. Again I try to move, but the Paralysis and Frostbite are still in effect.
You’re doing great, Aiko, I cheer her on internally. You’ve got this!
The wild look in her eyes is slowly replaced by one of extreme focus, confidence almost. Thieves have high evasion, but I’m not sure if it’s as high as Ninja. Still, Aiko goads the giant beast into another attack and then runs up a tree to land on its back with a savage 10% hit.
Aiko uses Sneak Attack!
Aiko hits the Frost Salamander for 9856(972) damage!
The Frost Salamander throws her off its back and rolls onto its side, wriggling and thrashing as if in a death throe. It’s down to less than 10%! Aik
o flips back onto her feet and runs in to slash at the beast with her big knives.
Aiko hits the Frost Salamander for 407 damage.
Aiko hits the Frost Salamander for 402 damage.
Aiko hits the Frost Salamander for 398 damage.
Go Aiko! Go!
The Frost Salamander rolls back to its feet and releases a massive ear-shattering roar.
My brain scrambles and Aiko drops to her knees clutching her ears. The monster turns and begins limping away through the forest, blood dripping as it whines and hisses like a braying donkey.
Aiko starts after it but then sees me. “Reece!”
She falls to her knees next to me and gingerly touches my face and chest. “God, I don’t know what to do. Are you okay? You look really messed up!”
I talk to her through the party chat. “Still frozen and hurt like hell.”
“Let me get you up,” she says.
“Don’t worry about me. It’s at 10%. Go kill it.”
Aiko gazes in the direction of the wounded beast as it lumbers through the forest. She’s about to take off, but then the snowflake-like ears of the salamander sparkle and the beast vanishes from sight.
“Crap…” I say. “It cloaked! We need to find it.”
Aiko shakes her head. “How? It’s run away.”
“You think it’s going to try and attack us again?”
“Let’s not stick around to find out,” Aiko says. “It’s run for now. Let’s hope it stays that way and that there aren’t any more of them out here.”
That thought makes me want to get to my feet badly. The debuffs finally disappears from my HUD and I’m able to move again. “Thank goodness that stuff wore off. That was a really strong Paralyze effect.”
“You sure you’re okay?” Aiko says as she helps me to my feet.
My chest still feels like a truck ran over it, but I see my HP slowly go up. “I’m healing. I guess I’m okay.”
“We need to get you back,” Aiko says. “You need a heal. Bad.”
“Tell me about it.”
Aiko wraps my arm around her waist and together we limp through the forest, headed back for Star Fall.
“You really think that thing is gone?” I say, looking over my shoulder, almost expecting the Frost Salamander to blast us with its breath attack at any moment.
Aiko grimaces. “I hope so. I actually felt a bit sorry for it, seeing it limp away like that. Honestly I don’t know if I could have killed it even if I did catch up to it.”
That one takes me by surprise. “Whoa. This from the lady who told me to kill a snake before it gets a chance to bite you?”
Aiko rolls her eyes. “When I said snake I was more referring to the human variety. Those type you don’t play with—far more dangerous, as you well know. When it comes to monsters though, they’re pretty much just animals.”
I consider it a moment, thinking of that giant creature as merely an animal rather than a monster. I suppose from that light I do kind of have sympathy for it. “Yeah, I guess. You did great against it though. You pretty much soloed it at the end. Saved me too.”
She shrugs. “Had to do what I had to do.”
I smile. “You looked strong out there. Like you got over your fear a bit.”
She mirrors my smile. “Yeah. Maybe I did get a little bit of my mojo back. Thanks to you.”
“Me?”
“Well I couldn’t just let you get killed, could I?”
She grins and we share a laugh. I truly hope she has overcome some of her fear, though. It’d be great if she could one day put it all behind her.
We travel on in silence for a bit. My HP crawls above two hundred and I feel the pain subside. But as it does it’s replaced by a growing awkwardness as the memory of our abruptly truncated conversation comes to mind. I almost wish I could erase it altogether, but I can tell Aiko’s probably thinking about it too.
I sigh inwardly. I can’t leave this hanging in limbo, for both our sakes. “So…I never really answered your question.”
She stops and I feel her torso stiffen as I hold onto her waist. She answers without looking down at me. “You don’t have to, you know. Perhaps it’s best left unsaid.”
“No,” I say and turn inward to face her. “It needs to be said.”
I take a breath and steel myself for what’s about to come next.
“I do really like you, Aiko, but I’m not sure if what I’m feeling is right. Especially when I have Gil—”
“Hey…” She places a finger over my lips. “You don’t need to explain anything. I’m the one at fault here. You’re a guy, remember? It’s normal for you to feel attraction.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to feel guilty about it.”
“I know,” she says. “And I’m sorry for that. I shouldn’t have put you in that position.”
I go quiet and just listen to her.
“Honestly for me,” she says looking up. “It was just a nice feeling to know that you kind of liked me—and for who I am on the inside, not just my character’s body.” She looks back down. “I know this might sound kind of pathetic, but believe it or not, that’s a really rare thing for me. For someone to even take the time to get to know the actual me, much less still like me afterwards.”
My heart sort of melts when she says that and I feel all over again what I think I’ve been feeling this entire time. Am I attracted to Aiko physically? Sure. But I think I care for her a lot more than that. I know her on the inside like she said and, in a way, I just kind of want to see that side of her more and more.
“It’s okay to have feelings, Reece,” she says. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. It’s normal and natural. It’s when you act on them inappropriately, like I did, when it becomes a problem.”
“So that wasn’t kosher, what you did?”
She chuckles. “I guess I took my infatuation a little too far.”
I still can’t believe she even thinks that way about me, but listening to her now, I can sort of understand why. And maybe it’s not really romantic at all. Maybe it’s something more than that. Something deeper.
“I don’t ever want us to not be close, though,” I say. “I still really do like you, a lot. I respect you and have so much to learn from you. And I really do love who you are inside. Rough exterior and all.”
Her eyes glisten, looking both happy and sad at the same time. “See. It’s when you go and say stuff like that, that makes me want you even more. You really are a sweet guy, Reece. And you actually see me. I appreciate that. I appreciate it more than you know.”
I blush a little as she pulls me closer. I still don’t know quite where all this is leading yet. “So…how do we figure this out?”
“Figure what out?” She looks down at me quizzically. “There’s nothing to figure out, Reece. You’ve got a girl, a good one. And honestly you’re too damn good for me.”
“What?” Now I’m really confused. “Why do you say that?”
“It’s true. You’re young and sweet. And you deserve the same. So long as this old cougar can steal a kiss from you every now and then…” She gives me a wink. “I’ll be happy.”
I laugh when she says it, because I’m sure she actually means it too.
“You’re totally crazy, you know that?”
She grins. “So I’ve been told.”
A huge sense of relief fills me, like a weight lifted off my chest. We’re able to joke again. I think we’ve finally come full circle in our understanding of one another, perhaps even closer than before.
“Just one thing,” she says. “Please don’t tell my sisters about any of this.”
Uh oh…
She must read the look on my face, because she sighs. “Don’t tell me…”
I shrug haplessly.
“Which one?”
“Val?”
“Great,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Now she’s going to think I’m a total loser for making a pass at you.”
“Actually I think her exact wo
rds were homewrecker.”
She lets out a cackle. “Well I’m not that. I’m just a basket case with intimacy issues.”
I grin. “I can keep your secret.”
She gives me a hug and I finally feel safe in her arms again.
“Come on, pretty boy,” she says and kisses me playfully on the nose. “Let’s get you home to Gilly.”
Chapter 35: High Gear
The wind and snow seem to die almost completely as we trudge back towards the keep. I’m up to 30% health and although I can walk unassisted, my ribs still hurt something awful from when the giant salamander slammed into me from behind. I actually can’t remember the last time I’ve been in so much pain. I suppose most other times I’ve lost HP it’s been from some kind of acute action, like an AOE blast or a slash from a weapon. Once it’s done it’s over. But this blunt trauma must have dislocated a rib or something.
I’m hoping Gilly can fix it with one of her spells.
If not, this is really going to suck.
I walk just behind Aiko as she picks our path through the forest. We’re travelling a lot slower now thanks to me and walking back seems to take ages, but with this pain, limping is about the best that I can do.
“You hanging in back there?” Aiko says, looking over her shoulder at me.
“Getting better slowly,” I say.
At least, I think I might be. Or hope.
I glance at the sky to see the thick layer of clouds beginning to break. Behind them the sun is fading into late afternoon and reminds me that we haven’t been out of the labyrinth for very long. With the storm locking us in for most of the day it feels like we’ve slept through a night already. But my body knows different and I’m feeling fatigue along with my pain as true nightfall approaches.
I wince as I endure another spasm. I need something to take my mind off this. Talking with Aiko would be welcome distraction for sure and thanks to us finally having our “talk” we can do so freely. I can’t think of anything real important to talk about though, but I guess there is something I’ve been curious about ever since I saw Aiko switched to Thief.